Save $ on cell service -- Ting Mobile / Solavei (+ other MVNOs) (4 Viewers)

[Andy Dufresne]

If you want to use Verizon's network, which appears to be the best by you, you actually want to use Verizon itself. Family Share Plan with unlimited talk/text/plus 8GB of shared data is $130 for the first 2 lines, with $40 each additional line. Grand total of $250 and they'll subsidize your new phone purchases.

Where do you see that? The flier I got from Best Buy shows Verizon's Share Everything plan costing $40 per smartphone and $90 for 8gb. Actually it startss at $50 for 1gb then goes $60/2, $70/4, $80/6, $90/7, $100/10.The good news for me is that my line is still on their old unlimited plan - unless I upgrade my phone that is.

 

[(HULK)]

Okay, lets look at this by carrier.If you go on Sprint's network, Ting could do this:5 phones ($30) + 2000 shared minutes ($35) + 6000 shared texts ($14) + 3 GB of shared data (you currently use 2.25GB ($60) = $139 a month + tax.A few notes, texts over 6000 cost 1/4th of a penny. So, if you sent another 4K texts, you'd have an extra charge of $10. Alternatively you could start using google voice to text, which is entirely free (as it goes over wifi or data). This can be harder than it sounds, my wife refuses to do it despite how easy it is. Anyways, this is about the best deal you can find overall. Switching to Ting would require new phones though as the network is CDMA and your phones are GSM. Ting does NOT subsidize phone purchases so you'll be paying full price.If you stay on AT&T's network, you can go with either Straight Talk or Net10. Net10 will throttle your data at 1.5GB on a line (which you won't hit) and Straight Talk is more ambiguous about it, but people report throttling around 2GB of data. So, 5 lines with unlimited talk/text/and data as described above run $225 plus tax. If you find that you're the kind of guy who frequently needs customer service though... you may come to hate these companies. You can bring your existing phones.If you are okay on T-mobile's network, Solavei would be the choice. Each line would have unlimited calls, texts, and 4GB of HSPA+42 data (then throttled to 2G beyond that limit). If you signed up first, then signed up your wife under you, then signed up the other 3 under her, both your line and her line would get a $20 a month discount. So, your and her line would both be $29 a month, and the other 3 would be $49 a month. Grand total is $205 plus tax. If you go this route, let me know as I might be able to get you your SIM cards for free.If you want to use Verizon's network, which appears to be the best by you, you actually want to use Verizon itself. Family Share Plan with unlimited talk/text/plus 8GB of shared data is $130 for the first 2 lines, with $40 each additional line. Grand total of $250 and they'll subsidize your new phone purchases.ETA: Roaming. Ting runs on Sprint and roams on Verizon. Net10 and StraightTalk do not roam, so you just have AT&T. Solavei runs on Tmobile and roams on AT&T. Verizon runs on Verizon (duh) and roams on Sprint. None of these companies charge a fee for roaming if they offer it.ETA2: If you decide on Solavei, please PM me. There are a few things you have to do to ensure that 2 lines get the $20 monthly discount. Like use unique emails for each phone you register.

You, sir, are the Fing MAN! Thanks so much for this! I will be investigating my ETF with AT&T and weigh these options. I may stall a bit waiting for iPhone support too.Now... what you need to do is set up a website that does these comparisons/calculations for people. Not sure how you could monetize it, but I think this would be a huge hit.

Already working on it Ever since I finished up my MBA last fall, I've been looking for a spare time project. I decided this was it a few weeks ago.

 

[Keerock]

Okay, lets look at this by carrier.If you go on Sprint's network, Ting could do this:5 phones ($30) + 2000 shared minutes ($35) + 6000 shared texts ($14) + 3 GB of shared data (you currently use 2.25GB ($60) = $139 a month + tax.A few notes, texts over 6000 cost 1/4th of a penny. So, if you sent another 4K texts, you'd have an extra charge of $10. Alternatively you could start using google voice to text, which is entirely free (as it goes over wifi or data). This can be harder than it sounds, my wife refuses to do it despite how easy it is. Anyways, this is about the best deal you can find overall. Switching to Ting would require new phones though as the network is CDMA and your phones are GSM. Ting does NOT subsidize phone purchases so you'll be paying full price.If you stay on AT&T's network, you can go with either Straight Talk or Net10. Net10 will throttle your data at 1.5GB on a line (which you won't hit) and Straight Talk is more ambiguous about it, but people report throttling around 2GB of data. So, 5 lines with unlimited talk/text/and data as described above run $225 plus tax. If you find that you're the kind of guy who frequently needs customer service though... you may come to hate these companies. You can bring your existing phones.If you are okay on T-mobile's network, Solavei would be the choice. Each line would have unlimited calls, texts, and 4GB of HSPA+42 data (then throttled to 2G beyond that limit). If you signed up first, then signed up your wife under you, then signed up the other 3 under her, both your line and her line would get a $20 a month discount. So, your and her line would both be $29 a month, and the other 3 would be $49 a month. Grand total is $205 plus tax. If you go this route, let me know as I might be able to get you your SIM cards for free.If you want to use Verizon's network, which appears to be the best by you, you actually want to use Verizon itself. Family Share Plan with unlimited talk/text/plus 8GB of shared data is $130 for the first 2 lines, with $40 each additional line. Grand total of $250 and they'll subsidize your new phone purchases.ETA: Roaming. Ting runs on Sprint and roams on Verizon. Net10 and StraightTalk do not roam, so you just have AT&T. Solavei runs on Tmobile and roams on AT&T. Verizon runs on Verizon (duh) and roams on Sprint. None of these companies charge a fee for roaming if they offer it.ETA2: If you decide on Solavei, please PM me. There are a few things you have to do to ensure that 2 lines get the $20 monthly discount. Like use unique emails for each phone you register.

You, sir, are the Fing MAN! Thanks so much for this! I will be investigating my ETF with AT&T and weigh these options. I may stall a bit waiting for iPhone support too.Now... what you need to do is set up a website that does these comparisons/calculations for people. Not sure how you could monetize it, but I think this would be a huge hit.

Already working on it Ever since I finished up my MBA last fall, I've been looking for a spare time project. I decided this was it a few weeks ago.

Awesome! Let me know if you need any help... I'd be happy to lend a hand.

 

[(HULK)]

If you want to use Verizon's network, which appears to be the best by you, you actually want to use Verizon itself. Family Share Plan with unlimited talk/text/plus 8GB of shared data is $130 for the first 2 lines, with $40 each additional line. Grand total of $250 and they'll subsidize your new phone purchases.

Where do you see that? The flier I got from Best Buy shows Verizon's Share Everything plan costing $40 per smartphone and $90 for 8gb. Actually it startss at $50 for 1gb then goes $60/2, $70/4, $80/6, $90/7, $100/10.The good news for me is that my line is still on their old unlimited plan - unless I upgrade my phone that is.

Dude, thanks, you caught an error in my database, I had a free line in there by mistake. I was wondering why Verizon was actually putting up a decent value, lol. Real cost for Kee would be 5 smartphones ($200) plus 4GB data ($70) = $270, which is what he's paying AT&T already.

 

[themeanmachine]

After switching my wife to Ting about 3 weeks ago, so far so good. She was using a basic texting phone on Verizon before, so we didn't have to worry about being able to bring over a specific phone. Got her a Kyocera Rise, primarily because it has a slide-out keyboard, which she wanted. Porting her number was painless - we inadvertently entered some incorrect Verizon account info on the Ting web site, which gave me a chance to call Ting support to try to get it corrected, and they answered on the third ring!

Everything has worked as promised, and Sprint has good coverage at our house and general area. In all, this will save us $20-$25/mo, even if my wife becomes a heavier text and voice user than she was with Verizon. And that's with mobile data, which was not used with her basic feature phone on Verizon. I showed her how to switch mobile data on and off so she only uses it when necessary, and staying under 100MB/mo should be no problem. She's also used to searching for free wi-fi first, as she's been doing that with her Kindle Fire for a while now.

Thanks again HULK, great call on this!

 

[(HULK)]

Alright, I decided to give away free sim cards for Solavei. Anyone who wants to sign up with them, PM me or just click the link in my sig. Thanks.

 

[Wingnut]

Alright, I decided to give away free sim cards for Solavei. Anyone who wants to sign up with them, PM me or just click the link in my sig. Thanks.

PM SentETA: Hold off on the PM request, Hulk, I wont be ready to try Solavei til the end of April.

 

[Wingnut]

This may be the greatest thread in FBG history.

#gamechanger

Between this and the e-cig thread, HULK has two of the greatest threads in FBG history.

 

[(HULK)]

This may be the greatest thread in FBG history.

#gamechanger

Between this and the e-cig thread, HULK has two of the greatest threads in FBG history.

Thanks gents

 

[(HULK)]

FYI, I used the wifi tethering on my Nexus 4 yesterday. Solavei lists hotspotting as "not supported" but it worked fine. It doesn't violate their TOS, so as long as your phone is capable, free hotspotting with their plan too.

 

[Jaysus]

FYI, I used the wifi tethering on my Nexus 4 yesterday. Solavei lists hotspotting as "not supported" but it worked fine. It doesn't violate their TOS, so as long as your phone is capable, free hotspotting with their plan too.

what device did you tether to the Nexus?P.S. I just tested GrooveIP with my (yet to be activated) Nexus 4 on my (slow) home network for a conference call... it was a hit. Looks like the $30 T-mobile plan may very well work for me after all.

 

[(HULK)]

FYI, I used the wifi tethering on my Nexus 4 yesterday. Solavei lists hotspotting as "not supported" but it worked fine. It doesn't violate their TOS, so as long as your phone is capable, free hotspotting with their plan too.

what device did you tether to the Nexus?P.S. I just tested GrooveIP with my (yet to be activated) Nexus 4 on my (slow) home network for a conference call... it was a hit. Looks like the $30 T-mobile plan may very well work for me after all.

Sweet! How was the sound quality? Does it work receiving calls as well?I tethered my ASUS Transformer Prime and it worked great!

 

[Jaysus]

FYI, I used the wifi tethering on my Nexus 4 yesterday. Solavei lists hotspotting as "not supported" but it worked fine. It doesn't violate their TOS, so as long as your phone is capable, free hotspotting with their plan too.

what device did you tether to the Nexus?P.S. I just tested GrooveIP with my (yet to be activated) Nexus 4 on my (slow) home network for a conference call... it was a hit. Looks like the $30 T-mobile plan may very well work for me after all.

Sweet! How was the sound quality? Does it work receiving calls as well?I tethered my ASUS Transformer Prime and it worked great!

I've heard that tethering tablets is different than tethering laptops. Laptops are are on the "no-fly" list apparently.Things on my end sounded perfect. When I did a test call to a coworker, he claimed there was some echo or feedback on his end. I am going to test more in a bit now that I am in the office.I think it can receive calls - I did the absolute minimum setup required though (just entered my Google account, and WA LA, it worked)

 

[(HULK)]

FYI, I used the wifi tethering on my Nexus 4 yesterday. Solavei lists hotspotting as "not supported" but it worked fine. It doesn't violate their TOS, so as long as your phone is capable, free hotspotting with their plan too.

what device did you tether to the Nexus?P.S. I just tested GrooveIP with my (yet to be activated) Nexus 4 on my (slow) home network for a conference call... it was a hit. Looks like the $30 T-mobile plan may very well work for me after all.

Sweet! How was the sound quality? Does it work receiving calls as well?I tethered my ASUS Transformer Prime and it worked great!

I've heard that tethering tablets is different than tethering laptops. Laptops are are on the "no-fly" list apparently.Things on my end sounded perfect. When I did a test call to a coworker, he claimed there was some echo or feedback on his end. I am going to test more in a bit now that I am in the office.I think it can receive calls - I did the absolute minimum setup required though (just entered my Google account, and WA LA, it worked)

Cool, keep us posted!

 

[Polish Hammer]

How many minutes does she talk a month. I suspect Ting will be the best for her as she likes sprint's network and is a light user, but I can confirm it if I know exactly how many minutes she needs.Unfortunately, Ting, Sprint, and Verizon are all CDMA networks and I believe Hungary is gsm. So her phone wouldn't work over there at all. Does she go there for extended periods of time pretty frequently? If so, she might want a gsm phone, which would Erin on T-Mobile's or att's networks here. She could get a Sim card there and swap it to have service abroad.

Just found out she has only used about 200 minutes/month on her current phone. Usage may go up a little, but shouldn't be too significant. Her home zip is 18017, but also spends time in 19464 and 08002. She says she won't use many texts, and I tend to believe her. 1000 should be plenty. She'll likely not go over 500MB-1GB of data as well. So what's her best bet? Also, what phone would be good for her so that I don't have to become her personal IT department any more than I already am?

 

[(HULK)]

How many minutes does she talk a month. I suspect Ting will be the best for her as she likes sprint's network and is a light user, but I can confirm it if I know exactly how many minutes she needs.Unfortunately, Ting, Sprint, and Verizon are all CDMA networks and I believe Hungary is gsm. So her phone wouldn't work over there at all. Does she go there for extended periods of time pretty frequently? If so, she might want a gsm phone, which would Erin on T-Mobile's or att's networks here. She could get a Sim card there and swap it to have service abroad.

Just found out she has only used about 200 minutes/month on her current phone. Usage may go up a little, but shouldn't be too significant. Her home zip is 18017, but also spends time in 19464 and 08002. She says she won't use many texts, and I tend to believe her. 1000 should be plenty. She'll likely not go over 500MB-1GB of data as well. So what's her best bet? Also, what phone would be good for her so that I don't have to become her personal IT department any more than I already am?

Coverage wise, her home zipcode is covered well by all 4. 19464 has bad Sprint coverage though (not sure if that matches up with her experience) and 08002 has bad AT&T coverage.For someone who has never texted or used data, your estimates might be a bit high. 1000 texts from 0? That would be a turn of events. Data is tougher to gauge, depends on how she uses the phone and if she has home wifi.If she stays under 500MB a month (which is likely IMO) then Ting is the best plan, and also will be able to roam on Verizon in 19464 if necessary. 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 500 MB for $33 a month.As for the phone, maybe the HTC Evo LTE? HTC Sense is pretty user friendly and easy to set up.

 

[Polish Hammer]

How many minutes does she talk a month. I suspect Ting will be the best for her as she likes sprint's network and is a light user, but I can confirm it if I know exactly how many minutes she needs.Unfortunately, Ting, Sprint, and Verizon are all CDMA networks and I believe Hungary is gsm. So her phone wouldn't work over there at all. Does she go there for extended periods of time pretty frequently? If so, she might want a gsm phone, which would Erin on T-Mobile's or att's networks here. She could get a Sim card there and swap it to have service abroad.

Just found out she has only used about 200 minutes/month on her current phone. Usage may go up a little, but shouldn't be too significant. Her home zip is 18017, but also spends time in 19464 and 08002. She says she won't use many texts, and I tend to believe her. 1000 should be plenty. She'll likely not go over 500MB-1GB of data as well. So what's her best bet? Also, what phone would be good for her so that I don't have to become her personal IT department any more than I already am?

Coverage wise, her home zipcode is covered well by all 4. 19464 has bad Sprint coverage though (not sure if that matches up with her experience) and 08002 has bad AT&T coverage.For someone who has never texted or used data, your estimates might be a bit high. 1000 texts from 0? That would be a turn of events. Data is tougher to gauge, depends on how she uses the phone and if she has home wifi.If she stays under 500MB a month (which is likely IMO) then Ting is the best plan, and also will be able to roam on Verizon in 19464 if necessary. 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 500 MB for $33 a month.As for the phone, maybe the HTC Evo LTE? HTC Sense is pretty user friendly and easy to set up.

And where does she go to actually buy the phone? From Ting, or another source? Oh, and I totally agree with the not using 1000 texts. I really can't imagine she would ever go that high. I just figured that the cost difference on Ting between that number and the one below it couldn't have been that much so figure on the high side and be pleasantly surprised.

 

[(HULK)]

How many minutes does she talk a month. I suspect Ting will be the best for her as she likes sprint's network and is a light user, but I can confirm it if I know exactly how many minutes she needs.

Unfortunately, Ting, Sprint, and Verizon are all CDMA networks and I believe Hungary is gsm. So her phone wouldn't work over there at all. Does she go there for extended periods of time pretty frequently? If so, she might want a gsm phone, which would Erin on T-Mobile's or att's networks here. She could get a Sim card there and swap it to have service abroad.

Just found out she has only used about 200 minutes/month on her current phone. Usage may go up a little, but shouldn't be too significant. Her home zip is 18017, but also spends time in 19464 and 08002. She says she won't use many texts, and I tend to believe her. 1000 should be plenty. She'll likely not go over 500MB-1GB of data as well. So what's her best bet? Also, what phone would be good for her so that I don't have to become her personal IT department any more than I already am?

Coverage wise, her home zipcode is covered well by all 4. 19464 has bad Sprint coverage though (not sure if that matches up with her experience) and 08002 has bad AT&T coverage.For someone who has never texted or used data, your estimates might be a bit high. 1000 texts from 0? That would be a turn of events. Data is tougher to gauge, depends on how she uses the phone and if she has home wifi.

If she stays under 500MB a month (which is likely IMO) then Ting is the best plan, and also will be able to roam on Verizon in 19464 if necessary. 500 minutes, 1000 texts, and 500 MB for $33 a month.

As for the phone, maybe the HTC Evo LTE? HTC Sense is pretty user friendly and easy to set up.

And where does she go to actually buy the phone? From Ting, or another source? Oh, and I totally agree with the not using 1000 texts. I really can't imagine she would ever go that high. I just figured that the cost difference on Ting between that number and the one below it couldn't have been that much so figure on the high side and be pleasantly surprised.

Well if she can keep it to under 100 texts, she can get the Ting bill down to $31. And if she only uses 100MB or less, the bill drops to $21. Ting only charges you for what you use, so if she comes under your estimates she'll save money. They adjust your plan automatically You can either buy the phones from Ting directly (easiest to activate by far!) or buy a used Sprint device that is Bring Your Own Device eligible. They have a list on their site of which phones are eligible. I've activated both ways, byod is much more complicated, buying from them it is just a few clicks to activate.

Ting Phones

ETA: Reminder, using one of our referral links in post 1 will save you $25 on a device purchase.

 

[(HULK)]

Ting to have the Galaxy S4 at or close to the same time as the major carriers

Still no word on the iPhone other than that they're "working on it".

 

[Wingnut]

Update on Straight Talk: The data coverage is HORRIBLE compared to reg AT&T service. Seems any time Im not inside a city limits, I cant get an internet connection. I always have plenty of bars, but webpages just wont load. Thought I read in this thread something about data and roaming...anyone know about this? Its strange though, when I cant get online, apps like IHeartRadio work just fine.

Ive got another 6 weeks of paid service, then Im gonna try Solavei.

 

[Jaysus]

Update on Straight Talk: The data coverage is HORRIBLE compared to reg AT&T service. Seems any time Im not inside a city limits, I cant get an internet connection. I always have plenty of bars, but webpages just wont load. Thought I read in this thread something about data and roaming...anyone know about this? Its strange though, when I cant get online, apps like IHeartRadio work just fine.Ive got another 6 weeks of paid service, then Im gonna try Solavei.

Solavei allowes data roaming... hulk will confirm, but I do not believe that Straight Talk does.

 

[Brady Marino]

Ting to have the Galaxy S4 at or close to the same time as the major carriers

Still no word on the iPhone other than that they're "working on it".

Any word on porting the S3?

 

[rascal]

Happy with Ting thus far. They've been quick and courteous with service.

 

[(HULK)]

Update on Straight Talk: The data coverage is HORRIBLE compared to reg AT&T service. Seems any time Im not inside a city limits, I cant get an internet connection. I always have plenty of bars, but webpages just wont load. Thought I read in this thread something about data and roaming...anyone know about this? Its strange though, when I cant get online, apps like IHeartRadio work just fine.Ive got another 6 weeks of paid service, then Im gonna try Solavei.

Solavei allowes data roaming... hulk will confirm, but I do not believe that Straight Talk does.

I thought only voice and text but I'll double check tonight.

 

[(HULK)]

Ting to have the Galaxy S4 at or close to the same time as the major carriers

Still no word on the iPhone other than that they're "working on it".

Any word on porting the S3?

Not yet

 

[(HULK)]

Update on Straight Talk: The data coverage is HORRIBLE compared to reg AT&T service. Seems any time Im not inside a city limits, I cant get an internet connection. I always have plenty of bars, but webpages just wont load. Thought I read in this thread something about data and roaming...anyone know about this? Its strange though, when I cant get online, apps like IHeartRadio work just fine.Ive got another 6 weeks of paid service, then Im gonna try Solavei.

Solavei allowes data roaming... hulk will confirm, but I do not believe that Straight Talk does.

I thought only voice and text but I'll double check tonight.

Can roam up to 100 MBs of data. For voice and text, you can roam unlimited up to 50% of the time. If you over do it though, they'll ask you to stop or leave.

 

[(HULK)]

Now you can bring any and all Sprint devices to Ting... this includes the iPhone

So, big news at Ting, you can now bring any Sprint device over, and also port your number directly off of Sprint to Ting. The only hitch, the device must be off of contract to do it.

They have official support for the GS3, Note2 and a couple of others right now. The rest will work, but will require a bit more effort. Here is what they say about it:

We’ll be adding official support for other manufacturer’s LTE devices as soon as possible. In the interim though, it’s not that other LTE devices can’t make the move, it’s that we can’t offer support for those devices making the move. Basically, if you’re comfortable with a more DIY approach in moving your LTE device from Sprint to Ting then have at it. If not, you’d be advised to let us do all the testing first.

So, this means that you can bring a Sprint iPhone over now. Pretty big deal for them. From what I understand, they're also working to be able to offer and bring over Verizon devices as well.

 

[Brady Marino]

YAAAAAAYYYY!!

Now all I need is for them to offer their ETF promotion again and I'm off to contract freedom!

 

[Andy Dufresne]

So, this means that you can bring a Sprint iPhone over now. Pretty big deal for them. From what I understand, they're also working to be able to offer and bring over Verizon devices as well.

Patience is a virtue.

 

[cobalt_27]

Freaking awesome with Ting.

Received my Nexus from Ting yesterday around 1pm.

Called customer support. No wait, no hold, no music. Phone rings, service rep picks up and says "Ting mobile, how can I help you?" Very refreshing.

I ask him to port over service from T-Mobile with my number, he takes down a few other bits of information and says it can take up to 5 days, but probably won't.

He sends me an email 10 minutes later detailing what we discussed and actions he was going to to take to get my service in gear.

Three hours later, my number successfully ports over, and I'm able to use the new phone and service.

In Boston, thus far, Sprint LTE has been terrific. No issues with roaming.

I calculated that, at max, my wife and I would spend $140/mo on our phones, but we'll come nowhere near that because our data rates are just not going to reach/exceed the 3GB. Typical month likely will be around $60 for the two of us.

Here's my referral code, if anyone wants to redistribute the wealth.

Thanks again, Hulk.

 

[(HULK)]

Added Cobalt's code to the first post.

 

[Jobber]

Interesting timing on this thread.

T-mobile plan with 4 phones (2 smartphones GS1 and GS3 and two text only phones).

My wife lost her S3 yesterday.

T-mobile will charge us $800 to break the contract.

Monthly bill is currently $150/mo.

I think even after breaking the contract, buying 2 new smartphones, we'd be better off with Ting or another carrier.

 

[(HULK)]

Interesting timing on this thread.T-mobile plan with 4 phones (2 smartphones GS1 and GS3 and two text only phones). My wife lost her S3 yesterday. T-mobile will charge us $800 to break the contract.Monthly bill is currently $150/mo.I think even after breaking the contract, buying 2 new smartphones, we'd be better off with Ting or another carrier.

My database is getting pretty refined at this point... Its got well over 600 plans tracked in the US now. Down to the fine details too. If you can answer few questions, I can see what your costs would be. $800 to break the contract would suck, but it still might be worth it.First off, what's your zipcode? Need this to check your local coverage.Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it)hone 1: minutes / texts / dataPhone 2: minutes / texts / dataPhone 3: minutes / textsPhone 4: minutes / textsFinally, would you be willing to be on different plans/carriers if it saved you money? Or do you want everything on one bill?If you're currently on Tmobile, switching to Ting will require 4 new* phones. They can be refurbs or bought used though, no worries there. Its just that your current phones are GSM and they wouldn't be compatible with Ting/Sprint's CDMA.

 

[(HULK)]

Also, anyone looking to move to Solavei, I now have 40 SIM cards in hand, so I'll hook you up for free.

 

[Jobber]

Interesting timing on this thread.

T-mobile plan with 4 phones (2 smartphones GS1 and GS3 and two text only phones).

My wife lost her S3 yesterday.

T-mobile will charge us $800 to break the contract.

Monthly bill is currently $150/mo.

I think even after breaking the contract, buying 2 new smartphones, we'd be better off with Ting or another carrier.

My database is getting pretty refined at this point... Its got well over 600 plans tracked in the US now. Down to the fine details too. If you can answer few questions, I can see what your costs would be. $800 to break the contract would suck, but it still might be worth it.First off, what's your zipcode? 55024

Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it):

Phone 1: minutes / texts / data 1507 / 544 / 800MB

Phone 2: minutes / texts / data 1334 / 273 / 746MB

Phone 3: minutes / texts - pretty much zero for. My 10yr old's phone. Doesn't get used. Not needed for now.

Phone 4: minutes / texts - pretty much zero here too. 8yr old's phone. Doesn't get used. Not needed for now.

Finally, would you be willing to be on different plans/carriers if it saved you money? Or do you want everything on one bill? We'd prefer everything on one bill if possible. Also the wife really, really wants an iphone - which I think is absolutely nuts since she's been a GS3 user for a while til she lost it.

If you're currently on Tmobile, switching to Ting will require 4 new* phones. They can be refurbs or bought used though, no worries there. Its just that your current phones are GSM and they wouldn't be compatible with Ting/Sprint's CDMA.

Answers above. Thanks a ton Hulk for looking!!

 

[rascal]

So Tmobile offically bother me. I ported over on March 1, but they will still bill me thru the end of my current billing cycle which is March 24th.

Tmobile doesn't bother me. They suck big giant scrotums

 

[(HULK)]

Alright Jobber,

First here is your coverage ratings:

Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Verizon 2.18 45 Towers Map

2. T-Mobile 2.11 35 Towers Map

3. Sprint 1.83 36 Towers Map

4. AT&T 1.69 26 Towers Map

AT&T is the worst in your area, but you should be okay on any of these, particularly if they have free roaming.

First lets look at family plans:

The cheapest you could do is Metro PCS, but they don't have the iPhone. Unlimited mins/texts + 5GB (2.5GB per line) of data for 2 phones runs $95.

If you switch over to T-mobile's prepaid side, you'd be looking at $99.98 for you and your wife getting unlimited calls/texts and 2 GB of data. If you add in your kids phones, that would bump you up to $119.98. No phone subsidies on the prepaid side of the house though, but you can finance a phone at 0%, and if you call them perhaps they can forgive the ETF if you're staying with them, just switching to prepaid. Worth a shot at this first IMO.

If you go to Ting, you're looking at 3000 minutes, 1000 texts, and 2 GB of data for $111. If you add in the kids it jumps to $123. You guys use your phones just a bit too much to make Ting worthwhile imo. If you cut your minutes down to 2000 and your data down to 1GB, you'd be at $76. Plus while the iphone5 will now work on Ting, it isn't officially supported yet so you'd have to jump through some technical hoops to get it to work.

Now, lets look at individual plans (where you just forget about the kids altogether):

If your wife can live without the iPhone and with a GS3 again, then you'll save the most with Voyager Mobile. They offer Sprint coverage (no roaming though), unlimited talk/text and 5GB of LTE data for just $39 a phone. This is $78 total.

Another option would be Straight Talk (T-mobile version). Again, no roaming, but for $45 a line you unlimited talk/text and data is supposed to be unlimited. In reality they throttle you around 2GB a month, but you should be under that limit anyways. No LTE with Straight Talk though (even when you go through Verizon/AT&T for Straight Talk). This is $90 total. Net10 wireless offers this exact same deal and are owned by the same company. But you can actually find AT&T sim cards if you want AT&T coverage, Straight Talk stopped selling them and people now price gouge for them on Ebay and the like. Since AT&T apparently has the worst coverage by you, this is likely irrevelant.

Another option would be Solavei (on Tmobile's network). $49 a line gets you unlimited talk/text and 4GB of data (at HSPA+42 speed, throttled to 2G past that cap). They have roaming (on AT&T) and they are adding LTE coverage as T-mobile rolls out its LTE network. If those are big issues for you, you should consider them. Also, if you refer 3 people, you get $20 off your bill every month as long as those folks are with Solavei. So, if you like that sort of thing, you can really cut your bill down.

And finally, what to do about the kids:

One company specializes in phone for kids... its called kajeet. You can lock them out of "inappropriate sites", track their location, and do all sorts of privacy invasion things that only a parent would want to do. Their plans are a bit overpriced, but if you want these features, they're the only game in town.

Another option would be to put the kiddies on Ting. 2 phones with you can share 100 minutes and 1000 texts for just $20 a month total. Might be something to consider.

ETA: With Straight Talk, Tmobile, and Solavei, you can keep your existing phones and use them by swapping the sim card. With the others, you're going to be buying new (or used) phones for service.

 

[s&m]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but T-mobile will be switching everything over later this month to no contract or prepaid accounts. If you have a contract you can switch to a new T-mobile monthly service with no penalties from your existing contract price. Though if you leave you would still have a penelty to pay. I had a $400 buyout on contract to the end of September, but I will be able after March 24th to drop the contract to a all inclusive monthly with T-mobile and go from $240 month to $130 month with no out of pocket as long as I stay through the old contract term. After that I can shop around again to any of these mvno plans. But I can save monthly till then and have no out of pocket. So that what I'm doing. But come September I will look to drop down another $50 a month to around $80 for two lines of unlimited use service through an mvno service.

Just wanted to send that info out for other T-mobile users who are being held back by the buy out costs right now. There will be an option to lower your monthly costs and wait out the big buyout costs before switching carriers. Hopefully not honda information.

Interesting timing on this thread.

T-mobile plan with 4 phones (2 smartphones GS1 and GS3 and two text only phones).

My wife lost her S3 yesterday.

T-mobile will charge us $800 to break the contract.

Monthly bill is currently $150/mo.

I think even after breaking the contract, buying 2 new smartphones, we'd be better off with Ting or another carrier.

My database is getting pretty refined at this point... Its got well over 600 plans tracked in the US now. Down to the fine details too. If you can answer few questions, I can see what your costs would be. $800 to break the contract would suck, but it still might be worth it.First off, what's your zipcode? 55024

Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it):

Phone 1: minutes / texts / data 1507 / 544 / 800MB

Phone 2: minutes / texts / data 1334 / 273 / 746MB

Phone 3: minutes / texts - pretty much zero for. My 10yr old's phone. Doesn't get used. Not needed for now.

Phone 4: minutes / texts - pretty much zero here too. 8yr old's phone. Doesn't get used. Not needed for now.

Finally, would you be willing to be on different plans/carriers if it saved you money? Or do you want everything on one bill? We'd prefer everything on one bill if possible. Also the wife really, really wants an iphone - which I think is absolutely nuts since she's been a GS3 user for a while til she lost it.

If you're currently on Tmobile, switching to Ting will require 4 new* phones. They can be refurbs or bought used though, no worries there. Its just that your current phones are GSM and they wouldn't be compatible with Ting/Sprint's CDMA.

Answers above. Thanks a ton Hulk for looking!!

 

[(HULK)]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but T-mobile will be switching everything over later this month to no contract or prepaid accounts. If you have a contract you can switch to a new T-mobile monthly service with no penalties from your existing contract price. Though if you leave you would still have a penelty to pay. I had a $400 buyout on contract to the end of September, but I will be able after March 24th to drop the contract to a all inclusive monthly with T-mobile and go from $240 month to $130 month with no out of pocket as long as I stay through the old contract term. After that I can shop around again to any of these mvno plans. But I can save monthly till then and have no out of pocket. So that what I'm doing. But come September I will look to drop down another $50 a month to around $80 for two lines of unlimited use service through an mvno service. Just wanted to send that info out for other T-mobile users who are being held back by the buy out costs right now. There will be an option to lower your monthly costs and wait out the big buyout costs before switching carriers. Hopefully not honda information.

Thanks, this is good info. I knew Tmobile was dropping postpaid plans, but didn't know the timeline or how it worked for those already under a Tmobile contract. Given this, jobber should stay at Tmobile to avoid the $800 ETF for sure.

 

[Jobber]

Thanks a ton Hulk for running down those numbers for me. And of course S&M for the information on T-Mobile potentially removing contracts altogether. That would be huge!

 

[Jaysus]

I don't know if it has been mentioned yet, but T-mobile will be switching everything over later this month to no contract or prepaid accounts. If you have a contract you can switch to a new T-mobile monthly service with no penalties from your existing contract price. Though if you leave you would still have a penelty to pay. I had a $400 buyout on contract to the end of September, but I will be able after March 24th to drop the contract to a all inclusive monthly with T-mobile and go from $240 month to $130 month with no out of pocket as long as I stay through the old contract term. After that I can shop around again to any of these mvno plans. But I can save monthly till then and have no out of pocket. So that what I'm doing. But come September I will look to drop down another $50 a month to around $80 for two lines of unlimited use service through an mvno service.

Just wanted to send that info out for other T-mobile users who are being held back by the buy out costs right now. There will be an option to lower your monthly costs and wait out the big buyout costs before switching carriers. Hopefully not honda information.

Thanks, this is good info. I knew Tmobile was dropping postpaid plans, but didn't know the timeline or how it worked for those already under a Tmobile contract. Given this, jobber should stay at Tmobile to avoid the $800 ETF for sure.

I have not read though this yet, but here is some info

 

[Jobber]

Another T-Mobile Uncarrier article from today. This confirms a March 26th event, where the rumors point to no more contracts.

 

[cobalt_27]

Another T-Mobile Uncarrier article from today. This confirms a March 26th event, where the rumors point to no more contracts.

Eff them. Too little too late.

 

[Jaysus]

Found an s3 for what seemed like a good price on Craigslist today, picked it up, and I'll be making the switch tomorrow to ting.

porting your number to Ting or do you use google voice?

 

[(HULK)]

Now you can bring any and all Sprint devices to Ting... this includes the iPhone

So, big news at Ting, you can now bring any Sprint device over, and also port your number directly off of Sprint to Ting. The only hitch, the device must be off of contract to do it.

They have official support for the GS3, Note2 and a couple of others right now. The rest will work, but will require a bit more effort. Here is what they say about it:

We'll be adding official support for other manufacturer's LTE devices as soon as possible. In the interim though, it's not that other LTE devices can't make the move, it's that we can't offer support for those devices making the move. Basically, if you're comfortable with a more DIY approach in moving your LTE device from Sprint to Ting then have at it. If not, you'd be advised to let us do all the testing first.

So, this means that you can bring a Sprint iPhone over now. Pretty big deal for them. From what I understand, they're also working to be able to offer and bring over Verizon devices as well.

You actually cannot do this yet. Just got off the phone with them, the guy said it was their #1 priority right now, but nothing he could tell me about ETA.

Hmmm. They're blog posts very clearly says you can bring ALL Sprint LTE devices now. But that only the GS3 and Galaxy Nexus and Note2 were supported officially at this point. I read that to mean that you can bring an iPhone5 over now, but it is yet to be "officially supported". Is this consistant with what you were told on the phone?

 

[(HULK)]

Found an s3 for what seemed like a good price on Craigslist today, picked it up, and I'll be making the switch tomorrow to ting.

Two things:Be sure to use someone's referral link from the 1st post, as it will get you a $25 service credit since you're byod.Be sure to PM me your referral link once your account is active, so I can add it to the first post.

 

[Foosball God]

I'm thinking about trying this as well. Mrs. Foos will be off contract later this year, I'm not sure what the early termination fee would be at this point.

We're kind of tied to our iPhones as we use a joint Apple account and have lots of apps and such. I also prefer the structured releases of iOS versus the many different approaches Android handset makers have to updating to the latest Android releases.

zipcode? 20175 but would need this to also work at 48309 and 48661

Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it):

Phone 1: minutes / texts / data - 800 / 250 / 1200MB

Phone 2: minutes / texts / data - 400 / 250 / 1000MB

Everything on one bill would be preferable.

 

[(HULK)]

I'm thinking about trying this as well. Mrs. Foos will be off contract later this year, I'm not sure what the early termination fee would be at this point.We're kind of tied to our iPhones as we use a joint Apple account and have lots of apps and such. I also prefer the structured releases of iOS versus the many different approaches Android handset makers have to updating to the latest Android releases.zipcode? 20175 but would need this to also work at 48309 and 48661Then, for each phone, give me the usage (if you look at your past bills, you can get this exact... or just estimate it)hone 1: minutes / texts / data - 800 / 250 / 1200MBPhone 2: minutes / texts / data - 400 / 250 / 1000MBEverything on one bill would be preferable.

Alright, here is your coverage for the 3 zipcodes listed:Coverage Reviews for Leesburg, VA 20175 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 2.18 17 Towers Map 2. AT&T 2.13 31 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.6 15 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.6 15 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 2.07 88 Towers Coverage Reviews for Rochester, MI 48309 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Verizon 1.55 22 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.42 33 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.35 34 Towers Map 4. T-Mobile 1.25 16 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.48 123 Towers Coverage Reviews for West Branch, MI 48661 Reviews Towers FILTER: AT&T SPRINT T-MOBILE VERIZON Carrier Avg. Rating No. of Reviews Towers Coverage Map --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. T-Mobile 2.67 3 Towers Map 2. AT&T 1.93 27 Towers Map 3. Sprint 1.47 17 Towers Map 4. Verizon 1.32 47 Towers Map -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Coverage 1.67 147 Towers Lol, the site went down between getting the 2nd and 3rd zipcode. I'll have to check that last one later. (ETA: Its back up and I added it in)Looks like you'll be adequetly covered by any of them, but if you're on Sprint or Tmobile, you'd probably want a roaming agreement.Looking at plans together, you do pretty well with Tmobile's Value Share. 2 lines with unlimited calls/texts/ and 4G data, your cost is $119.98. On Ting for 2 lines, with 2000 minutes, 1000 texts, and 3000 MBs, your cost is $112. But if you could cut your data down slightly to 2000MBs, your cost drops by $18. Likewise if you can get your minutes down to 1000, your cost would drop down $17. Your just past the threshold on both of these. If you managed to keep both down, your monthly cost is down to $77 a month. The best thing here is that if you go over one month and under the next, your plan automatically right sizes, with no penalty. You'll have to wait for official iPhone support though. Ting has roaming and LTE support.Looking at individual plans... if you want LTE support I think Virgin Mobile is probably your best bet. $45 for 1200 minutes, unlimited texts, and 2500 MBs of LTE (throttled to 2G past that mark) for each line. So, $90 total. No roaming agreements though, so you need to be in Sprint's footprint for coverage.If you can do without LTE, you can go a couple of ways. You can get Straight Talk on Tmobile (HSPA+42) or AT&T (HSPA+21) for $45 per line. Unlimited talk/text and data is "unlimited" but typically gets throttled at levels beyond your normal usage so no worries for you. Straight Talk does not roam though, so again your subjected to the carriers footprint. The other alternate would be Solavei on Tmobile (HSPA+42), which is $49 per line for unlimited talk/text and 4000MBs at 4G speeds, throttled beyond that. Solavei offers roaming though, up to 50% of your calls can be roaming, and up to 100MB of data as well.So, plenty of options, you'll have to determine which of the edge factors matter most to you to decide. What does your current contract cost?ETA: Tmobile is adding LTE in the very near future, not sure what markets will be first yet though, they're announcing it all next week. Solavei will be getting LTE via them as well. Straight Talk will not, they don't support LTE on any carrier.

 

[Brady Marino]

Strongly debating on whether I should just eat the $200 ETF on my Sprint contract and jump to Ting. According to Ting's calculations based on my usage (low caller, moderate texter and data user), I'd save almost $1500 over the course of two years (about 62-63 bucks a month) by switching, and my ETF would be absorbed in 3-4 months.

I always average under 100 minutes per month and anywhere from 175-300 texts per month and anywhere from 400-500 megs of data a month. Hulk, would Ting be the best option for me? Keep in mind, my S3 is Sprint and I just bought it and don't want to pay for a new phone.

 

[(HULK)]

Oh, and Foos, if you can wait a week, there are new plans Tmobile is announcing. These are no contract but still postpaid. They have an unlimited calls/texts option with 2500 MBs of 4G speed data (throttled beyond cap) available for 2 lines @ $90. That could suit you guys well.