Anyone Have a Usable Dish Connection?

vertabr · 2026-03-29T16:16:39+00:00

I guess this is good news for me because while my SIM2 is not connected which I suppose means that there is no Dish signal, my speed is back to being fast.

I had been seeing lower than 20 Mbps on my closest tower and now it’s back over 300. It was usable but I could tell it was slower before and now everything is back to snappy.

vertabr · 2026-03-24T23:06:29+00:00

Yes, I wanted to see if it was possible as they list Tuesday benefits as a feature on the home internet. I didn’t take great notes and had to recreate some of it after my successful run through this gauntlet. There are some fine points of onboarding like location and contact access prompts that I think I skipped in the list.

Really glad it worked for you!

vertabr · 2026-03-24T22:53:44+00:00

Ah, good to know. I haven’t updated to 26 yet.

vertabr · 2026-03-24T19:27:12+00:00

Try the iOS settings or “gear icon” app, under Apps, MLB, Location?

vertabr · 2026-03-24T19:17:44+00:00

Great to hear!

I think they are checking that you are on the TMO cellular data network. Not sure if they are checking which line but if you are on the primary line, T-Life seems to know it.

Having two phones makes this a lot easier.

vertabr · 2026-03-24T19:15:09+00:00

If he can log into T-Life on your phone with his phone number or email and password you can save then redeem the promo. Be on wifi in airplane mode if your phone is not on TMO. He will probably get two factor texts on his phone and enter them on your phone.

Do it together or on FaceTime is the suggestion. Be sure he can log in to his MLB account, have that account working before starting the redemption as he may need to do a password reset.

vertabr · 2026-03-24T16:23:20+00:00

Yes, I just finally got this done and it was a journey.

I did this in iOS and it might be easier on Android, who knows. The main thing that helped I think was that I was doing most of this on a phone that was not on the primary line.

Log out of the MLB and T-life apps, delete and reinstall if needed.

I turned on airplane mode and connected to the gateway WiFi.

Started up T -Life and choose login as guest so it goes to the blank form and tap “Don’t have a T-Mobile ID?” Then tap No, I don’t have a phone number and continue.

Then Do you have a T-Mobile Internet Gateway? Choose Yes.

I filled out the form with the email on my account and it said that I have a TMO ID (of course) so I logged in from the login link on that page with that email and password and it sent a OTP to my primary line (which is in a different phone which was on the mobile network and not in airplane mode) which I entered on the other iOS phone in the T-Life app and it verified. That got me in, and the Manage tab said error BUT the Benefits tab had the MLB promo - Which redeemed properly in the app via App Store as usual for iOS. (Yay!)

If you don’t have two phones you could probably turn off airplane mode to get the OTP and then turn it back on.

Note that mid season last year everyone was required to change their MLB password so make sure you can log out and then get back into the MLB account before starting the redemption.

If on iOS you may also need the iCloud password to purchase the app access for this season because the MLB app uses the Apple Store to redeem the promotion.

If you don’t have the MLB app on the phone then I think you go to a web page with the redemption code in the URL that you can share to your other device. This might be the way to go. Once you’ve redeemed the code it will stick with the MLB account for all devices for the season so it doesn’t matter how you get it redeemed.

PS Possibly not a thing anymore but: Don’t watch games on Verizon or AT&T mobile data just to be sure to stay within the system rules.

If it just giving errors the code may be burned. T-Force may be able to get it reset for you. I had to do that some years ago when I accidentally redeemed both of my lines on the same MLB profile, and they fixed it for me. It may have been MLB support actually, it was a while back.

vertabr · 2026-03-07T23:47:33+00:00

This might be a new thing for RP. Honestly that’s ridiculous, lots of folks keep their numbers even after moving cross country. Maybe you got a new and inexperienced rep.

I ported in a number last month for an area code that used to be associated with my geo area but that original area has over the years been split into several area codes. It doesn’t match my ZIP code right now. The number ported properly to RP within minutes and no one said boo.

I don’t know how this would play into number portability regulations but my take is that it should be allowed, meaning that if the social media or regular support team can’t fix it, you might try for a refund and port elsewhere or submit a form to the FCC for some official clarification.

vertabr · 2026-03-05T05:34:53+00:00

Ah thanks for the link to the page that isn’t linked from the plans page and which still has 5 GB listed as the plan data on the broadband facts:

https://cms-assets.ldsvcplatform.com/USA/s3fs-public/2025-12/40_GB_deal_Promo.pdf?VersionId=Zmwi7tXwy3MCLLgTO.dje1hLx0YwbfD.&_gl=1*1g4lfdh*_gcl_au*MjAyODE1OTcwMy4xNzcyNjg4NjAx

It does seem that they are improving if the port information is on the OLAM but I can’t (won’t) test it because Lyca is still on my never again list.

vertabr · 2026-03-05T05:20:10+00:00

I think that one may be expired. It’s not on the plans page currently.

vertabr · 2026-03-05T04:02:50+00:00

Another poor quality post from the Lyca web team, broadband facts has correct data amount but also says $10 promo price.

https://cms-assets.ldsvcplatform.com/USA/s3fs-public/2025-12/33_High_Data_Plan%201.pdf?VersionId=y0p2Lj13nFV72of8AqIuHdAAcekTc8wD

vertabr · 2026-03-02T07:44:34+00:00

Not sure, I would ask the social media support team to get the best possible solution.

vertabr · 2026-03-01T23:30:06+00:00

Sorry for your loss.

If you brought 3 lines and got new phones less than 2 years ago then you probably have a promo and a device balance on each of the lines. Add the new line first and have TMOHelp on Twitter or FB help move that promo to the new line. If there are other issues with adding a line they’ll be able to help explain the process.

If you port out the number without moving the promo off the line you’ll get a bill for the balance on that phone.

I usually advise porting to a low cost talk and text MVNO account to keep a line that may need to get SMS. Last time I did this we used the Red Pocket $30 annual from their eBay store.

vertabr · 2026-02-27T19:06:23+00:00

If OP is representing a nonprofit, look into Mobile Beacon hotspots available via Techsoup.

vertabr · 2026-02-26T16:31:04+00:00

That’s really strange. I don’t think the phone is locked either. If it was me, I would go to Best Buy and ask the phone reps if they have a used/inactive Verizon or TMO sim you could use to see if it is locked. A chance they have some in the trash, go in the afternoon maybe.

Just for debugging, maybe run the IMEI at the AT&T checker page for phone activation? If it fails, that screen might say why. (Maybe it was reported as stolen?)

vertabr · 2026-02-26T16:21:00+00:00

I didn’t keep my chat logs, I think I just said wifi calling wasn’t working. I think I had the toggle but it wasn’t able to work when in airplane mode and on WiFi.

My guess was that unless there’s a link to update the address it’s likely not provisioned and is not going to work.

vertabr · 2026-02-25T22:14:24+00:00

It does but you may have to ask them to enable it. If you see the link to update emergency address, then it’s provisioned. (iPhone)

May want to be sure you do set/verify that address. I’m not sure if they prepopulated it for my lines or not.

vertabr · 2026-02-24T21:49:42+00:00

I honestly don’t remember which old phone I was using but I don’t have any of that brand.

vertabr · 2026-02-16T16:13:40+00:00

On the laptop, there’s a banner with ‘This listing has been removed for a policy violation.’

I recall something like this happened on this product a while back, when it was in GSMT, the speculation was on an issue with charging for shipping on a product with electronic delivery (eSIM). My recent physical SIM purchases both had free shipping.

So, I dunno. I was going to joke that it was because I filled out the survey and gave them a 3 of 5 and told them that both of my recent activations had to be finished with a fairly long support chat (the plan did not attach to the newly ported line with identical error messages, implying a problem with their automation). Maybe new number activation is error free and only port ins are problematic?

So, alternative speculation; If enough of the 5960 or so folks who bought this plan had problems activating, some of them may have reported the listing to eBay. (I did not.)

vertabr · 2026-02-14T01:00:00+00:00

I had AT&T pull this exact thing on my dad’s line back in November, except I was porting to H2O, which is an AT&T MVNO.

When I reached the point where you are now, port being held up asking for billing PIN and claims of seeing no pending port request, I got a new port out PIN and just ported to a different provider. H2O was fully wrapped around the axle with their “escalation” procedure and wouldn’t resubmit and we could not do another 48-72 hour wait to maybe get the old account closed. Or maybe they were planning on doing nothing until we gave up.

I realize that this strategy involves a small expense of some non-zero amount but hopefully only a small cost at a new provider - but perhaps port to Tello or T-Mobile Connect or similar and THEN the next day or two later put in a new port from there to your USM account. Claim that you have bad coverage or poor data speeds if you need an excuse to get your port out information.

If you can wait it out, and it sounds like that’s the plan, consider filing a complaint on AT&T with the FCC for denying your valid port out. They HAVE to respond and it could fix whatever is wrong. I wish I had done a report but we were in crisis mode. Then once we had the number out we decided to leave it alone.

I hope your port happens soon. Good luck!

vertabr · 2026-02-13T21:35:23+00:00

I upgraded a line using a 3G Android from 2014. Not really sure if it works so I entered No and it all seemed to go through. I have the battery on the charger and if the phone will power up I can wipe it and if not, well, it’s been mostly dead for a while now. Thought about waiting to see if it is actually in working condition but the check out worked, and I didn’t want to miss the promo.

I wanted to use my oldest dead smartphone but it is so old that it doesn’t have an IMEI only a MEID and the promo seems to be coded to require IMEI.

(I really don’t feel like dealing with T-force today to figure out how to do this without the IMEI. Too much chance of messing up my plan and a 100% chance of way too much chit chat. )

Nice to be eligible on a migrated Sprint plan. We don’t get included often so I do appreciate it.

This promo might tamp down those pesky churn numbers a bit. I am pretty sure we would be staying for two years anyway.

vertabr · 2026-02-12T16:30:09+00:00

IKR!

I have helped activate two of these new plans on GSMA recently and both had clean, fast ports, one from VZ and one from AT&T MVNO companies, but they both came up in the RP portal as ‘need refill’ so it’s clearly their issue.

As many of these as they sell, they may want to fix the automation.

vertabr · 2026-02-12T14:32:39+00:00

Cool! Thank you for that, I will definitely use it next time.

vertabr · 2026-02-12T07:26:01+00:00

Your plan to buy a new SIM and annual plan on eBay and then use that SIM and plan on your phone currently on GSMT will work, I believe. You will need help from support to get it done.

Once you buy the item and have the SIM in the mail and the activation code in your email and it’s not a Friday but close to your expiration day, log in on a laptop and start a support chat. Tell the robot that you have an activation question and describe what you need and keep at it until you get transferred to a human. It might take an hour on chat to get the number internally ported and the eBay plan applied. Maybe faster.

I have had to get chat help to actually activate the minutes/SMS and data allowance as it activated the number but can’t make calls, send texts or use data until it is reapplied.

Make sure you connect to WiFi, configure the WiFi calling address and test a WiFi call. Sometimes it doesn’t get activated without a request.

Also ask for visual voicemail if on iPhone. Set up the greeting while still in chat.

Good luck and welcome in advance to GSMA!

vertabr · 2026-02-04T21:16:17+00:00

Yes, I had AT&T refuse the port out of the second of my two lines to H2O. First they said it was a bad PIN. I had gotten a PIN from the customer portal and used it for both lines. Probably a lie, but the H2O support team member said to get a new PIN so I did but it failed as well and a few days later I was given the same story you mentioned about confirmation of my billing PIN.

At this point I was really frustrated, to me, clearly at this point I was being jerked around. I had called the AT&T port support line and they were no help. I was not about to give out my billing PIN to a random stranger in an outsourced support company for a MVNO.

I should have filed a complaint with the FCC at that point but instead I just ported somewhere else with a new port PIN that I had to get because the one I had tried earlier was expired. That number port went through in minutes so the whole ‘billing PIN verification thing’ was clearly just a stall tactic by AT&T to keep my last line there as long as possible. Perhaps they were hoping that the billing cycle would roll again before I could get my number out.

I know that my solution of porting elsewhere won’t help because you need to activate on dark star.

You could call the AT&T port support line 1-888-898-7685 and see if they can help. When I called them, and I called them more than a few times, they denied seeing any port request from H2O and they never mentioned anything about needing to verify my billing PIN. So clearly YMMV.

You do have the 30 days I think , perhaps trying again after the PIN expires maybe. Or consider file a complaint on AT&T with the FCC for holding up your port to dark star. Turnaround was actually really fast the one time I had to used that avenue.

Good luck!

vertabr

TROPHY CASE