Question about contracts with T-Mobile

[Sailorcancer]

So I have this friend who wants to get a cell phone, but his Dad doesn't want to add another contract to the plan.

Well he thinks that if he buys an unlock phone online, and takes it to T-Mobile and have T-Mobile program it to work with them, that he doesn't need a contract, because he didn't get a phone from them.

So can he do this, or even doing this will he need to get a contract in order to be on his families plan? I told him that he could always get one of those pay as you go phones.

[fractured]

Unless he does prepaid, it doesn't matter whether he buys the phone directly from T-Mobile or not, he has to ge a contract.

All new lines of activation will require a contract, regardless if you are bringing your own phone in or not....Your friends Dad would be required to pay $9.99/month, with a one year minimum contract extension in order to add his son to his family plan. Your friend can still use the unlocked phone.
TMobile To Go would be a very good choice if your friends Dad really doesn't want a contract extension, especially since they know that TMobiles coverage is good in their area. After they spend a total of $100, your friends To Go line would be considered a gold account, and would only require a minimum of $10/year to maintain it. Also your friend could still use his unlocked phone on prepaid service.
Here is a link to TMobile To Go: Unsupported Browser

[ShadiWulf]

Hey everyone, im the friend hes talking about and my dad is really obsessed about hating the contracts, so do the workers at t-mobile know about unlocked phones or are they gonna give me all kinds of confused looks and I have to explain to them that I don't want one of their phones and that I just want a pre-paid account set up?

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by ShadiWulf

Hey everyone, im the friend hes talking about and my dad is really obsessed about hating the contracts, so do the workers at t-mobile know about unlocked phones or are they gonna give me all kinds of confused looks and I have to explain to them that I don't want one of their phones and that I just want a pre-paid account set up?

That should not be a problem at all. I have used my own unlocked phones to setup Prey Pay accounts on both T-Mobile & Cingular.

The other alternative is to get the least expensive phone that comes with ther Starter Kit, and either keep it as backup or sell it.

Btw, Welcome to WA.

[Matt]

I've seen many people say that the Starter Kit for prepaid service is a good deal, since it includes the SIM card, a phone and some minutes ( Ithink)...I think T-mobile charges $20 just for the SIM separately.