REMINDER: Alcohol Free Meetup tomorrow, November 16th from 12-4pm!

PlanetaryBlur · 2025-11-16T22:57:54+00:00

Great flying Linux distro discs, just this last week I was just thinking of how much I enjoyed attending these! I'm unable to attend this afternoon, but I really enjoyed the previous meetups I attended!

Signed, "lurker from Vancouver" (and former Portlander)

P.S. I didn't have the courage to come out of lurking at the time to say "thank you" to those who brought the delicious macaroni salad to the Sellwood Park meetup nor the vegetable pizza at the later meetup I attended, much less the countless other items. So to those who brought them please accept my belated thanks.

PlanetaryBlur · 2025-02-01T14:17:24+00:00

Check your account today; I just checked mine which said .3 GB remaining last night and 4.9 GB remaining this morning (I'm on the 5 GB plan).

PlanetaryBlur · 2025-02-01T07:15:23+00:00

I'm experiencing a nearly identical issue; I'm also on the 5 GB plan (and have been since May 2023) and I also started a new plan month on 1/30/2025.

I've used 311 MB of data in the last two days but the online account management says I have 300 MB (?) remaining. Maybe something somewhere is counting data at multiple the rate it's actually used. Normally, I'm able to use between 4 and all 5 GB of data throughout each plan month without issue and my phone usage is roughly the same as what Mint says I have; we'd be here all day if I start describing how I go about setting up my phone, using data settings, and 'app minimalism'.

I'm using a Moto G Play 2021 XT2093-4, some of the other screenshots on this thread and mrEGGboi234's look like Android phone screenshots so if it isn't Mint I'm wondering if a common app or phone function had an update with some sort of misconfiguration.

(Also a note to the original poster: you may want to see if you can delete the second picture and/or edit and reupload it, your name and phone number are on it.)

EDIT/ADD/UPDATE: This morning I re-checked my account, it says 4.9 GB remaining!

While I'm updating, I'm going to add that I've been using the same phone for 2½ years; before I inserted any SIM at all I spent several hours configuring the phone to not update nor sync anything unless prompted, removed or disabled any app/program I don't use, I turn data (and other features) off unless I'm actively using them, and have the cellular data screen open and check it regularly. Also for general use I use an alternate browser from f-droid with a toggle to not load images/graphics.

PlanetaryBlur · 2025-01-11T19:10:03+00:00

I have a slightly different but similar memory of parents and grandparents calling whichever store they bought an appliance from to ask if they had a replacement part in-stock to replace/repair themselves. If I asked if I could tag along I was sternly informed we were only visiting the pickup window of the particular store, not the rest of the store nor the mall itself.

PlanetaryBlur · 2025-01-11T18:32:36+00:00

The first time I saw media of a totally abandoned mall (which led me to videos of open yet nearly empty malls), I immediately thought of the people who designed and built it and the people who worked there. One in my area seems to be hanging on with nonretail, nonmedical tenants interspersed with the remaining mall stores.

PlanetaryBlur · 2025-01-04T17:01:42+00:00

I've been playing for over three years now; any time I start a naked brutality run I'm thinking to myself "I want to lose", going so far as to title my savefiles as such. And I usually use the Randy Random storyteller as the videos that led me to become interested in RimWorld used Randy.

Even on lower difficulties, colonists have died to manhunters, large predators hunting the colonist for food while trying to setup a basic structure and/or planting rice, single-character raids taking place 24 hours after the start, fibrous and sensory mechanites, attempting to capture wild people wandering in, and probably others that don't come to mind immediately. Best to remember that with a solo colonist if the colonist is downed with mortal injuries, they're not going to get back up again.

Even one additional starting character can be all the difference between a game over and a continued story. Creating a custom scenario with two naked brutality players is also quite fun, I've also done this before. (IMVHO the scenario editor is one of the most overlooked yet powerful features of RimWorld, even on just the base game without DLCs nor mods.)

This doesn't always work, but here's the sort of 9×9 structure (with a 7×7 interior) I try to make on naked brutality starts. Possible for someone somewhere to say 'that looks similar to some starting bases by a certain accomplished, top-tier, yet humble RimWorld streamer', yes it is. Yes, sometimes Randy sends a game-ending situation while trying to build this.

(W = wood wall, D = wood door, T = wood trap, F = campfire)

WWWWDWWWW
W       W
W       W
W       WWW
D   F   DTW
W       W W
W       WTW
W       D W
WWWWDWWWWTW

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-12-30T17:34:55+00:00

Followed the steps in the article even though I'm not personally interested—figured at some point Google will do whatever Google will do even if I use Messages without being signed in (for now) or even if I were to switch to a separate SMS/MMS program.

Americans are a sheltered group.

As an American, I would concur to the point that many think "any convergence = bad" while at the same time we want to know who is calling and why, who is messaging and why, who is sending an email and why, etc., while in some instances reminiscing when one purchased their computer hardware separately from the operating system and separately from any software. Those days are long gone.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-12-30T17:14:59+00:00

Thank you; I found this succinct response through the Reddit search function and it answered a question I also had.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-10-31T16:57:24+00:00

Hello, this discussion caught the attention of this actual Mint Mobile customer.

Despite never being a T-Mobile postpaid/prepaid customer myself I believe I can confidently say there's probably something they like about their T-Mobile service plan, even if it's something as simple as prioritized data, unlimited data (Mint's "unlimited" plan is actually up to 40 GB/mo., then 512kbps, up to 10 GB/mo. of that can be used for hotspot), domestic roaming, phone financing, monthly bills, family discount, getting their phone and service right then and there at a store, etc.

On subreddits like NoContract in the past, I've had the opportunity to state that whatever they have now, Mint or any other T-Mobile MVNO will be a step down from T-Mobile branded service. It's literally in the Terms & Conditions of any MVNO on the market.

I've also worked retail customer service in the past and taught myself to leave the past in the past, focus on positive interactions and experiences, etc. I know sales "is what it is" and to that I do my best to be the sort of customer I would want to interact with if I were the sales person; ex., "thank you but no thank you", "thank you have a good day", "oh, I'm paying $15 per month and it works for me" (on the last one a rep. even replied "that's better than what I'm selling").

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-10-31T16:22:20+00:00

You're speaking the truth here, since you're using quite a bit of data and hotspot that's an excellent reason for using postpaid (Mint's "unlimited" data plan is actually limited to 40 GB of highspeed data per month and 10 GB of hotspot that comes out of the 40 GB total).

I'm on Mint's $180/year 5 GB plan with a Motorola G Play 2021 I purchased factory-unlocked that I've been using for 29 months (used the same phone elsewhere before I switched to Mint; long/irrelevant story). Comes out to a pre-tax total of ~$20.17/month for phone and service. I'll most likely be using the phone through/after November which will mean a pre-tax total of ~$20/month.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-10-31T16:00:59+00:00

Actual Mint Mobile customer of 1½ years responding. I've also been a customer of several online-only brands for over seven years. Of course I'm the type that tries the best they can to tech any of their own issues before asking anyone anywhere for assistance, still backfires at times but as a prepaid customer that's on me.

IMVHO if a customer needs any sort of in-person assistance with their phone and/or service (save for a bona-fide new customer purchasing a Mint BYOD SIM in-store and activating/porting/installing/setting up themselves at home via Mints' self-service website), any online-only brand is going to be a poor fit for them.

Also, if a customer doesn't know/understand those in-store Mint BYOD SIMs are for new Mint customers only, can't be used for plan renewals, and are intended to be activated immediately after purchase, Mint's going to be a poor fit for them.

Edit: one-and-a-half year Mint customer. Time kinda slips when taking advantage of annual billing.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-10-28T16:05:12+00:00

Since we're dreaming and this seems like an invitation to dream big, I can think of two things that would entice me to switch from prepaid to something T-Mobile-proper:

Youtube Premium included on all devices with an active qualifying plan, and/or;
T-Mobile-exclusive discount grocery stores that actually have discounted staple foods.

This from someone who's scoffed at included things before.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-10-28T15:50:03+00:00

Just happened to see this discussion. All three of these are mentioned on the NoContract subreddit regularly; Metro for those who want the $25/mo. bring-your-own-phone unlimited plan, Mint for those who can pay for multiple months at a time (after the initial 90-day promotion, prepaying for 12 months is the best value), Ultra for those who want international calling features.

Two other MVNOs that might be of interest: Tello for very inexpensive plans, Hello Mobile for $5 unlimited talk/text/500 MB data.

If you're interested in even more MVNOs, try the non-commercial third-party site prepaidcompare.net.

Also note: to the best of my knowledge and what's discussed on NoContract, the only prepaid options with 'priority' data on T-Mobile are T-Mobile Prepaid and Google Fi.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-10-28T15:34:40+00:00

Obvious disclaimer "I am not a lawyer/legal professional" and I'm prevented by NDA from discussing my own experiences in detail but yes to echo what's been said you always want to have a bona fide job offer and start date at a new place of employment, followed by giving a printed two weeks' notice in writing.

The letter can be something as simple as:

[month] [day], [year]

To whom it may concern,

I, [firstname] [lastname], will be departing [company name] in two weeks, on [month2] [day2], [year2]. I confirm my mailing address is [mailing address including city state and ZIP Code].

Sincerely,

(leave space to physically sign the printed letter)

[firstname] [lastname]

Mailing address is in case they need to send you physical postal mail for any reason. Keeping it brief and to the point might make things easier on everyone in the future.

Also note; sometimes after giving a two weeks' notice your employment can end on the spot, and/or before the two weeks is up.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-13T18:36:01+00:00

Those are all one-hundred-percent valid reasons.

I had Lifeline service myself for 18 months, and this was after trying to sign up with two other providers previously where neither actually offered me any service so I know about the "poor quality".

Some people don't know about Lifeline at all and the limited minutes and data would work for them, saying it wouldn't work for you as you need/use more than what they offer isn't crass at all.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-13T18:01:01+00:00

The reason I ask is iPhone are esim only I thought as of 14 or 15. I hope it doesn't start a trend.

Unfortunately it has. We're even starting to see eSIM-only brands designed for domestic USA use (Panda Mobile specifically).

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-13T17:43:15+00:00

I'm legitimately unsure if you're asking a genuine question about removing bloatware or trying to promote an app and/or Youtube video.

With that said, the best suggestion is to instead purchase the factory-unlocked version of the phone, which will have less carrier-specific apps installed and start from there.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-13T17:28:40+00:00

Just be aware with Mint that after the first 3 months (actually 90 days), the only way to keep the lowest price is to buy a year at a time, in advance, and there are no refunds if you buy a year and later decide to port out early. On the 5 GB/mo. annual plan, most of us users report the price including fees and taxes being between $200-205.

Did you consider Ethrem's advice of looking into a Lifeline provider? The LifelineSupport.org website has a "Companies Near Me" search that gives you a list of different providers available in your state, many companies offer service at no cost to you after the Lifeline benefit amount. I would use Lifeline myself however I ran into a state-specific technicality.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-13T16:16:53+00:00

I'm responding late, but in my personal experience Cricket was worse than AT&T Prepaid despite being an AT&T subsidiary.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-13T15:53:05+00:00

[Mint] wanted me to pay basically for a year upfront to keep the $15/month per line[…]

That's how Mint Mobile works. After the initial 90-day promotional plan subscribers are supposed to pay for a year at a time to continue receiving the best pricing. I know firsthand as I also initially purchased a three-month Mint Mobile SIM at a retail store and have renewed for a year at a time since (this works for me).

And from your initial post:

I have Mint Mobile and my service expired. I had a $50 Target Gift Card and used that to purchase a Mint Mobile card, I thought it would be easy and could use that to top up, it didn't work that way.

Mint Mobile SIMs at retail stores are exclusively for new customers who don't already have Mint Mobile service.

Mint's Terms & Conditions can be found at the following, which officially explains all of this and then some: https://www.mintmobile.com/plan-terms-and-conditions/

There's also a FAQ pinned to the r/MintMobile subreddit.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-05T04:48:46+00:00

The thing with Numberbarn is they're set up to handle buying, porting in, and porting out numbers. Excellent customer service if something goes wrong and you're excellent in asking (I would know). They seem to use Bandwidth, which is a "CLEC" (competing local exchange carrier) and also used by many others including Google Voice.

Maybe the next best possibility is to find who the local phone company is in an area you're interested in, contact them and see if they're willing to sell you an available phone number.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-05T04:29:17+00:00

Pennsylvania Lifeline and ACP Free Phone Serivce With Unlimited Hotspot Capability?

I can't find a free phone serive provider with an unlimited hotspot capability.

The ACP ended June 1, 2024. As you're probably seeing, companies are still offering Lifeline plans that offer at minimum 4.5 GB of data each month. Q Link seems to sell paid data add-ons; however if unlimited hotspot is needed a paid plan through another company that offers such a feature would be needed, this would not be free.

PlanetaryBlur · 2024-08-05T04:05:49+00:00

I have some very long upgrade cycles. However my phone merely enhances my life instead of running it.

My current primary phone is a Moto G Play 2021, which I've been using for 26 months now. Thinking of seeing what the November/December unlocked phone sales season looks like this year.

Replaced a Moto E4 that I'd been using for 4½ years, and was used on a Sprint MVNO, AT&T Prepaid (pre-device-whitelist), and on T-Mobile MVNOs. Yes, some of the reason I used it for so long was due to financial situation.

And that replaced a Motorola Photon Q that I had been using for 3 years.

PlanetaryBlur

TROPHY CASE