T-Mobile 55+ Unlimited Data Plans, What?

[GenXguy]

Anyone use Visible? They use Verizon networks and offer reasonable unlimited plans. Haven't switched from Verizon yet.

My sister uses Visible and has had an excellent experience with it after she had to give up Tello Sprint quite a few months back. Also T-Mobile signal there was very bad. But with Visible, she gets a signal at more places than she used to, and it's much faster.

I think she's paying $25/mo total out of pocket. I would get it myself, but I'm getting decent service through Tello on the T-Mobile network for $6/mo with data limits but suits my needs. I'm almost always connected to wifi at home or work when I use data anyway.

 

[CardsFan]

Timely.

We just today switched from ATT to Consumer Cellular. 2 lines, 7GB of shared data, $55/month (plus taxes, if applicable). ATT was about $95/month (including taxes)

Edit to add: And a $10 discount for the first 20 months, so, only $45 month for almost 2 years.

 

[mz44]

My sister uses Visible and has had an excellent experience with it after she had to give up Tello Sprint quite a few months back. Also T-Mobile signal there was very bad. But with Visible, she gets a signal at more places than she used to, and it's much faster.

I think she's paying $25/mo total out of pocket. I would get it myself, but I'm getting decent service through Tello on the T-Mobile network for $6/mo with data limits but suits my needs. I'm almost always connected to wifi at home or work when I use data anyway.

Thanks for the update.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Retired, I don’t know the answer as I don’t even use one g of data per month.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Teacher Terry, what happens on this plan if you were to use all your data up before your renewal date? Is it a hard cut off or can you buy extra data and if so how much.
i couldn't find an answer on their website.

I asked a phone rep this question yesterday, and they said you could upgrade for the rest of the period to the next tier plan ($25 for 6 GB of data) but you'd only have to pay the difference between the 2 plans ($10).

They also confirmed it's a hard cut off. I don't know whether you'd get an advance warning when you're getting close.

You can switch the plan yourself online, but of course if you don't have wifi access and you're out of data minutes I guess you'd have to call them.

This is all YMMV based on how the phone rep said it'd work.


I was asking all this for my 2 boys who need to pick a new plan. Myself and DW have the old 55+ plan, but since we get Netflix separately anyway we're changing to the Magenta 55+ ( only $10 more and Netflix is included for one user). The hotspot capability is better with the Magenta plan and the data plan isn't throttled during peak periods (or so they promise).

 

[folivier]

On most phones you can set a data limit warning so you should know when you're approaching that limit. Your cell provider will probably send out a notice also, Redpocket does.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I guess we got a pretty good deal with our Grandfathered $60 for 2 lines including Tax with unlimited everything, Now Includes 5G Canada and Mexico calling/data both ways is a pretty good deal we want to hang on to.

 

[a60dan]

This is the ad that sucked me in a few years back. It's hilarious
https://youtu.be/bMtAagKW_q4

We have the retired Unlimited 55+ plan for $60 (2 lines) tax inclusive. Later added my father's line for the same $30/month for the 3rd line.

Today I think their best value is the Magenta 55+. The hotspot is 5 GB of high speed data. Ours is slower speed.

I've never looked back since leaving Sprint and now have T-Mobile home internet for $50/month too.

If you want only calling & texting, I think that's $20/line.

We can use our phones just like in the US in Mexico & Canada, and dropped our landline a long time ago.

The best part is if I call during the day, I get real human beings in the USA with the "Team of Experts".

John Legere hit many of the wireless "pain points" before he moved on.

 

[Jeb-NY]

Sounds like lots of options offered, here is one more. I started switching phones and devices over to US Mobile. Doing it over time incase I'm missing something but so far no red flags. The trick is sign up for their Pool plan, which can be just one phone. You pay $9/phone or device like iPad with cellular. That is for unlimited text and talk. You then you add data of $2/GB that is shared over the whole pool, all devices have hotspot enabled. You can add data from your phone or their website as needed. You can pause device and keep the number and the price goes to $2.50/month. This is nice for us because we have an extra phone for long trips that we can use for navigation and entertainment without tying up one of our regular phones. Also gives a hot spot that is left plugged into the car.

They use Verizon's network in our area and I think ATT when that is the best fit.

I have had 2 cell phones with them for several months now with no problems and will eventually move two more cell phones and 2 iPads.

Service is via their web page and chat or 800 number. Typical service reps where English is there 3rd or 4th language but they seem to get problems solved eventually.

 

[ecoulso]

Cell phone

If you have Spectrum internet for your house, they have a $15 monthly cell rate that gives unlimited call/text, 1G of data but you can get unlimited data for $45 monthly…..either one is a great deal “if you have Spectrum internet in the house…..FYI….

 

[The Flush]

Still have Cricket with 4 lines unlimited for $100.

I have 5 Cricket lines for $100. It is a perfect plan for our family.

 

[rodi]

We're on the 55+ 2 lines for $60. Times 2. Hubby has one of our offspring on his plan, I have the other. At ages 19 and 21, I'm fine with covering their cell phone usage.

It has less international roaming than the Magenta plan - but I just add roaming for the dates we're in Europe. Did that for younger son when he was doing the eurail/hostel month last summer. Cheaper than switching the whole plan over.

We share netflix as a family through netflix, vs through t-mobile. The whole sharing password stuff might bite us on that though... In which case the kids will get kicked off our netflix.

 

[Ginger15]

There’s a Magenta plan 55+ for two lines for $70. That doesn’t seem to bad to me. It even includes basic Netflix.

Also free MLB season streaming. All games. I’m very happy with TMobile. I’ve had it for 17 years.

 

[camfused]

...During my research I found US Mobile...

Thanks for the tip. I looked at what they have to offer and I am impressed. Please report back here once you have tried it. It looks like a good deal for my family.

We currently have 4 lines on Cricket for $100 all in. Coverage on the AT&T network is just fine in our area, but when we travel, it is less than Verizon's network, so US Mobile Super LTE (Verizon) would be better for us. It seems to check all my boxes: Verizon network, wifi calling, visual voicemail, VoLTE, and even 10GB international roaming data included. I rarely "need" a hotspot, but that can be added for $10. The perks (Disney, HBO, Apple TV, Spotify, Audible, etc) (2 included) seem like a nice bonus too.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Thanks for the tip. I looked at what they have to offer and I am impressed. Please report back here once you have tried it. It looks like a good deal for my family.

Four lines on US Mobile with unlimited data (up to 75 GB before deprioritization kicks in) would run you the same $100 per month, tax is included in that price.

I got the SIM cards from US Mobile and inserted the Super LTE version (Verizon network) in my old Pixel 2XL phone this morning. The activation instructions were easy and I had a phone number assigned within 3 minutes. I could make calls but could not text message at this time. The activation process completed in 16 minutes whereupon I was able to receive and send phone calls and texts.

Last week using my old Pixel 2XL I did some internet connection speed tests using a WiFi connection. These tests were done in my home office, the WiFi router is in the same room. As you can see I was getting speeds from 80 Mbps to 85 Mbps.

At various times today and in various spots in my house I did some speed tests with my 2XL with WiFi turned off and using the US Mobile 4G connection. Wow. It's faster than my WiFi connection. I was getting anywhere from 109 Mbps to 129 Mbps. This is fantastic considering you need only 5Mbps to watch 1080p video without buffering.

I think I'm going to see if I can stick the US Mobile SIM card into my Pixel 5a since my 5a has 5G capability and then run speed tests in 5G. According to YouTube videos some guys were getting over 2Gbps download speeds with US Mobile on Verizon 5G network and with no data deprioritization.

So far I'm really impressed with US Mobile. I'm going to carry the 2XL around with me and do speed tests at various areas in the Mpls./St. Paul area just to see what kind of connection speeds I get.

 

[target2019]

During my research I found US Mobile. It offers a plethora of calling plans and all are super inexpensive. You can go on either Verizon or T-Mobile networks. Their unlimited text, unlimited calling, unlimited data plan is $45/month, dropping down in price as you add lines, eventually getting to $25 a month for a family of four.

They don't do data deprioritization on Verizon 5G plans. You are treated the same as if you were a Verizon customer when it comes to data speeds during high volume use.

They don't have a data speed cap.

They stream video at up to 4K resolution.

They have chat, email, and 800# phone support.

I ended up signing up with US Mobile and my free SIM card should arrive in a couple of days. I'm going to put the SIM card in my old, inactive Pixel 2XL phone (I will get a new phone number.) I will do side-by-side comparisons with my Pixel 5a phone on Verizon and my wife's Pixel 2XL, also on Verizon. I have 14 days free trial period. If I like US Mobile I will get my Pixel 5a on their network (keeping my current phone number), drop my Pixel 2XL, and get my wife and two sons signed up on it. Or maybe my sons will go their own separate way on cell phone service.

Right now I'm paying Verizon $174 a month for our four lines and only getting 10 GB of data. If US Mobile works for us we could be getting unlimited data on 5G for only $100 a month.

We have a Verizon shared plan like yours, and it had four lines with 10GB shared for $154 per month. That included a 20% discount on the first line. We found that as time went on daughter's line was using close to 10 GB. Lol, what ya gonna do...

After marriage she went on his plan (smart kid), and our bill shrunk to $128 for three lines. And we're finding that 10 GB data is way more than we need. It's just surprising how different a monthly bill for the same service can be. I can see why Verizon and AT&T have declining markets in a modern world. They are hugh stupid beasts in a forest, and don't understand the food chain.

The tempting U.S. Mobile offer is unlimited everything for $25 per line for three phones, with free international calling. Have to see if that really includes free calling from Europe, or just free calling from U.S.

Thanks for the tip. Looks promising. With taxes and fees I'm estimating the total bill for three lines to be less than $100 per month.

 

[rwdflynavy]

I pay $124.82 with Verizon for 4 lines unlimited data. Just picked up an Iphone 13 for $100 out of pocket after trade in.

No complaints here.

 

[camfused]

target2019, you should look at the us mobile pooled plans too. You could share maybe 5gb and would be pretty cheap, cheaper than the unlimited plans.

Also, the international roaming is for data, not calling, but you can just make FaceTime audio calls while out if the country, and use the data that way.

 

[target2019]

target2019, you should look at the us mobile pooled plans too. You could share maybe 5gb and would be pretty cheap, cheaper than the unlimited plans.

Also, the international roaming is for data, not calling, but you can just make FaceTime audio calls while out if the country, and use the data that way.

No FB in this family of security consultants. We use WhatsApp, lol, bought by FB.

Anyways, data would be fine. I'm trying to understand how to put a U.S. telephone number into a phone that is in another country. Long story, of course. Looking into what eSIM's do, and how would things work.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

A friend just went with mint Mobile (Uses T-Mobile Network), he likes the $15 pm plan (Paid Annually) and does not mind taking second priority to regular T-Mobile customers. It works fine for him. He pays 1/2 x what we pay on our + 55 plan. But compared to his old OTT AT&T plan, he is laughing all the way to the bank.

I have been happy with what we have, although the only real difference is we get free roaming in Canada and Mexico......., that we do not use very often.

 

[Qs Laptop]

target2019, you should look at the us mobile pooled plans too. You could share maybe 5gb and would be pretty cheap, cheaper than the unlimited plans.

Indeed. If I were to match my Verizon plan of $174 a month (4 lines, 10GB data) at US Mobile with 4 lines 10GB data, the cost would be $57.92 a month, tax included. That savings is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[GTFan]

Timely.

We just today switched from ATT to Consumer Cellular. 2 lines, 7GB of shared data, $55/month (plus taxes, if applicable). ATT was about $95/month (including taxes)

Edit to add: And a $10 discount for the first 20 months, so, only $45 month for almost 2 years.

Red Pocket on AT&T network would be $15/mo. per line w/3GB, $18/mo. for 8GB via ebay sellers. No extra fees if you buy cards on ebay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/124919866341?var=425996710044&hash=item1d15cde3e5:g:zsEAAOSwsZ9hT6HC

 

[Qs Laptop]

If anyone is interested, here is more data for US Mobile 4G vs. Verizon 5G. Tests were done in four different locations over two days. Look at the time stamps to differentiate when the locations changed.

 

[camfused]

^^^ Ok, but why are you comparing 4G vs 5G, when USM has 5G too?

BTW, I got my SIM cards for USM, so will do the port for 4 lines from Cricket in a day or so.

Also, just saw that new Unlimited plans (possibly with lower caps than 75GB, and with hotspots included) are coming out in the next couple weeks. And, free international calling (to "everywhere") will be coming out maybe in 3Q this year. All this according to the CEO of USM.

 

[tulak]

I think the speed differences are negligible. As long as you’re consistently over a couple Mbps, the most important part is reliable connectivity (and low latency). If you need quicker speeds, find a wifi hotspot.

I’ve been pro-T-Mobile for a long time, but USM looks like a solid competitor. I’d be curious to hear more people’s opinions regarding their service, especially for international roaming. If they work well for all their advertised services, then I’d consider leaving T-Mobile.