How-To: Unlimited SMS for T-Mobile users Pt. 2
Our once popular How-To: Hack for unlimited SMS Messaging for T-Mobile was due for a much needed followup post. Much to T-Mobiles dismay, the tutorial spread throughout the blogosphere. Within a few months the “loophole” was closed. As is the UNEASY way, I’ve stumbled across an interesting “glitch” so to speak.
Note: Due to limited resources, I was not able to a conduct a thorough test of the following information. I was however able to conduct two brief tests with two seperate prepaid T-Mobile ToGo sim cards with equal success. Your experiences may vary. This is not a confirmed “loophole” similar to that found in the previous T-Mobile SMS tutorial. It very well may be a “glitch” in the system. Ride it while you can.
Similar to the previous T-Mobile SMS tutorial, this one caters specifically to prepaid customers. More specifically, T-Mobile ToGo Sidekick II“>T-Mobile ToGo Sidekick II users. The prepaid SKII is a decent deal as is. $1 a day for unlimited SMS, Email (3 POP/IMAP accounts plus a @tmail.com account), internet, web based interface for sync’ing contacts / calendar / notes, and AIM (Yahoo! is also available). The downside is the up-front cost of the device. $280 direct from T-Mobile. The smartest route is to use eBay to find a used device and a T-Mobile ToGo prepaid SIM card. Existing prepaid ToGo SIM cards can be converted to a SKII prepaid data plan as long as the balance is under $10.
The SKII prepaid plan works as such: Your SIM card is loaded with a set dollar amount. For example, $25 worth of airtime credit translates into 25 days of unlimited data [read above]. Each day, T-Mobile deducts $1 from your account. This $1 per day grants you access to T-Mobile’s GPRS network for unlimited data usage [read internet access]. Hence, the profit from prepaid SKII users is generated through the $1 a day GPRS access fee. However, SMS or text messages are sent via the standard GSM voice network.
Once your prepaid account balance falls below $1, your unlimited GPRS access is disconnected. This means no internet, no AIM / Yahoo! client, no email, and no browser / calendar sync’ing. There is however one service which continues functioning without costing a single cent. SMS! That’s right. For the past week, I’ve tested – as in used on a daily basis – a depleted prepaid SKII SIM (balance at .02 cents) and managed to send and receive hundreds of text messages to various carries.
There you have it. Unlimited SMS messages on T-Mobile with a depleted prepaid Sidekick II ToGo SIM card. I understand that this is more of a “glitch” than a “loophole”. The $1 a day fee grants prepaid users access to Danger servers. Understand that if you were to continue using a depleted SKII SIM for a period exceeding 60 days without purchasing a refill, T-Mobile / Danger could and would most likely delete your data account. Keep that one little piece of important information in mind. I was a little too impatient to test this “glitch” for 60 days. Maybe one of you have the patience to do so?
Please do not leave a comment requesting instructions to get your normal post-paid or non-prepaid Sidekick II phone configured for unlimited SMS. The loophole was closed. This applies to prepaid Sidekick II users only. Questions concerning the service or device can be left in the comments.
