Carrier Do you MVNO?

[George Knighton]

Curious about (U.S.-based) MVNO’s and people’s firsthand experiences with them (be they positive or negative).

I'm using Xfinity Mobile as the physical SIM in my XS Max. Primary data and voice is T-Mobile on an eSIM.

Although T-Mobile coverage is quite good, there will rarely be a place where Xfinity Mobile as a Verizon MVNO will have a little coverage where T-Mobile coverage has disappeared.

Because I have to use it so rarely, the Xfinity Mobile line is only about 2.00/month because my Internet in the country is Xfinity.

So...in that context, I'm absolutely satisfied for 2.00/month. LOL....

If I cross into having to use it quite a bit, it's 12.00/gig but it can be converted to 45.00 unlimited at any time so long as it is inside the billing period. It's easy to monitor and change when necessary.

But, to be honest, I don't have to use it much at all so it's kind of a no brainer having it for Verizon extra coverage.

I meant what I said, though: These days Verizon doesn't have that much more coverage than T-Mobile, where I normally live, work and travel.

 

[willmtaylor]

Got mom & dad switched over to US Mobile without much grief. Customer service has been excellent. They’re now saving $100/mo. and are still on VZW’s network.

I’ve ordered SIMs for the wife & I to switch over to Pix Wireless, so that should happen in the next week. It’ll save us $40/mo.

If anyone has any questions, let me know.

 

[rui no onna]

Ok, ladies & gents, I have concluded my investigation. Thank you all for your contributions and experiences.

The wife & I are going to switch over to Pix Wireless and get 4GB & 2GB of data with VOLTE, wifi calling, visual voicemail, etc. for $50/mo. (TOTAL out the door with taxes & fees)

Mom & dad have an iPhone and a flip phone (respectively) but currently pay VZW around $135/mo. They'll be switching to US Mobile where they'll pay $54/mo. + taxes and mom will get 5x as much data.

Attaching my spreadsheet with my findings.

Thanks again!
View attachment 818824

Cool spreadsheet! Lack of hotspot or an extra charge for hotspot is the deal breaker for me.

 

[willmtaylor]

Cool spreadsheet! Lack of hotspot or an extra charge for hotspot is the deal breaker for me.

Thanks! It’s how I think.

Most do offer a mobile hotspot for something like $10/mo., just not tethering to the iDevice.

 

[willmtaylor]

Just as an update. Over 3 months, I had a few annoying instances with PIX Wireless pop up, so I decided to pay a bit more and I've switched over to RedPocket Mobile's family plan.

My wife and I both get 3GB, and the bill is less than $55/mo. out the door. Same coverage and native speeds as Verizon

I've been quite pleased with the service thus far.

 

[apolloa]

Yes absolutely! Here in the UK on Tesco Mobile Sim only MVNO, great value and service, but they use the O2 network which isn’t the best, but gets me by.
The main networks are a lot more money.

In fact I’m on it, my mother is, my sister and nephew and brother in law are all on Tesco Mobile. My brother in law and nephew just moved to it from Vodafone, saved them money.

I pay £13.50 a month on a very recent 12 month contract, special Black Friday price, I get 5000 text and 5000 cross network minutes and 10 gig of data. Then next year I’ll see what else they offer unless they keep the price at £13.50 when I’m out of contract.

Ice now left Tesco Mobile and and on Smarty, this is an MVMO in the UK that’s owned by the network carrier 3, and they are owned by Hutchinson Telecom.
I get a better quality signal as Tesco use O2 who have even been called out by the regulators but I could have three bar 4G and the phone wouldn’t open a webpage.

Smarty have a new take too, they give you unlimited phone and text but cap the data, I’m on 8GB a month and any data you have left over at the end of the month they buy back off you and take that off your next months bill.

 

[timeconsumer]

Just as an update. Over 3 months, I had a few annoying instances with PIX Wireless popup, so I decided to pay a bit more and I've switched over to RedPocket Mobile's family plan.

My wife and I both get 3GB, and the bill is less than $55/mo. out the door. I've been quite pleased with the service thus far.

Thanks for the update. RedPocket looks like a good amount of savings. If I’m reading it correctly the cost is $30 for the first line and then $20 for each additional line which includes 5GB of LTE, then unlimited at 2G speeds. Does this include VVM, hotspot and VoLTE?

 

[willmtaylor]

Thanks for the update. RedPocket looks like a good amount of savings. If I’m reading it correctly the cost is $30 for the first line and then $20 for each additional line which includes 5GB of LTE, then unlimited at 2G speeds. Does this include VVM, hotspot and VoLTE?

There are a couple of caveats with Red Pocket.
First, you cannot go directly from VZW to RP and port your VZW number. Something to do with their lease agreement. So you have to go somewhere else for a month first if you want to keep your existing number.

Yes, your costs are correct (after the first month of service). The first month is $30 for each line, and then every month after is $30 & $20.

Next, it’s 5GB each for every other carrier except VZW. For VZW, you get 3GB each (again, b/c of the cost of their leasing agreement). Yes, unlimited 2G after that.

Yes to VOLTE.
Yes to visual voicemail.
Yes to hotspot/tethering.
No to WiFi calling.

If you have any further questions, lemme know.

 

[Wide opeN]

I'm using Xfinity Mobile as the physical SIM in my XS Max. Primary data and voice is T-Mobile on an eSIM.

Although T-Mobile coverage is quite good, there will rarely be a place where Xfinity Mobile as a Verizon MVNO will have a little coverage where T-Mobile coverage has disappeared.

Because I have to use it so rarely, the Xfinity Mobile line is only about 2.00/month because my Internet in the country is Xfinity.

So...in that context, I'm absolutely satisfied for 2.00/month. LOL....

If I cross into having to use it quite a bit, it's 12.00/gig but it can be converted to 45.00 unlimited at any time so long as it is inside the billing period. It's easy to monitor and change when necessary.

But, to be honest, I don't have to use it much at all so it's kind of a no brainer having it for Verizon extra coverage.

I meant what I said, though: These days Verizon doesn't have that much more coverage than T-Mobile, where I normally live, work and travel.

Thanks for typing and sharing, as this my exact same setup and sentiments. It really is the best of all worlds.

Could never see going back to a single line. Dual Sim, is one of the most exciting features for iPhone in years IMO.