MoT's WDF

I am seeking more lifestyle advice. I have a smart phone but I don't use it much, so I have a voice-only prepaid plan that works out to ~$4 per month (PayGo by UltraMobile, a T-Mobile spin-off). I am considering going mainstream and getting a plan. One idea is that making the leap would precipitate a lifestyle change, where I actually start using the thing. And it would be cool if my caller ID didn't say "Wireless Caller" when I called people -- prepaid folks are stuck with being Wireless Caller. And maybe I only complain about distracted drivers because I'm jealous, lol.

I would be grateful for any advice y'all can offer. Thanks!

We're on an old T-Mobile plan that has had various upgrades over the years, so I really can't comment on the value other than to say we have 10 (I think) lines, all with unlimited talk, text and data (and not that slowed down to 2G garbage, either) for ~$300/month.

No, we don't use all 10 lines. Extended family members are on our plan and they chip in their portion of the bill.

If I was looking for a single line plan for me, I would take a serious look at Mint Mobile (http://www.mintmobile.com) or Google Fi. https://fi.google.com/about/

We used Fi for quite a few years and mostly really liked it. Sometimes coverage was an issue, but we lived kinda far out (Preston & Frontier just north of Prosper). We ended up switching to Verizon because my wife often ran into the issue of not being able to use data and voice at the same time. (I believe this is no longer an issued now, though).

If you are conscious of what you use data-wise I think Fi is a good option. The caveat is if you are an iPhone family it may be more difficult/may not work. I haven't read the latest on using an iPhone on Fi, but for a long time you straight up couldn't.

Long-time Google Fi user here. It works well enough for me, but I can’t say I’ve ever tried to use voice and data at the same time. I’ve had a few coverage issues in more rural areas of the western US, most recently when traveling through Utah. Even then, I’d describe it as spotty but not completely unreliable. You can bring a variety of phones to the plan now, including iPhone, but phones built for Fi supposedly work better. The feature that keeps me on Fi is international data at the same price as domestic and immediate connection to local networks for the country. I use around .5GB of data per month and pay $25-30, including taxes.

Xfinity has a plan that works similarly to Fi but maybe a couple bucks cheaper. Worth looking into if they’re also your internet or cable provider.

**Edited because I overestimated my data usage by a lot. Data is $10/GB, billed at the MB level, free after 6GB.**

Sussa wrote:Long-time Google Fi user here. It works well enough for me, but I can’t say I’ve ever tried to use voice and data at the same time. I’ve had a few coverage issues in more rural areas of the western US, most recently when traveling through Utah. Even then, I’d describe it as spotty but not completely unreliable. You can bring a variety of phones to the plan now, including iPhone, but phones built for Fi supposedly work better. The feature that keeps me on Fi is international data at the same price as domestic and immediate connection to local networks for the country. I use around 2GB of data per month and pay $25-30, including taxes.

Xfinity has a plan that works similarly to Fi but maybe a couple bucks cheaper. Worth looking into if they’re also your internet or cable provider.

I had Verizon for like ever. But it was expensive. Since I already had xfinity/comcast for my internet/cable, I switched to them for mobile as well. I pay $12 a month for unlimited calls and texts(including to Canada) and 1GB of data. The nice thing about their plans, is when I go away somewhere, and Wi-Fi is unavailable, I can instantly change my plan to more data or to unlimited for $45 a month. And just for that month. Being able to change via the app is a nice perk I didnt expect. Also, the coverage has been on par with Verizon.

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ManOnTime wrote: ↑Mon Aug 17, 2020 2:40 pm We're on an old T-Mobile plan that has had various upgrades over the years, so I really can't comment on the value other than to say we have 10 (I think) lines, all with unlimited talk, text and data (and not that slowed down to 2G garbage, either) for ~$300/month.

No, we don't use all 10 lines. Extended family members are on our plan and they chip in their portion of the bill.

Sounds like we need a MoT family plan! Random aside, did you notice an uptick in voice and SMS spam since the Sprint merger?

I've used Cricket Wireless for a while. Going back a number of years, I was laser-focused on eliminating debt. Part of that was figuring out how to reduce monthly recurring costs. At that particular time, Cricket was the best deal. The plans have restructured since then. I doubt it's still the absolute cheapest but it's still a very good value. And I've since decided I wanna watch videos and stream music whenever I want so I've upgraded to their top tier, which is $60/month. There are no taxes or fees on top of that. If you set up automatic payment they knock off $5. And when Krogers has 15% off Cricket gift cards I usually buy a few hundred dollars worth to add to my account. So those things bring the "high-speed, unlimited everything" plan down well under $50/month for me. Cricket was eventually taken over by ATT so you basically get ATT service from ATT towers. I've only ever had occasional reception issues driving through Nebraska, Wyoming, and other very remote areas. I've never had any other problems with reception or with the company. Nobody from Cricket bothers me.....ever. I just use an unlocked phone. Like most plans, it gets cheaper as you add more lines. It looks like some of their lower tier plans are still a good value. I'll add a link. Also just googling some stuff now looks like the Mint service MoT mentions is good and cheap. And the Tom's Guide article I'll link below says the new T-Mobile Connect plan with 2GB/month for $15 is the cheapest. Visible is cheap too if you wanna go unlimited.

Cricket plans here

Tom's Guide - Cheapest plans

MAAHHH THE FRENCH! wrote: ↑Tue Aug 18, 2020 5:03 am

ManOnTime wrote: ↑Mon Aug 17, 2020 2:40 pm We're on an old T-Mobile plan that has had various upgrades over the years, so I really can't comment on the value other than to say we have 10 (I think) lines, all with unlimited talk, text and data (and not that slowed down to 2G garbage, either) for ~$300/month.

No, we don't use all 10 lines. Extended family members are on our plan and they chip in their portion of the bill.

Sounds like we need a MoT family plan! Random aside, did you notice an uptick in voice and SMS spam since the Sprint merger?

Maybe another Inner Circle perk?

I haven't noticed any SMS spam but I have had more telemarketing calls than usual.

I used Straight Talk for years, was and is an excellent bargain if you're in a good coverage area. $35 a month for talk/text and 3gb of data, I believe.
We aren't in a terrific coverage area unfortunately, and after we got DSL internet at home I switched to Fi, so we only pay for the data we use (which having unlimited wifi usage at home, tends to not be much). That has averaged about $20-$25 a month- not a huge savings but enough. We're pretty happy with the coverage on Fi as well.

Am thinking about switching to a different provider and came across this thread. Been on Cricket for a few years and have not had problems ($80/month for two lines, unlimited data). Recently I have had issues with pulling up Google Maps but I think that's due to my old phone. I use fairly minimal data (similar to Sussa) and have been thinking about switching to Google Fi (if I downgrade the plan for one of the phones, I'd lose the bundled discount and end up paying more). I live in a major metro area so based on what I have read above, it seems it should be fine....

Also need a new phone...sigh.

pdsf wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 7:06 am Am thinking about switching to a different provider and came across this thread. Been on Cricket for a few years and have not had problems ($80/month for two lines, unlimited data). Recently I have had issues with pulling up Google Maps but I think that's due to my old phone. I use fairly minimal data (similar to Sussa) and have been thinking about switching to Google Fi (if I downgrade the plan for one of the phones, I'd lose the bundled discount and end up paying more). I live in a major metro area so based on what I have read above, it seems it should be fine....

Also need a new phone...sigh.

If we were to switch away from our sweet, sweet grandfathered T-Mobile plan it would be to Google Fi no question.

pdsf wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 7:06 am Am thinking about switching to a different provider and came across this thread. Been on Cricket for a few years and have not had problems ($80/month for two lines, unlimited data). Recently I have had issues with pulling up Google Maps but I think that's due to my old phone. I use fairly minimal data (similar to Sussa) and have been thinking about switching to Google Fi (if I downgrade the plan for one of the phones, I'd lose the bundled discount and end up paying more). I live in a major metro area so based on what I have read above, it seems it should be fine....

Also need a new phone...sigh.

If your location is correct, I've used Google Fi in your major metro area on vacation and don't recall any problems. That was just a few days though.

Thank you [mention]Sussa[/mention] and [mention]ManOnTime[/mention] for your input! I am sorry for the delay in expressing my thanks! Been super busy and pretty much away from the forums. I will look into Google Fi more (while concurrently doing research on a new phone!).