# Best no contract GSM phone service for Uber?



## nj9000 (Jun 6, 2019)

My phone service is shitty. What does everyone here think about the no contract GSM carriers like Mint Wireless, Consumer Cellular, Freedompop, etc? Anyone have experience?

https://prepaidcompare.net/ <--- a lot are listed here. Not sure about most of them. And driving rideshare you need something reliable.


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

AT&T prepaid data-only plan. $35 per month for unlimited LTE. Google Voice app gives free phone calls within the US. Works great.


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## nj9000 (Jun 6, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> AT&T prepaid data-only plan. $35 per month for unlimited LTE. Google Voice app gives free phone calls within the US. Works great.


Not sure if I trust that until I'm used to having decent LTE. The "LTE" I've been using so far has been too shitty for using GV. And when I use GV at home 75% of the calls have weird echoing and time dilations.

Also IIRC I have to have a 'real' phone number for 2-step verification for a lot of my accounts.


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

In that case I would go with AT&T Prepaid. 50 bucks per month ($75 - $25 autopay discount) for unlimited LTE + 15Gb hotspot and unlimited calls and texts.

I've tried Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Mint, US Mobile and H2O. In my area Verizon prepay was the worst (got throttled down to 0 kpbs at busy times) and AT&T is the best for reliability.


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## nj9000 (Jun 6, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> In that case I would go with AT&T Prepaid. 50 bucks per month ($75 - $25 autopay discount) for unlimited LTE + 15Gb hotspot and unlimited calls and texts.
> 
> I've tried Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, Mint, US Mobile and H2O. In my area Verizon prepay was the worst (got throttled down to 0 kpbs at busy times) and AT&T is the best for reliability.


What's your experience with Mint?


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

nj9000 said:


> What's your experience with Mint?


Pretty good - coverage was nearly as good as AT&T but with some drop-outs in coverage in places that I drive Uberlyft, so I didn't keep using it. Around here it'd be fine if I didn't need as reliable a service as possible.


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

nj9000 said:


> My phone service is shitty. What does everyone here think about the no contract GSM carriers like Mint Wireless, Consumer Cellular, Freedompop, etc? Anyone have experience?
> 
> https://prepaidcompare.net/ <--- a lot are listed here. Not sure about most of them. And driving rideshare you need something reliable.


How I chose a while back was I compared the "Big 4" providers coverage maps to decide which "platform" had the best coverage. Then I narrowed it down to those alternate no-contract companies.

So let's say TMobile has the best coverage. Google Tmobile MVNO. Then compare plan features.

Keep in mind I think most- if not all of the major carriers have no contract plans.


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## nj9000 (Jun 6, 2019)

I've been using Obamaphone service I've kept since last year when I was on foodstamps. From when it certifies you have 1 year of service even if your foodstamps drop off. It uses a GSM phone and I've been on ATT's network with low priority. I recently had foodstamps again because of COVID and while I have another year's worth of service I don't think I can do Uber anymore with it.

Its always been bad but now its getting worse. When I was doing Uber months ago, if I went to a crowded area my LTE would drop off completely, often times I'd have no data connection at all not even 3G. In any area, if I had more than a couple apps using data my connection would just quit and I'd have to reset my phone to get it back. Running Uber and try using Google Maps? Connection would overload. Some days I'd go to start driving Uber, take a ride and my data connection would just drop out until a phone reset. These days I assume its the same though I haven't done Uber in a while, when I'm out driving I'll go to look something up on my phone and the data connection won't work... and now 1 out of every 5 phone calls or so, the network rejects the call.

lol and Consumer Cellular I swear used to be $20/mo, then they went up to $25, now $30+.



doyousensehumor said:


> How I chose a while back was I compared the "Big 4" providers coverage maps to decide which "platform" had the best coverage. Then I narrowed it down to those alternate no-contract companies.
> 
> So let's say TMobile has the best coverage. Google Tmobile MVNO. Then compare plan features.
> 
> Keep in mind I think most- if not all of the major carriers have no contract plans.


To me its only ATT and resellers of ATT's network. A few months ago I saw on the forums a lot of complaints about T-Mobile. They have good coverage but less reliability, more outages. And I don't use CDMA, I got burned a few years ago getting an "unlocked" US Cellular Galaxy S4 that Verizon/Sprint/etc wouldn't allow on their service.


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## doyousensehumor (Apr 13, 2015)

Maybe there is data caps or it is the hardware? Some MVNO's are compromised service, and some low end devices are.... low end.



nj9000 said:


> . *A few months ago I saw on the forums a lot of complaints about T-Mobile. *


Myself, I am heavy user. Between the constant reading, watching, navigation, multitasking. I had it with compromised service and device. I went to no contract Verizon with "last year's flagship phone". Couldn't be happier.

Neither my experience, nor other's matter though. 
Service quality is different for different markets.

Personally if I were you, I would compare Vzw and Tmo maps for Atlanta, and buy a S9 series Samsung used. Excellent bang for the buck.


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## Cut (Dec 4, 2019)

nj9000 said:


> To me its only ATT and resellers of ATT's network. A few months ago I saw on the forums a lot of complaints about T-Mobile. They have good coverage but less reliability, more outages. And I don't use CDMA, I got burned a few years ago getting an "unlocked" US Cellular Galaxy S4 that Verizon/Sprint/etc wouldn't allow on their service.


I've had AT&T Prepaid in the past and I was happy with them. It probably depends on how much data you need and if you are going to stay on the same plan. Some of those deals you have to be on auto pay and not change plans...

What I'd do if I were looking right now is get on the Walmart special plan where you get 8 GB of data and with auto pay you get a $10 discount and 17 GB of bonus data... That $40 doesn't include tax, so my guess is it will be around $45, but you can ask them at the store about it... https://www.att.com/prepaid/walmart-offer/ Be sure to read the fine print on the offer... You will need to purchase a phone from them...

You can find all of the AT&T MVNO companies online and then you'll just have to do research and see which plan and options are best for your needs while also looking at customer satisfaction...


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## DriverMark (Jan 22, 2018)

Utah AT&T has some of the best coverage. We have been on Cricket ever since our Sprint contract ended some time after we moved here. Cricket runs on AT&T. Can't complain much. Cell Service in Utah has many spotty areas. But that is for all the carriers. Pay like $110 for 4 lines on Cricket.

Also have 2 burner phones on Xfinity Wireless as backups (see point above about spotty areas). Xfinity runs on Verizon network and is dirt cheap if we don't tap much data. Like $12/line for first 500 mb, then $12 each gig after, and that is shared. For 3 lines we avg about $60/mth (that's with 2 phone payments of like $15/mth)(1 daughter is on Xfinity, then wife and I have backup phones). Only really use it for backup where Cricket service is spotty. I also use for dual phoning while doing gig work. Many areas where Verizon service is spotty as well. None of the carriers are perfect here for some stupid reason.

I hate contracts with these big carriers. They are ridiculous and no need unless you need to subsidize a phone. But there are ways to get phones interest free on payments w/ 2-3 year financing. Or get a cheap phone for <$200. Most of them will work just fine for driving.


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## Cut (Dec 4, 2019)

Yes, Cricket is good too (they are a subsidiary of AT&T) and it's very easy to switch plans on the app if you need to. They have a good app when it's working, but it seems to be down a lot, so I'd be sure to have the auto pay set up. Taxes are included, so you know exactly the amount you're going to pay. The downside, which may not be a huge deal, is they always throttle the speeds to a max of 8 Mbps unless you're on the most expensive unlimited plan. Even on that plan they can deprioritize your speeds when the network is congested...


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## nj9000 (Jun 6, 2019)

Cut said:


> I've had AT&T Prepaid in the past and I was happy with them. It probably depends on how much data you need and if you are going to stay on the same plan. Some of those deals you have to be on auto pay and not change plans...
> 
> What I'd do if I were looking right now is get on the Walmart special plan where you get 8 GB of data and with auto pay you get a $10 discount and 17 GB of bonus data... That $40 doesn't include tax, so my guess is it will be around $45, but you can ask them at the store about it... https://www.att.com/prepaid/walmart-offer/ Be sure to read the fine print on the offer... You will need to purchase a phone from them...
> 
> You can find all of the AT&T MVNO companies online and then you'll just have to do research and see which plan and options are best for your needs while also looking at customer satisfaction...


Right now I'm looking at ATT prepaid 2GB data per month, $30 with autopay. Ideally I want 3-5GB of data but I used to make Uber work with just 2 per month and it was ok.

I'm not a "phone-culture" kind of person. I'm a computer nerd and still kinda operate pre-2007 before smartphones came out. Like I'm on a laptop right now, and I have like 5 desktop computers throughout the house. I'm not the type of person to watch movies, tv or even youtube on my phone so my data usage is usually really low. Though right now my home internet for this month is almost maxxed out @ like 900+GB/1.0TB and doesn't reset until the 23rd.

Other than ATT I'm looking at Consumer Cellular which would be the same $30 per month as ATT but with 3GB of data. ATT has rollover data though, and why should I pay the same price to be on a MVNO on their network? And ATT has better customer service and have stores where I can talk to them in person.

Mint Mobile I looked at last night, all their plans are for 3 months. Cricket is the same price as ATT but I'm not that interested in them.

Is ATT prepaid on the same network and has the same priority as ATT postpaid?


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## waldowainthrop (Oct 25, 2019)

If your area has acceptable T-Mobile service, Mint is an excellent pre-paid MVNO service. It is probably one of the cheapest phone services in the US that has excellent data packages for under $35 per month. I spend $25 per month at the moment. Forget about comparing to “unlimited” data plans, and take a look at what you actually use per month. If it’s less than 12 GB (which is an insane amount, even for full-time driving), Mint has some good plans. I’m not sure if there are more affordable services without making heavy tradeoffs.

It’s exactly the same as T-Mobile, but with better remote customer service and a better app/website experience. If you need a shop to help you out in-person, there are better MVNOs and carriers, but that’s why it’s cheaper. Their data add-on packages are good too, so if you need 2 GB most of the time and 5 GB one month, it’s easy to add on.

At $25 per month (standard price, not the cheaper introductory rate) for 3 GB, it’s a great deal. The half-year and year plans are absurdly cheap, and run $15-25 per month.


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## Cut (Dec 4, 2019)

nj9000 said:


> Right now I'm looking at ATT prepaid 2GB data per month, $30 with autopay. Ideally I want 3-5GB of data but I used to make Uber work with just 2 per month and it was ok.
> 
> I'm not a "phone-culture" kind of person. I'm a computer nerd and still kinda operate pre-2007 before smartphones came out. Like I'm on a laptop right now, and I have like 5 desktop computers throughout the house. I'm not the type of person to watch movies, tv or even youtube on my phone so my data usage is usually really low. Though right now my home internet for this month is almost maxxed out @ like 900+GB/1.0TB and doesn't reset until the 23rd.
> 
> ...


Keep in mind that with AT&T Prepaid that $30 doesn't include taxes... If 2 GB is a stretch I'd keep doing research for plans with more data...

It's the same network, but maybe in some rural areas where they have a roaming agreement with postpaid it's not the same as prepaid.

Take a look at this video:


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## Cut (Dec 4, 2019)

The Gift of Fish said:


> AT&T prepaid data-only plan. $35 per month for unlimited LTE. Google Voice app gives free phone calls within the US. Works great.


Where are you seeing unlimited for $35? Their site shows much more expensive prices and no unlimited plan.


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## DeadHeadDriver (Feb 7, 2020)

Had good experience with this Att Reseller. (Buy their $9.99 sim card) for your UnLocked phone. (www.Redpocket.com) Then:










Google free phone? &#128516; ----> Google's *privacy-free* phone, but at least it didn't cost you anything to have Google record ALL your calls!


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

Cut said:


> Where are you seeing unlimited for $35? Their site shows much more expensive prices and no unlimited plan.


It's not on their consumer retail site. In any case, apparently they discontinued the unlimited for $35 plan for new customers. It's now 25Gb for $35, which isn't such a great deal, obviously.

https://buyasession.att.com/sbd/Com...9.99 plan includes access,of data for 30 days.


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