Non-Big 3 Cell Carrier

Snowy

Slightly less n00b
Joined
Jul 6, 2019
Messages
99
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Hi,
I've always been wrary of the "discount" carriers (non- AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile), but in an effort to cut my monthly expenses, I'm looking at various options. Specifically, I'm looking at Spectrum Mobile (Verizon) and Mint Mobile (T-Mobile)... Does anyone have experience with either of these? If so, how is it? What would I be losing by switching from AT&T to one of these lower-cost service providers?

Thanks
 
I'm 'experiencing' Spectrum Mobile at the moment.

Suffice it to say, it may run across Verizon's network, but I've had numerous instances where having what appears to be decent signal coverage and not having things work.

Was previously on Google Fi, which while nice when running Pixel phones, was all that I expected T-Mobile to be.

I don't have an answer for you. IMO, they all suck in their own ways.
 
The discount players are now starting to include in their advertising that their traffic over the big-boys network is being de-prioritized. While you may be on a Verizon network with Spectrum, you'll see less performance. You get what you pay for though. If those edge cases where things are just slower for you are fine, then make the switch. Lazy said it best though. They all suck in their own ways..
 
Thanks. I am considering giving Mint a try for 3 months to see... Even if the network gets de-prioritized on occasion, I find it hard to believe it will be so often that it would justify the $80 premium/month I'm paying AT&T.
 
Just to give everyone an update on this... About a month ago I took the plunge and signed up with Visible Wireless (https://www.visible.com/) Their Unlimited Plan is $40/month, plus I get a $15/month discount through PerksAtWork.com... So, I figured for $25/month, I should at least try. Overall, I've been very happy with the service. I haven't done a speed test, but the "eyeball" test is that it is only slightly slower than AT&T. I've been in rural areas of Kansas, in a football stadium with 12,000 other people, and the only time I haven't had service was in a particular big-box shopping center south of Dallas. Otherwise it's been really good, and I don't see myself going back to AT&T.
 
I've been doing the 15$/month plan on mint mobile for about 2 years. Calls are generally fine. I don't use a lot of data. When I load pages they load reasonably fast most of the time. Youtube videos generally work fine. I definitely notice that I have less coverage than I did with ATT or than my wife's verizon. But I don't care that much.

By main gripe is that when my phone is in wi-fi calling mode I don't always receive phone calls reliably. I dont know if this is a function of the carrier or the phone itself (moto g7).
 
Wife and I are on Google Fi. We have the 1gb data package for 2 phones and our bill last month was $49.
 
serpretetsky said:
I've been doing the 15$/month plan on mint mobile for about 2 years. Calls are generally fine. I don't use a lot of data. When I load pages they load reasonably fast most of the time. Youtube videos generally work fine. I definitely notice that I have less coverage than I did with ATT or than my wife's verizon. But I don't care that much.

By main gripe is that when my phone is in wi-fi calling mode I don't always receive phone calls reliably. I dont know if this is a function of the carrier or the phone itself (moto g7).
Click to expand...
I have Verizon, and because of where I live I'm dependent on WiFi Calling when I'm at home. I have similar experiences to yours with WiFi Calling. It's not 100% reliable. It's more than likely the function of WiFi Calling and not the carrier or phone.
 
Update: Still with Visible. Still loving the $25/month. No complaints whatsoever.
 
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