The 2019 cell/smart phone plan thread

We're down to switching to either Consumer Cellular or T-Mobile 55+.

I currently am evaluating RW for a month, using the T-Mo network. So far, I see T-Mo's network to be a bit weaker than AT&T's but not by much. I'm going to continue looking and evaluating. The reason we'd probably go with T-Mo is it is just a little bit more for unlimited over RW's 2GB per phone plan.

Consumer Cellular for 2 lines, 5GB shared has big potential. I checked our usage and we've never used over 4.5GB in the last year. Only 2 months were over 3GB. 2 lines, 5GB lists at $55, expected to be about $60 with fees.
 
TMobile

I’ve had AT&T in the past. My prior boss and I both switched to the TMobile plans a few years ago.
The Good:
Rates. The 55+ or the military programs are both great plans. With all that I have, we are still under $100/mo for three phones. Third one is for my 96 years young mom.
Benefits: I upgraded to the One+ Plan since we still travel about 100 days a year and lots of that is international. The data speed is higher and with our plans, we are unlimited. On Delta, inflight WiFi is included at no charge. The NetFlix deal is good. I upgraded that and my wife uses streaming during dead times on trips. Yes, internationally as well.

Cons: network and coverage.

Where I live, unless the phone is locked into WiFi calling, the signal strength doesn’t allow for reliable calls. AT&T wasn’t any better. Verizon has better network coverage in my area, but that’s it for them.

Overall, if you travel, the TMOBILE plans appear to be the best.
 
One thing to mention about all of this is just how fast everything is changing. That's one reason I started a thread for 2019. I expect eventually this thread will relax and next year, things will be different when someone asks similar questions, probably on a new thread.

I see huge evidence in big simplification by many of the carriers in their plans. They are ejecting a lot of their plan complexity and giving it to the MVNO world. A good example of this is that T-Mobile has given their PayAsYouGo plan to the MVNO Ultra Mobile (and actually sells it in their stores).

It has been a few years since I evaluated and it is like I woke up in a time machine, there have been so many changes.

Next up: 5G madness. I'm guessing this consolidation of plans is just a precursor to their roll out of premium 5G plans. When that happens is anyone's guess.
 
We have T-Mobile too -- it's especially a good deal if you travel internationally. We somehow got a plan with a third line free a few years ago, and free upgrade to One+. Now, I'd suggest the 55+ plan, and probably only the basic. You can turn the Plus option on and off as needed.

Only one person has to be 55+ and the second doesn't have to live with you or even be a relative, so you could put a child or a mother-in-law or your bookie on the other one if you're not partnered.
 
oscar1 said:
We use T-Mobile 55+ for 2 iPhone 8’s and an iPad. $70 all-in for the 3 lines. It took a TMobile call to figure out how to get our iPad added for $10 in addition to each $30 iPhone line but they did it. Unlimited Data/text. We just got back from Europe and discovered the unlimited coverage there is 2G. Added a 15gb 4G option for $50 and that got us normal use with Google Maps, etc. for the entire trip.
Click to expand...

How long was that $50 15GB option good for - a week or a month?
 
I use Straight Talk $45 monthly unlimited. We just have one smart phone in the house and it is a $135 iPhone SE. Hubby has a free flip for $12.99 from Pure Talk.
 
Question for those using Google Fi, have you found the coverage as good as ATT or Verizon? especially in remote areas?
We have an ATT unlimited premium plan which is expensive and are looking to downgrade after this trip. BTW ATT has worked great in Alaska and good in Canada where there was coverage.
 
I'm surprised more people aren't trying Consumer Cellular. I used an AT&T flip phone for years, before going to work for Sprint. My boss wanted me to be available by text, email, or skype at all times, so insisted I get a Smart phone and since at that time it was free for employees, I had no excuse. Over time they began making employees pay at a discounted price. I got upgraded at least bi-annually, if not annually, so always had the latest phone. Being the newest didn't necessarily make them the best and it was expensive to lease or purchase the $300-$800 phones. I had a Samsung 8 when I left Sprint but it had quirks they could not work out, so upon retirement I wanted a phone I could own outright and that I could use for years. I checked all plans &phones with all providers. I wound up buying a Motorola E5 for only $135, from Consumer Cellular. I started with an unlimited plan which cost about what my discounted plan had been with Sprint. But I began to notice that I didn't need that much data now that I wasn't going online that much when I'm not at home or somewhere that I can use wifi (like doctors offices, church, some businesses). So, I whiched to a 250mg data plan and only turn data on when I need to connect from the car or somewhere without public WiFi. I still get unlimited texts and calls. I seldom go over that amount, but if I do, they simply move me to the next level for $5 more. This phone handles everything I want, 3 email accounts, lots of games, any apps I care to download, and quick access to the internet. My monthly charge for service, after taxes and fees, is only about $34/mo. Also, the customer service is exceptional, whether I have questions about my account or about functions of the phone. I love it.
 
I see lots of people posting about the T-Mobile 55+ Plan, so I thought I'd check it out.

At first glance, $70 seems very expensive for two lines. In 6 years with Ting, the most we ever paid was $60, and that's when mobile data use was very high. But it *is* unlimited data, sort-of... All video streaming is 480p SD. Hotspot is limited to 3GB. International is unlimited 2G speed, except Mexico and Canada which is 5GB of 4G data. With all those limitations, plus mostly seniors, I'd be surprised if the average line uses more than the typical 1-2GB of 4G LTE most months. The MVNO market rate for 1-2GB (plus unlimited talk/text) is around half the $35 price.

In-flight Wifi is nice I suppose, but only 1 hour. International coverage is very nice as well, but we would not need that very often. We tend to get by just fine with WiFi only when traveling internationally (plus Google Maps offline mode). Or we buy a cheap local SIM.

And it *is* T-Mobile, which is "OK" coverage-wise, but not as good as Verizon and AT&T in my experience. YMMV. I read that T-Mobile's LTE deployment is now on-par with AT&T. But their 3G deployment is less than half of AT&T, which is why AT&T still tends to have better coverage off the beaten path.

I'm sure this plan would be very beneficial for 55+ people who use a ton of mobile data every month and/or travel extensively internationally. We tend to travel internationally 2-3 weeks per year on average. Our data usage is very high, but mainly WiFi. Recently, mobile data peaks around 3-5GB combined, when traveling by car using lots of Google Maps, Pandora, and other online services via Android Auto.

I'm still leaning toward Red Pocket as a better value for our needs... AT&T, 5GB of 4G LTE, plus unlimited talk/text, for $20/mo. DW can get Verizon, 2GB of 4G LTE, unlimited talk/text, for $19/mo. That's $39/mo (all-in) and plenty of data for our peak travel months.
 
Elizrogers said:
I'm surprised more people aren't trying Consumer Cellular. .... So, I whiched to a 250mg data plan and only turn data on when I need to connect from the car or somewhere without public WiFi. I still get unlimited texts and calls. I seldom go over that amount, but if I do, they simply move me to the next level for $5 more. This phone handles everything I want, 3 email accounts, lots of games, any apps I care to download, and quick access to the internet. My monthly charge for service, after taxes and fees, is only about $34/mo. Also, the customer service is exceptional, whether I have questions about my account or about functions of the phone. I love it.
Click to expand...

I think you mean 250mb, right?

Why would I do that when I get unlimited talk and text and 2GB of data (1GB 4G LTE and 1GB 128mb) for $18/month from airvoicewireless?
 
folivier said:
Question for those using Google Fi, have you found the coverage as good as ATT or Verizon? especially in remote areas?
We have an ATT unlimited premium plan which is expensive and are looking to downgrade after this trip. BTW ATT has worked great in Alaska and good in Canada where there was coverage.
Click to expand...

We just did a road trip to Colorado for a wedding that was in an area where there is no cell service on any carrier. Fi has a feature that connects to known wi-fi networks that are kept in some Google database, so those of us on Fi would occasionally get some coverage from that as we moved around the town; but for the most part our situation was the same as the AT&T users in our extended family -- no coverage. We could text each other or call when we were on wifi in our hotels.

DH and I then drove the long way home via Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon North Rim ... I can say there is still a heck of a lot of wide-open space where we had no cell coverage, but most of the towns were fine once we got out of the mountains of Colorado. I don't have a way to know if AT&T or Verizon would have more coverage in the desert areas, but I don't think they cover the national parks any better because I did see lots of people trying to get a signal or get onto wi-fi pretty much everywhere we stopped.

From a trip earlier this year, I do know Fi had coverage all the way up the sunshine coast in BC, and in Victoria and Vancouver as well. I assume that's via their agreement with a Canadian provider.
 
DW & I switched from AT&T to Consumer Cellular three months ago. It cut our mobile bill in half, for the same two phones with the same data and messaging and calling minutes.

We had LG phones (V20 & V30) and because Consumer Cellular does not sell LGs, they are technically not supported. But the only issue we had is with the visual voice mail app. I got mine to work and DW just went with the online voice mail.

One note: Consumer Cellular has sim cards that are either AT&T network or the T-Mobile Network. We had our AT&T phones unlocked when we left AT&T, so DW went with the T-Mobile network and I went with the AT&T network (that's the only way my visual voice mail app would work). But it is nice we have two different networks, in case one has problems while we are out and about, perhaps the other network will be working.
 
timo2 said:
One note: Consumer Cellular has sim cards that are either AT&T network or the T-Mobile Network. We had our AT&T phones unlocked when we left AT&T, so DW went with the T-Mobile network and I went with the AT&T network (that's the only way my visual voice mail app would work). But it is nice we have two different networks, in case one has problems while we are out and about, perhaps the other network will be working.
Click to expand...
When you signed up, did you call and ask for a specific network? What was the process?
 
JoeWras said:
The web site says $60, so I presume $65 is your "all in" price?

I might consider this if we need to get on the VZW network. Looks hard capped with no throttling, i.e. generally well behaved with no behind the scenes data games. They are a very large MVNO too.
Click to expand...
Sorry for not responding earlier. Yes, that’s what hits my card each month (technically $65.30).

I have had no issues at all with Total Wireless. No dropped calls, and if my data has been throttled, I haven’t noticed it.

I was even pleasantly surprised that they have decent customer service the one time I had to contact them. I mention this because before we went with Total Wireless we tried Cricket. I had an issue porting over one of our phones and had to talk to their tech “support”. The guy wasn’t just unhelpful, he was positively hostile. I cancelled the same day and absorbed a month’s charge rather than enduring another call to try and get a refund.
 
I have not read this thread except the first post. I keep my life simple. The wife has a smart phone and I have an old style flip phone. She enjoys keeping up with kids and friends. I could do without the continual contact with the world. My phone is mainly for contact between me and my wife. She likes to be in touch with kids and friends. I enjoy not being hassled by continual contact. I shake my head when I go out and see people at a table all staring at their phones and not interacting with each other face to face.
 
JoeWras said:
When you signed up, did you call and ask for a specific network? What was the process?
Click to expand...


I did not ask for a specific network, but you could, and if the phone was not unlocked you might have to have the matching SIM card. But because I had unlocked the phones, any network would do, it appears. I did not ask for a network initially, so they sent me the t-mobile network. When my visual voicemail app would not work they said to go over to a store (I went to target) and pick up the AT&T version of their SIM card. [I was reimbursed for that cost]. So that is how we ended up with two phones on different networks. It looks like the voice mail they use is a T-Mobile number, so that might be the better choice, depending upon where you live.


BTW the consumer cellular customer service is very good.
 
Have been on Comcast/Xfinity mobile for about 8 months. Shared data, by the GB, unlimited text & talk, all on Verizon towers. Free connections to all Xfinity hotspots. Caveat is of course you must have Comcast internet, and default voice is via wifi. We pay $52/mo for 75/5 MB internet plus landline. We rarely go over a GB a month with both our phones, so we pay usually $14/mo total. If we are traveling and go to (gasp!) 2Gb, bill goes to $26. Unlimited data is $47, so that is the max bill. Fantastic deal as long as Verizon is strong where you are and you have Comcast anyway. Bonus was we bought both our iPhone Xr’s from them for $750/ea, and each got a $250 prepaid Visa card. Very hard to beat.
 
The 2019 cell/smartphone plan thread

My DH and I have T Mobile 55 plus. Blown away. We love it, solid coverage and lots of extras.
 
Mint Mobile is the best deal I've found and it has worked flawlessly for me traveling to various states. I'm the forever skeptic but no have perfect service at about $16/mo., prepaid for one year. Tried out their 3 month plan, now yearly. Used my own T-Mobile phone. You can always go back or somewhere else if it didn't work out. I
 
Floridatennisplayer said:
I need unlimited data. Streaming Pandora in my car etc.
Click to expand...
Just an aside: streaming Pandora in your car does not equal a need for unlimited data. I had unlimited data on Verizon and one month conducted an (admittedly) unscientific experiment: Just how much data could I use in a month?

I turned off wifi and used only data. In fact, I went out of my way to use data: I streamed music for hours. I streamed movies on my phone. I updated my apps. Etc., etc.

At the end of the month, I’d used 11GBs of data. That is a lot of data, but well within a lot of data plans.

My point being that you should not pay a premium for “unlimited” data unless you know first how much data you are actually consuming.
 
CoolRich59 said:
My point being that you should not pay a premium for “unlimited” data unless you know first how much data you are actually consuming.
Click to expand...
Right. That's why we are drifting to a shared 5GB plan.

We had one month close to 5GB (for both DW and I) when we collectively accidentally turned off Wifi, and we had Google Play allow app updates from anywhere.

Fix those, and even with occasional streaming, we're under 4GB for both of us, usually under 3GB.

I don't watch much video, which probably saves us. I do music stream some. Music is much less intensive than video.

In a nutshell, the people who visit this forum (even our younger members) don't know how to eat data. We are incompetent at it. :) Consult someone under 25, and they'll show you how to chew up 20GB in no time.
 
CoolRich59 said:
Just an aside: streaming Pandora in your car does not equal a need for unlimited data. I had unlimited data on Verizon and one month conducted an (admittedly) unscientific experiment: Just how much data could I use in a month?



I turned off wifi and used only data. In fact, I went out of my way to use data: I streamed music for hours. I streamed movies on my phone. I updated my apps. Etc., etc.



At the end of the month, I’d used 11GBs of data. That is a lot of data, but well within a lot of data plans.



My point being that you should not pay a premium for “unlimited” data unless you know first how much data you are actually consuming.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the data point. Was thinking about streaming music and wondered about impact. Won’t stream much video on the phone. I watch enough tv.

Xfinity claims I watch 250 G monthly at home.
 
Cobra9777 said:
I'm still leaning toward Red Pocket as a better value for our needs... AT&T, 5GB of 4G LTE, plus unlimited talk/text, for $20/mo. DW can get Verizon, 2GB of 4G LTE, unlimited talk/text, for $19/mo. That's $39/mo (all-in) and plenty of data for our peak travel months.
Click to expand...

AT&T Prepaid now offers unlimited talk/text & 8GB/month LTE data for $300/year when you pay in advance (IIRC taxes not included)...unused data rolls over one period.

Biggest advantage (IMHO) is that AT&T Prepaid supports hotspot at no additional charge (many MVNOs don't support hotspot at all or charge you extra)

For those who need more data AT&T Prepaid has a 25GB/month plan for $40/month before taxes (after $10/month auto-pay credit) via a Wal-Mart promo:

https://www.att.com/prepaid/walmart-offer.html
 
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