5 ms·

Final straw for me. Just called and canceled after 15+ years—shockingly, they were loath to actually provide the unlock code to port my number out. Switched to

by adwi 3y ago

Final straw for me. Just called and canceled after 15+ years—shockingly, they were loath to actually provide the unlock code to port my number out. Switched to an MVNO on the same network that’s >50% cheaper.

post_break 3y ago
13 years here, what MVNO did you pick? I'm looking at visible and US cellular.
- LeifCarrotson 3y ago
  9 years (and 2-3 lines) here, moving to Mint. Should have done this a long time ago...
  - ajcoll5 3y ago
    I've got bad news for you. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/business/t-mobile-to-acquire-mint-and-ultra-mobile https://www.t-mobile.com/news/business/t-mobile-to-acquire-m...
    - oluwie 3y ago
      I've been using Mint mobile for over a year and never had a problem with them, even during "peak" times. I expect the $30 a month I pay for unlimited everything is about to drastically change.
  - theogravity 3y ago
    Be aware of data prioritization with MVNOs. Mint uses the T-Mobile network but is one tier below T-mobile subscribers: https://www.reddit.com/r/NoContract/comments/oaophe/data_prioritization_policies_of_the_carriers_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/NoContract/comments/oaophe/data_pri... Lower QCI values are better. > QCI 6 is applied to all of T-Mobile's postpaid and prepaid plans (except for Essentials) and Google Fi which also has QCI 6 as well. This means if you want the absolute best from T-Mobile, you want to get a plan directly from them. Even their cheap $10 prepaid 1GB Connect plan has priority data. QCI 7 is applied to T-Mobile’s Essentials plan as well as all MVNOs (besides Google Fi) such as Mint, Metro By T-Mobile, US Mobile GSM LTE, and Tello.
    - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
      Do voice calls work (it is a "phone", after all)? Will my texts and emails get through with less than 5 minute latency? Will it jump to wifi when I'm at work or home? If so, that's fine. I'm not trying to serve websites with my phone, I'm merely communicating. And I have run out of energy for fighting an increasingly hostile service provider to bring my $130 bill (which used to be less than half that) back down to earth when it could be $15.
- 1-6 3y ago
  I went to Verizon (but they're not an MVNO), T-Mobile is cheap but Verizon is one of those legacy carriers that won't pull quick tricks on you. From time to time, Verizon will try to compete with T-Mobile and offer low priced tiers. Once you get into those, you can grandfather in and wait while the dust settles so you can decide who to move to for the next-generation network. AT&T and Verizon had really sweet deals at the beggining of the year to pull alway some of TMO's customers but now that TMO raised their prices, ATT and VZW also unsweetened their plans. TL;DR - T-Mobile grandfathers but you'll have to call T-Force every time to fight for it. AT&T & Verizon don't hassle their customers.
  - post_break 3y ago
    Verizon literally started charging a fee for people on grandfathered unlimited data plans. They pull tricks all the time.
    - 1-6 3y ago
      Some of these price increases sound reasonable ($2-$3): https://tmo.report/2023/07/exclusive-verizon-is-once-again-implementing-a-price-increase-for-grandfathered-plans/#:~:text=Earlier%20this%20year%2C%20Verizon%20announced,”%20on%20their%20bill%2C%20forever https://tmo.report/2023/07/exclusive-verizon-is-once-again-i.... It’s better than promising free for life and then pulling the plug altogether on the service.
  - afavour 3y ago
    > Verizon is one of those legacy carriers that won't pull quick tricks on you As a Verizon customer, we will have to agree to disagree on this.
- DavidPeiffer 3y ago
  No idea where you're located, but my family has been on US Cellular for about 30 years. In Iowa, they've consistently had the best service available in rural areas.
- afruitpie 3y ago
  Anecdote incoming so take it with a grain of salt. Visible is great, but struggles with moving service between phones. I was told it would take at least a week to move from iPhone to iPhone (both eSIM!). In my experience, US Mobile (not to be confused with US Cellular) is every bit as good as Visible, but has better customer support.

by adwi 3y ago

post_break 3y ago

13 years here, what MVNO did you pick? I'm looking at visible and US cellular.

LeifCarrotson 3y ago
9 years (and 2-3 lines) here, moving to Mint. Should have done this a long time ago...
- ajcoll5 3y ago
  I've got bad news for you. https://www.t-mobile.com/news/business/t-mobile-to-acquire-mint-and-ultra-mobile https://www.t-mobile.com/news/business/t-mobile-to-acquire-m...
  - oluwie 3y ago
    I've been using Mint mobile for over a year and never had a problem with them, even during "peak" times. I expect the $30 a month I pay for unlimited everything is about to drastically change.
- theogravity 3y ago
  Be aware of data prioritization with MVNOs. Mint uses the T-Mobile network but is one tier below T-mobile subscribers: https://www.reddit.com/r/NoContract/comments/oaophe/data_prioritization_policies_of_the_carriers_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/NoContract/comments/oaophe/data_pri... Lower QCI values are better. > QCI 6 is applied to all of T-Mobile's postpaid and prepaid plans (except for Essentials) and Google Fi which also has QCI 6 as well. This means if you want the absolute best from T-Mobile, you want to get a plan directly from them. Even their cheap $10 prepaid 1GB Connect plan has priority data. QCI 7 is applied to T-Mobile’s Essentials plan as well as all MVNOs (besides Google Fi) such as Mint, Metro By T-Mobile, US Mobile GSM LTE, and Tello.
  - LeifCarrotson 3y ago
    Do voice calls work (it is a "phone", after all)? Will my texts and emails get through with less than 5 minute latency? Will it jump to wifi when I'm at work or home? If so, that's fine. I'm not trying to serve websites with my phone, I'm merely communicating. And I have run out of energy for fighting an increasingly hostile service provider to bring my $130 bill (which used to be less than half that) back down to earth when it could be $15.
1-6 3y ago
I went to Verizon (but they're not an MVNO), T-Mobile is cheap but Verizon is one of those legacy carriers that won't pull quick tricks on you. From time to time, Verizon will try to compete with T-Mobile and offer low priced tiers. Once you get into those, you can grandfather in and wait while the dust settles so you can decide who to move to for the next-generation network. AT&T and Verizon had really sweet deals at the beggining of the year to pull alway some of TMO's customers but now that TMO raised their prices, ATT and VZW also unsweetened their plans. TL;DR - T-Mobile grandfathers but you'll have to call T-Force every time to fight for it. AT&T & Verizon don't hassle their customers.
- post_break 3y ago
  Verizon literally started charging a fee for people on grandfathered unlimited data plans. They pull tricks all the time.
  - 1-6 3y ago
    Some of these price increases sound reasonable ($2-$3): https://tmo.report/2023/07/exclusive-verizon-is-once-again-implementing-a-price-increase-for-grandfathered-plans/#:~:text=Earlier%20this%20year%2C%20Verizon%20announced,”%20on%20their%20bill%2C%20forever https://tmo.report/2023/07/exclusive-verizon-is-once-again-i.... It’s better than promising free for life and then pulling the plug altogether on the service.
- afavour 3y ago
  > Verizon is one of those legacy carriers that won't pull quick tricks on you As a Verizon customer, we will have to agree to disagree on this.
DavidPeiffer 3y ago
No idea where you're located, but my family has been on US Cellular for about 30 years. In Iowa, they've consistently had the best service available in rural areas.
afruitpie 3y ago
Anecdote incoming so take it with a grain of salt. Visible is great, but struggles with moving service between phones. I was told it would take at least a week to move from iPhone to iPhone (both eSIM!). In my experience, US Mobile (not to be confused with US Cellular) is every bit as good as Visible, but has better customer support.