anyone had luck with these fly-by night cell carriers?

I see ads all the time for shit like consumer Cellular, mint mobile, stuff that rents time on Verizon towers and sells you a plan for like half the price.

I'm trying real hard to de-Xfinity myself but the cellular plan is the cheapest of all the major companies. Yes, I know they also piggyback off the Verizon network, but at least they have 24/7 support

kitnaht ,

Yeah, they're fine. I use RedPocket for my daughters phone because it's like $120 for a whole year of phone service. They're often better than the 'pure' networks because they can fall back to AT&T when T-Mobile is down, etc. Often times they aren't only on a single network. Hell, Mint was doing so well that T-Mobile ended up buying them (probably to dissolve them, honestly)

pleasejustdie ,

I've had some experience with Mint Mobile, but couldn't get it to activate where I live. The sim worked fine visiting Vegas, but back in my home state, even though it runs on T-Mobile's network and T-Mobile was fine, the same sim with a phone number with an area code in my home state didn't work in my home state. So, maybe it works, but the one time I tried it wouldn't work and Mint couldn't get it working just kept saying everything is fine and it should be working.

Tried StraightTalk Wireless after that, 2 different sims so far, no issues, other than I had to get a new sim when the account was inactive for 6 to 8 months. But at least now their sim packs come with both Verizon and notVerizon compatible sims in the same pack now.

MrVilliam ,

What state are you in? I'm in VA and considering going from Google Fi to Mint mostly because we would go from minimal data usage to unlimited for about the same price. Definitely not making the switch if you're also in VA and can vouch that it doesn't work here.

pleasejustdie ,

nowhere near VA, I'm in AZ, no experience with it there.

Vaggumon ,
@Vaggumon@lemm.ee avatar

I've had Mint Mobile for 3 years. Have had no issues, same for wife and roommate. Thought a friend that live 30 min away can't get it to work for them. Even though T-Mobile (the network Mint uses) works fine for them.

altima_neo ,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Didn't t-mobile buy Mint?

chahk ,

Maybe. Probably. Who can keep track?

StrawberryPigtails ,

I'm currently using Mint Mobile for internet on my laptop, No issues related to the carrier. Their customer site doesn't seem to like Firefox much though.

One heads up for anyone looking to use a Mint Mobile sim in their laptop, you will need a modem and software that can send/receive sms. Mint really likes using sms for verification.

8565 ,

I love Mint I get service for $180 a year

Meltrax ,

How? How do these companies exist and stay running?

scytale ,

They ride on T-Mobile's network, so they have lower priority. Also, support is terrible and almost non-existent. I use Mint myself and it's been ok. It's great until you run into an issue, and it can be hell to get it resolved. If it works though, you should be fine, that's why you should always use the trial sim first so you can test for 7 days if it works on your phone and if you have good reception in the places you're usually at.

mozz Admin ,
mozz avatar

They also don’t bother to run retail locations or advertising or anything. Just phone + app for payments + cheap + good luck

I and friends have had Mint and on the whole it is great

MrFappy ,

Yes, Mint is great… on the hole. In regards to the ads though, I, and Ryan Reynolds, and YouTube wholeheartedly disagree. I see almost as many of their ads as I do ones for St Jude’s. It’s like, I get it, kids get cancer, it’s sad as fuck, stop reminding me that it could happen to mine!

mozz Admin ,
mozz avatar

My software configuration is such that whenever I see a YouTube ad on some stranger’s device it is a violently disturbing event

Like wtf why does YouTube have ads now, these are really obnoxious

MrFappy ,

I’m not savvy enough to do all that. Let’s put it this way, I legitimately floated the idea of YouTube premium before trying to figure the complication that is configuring a different software setup for my entire network just to avoid the ads.

mozz Admin ,
mozz avatar

It is just uBlock origin, not some crazy thing

But yes I actually paid for Premium for like a couple of years; it is actually one of the most impactful in my experience in terms of those little “give us $7/mo to improve your internet in some minor way” services

comfyquaker ,

I stopped my xfinity mobile because the service was absolutely dreadful. id have either full bars or none and id always have my friends ragging on my connection to Discord. The conspiracy i had in my head was that i was never using cell service but rather the xfinity service would bounce you around their local wifi spots to provide you service whether you had wifi services on or not. probably not true but it surely felt like it.

Tried Mint and it worked just ok. it was nice because at the time i was using an android soap phone and didn’t need much data.

Recently switched my wife and I to Visible plans. even though it is the same coverage as xfinity mobile and uses the Verizon network, it is a night and day difference in connection quality. at 25 a line, i’m happy with visible. i recall my xfinity lines were 30 each after any ‘deals’.

dan1101 ,
@dan1101@lemm.ee avatar

I'm using Visible unlimited for $30 a month. As soon as I signed up Verizon bought them, but it's been fun for a couple years now.

etchinghillside ,

As a primary internet source I could not recommend Visible. The de-prioritization was very noticeable and the coverage wasn’t great. (Even Verizon is piggybacking on some carriers in some areas - and in those areas Visible isn’t supported.)

I kept it around for a while for large file downloads - it was slow but I didn’t have to worry about data caps. Eventually I dropped it when I got a Starlink.

Bitrot ,
@Bitrot@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

Have used various MVNOs for years with no real issues. US Mobile has been pretty good and can use TMobile or Verizon and soon AT&T.

MrVilliam ,

I've been on Google Fi for 3 or 4 years and it's been pretty much flawless. I've traveled to Mexico and Spain with it, and there's a sort of calibration period of like 30 minutes before you have service in another country, but that's literally the only time I've been without service for any period of time. My wife and I are on it and use very little data, so covering both phones is typically about $60/month. We usually have 5G service around our home in northern VA.

Proof of bill cost: https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/0b130e0b-0bda-4f8c-a7b1-b2b6868c3faf.png

cheesymoonshadow ,
@cheesymoonshadow@lemmings.world avatar

I've been using Google Fi since 2016. When I worked from home, my bill was $25-$35/mo. I work outside the home now and my bill has been higher, so thanks for the reminder I should probably look into switching.

WFH bills:
https://lemmings.world/pictrs/image/da00e166-1886-49a5-ab17-842f3ebd0a7c.png

Working outside the home:
https://lemmings.world/pictrs/image/fcbdf93d-34ae-4273-a438-5854b41a89fa.png

MrVilliam ,

Lol happy to help! Yeah, nowadays it's easy to hit a gig in data usage without even realizing you've used any at all. I wish the unlimited tier were cheaper. It feels like we have gotten to a point where we should be able to use GPS or do a Google search without considering a cost. Kinda feels like if anything, they should be paying us for allowing into our pocket this ever changing billboard that scrapes our metadata. But that's unrealistic to get anyone else onboard with, so I'll settle for free connectivity to knowledge in exchange for advertising and spying on me.

Nemo ,

I've been on MetroPCS for most of a decade and have no complaints. Two lines, unlimited everything, $50/month.

Steve ,

Visible works well for me

shortwavesurfer ,

I use the T-Mobile Connect prepaid plan now, but I've heard very good things about Mint Mobile and for a long time I used Ting Mobile before it was bought by Dish Network.

Edit: btw i run a community !t_mobile If anyone has any interesting topics.

MaceyDay ,

I've been on US Mobile for several years. You can choose between the Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T networks. I'm on the Verizon SIM. Yes, you are deprioritized. No, it's not an issue.

I've been very impressed with US Mobile's support, though I've only needed it a couple times.

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