THSCC Forums

I know there have been a couple of different discussions about various cellphone providers, and they've been very helpful to me.

Quick background, we now have 3 family members on unlocked devices (wife and son on Amazon Fire phone, I have my trusty Google Nexus 4) all on the $45/month per device "unlimited" plan with Straight Talk (AT+T SIM). Actual cost is ~$47 per line after auto-pay discount and taxes/fees.

Service with ST has been good, we rarely have signal issues, and when we do, it's usually my phone- I think it's because it's not a 4G device as my wife and son will usually have great signal in the same area. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

Looking to save a few bucks, I was looking at T-Mobile's family plan. Bring your own devices for $120/month for 3 or 4 devices. Includes unlimited talk/text and 6GB data per line. Seems like a good deal, would be a no-brainer if we had 4 devices, but with only 3 we'd be saving maybe $20-30 per month.

My brother mentioned that he was on Cricket wireless for his family, using their $100 for 5 lines, unilimited talk, text and data (2.5GB high speed, throttled after that). Again, looks like a good deal, but I don't need 5 lines- so the cost is $90 for 3 lines, saving ~$30-40 over current plan with ST. https://www.cricketwireless.com/5for100


So, looking for any input, especially those who are currently using, or who have recently used either T-Mobile or Cricket.



Thanks!

I tried T-Mobile a few years ago. It had strange dead spots for data, like at my old office on Six Forks, right in the center of what should have been a high speed area (Verizon and AT&T worked fine there). After a week or so of using it I took the phone back and canceled the service.

T-Mobile has a disclaimer on their coverage map that is probably true for most of the cheaper carriers:

"Some service within 2G, 3G, 4G, & 4G LTE coverage areas provided by premier partners; on-network allotments apply in those locations."

So you can be in a 4G area, but not get data coverage because T-Mo has already used their allotment of network data with that partner.

On the bright side, when I brought the phone back within the 14-day trial period they gave me a full refund with no hassle at all.

I use AT&T now because I need good international coverage, and while Verizon is better in the US, AT&T works fine. Based on that, I wouldn't hesitate to use Cricket (Cricket is owned by AT&T and uses the AT&T network) if I only needed to talk in the US and could live with 2.5GB/month.

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"Every ship is a minesweeper, once."

I have Verizon. 5 lines (Business Plan) three actual phones, 1 tablet and a mobile hot spot device. All carry insurance. 12GB shared data, free Voice & Messaging. 4 of the devices are "old" so they are cheaper until I upgrade them. This months bill - $ 217.27.

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BenchWarmer Motorsports

another one of those damn LeMons heads

just another Chump

we are an Autocross Club Dammit............

I was on tmobile for about a year last year. The service was actually very good and fast, in building coverage suffers because of the LTE bands they have and I don't see them getting band 12 in NC anytime soon since US Cellular owns it.

Overall though, the service was good for me as long as I was around town or along major road ways. If you venture out into the boonies data coverage was fairly poor, but I usually had some signal to text and make calls.

I'm currently on VZW right now, mainly just because my wife gets 20% discount since she works for the state and also she works at the zoo and VZW is the only one that has decent coverage there.

Honestly, if it weren't for the discount and coverage at the zoo, i'd have stayed on tmobile, with the price and the service actually being fairly decent I thought it was a good deal. I've actually had more flat out total outages here on NCSU's campus since i've been on VZW than I ever had on tmobile, so to me tmobile was a more reliable carrier.

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2017 Autocross Chief of Tech

2000 E Street Miata
2015 Focus SE EcoBoost 6 speed
2015 Fiesta ST (Wife's ride)
2012 Yamaha FZ1 sorta crotch rocket? All I know is 150HP and 487 lbs is fun!

I have a Straight Talk setup nearly identical to you, but with four phones (two iPhones, a Nexus 5 and a Nexus 5X). However I am using T-Mobile SIMs. I have been on this solution for a few years now, so I can't say how good/bad T-Mobile network is in comparison to others. I have similar experience to Chad in that I get good coverage in populated areas but sometimes nothing when driving in between (middle of nowhere interstate driving).

I am curious to see where this thread goes.

Richard

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

I am on AT&T and don't usually have signal problems. In some of the schools I have a bad signal but the work phone on Verizon also has similar issues. My mom was on Cricket but she had problems with the local Cricket store. They did not know how to bill a credit card and insisted she pay cash. Mom does not have any credit issues so I assume the problem is the Cricket store is staffed by idiots.

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George Bright Member # 141
One of the youngest of the old farts.
Yes I voted against you joining the club.

I'm now have devices on every network... AT&T work (dumb) phone, Sprint iPhone (via FreedomPop), Verizon tablet (race car comm board), T-Mobile tablet (via Ting). AT&T works in most places, but not at CMP or my parent's house. Sprint... I lose their shit signal (3G, 4G kills the battery) just driving around the beltline. There's a dead zone along 57 on the way to VIR. (works in North paddock, not in the rallyx field) T-Mo... my niece was dumb enough to use them when she lived here. "Works almost nowhere," as she put it. The tablet is 4G and hasn't been much further than my house -- there's signal on my dining room table. :-) Verizon... works f'ing everywhere! CMP, Loy White (google it), Montana, my parent's, everywhere. (well, in the US.)

(Of course, VZW is the most expensive option. And they don't resell to anyone.)

Verizon works everywhere except West Virginia. The state is like a giant dead zone.

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"Every ship is a minesweeper, once."

It works fine now in WV. My in-laws are in Morgantown and in the last year, LTE was introduced. Our trip to Morgantown is I-77 to 19 North (just outside of Beckley) to I-79 to Morgantown. Zero coverage issues on VZW and I make that trip 6+ times a year (for the last 10 years). VZW is expensive but worth it if you travel to remote areas in the US. I get a 27% discount that helps a bunch. -AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

I have VZW also, and there's no cell signal (or sunlight) where my in-laws live outside of Charleston, WV.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
'15 Dodge Charger R/T (yeah, it's got a HEMI!)
'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
'98 Chevy Z-24 (retired)
'93 Acura Integra (Team SWB 24HOL Car)

It must be nice to have some Verizon service there now. We've been making a similar trip up 19 to 79 several times/year; Dad had a place in Gassaway until recently and we still have a place south of Buchannon where no cell service even thinks about working. I remember my Verizon phone would work less than half the time during trips to Selbyville, even on the interstate. I'd go back to Verizon if it wasn't for the international travel that I do. Their international service used to cost me about 10x what I pay AT&T and they used to call me and ask me to pay the bill early because it was so high, then threaten to cut off my service if I kept running up my bill. I was locked up in a bunker in the desert for a week with no cell phone access and when I got back to civilization they had suspended my service because the bill was over $1K and they couldn't reach me. That was after I told them that I would be traveling in the Middle East for a few weeks. AT&T lets me pre-pay for blocks of voice and data, so I can spend a month traveling and only be out a couple of hundred dollars extra.

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"Every ship is a minesweeper, once."

That sounds like no fun. Do you have an iPhone? If not, why not pick up a local SIM card at the airport you land in and get cheap minutes through the local carrier? I know a lot of people that do that and spend very little with international calling doing it that way. - AB

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'14 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 4WD
Super Westerfield Bros - '93 Integra - LeChump Du Jour
STX 93 - Scion FR-S

I've done that in Bahrain back when I had Verizon, but AT&T is cheap enough that I can just buy a block of voice and data for wherever I'm going. I expense it back to the company and the government (i.e. your tax dollars) ends up paying for it, but I feel better expensing $200 than expensing $2000. Hopefully I'll never have another iPhone again; Apple has annoyed me enough for one lifetime.

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"Every ship is a minesweeper, once."

I grew up outside of Charleston, WV (Cross Lanes/Nitro area) so I travel they on occasion. I was there this past weekend and did have some coverage via T-mobile network. I suspect that was because I was within sight of I-64 in the Charleston area.


WV is tough when it comes to coverage. I expect that you will get some coverage in the larger cities (Charleston, Huntington, etc.) and somewhat along I-64, I-77 and I-79 plus the panhandle outside of DC. But for me I have zero coverage when traveling the turnpike between Bluefield/Princeton and Charleston. I-64 between Beckley and White Sulphur Springs is likely pretty bare as well.

Also there is the "radio quiet zone" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... Quiet_Zone that impacts the eastern part of the state (I think this might be part of your Buchannon problem) pretty heavily when it comes to cell coverage and other things. When I travel to Pocahontas County (border with VA), I just turn off my phone as there is effectively no coverage by law.

Richard

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

had t-mo for 12 years and worked pretty good. Not a lot of 4G in areas outside of metro, and then it flipped over to Edge, which is practically dial-up speeds. Moved out to Clayton and dealt with only having wifi calling at the house, and then finally switched over to verizon and got my wife on the plan. While my phone bill more than tripled (literally), I now have 4G pretty much everywhere and great coverage where ever I go. You gotta pay to play!