Carrier Best Carrier, Best Cellphone Plans

[Huntn]

If there is an established thread, please point me at it.

I’ve been a Sprint customer for the last 3 decades. Prior to having a smart phone, I was paying approx $70 a month for two phones. When I made the leap to smart phones, my rate jumped to $135 a month for 2 iPhones.

Today I was in Costco, a warehouse type store in the US and got into a casual conversation with a rep who sells phones for the major carriers in the US. My initial purpose was to look at a iPhone X display, but they had none. However, I discovered for the iPhone 8s, that TMobile has a 2 for 1 purchase deal at $695 total (actually you pay $1400 and they send you a Mastercard with a $700 credit on it). And if you are 55 or older, you can have 2 iPhones, unlimited data and text for $60 a month, taxes and fees included, not a temporary promotion.

Frankly I was shocked. My understanding is that the carriers have gotten away from contracts. If I make the change now to TMobile, I’d pay $300 a phone and more importantly save $840 a year in monthly charges.

Is there a reason, I should not jump all over this?
Looking for information and opinions. Thanks!

• Is T Mobile a decent company?
• If you are a TMobile Customer, have you been happy with them? Any known issues with them?
• I live in Houston, any known T Mobile issues there?
• From a coverage standpoint, my understanding is that T Mobile is a step up over Sprint.
• Can any of the major companies match this deal?

 

[Five_Oh]

Tmo has been great for me. I jumped from Verizon 4 years ago. At the time I felt I got 95% of what Verizon offered for 60% of the price. Price is closer than that now though.

Tmo customer service has been good for me. Coverage is great in my area and all metro areas I have traveled. International data is a big plus and I have used that feature a number of times. Some rural areas are spotty, but this is improving rather quickly imo.

I can't speak to Houston service. Haven't been there with a Tmo phone yet, other than the airport.

 

[Applejuiced]

I been really happy with Tmobile for over 2 years now.
Their plans are great and family plan prices are priced very good. Customer service has been very good and international travel options like free data, texts and calls are nice.
My local area coverage and places I frequent get very fast data speeds so Im sticking with them.
Individual results with every US carrier will vary. Not every location in the country will be the same.

 

[TsuaSai]

If T-Mobile is good in your area they can been a good option. The 55+ plan is a good deal for sure. The only thing with these BOGO deals I have heard of is people having issues getting the gift card. I have done one BOGO and I did get my card a few months later so no issues for me.

The only thing I will say that I do not like about them is, this good promo they are offering you now is the only good promo you'll ever see from them. Once they get you they don't offer any BOGO deals to current customers unless you add another line. So if you need to update two phones and have two lines you'll only get a promo they run if you add another line, which you likely won't need. Now they do run some sales here and on phones. But they typically aren't anywhere near as good as what they offer to new customers. So kinda sucks when you feel like a loyal customer and don't get to take advantage of any good promos. All this is pretty typical for any carrier though.

 

[PBz]

Very happy with TMO. All carriers have weak spots. Still, very happy with TMO & I have used ATT & VZN. Worked for ATT. Helped with fleet of VZN iPhones & iPads for a company.

 

[Huntn]

Thanks guys!

 

[Huntn]

ARG!!!! I missed the sale. Was traveling during last weekend and somehow got it in my silly little head that Holiday Sale, the one with Christmas decor on the icon meant that it would last till Christmas. It ended yesterday evening. My surprise when I walked into a T-Mobile store this morning.
All is not lost though. I found out how (a phone call to Sprint) and put in an order to have both our phones unlocked. Once this is done, I'll be able to switch over to T-Mobile with a sim card swap and take advantage of their 55+ phone plan until the next 2 for 1 sale. :-\\

 

[Huntn]

ARG!!!! I missed the sale. Was traveling during last weekend and somehow got it in my silly little head that Holiday Sale, the one with Christmas decor on the icon meant that it would last till Christmas. It ended yesterday evening. My surprise when I walked into a T-Mobile store this morning.
All is not lost though. I found out how (a phone call to Sprint) and put in an order to have both our phones unlocked. Once this is done, I'll be able to switch over to T-Mobile with a sim card swap and take advantage of their 55+ phone plan until the next 2 for 1 sale. :-\\

The 2 for 1 iphone Deal maybe out of reach now if it requires new lines of service, because I decided that the cost of the service had a greater impact on costs than the price of the phones. I switched over to T-Mobile’s 55+ plan yesterday using the phones I originally purchased from Sprint. An Apple store rep told me that iPhone 6s have both GSM and CDMA wired into them so they are interchangeable between these two carriers. Hopefully i’ll be able to find a deal on a new phone eventually, it does not have to be a X or even an 8 as I am fully satisfied with what the 6 offers.

 

[Huntn]

Besides the major carriers, and not requiring new lines of service, or Apple directly, are there any sources where discounts on iPhones can be found?

 

[Flyer888]

Seems like you've made the change to T-Mobile, just adding my own experience with them. I'm using the prepaid $30/mo. which includes unlimited (5GB of LTE) data, text and 100 minutes (you can use Google Hangouts if you run out of this..). Can't find any cheaper plan than this, and I often found discounts on the prepaid card.

On your last question though, I don't think Apple have any discount without getting a new line service, especially for a new product like the X. The best discount I've seen from last black friday was from Walmart, a $300 gift card when you get an X and activate a new line

 

[Resist]

And if you are 55 or older, you can have 2 iPhones, unlimited data and text for $60 a month, taxes and fees included, not a temporary promotion.

Is that $60 per line?

 

[Huntn]

Is that $60 per line?

$60 total including taxes and fees for 2 lines. It's a new T-Mobile program called 55+ (You have to be 55 or older to qualify). Before I was paying $139 per month for two lines with Sprint. Sprint's best deal currently is $100 for 2 lines.

 

[Newtons Apple]

If you have an older plan the new ones can save you money. I cut our 4 phone plan cost in half by getting rid of the stupid grandfathered unlimited plan and went to a family plan with 10gb. It cut my bill in half with ATT.

 

[eyeseeyou]

Switched to t-mobile from att after 10 years and couldn't be happier. Their CSR people on twitter are quick to respond and are always positive.

Hopped on when they had a ton of promos running in february.
4 lines of unlimited everything including 50gbs of lte data, 10gb of hotspot tethering (then dial-up speed connection after that, still unlimited) and HD streaming for $80. Plus all the misc random promos they give out on tuesdays.

Coverage is very good in my area of the bay area and commute which goes from the eastbay to the southbay.

 

[Huntn]

Seems like you've made the change to T-Mobile, just adding my own experience with them. I'm using the prepaid $30/mo. which includes unlimited (5GB of LTE) data, text and 100 minutes (you can use Google Hangouts if you run out of this..). Can't find any cheaper plan than this, and I often found discounts on the prepaid card.

On your last question though, I don't think Apple have any discount without getting a new line service, especially for a new product like the X. The best discount I've seen from last black friday was from Walmart, a $300 gift card when you get an X and activate a new line

That’s why I’m aggravated I missed the T-Mobile 2 for 1 iphone sale which required a new line of service. I think the major thing that has happened is that you no longer get a good deal on a phone purchase based on committing to a contract as they are mostly history. With a contract you got half off or more by committing to the contract, which with most people, you are keeping service, so that represents a real savings.

My impression is that there are deals like $150-300 off. Honestly I’m happy with my iPhone 6, and iphones have gotten so expensive, I’ll be happy staying a couple models behind. Fingerprint ID was a big draw, but I see nothing else such as better cameras, that would compel me to spend several $100s more.

[doublepost=1512314603][/doublepost]Regarding switching carriers and keeping your current phone, in the US, Sprint, Verizon and US Cellular use CDMA. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. However an Apple store rep told me the iPhone 6 is wired for both and can be switched (in my case from Sprint to T-Mobile) just by swapping out the SIM card. This proved to be true, but I’m don’t know for which other iPhone models that applies to.

https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407896,00.asp