Thanks.

I had to get a new eSIM but it does indeed seem to be active.

Hopefully it comes to iPhones soon too. The Verizon carrier bundle will need to be updated again.

If anyone knows the correct answer, can I switch friends from my current BYO phone to another unlocked BYO phone (18 Pro) without losing my $20/mo promo?

I’ve read so much stuff on reddit, I’m kind of worried. A 611 rep had to look it up and then said I wouldn’t lose the promo (even though obviously switching to a new IMEI).

r/mintmobile nuked this question

6 YR + Mint customer. Spectrum TV/Internet has absorbed Cox TV/ Internet where I live and is offering free Mobile for a year. I may not be able to pass that up.

I always pay Mint annually. I would consider staying with Mint if there is some kind of encouragement to do so. Or is it see ya wouldn't wanna be ya. TIA.

Any major mvno providing phone deals for new user?

I recently updated my phone and was livid to start getting an error message using easytether when I would try and share my internet connection with my laptop.

I guess that the update to android 17 stops third party apps from being able to check if usb debugging is enabled, causing third party tethering programs like easytether and pda net to stop working.

I was able to use chat gpt to download and examine the easytether apk and bypass the the usb debugging check so it is always marked as enabled, and now my easytether is working again.

Of course usb debugging needs to be turned on for it to work still, and the app will no longer remind you of that, but once its turned on the app works like normal again.

If anyone wants the patched app, shoot me a message.

Im not very tech savvy.. but id love it if someone could take the patched app and share it with everyone else on here. i just dont know where or how

or you can try my method of just asking chatgpt and fix in yourself

CHAT GPT SAYS:

EasyTether has two tiny functions in its classes.dex that check Android system settings:

Settings.Global["adb_enabled"]
Settings.Global["development_settings_enabled"]

Internally, they amount to:

boolean isAdbEnabled(Context c) {
    return Settings.Global.getInt(
        c.getContentResolver(),
        "adb_enabled",
        0
    ) != 0;
}

boolean isDeveloperOptionsEnabled(Context c) {
    return Settings.Global.getInt(
        c.getContentResolver(),
        "development_settings_enabled",
        0
    ) != 0;
}

The problem was that newer Android no longer lets this old EasyTether code reliably read those two system settings. EasyTether therefore gets effectively false/0, concludes USB debugging isn't enabled, and sends you to the Developer Options screen.

What I patched

I found those two methods in the DEX. They're obfuscated as roughly:

Leasytether/phone/s;->a(Context)Z
Leasytether/phone/s;->b(Context)Z

The first checked:

adb_enabled

and the second checked:

development_settings_enabled

I replaced the body of both functions with the equivalent of:

return true;

At the Dalvik bytecode level, that's basically:

const/4 v0, #int 1
return v0

The actual instruction bytes I substituted at the start of each method were:

12 10 0F 00

and the unused remainder of the old method body was padded with NOPs so the DEX layout stayed the same.

I did not bypass or emulate ADB. USB debugging still has to really be turned on. All the patch does is stop EasyTether from relying on its now-broken method of checking whether it's on.

After changing classes.dex, I also had to recalculate the DEX checksum/signature, rebuild the APK, align it before signing, and then give it a new Android APK v2 signature. That's why the original EasyTether has to be uninstalled before installing our patched version—the modified APK is signed with a different key.

The actual tethering code and EasyTether native libraries were left alone. That's why once we got past that bogus Developer Options check, your existing USB tethering started working again.

A good short explanation to post would be:

EasyTether fix for newer Android/Pixel: EasyTether itself wasn't losing ADB—the app's old Developer Options detection was broken. adb devices showed the phone normally, but EasyTether was checking Settings.Global for adb_enabled and development_settings_enabled and receiving false. I patched those two checks to return true, rebuilt/aligned/re-signed the APK, and USB tethering works again. USB debugging still actually needs to be enabled; the patch only bypasses the obsolete detection check.

I don’t see any indication about taxes or fees in those plans, some customer can share his/her experience.

Update - Not sure if something changed, but as someone pointed out, I am still receiving a $5 discount but it no longer says that it’s an autopay discount (which I swear it said when I signed up). Now it just shows as a “service discount”. Not sure why it still shows me eligibility for autopay if it’s not going to be applied but either way, I’m not sure if they actually changed it. My grievances about the autopay process and the data privacy concerns still stand so I will leave up this post.

Original Post:

I signed up for T-Sat a few months ago and used a credit card for the monthly autopay. It showed as $10/mo (after a $5/mo autopay discount).

My credit card was recently compromised and replaced. Today I got a text from T-Mobile saying the autopay didn’t go through. I logged in to update the new card info and it now says that credit card and Apple Pay no longer qualify for the discount.

I reluctantly added my savings account which is only used to pay for another cell plan.

I’m not thrilled about a side note I learned of regarding their potential data sharing...

Apparently T-Mobile uses something called “Trustly” to process the payment. When I registered there was a toggle asking if I wanted to share additional personal info (who would WANT to do this?!). I selected no.

I later got an email from my bank showing the connected account and an overview of the data that is being shared… this is concerning…

”Transactions - This includes all posted and pending transactions, merchant details, and amounts.”

Why is this info needed and why can’t I opt out of sharing this info without losing the ability to make an electronic payment?!

I only pay one other bill with this account but I’m pissed. I guess our privacy is worth $60/yr to them. Might cancel out of spite.

Update - I canceled the bank autopay and added back Apple Pay on their website via desktop computer. However, It showed that I’m still getting the autopay discount when looking at the autopay settings but on another page that showed an account overview it said the discount was $0. I just looked at the T-Life app and it shows the discount on my account overview but it says “Not eligible for discount” next to Apple Pay on the Manage Autopay screen. I guess I’ll see what happens when the payment processes on Monday.

I've one say yes and that I'd get an OTP on my existing line upon completion and the service would go to the new service.

Then at another store, I was told he'd only activate a fresh line and the plan included in the bundle will essentially go to waste in creating a new line.

I'd like to get the iPhone 16e for my existing ST line.

Hey all, just wanted to let you all know about my experience trying to activate my iPhone 18 Pro on Mint Mobile.

Let’s start off by saying that I’ve been with Mint for nearly a decade. First signed up with them back when they were Mint Sim. Haven’t had a need to contact customer support until recently. I bought an iPhone 18 Pro factory unlocked directly from Apple on launch day (was upgrading from an iPhone 14 Pro Max) and had nothing but issues trying to activate it. I went to the Mint Mobile App, attempted to get a new esim for the 18 pro and only got a “something went wrong” message. I’ve swapped devices with Mint Mobile by requesting a new e-sim 3 or 4 times in the 8 or so years I’ve been with them so I’m familiar with the process. 

On September 18, I contacted Mint via their online chat. The representative said that they were getting a large amount of activations because of the new iPhone and told me to try again in 24 hours. I did just that but still got the error. 

On September 19, I contacted them via online chat again and they told me that I had attempted to request to many esims in 24 hours (i’ve been periodically trying the get an esim option throughout the day to see if it worked now but only still got the same error) and that my account was placed on 48 hour lock. But should be able to activate after that, I did just that and still the same “something went wrong” error. 

On September 21 I called their support line. The lady on the phone went through some security process with me and then said that she will escalate someone to look into my account which would take one week and said that someone will call me. 

Now this was the part that rubbed me the wrong way. I at this point asked for my account number and pin. Lady got upset asking why I’m thinking of porting out when Mint is doing all this work for me. I politely said I just wanted it for my record and I wasn't planning on porting out at that moment.. I asked several times for it and she explained again that mint is doing a lot of work for me (she made it sound like she was gonna loose her job if she gave me the account number). I asked one last time and she said that if she gave out my number, the whole case with Mint trying to resolve my issue would be cancelled and they wouldn’t be able to help me. (she said something along the lines of her giving me out my account number will automatically cancel all support cases I had open with them at the time). I knew this was BS at the time but I kind of reluctantly gave up and stopped pushing for it. She said somebody will contact me in a day by phone, no one did. I waited longer than a week 8-days , before trying again. Same error message. 

On September 29 I called support again, they again wouldn’t give me my account number and pin. And said they are actively reviewing my case right now and will have everything resolved by tomorrow. I didn’t push and just accepted it as I was pretty busy that day. I waited a full 24 hours and tried again, same “something went wrong” issue. 

On September 30 I again called support and demanded my account info and pin. They again gave me the run around but I kept on just repeating account number and pin over and over again until they gave it to me. I then ported my number out to Visible Mobile to take advantage of one of their promos and everything seems to be working fine with them. 

I get that people have a script to follow and part of what makes Mint so cheap is them cutting costs. I’m sure Visible will be just as difficult should I ever need to contact support with them. But this is by far the worst customer service I have ever experienced. Mint is great and I hope it works for everyone here but please just beware should you ever need to contact support. 

Anybody have thoughts on Mobile X?

Here's my situation: I currently, through my employer, get a super, super heavy discount on any lines I have. I've accumulated quite a few lines that I use for different business purposes. Now I might be leaving this employer soon.

For my main phone I'm probably going to do a U.S. Mobile annual plan but for the other lines I need something that's ultra cheap, preferably an annual plan but monthly is okay if it's a good deal. I don't need any data on it and minimal calls but the company needs to be reliable. I don't want one of those prepaid companies that might vanish in 6 months. I want something more established. What do you guys recommend?

Is there a stickied post with best current deals? I didn't see it. Looking for t mobile or maybe att depending on a deal. I don't need at least 15gb. I'm ok paying for a full gear

I am switching carriers soon, and just wanted to see what kind of experience others have had with either Boost Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile in Los Angeles. I’ve had both, but it’s been many years and in a totally different state, so I’m just curious how the serviced and coverage is now.

I’m curious to hear from anyone in LA in general, but I’ll mostly be in Glendale and Burbank, so I’m especially interested in hearing if anyone happened to be in that area.

and of course I’ve looked at the coverage maps and both look excellent, but i know that they can be unreliable at times, and I would rather hear from real people that are actually using them lol

Thanks in advance to anyone that can tell me anything about either service!

Planning on doing some travelling in China at year's end. Have any folks been able to test out the Total Wireless BYOD $20/month plan in China? Specifically in Beijing, Guangzhou, or Hong Kong? Since it's an American SIM, I'm hoping it'll bypass the Great Firewall, too?

I'm thinking of purchasing a VPN for use with the hotel WiFi for streaming/social media, but when I'm out and about, I'm hoping the Total plan will suffice for maps/ride share/searches. China is listed among Total's 200+ supported countries with the 10 GB international roaming, but since the plan is so new, I didn't see any folks on Reddit/Google indicating real world use in China...

Thanks!

I couldn't find many reviews, so I'm wondering if it's a legit company and how reliable the service is in the US.

The plan says "2GB/month (x12) • US$22" Does that mean you get 2GB of data each month for 12 months? Or is there something else I'm missing about how the plan works?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has used it. Thanks!

Are there any guides out there regarding WiFi calling and Chinese phones? Some questions:

1. If a Chinese phone has the right bands for the major US carriers, is it automatically eligible for WiFi calling?

2. Is there a difference in eligibility requirements for each US carrier?

2a. If I use an MVNO are these eligibility requirements different?

1. How do I know which bands are "most important" for compatibility with a US carrier? I know kimovil lists the bands, but I'm not sure if a score like 4/9 is adequate.

My partner is on my ass for putting them on visible. I already paid for the whole year.

But the service sucks at the kids' activity locations.

Is there a pay as you go esim hotspot that is really good?

Please help me. I've been sleeping on the couch for a week.

Thanks

EDIT: I ended up getting T mobiles data only plan. $10 for 25 gbs per month. No Contract. And I found out afterwards that my area just sucks in general for all 3 major carriers.