Rainmaker

Hi All,

Is there consensus as to the best network to consider when seeking a phone plan for new residents in the US?

Many thanks!

Nutmegger

I’d suggest polling your new neighbors or colleagues. What is the best in CT is not necessarily the best in CA!

tht

Depends where you will be located, what your usage will be like (calls, txt, internet)? And what you want to pay.

I have been through them all in the last 10 years including the virtual ones. Ended up on what is probably the most expensive: Verizon Unlimited, but I have coverage at my lake house and ski mountains I visit, the others did not. Get ready for a big shock if your coming from the UK… My monthly bill is over $200 a month for 2 phones, 2 Apple Watches and an iPad with data. Only about $30 a month if that related to device payments.

I tried Visible powered by Verizon for $25 a month a line and it always got slowed down / stoped working right when I needed it the most.

tom169

Agree with above - see what the consensus is in the region that you spend most time in.

I used Google Fi for a while, but got frustrated at it dropping out. Now I pay out the wazoo for Verizon, but it works.

Pulaski

Wot e-said!

The US is massive, which is not condusive to cheap and easy installation of infrastructure that requires expenditure per unit area, not per customer. So the cost of installing a cell antenna network across the vast area of the US is massively expensive, and the cell networks have to recover that cost from their subscribers. Even then there are holes in the network, such as in my back yard where my phone doesn't work reliably - I can actually get a better signal in the basement of the house next door, behind brick walls, than in the middle of my own back yard!

tht

And you can’t really trust the maps….

our whole town shows is 5G ultra wide and on Verizon…

https://www.verizon.com/coverage-map/

Inside our house I am lucky to get 1-2 bars of LTE, same on the street (that’s in a dip) once you get out around town the are places that have 5G ultra wide band. But as big a deal at home as I use WiFi calling.

ivanidea

If you want cheap, look at Mint Mobile. Uses the T-Mobile network for a fraction of the price, although you do get less features, and have to pay taxes and fees on top of their low price. We have the 4GB plan which is $180 for the year, or $200.81 after taxes and fees. Roaming costs extra. I purchased $5 roaming credit (cost $6.76), for a weekend in Mexico, and used $2.70, so if you are a frequent traveler, then keeping the credit topped up or paying extra, may not be appealing.

Whilst they also give credits for referrals (I'm not providing my code publicly), I am a happy customer, and paying less than I was with T-Mobile. Although you would have to check that T-Mobile covers the areas you are interested in.

hannahjane86

I used mint when we first arrived here. It’s been brilliant for us and you get free international calls to the UK ( mobiles and landlines ).

Dmac_

Another +1 for Mint here. Works flawlessly and is so cheap compared to the crazy US telecoms prices.

My only problem with it was when I landed in the UK for a trip, and even although I'd bought a few gb of international data, it wouldn't connect to the UK networks. I did get it to eventually by manually changing the network settings on my iPhone, but by that time I'd just bought a local SIM card to avoid the roaming charges anyway.

Very happy with Mint.

porkedpie

All the comments on coverage are valid. After you've worked out which one(s) have good enough in your area, I recommend https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks...ll-phone-plans for an overview.

jkeller

Visible has a free 15 day trial. If you have a phone with e-sim it'll set up in minutes. I have an iPhone 13 and just used e-sim to add an additional phone(number) line. I could just pick which line to use for calls and texts and data. At the end of the trial the service ends and you can keep the new phone number, port your previous number over to Visible or do nothing and service just ends. Visible is owned and runs on Verizon.

https://www.visible.com/free-trial?C...E&gclsrc=aw.ds