On Android phones, apps are downloaded from Google Play. It's a website and also an app preinstalled on Android phones. A valid Gmail/Google address has to have been entered on the phone during setup before it can be used. If you can't access your existing gmail/Google account and can't recover it, set up a new account and try to sign into that using the Gmail app on the phone. You may need to use a Wifi connection to proceed. If it stumbles and keeps reverting to your old, inaccessible account, you may need to do a "factory reset", which will erase everything and start the phone from scratch as if new, and at that point will ask for a gmail account. Enter the new one and the new password. Be sure to write these down somewhere for future reference.

Once you've got that stabilized, you'll find there's a free Yahoo app you can download from Google Play. The setup routine (asking for Yahoo mail username and password) will begin when you launch the downloaded app. The difference is, since Android is Google's world, you need a Gmail account that needs to be validated before the system will let you proceed. Yahoo is just another website like any other with no ties to the system itself.

The vast majority of people find they have no need at all for anti-adware, antivirus programs and especially not Malwarebytes for their mobile phones, if that's what you're referring to doing. Don't bother.

Metro PCS is owned by T-Mobile (in turn owned by Deutsche Telecom) and uses its network. Straight Talk is owned by Tracfone, which in turn is owned by Mexican based America Movil. I don't know about Straight Talk but Tracfone piggybacks on all four - Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T_Mobile. Which it uses depends on the location and the phone model. If you're seeing a better signal, unless the old phone was a poor one, the change is more likely because you're connecting to a different network that has better coverage in your location(s).

If you want to know what network your new phone is connecting to, go to this site and enter the phone number

Carrier Lookup

Elmer, has some good advice - listen. I find ads of mobile pretty frustrating too, sometimes it seems that sites spend more time loading ads than they do content. Unfortunately that's the price of "free."

AdBlock Plus, the folks who provide the excellent ad blocking extensions for desktop browsers also make their own browser for mobile. It's an actual browser, not an extension, based on Firefox I think. You can get more information here along with a link that will take you to the Google Play Store. It works great but to me seems a little slow.

Thank you both very much. Yes, I did Straight Talk because I found out about the multiple brand towers. Now wonderful connection.Right now I can only answer this because Houzz/GW is on my gmail which came in on old phone -two days left on plan. I can read what comes in from a forum but not access gmail itself. As I have hundreds of ,saved to Idea Book, as I will be building a MCM house soon and am saving pictures. I am in such disbelief regarding the lies Metropcs has told me over the past 9 months, especially. Everything from 'your phone is bad- buy this phone, it's your house because it is a brick house, to changing settings, to needing to change my Texas number to Florida '. Lie after lie. Even had one metro store put his email on my Google email without my knowledge and then go to his home in Pakistan for two months.Scarey. Again thank you

MetroPCS, was what's a called a "mobile virtual network operator" which is a fancy way of saying it just rented space from the big, national carriers. It's kind of like the difference between renting and owning a home. When you rent and the roof leaks, it's the property owner's problem. Same thing with "virtual" phone companies - somebody else owns the cell tower and takes care of it. A few years back T-Mobile bought MetroPCS and now AT&T owns Cricket and Sprint owns Boost and Virgin Mobile all in a effort to capture more of the market.

All of the virtual operators served the pre-paid market, which again is much like the difference between renting and owning. In the pre-paid market, you pay in advance just like when renting an apartment. It makes it easier for people with mediocre credit to get a cell phone.

Personally I use AT&T's GoPhone service, because I wanted a Google Nexus phone and the ability to easily switch carriers if was displeased with service. As it turns out, I've been happy with AT&T and never needed to switch. I pay about $44 per month (after a $5 autopay discount and including taxes/fees) for 8 GB of data which is plenty for me. Technically data is unlimited but speeds drop to 2G after the 8 gigs. I can also tether to my computer if necessary.

I've had friends tell me how they've spent a hour or two setting new phones or service. It took about 10 minutes at the AT&T store to get my phone up and running. No extra "activation" or "upgrade fees," just pick phone number, pop-in SIM, pay, thanks and have a nice day.

T-Mobile (MetroPCS) has never been known for great coverage, especially outside of major urban areas and I bet if you looked at their coverage map, you would find your home is in an area of poor coverage. Coverage is different for every carrier and, say, an AT&T customer can have great coverage at one location, while Verizon may not. A couple of miles down the road, things could completely reverse. That's just one of the limitations of cellular technology.

Coverage is different for every carrier and, say, an AT&T customer can have great coverage at one location, while Verizon may not. A couple of miles down the road, things could completely reverse. That's just one of the limitations of cellular technology.

Mike, I think this has more to do with the density and location of cell towers and not technology. It's true that AT&T and Verizon use different technologies (GSM vs CDMA) but again, you can be sure that the location and placement of the transmitters take into consideration any performance differences.

It sounds like you have a great deal that works well for you.

I'm a long time Verizon customer, >25 years with it and its predecessors.

Some 10 years ago when iPhone was released, you may recall that AT&T was the exclusive carrier at first. Its network at that time was sub-par and iPhone user complaints and pressure from Apple led to a major build-out effort to add transmitter sites to improve coverage and speeds. I remember for some years before then, I had a regular Verizon phone and an AT&T Blackberry (smartphone, data and phone). The areas I spent the majority of my time (SF Bay Area and SoCal) have lots of hills and valleys but it wouldn't be unusual to have a strong signal on my Verizon phone and no signal at all on the Blackberry. Even in the middle of a urban area.

Verizon is still my main carrier but I also have a Tracfone that operates on AT&T. While the AT&T network is today much enhanced and very competitive with everyone else's, I still find it sometimes lacking in signal strength and coverage areas compared to what I see on my Verizon phone.

For those in areas that have solid AT&T coverage, then it's no issue, of course.

Elmer,

I had service with Bell Atlantic Mobile, the predecessor to Verizon, for a number of years and then moved to an area that was also served by AT&T. Long story short, Verizon wasn't interested in matching AT&T's price so I changed carriers. I've been happy with AT&T overall. Certainly it's not perfect and a casual comparison with Verizon users over the years is that Verizon probably offers a more "dense" network but frankly I don't use a cell phone enough that the lack of coverage has ever been a big problem. Today, I have an LTE connection probably 97% of the places I go. Is that connection faster or more robust than, say, Verizon? Dunno.

I could certainly switch to Verizon or a regular AT&T account but it would cost more and I'm not convinced I'd be getting any more for my money. Well, I'd be getting more data but since I wouldn't be using the data...

Mike, I didn't intend my comment to be critical of you at all. Sorry if it sounded like it. As I said, it seems you've found the perfect solution that works for you.

I was only sharing my own experience with AT&T and I know that experiences with any of the carriers varies from place to place. In my area, Verizon has long been the leader in coverage and signal strength. Even and especially back in the analog signal days. But using them comes at a cost - their pricing has also long been at the top and they usually aren't competitive with the deals or packages the others offer.

Elmer, I didn't take it as criticism. I just wanted to you to understand where I was coming from. As I said, maybe things are better on Verizon but just haven't had a compelling reason to switch. I bought an unlocked phone to give me that very option with a minimum of hassle. Now the Nexus doesn't work on Verizon but that still leaves T-Mobile and Sprint. Heck, I can use all three if I want to. <lol>