Best cell phone carrier for the money?

[Nessism1]

US Mobile gives you priority data. Better than T-Mobile and Verizons own pay as you go service. You can also go to the US MOBILE website as they also have multiple premium offerings besides the link I posted here. Doesn't matter much to me but we did chose the Verizon "warp" service.

I never had an issue before but this is included anyway and if works well.
https://www.usmobile.com/blog/unlimited-premium-coverage-on-5g-warp-speed/

Also on the above link if you click "Updates" they also offer premium data on "Dark Star" which is ATT's network.

I hope this is true, but not sure. I've been reading a LOT about USM over the last week, after buying a phone from them, and there is generally a lot of good comments, but not all. For example, repetitive comment is that MNVO's had lower priority coverage in times of heavy use. It's hard to believe that USM is excluded from this. Anyway, I'll be switching soon, and don't expect a lot of problems. Your link above suggests that Warp (Version) is the way to go, and the coverage map in my area confirms that. Fingers crossed...

 

[2heeldrive]

Connect by T-Mobile is a cheap way to try out their network. $15.00/month.

 

[alarmguy]

I hope this is true, but not sure. I've been reading a LOT about USM over the last week, after buying a phone from them, and there is generally a lot of good comments, but not all. For example, repetitive comment is that MNVO's had lower priority coverage in times of heavy use. It's hard to believe that USM is excluded from this. Anyway, I'll be switching soon, and don't expect a lot of problems. Your link above suggests that Warp (Version) is the way to go, and the coverage map in my area confirms that. Fingers crossed...

Your reading comments from others that have no knowledge of US Mobile. It's not an "exclusion" US mobile pays Verizon for the priority service. A service that Verizon doesn't even give their own prepay plans. They also have detailed information on all three carriers and options for the different levels or priority service on them all.

 

[JTK]

I am looking for a budget friendly cell phone service for my wife if possible (does have to be unlimited and good service). Currently we are using cricket wireless (about 10 years) and if my remember serves me right we are paying like $120 a month for 5 lines with unlimited everything (internet does cut back after 25 gigs) but my wife seems to always have issues with her line including very slow internet while mine is perfectly fine, we have tired getting a new sim card, upgraded phone for her but problem still continues and cricket says everything seems to be working fine on their end so to keep my wife happy I am on the hunt for a different carrier for her and maybe the whole family. Please share if you had good experience with a budget friendly wireless service. Thanks!

If it's a situation where your wife's line is lagging, where no one else in the home/property sees the same on their devices, I wouldn't think this is a carrier problem. I've had the Cricket 5 lines of "unlimited" everything for $125/mo all-in for years now. We do have to "clean out" the MILs iPhone from time to time to keep if functioning. She keeps too much running in the background w/out realizing it.

 

[Nessism1]

Your reading comments from others that have no knowledge of US Mobile. It's not an "exclusion" US mobile pays Verizon for the priority service. A service that Verizon doesn't even give their own prepay plans. They also have detailed information on all three carriers and options for the different levels or priority service on them all.

No, I'm reading from people that actually have the phones, and use them daily. Those people talk about situations with both Verizon and ATT where the data flow is very slow. Some people have spouses and/or people in the home with native Verizon/ATT, and they say those services are faster.

 

[alarmguy]

No, I'm reading from people that actually have the phones, and use them daily. Those people talk about situations with both Verizon and ATT where the data flow is very slow. Some people have spouses and/or people in the home with native Verizon/ATT, and they say those services are faster.

I don’t trust anything on the Internet unless I do it myself.
The good news about prepaid plans you could change any anytime you want if you don’t like the service.
But I’m sure you will.

I’m not saying any one poster is inaccurate but half the time that people don’t even know what service they have and for all we know when they ask a family member to test their speed, they might even be hooked up to the house Wi-Fi network not realizing they are not on the cell network

All good no debating but if you believe those posts that you read, then you should believe the post in this very forum that you write on and everybody who has US mobile praises them in this forum

 

[Nessism1]

I don’t trust anything on the Internet unless I do it myself.
The good news about prepaid plans you could change any anytime you want if you don’t like the service.
But I’m sure you will.

I’m not saying any one poster is inaccurate but half the time that people don’t even know what service they have and for all we know when they ask a family member to test their speed, they might even be hooked up to the house Wi-Fi network not realizing they are not on the cell network

All good no debating but if you believe those posts that you read, then you should believe the post in this very forum that you write on and everybody who has US mobile praises them in this forum

There is a reason MNVO service is so much cheaper than native. I'm not worried, per se, but just saying. And I don't believe that USM service is as fast as native.

I bought a phone from USM, and I'll be switching soon, but at every turn, there are questions about the terms of service, cost, unlock rules, etc. It's a snake's nest of conflicting information. That does not make me confident in believing a blurb on their website. None of the conflicting information is a dealbreaker to me, though.

 

[alarmguy]

Deleted

 

[alarmguy]

There is a reason MNVO service is so much cheaper than native. I'm not worried, per se, but just saying. And I don't believe that USM service is as fast as native.

I bought a phone from USM, and I'll be switching soon, but at every turn, there are questions about the terms of service, cost, unlock rules, etc. It's a snake's nest of conflicting information. That does not make me confident in believing a blurb on their website. None of the conflicting information is a dealbreaker to me, though.

Until you try it, your opinion isn’t valid
But it sounds like maybe it’s not for you then you should stick to the three major carriers

There is no conflicting information. It’s all on US mobile’s website. The only conflict is you’re looking for forums of people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

 

[Pablo]

There is a reason MNVO service is so much cheaper than native. I'm not worried, per se, but just saying. And I don't believe that USM service is as fast as native.

I bought a phone from USM, and I'll be switching soon, but at every turn, there are questions about the terms of service, cost, unlock rules, etc. It's a snake's nest of conflicting information. That does not make me confident in believing a blurb on their website. None of the conflicting information is a dealbreaker to me, though.

I don’t think it’s as secure but I’m sure someone will say it is

 

[Nessism1]

Until you try it, your opinion isn’t valid
But it sounds like maybe it’s not for you then you should stick to the three major carriers

There is no conflicting information. It’s all on US mobile’s website. The only conflict is you’re looking for forums of people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

I've been on various, mostly MNVO, carriers for 20 years now. Do I blindly believe advertising blurbs on these companies websites? NO!

Yes, there is conflicting information on USM's website. I'm not talking specifically about priority level service at the carrier level, I'm talking about terms and conditions of service for other items. If you want to blindly believe whatever you read, then that's fine for you. And your personal experience, in your particular market, is not broad support for what happens elsewhere.

 

[alarmguy]

I've been on various, mostly MNVO, carriers for 20 years now. Do I blindly believe advertising blurbs on these companies websites? NO!

Yes, there is conflicting information on USM's website. I'm not talking specifically about priority level service at the carrier level, I'm talking about terms and conditions of service for other items. If you want to blindly believe whatever you read, then that's fine for you. And your personal experience, in your particular market, is not broad support for what happens elsewhere.

Then read the others on BITOG opinions. Not mine.
I’m not sure what you’re asking anymore. I thought you were looking for input from others in here.

My only problem is you feel the MVNO must be subpar because ATT. Verizon and TMobile are so much more expensive. I don’t understand that thinking. US Mobile operating expense is nothing, much like Amazon reselling products. Not only that US Mobile is a private company with no shareholders to share profits with.

If you feel US mobile website is not clear or conflicting information posted here so others could take a look at it

 

[Nessism1]

My only problem is you feel the MVNO must be subpar because ATT. Verizon and TMobile are so much more expensive. I don’t understand that thinking. US Mobile operating expense is nothing, much like Amazon reselling products. Not only that US Mobile is a private company with no shareholders to share profits with.

If you think that network providers give MNVO carriers the same access to their networks, then you are mistaken. There are various priority levels in times of high traffic.

Does USM pay extra, to move up in queue, in priority, then the answer is maybe or even likely. The proof is in the doing, and I've read enough bad info to suggest that USM does NOT have the same level of priority. My info comes from friends, and places like SlickDeals and reddit. Those last two websites get 100x the traffic on matters like this than this oil forum.

Do I look at this as a dealbreaker? NO. I'm a MNVO user, and happy with it. I'm not naive though.

 

[alarmguy]

If you think that network providers give MNVO carriers the same access to their networks, then you are mistaken. There are various priority levels in times of high traffic.

Does USM pay extra, to move up in queue, in priority, then the answer is maybe or even likely. The proof is in the doing, and I've read enough bad info to suggest that USM does NOT have the same level of priority. My info comes from friends, and places like SlickDeals and reddit. Those last two websites get 100x the traffic on matters like this than this oil forum.

Do I look at this as a dealbreaker? NO. I'm a MNVO user, and happy with it. I'm not naive though.

Nor do you want to believe me and the video. All good.
Unless you can show me where on US Mobile that my data is deprioritized during times of high useage the statement doesn’t hold water.

All good, makes no difference to me but a nice perk

The public in general is clueless

Enjoy your US Mobile!

 

[Nukeman7]

If you think that network providers give MNVO carriers the same access to their networks, then you are mistaken. There are various priority levels in times of high traffic.

Let's make sure we are talking apples to apples here. The access priority for a user on a carrier's network is called QCI as explained here: Quality of Service Class Identifier.

Does USM pay extra, to move up in queue, in priority, then the answer is maybe or even likely. The proof is in the doing, and I've read enough bad info to suggest that USM does NOT have the same level of priority.

US Mobile's contract does have the higher QCI 8 priority, but only for the Verizon (i.e., WARP) 5G network as discussed here: Priority Data on WARP 5G. USM's other carrier services T-Mobile (Light Speed) and AT&T (Dark Star) do not have QCI 8 Priority Data.

My info comes from friends, and places like SlickDeals and reddit. Those last two websites get 100x the traffic on matters like this than this oil forum.

The problem with generic populist forums and social media like Reddit is that the bulk of the posters are not technically astute, unlike the typical BITOG member. Most of the info on Reddit is hearsay, supposition or anecdotal, not scientifically based. I doubt the average Reddit poster understands the difference between cell network priority versus cell tower saturation/overload. Just because you have high network priority, it doesn't mean that you will always be able to stream data during times of high congestion like at an NFL game venue or Taylor Swift concert. When a tower(s) reaches its maximum capacity, it won't allow additional user access, regardless of QCI rating. I look at it this way: Louis Hamilton can be in his Ferrari and me in my Honda; however, neither of us are going to get home any faster if the tractor trailer has overturned on the freeway.

With that said, here is a 2024 Reddit Thread where the poster does appear to have valid information on data prioritization.

 

[Nessism1]

Let's make sure we are talking apples to apples here. The access priority for a user on a carrier's network is called QCI as explained here: Quality of Service Class Identifier.

US Mobile's contract does have the higher QCI 8 priority, but only for the Verizon (i.e., WARP) 5G network as discussed here: Priority Data on WARP 5G. USM's other carrier services T-Mobile (Light Speed) and AT&T (Dark Star) do not have QCI 8 Priority Data.

The problem with generic populist forums and social media like Reddit is that the bulk of the posters are not technically astute, unlike the typical BITOG member. Most of the info on Reddit is hearsay, supposition or anecdotal, not scientifically based. I doubt the average Reddit poster understands the difference between cell network priority versus cell tower saturation/overload. Just because you have high network priority, it doesn't mean that you will always be able to stream data during times of high congestion like at an NFL game venue or Taylor Swift concert. When a tower(s) reaches its maximum capacity, it won't allow additional user access, regardless of QCI rating. I look at it this way: Louis Hamilton can be in his Ferrari and me in my Honda; however, neither of us are going to get home any faster if the tractor trailer has overturned on the freeway.

With that said, here is a 2024 Reddit Thread where the poster does appear to have valid information on data prioritization.

Based on this info, Verizon has the higher priority on USM, the other two networks don't. That's good information. I was planning to sign up for Warp USM when my Red Pocket expires, so I'm good.

 

[diyjake]

So I ended up switching my wife's and daughter's phone plan from Cricket to US Mobile Dark Star. I wanted to get Warp but Dark Star had a deal I couldn't pass up, buy one line and get the second one free for the year. So far the service is great! I have been checking speedtest on my Cricket phone and wife's US Mobile Dark Star last few days and this is what I get:

Cricket:
2.75Mbps download
2.59Mbps upload

US Mobile Dark Star:
54.6Mbps download
4.75Mbps

I don't remember ever seeing these speeds with Cricket and what's weird is Cricket uses At&T just like US Mobile Dark Star. If this continues I will be dumping my cricket for US Mobile as well.

 

[goofy]

So I ended up switching my wife's and daughter's phone plan from Cricket to US Mobile Dark Star. I wanted to get Warp but Dark Star had a deal I couldn't pass up, buy one line and get the second one free for the year. So far the service is great! I have been checking speedtest on my Cricket phone and wife's US Mobile Dark Star last few days and this is what I get:

Cricket:
2.75Mbps download
2.59Mbps upload

US Mobile Dark Star:
54.6Mbps download
4.75Mbps

I don't remember ever seeing these speeds with Cricket and what's weird is Cricket uses At&T just like US Mobile Dark Star. If this continues I will be dumping my cricket for US Mobile as well.

Give us an update after six months.

 

[SJUMBA]

Consumer Cellular seems to work for me. In my area, South Jersey, the AT&T network is utilized. I am paying less that 1/2 of what I was paying Verizon. Domestic customer service is a huge plus!

 

[Rob_Roy]

So I ended up switching my wife's and daughter's phone plan from Cricket to US Mobile Dark Star. I wanted to get Warp but Dark Star had a deal I couldn't pass up, buy one line and get the second one free for the year. So far the service is great! I have been checking speedtest on my Cricket phone and wife's US Mobile Dark Star last few days and this is what I get:

Cricket:
2.75Mbps download
2.59Mbps upload

US Mobile Dark Star:
54.6Mbps download
4.75Mbps

I don't remember ever seeing these speeds with Cricket and what's weird is Cricket uses At&T just like US Mobile Dark Star. If this continues I will be dumping my cricket for US Mobile as well.

A quick web search shows that “Dark Star” is the AT&T network. Please follow up in a few months and let us know how it is working for you.

We use the AT&T “Value Plus” plan for our family of 4. It is $150 per month for 4 lines with all taxes etc. that is definitely more money than some of the MVNO options, but it was important to us that everything works seamlessly when we travel. So far so good.