# What mobile service do you use, and why?



## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

I've had Verizon for just shy of 20 years now and I still consider it to be a (small) cut above the other services.

What phone service do you use, and have you ever switched carriers because of poor data/phone service?


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## Coastal_Cruiser (Oct 1, 2018)

When I first started driving I had AT&T, but I never got any pings due to weak signal. Next day got a Verizon phone. Here in California, driving up and down the highways and byways over the years, Verizon always beats AT&T.

But make no mistake... that doesn't mean I don't hate those dirty rotten thieving cheating scoundrels at Verizon.

Currently I use a pair of Samsung pre-paid Tracfones with a Verizon personality. They don't hit all the Verizon towers, but in my driving locale I experience few dead zones.


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## Dekero (Sep 24, 2019)

I would say it would definitely depend on your market... But I have had T-Mobile for going on 15 years... And I've stuck with them because when ever I do have an issue they see I have been with them forever and always go way above and beyond to help.

A few years ago my wife woke up in the morning and her phone was not working. A little investigation and it turned out that somehow her line had been deactivated ( Must have been Rohit) what makes this bad is when a line is Deactivated everything associated with it is deleted. Well my wife had Voicemails which she had been saving for a few years that were from her then deceased mother.... Well they were gone. And she was devastated.

She calls CS, and escalated it up the line to a supervisor who credited our account for almost $800 which was the bill and balance from her current phone purchase. He then took it a notch further and sent her a Brand New Samsung S9. 
He bent over backwards apologizing but there was no reviving those voicemails... And in reality how do you make that right? You really can't... But they sure went way beyond what I ever expected them to in an effort to try. 

Result: Customers for life w/5 lines and I spend over $200 a month with all the options I have.. so it was a win for them...

A real stand up company per my experience.


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## gabesdaddee (Dec 4, 2017)

I use TMobile with the Military plan. Love them. I pay about $120 a month for 3 lines and new phone.


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## GreatWhiteHope (Sep 18, 2018)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> I've had Verizon for just shy of 20 years now and I still consider it to be a (small) cut above the other services.
> 
> What phone service do you use, and have you ever switched carriers because of poor data/phone service?
> 
> View attachment 368514


Verizon bc I have to have the best service


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## Cold Fusion (Aug 28, 2019)

https://www.visible.com/?CMP=Market...VA-iGCh3dNw7BEAAYASAAEgJkf_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


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## mrpjfresh (Aug 16, 2016)

Was with Boost Mobile for years and looking back, I don't even know why. Yea, back when I had a brick Nokia, my prepaid worked out to be $10 for 3 months. Around here though in the mountains, Sprint towers are THE WORST of the big 4. I had issues with service going from Wi-Fi to data, from deadzones back to coverage, would lose data service whenever a call came through, needed to go into airplane mode to reset a solid data connection multiple times a shift, no wifi calling available. They don't even have full 4 bars downtown most the time. Sure, they give you unlimited streaming music which doesn't count against your data cap but compared to other MVNOs, there are _much_ better options in terms of price and data options.

My last straw was dropping off a customer in a deadzone holler after 2am, drove though a sticky surge of $13 and waited... and waited. Uber told me I was online and everything was good to go. No pings for almost 20 minutes so I refreshed the app and it said "offline" and surge was gone. I looked into switching the next morning.

Bought the Mint trial for $5. They send you two SIMs - a 7 day trial with a limited amount of data and texts and a second normal one if you decide to buy. After one night trying Uber with it, it wasn't even close. The data over the T-Mobile towers around here was lightning fast comparatively. I like the feature of buying your service in "bulk" and getting big discounts for paying your bill yearly instead of monthly.

Good riddance, Boost Mobile. You will not be missed. Couldn't even go back if I wanted because the Pixel 3s are blacklisted even if they are unlocked. Crazy.


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## R3drang3r (Feb 16, 2019)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> I've had Verizon for just shy of 20 years now and I still consider it to be a (small) cut above the other services.
> 
> What phone service do you use, and have you ever switched carriers because of poor data/phone service?
> 
> View attachment 368514


T Mobil for 1 year now. It's good service. They had the cheapest plan.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

I have had them all at one point or another for my company phone. Personally, because with me, my wife, and 4 children I switched to Boost about 15 years ago because each phone was unlimited everything for $30/month. With 6 phones I saved a fortune although my kids did not want to switch. I told them they could pay their own phone if the didn't want Boost. At least in my geography Boost works great.


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## 142605 (Mar 4, 2018)

gabesdaddee said:


> I use TMobile with the Military plan. Love them. I pay about $120 a month for 3 lines and new phone.


Me too. Best price, best coverage, and best service! Add that 4th line it's only $10.


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## hotair (Oct 29, 2019)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> I've had Verizon for just shy of 20 years now and I still consider it to be a (small) cut above the other services.
> 
> What phone service do you use, and have you ever switched carriers because of poor data/phone service?
> 
> View attachment 368514


I need this but maybe longer but good luck to me when I go to tunnels.


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## gabesdaddee (Dec 4, 2017)

Authority said:


> Me too. Best price, best coverage, and best service! Add that 4th line it's only $10.


I used to have the 4th line, but somehow misplaced our hotspot.


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## Invisible (Jun 15, 2018)

I use AT&T because they have great coverage throughout my state. Many cheap plans like Boost don’t work up north.


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## waldowainthrop (Oct 25, 2019)

Mint Mobile, a T-Mobile MVNO. Prepaid a year for $300 which is $25 per month for 12 GB of data per month (unlimited but unusable low speed after 12 GB) plus text/voice. That's nearly as cheap as it gets in the United States.


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## DriverMark (Jan 22, 2018)

Cricket. Which is AT&T network and works well in Utah. I always know what my bill will be without any surprises. Snag Cricket pre-paid cards every month at Smith's for the fuel points. $100 for 4 lines.

Beater/backup phone is Xfinity Mobil which is dirt cheap. On the Verizon network. Like $12/line + $12/gig over the first gig of shared data. Me + Wife runs about $40/month.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Main phone - AT&T data-only plan. Unlimited LTE for $35 per month. For calls and texts I use Google Voice, works great.

Lyft-only phone - T-Mobile data plan. 2Gb LTE for $10 per month. Calls and texts from Lyft pax go through to the Google Voice number on my Main phone.


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## UbaBrah (Oct 25, 2019)

Sprint, $106 a month for phone payments and unlimited everything (single line). I don't like money all that much, evidently.


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## Bork_Bork_Bork (May 20, 2019)

UbaBrah said:


> Sprint, $106 a month for phone payments and unlimited everything (single line). I don't like money all that much, evidently.


Holy shit, that's ridiculous.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

UbaBrah said:


> Sprint, $106 a month for phone payments and unlimited everything (single line).


It's not 2007 any more.


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## UbaBrah (Oct 25, 2019)

I just can't seem to find a much better deal on a new Samsung + unlimited data among the major carriers. My contract is up soon though, any recommendations? I'm in the southeast and it's just the one line.


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## sellkatsell44 (Oct 25, 2015)

Bork_Bork_Bork said:


> Holy shit, that's ridiculous.


It's including phone payments. So even a $30/month phone means a $70 line


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## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

T-mo for me and the only reason is that that is what my company provides. They do suck at times, but can't complain, I guess, since I get unlimited everything for free. :biggrin:


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## NGOwner (Nov 15, 2016)

Snagged Sprint's BYOPhone Free for a Year service two years running.

For the first year the account was in my name. Then we switched out to a T-Mobile Pay as You Go plan for all of 20 minutes. Then switched back to Sprint under my son's name (so the 20 something can build credit) for another year of free service.

So since December 2017 we've paid $18 per month all in for five unlimited lines. Boo-ya!

Come April 2020 I'll be looking for a new provider ....

[NG]Owner


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

UbaBrah said:


> Sprint, $106 a month for phone payments and unlimited everything (single line). I don't like money all that much, evidently.


Actually, for a top drawer phone with unlimited data, that's not out of line at all.


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## gabesdaddee (Dec 4, 2017)

UbaBrah said:


> I just can't seem to find a much better deal on a new Samsung + unlimited data among the major carriers. My contract is up soon though, any recommendations? I'm in the southeast and it's just the one line.


How? Deals are aplenty. That's even more than Verizon.


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## Cassiopeia (Sep 2, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> Main phone - AT&T data-only plan. Unlimited LTE for $35 per month. For calls and texts I use Google Voice, works great.
> 
> Lyft-only phone - T-Mobile data plan. 2Gb LTE for $10 per month. Calls and texts from Lyft pax go through to the Google Voice number on my Main phone.


Wow may need to consider switching my ATT to data only >>>> had this phone # for years though >>>> maybe I can move the phone number to an ultra cheap plan on my old phone >>>> more than half the calls I get are spam these days anyways


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Cassiopeia said:


> Wow may need to consider switching my ATT to data only >>>> had this phone # for years though >>>> maybe I can move the phone number to an ultra cheap plan on my old phone >>>> more than half the calls I get are spam these days anyways


It makes little sense to pay for voice service when there are free VOIP (voice over IP) and VoLTE (voice over LTE) options like Google Voice. The cellular networks are moving towards VoLTE anyway but still charging top dollar for it.

The other reason for going data-only is that Google Voice has good spam caller filters; hardly any spam calls get through. It also has an optional call screening function that makes callers give their name before their call is patched through to the phone - this filters out more spammers.

It takes a little effort to set up the AT&T plan - it's marketed as a tablet plan and requires you to input an IMEI (device serial number) from an AT&T compatible tablet in order to sign up for it. You buy a new sim card and once the plan is active you then put the sim in your phone and change a network setting. My daughter's tablet is an AT&T LTE model so I used the IMEI from that to get going.


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## reg barclay (Nov 3, 2015)

I switch between various MVNO's which are usually using either Verizon or AT&T towers.


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> It makes little sense to pay for voice service when there are free VOIP (voice over IP) and VoLTE (voice over LTE) options like Google Voice. The cellular networks are moving towards VoLTE anyway but still charging top dollar for it.
> 
> The other reason for going data-only is that Google Voice has good spam caller filters; hardly any spam calls get through. It also has an optional call screening function that makes callers give their name before their call is patched through to the phone - this filters out more spammers.
> 
> It takes a little effort to set up the AT&T plan - it's marketed as a tablet plan and requires you to input an IMEI (device serial number) from an AT&T compatible tablet in order to sign up for it. You buy a new sim card and once the plan is active you then put the sim in your phone and change a network setting. My daughter's tablet is an AT&T LTE model so I used the IMEI from that to get going.


The low value of cellular is already baked into the cost of a standard mobile plan. Why do you think they give unlimited minutes/texts to even the cheapest plans?

As for me, I'm willing to pay a few extra pennies to have the backup cellular/texting for when the power goes out. (I'm looking at you PG&E)


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> The low value of cellular is already baked into the cost of a standard mobile plan. Why do you think they give unlimited minutes/texts to even the cheapest plans?


No, unlimited voice + unlimited data on the same network is $70 per month, exactly double the $35 I pay. So that's an extra $35 for voice. You may think voice is low value; AT&T disagrees with you.

And it's not just AT&T that boosts up the price for voice; all networks do it.

Why do networks provide unlimited minutes, you ask? Competition; what one company does, they all do. Plus, the marginal cost to the network of each minute is low.


> As for me, I'm willing to pay a few extra pennies to have the backup cellular/texting for when the power goes out. (I'm looking at you PG&E)


LTE data is cellular, just as voice is. Not sure why you would imply it isn't. If the cell towers' voice service is on then the LTE data service is on too and therefore voice over LTE. I don't think you know much about how the new fangled voice and data services work.

Oh, and it's not pennies extra; as above, it's double the price.


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> No, unlimited voice + unlimited data on the same network is $70 per month, exactly double the $35 I pay. So that's an extra $35 for voice. You may think voice is low value; AT&T disagrees with you.
> 
> And it's not just AT&T that boosts up the price for voice; all networks do it.
> 
> ...


Just because both services are running doesn't mean you have equal access to both. I think everyone with a mobile phone plan has experienced five bars phone reception but no data (living in an area with lots of hills/canyons, I know I have). Having data access but not phone? I'm sure it's happened sometime, but I can't recall it ever having happened to me.

And not every cell tower with phone service has data. How many cellular towers have data but not phone?

You're right about me not knowing much about Voice-over LTE. Verizon apparently came out with it over five years ago...

https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/26/6066201/verizon-volte-hd-voice-video-calling-launch
... but this is the first I've even heard of it. Not trying to trash-talk you the way you're trying to trash talk me...



The Gift of Fish said:


> I don't think you know much about how the new fangled voice and data services work.


_._..but you keep your plan, and I'll keep mine.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

Johnny Mnemonic said:


> ... but this is the first I've even heard of it.


Clearly, hence my observation that you appeared to lack knowledge in the subject.


> Not trying to trash-talk you the way you're trying to trash talk me...


No, LOL, correcting somebody's errors is not "trash talking" them. Maybe you are knowledgeable in ballet or Hungarian folk dancing for all I know; areas in which I am totally ignorant. if you educated me in those subjects then it would be education, not "trash talking".


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## Johnny Mnemonic (Sep 24, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> Clearly, hence my observation that you appeared to lack knowledge in the subject.
> No, LOL, correcting somebody's errors is not "trash talking" them. Maybe you are knowledgeable in ballet or Hungarian folk dancing for all I know; areas in which I am totally ignorant. if you educated me in those subjects then it would be education, not "trash talking".


How in the world did you know that I'm an expert at Hungarian Folk Dancing?


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