OT – cheap mobile phone plans

[admin]

For the frugal piggington.

I recently switched own cell phone service and all my family to Mint Mobile.
It uses the T-Mobile service and it’s the cheapest for $15/mo. A penny saved is a penny earned!

[spdrun]

T-mobile voice/text only is $15/mo as well if you do autopay. It’s actually very nice not having data as a distraction.

[teaboy]

wow, that makes my fi.google.com coverage at $30/month seem kinda expensive!

tb

[FlyerInHi]

I think I would die without data. But seriously, you need data for business, WhatsApp, etc….

At first I thought that Mint Wireless was too good to be true. But it works very well. And the “menu” is very simple. Each number is its own account so there is nothing complicated with family plans, corporate discounts, etc.

It’s the real deal and the cheapest service out there. It’s faster than AT&T in my neighborhood but slower in my brother’s neighborhood. And it’s faster for my friend in Florida.

[spdrun]

I just talk/text, I don’t use WhatsApp. If I’m not in a place with working Wifi, I probably don’t want to be bothered anyway, and no, I can’t fucking help you. I need a healthy amount of time where I’m off the c(l)ock. Data is just another way for assholes to intrude on your life.

[FlyerInHi]

In the not too distant future, everything will be over data. Talk and text are legacy technologies. You won’t be able to escape it.

It’s now more expensive to have a land line. I can be cheap so I don’t want to pay more for less.

I notice that a lot of young people in apartments only have mobile service. They don’t pay for home internet. So apartments that provide WiFi rent more easily.

[spdrun]

Sure I will. I won’t respond to anything other than personal messages outside of working hours, and will have the minimum of crApp installed on my phone. Or I’ll just leave the phone at home some times.

VoIP “landlines” are actually dirt cheap. Things like Magicjack are $30 per YEAR or so.

[BoomerAang]

Have you looked into Spectrum Mobile or Xfinity Mobile? If you have internet through them it is essentially $14 per gig (spectrum) or $12 (xfinity). Talk and text is free while you keep internet with them. Right now I have 4 lines for $56 including tax to share 4 GB across all lines.

It is also a Verizon MVNO so we get good reception when out and about.

[gzz]

“In the not too distant future, everything will be over data. ”

Despite having a fast cell and wifi both, whatsapp audio and facetime audio usually sound a lot worse and drops more than regular calls.

[FlyerInHi]

So my brothers are telling me that Mint Mobile is working very well for their kids. Since each phone number is a separate account, one no longer needs to the part of a family plan. Kids pay for their own phone service using their own credit cards so they learn thrift and financial management.

[FlyerInHi]

I am on a money saving quest.
Hello Mobile which runs on the Sprint Network has a plan for $10 including 1GB data.
That’s the perfect plan for people who are not out of WiFi range a lot, either at work or home. I am switching my parents to this plan.
https://hellomobile.com/shop/plans

[spdrun]

1GB data can actually go a long way. When I had data, I was generally on a 1 or 2 GB plan and seldom hit the throttling cap.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=gzz]“In the not too distant future, everything will be over data. ”

Despite having a fast cell and wifi both, whatsapp audio and facetime audio usually sound a lot worse and drops more than regular calls.[/quote]

Maybe a phone engineer can explain….. but aren’t voice calls broken in small bits just like data. The audio apps work fine for me. I think they are clearer than calling to a phone number.

Edit:
I did a little more reading and apparently on LTE, it’s all data anyway using a technology called VoLTE.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]1GB data can actually go a long way. When I had data, I was generally on a 1 or 2 GB plan and seldom hit the throttling cap.[/quote]

1GB is low, but 2GB is doable, 3GB is preferable.

Unreal Mobile has a $10/mo 1GB plan with rollover. I think that it would work pretty well for people who work in offices with WiFi. Not for me because I’m out and about all the time.

Update on.Mint Mobile: works fine. .can’t tell the difference over ATT family plan.
On Android, you need to update APN settings for MMS. The service works perfect so no need to pay the brand name carriers.

[spdrun]

0GB is great for privacy and for focus, 1GB is OK, 2GB+ is overkill unless you need to be someone’s servant 24/7/365.

[Author]

Posts