• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Best smartphone carrier and data plan for 2 people?

Status
Not open for further replies.
E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
EDIT: I wasn't clear with the title. By best I don't mean "top of the line." Best for our needs described below:

I currently use Verizon. I have a Galaxy S3 with a $30 per month 2GB data plan. My wife has a non-smart phone with no data plan. After insurance and various fees, the total comes out to approx. $150 a month.

We use MAYBE 30 minutes a month in talk time.

I feel like I'm doing something wrong/paying way too much for what we have.

Can anyone recommend a decent shared plan for 2 people? I'm open to all carriers but would kinda prefer to switch from Verizon if I could. I'm fine with 2 GB per month for me and my wife would mainly use wifi with her's.

If you need more info to go on, please let me know as well.
 
I have 2GB on mine and mom and dad have 500MB each for about 160$. T-mobile. You should visit the T-mobule site and look at their plans. Really helped me save money by switching to them.
 
Probably something on ATT.

Say what you want about that scumbag company, but the quality of the service is unmatched imo.
 
I just want an unlimited call/text for myself. I dont' care about data. What can I do for this? I don't want to spend 50+ bucks a month... for myself...
 
Tbh, T-mobile has insane deals and services. I think you can even test drive their phones...and that unlimited overseas text and data. I would go for them if their service was/is good in my area.
 
OP, just went on T-Mobile site, so one line with 3GB,will he 60$.your wifes line will be 1GB which is 30$. So 90$ with out taxes and all that jazz.

Edit: Thats if ya have phones that just need the sin car to be replaced.
 
Virgin has a great plan for $35/mo, if you don't talk much. $35 for unlimited text, 3.5 GB data, and 300 minutes. The downside is the Sprint network 4g, but that really depends on where you live. It's prepaid as well, so you have to buy the phone, and no new models (S5 is the newest they offer iirc)
 
Nickodamus Rex said:
Virgin has a great plan for $35/mo, if you don't talk much. $35 for unlimited text, 3.5 GB data, and 300 minutes. The downside is the Sprint network 4g, but that really depends on where you live. It's prepaid as well, so you have to buy the phone, and no new models (S5 is the newest they offer iirc)
Click to expand...

That's the thing. We use almost NO minutes. Our plan allows 500 (the smallest one available).

Last month, we used 25 minutes COMBINED.
 
Everyone around me seems to shit on T-Mobile but I've always had a good experience with them. And they're fucking cheap. That's the main reason I chose them.
 
ElectricBlanketFire said:
That's the thing. We use almost NO minutes. Our plan allows 500 (the smallest one available).

Last month, we used 25 minutes COMBINED.
Click to expand...

OP do this:

battousai11 said:
Do T-mobile's $30 prepaid plan: 100 minutes, unlimited text and 2GB of data before they throttle you
Click to expand...

Except you get 5GBs each, use Google voice for your non-emergency phone calls.

nemss said:
Thats through Wal-Mart correct?
Click to expand...

Wal-mart or website activation.
 
battousai11 said:
check out ting. It's fairly cheap if you don't use much data
Click to expand...
I second this. My wife and I get by using this for about $45/month total. Sometimes even less if we don't use as many minutes or data. The charges each month depends on which bracket you fall in for use for 3 categories (minutes, texts, and data).
 
thenight11 said:
wow ..yeah the tmobile 30 dollar plan that can be activated online is the best bet. 100 minutes,unlimited text plus 5 gb of data. It also includes Music freedom which lets you stream unlimited from 27 services
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-10969
Click to expand...

If I'm understanding correctly, are you required to purchase a phone at full price to get these plans?

I appreciate everyone's help. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this.
 
Lots of great advice here.
I'm going to add - don't get insurance. It's a big waste of money. $4-$7/month per line, plus a $100 deductible if you ever have to make a claim.
 
I do the RepublicWireless $10/month plan per phone. No data - just wifi - but you can turn data on and off day-by-day for a pretty cheap rate (somewhere around a dollar a day). With just data + phone + text, our bill is around $26/month for the two of us.
 
blitz64 said:
https://republicwireless.com

Republic wireless. $25 a month for you. $10 for your wife. $35 total.
Click to expand...

HylianTom said:
I do the RepublicWireless $10/month plan per phone. No data - just wifi - but you can turn data on and off day-by-day for a pretty cheap rate (somewhere around a dollar a day). With just data + phone + text, our bill is around $26/month for the two of us.
Click to expand...

I also have Republic Wireless's $10 plan, and I love it. I really really like my 1st gen Moto X as well, so that's a plus. I got my mother the Moto G on the $25 plan, and she's really happy with it too.
 
ElectricBlanketFire said:
If I'm understanding correctly, are you required to purchase a phone at full price to get these plans?

I appreciate everyone's help. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to this.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you do. Luckily there are a lot of awesome budget phones for under $300 you can get. It is a small price to pay and you will make up the difference in a few months.
 
Op, before switching to T-Mobile, I'd suggest you check out their reception in the areas you frequent. Back in September, I tried out their test drive where you get an iPhone to use for a week on their network. I ended up returning the phone after a couple days because the reception was horrible inside buildings. It might be better for you or always have access to Wi-Fi. Check out their test drive, it's free so you have nothing to lose.
 
bennywhatever said:
If he has Verizon, he will not. Verizon is CDMA and AT&T/T-Mobile are GSM techologies. They don't mix & match.
Click to expand...
If i recall correctly Verizon phones are all sim unlocked for usage for Gsm as well . It was a settlement of some sorts with the government.

I would still recommend getting new phones , some great phones out there.
 
nm3th said:
Op, before switching to T-Mobile, I'd suggest you check out their reception in the areas you frequent. Back in September, I tried out their test drive where you get an iPhone to use for a week on their network. I ended up returning the phone after a couple days because the reception was horrible inside buildings. It might be better for you or always have access to Wi-Fi. Check out their test drive, it's free so you have nothing to lose.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of "test driving" a phone. I may do this even if I don't go with T-Mobile.

Nice Daniel Tiger avatar by the way. Use your worrrrrrrrrds. Use your words!
 
thenight11 said:
If i recall correctly Verizon phones are all sim unlocked for usage for Gsm as well . It was a settlement of some sorts with the government.

I would still recommend getting new phones , some great phones out there.
Click to expand...

I believe you are correct, but I don't think there is 100% overlap with the radios and bands used in the devices.
 
Hey guys do any if you know, but I currently have the unlimited plan from T-mobile. I hardly talk at all and feels like it is just a waste of money for me and my wife. Any way we can switch over to that 30 dollar prepaid plan? it is pretty much perfect for us for pretty much 70% less which is really tempting.

Can I just pick up a sim card at walmart and pop that in our Note 3 and G5? I am no longer under contract with T-mobile if that affect anything.
 
I have the T-Mobile $30 plan (100 min, 5GB data before throttling). It's really nice, no complaints. If you do the math, it's also a lot cheaper to buy your own phones, even at $400-$500, than going into a contract. And you can go a lot cheaper and still get an excellent phone, as there are good ones under $200 out there.
 
rmt92 said:
I also have Republic Wireless's $10 plan, and I love it. I really really like my 1st gen Moto X as well, so that's a plus. I got my mother the Moto G on the $25 plan, and she's really happy with it too.
Click to expand...
Yup. My parents and my parents-in-law are all getting Moto Gs for Christmas. These phones are probably overkill for anything they'll want to do, but their phone bills are still going to plummet.
 
ElectricBlanketFire said:
Is that Verizon phones that are currently under a plan or just Verizon phones in general? I'm free and clear from them at the end of February.
Click to expand...

Verizon LTE phones usually have the gsm radio unlocked, meaning you can put an Att or T-Mobile Sim card along with some settings change will work. Unfortunately, your gs3 will only support 2g/edge on T-Mobile. If you do decide to switch to T-Mobile before your current contract is up, you can always have them pay your etf, but you have to trade in your current phones and get new ones from them. You should probably get new phone anyways because 2g is a horrible way to live.
 
Seconding Ting. Have hated phones for years, can't believe I just found out about Ting recently. Fiancee signed up and brought her One M8 from Sprint, monthly bill looks like it'll be less than $30. She also got a $50 credit for referring me, and I got a $25 credit for using her link. They've got a subreddit, too.

Really just a class act overall, though I haven't been using it long enough to vouch for it 100%. I'm just thankful to be able to use my EVO again, since my work phone is an iPhone (aka headache) and pales in comparison in every possible way.
 
Tmobile really starts to shine as you add lines or if you travel. 4 lines for $100 is pretty great and having free data, free texting, and 10 cent per minute calls while overseas is downright incredible.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Too addicted to the smartphone…and thinking about games
43
496
Fenix34 replied
Jackass: Best and Last - Official Trailer (2026)
24
380
Grildon Tundy replied
Looking for a decent budget smartphone
2
64
10K
Lambogenie replied
Give me your best Acid and Jungle
36
658
666 replied
USA and Japan Twitter cross-pollinate, discover best friend status
2 3
104
2K
AJUMP23 replied
Top Bottom