Have you considered Google Fi …it’s from Google (obviously!). Four person family paying $65 plus tax. Service has been great! I’m a big fan. No contract, unlimited data.
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I’ve used Google Fi for years. I love the call-screening option for an incoming call from an unknown number.
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Your price got my attention, but when I checked their website, it looks like the $65 for four lines is the “Flexible” plan and doesn’t include data, which is $10/GB extra. Or am I missing something?
Dumb question # 8,746:
So I’m looking at various plans from various providers. Many of them say $XX for unlimited talk and text plus $YY for 10 GB of data. Or, they say $ZZ for unlimited talk, text, and data.
What uses “data”? Is it when I’m listening to music or a podcast, watching a movie on my phone, etc.?? Or is it something else?
And Dumb question #8747:
All of the providers and plans I’m looking at talk about 5G. That refers to the speed of the downloads, sending and receiving, etc. Correct?? And, is 5G currently the best available?
Thanks in advance to all you wonderful CC-ers trying to teach this old dog.
Pretty much anything that goes over the mobile phone network (not wifi) other than texting or voice calls would be what is charged as data for the purpose of mobile phone plans.
Videos and movies tend to consume lots of data (basically like loading a high resolution image many times per second, instead of just once when you look at a static image). Ads on web sites and in apps often have videos or animations, so they may use up far more data than the web site or app would use without the ads (or with ads blocked).
Your phone may have some way of telling you how much data you are using and what apps are using how much.
but presumably when using wifi at home or elsewhere, no consumption of cellular data.
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Yes, data going over wifi is not charged as mobile phone network data on the mobile phone plan.
Your question made me go double check my bill…I’m paying $80. Embarrassing to not know how much I’m paying each month!!
Simply unlimited plan. Still strongly recommended but I think I better go check what other auto pay bills I’m underestimating!
DH and I together are using <1.8GB per month. And, I was mistaken – I don’t have unlimited data; I have 12GB for each phone. So, together, 24GB, of which we’re using less than 7.5%. So we could easily go with a plan with 5GB per month for the two lines.
And what about this question?:
All of the providers and plans I’m looking at talk about 5G. That refers to the speed of the downloads, sending and receiving, etc. Correct?? And, is 5G currently the best available?
3G, 4G, 5G refer to 3rd, 4th, 5th generation mobile phone networks, with increasing bandwidth and decreasing latency. 4G is common, while 5G is available in some areas (varies by carrier). Many newer phones have 5G as well as 4G capability, but somewhat older phones may have only 4G.
There is no hurry to replace a 4G-only phone with one that has 5G if you are only concerned about functionality (as opposed to the fastest possible network speed).
Maybe consider T -Mobile if it is a good choice for your area. Within the last year we switched from Verizon. The senior plan, unlimited data, new phone for free( as long as we don’t switch out) Netflix and Apple TV+ included, we pay $90. It does need a bank draft monthly.
I wanted a new phone and got a IPhone 13. H kept his phone.
Edited for sentence structure.
I am on a Verizon network MVNO. I haven’t noticed a difference in network quality/coverage between Verizon network via Verizon vs Verizon MVNO, although some MVNOs do have lower priority or limited speed. You can find a list using the search tool on whistleout.com . Prices start at under $10/month for basic plans with some MVNOs. You might review why your phone was not compatible with Visible and see if there are other options that don’t have that limitation. If it’s not a very old phone, I’d expect there are many options.
I pay $20/month, well above the minimum. The reason I choose my provider over lower priced options is other benefits, particularly a 60% decrease in Internet cost and being able to buy new phones at extraordinarily low prices. For example, I bought a Razr+ and S24+ for net of less than $0 after trade ins, earlier this year.
According to some folks on the Interwebs, Visible just wants everyone to buy a new phone. Even DH’s phone, which is only about 4 months old, is not compatible either.
That annoyance in and of itself makes me not want to go with Visible, even though it mimics Verizon’s network. Well, it IS Verizon’s network.
OK, next dumb question (what number am I up to?):
Once I decide to go with a certain low-cost provider, how does the actual switch happen? Does the low-cost provider just flip a switch? (Hah.) Does the low-cost provider send me a new SIM card? What the f* is a SIM card?? And where do I put that? (No wise cracks about where to put it, please.)
It depends on the phone and provider. The traditional approach is a physical sim card. The new provider mails/gives you a sim card that you physically insert in your phone. A Google search will show how to insert on your specific phone and show what a sim card looks like. If the provider has a local store, they can insert it for you. Some newer phones have a virtual sim card that is essentially flipping a switch. Click a button to activate, and the switch occurs. You do not need to physically insert a sim card or anything else in your phone.
This can be as simple as it sounds, or it can be far more complex than it sounds, depending on your phone and service provider. If your phone is locked to your previous service provider, you need to unlock it before inserting sim card and switching. Your previous service provider does this by essentially clicking a button, and some make it more awkward than others to unlock. Sometimes you simply insert the sim card and are good to go. Other times (particularly with older phones), you may need to add APNs to your phone, referencing servers, protocols, various numbers, etc. You can read reviews or contact support to get an idea of what is required before switching.
Why is nothing simple?
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We have a legacy plan with 55+ people with tmobile le. Unlimited everything, voice & data. Was $60 for 2 lines with autopay on ccard but increased to $70 if you didn’t switch to debit card or checking account. We have one acct for me with D on it and one for H with S on it, so $140 for 4 lines. Free international data.
We buy our own phones and use them. H & D have ObePlus. S and I have iphones.
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I’m back on this, after a hiatus.
Consumer Cellular has a deal through AARP for $55 a month for two lines, minus $5 per month if you “autopay.”
Currently, with Verizon, I do get a warning if I get a call that it’s probably spam. Will I lose that if I switch?? (Yeah, I’ll ask Consumer Cellular if/when I get to that stage.)
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If you make the switch, please report back after a while to let us know if the service is working well for you.
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