Mint Mobile

[kevm14]

Data. Fortunately the phone tracks this.

Welcome to having a real phone.

Windows Phone had this since July 2013 as an OS feature. Android probably did it earlier with 3rd party apps and maybe even natively but probably not much earlier. Point is this isn't a new feature for me.

[kevm14]

And before you say "that's because you never had a real phone before" I'd say no that's because I never had a network that was this fast before.

[Adam]

I'm just happy you're able to do things with your phone again.

[kevm14]

Finally ordered this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0789 ... UTF8&psc=1

Can't stand the cloudy pictures.

[kevm14]

So it's been a full year on Mint. They sent me an anniversary e-mail. I've used 40GB of data. Over 1,000 minutes (that's not a lot but not sure how far over). 11,448 texts.

According to my phone here is my data usage per month:
Sept: 1977MB
Oct: 4084MB
Nov: 3001MB
Dec: 2206MB

I am on the 8GB plan. Next down is 3GB so obviously I am on the right plan. I will need to renew by April 7th, 2020. Because of my referral bonuses, another year of 8GB will cost only $150, or $12.50/month (down from $240 or $20/mo). Jamie is on the 3GB plan. I haven't tracked her usage but it is probably quite a bit below that. 3GB is $180 for the year or the same $15/mo it was the whole time. Now there is tax plus a recovery fee. When I bought my last full year, that was $240-$30 referral = $210 plus $4.22 tax plus $10.25 fees. So $224.47 or $18.71/mo instead of $17.50. The tax/fees are ridiculously modest. Most people are probably looking at $15 in tax/fees - per month.

There are times when I have poor service. A lot of times my Verizon work phone is also poor. Driving to my parents house I do lose service for a bit on Rt 165 where AT&T did not. I believe if I had a native T-Mobile plan, it would have just roamed on AT&T networks and I wouldn't have had an issue.

But just last week I was at Ian's school for a Cub Scout meeting. My Verizon work phone was struggling on 3G. It couldn't even run the test. I pulled down 3.42Mbps on T-Mobile LTE on like 1 or 2 bars.

For the price, it is hard to find any faults with the overall quality of service.

At my desk just now I pulled down 15.8 and 2.08 up. Verizon was 28.7 down and 6.4 up. When Mint is better or the same, it's a no brainer. But even where it is worse, you have to ask...is the extra cost worth it? I don't see how.

[kevm14]

Great comparison video updated for 2020.
https://youtu.be/0fOeYSkLX5A

Mint fares pretty well as expected but there are plenty of other options across all the networks.

[kevm14]

Damn, these guys are classy as hell.

Mint Mobile family,
These last few days have thrown the world into an unprecedented moment of uncertainty where reliable communication is of the utmost importance. As your communication provider, we feel it’s necessary to do something that could possibly help all of us navigate this tough time a little bit better.
Starting on 3-15-20 through 4-14-20, Mint Mobile will be providing all current and new customers with FREE unlimited high-speed data add-ons.
HOW IT WORKS:
• Download or update to the most recent version of the Mint Mobile app
• Tap “account” and tap “buy more data”
• Add data in 3GB increments. 95% of data add-on must be used prior to adding an additional data add-on
• Your credit card will be charged and then refunded within 24 hours. Bank Cards typically take longer to process
• Add as many 3GB allotments as you need thru 4-14-20
Full details and additional instructions here: mintmobile.com/unlimited
Be Safe, Stay Connected.
-Your Mint Mobile Team

That said I probably won't use this but that is pretty cool.

[kevm14]

Well I took a chance. Just dropped some bucks. To recap:

- Used "excellent" carrier unlocked 32GB iPhone 6S in gold: $209
- Used "seller refurbished" carrier unlocked 64GB LG V30 H932 in silver: $220

iPhone sitrep: had to do a battery in March 2020. It was fairly cheap (documented in repair section) and lasted about 20 additional months to November 2021. Not quite 3 years. Bought a used iPhone XR for Jamie at like $326 OTD which is working fine. If this phone somehow lasts 5 years, to Nov 2026, then I guess it mostly evens out.

Meanwhile I have 4 years on my used V30. I did have a camera lens saga that I eventually solved by replacing the entire back of the phone. But now the fingerprint reader is VERY flaky and the battery has been steadily declining. Also, the phone lags like crazy especially in some specific circumstances. It is stuck on Android 9.

I just bought a used Samsung Galaxy S21 256GB (T-Mobile variant) in Excellent condition (with eBay refurb 1 year warranty) for $280 + tax ($300 OTD). The S21 appears to achieve parity with the iPhone 12 and has some real advantages as well. I think my model is working well. The phone was originally $800 though had been discounted at least once and Samsung also has decent trade-in deals I guess.

We still have the $15/mo plan (prepaid a year in advance) for Jamie which now has 4GB. And I still have the $20/mo plan (prepaid a year in advance) which now has 10GB. They currently offer 15GB for $25/mo (prepaid a year in advance) or $30 for "unlimited" which includes 35GB of 5G and I guess the rest is LTE. All plans allow the use of 5G.