Returning to T-Mobile!

[TheForce]

I purchased an international version of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium G8142 64GB today, primarily for a 4K camera and 4K portable monitor for my video work in 360VR.

I am on an iphone 6+ and have no intention of dropping that for my primary service.

I did a little research and found the Sony can be activated on the T-Mobile network for LTE with no contract and a pay as you go prepay. That will work best for me as a backup to my Verizon service on the iphone. So, I bought a new T-Mobile Sim Card with the phone.

I have no experience with how this will work so looking for any suggestions as to the setup process. Is it better to take the phone and new sim card into a T-Mobile store and let them set me up, or should I do it on line via the T-Mobile web site?

How easy is it to charge up the account for more data in a prepay- no contract?

There was none of this back when I was a T-mobile customer before so their new pay as you go plans are a little strange to me.

 

[navychop]

They price it at $3 but there is a minimum $10 credit card charge.

I got mine in the mail and followed directions, which sent me online. Pretty easy. I do recall having to call a human but I don't recall why.

 

[TheForce]

$3 ? That doesn't get you any data does it? I would want about 4GB or so prepay at a time. I need to look into it more so I know how to buy. Anyway, I plan to use tethering and wifi most of the time anyway.

 

[navychop]

No. I think data was in ten dollar increments. Only needed it for a weekend to test reception in various places.

Now, I can't find that SIM and may need to pay for another one.

 

[TheForce]

Amazon has T-Mobile Sims for $9.99 and cheaper from other sources.

At what point do you get new phone number?

 

[navychop]

We got the SIM with a temp number just for testing.

Tuesday we go to the TMo store with ATT PW, acct #, etc in hand. They will handle it from there. We will keep all three current numbers. Two on 55+, one on pay as you go.

I hope to get another 1-2 years out of this 6+, even if I have to pay $99/year to replace the battery. Worst case.

Actually, I have no problems or disappointments with the 6+. The battery doesn't hold up so well, but - meh! I'd keep it indefinitely, but I'm sure at some point the better reception of the 600 & 700 bands will lure me in.

 

[TheForce]

My 6+ battery lasts about 4 days but I rarely get it out of my belt pack. I do pretty much everything on the watch. I took a half dozen phone calls on the watch today and scrolled through 30-40 emails, all on the watch. When I'm traveling, I need to recharge it every night because I am tethering most of the day.

 

[navychop]

I must charge every night, with very rare exceptions.

Once I'm up to charging it three times a day, it's time for a new battery. Apple has twice replaced this battery without charge. Next ones on me.

 

[TheForce]

I got the new Sony Xperia XZ Premium in Thursday and the display is above and beyond that of my 6+ being a native 4K screen. ( Noteworthy is that this screen is normally the same as the 6+, 1080x1920 mode for basic use and only offers 4K native pixel density when viewing 4K content.) In 360VR mode the screen door artifact is gone compared to the 6+. Makes me happy I have a 360VR display now that doesn't suffer the crappy resolution everyone complains about in 360VR. Plus the layout of the Sony speakers puts the left sound on the left side and the right sound on the right side. The iphone 8 and X would put both speakers on the right so to get stereo audio that tracks the 360VR position would not be possible unless you use the airpods.

I got a T-Mobile sim card with the phone but haven't activated it yet. Not sure if I will. It's minimal service will cost too much for my intended use. The tethering to my iphone works well.

One point for anyone who is looking for the top quality phone in Android about this Sony- There are two versions of this available. You have a choice as follows:
International version, available from Amazon and others- This can be had for as little as $300 less than the US version and has a fingerprint scanner that works very well. It is as fast as touching the on-off button on the side. Much faster than my 6+ which takes from 1-2 seconds to work. The international version also has no Sony warranty, so you have to rely on the Amazon warranty at purchase.

The US version is what you get when you buy at a local store. Here you get the US Mfg warranty, not sure if 90 days or a year. But you will pay several hundred $ more. Plus the US version has the finger print access disabled in the firmware.

In case you were wondering, there is no problem activating and updating the Android version and the process is fast. Just use the wifi in your home that is sensed immediately when you turn it on after unboxing. Mine arrived with 60% battery so I turned it on and in 15 minutes had everything downloaded and set up and was testing a 360VR video.

For me this was all about 360VR and having the first and only native 4K screen available. As an android phone, that is secondary and I may never experience how it works. But if I do, this thing is unlocked and will work on any GSM carrier with the right Sim card. Not sure about Verizon CDMA. Haven't researched that at all yet.