If you're a wireless customer, it goes without saying that being able to micromanage your usage is a great thing. It also goes without saying that if you're a wireless carrier, it's not. As many of us have found out the hard way, it doesn't take much overage to double your bill, and carriers rely on that exactly that kind of carelessness to make some extra coin month to month. We told you about
MinuteWatcher not long ago, a nifty free service for keeping an eye on your calling and predict future usage based on trending, and apparently T-Mobile doesn't think much of it; in fact, besides blocking MinuteWatcher's servers, they've gone ahead and amended their terms of service to specifically prohibit such services. For a company typically known for showing its customers
much love, T-Mobile's move doesn't show a lot of tact -- but then again, nothing speaks louder than the almighty overage minute.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Antti @ Jul 14th 2006 8:53AM
Could it be possible to make an app for a cell phone that you could enter your included monthly minutes in to, and the phone would ask you weather you really wanna call iif your minutes are up?
Josh Wardell @ Jul 14th 2006 9:08AM
I had been using minutewatcher since you first posted about it, and it is a great service. Then T-Mo started blocking it on June 18. I did have a nice chat with MW, who have their hands tied, and I did email t-mo support and complain, but got the usual canned response that external scripts blah blah blah... If a high number of people write in, maybe it will make a difference, but you knew it was a matter of time before it was blocked to begin with.
josh @ Jul 14th 2006 9:19AM
Much love? Are you kidding?
The new T-Mobile $400 Sidekick 3 doesn't allow you to set your own MP3s as ringtones cause if you could, you might not buy one of their crappy ones for $1.99ea.
For the same reason they also specifically removed recordable ringtones from the device as well. What would have been another cool feature.
On top of it, they now charge for "classic" rings that were FREE in the sidekick 2. And make you re-purchase all of the applications and ringers that you bought on the sidekick 2.
Of course they make sure not to tell you these things before you buy.
This company will neuter and slash the potentially cool features in its phones just to try to make a quick buck. "Much Love" lol. I don't think so.
Khidr @ Jul 14th 2006 10:07AM
You know, with other carriers being more flexible on overages, this is just bad business, as long as it gets solid negative coverage they'll either a) stop being babies, or b) lose a lot of customers.
good post Chris, dog the man, man.
Aaron @ Jul 14th 2006 10:16AM
"This company will neuter and slash the potentially cool features in its phones just to try to make a quick buck."
You mean...like every single carrier out there?
At least Tmobile's HTC Wizard has the wifi, whereas Cingular took it out of theirs.
Say what you want about them, but in my opinion Tmobile still offers the best customer service around. I never get annoying reps on the phone, never have been on hold more than 1-2 minutes trying to get an operator, etc.
They lag behind in tech (3G) and phones (very poor phone choices for anyone who wants advanced phones), but they're a solid provider.
As for the MinuteWatcher service, I can't see why people would think a company would be ok with allowing a third party access to its users accounts.
Jake @ Jul 14th 2006 10:21AM
"This company will neuter and slash the potentially cool features in its phones just to try to make a quick buck."
At least you can choose phones that aren't slashed. Us CDMA customers are screwed there (/cough Verizon).
R @ Jul 14th 2006 10:54AM
It's weird, but T-Mobile in the UK offer their own price plan health check (currently on the new Flext price plans, but it will be across the range) to tell you if yuo're on the best plan. Pretty much the same thing as MinuteWatcher is intended to do.
I know T-Mobile in the US operate pretty independently of Europe; but maybe they're planning something similar? Alternatively, it could be that all that screen scrapping action is hammering the web servers.
david @ Jul 14th 2006 10:57AM
Why do i have to repeat myself
SPRINT
$15 unlimited internet.
Everything u download stays with u transfer phones and just redownload.
Smartphones nver cripled.
Jake @ Jul 14th 2006 12:41PM
#7: Why do you have to repeat yourself?
COVERAGE
matt t @ Jul 14th 2006 12:42PM
aaron...
cingular's htc wizard (cingular 8125) does indeed have wifi.
Andrew @ Jul 14th 2006 12:58PM
i just reset the call timer on my phone every month. never have a problem with overages though.
korey @ Jul 14th 2006 1:06PM
yeah and my siemens sx66 has wifi thats one of the original cingular ppc phones just fyi i juss do the 3gforfree.com for mine they maybe kinda crappy but they work just as well
Ervin @ Jul 14th 2006 1:15PM
with cingular you can also just dial *min to check your minutes. instead of having to use outside software.
flamer's grill @ Jul 14th 2006 1:30PM
This surprises me, cuz I always thought T-Mobile was one of the "good guys" when it came to wireless carriers. Low deposits, nice phones and one-year contracts. Sure, their coverage sucks, but if you live in the city, you don't gotta worry about it.
Charlene @ Jul 14th 2006 1:40PM
If people have such a hard time trying to stay wotohin their alotted time slot, then indeed they do deserve to be charged extra, tho I disagree on the $/minutemany have. If people are so worried about going over, maybe it's time to go prepaid, because you can't go over, you'll just not be able to call, (plus most of the prepaid plans, like virgin, have the option that if you run low on minutes you can automatically be charged, never have to worry!!) yeah, its already pricier per minute, at least im only paying for im using and nothing gets lost from month to month.
WirelessGuy @ Jul 14th 2006 2:09PM
With privacy being so important, and after the Paris issue of security, do you blame them?
You can dial #MIN# from your phone and get this live to your phone (better than what a website can do) and you can also log into your my.t-mobile.com account and check your minutes there.
What is the benefit of using some third party application over using the carrier's techniques? Plus with 1,000 minutes (or 1,500 if you got that plan last year) are you really too worried?
david @ Jul 14th 2006 2:15PM
COVERAGE=SPRINT
I had tmobile worst coverage, verizon horrible. Sprints a blessing.
Enjoli @ Jul 14th 2006 3:00PM
Well, for those who think they know everything, Tmobile customers need not to use that mintuewatching. Because all you have to dial #min# to find out how many minutes you have used. So does it really matter if they prohibited it because they provide this service for free also. And as far as I am concerned Tmobile's service is wonderful, and they have provided me with free mintues for inconviences I've had: I beleive Tmobile's customer service is great!
nono @ Jul 14th 2006 4:18PM
#min# give you minutes used.
#bal# amount owed.
Extra minutes are billed at $.10... what is the problem?
I have tons of minutes left on my 1,000 min package.
E71 @ Jul 14th 2006 4:33PM
Dude... weak...
I guess that's the Germans for ya.
Long @ Jul 14th 2006 4:37PM
You can simply type #646# and send for a free txt msg of the minutes you have used. It doesn't work that well for a family share plan, since it will only give you the usage for one phone and not the entire family. Atleast that way you can check to see how many minutes you have used.
Mark Lyon @ Jul 14th 2006 4:57PM
It's moments like these that I really appreciate Cellular South's $49.99 unlimited plan. I have no idea how many minutes I use each month, nor do I care; I get 44,640 a month.
Scott Johnson @ Jul 14th 2006 5:51PM
Yet another reason to stay away from T-Mobile.
whoster69 @ Jul 14th 2006 6:18PM
People vote with your wallets. You have the power to stop this nonsense...
No T Mobile for me!
Nick @ Jul 14th 2006 7:43PM
Morons.
T-Mobile has never cripped any smartphone I've had in the past, never had an issue supporting phones I bought that weren't from T-Mobile, and they have a fantastic internet plan.
They also have customer service.
Sprint doesn't.
david @ Jul 14th 2006 8:16PM
T mobile great internet plan....
Hey can you fill me in and tell me what internet plan that is?
Dan @ Jul 14th 2006 10:07PM
Let me get this straight, a third party setup a system to automatically login to your my.t-mobile.com account and get minute usage. (something like every 5 minutes, regardless of the fact the usage gets updated every few hours, if not longer) That login information is very valuable. That info can be used to make plan changes and even order phone's. Sounds like they are looking out for their customers. That system wasn't made for that. You want to do this service legit? Talk to tmobile. Don't just login to all these customers accounts via the my.t-mobile page and expect to get away with it for long. Regardless of the intent, that isn't a very secure way of doing it. If anybody gets a hold of any of the login information, bad things could happen. And who would you blame then??
JX @ Jul 15th 2006 1:17AM
Fine... Will Cingular support your non-Cingular phone? T-Mobile has always given me great tech support for my Nokia 6280 and Sharp V902SH, even though they don't carry it. Will Sprint activate a non-Sprint phone? I have friends who like Verizon only because they could still use the same phones they used in Korea before they moved to the US, but Verizon's new policy means that any Korean newcomers will probably move to Helio instead. I stay with T-Mobile because of cheap internet, cheap minutes, and because all my non-Korean friends are on it. Oh, and their GREAT tech support too.
Mike K @ Jul 15th 2006 2:43AM
i am a cellphone NUT! i stick with tmobile because they offer the best customer service and their internet plan is unbeatable. i get a new phone about every month, and not just your run of the mill phones. for this year alone i have owned the SE W800i, SE W900, Imate Kjam, Nokia N70, Nokia N80, Nokia 8800, SE K800i, and now i have the Nokia N91. tmobile has ALWAYS supported me with these devices and even transfered me to the UK tmobile or a issue i had. They even put me through with O2 in UK to unlocked my N70 for me.
That minute service is automatically accessing your account, would you really want that?
Why use that service when you can just enter #646# and see how many minutes you have used. It also tells you when your billing cycle is over.
eliihaz @ Jul 15th 2006 4:19AM
#4 is right. tmo does have the best service, if you have a problem take the time to call 611; they'll call you back so you don't have to wait. tmo has a service called bonus minutes that they don't tell you about. you get 150 every i think 3 months. they kick in when you start to go over your minutes and can be carried to the next month. on the bill i think they're call use them or loose them.
Brian @ Jul 15th 2006 10:01PM
Your kind of wrong in your article. All in all providers don't want you to get with high overages and will sometimes do their best to save you from them. High overages mean late payments and depending on how much the overages are means deactivation. We've gone over it a 100 times in training and maybe some but not all providers want their customers to get hit with high overages charges. Its all about preventing DEACTS to non-payment!!!!
Christopher Price @ Jul 16th 2006 9:04AM
We asked T-Mobile what they had to say, you can read their response below:
http://www.pcsintel.com/content/view/1426/33/
David @ Jul 18th 2006 3:07PM
Just a few things.
As a T Mobile rep-in-training,
What is the point of minute minder, when you can use #MIN# for minutes, like others have mentioned? They're just eliminating a superfluous third party.
Overages for minutes are actually $.40, and when #MIN# is used on Family Plans, it shows combined usage.
Brad @ Jul 24th 2006 9:30AM
Well Well, seems we have a all out war. I have tmobile currently, and dropped calls are a major issue. As for what cingular does with phones and plans. They work with you on overage, they backdate plans, they still activate unlocked phones, and the overage is negligable with 7-7 nights and weekends and rollover. All in all, they have a better network, and the phones they offer have the same features and then some that any other carrier has. The 8125... thats just a laptop in a cell. So many things it does, and its a great phone to talk on as well (Bluetooth). Verizon, meh, let them delve out thier lgs 5 for price of one, as lg phones suck, and your stuck with that issue with verizon. Sprint... wow, since the merger, you have had more dropped calls, more customer relation issues than i have ever seen. GG?
Scott @ Jul 25th 2006 4:59PM
They simply want to point their customers to their own shortcodes to ensure accuracy.
#MIN# will tell a subscriber where they are at with their minutes.
Kodi Quetant @ Jul 27th 2006 9:33AM
You have got to be kidding me!! No one saves you money like T-Mobile! The problem is the U.S market has their priorities wrong. We would rather have a nice phone and pay a high bill than have an ok phone and save money over the course of one or two years. Plus you can always buy an unlocked phone and slap your sim in there. T-Mobile's coverage has drastically improved over the years and are constantly winning awards for customer service as well as network reliability. So people don't be fooled by the gimmicks of the other providers!
James @ Jul 30th 2006 2:59PM
you people are complaining about T-mobile not letting you use minute watcher, i think that is ridiculous, anyone who can read there contract or ask someone a question should know that you can keep tabs on your own minutes and not be so lazy as to rely on a third party to tell you when you are going over, every carrier has this feature but the buttons are different for each one. For T-mobile all you have to do is dial #min# or #646# and hit send and it will tell you how many minutes you have used, they also have the same service for your text messages #msg# or #674# hit send, and hey look they also have one for you bill also, all you have to do is dial #bal# or #225#. hey look everybody you CAN do it yourself its a miracle. lazy people so funny.
Jordan @ Jul 31st 2006 12:18AM
So Among the many comments hare I feel I need to make a statement. Just because well, it kinda is irking me. So like eveyone else said, star codes... and then remember, this article was about the blocking of the program why we have to go and argue over which carrier is the best? Eveybody has an individual story and so everybodies opinion is valid. No to answer some questions. I believe the tmo internet plan is like 29.99 a month and unlimited data and wifi access. Hope it helps. Remember we can always just respond to the article and not slam on each other or the carriers. It could always be worse... you could not have service because it doesn't exist (1970s)
Judous @ Aug 11th 2006 7:34PM
Wow, for the first time ever I have to side with T-mobile on this one. Your giving a 3rd party your login information for a billing account that stores all your personal info including your SSN#. Doesn't that seem a bit... dangerous? Not to mention you can track your minutes just as easily by using the # options on the phone.. rendering this service obsolete.
So they are actually protecting you from having your identity stolen... BASTARDS.
As for everyone saying about how cheap their plans are... yes they're cheap because you have no coverage hardly anywhere... that's why they have good customer service, they are highly trained to calm you the hell down when your call and data connection gets dropped driving down the major highway 2 miles from their corporate location in Bellevue WA.
Robin @ Aug 15th 2006 3:01AM
Wow...I'm shocked...Does anyone remember this?
http://news.com.com/T-Mobile+customers+get+temporary+protection/2100-1036_3-6031204.html
This was earlier on in the year when just about all the major cell phones were filing lawsuits against companies that were accessing and selling private call data.
The MW programmer who mentioned all the information about security and the fact they don't sell records doesn't sell me on this. Ever hear the phrase, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely?"
Tell me how this could be any different. This site gets your personal account information, that can be used to log in, change your rate plan, features, upgrade your phone, download ring tones and a myriad of other things that can add charges to your bill, and we are expected to believe that they are 100% secure with that information.
I'll take you back a little bit further - Paris Hilton and the scandal when her SK was hacked into. That was supposed to be a secure server and someone got into it.
It sounds like a neat service since it takes the #min# a little further by analyzing your usage and trending future usage, but this is a service you should be asking your carriers for, not blaming them because they are trying to safeguard you. Besides, if you are that worried about your usage, why not call in and ask the customer service rep to do a rate plan analysis?
Come on people, stop being lazy and take responsibility. The tools to do this on your own are out there already, use them. If you don't want to, then don't complain when your carrier tries to protect you from your own folly.
Is T-Mobile in the right?? Definitely, no doubt and with out a question - If you can't do this on your own, and have to rely on a program, it serves you right when something horrible happens to your account and your call records are up for sale...Or even *gasp* a phone charge is on your bill out of nowhere!
Jude @ Aug 31st 2006 12:44PM
This all seems much ado about nothing. T-Mobile offers its service users the ability to punch in #646# and will return current minutes used. What happened to taking responsibility for knowing how many minutes are in ones own plan and where current usage stands? Seems rather straightforward that if one is constantly checking minutes because they may overrun, their chosen plan is not right for their useage and they should think about trading UP to a larger (more minutes) plan, and if that is not an affordable option, than to budget better within the means given.
Spock @ Jan 31st 2007 11:10AM
I went to a t-mobile store on Decemeber of 2006 and they had a deal where you got unlimited calls between t-mobile customers and 1000 whenever minutes for $29.99 a month. When I got my bill it was $49.99 and when I went to see them, t-mobile said that they had no such deal of $29.99 a month. So, has anyone else bought into this deal and got it or got screwed. I need to know because I got scammed by t-mobile.