And use a referral when creating an account to get $10 in Tello Dollars which can be redeemed for the second month.
In addition to good customer service, Tello has great flexibility if you want to bump up to a higher data plan for just one month, then drop back down. Plus if you manually renew a day early, the unused data will roll to the next month.
Also, data + unlimited texting plans dropped. 2GB for $6 now, 1GB for $5.
However, the slow data after blowing through your allotment is now gone.
Visible has their basic unlimited plan at $25/month for years, the only thing that this Tello plan beats Visible is, you can use all high speed data for hotspot while Visible only allows you to use 5GB for hotspot.
Also, Helium mobile has $20/month unlimited plan.
Lastly, if you still want to get your monthly phone bill lower, you can go to costco and get the $10/month T-Mobile hotspot plan, and a $5/month hello mobile basic plan, use both in a dual sim phone, so you can get unlimited data/calling/text at $15/month.
If you don't need unlimited plan, as of now I think the ultra mobile 3GB monthly plan for $10/month is the best. Please note that it doesn't include the tax and other fees, so it will be about $12 per month actually.
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How do y'all get a referral? Is there a referral thread (here, reddit, etc)?
Also, since this is T-Mobile based, as is Mint, how's the visual voicemail situation on Pixels?
For those asking about Mint - service was fine for years until last month - note that rates go up after the intro period. Two weeks ago, all of my 5 gig was used in under an hour - the last gig in 8 minutes . I've rarely used more than 1 gig/month in the entirety of those 3 years - customer service insisted I did, even after checking my phone's records and PROVING I didn't.
I called twice and they basically said, let me help you find a new carrier - not even joking. On top of that, visual voicemail stopped working and Google and mint are both claiming it's the others fault - since vvm works for every other carrier on the planet, pretty sure it's a mint problem.
After I transfer my service, it's off to the interwebs to write nastygrams to Ryan Reynolds and trash mint mobile.
I was with Tello for couple of years, no issues. Switched to Mint for more data at same tello price. Mint network has been ok, but going back to Tello or to US mobile when my 6 months are up with mint. Mint customer service sucks, screwed me out of a referral.... Tello is excellent.
I have Tello for my pre-teen son's phone. The 2gig limits his online use, 100min talk is almost never reached since he mostly uses text to let me know he's ready for pickup from school and activities. For about $8/month (including taxes), its the cheapest phone plan i was able to find. No service interruptions since we got it 5mos ago.
Planning to get a 1 or 2GB plan for $5 or $6 / mo for Rabbit R1. Seems like the best "data only" cheapass plan around for that sort of thing.
And very flexible, so you can change between the two plans depending on your usage. You can also roll the unused data if you manually renew a day early.
Sorry for continuing the OT about Mint, but did this happen right around the first of Feb? One of my kids received a text that day that she was out of data. I know she had 4.9GB on Jan 28 and thought it was strange that she had used so much. 5GB isn't quite enough for her, but she can usually go 3 weeks on it, not 5 days!
It was Feb 9th - I know I wasn't using any data because I was at the salon getting my nails done at the time.
Glad to know I'm not the only one this happened to - the customer service reps have lied on multiple occasions - seems they're taught to say that they'll either call you or the issue will be resolved in 24-48 hours. Happened 4 times in 2 months.
I love Tello y'all. I referred 6 people! I'd tell them to buy a large bucket of data and minutes and set a calendar item to renew the day before and buy a smaller bucket of both and keep an eye on their usage. Rinse and repeat. Best way to save money. I didn't know Tello customer service is great because I never had to use them. Their website is simple, straightforward and it's easy to manage one's service!
I think someone mentioned this, but ATT has a prepaid plan that I just switched to and could only get by doing a chat / call with ATT. I guess it is an old plan you can still grab. $300 + tax ($18 for me) upfront for 1 year or about $25/ month; you get 16GB per month, unlimited talk & text; you can use your phone as a hot spot, using your 16GB data; AND it incudes usage in Canada and Mexico - this was important to me. Free sim and free activation if you sign up on line.
I think someone mentioned this, but ATT has a prepaid plan that I just switched to and could only get by doing a chat / call with ATT. I guess it is an old plan you can still grab. $300 + tax ($18 for me) upfront for 1 year or about $25/ month; you get 16GB per month, unlimited talk & text; you can use your phone as a hot spot, using your 16GB data; AND it incudes usage in Canada and Mexico - this was important to me. Free sim and free activation if you sign up on line.
But for less money ($240) one can get more data (20GB), unlimited talk & text, on AT&T's network by using an MVNO like Red Pocket. And if someone is determined to spend $300, they can get 30GB of data, also on Red Pocket, or if they don't like Red Pocket that $300 can get 20GB of data on Mint.... all of which include hot spotting of the full data allotment.
Not criticizing your "deal", but going directly with one of the big three will always cost more than if you buy those services through an MVNO. You might have received a good price given the requirement that you buy directly from ATT, but better service on the same network can be had for less by going through an MVNO - that's the "Slick" in "Slick Deals".
Just fininshed my first "29 day" month and changed my plan to save the unused data on my account. I didn't realize that the unused minutes on the account ALSO carry forward.
I'm using Tello primarily for hotspotting - an Ethernet port on my Orbi died so my home internet service is now spotty as the device sometimes struggles. Gonna replace the whole setup after I finish moving to a new place later this year, so I'm using Tello on a backup phone as a dedicated 2nd source.
Signed up for the 15GB / 100 minute plan just to stockpile GBs at the lowest $/GB price, opting to add the minutes a buck a month just because I -might- have need of them if I take the hotspot with me on a roadtrip and have connectivity issues with my AT&T MVNO primary phone. The plan is to toggle between the 1GB/2GB plans every month until I need to restock GBs. But nice to learn that the unused minutes also carry forward.
Unfortunately, the site says 5gb only for hotspot.
You have any more details on the costco tmobile hotspot plan? I cannot find anything.
The 5GB hotspot cap appears to only apply to the "Unlimited" Plan. All other plans appear to offer all of that plans' data as available to use via hotspot.
From their website:
The unlimited data plan offers 35GB at full 4G LTE/5G speed with 5GB of hotspot included. Data speed is reduced after 35GB.
From their FAQ:
Our plans also include the mobile Hotspot feature at no extra charge. The data you use via Hotspot just pulls from your monthly Data balance.
So... only the Unlimited Plan has a hotspot cap. All other plans share 100% of their data via hotspot.
We still have much to learn from European countries, in terms of competition. This past summer I was in Italy, and I bought a local SIM card with 90 GB of data (yup, 90) for $20, all fees included. I was speechless.
In India I used prepaid plan 3 months unlimited talk&text + 2gb data per day for $10. Jio reliance made mobile plans so cheap that everyone uses 2 phones.
Just fininshed my first "29 day" month and changed my plan to save the unused data on my account. I didn't realize that the unused minutes on the account ALSO carry forward.
I'm using Tello primarily for hotspotting - an Ethernet port on my Orbi died so my home internet service is now spotty as the device sometimes struggles. Gonna replace the whole setup after I finish moving to a new place later this year, so I'm using Tello on a backup phone as a dedicated 2nd source.
Signed up for the 15GB / 100 minute plan just to stockpile GBs at the lowest $/GB price, opting to add the minutes a buck a month just because I -might- have need of them if I take the hotspot with me on a roadtrip and have connectivity issues with my AT&T MVNO primary phone. The plan is to toggle between the 1GB/2GB plans every month until I need to restock GBs. But nice to learn that the unused minutes also carry forward.
If you downgrade your plan from "unlimited" you will lose any data balance left .
I've used the redpocket chat many times and never had an issue.
I also have had good phone and CS experience with RP. Two lines and ready to add a third when my Mint year is up. $30/yr for my burner phone is a steal. Buying from eBay is a little cheaper than buying direct from RP after fees and taxes.
Signed up for the 15GB / 100 minute plan just to stockpile GBs at the lowest $/GB price, opting to add the minutes a buck a month just because I -might- have need of them if I take the hotspot with me on a roadtrip and have connectivity issues with my AT&T MVNO primary phone. The plan is to toggle between the 1GB/2GB plans every month until I need to restock GBs. But nice to learn that the unused minutes also carry forward.
I was originally going to add the 100 minutes for $1 but the $2 extra for taxes and fees made me change my mind.
It's easy enough to change the plan anytime in case I find myself needing to make calls. Pretty unlikely though since the SIM is installed on an iPad.
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In addition to good customer service, Tello has great flexibility if you want to bump up to a higher data plan for just one month, then drop back down. Plus if you manually renew a day early, the unused data will roll to the next month.
However, the slow data after blowing through your allotment is now gone.
Also, Helium mobile has $20/month unlimited plan.
Lastly, if you still want to get your monthly phone bill lower, you can go to costco and get the $10/month T-Mobile hotspot plan, and a $5/month hello mobile basic plan, use both in a dual sim phone, so you can get unlimited data/calling/text at $15/month.
If you don't need unlimited plan, as of now I think the ultra mobile 3GB monthly plan for $10/month is the best. Please note that it doesn't include the tax and other fees, so it will be about $12 per month actually.
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Also, since this is T-Mobile based, as is Mint, how's the visual voicemail situation on Pixels?
For those asking about Mint - service was fine for years until last month - note that rates go up after the intro period. Two weeks ago, all of my 5 gig was used in under an hour - the last gig in 8 minutes . I've rarely used more than 1 gig/month in the entirety of those 3 years - customer service insisted I did, even after checking my phone's records and PROVING I didn't.
I called twice and they basically said, let me help you find a new carrier - not even joking. On top of that, visual voicemail stopped working and Google and mint are both claiming it's the others fault - since vvm works for every other carrier on the planet, pretty sure it's a mint problem.
After I transfer my service, it's off to the interwebs to write nastygrams to Ryan Reynolds and trash mint mobile.
It was Feb 9th - I know I wasn't using any data because I was at the salon getting my nails done at the time.
Glad to know I'm not the only one this happened to - the customer service reps have lied on multiple occasions - seems they're taught to say that they'll either call you or the issue will be resolved in 24-48 hours. Happened 4 times in 2 months.
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Not criticizing your "deal", but going directly with one of the big three will always cost more than if you buy those services through an MVNO. You might have received a good price given the requirement that you buy directly from ATT, but better service on the same network can be had for less by going through an MVNO - that's the "Slick" in "Slick Deals".
I'm using Tello primarily for hotspotting - an Ethernet port on my Orbi died so my home internet service is now spotty as the device sometimes struggles. Gonna replace the whole setup after I finish moving to a new place later this year, so I'm using Tello on a backup phone as a dedicated 2nd source.
Signed up for the 15GB / 100 minute plan just to stockpile GBs at the lowest $/GB price, opting to add the minutes a buck a month just because I -might- have need of them if I take the hotspot with me on a roadtrip and have connectivity issues with my AT&T MVNO primary phone. The plan is to toggle between the 1GB/2GB plans every month until I need to restock GBs. But nice to learn that the unused minutes also carry forward.
You have any more details on the costco tmobile hotspot plan? I cannot find anything.
The 5GB hotspot cap appears to only apply to the "Unlimited" Plan. All other plans appear to offer all of that plans' data as available to use via hotspot.
From their website:
The unlimited data plan offers 35GB at full 4G LTE/5G speed with 5GB of hotspot included. Data speed is reduced after 35GB.
From their FAQ:
Our plans also include the mobile Hotspot feature at no extra charge. The data you use via Hotspot just pulls from your monthly Data balance.
So... only the Unlimited Plan has a hotspot cap. All other plans share 100% of their data via hotspot.
In India I used prepaid plan 3 months unlimited talk&text + 2gb data per day for $10. Jio reliance made mobile plans so cheap that everyone uses 2 phones.
I'm using Tello primarily for hotspotting - an Ethernet port on my Orbi died so my home internet service is now spotty as the device sometimes struggles. Gonna replace the whole setup after I finish moving to a new place later this year, so I'm using Tello on a backup phone as a dedicated 2nd source.
Signed up for the 15GB / 100 minute plan just to stockpile GBs at the lowest $/GB price, opting to add the minutes a buck a month just because I -might- have need of them if I take the hotspot with me on a roadtrip and have connectivity issues with my AT&T MVNO primary phone. The plan is to toggle between the 1GB/2GB plans every month until I need to restock GBs. But nice to learn that the unused minutes also carry forward.
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It's easy enough to change the plan anytime in case I find myself needing to make calls. Pretty unlikely though since the SIM is installed on an iPad.