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Save $ on cell service -- Ting Mobile / Solavei (+ other MVNOs) (1 Viewer)

saintfool said:
you must have a grandfathered plan. their current plan options are $140 for 4 lines, which is great with an unlimited. i'm just not going to need unlimited. 8 gb plan shared is just fine and we'd save a bundle. 
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10 months old or so... I was solo and prepaid for several years before that (hence my ignorance of line charges)

 
Verizon does the line charge thing so they can advertise prices in the ballpark of T-Mobile and Sprint while still charging the most.  The plan is something like $80 for 6 GB of data with unlimited calls and texts, but then it costs $40 to add your phone to the plan, and $40 to add your girl's phone to the plan, coming out to $160.  If it was just you, that plan would run $120, which is insanely high.

In terms of price with the big 4, lately Sprint is the cheapest, then T-Mobile, then AT&T, then Verizon.  In terms of coverage, it's really dependent upon where you live.  T-Mobile is great here in DC, Sprint not so much, so I'm currently on T-Mobile.

Outside of the big 4 are a ton of different options if you're looking to save a buck or two.

 
Hi guys.  Thinking about moving from Boost to Straight Talk AT&T.  I would be buying a new phone off of eBay and my question is how do I keep my old number?  The new phone would have a SIM card and my Boost phone doesn't.  Do I choose my phone number when I activate the new phone and SIM?  I'm a bit confused.

 
So I went in to Sprint today to switch the kids over to the everything unlimited plan and get the five of us back on the same plan.  What a rip off.

Basically, no discount on phones anymore, even with a contract.  Lease the phone? Pay hundreds to lease it, then have nothing at the end of the lease. 

Sign up for two year contract? Get a discounted phone, but then pay $25 per month access line (so $800 over the two years on top of the $100-350 up front cost of the discounted price you pay.

No contract, pay full retail for the phone.

Briefly looked at the other carriers and it's all the same thing.  I thought Sprint was the winner with their new plan, but then they hit you with the access charge.  What's the best option assuming you need new phones? 

 
zed2283 said:
Hi guys.  Thinking about moving from Boost to Straight Talk AT&T.  I would be buying a new phone off of eBay and my question is how do I keep my old number?  The new phone would have a SIM card and my Boost phone doesn't.  Do I choose my phone number when I activate the new phone and SIM?  I'm a bit confused.
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Hey Zed,

I've been doing a bunch of research this weekend on all the different plans.  Boost looked like the best for my needs.  What are your reasons for wanting to move to Straight Talk?

Anyone else have first hand reviews of Boost?

 
Bull Dozier said:
all the same thing.  I thought Sprint was the winner with their new plan, but then they hit you with the access charge.  What's the best option assuming you need new phones? 
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These days a decent phone isn't that expensive.  Moto G Play on sale at Amazon right now for 99/129.  Other deals abound.

 
Bull Dozier said:
Hey Zed,

I've been doing a bunch of research this weekend on all the different plans.  Boost looked like the best for my needs.  What are your reasons for wanting to move to Straight Talk?

Anyone else have first hand reviews of Boost?
Click to expand...
I'm leaving Boost because the coverage is bad for me.  I almost never have more than 2 or 3 bars.  Back when I had AT&T my coverage was great.  So I'm switching to an AT&T phone on Straight Talk.  Unfortunately it will be $10/month more, but I was ready for a change.

ETA: Customer service for Boost is the worst ever, although I only ever needed it a couple of times.

 
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Bull Dozier said:
So I went in to Sprint today to switch the kids over to the everything unlimited plan and get the five of us back on the same plan.  What a rip off.

Basically, no discount on phones anymore, even with a contract.  Lease the phone? Pay hundreds to lease it, then have nothing at the end of the lease. 

Sign up for two year contract? Get a discounted phone, but then pay $25 per month access line (so $800 over the two years on top of the $100-350 up front cost of the discounted price you pay.

No contract, pay full retail for the phone.

Briefly looked at the other carriers and it's all the same thing.  I thought Sprint was the winner with their new plan, but then they hit you with the access charge.  What's the best option assuming you need new phones? 
Click to expand...
To illustrate a little further, I compared plans among Verizon, ATT, Sprint, and T-Mobile.  I went with five new phones (for illustrative purposes, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, Edge, two iPhone 6s).  Unlimited data (or 20gig neighborhood for those that didn't offer unlimited).  Amortizing the cost of the phone over 24 months all plans were within $10 of each other.  If you have coverage issues, or need some specific feature one offers, there might be a reason to choose one over the others.  Otherwise, the main carriers appear to be all exactly the same as far as family share plans go.  Some definitely start cheaper for a single line.  Others are more expensive for one line, but then the subsequent lines are cheaper.

 
Bull Dozier said:
So I went in to Sprint today to switch the kids over to the everything unlimited plan and get the five of us back on the same plan.  What a rip off.

Basically, no discount on phones anymore, even with a contract.  Lease the phone? Pay hundreds to lease it, then have nothing at the end of the lease. 

Sign up for two year contract? Get a discounted phone, but then pay $25 per month access line (so $800 over the two years on top of the $100-350 up front cost of the discounted price you pay.

No contract, pay full retail for the phone.

Briefly looked at the other carriers and it's all the same thing.  I thought Sprint was the winner with their new plan, but then they hit you with the access charge.  What's the best option assuming you need new phones? 
Click to expand...
This may not seem like a serious answer but it is:

Buy cheaper phones.

The difference between the bleeding edge phone that costs $800+ and the modern mid-range phone that is $350 is incredibly minimal at this point.  In fact, the ONLY reason the high end phones are sold at $800+ price points is because the manufactures kept charging more and more since the carriers kept subsidizing them for people in exchange for contracts.  Now that we are essentially post contract, they've maintained that high pricing model.  But they're simply not worth it.  Buy cheaper phones this round and the high end flagship phones will fall back to a reasonablish $600-650 range pretty quick.  IF people do that though.

I can easily afford a phone that expensive but I won't be buying one that expensive.

 
I bought a new AT&T compatible S5 to use on Straight Talk for $200 on eBay.  That will replace the $200 S3 I bought 2 years ago to use on Boost.  Definitely worth the savings for me to have a little "older" technology.

 
(HULK) said:
This may not seem like a serious answer but it is:

Buy cheaper phones.

The difference between the bleeding edge phone that costs $800+ and the modern mid-range phone that is $350 is incredibly minimal at this point.  In fact, the ONLY reason the high end phones are sold at $800+ price points is because the manufactures kept charging more and more since the carriers kept subsidizing them for people in exchange for contracts.  Now that we are essentially post contract, they've maintained that high pricing model.  But they're simply not worth it.  Buy cheaper phones this round and the high end flagship phones will fall back to a reasonablish $600-650 range pretty quick.  IF people do that though.

I can easily afford a phone that expensive but I won't be buying one that expensive.
Click to expand...
Yep, I get what you are saying.  Without contract discounts, this is the only reasonable thing to do.  My Note4 still works perfectly well.  19, 15, and 13 year old kids don't need flagship phones.  The only one that really needs a new one is my wife who has a some version of the iPhone 5, but it is only 8GB, so she is constantly running out of space.  I'll probably break down and get her the 7 plus because one of her main uses is it as a camera, and she's drooling over the new camera.

Now back to researching unlocked phones for the kids.  I know earlier in this thread there were recommendations, but that was some time ago so I am guessing that is now outdated.  What are the best phones in the ~$100, ~$150, and ~$200 ranges?

 
(HULK) said:
This may not seem like a serious answer but it is:

Buy cheaper phones.

The difference between the bleeding edge phone that costs $800+ and the modern mid-range phone that is $350 is incredibly minimal at this point.  In fact, the ONLY reason the high end phones are sold at $800+ price points is because the manufactures kept charging more and more since the carriers kept subsidizing them for people in exchange for contracts.  Now that we are essentially post contract, they've maintained that high pricing model.  But they're simply not worth it.  Buy cheaper phones this round and the high end flagship phones will fall back to a reasonablish $600-650 range pretty quick.  IF people do that though.

I can easily afford a phone that expensive but I won't be buying one that expensive.
Click to expand...
Swappa.com is a really good site for getting a phone 1-2 generations back.  They really vet their sellers well.  We recently bought an iPhone 5s for our daughter, and it showed up with a damaged camera.  New one shipped immediately along with a return mailer for the first one.

 
Bull Dozier said:
Yep, I get what you are saying.  Without contract discounts, this is the only reasonable thing to do.  My Note4 still works perfectly well.  19, 15, and 13 year old kids don't need flagship phones.  The only one that really needs a new one is my wife who has a some version of the iPhone 5, but it is only 8GB, so she is constantly running out of space.  I'll probably break down and get her the 7 plus because one of her main uses is it as a camera, and she's drooling over the new camera.

Now back to researching unlocked phones for the kids.  I know earlier in this thread there were recommendations, but that was some time ago so I am guessing that is now outdated.  What are the best phones in the ~$100, ~$150, and ~$200 ranges?
Click to expand...
See my note above about Swappa.  You can pick up a 5s 32GB for about $250, if she wants to stay with Apple. Or go with a newer model or an Android.

 
(HULK) said:
Moto G (I think it's 4th generation now), is very decent for a low price.
Click to expand...
you can get the Amazon ad-supported version for a crazy low price now too.

Moto X Pure Edition (2015) on sale at Best Buy for ~$250 right now.  That is still pretty much a flagship phone at this point.

There are a few different ZenFone 3 versions... I think they start @ about $150

The New LeEco Le S3 is (was?) $150 and it brand new.  I think it is $250 during non-flash sales.

 
Bull Dozier said:
Yep, I get what you are saying.  Without contract discounts, this is the only reasonable thing to do.  My Note4 still works perfectly well.  19, 15, and 13 year old kids don't need flagship phones.  The only one that really needs a new one is my wife who has a some version of the iPhone 5, but it is only 8GB, so she is constantly running out of space.  I'll probably break down and get her the 7 plus because one of her main uses is it as a camera, and she's drooling over the new camera.

Now back to researching unlocked phones for the kids.  I know earlier in this thread there were recommendations, but that was some time ago so I am guessing that is now outdated.  What are the best phones in the ~$100, ~$150, and ~$200 ranges?
Click to expand...
In the past, Black Friday has been pretty good for phone deals. Its only a few weeks away, so perhaps worth waiting for.

 
Jaysus said:
Psst.... you were still paying "full price" (or more) for the phone with that contract ;)
Click to expand...
Yes and no.  Were you paying full price?  Yes.  But look at what Sprint does now.  I can get still get a 24 month contract and get a brand new iPhone 7 Plus for only $319!  However, if I do the 24 month contract you now have to pay an extra $25 per month for the phone to access their network (amounting to $600).  So in the end I'm paying $919 for a phone you can just buy for $770. 

Maybe in the old days, you paid over retail for the phone.  But, the difference was you could walk into the different carriers and find out relatively quickly what you had to pay today, and each month for your contract.  Now you have to figure out the various different hidden fees each carrier isn't telling you.  Maybe you paid full price in the past, but now you pay a premium.

Just Sprint itself, if you pick the iPhone 7 Plus, you get four different payment options (lease, 24 month contract, full price at 24 payments, full price up front).  It looks like an apple to apple comparison until you learn some of those payment options require the additional monthly access fee and some do not).

 
Bull Dozier said:
So I went in to Sprint today to switch the kids over to the everything unlimited plan and get the five of us back on the same plan.  What a rip off.

Basically, no discount on phones anymore, even with a contract.  Lease the phone? Pay hundreds to lease it, then have nothing at the end of the lease. 

Sign up for two year contract? Get a discounted phone, but then pay $25 per month access line (so $800 over the two years on top of the $100-350 up front cost of the discounted price you pay.

No contract, pay full retail for the phone.

Briefly looked at the other carriers and it's all the same thing.  I thought Sprint was the winner with their new plan, but then they hit you with the access charge.  What's the best option assuming you need new phones? 




 
Click to expand...
We switched from VZW to Sprint last month. Two lines with 8 GB shared data. $80 total.

 
dorno said:
If you are using At&t or T-mobile I'd totally recommend the Oneplus 3 for the adults and the Moto G's for the kiddos. Best bang for your bucks all around.
Click to expand...
Oneplus 3T is supposedly coming in less than a week FYI.

If the rumors are correct, it's probably my next phone.

 
Jaysus said:
Mine too!
Click to expand...
Same here, my N5 is showing its age with battery life and ####ty multitasking.  If the 3T gets the updated processor (seems to be a certainty) and I read something about maybe a beefed up battery and an improved camera sensor, and it comes with their version of Nougat out of the box, then I don't know a reason to not get it.

 
saintfool said:
i have this now. it's a superb mid-tier phone but especially at its price. very happy with it.
Click to expand...
[SIZE=10pt]I got my daughter one of the Amazon Moto phones it was $100[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The only issue she has had with the phone is she isn’t getting pictures in text messages.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I’m sure that has more to do with me not setting the phone up than it is an issue with the phone.[/SIZE]

 
Yenrub said:
[SIZE=10pt]I got my daughter one of the Amazon Moto phones it was $100[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The only issue she has had with the phone is she isn’t getting pictures in text messages.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I’m sure that has more to do with me not setting the phone up than it is an issue with the phone.[/SIZE]




 
Click to expand...
I had a problem with getting texts at LTE data speed. I had to switch to 3G to get them. I troubleshooted with Sprint for like 2 weeks (which was great, honestly) and we determined it was a device issue. I replaced the phone for free and haven't had those issues return. Very happy with the Moto G4.

 
(HULK) said:
Moto G (I think it's 4th generation now), is very decent for a low price.
Click to expand...
Just when I think I have something figured out, I find something out that screws me up.  Was planning on going with Boost, and getting the kids the Moto G.  Then I look at the Motorolla website, and it says their phones don't work with Sprint/Boost.

Yet, when I look to buy from Amazon, I get conflicting information.  This page says the phone is fully compatible with Sprint (check out the table)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DZJFSZ4/ref=twister_B01G7U1RY4?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

So which is it?  Anyone have a Moto G on Sprint or Boost?

 
Bull Dozier said:
(HULK) said:
Moto G (I think it's 4th generation now), is very decent for a low price.
Click to expand...
Just when I think I have something figured out, I find something out that screws me up.  Was planning on going with Boost, and getting the kids the Moto G.  Then I look at the Motorolla website, and it says their phones don't work with Sprint/Boost.

Yet, when I look to buy from Amazon, I get conflicting information.  This page says the phone is fully compatible with Sprint (check out the table)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DZJFSZ4/ref=twister_B01G7U1RY4?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

So which is it?  Anyone have a Moto G on Sprint or Boost?
Click to expand...
Everything I'm seeing says the Moto G will work on Sprint/Boost (since Boost uses Sprint's towers).  This phone should work on any network (I think).

Boost even has the Moto G on their website: https://www.boostmobile.com/shop/phones/moto-g-preowned/

From the Motorola website: https://www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-g

Bands (by model)

Moto G—XT1625
CDMA (850, 1900 MHz)
GSM / GPRS / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
UMTS / HSPA+ (850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 MHz)
4G LTE (B1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 41)
Band coverage varies by model, country, and carrier.


Carrier Tested


Moto G is unlocked and confirmed to work on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Consumer Cellular. Moto G is also compatible with most U.S. carriers but please contact your service provider for details.

 
Bull Dozier said:
Just when I think I have something figured out, I find something out that screws me up.  Was planning on going with Boost, and getting the kids the Moto G.  Then I look at the Motorolla website, and it says their phones don't work with Sprint/Boost.

Yet, when I look to buy from Amazon, I get conflicting information.  This page says the phone is fully compatible with Sprint (check out the table)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DZJFSZ4/ref=twister_B01G7U1RY4?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

So which is it?  Anyone have a Moto G on Sprint or Boost?




 
Click to expand...
I have the Moto G4 on Sprint. Works perfectly well. It's a good to great device for the price. 

 
So whats a good Verizon MVNO option with at least 5GB of data? Or should I check out the Verizon pre paid plans?

 
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saintfool said:
Cricket, which is one of theirs I think, is offering 8 GB for $45.
Click to expand...
Cricket is AT&T and caps data download speeds at 8 MB/s, which is basically HSPA speed.  So, you're using LTE technology, just really slowly.

The price is low if you don't care about the speed.

 
I DO care about speed...turns out the GF already has a 5GB Verizon plan for $50.

My AT&T GoPhone prepaid $60 plan just added 2GB, so Im now at 8GB for $60/month (and has rollover data). Im super happy with that.

 
Anyone successfully port a phone number from Ting to Boost or Sprint?  Sprint is telling me it is not possible unless I route the number through a different carrier first (ie Metro PCS).  I routed a number from Sprint to Ting, so I don't get why the reverse is not possible.

I think I'm planning on moving from Ting to Boost since we use more data, but if the kids all have to lose their number it will be an annoyance.  I've read some forums and Ting makes it sound like a piece of cake, but some have said they never got it to work.  Changing devices, so I would think that should help, but curious to hear from anyone with experience.

 
Greetings [HULK],

I've outgrown my Google Nexus 5 and I'm wondering if you could advise me on a new unlocked phone. Something with better battery life. Better speakers would be nice, but that's not my primary concern. Thoughts?

 
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