Cell carriers

jeff kushner

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This is one of those subjects that on the more "mechanical" forums, we would equate to a "oil thread"....one that we all have opinions b/c of our experiences...and none are wrong to me. I'm not here to complain about anyone though......just my experience.

Anyway....for the last 15-16 years, I've been with ATT on their unlimited plan. I own my own phone, a V30thin now...5 yrs old but it has all my por....uh, family photos on it and I love it. LMAO

ATT however charges me $103 a month, up from $96 in April...guess they needed a raise? I've known for some time that I should switch....90 bucks for 1 phone was bad enough, but now they are kissing me too! LOL

Enough is enough, so I send the unlock request in to ATT and got my code. It was a good feeling, I suppose that it must have felt the same way for those gaining Freedom after some period of time without it...... "Free at Last bit*h's!"

I like College movies and I like Ryan Reynolds and there really isn't any better system to pick one, they will either work or not, So I pick Mint Mobile, go to their site, give them a few bucks and they send me the sim card. I lose said sim card b/c being afraid to change, I laid it on my desk....so second sim card arrives. I wait two weeks(still afraid) till Kerry comes over, for moral support you know!

I have my unlock code from ATT handy so I call the Mint lady up, she answers in an accent we can't quite discern...Eastern but how far east, we can't figure...... but she is very helpful we get it up and running! Ta da! (it must be on their card to respond to ea question with" Yes, I can be happy to help you with that today", but it was cute and she was very nice)

I run both utilities they send me, then manually insert the new APN when their utilities don't seem to work.

No pics in texts...huh?

Text only works on my wifi at home, huh?

I come to work Monday...still 5 full bars.....as I walk down the steps, they disappear one by one. By the time I'm at the bottom of 13 steps, nada, nothing. Uh oh! Most of my work calls, come before noon on my cell because my ATT service was perfect or nearly so, anywhere I ever went, and was here too. ....just that ATT worked here when no one's company- Apple on Tmobil worked down here. I am not on their plan b/c I've never accepted a company phone, I've just preferred to use my own phone, not someone else's who has rights to it.

Anyway, this sucks....so I look into it.....yeah, I know that some of you already know this part because you're smart...jeff not so much...I'm the last to pay attention.....Mint is owned....by tmobile!

Not knocking them in any way, it just isn't working for me. If they only wanted to charge me for the hours it was usable to me, it might work out between us but I'm afraid that won't likely happen so I will move on to the next one....like playing Spin the Carrier!

The upside of this learning process is that I only spent a few bucks, much less than a single month of ATT. I might have wanted to look to see who of the discount vendors was compatible with ATT first though. Kerry is talking-up her Verizon plan....but her's is restricted cause she's poor and cheap....but it's only 25 a month so I might send them a few bucks and see if their stuff works.

In reality, I could try 3-4 vendors for the cost of one ATT month.....so this isn't so bad, right?

LOL Sometimes, we search a little harder to find that silver lining, but it's always there.

When I have difficulty finding it, it is because I am not managing my own expectations.....they all claim to be plug/play......but that's not quite the reality for everyone, sometimes we have to tinker.....Hey, maybe ATT has a discount plan? There's an epiphany......


All it takes is a 6x6, I will catch on pretty quick after a couple of whacks!
 

wellington

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Just a heads up. Verizon isn't the cheapest and not what they say either. I have them now. I live and work in the city of Chicago. My phone won't let me answer calls at work, I have to step outside to do so and we are on the first floor ground level. The stores phones are Tmobile and they work fine in the store.
Plans get cheaper if you have more then one phone on the plan. You might want to consider joining Kerry's plan but I think I would try her phone at your work to see if it will work.
We are going anytime now, I keep putting it off, to get new phones and to switch to tmobile. I hate having to do this process. It takes forever it seems.
Good luck!
 

ZEROPILOT

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I'd finally had enough of AT$T and their rate increases over a period of at least 12 years and switched over to T Mobile.
T Mobile is "almost half" the price. On paper it's 5G and looks like a fantastic deal. However, it is absolutely horrible. I randomly have no internet. Customer service doesn't seem to be able to assist no matter the issue and the ACTUAL bill is much closer to being the same than "half".
I'm wondering if this is an actual story of how you get what you paid for.
 

wellington

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I'd finally had enough of AT$T and their rate increases over a period of at least 12 years and switched over to T Mobile.
T Mobile is "almost half" the price. On paper it's 5G and looks like a fantastic deal. However, it is absolutely horrible. I randomly have no internet. Customer service doesn't seem to be able to assist no matter the issue and the ACTUAL bill is much closer to being the same than "half".
I'm wondering if this is an actual story of how you get what you paid for.
Really! Darn, now I have to do more research. Ugh, I'm thinking they all just stink and depending where you are some more then others of course.
 

Yvonne G

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I finally joined the electronic age and bought a cell phone and plan from Consumer Cellular. I have unlimited whatever and it only costs me $20 a month. So far, for the three months I've been a subscriber, all I've paid (besides the phone and its accessories) is the $20 a month. I have absolutely no problem with the service, but you have to bear in mind that for the past three months the phone has been sitting on my side table, plugged into the charger, and I haven't lifted it once to use it. I'm paying $20 a month so I can be able to say, "I have a cell phone!"
 

Tom

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Oh boy do I have insight into this one... I use my phone literally all over the plantetand have for decades now.

On most jobs I have at least one co-worker with me, and often more, as well as crews of around 100-200 people. We film in locations from literally remote jungles to the middle of the largest cities in the world and everything in-between. Snowy mountain tops, tropical beaches, literally IN the Rio Grande (No Country for Old Men...) etc... Without exaggeration, which I am so often prone to, I am at 200+ different locations each and every year. Some times multiple locations in the same day, in addition to all my usual haunts, falconry fields, and hobby locations. This gives me an enormous amount of data points. "Hey... you got signal here?" Every cell company has good and bad points. Consistently and unanimously, Verizon has the best signal and the fewest holes of any company out there. I have not looked in the last few years, but in years past, Consumer Reports listed Verizon as number 1 in 48 out of 50 markets across the country for best reception. fewest "holes" in coverage, and top customer satisfaction. If my own personal experience did not mirror these stats, I would write it off to biased marketing BS. There have always been times and locations where only one cell company has service and all the others didn't. There have been locations where everyone on Verizon had no service, but either AT&T or T Mobile did, but most of the time, consistently year after year, location after location, I have service and am able to make and receives calls, texts and pics, where people on other carriers could not.

I've been with Verizon for decades now. Since before they were called Verizon. It was L.A. Cellular and then AirTouch, before the name changed to Verizon. I would sit next to a person calling other carriers for service, and it was pretty bad in most cases. Verizon, in the past, always had the best and most helpful customer service. Customer service is important to me, and I don't mind paying for it. As the years have gone by, and corporate offices get larger and more distant, Verizon customer service has suffered. It seems to be hit or miss, depending on who answers the phone when you call now, and I can't honestly say they are any better than any other company when it comes to customer service anymore.

Early on, I was pretty happy with what I got for my money. Nowadays, it seems that all of them are lying hucksters. "Unlimited" service simply isn't. You get a little bit of data at such and such speed, but then the rest of your "unlimited" data drops off to this much slower speed for the month. Its BS! In recent years I have considered switching several times, but even with their problems, I can't say any other company is any better from what I have seen, and continue to see daily. I'm no fan boy, and I rely on my cell and mobile wifi service to do business every day. When I see a better, more consistent signal from any other carrier, and even decent customer service, I will happily jump ship. In spite of their issues, from where I am sitting and what I've experienced over many years, Verizon is still the best, all things considered.
 

OliveW

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Wow, @Tom and you still take your time to come on here and help us newbies by answering the same questions over and over! 😮 Just what I've seen since I joined a few months ago been enough to push me over the edge of patience - so much repetition.

I want to apologize for not searching the forum and finding the care sheet I needed on my own. And I really appreciate all your patience and help. You are truly dedicated! Just to help one stray male pyramided Sulcata that's worth nothing to the rest of the world. 😢 But priceless to me.

Back to carriers. Even though I know Cricket uses AT&T towers, I should have put the disclaimer that I don't use it myself. We have AT&T with 10 lines on it that is grandfathered in to a 15 year old plan that has unlimited data for real and a much cheaper rate. It was the only signal we get out here. We had Verizon when we moved here and got no signal at all, although in recent years, my family members with Verizon have been able to get signal here, so they're expanding.
 

jeff kushner

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I'll have to reread Toms response for clues but this is what I've found;

What carriers run off of AT&T towers?


  • Straight Talk Wireless.
  • Pure TalkUSA.
  • Cricket Wireless.
  • H2O Wireless.
  • Red Pocket Mobile.
  • Tracfone.
  • Net10 Wireless.
  • FreeUp Mobile.
They all run around 50-55 per mo for unlimited.

I lost 502 contacts years ago when Tmobile went into MY phone, not theirs, and deleted them. It took 6 mos of negotiations over my bill to settle with them so I wouldn't go back.
 

jeff kushner

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I was leaving the office earlier but wanted to post what I had time to find.

Don't bring up that movie.....terrifying for me, JB? I'd rather see the devil waiting for me.....don't know what you had to do with it but it was one of the first that ever felt...real. If you've ever, well you don't want to...but if you did...it would be like that! Surreal......

Hey O, T is a nice guy, mostly(LOL).....with near-infinite patience(well, he really tries)because he really cares how these guys are treated, whether by an old keeper or a new person. Tom uses Verizon...and it carries the weight of his more than normal, WAY more than normal experience! LOL I can appreciate the travel use, or for you, everyday life(you must REALLY love what you do!) but of course, it's the USA use that matters in this instance anyway so thanks.


There really is no wrong answer for me...just live and learn, bash no one(well....still carry angst for tmobile....a little) and move on.

I think I've decided to see what Mint can or can't do, there is too much that I don't know about this so they may be able to hook me up.....I just need to remember to bite my tongue...it's not the persons fault that I'm talking to. If they can't, help, I'll ask for the release code. I kinda messed up when I signed up, I went for 90 days....should have gone for 30 , oops...lesson learned!

After that, I'll check tomorrow if we have someone with a private Verizon phone at work and see how theirs works. I like benefiting by the wheel that someone else built.....I went far enough in this quest by myself, now I defer...LOL

if no one at work has Verizon and I have to go to an unknown, because I know the ATT towers work where I live and work and Kerry's, I'll reach out to Straight talk and get theirs. I dealt with them when the Sidekick was my phone and they were great.

I've save $$ overall by the time this is done......but I would have sent someone the wasted $$ up front, and have this go smoothly and everything work. Money isn't really the reason I switched....I don't do open relationships anymore and I'm with Kerry and ATT, well, they were trying to do bad things to me. LOL
 

Blackdog1714

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I'd finally had enough of AT$T and their rate increases over a period of at least 12 years and switched over to T Mobile.
T Mobile is "almost half" the price. On paper it's 5G and looks like a fantastic deal. However, it is absolutely horrible. I randomly have no internet. Customer service doesn't seem to be able to assist no matter the issue and the ACTUAL bill is much closer to being the same than "half".
I'm wondering if this is an actual story of how you get what you paid for.
I use t-mobile and it works fine other than the Text delay. Almost 10 min from Verizon phones. But at $100 for 2 lines and more internet that I can use I am more than happy. Also only carrier that has a tower close enough to give me service in my house
 

ZEROPILOT

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I use t-mobile and it works fine other than the Text delay. Almost 10 min from Verizon phones. But at $100 for 2 lines and more internet that I can use I am more than happy. Also only carrier that has a tower close enough to give me service in my house
The internet issue has been blamed on a nearby tower and something being upgraded.
At this point, anything would seem to be an improvement
 

Tom

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Started doing simple internet searches for things like "What is the best cell carrier?" Found this:

Found lots of other ones too, but the name on this one...
 

jeff kushner

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I've used Toms Guide for years with computer parts and TV's.


I checked and found the Verizon has a dead zone, about 5 miles long in the Rt 301 corridor that apparently centers on our office...WTH is up with that? I was talking with one of our new guys and found out that has Verizon and doesn't get reception till he gets 4 miles up the road to Rt 4.

A couple of hours later, I got a text from my oldest who told me quite clearly; "Dad, your new service sucks, call me when you see this"

She had tried to call 3 times.....my phone was connected to our office wifi and I still never knew it. That's barely better than a string and 2 cans....because it can get texts (no pics)....LOL

Yeah, it's like Rosanadana used to say; "It's always something"

So I'll order a Straight Talk card tomorrow once I get to Kerry's and entice her with promises of flowers and candy to call Mint to get my # release code before I call Straight talk.
 
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