Right now I'm on a grandfathered AT&T plan:
2 lines, 20GB of data month (shared) with rollover data, unlimited talk and text. We use around 4GB of data a month. Cost: $130 a month - and I get $25 off through work. So $115 a month. $1380 a year.

I'm thinking of switching to a MVNO like Mint Mobile (which is a T-Mobile MVNO)
Mint mobile Plan:
1 line prepaid for 1 year with Unlimited text, talk and 3GB data a YEAR is $150. (When sales happen) $300 year for both of us.
1 line prepaid for 1 year with Unlimited text, talk and 8GB data a YEAR is $210. (When sales happen) $410 year for both of us.
1 line for 1 year with Unlimited text, talk and unlimited data a YEAR is $360. $720 a year for both of us.

Anyone else use an MVNO for AT&T or Verizon?

I think there's even prepaid options for AT&T directly for $25 a month for 8GB of data, which would be $600 a year, or half off.

Anyone got tips?

Note, my Zip is 92120, and my mother stays in zip 85929 for a few months of the year. (I pay for her phone line - just easier.)

What is going on?

I think they'll force me onto the "new unlimited plans" when I activate my new phone.

So that could raise my rates by $30 a month.

So AT&T prepaid seems like a WAY better deal than normal AT&T if you have 1 or two lines:
https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans/


But MVNO's like Red Rocket, Mont Mobile, Straight Talk offer similar discounts and if you pick correctly you can know if you're on Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T tower.

So $1380 a year now, with a possible raise to $1740 for AT&T seem expensive.

AT&T prepaid would be (depending on plan, but I am assuming the 8GB plan - with rollover) $600 a year (paid upfront.)

Just makes sense to switch.

a few years ago. I wouldn't recommend them.

https://milestomemories.com/sprint-15-unlimited-kickstart-plan/

If I were to ever switch it would probably be to T-mobile, but I don't think I'm gonna switch unless Verizon starts fucking up or jacking up prices.

T Mobile service has been great and they pay $10 of my netflix bill.

Also on a grandfathered, data-capped AT&T plan and using a four year old phone. Trying to start a family plan with four lines that would save me money per month (not to mention the free Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ package).

Best coverage

The lowest Unlimited plan. I pay roughly $140 a month for 2 lines.

Straight Talk from Wal-Mart has a 60GB plan for $55 a month, wouldn't that save liek $250 a year for you if you got 2 lines?

Only thing is roaming might swap to other towers.
https://airtable.com/shrraH105YVJQF2Yr/tblMT9jc52KzViC0K/viw3vZwnI7e9Vi481

But saving $20 or more a month is why I'm thinking of swapping.

Google Fi.
The best thing about Visible is that it uses Verizon's network....it's basically Verizon with no frills....and lackluster customer service. Don't port your number before you give it a spin though!!! They WILL fck up you number lol....
I ultimately left and just went back to Verizon....
Before Visible I was on Google Fi for a year or two...it was ok...but I wanted an iPhone finally so I dropped it. Ultimately their pricing is best for single users I think. Coverage was decent here in the DMV as they use T Mobile.

and Verizon has the best coverage.

I’m under contract right now since we bought iPhones but we tried a discount service before and we couldn’t even call each other in the same house.

Just seems like those other carriers never live up to the hype and it’s a pain going back and forth so I’m good.

Verizon makes you spread out your phone payments the first year regardless so once we pay these phones off the bill goes down to $107.

This post just reminded me to pay off these phones. I paid like 65% when I copped them and spread the rest over payment. Might as well make a bull payment now.

Thanks for this post.

but I've been a t-mobile no contract customer for years

I tried the walmart mvno for a while, and at least one other I can't rememberoff the top of my head

but in my experience (years ago) they speed capped you pretty ridiculously (I couldn't download a 21mb app update because after the first 20mb or whatever it slowed to a crawl) and in crowded areas like downtown or a stadium it seemed like you got put in low priority and couldn't connect

but that was more than five years ago


t-mobile has a normal amount of suckage but is whatever

www.engadgethd.com - the other stuff i'm looking at

https://slickdeals.net/

heres a mint mobile deal 1 year unlimited for $150 and 3gb/mth
https://slickdeals.net/f/14447825-mint-mobile-12-month-3gb-lte-prepaid-sim-card-kit-bestbuy-150

heres another deal 6 months unlimited for $60 and 8gb/mth
https://slickdeals.net/f/14467820-6-months-of-mint-service-for-60

whenever youre searching for a deal on something...you should always start on that site.

Thought about leaving several times, but I have never had a problem with Verizon, they've got a few perks (I had free year of Disney+), largest selection of phones...etc.

I've shopped around, but the few bucks I could knock off by switching wasn't worth the effort.

Right now, for three phones (an iPhone and two RAZRs), unlimited everything, and the Disney/ESPN+/Hulu bindle, I'm paying bout $175

Same here. My phone number is one of the two og numbers when my parents bought GTE cell phones for the first time, which rarely if ever even got used. The number eventually got applied to me when cell phones started becoming more of a thing when I was probably 21ish and I've had the same number since it's inception. My pager in high school was also gte, now Verizon.

Was with Verizon from 2001 until I got my first iPhone in 2010, when they were still exclusively w/AT&T (which is *wild* to think about, in hindsight).

AT&T was great, never had a single issue with them. Good prices, perfect service pretty much no matter where I went, and an unlimited data plan that I had been grandfathered into for a few years as unlimited data was going away around I dunno, 2012 or 2013 or so.

I went through 3 iPhones w/AT&T, at which point I was married and so it was time to think about combining our plans to save a few bucks. She was with Verizon, and between the two they were offering the best plan to switch so we went with them. But I wasn't thrilled about it. By this point all carriers had stopped $200 new iPhone w/2 year contracts, and forcing you to "rent" your phone which is something I loathe on principle. Also, the data was no longer unlimited like it had been w/AT&T since I started with them (which as I noted, wasn't really offered with any carrier at that time for a couple years, so this was just a general complaint about all carriers, not just VZ) so not only was I "renting" a cell phone but I was now forced to incessantly watch my data usage like I'd never had to do before. Which was obnoxious as hell so the overall experience was just brutal from day 1.

Within 3 months I was fed up w/VZ for the reasons mentioned above, and I saw a commercial for T-Mobile where they were offering to pay off your rented phone in full w/your old carrier if you switched, as well as unlimited data/minutes/texts for $120/month for 2 lines (w/Verizon I was renting my phone, with limited data, and paying almost $200/month for our two phones). So one day in a fit of rage (that day the data usage monitor on the VZ app was fucked up for like the 6th time since I'd made the switch, and was saying I was over my limit like 3 days into the month) I went to T-Mobile and made the switch.

T-Mobile was awesome - we were with them for 3ish years and never had a single issue. Additionally, we did a bunch of overseas travel during those 3 years and T-Mobile doesn't charge fees to travel internationally so we didn't have to pay like a $10/day fee like we would have with most other carriers.

Just last week we switched back to Verizon because we were both in desperate need of new phones (after 5ish years with the ones we had) and VZ was offering BOGO for the new iPhone 12 so it ultimately saved us like $900; and the monthly unlimited plans were no difference in price otherwise.

I'm not thrilled to be back w/VZ, they're my least favorite of the 3 carriers I've been with (never tried Sprint) but I couldn't pass up saving almost a grand.

All that said (and I know nothing about how coverage would be in your area; I'm in Boston and never had any service issues with any of the 3 carriers) my best overall experience was with T-Mobile, for whatever that's worth. Super cheap plans always, international travel coverage at no extra charge, "T-Mobile Tuesdays" which is a weekly offering of like a free coffee or some other benefit just for being a customer, I had Hulu free for like 8 months or so, etc. They seem to be the most consumer friendly of the 3 carriers in my experience.

like $45 a month for unlimited everything.

If you travel internationally a lot, it's the best.

Before that I had Verizon. It was okay.

T-mobile had more perks, t-mobile Tuesday and they pay for Netflix. If you live in the city coverage is usually good. If you live in the boonies it is not the best. Not sure if they fixed that.

Although t-mobile Tuesday is not as great anymore... Not like when it first started and they were handing out tmobile stock. Sold my stock for $45.

4 lines with unlimited data (throttled) for $100 flat

can't imagine anything cheaper for a family plan

but their family plan does not work for me.

they slow down your data tremendously after like 10 gbs if I remember correctly and I know my family would obliterate that cap.

I went to Verizon but found their phone costs expensive. T-Mobile paid me to come to them and I have been satisfied ever since. I have 4 phones and 2 tablets...not going to embarrass myself by sharing the bill, though.

but at $25 a line, I live with it.

I'm not on my data like that so it doesn't personally affect me. and my texts and calls are dropped much less than when I was on the more expensive Verizon.

my kids can get their own plan if they are struggling so much :)

before you make some big changes, take a look to see if your job, if you have a job, offers any employee perks.

My current job has a pretty nice discount but I opted not to go for it since the offer was on par with what I had where all the cool extras werent worth the extra 20 bucks a month.