Cell phone service

[deadsolid...shank]

Wife and I figure we can cut the cell bill quite a bit if we move on from Verizon. Does anyone have any experience with T Mobile? 
We’re wondering about the quality of their service. If their coverage is decent. 

[aloha b.]

2 hours ago, deadsolid...shank said:

Wife and I figure we can cut the cell bill quite a bit if we move on from Verizon. Does anyone have any experience with T Mobile? 
We’re wondering about the quality of their service. If their coverage is decent. 

I have T Mobile and because I'm over 55 we have the 55 and over Magenta Plus plan for my wife and I. We pay $90 per month for two lines with unlimited talk, text and smartphone data plus several other things as well. Their coverage is fine but I sometimes have trouble with emails and texts in our room if we're staying on property or restaurants at Pebble Beach. I have to go outside to get service. Before COVID I noticed that if I was in a department store sometimes I didn't have service. For me the price is right and 99% of the time I don't have any problems. My work cell is AT&T and I never have any of the issues that I just mentioned with T Mobile.

[deadsolid...shank]

8 hours ago, aloha b. said:

I have T Mobile and because I'm over 55 we have the 55 and over Magenta Plus plan for my wife and I. We pay $90 per month for two lines with unlimited talk, text and smartphone data plus several other things as well. Their coverage is fine but I sometimes have trouble with emails and texts in our room if we're staying on property or restaurants at Pebble Beach. I have to go outside to get service. Before COVID I noticed that if I was in a department store sometimes I didn't have service. For me the price is right and 99% of the time I don't have any problems. My work cell is AT&T and I never have any of the issues that I just mentioned with T Mobile.

Thanks Aloha.  That’s the plan we’re looking at. 

[GHIN n Juice]

T Mobile just merged with Sprint and the cell service is unusable here in Nebraska.  Granted we were with Sprint and not T Mobile, but Omaha was pretty much a dead area unless you were connected to WiFi.  It was so bad we just moved to Verizon.

[deadsolid...shank]

14 hours ago, GHIN n Juice said:

T Mobile just merged with Sprint and the cell service is unusable here in Nebraska.  Granted we were with Sprint and not T Mobile, but Omaha was pretty much a dead area unless you were connected to WiFi.  It was so bad we just moved to Verizon.

Good to know GHIN, and thanks. Coverage in Nebraska isn’t as big a deal as it used to be, be I still do need coverage in western Nebraska on occasion. 

[bigred90gt]

I had t-mobile back in the day (before it was even t-mobile), and would never go back due to an outrageous bill I got that they wouldn’t do anything about. Long story. The people I know with t-mobile are a mixed bag of happy and “signal is garbage”. And I’m in Houston where signal should be fine anywhere. AT&T is a garbage signal as well. I’ve tried them all, and keep going back to Verizon because I know it works. 

[jordan2240]

Have you considered some of the 3rd party providers that use the Verizon network?  I use one called 'puppywireless'.  But others are 'page plus' and 'red pocket mobile'.  Depending on how much you use the phone and for what, you can get off pretty cheaply.  I pay $140 PER YEAR for a plan that charges per text/call/mb.  I have yet to come close to using the entire amount over the course of a year, and I'll often use Pandora in the car.  You do have to renew your cash amount yearly, so even if you have money left over, you still have to add another $140.  But the nice thing is, you still keep what was left-over, so you have even less chance of spending it all.  They (all three I listed) also have a variety of monthly plans.  If you don't require unlimited data, you can spend a lot less than $90 per month for two lines.  My wife has a $26 per month plan with 2g data, but she pushes it every so often.  I think 'red pocket' offers a similar plan with 3gigs.

 

As for networks, I had t-mobile and Virgin a number of years ago, but switched to Verizon because of lack of coverage from the others, and never considered switching back because Verizon never let me down.

Edited January 29, 2021 by jordan2240
punctuation

[Greenie]

I don't understand the difference in all the plans. Call me an old timer at 60 that has used a pay as you go account with Verizon for 15 yrs. When my phone died the end of last yr. Verizon said it was no longer compatible with their service and I would have to upgrade. It wasn't a flip phone lol but it had the slide out key board.

 

I picked up a pay as you go smart phone at Walmart for $84. It's probably not as smart as the newer phones out there but I am loving life now. I have several golf apps on it , all my music , a walking app, gps , the bluetooth hooked into my truck radio, all my wireless speakers and earphones that I own. 

 

My plan is $25 a month plus a few dollars tax for unlimited talk and text and 5 gb of data. I've haven't gone over 4 gb of data so far. 

 

My daughter has the newest Iphone and she pays over $100 a month. Most of that is her plan that sounds the same as mine. I must be missing something here. 

 

I've tried other carriers over the yrs. while still keeping my Verizon account to compare and in my area Verizon was the only one I didn't have a problem with getting a signal. 

[deadsolid...shank]

Thanks everyone, everything gives something to think about and helps. Unfortunately I do need unlimited data since I use the phone for work quite a bit. 

[bladehunter]

I’ve been with sprint for eons ( since 2000 at least ) and  now  merged with T mobile.  Service is great.  And I’ve always had an unlimited everything plan since my days at ford motor co.  Back then nobody else even offered one and I recall how much cheaper my bill was than my Verizon pals.    I think my wife and I I together pay around $160 including iPhone insurance. Total. But I believe we’re still on a grandfathered plan . I honestly haven’t ever shopped another carrier it works so well.  

Edited February 9, 2021 by bladehunter

[deadsolid...shank]

12 hours ago, bladehunter said:

I’ve been with sprint for eons ( since 2000 at least ) and  now  merged with T mobile.  Service is great.  And I’ve always had an unlimited everything plan since my days at ford motor co.  Back then nobody else even offered one and I recall how much cheaper my bill was than my Verizon pals.    I think my wife and I I together pay around $160 including iPhone insurance. Total. But I believe we’re still on a grandfathered plan . I honestly haven’t ever shopped another carrier it works so well.  

Thanks Blade. I think our contract is up this month so we are definitely going to check. 

[RobotDoctor]

I travel for a living and have had most of the main carriers.  I have found Verizon has the best coverage.  I had a dream account with Spring in the late 2000s and early 2010s (brother in laws employee and family plan) that cost be about $2.75/month for unlimited phone, data, text.  Unfortunately the coverage was lacking in may parts of the country where my customer base was located but I could roam.  That would cost me about $50-$60 per week.  ATT was less bars in more places.  I have found Verizon the best of the major services by a long shot but it is a little higher.  For me it is more important to have great coverage than to save a few dollars since business is my primary requirement.