Cell phone carriers

[bkln]

T-Mobile has $60 for 2 phones plan, unlimited. The catch is must be 55+ :-) I guess it pays to be a geezer (or have one in the family). Wondering about it and want to give it a shot. Anyone using it yet?

[genesee_mohican]

I'm glad this thread was started, we all pay too much for cell phone service and anyone with a family and kids in HS has a large bill. I've had a plan with two smart phones for several years, but with my daughter done with college and well on her way, it's time to get it down to one phone and look at other options. I'll be looking at T-Mobile for sure!

[LIAF]

I use total wireless which is part of the tracfone family. I get unlimited text ,calls but no data for $27 a month. I paid$ 20 extra and got 10 gigs of data last year and still have about 3 gigs left on my phone. I don't use my phone for data. You can get a plan for$ 35 a month that will give you 5 gigs a month. Total wireless buys their service from the major carriers. I am not a tech person but from what I gathered their seems to be 2 different technologies CDMA and GSM. Mine is a CDMA phone and uses Verizon as its carrier. I never have any dropped calls and the reception is fine. They have family plans which are easily half the price of what people are paying. You can bring over a phone from another carrier if your phone is compatible. I bought my phone from them and setting it up was no problem . I have read on some forums that switching over for some people is a total pain in the A$$. I used tracfone before this and they were fine for what I needed. I had several phones with tracfone GSM and CDMA and could tell a hugh difference with the competing technologies. I think GSM phones use ATT and T mobile whereas CDMA were either sprint or Verizon.This company isn't for everybody but when I read what people pay for their cell phones I just scratch my head and wonder.  

[SteveB]

Straight Talk on Verizon towers for me for 8 years - unlimited for about 50/month. Same exact service and reception as I had for years with Verizon.

Big part of the high cost of carrier plans is the "free" or special phones. Every 2 to 3 years, I buy a rehab or used Galaxy usually 2 models off current for 100 to 200 bucks. And although I have no idea where it is, I figure I save in the neighborhood of $500/year over the plans I used to use.

[GreeneHunter]

I just moved up from a flip phone to a smart phone only to take better pictures in the field and have no interest in getting on the web from my phone . Paying Verizon about $135.00 per month !

[2012_taco]

I have the "old Geezer" cell phone plan through Consumer Cellular. It costs me $46/mo. taxes included for 2 phones with unlimited calls, 1500 texts/mo. and very limited data.(500mb) iirc. I bought a used Samsung phone for $90 2 years ago and other than the battery starting to wear out, I've had no problems. They use at&t and t-mobile towers. I got the at&t card for my phone as it has better coverage in WNY. My wife bought her phone from CC for $125. If i need more data I can upgrade the plan for $5/mo. But with free wifi I never need to. They are great with customer service.  I am a dummy when it comes to setting up my phone and they walked me through everything. I don't use my for for online stuff as I prefer to use the laptop or tablet as the screens are bigger. Probably not the best option if you need a plan with more phones and unlimited data. 

[nyslowhand]

If you need a plan with lots of data on multiple phones, that's one thing. No offense, but those of you (like myself!) that don't get online with your phone, only have a smart phone for the better camera, etc - JMO, you're wasting your money paying for a major cell phone provider's plan, or even a TracFone type plan! Not to mention the cost of keeping up to date on the latest cell phone...  IE; new Iphone & Samsung are ~$900/$1000, add that to your monthly bill. Crazy!

Edited February 18, 2018 by nyslowhand

[Elmo]

My work pays for my cell.  Had T-Mobile way back, then my last job was Verizon for 10 years, and now my new job is T-Mobile.  Honestly, I did get better reception with Verizon but there were also some areas I went with Verizon that people with T-Mobile were getting service that my Verizon wasn't getting.  I think thought, over all, I got better coverage with Verizon.  That being said, I remember the president of my last company not getting good Verizon coverage at his house so they switched him to AT&T.  Most of us have routines.  With work and home, we go to the same places 95% of the time.  Question isn't which one has the best coverage.  It's which one has the best coverage in the areas you're in the most.  If you're getting good coverage equally, then go with the cheapest one.

[WNYBuckHunter]

On 2/16/2018 at 8:33 PM, hunter49 said:

   My daughter & I both gripped  to them about this & they knocked $10 a month off each bill.  I liked the Sprint commercial on the super bowl & was thinking of looking at them , they said they were only 1% less than Verizon as far as reception goes across the country & cheaper. I think they might use the same towers.

They dont

[SteveB]

2 hours ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

They dont

Different technologies too.

 

[turkeyfeathers]

Although a lot of you said no to Verizon I'm going to get a quote tomorrow finding out a deal (buy one get one ) of 2 Iphone 8's (wife said she's fine with her 5s ) and per month charges  If it's within what we have now from AT & T I'll tell AT & T to stick it. No loyalty for 26+ years ?! SIL raves about Tmobile and their rates, free gift cards here and there, no extra fees in Ontario. I just can't do it. Thinking  staying with AT & T /Verizon or bust 

[nyslowhand]

To avoid any confusion, a cell phone's built-in camera has nothing to do with a service carrier, other than the capabilities of the free phones they are temping you with. BTW - You don't always need a major carrier to be using a decent smart phone, a lot have the BYOP option. You just need to be completely aware of what you're buying; if it's unlocked, tower system it's attached to, refurbished or an overstocked couple of generations old phone, if it's on your perspective carriers approved list, etc.

[turkeyfeathers]

So yesterday wife .daughter and I went to Verizon  The clerk walked us through what Verizon had to offer, explained everything very well. We went home and pondered it and shortly after went back   We were replacing AT&T and 3 IPhone 5S   3 employees quickly transferred all our contacts, pictures etc  Daughters phone didn't have enough room in memory (shocker for a 15 year old I know) to back up into Cloud  They did transfer via an APP for her. Had some issues with our email transferring over and they fixed that  All in all a pleasant experience   When we were leaving I asked who I could contact to give kudos to the 3 of them for being so patient, polite and professional  They gave me their sales director out of Syracuses email   I shot him off an email this morning saying how pleased we were with our experience   Received an email back and was very pleased  Just now received a text from one of the salesmen saying the 3 of them were very appreciative for that email as the sales director blasted it out to all of the Buffalo Verizon stores   Being in retail for 30 years myself its nice to get feedback of your employees for the good things. Most people would only reach out for the poor experiences  Felt good reporting some good to the higher ups

The bill will be virtually the same as before but now with unlimited data as opposed to 10 gigs and free Ontario calls/texts and data . We go to Toronto a few times a year and 4 days at $10/day x3 adds up quick   With no data 

Edited February 21, 2018 by turkeyfeathers

[Hunter007]

Verizon best coverage over all  tmoble best internet plans and pretty good coverage. 

I say you can't go wrong with either 

if you really  want to use it in the deep  woods go with Verizon you will have better coverage in back country .

If you stay near main roads  you better off with tmoble probably. Little less and more internet speed .