y.st./source/pages/en/weblog/2015/05-May/13.xhtml

<?php
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$xhtml = array(
	'title' => 'The laptop is still dead but at least the mobile is back online',
	'body' => <<<END
<blockquote>
	<p>
		Day 2:
	</p>
	<p>
		First stop of the day, I headed to my credit union to withdraw the cash I would need to buy the MetroPCS tablet.
		while I was waiting in line, I noticed that I had forgotten to bring my container of $a[SIM] cards.
		I didn&apos;t think I would need them for this trip, but I was unhappy to have misplaced them.
		If successful, I was going to need to pretend that I had forgotten my $a[SIM] card at home anyway.
	</p>
	<p>
		I went down to the T-Mobile store, took the plunge, and asked if the representative would be willing to cut a $a[SIM] card from outside T-Mobile.
		I said I understood that it was a lot to ask and it would be completely fine if she could not do it.
		She said that she could cut the $a[SIM] card, but that she also had to ask why I wasn&apos;t on t-mobile.
		I was prepared though.
		The settings I had modified yesterday that had caused the reboot loop had been in preparation to show her my mobile and claim that it was in fact on T-Mobile.
		I claimed that the $a[SIM] card I needed cut was for a secondary cheapie device and showed her my old cricket device.
		The ruse worked, and she questioned me no further.
		I rummaged around in my bag and pockets, showing that I had forgotten to bring the $a[SIM] card with me.
		Next stop, MetroPCS.
	</p>
	<p>
		At the MetroPCS store, I asked a couple last minute questions about the tablet, then said I would buy it.
		A different lady was working there than usual, and it sounded like she was the manager for all the MetroPCS stores in the area.
		She did not once ask me for my $a[ID] and the purchasing seemed to be going off without a hitch.
		However, when she tried to activate the tablet using her computer, she found that the tablet &quot;had history&quot;.
		It seems that someone had bought that tablet in October and had brought it back for a refund.
		Due to the nature of the manufacturer&apos;s warranty, only the first owner of the tablet after sale is covered.
		To get around that, MetroPCS returns these slightly-used tablets to the manufacturer instead of selling them to another customer.
		She had checked inventory before and decided not to bring another tablet into the store because she thought one was already there.
		Having none that were sellable in inventory, she asked if  I would be willing to head to another MetroPCS location to pick up the tablet.
		She took my money and sent me with the paperwork needed to pick up the tablet elsewhere.
		Being a pedestrian, I knew it would be a while before I would have the SIM card in hand and make it back to the T-Mobile store to have it cut.
	</p>
	<p>
		At the second MetroPCS store, I waited in line behind one person, and before finishing helping her, he asked if I was the person coming to pick up the tablet.
		He did not even look at the paperwork at first, but then said that he probably should because his boss would later see the security camera footage and he did not want to get in trouble for not making sure the tablet went to the right person.
		I showed him the paperwork and he asked if I wanted help setting up the tablet.
		I said that I could set it up myself for a few reasons.
		First, he need not waste his time setting up the tablet fully when I don&apos;t plan to use it long.
		Once the $a[SIM] card is activated, there would be no need for me to use the tablet again.
		Second, I fear that the $a[SIM] card would lock itself to the first device it was powered on in.
		If I could get the SIM card cut and installed in my Replicant device without the $a[SIM] card ever entering the tablet, I would stand a better chance of my plan succeeding.
		Third, I did not want to deal with him potentially trying to talk me into getting a Google account.
		People assume that if you have an Android, you have a Google account, but that isn&apos;t necessarily the case.
		Much to my surprise, I found the $a[SIM] card did not need to be cut at all.
		it was already the right size to put in my Replicant device.
		I put the $a[SIM] card in, but the Replicant was not able to access the network or $a[SMS] features.
		I tried the $a[SIM] card in my old Cricket device as well with the same results.
		Thinking the $a[SIM] card might just not be activated, I tried the $a[SIM] card in the new tablet.
		Unfortunately, it worked perfectly.
		I don&apos;t know if the network is programmed to only accept that $a[SIM] card with that tablet serial number or if the network is programmed to only accept that $a[SIM] card with that type of tablet, but the fact remains clear.
		I am NOT able to use the MetroPCS tablet plan on my Replicant.
	</p>
	<p>
		I headed back to the T-Mobile store to once again make a fool of myself.
		I explained that while I understood that I would look strange for this, that my plan had changed.
		I no longer needed a $a[SIM] card cut, but I did need a tablet plan for my non-tablet device, the same device that I had previously shown her was already on T-Mobile.
		She agreed to put me on the prepaid tablet plan, but upon attempting to do so through her computer, she found the option was unavailable.
		She spoke with one of the other representatives, who said that this was not in fact possible.
		The only way to get a tablet plan in store was to go postpaid.
		As a side note, I found out that T-Mobile tablet plans come with unlimited $a[SMS], just like MetroPCS tablet plans.
	</p>
	<p>
		Instead, I headed to Walmart.
		Only two non-carrier stores I know of in my area carry $a[SIM] cards, and I know for a fact Fred Meyer does not carry T-Mobile $a[SIM] cards.
		They carry AT&amp;T $a[SIM] cards, but I would prefer to avoid using the AT&amp;T network.
		AT&amp;T is opposed to net neutrality and is actively fighting against it.
		I would rather not fund them.
		Walmart showed me their T-Mobile tablet plans, but much to my surprise, the \$20 plan was not available.
		Instead, the lowest priced plan was there \$30 plan, with 3 gigabytes of data.
		For the same price, with the same carrier, I can get 5 gigabytes of high speed data, unlimited low speed data, and 100 minutes of talk.
		So instead grabbed the Straight Talk $a[SIM] card, knowing full well that it probably would not work.
		Straight Talk is a joint effort between Walmart and TracFone.
		Track phone is an over-controlling reseller, known for locking their $a[SIM] cards to the first device that uses them, the practice that I had feared MetroPCS might engage in.
		I had no reason to believe that they would not also try to lock their tablet plan into only being used on a tablet.
	</p>
	<p>
		I got the $a[SIM] card home and attempted to use the tablet to activate the $a[SIM] card on the Web.
		I was not going to deal with attempts to modify my plan based on my IP address, so I tried to use the Orweb browser to activate the $a[SIM].
		Unfortunately, the activation website requires the use of JavaScript and Orweb blocks JavaScript.
		Without root access, there is no good way to get the standard Android browser to use a proxy.
		I borrowed my brother&apos;s laptop, downloaded the Tor browser bundle, and set up the $a[SIM] card.
		quite surprisingly, everything worked fine and my mobile now has a functioning tablet plan.
	</p>
	<p>
		The Straight Talk starter kit came with four $a[SIM] cards, two for AT&amp;T and two for T-Mobile.
		One for each network was a nano $a[SIM], the other was both a mini and a micro $a[SIM], depending on how you break the card.
		I chose one of the T-Mobile $a[SIM] cards and now have a functioning T-Mobile tablet plan for only \$15 per month.
		The downside is that I only have one gigabyte of data per month, so I will need to attempt to keep my data usage a bit lower than before.
		I used to go slightly over a gigabyte.
		Due to having an unlimited data plan, I didn&apos;t really need to worry about that.
	</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
	I couldn&apos;t update my <a href="/a/canary.txt">canary</a> today, as I was cut off from my Web/ssh server.
</p>
END
);