Want to switch cell phone carriers

[funflyer]

Originally Posted By: chiefsfan1
We are wanting to lower our cell phone bills. Currently have Sprint Everything Data. $131 a month + the fees and taxes.
We use the iPhone 5S. Focused in on Consumer Cellular right now. I am unsure if I can use our current phones or need to get new ones. We are out of contract so free to move around.

I like the $65 a month for 2 lines. 250 minutes for $15 and $40 for 5GB of data.



Any reason you want to leave Sprint? Wife and I have a Sprint shared plan, unlimited talk/text and 4gb data and our bill is $62.80 total.

 

[greenjp]

A few weeks in and here's the field report on "Red Pocket Mobile". As noted above I switched from AT&T to Red Pocket (still on AT&T's GSM network). They send you a new SIM via mail essentially at no charge, you just pay for the first month of service. Switching my numbers and getting calling and texting up and running was simple, I did the switch over in the evening before going to bed and the phones were ready to go in the morning. No difference in call quality or coverage that I can determine.

Getting the data (ie photos by text message) up and running was a bit trickier. I gather than on a smartphone they are able to send you some sort of configuration file via text that will make all the changes for you. Our old flip phones required a bunch of menu diving and setting up of new "APN"s and other such nonsense. Red Pocket tech support was helpful enough, I could see it being a hassle for particularly unsavvy users. It's working fine now.

I've set both lines up with recurring billing for the $10/month plan, which comes to $10.19 apiece including fees. I'll give it through the first billing cycle to verify that that's the total cost. If so I'm looking at essentially the exact same service at a savings of ~$900 a year.

jeff

 

[Schmoe]

You need to call Sprint and tell them what's going on and ask them to review your plan and see if there is something better. What Sprint won't do is tell you about a better plan they have. A lot of customers, self included, just simply kept a current plan and they won't switch you over unless you ask them to, to another, cheaper plan. I was paying about 180/month total for 3 lines unlimited everything. Called them and told them that is crazy and they did some research and found me a new plan that still covered the 3 phones and unlimited everything for about 70 a month cheaper. Call them first. Changing out cell phone carries is a PITA.

 

[Cujet]

I travel a lot. I have found that AT+T has the best coverage. If you travel, and need to be in touch with civilization, AT+T is really the right choice. I despise their pricing and policies, and there is no question AT+T customer service is out to be as unhelpful as possible. However, they really provide the widest high speed coverage, regardless of what others claim.

During the hurricane, AT+T waived data limits, and I was able to tether my iPhone to my PC, and use the internet for a week. Interestingly, the real world load speed was actually faster than my 70mbps Comcast cable internet. Slightly worse latency, but pic loaded pages were absolutely done faster using the phone hooked to my gaming PC.

 

[CKN]

While I realize that good cell phone coverage can be area specific-those who switch to T-Mobile in the greater Salt Lake area can't wait to switch back to Verizon. The only reason they switched in the first place was price.

 

[Joe1]

Originally Posted By: daves66nova
Go to www.mintsim.com If you prepay for a year, you'll get 15 a month; unlimited talk ,text, 2GB data. T-Mobile towers. I have it and it works great.


I just purchased MintSim 2GB for $10 for 3 months with a coupon code l found online.
I plan on activating it soon and trying it out for 3 months. The price is right and T-Mobile has good coverage for where l spend most of my time.

The wife and l have unlocked phones with frequency bands that are compatible with all of the major carriers so we can easily switch carriers. I like TMobile network the best for unlocked phones.