Hi all. I bought an unlocked iPhone 5 from the U.S. back in 2014. I've been using it for a SIM-only plan here in the UK. I'm moving to the U.S. next month and wondered if anyone can recommend a good SIM-only plan in the U.S. AT&T and T-Mobile have phone/data plans that cost about $45-50/month. Seems kinda pricey. Thanks in advance!

If it uses a sim your choice is AT&T or T-Mobile. Those prices are average for the US. T-Mobile is no contract.

ETA: Or 3rd parties who piggy back of one of those networks.

We used Simple Mobile for the first month, before getting set up on a contract. It was $40/month, and better value than the main carriers (2GB data, unlimited domestic calls).

It depends what you want to use your phone for - eg if you need to travel overseas/make international calls, T-Mobile was the clear winner...

We have unlocked iPhones so we can use a sim only plan when we move to the UK next year. We pay $50/month for the AT&T plan , plus $25 for a 2nd phone which includes 1GB shared data for the 2 phones. We travel a lot (we are retired) and find that the plan works well for us.

We have been in Canada this last 2 months and have paid for an international plan from AT&T which costs $30 for 30 days at a time and includes 120MB of data roaming which has also worked out great since we only ever need it when using Google Maps to navigate the tricky bits in cities as we drive.

Check out cricket wireless. They use the same network as AT&T (they are the budget arm), no contract, I think they will do sim only too.

Disclosure, I just moved from AT&T to Cricket but I bought a phone from them too. Been pretty good so far.

Most cell phone carriers will be more than happy to give you a plan to use on an unlocked phone. I use an unlocked Motorola and T-Mobile gave me a SIM for my existing account. I do not have a contract.

[BTW, Verizon tends to use CDMA so they generally out for SIM use].

Ultra Mobile piggybacks on the T-Mobile network and, unlike other prepaid plans, they have (most) international calls and texts included in the base price. I've been very happy with them since switching from T-Mobile.

I'm about to move to USA and have done some research on SIM only plans.
They are very different compared to the UK - you can easily pick up any network SIM card for 99p/free and get a good chunk of usage for very little e.g.£10 will get you 500mins, 500texts, 1GB of 4G (as an example)

In the USA, what I've researched so far, it is more like the UK market from 1999.....I've seen typical SIM free plans for $35 a month for similar or less allowances.

Having worked in the Telecoms industry for nearly 10 years I'm genuinely nervous about seeing the state of it in the US. Just had a quick look on AT&Ts site and clicked SIM free plans.....brought up a list of phones to buy....useless!!!!

After a lengthy conversation with someone at At&T they have the following SIM free plans that include unlimited talk and text (the data is sharable)


* 300MB ($20 monthly)
* 1GB ($25 monthly)
* 3GB ($40 monthly)
* 6GB ($70 monthly)
* 10GB ($100 monthly)
* 15GB ($130 monthly)
* 20GB ($150 monthly)
* 30GB ($225 monthly)
* 40GB ($300 monthly)
* 50GB ($375 monthly)

We're a family of 5, all with unlocked iPhones. We arrived Monday evening. Tues afternoon went to the local T Mobile store and signed up for a family plan. 10gb data, unlimited calls and texts on 5 lines plus unlimited UK and Western Europe calls and texts on 2 of the lines for $170 per month. Contract free, they did take a deposit of $110, which we get back after 12 months or when we leave their service. Took about 40 minutes to get us all set up.

Is the data 4G? It's stil essentially if you have to wait 12m to get that huge deposit back.

Personally that's still a very expensive plan even if it is 4G. For having 5 lines they should be offering more money off than that

Surely you mean 4GLTE? 4G is old hat.

I would recommend that if you are taking this t-mobile option with no contract that you go to another t-mobile store if they insist on a deposit.

You pay in advance for the service, if you don't pay then no service
Sim-only so you're not buying phones.

I had to pay deposits for electricity and water. Definitely not for the sim-only t-mobile service.

I had thought that the label of 4G in the US was used to refer to 3G+ networks (eg Vodafone's EDGE network in the UK is an example of this).


4G LTE is the equivalent speed/technology in the US of what is referred to simply as 4G in the UK.


All the major carriers offer 4G LTE in theory, but it depends on your location as to how good the signal is - worth doing some homework on beforehand!


Deposit not surprising given lack of credit history etc - if you've leased/financed through International Autosource, then their TravelGuard service from AIG gives you a way to avoid this. Likewise if you have any deals through your employer.

Yes when I say 4G I referenced the UK version so the super fast speeds!
Had no idea that 4G was the equivalent of enhanced 3G in the US. Good job I now know as could've been shafted!

Forgot about the lack of credit score hence the deposit but I'd ask if they'd accept a letter from employee as proof (which is unlikely though because these things are usually automatic via an online check)