Switching From Verizon Wireless

[Hey Adrien!]

For two cell lines and an apple watch we're paying $250/month, ~$90 of which is towards monthly payments for purchasing our devices.

So that's $160/month for 5 GB of data, total protection plans, cloud storage, talk/text, fees, etc, with our teacher discount.

Is this the reality of cell phone bills nowadays, or are there better options out there? I've done my own research, but there's so much BS to navigate in what is charged, I figured some personal testimonies would be helpful.

I have zero company loyalties.

Help.

 

[Stinger92860]

I switched to T-Mobile and I am saving a lot of money. The service is basically the same In my area, possibly slightly better. I also switched my mom, who lives in Trumbull, but I am planning to move her back to Verizon.

 

[storrsroars]

I pay $30-$37/mo on Google Fi, wife pays about $40 on T-Mobile. we don't combine plans as I'm full google cloud, she's got work considerations

 

[UConnKev]

T-Mobile is the move.

Free Netflix and $10 off a month on YouTube TV

 

[HistoryHusky]

Check this chart out to compare different deals.

Cell Phone Plan Comparison Chart - Airtable

 

[Hoophound]

T-Mobile is the move.

Free Netflix and $10 off a month on YouTube TV

T-Mobile seems to be the best deal price wise among major carriers. My concern is that service won’t be good. The merger of Sprint and T-Mobile theoretically improved the network, but when I had Sprint it was just awful. It just couldn’t meet my needs for work or travel. It was completely out of the service area often and the service I did have was only good outdoors and in the busiest parts of town.

My $500/month Verizon bill is terrible, but it has always been worth it overall. In the last year service has been in decline. I would switch if I knew the service would be adequate on T-Mobile.

 

[Minicoop69]

My wife and I have Verizon Prepaid Service. I have unlimited data and my wife has 15GB of data and we pay $85 a month. Works great.

 

[auror]

I've had T-Mobile for 15+ years at this point and have had very little problems with service over the years. Have mostly lived in suburbs and cities, so your mileage may vary if you are more rural.

Wife has verizon and we have Fios TV so we're exploring consolidating on Verizon to save some money on TV/internet. Seems like a lot of the tv discount packages these days are about having wireless service, too.

 

[Ubobconn22]

My son is a veteran and T-Mobile has a discounted plan for vets and their families. $105 a month for three cell lines and our home phone, unlimited text and data. Plus free Netflix. Been on the plan for six months and no noticeable difference from Verizon. We are in central Ct.

 

[NJHusky]

Switched me from Att and wife from Verizon to T-mobile...generally service seems comparable to my Att...EXCEPT that in our house it sucked...they actually sent me a portable cell site that solved the issue.

All in all...quite happy..bought one Iphone got the other almost free

 

[ZenConn]

T-Mobile/Sprint for me. Original Sprint customer which worked well for my needs. I just changed out the sim cards of my phones and now have access to both Sprint and T-Mobile towers. I also have free Hulu (which I packaged with Disney/ESPN+) from Sprint and free mlb.tv from T-Mobile and free subscription to the Athletic as well.

 

[methodology]

I have 3 phone with 3 different companies (Verizon, att, T-Mobile)

i think att us by far the best of the 3 with coverage and 5G. Verizon is my least favorite carrier of the 3

 

[stick]

I've had mint mobile for 2 years. They use T-Mobile's towers, zero problems for me in that time. 4GB with unlimited text/talk $15 a month but must pay for full year($180). You can try their 3 month trial offer for same monthly price. They also have a 10GB plan for $20 a month.

 

[Corny2Amida]

As much as I dislike the.company Spectrum, has a $14/mo unlimited talk with 1 GB data or $45/mo unlimited data. They use Verizon's network (only one that works well for me in the eastern CT sticks)

 

[Slasher]

Verizon is an absolute ripoff and has been for quite some time. MNVOs are your best bet if price is your #1 concern. I use Google Fi, which isn't the cheapest MVNO, but the complete lack of bloatware on their devices is a huge plus in my book.

 

[Sonofabeach]

I pay $250 a month for T-Mobile, 3 new phones / 3 lines Unlimited data, Netflix, text and talk plus with T-Mobile Home internet.

 

[HCCForever]

As much as I dislike the.company Spectrum, has a $14/mo unlimited talk with 1 GB data or $45/mo unlimited data. They use Verizon's network (only one that works well for me in the eastern CT sticks)

I don't have any major dislike for Spectrum but I need to research this as well since I can probably save at least $100 a month switching to Spectrum. I am in Florida and it appears that I can save quite a bit leaving Verizon. I pay $270 month for Wife and I including monthly payment for her phone. We have unlimited data for her. $270 is too much to pay for phone service in my book. Verizon prepay seems like an option that I need to research as well. I only care about good cell coverage and have no desire for Netflix or Youtube TV.

 

[J187Money]

I pay a fortune, but have 6 phones and an iPad - and we are paying on 4 phones. Never have had a service issue with Verizon.

Paying about $310/month when you take out the cost of paying for the phones. Unlimited data - comes out to $44/device all in - which isn't really that bad.

 

[Minicoop69]

I pay a fortune, but have 6 phones and an iPad - and we are paying on 4 phones. Never have had a service issue with Verizon.

Paying about $310/month when you take out the cost of paying for the phones. Unlimited data - comes out to $44/device all in - which isn't really that bad.

With Verizon especially, the more phones you have the better deal you have. But with 2 phones, like the OP has Verizon isn't all that cheap.

 

[Drumguy]

I've been Google Fi for a while now. It's basically rebranded T-Mobile. I pay $45/month per phone for 4 phones with unlimited data. Great thing is I have world wide coverage so when I travel I don't need a sim card and my phone number works everywhere. Haven't had any issue with coverage - no different from Verizon or ATT that is.

 

[Waquoit]

Right now I have Verizon unlimited for $72.46 per month, unlocked phone. Can I do much better for unlimited elsewhere?

 

[Greedo]

Sorry to bump this, but I have a similar question. I'm wondering if anything has changed in the past year. My wife and I have Verizon, but the service in my area is junk. I lose service all the time - my service at work is abysmal. It's crazy to me because I live in a Philly suburb, highly populated. It shouldn't be bad, but it is.

Price isn't a concern to us, but we're considering switching to T Mobile because Verizon just sucks in our area. I'm concerned though, because we're big outdoors people. We love going hiking and vacationing in more rural areas. Verizon has always been great in this respect. Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of T Mobile in those more rural mountain towns?

 

[Hey Adrien!]

My wife and I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile, and we save about 90 bucks a month now.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

from day one, my cellular telephone service has been Tracphone, since i use the thing as a portable telephone, and that's mostly it. no net, never sent a text, and i sure as heck have no interest in going blind by watching moving pictures on a tiny screen. every few years, i get a new device, and the one i have now is a giant screen, since it also has 3 cameras and the pics are awesome.
fully capable, most of its abilities are disabled. costs aboot $100 bucks a year to use, and when u get a new one, the service for around a year costs nothing.
never, ever, lost a call to my recollection. sometimes i hand it to someone else cuz theirs can't get thru. obviously, this routine is not for everyone, but it suits my needs right fine. lately, i hear the youngins got a movement going called 'dumb phones.' disconnecting from the net, and all that.
hard to avoid the 'phone plan/cost' talk in common society nowadays, and so it seems to me that $30 a month exclusive of device cost is the magic number.
also got a landline, which they do charge more and more for lately.
i ain't giving it up since it has one of the first numbers coming out of the first exchange in New Haven. lots of ancient connectivity on that one. and no, im not switching that number to a portable device. im a 'hard wire' sort of tech person, and i really like that wire going from the house to the street. no wireless anything in my world (tv's, computers, even headphones, etc.). i like my stuff to work as expected, always.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

from day one, my cellular telephone service has been Tracphone, since i use the thing as a portable telephone, and that's mostly it. no net, never sent a text, and i sure as heck have no interest in going blind by watching moving pictures on a tiny screen. every few years, i get a new device, and the one i have now is a giant screen, since it also has 3 cameras and the pics are awesome.
fully capable, most of its abilities are disabled. costs aboot $100 bucks a year to use, and when u get a new one, the service for around a year costs nothing.
never, ever, lost a call to my recollection. sometimes i hand it to someone else cuz theirs can't get thru. obviously, this routine is not for everyone, but it suits my needs right fine. lately, i hear the youngins got a movement going called 'dumb phones.' disconnecting from the net, and all that.
hard to avoid the 'phone plan/cost' talk in common society nowadays, and so it seems to me that $30 a month exclusive of device cost is the magic number.
also got a landline, which they do charge more and more for lately.
i ain't giving it up since it has one of the first numbers coming out of the first exchange in New Haven. lots of ancient connectivity on that one. and no, im not switching that number to a portable device. im a 'hard wire' sort of tech person, and i really like that wire going from the house to the street. no wireless anything in my world (tv's, computers, even headphones, etc.). i like my stuff to work as expected, always.

'no wireless anything in my world'
ok, you got me. i do have a portable phone, cuz id look kind of silly walking around with one of those giant spools of wire on my back.
solar lights and stuff don't count. previously, those just had batteries in them.