Budget/MMM-approved discount cell phone service with an AT&T phone?

[Ashyukun]

Since discovering this site, I was quite interested in the heavily discounted wireless plans through Ting & Republic Wireless. My cell phone bill, even with the discount with AT&T through my employer, is solidly higher than I'd like it to be so I was quite interested in potentially switching to one of them. Unfortunately, neither of them are such that I could take my existing phone (an iPhone 4S) and my cellular-capable tablet (iPad) and use them there. The tablet isn't TOO much of a problem- I honestly don't use its cellular capability that much at the moment, but it also is only costing me $5/month now more thanks to the new shared data plans. But, I'm not down with having to lose the iPhone for an Android device- no, not because I have anything in particular against Android or am an Apple apologist, it's pretty much purely because I have had one for a VERY long time and it would cost me a LOT to get back the apps that I have and use regularly on another platform. Ting is supposed to be working out iPhone 4S's, but I would need to find a way to trade my current AT&T one for a Sprint version.

So... are there any other discount carriers that use the AT&T network/bands where I could use bring over my existing devices? Both are jailbroken and should be able to be unlocked so that at least shouldn't be an issue. Thanks!

[Daley]

Read the first seven posts here:

https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-isps-voip-cell/

That'll get you fixed up. :)

[fodder69]

It's not the cheapest but if you are a heavy data user on your iphone (I am and my work pays for it), I use AIO wireless. They are owned by ATT so same network. I pay $40 for the 250MB a month plan, but the really nice thing for me is that after you use 250MB you still get unlimited data, just at slower speeds! Works perfectly fine for me for getting email and listening to Pandora, etc. And that is straight $40, no taxes, fees, etc.

If you don't use a lot of data, some other providers would work better for you, but for lots of data I haven't seen anything better.

[Ashyukun]

It's not the cheapest but if you are a heavy data user on your iphone (I am and my work pays for it), I use AIO wireless. They are owned by ATT so same network. I pay $40 for the 250MB a month plan, but the really nice thing for me is that after you use 250MB you still get unlimited data, just at slower speeds! Works perfectly fine for me for getting email and listening to Pandora, etc. And that is straight $40, no taxes, fees, etc.

If you don't use a lot of data, some other providers would work better for you, but for lots of data I haven't seen anything better.

Interesting... I do tend to blow through a lot of data per month so that's definitely worth looking into, and I was able to easily confirm that my phone will work through them (though I'd need to unlock it, but that's easy enough).

What device are you using on the $40 plan though? It says that only basic/feature phones can use that plan, smartphones seem to have to use the $55 plan with 2GB of high speed data (which admittedly is still roughly half what my current bill is). Combined with the tablet plan it would still be about a 30% savings over now and over $400 of savings over a year...

[galliver]

Not on the same network, but have you looked at T-mobile? I *think* AT&T phones play well with their network, although I'm not sure about Apples. They weren't quite at Ting/Republic levels, but I remember seeing a $30 plan when I last checked?

[gecko10x]

We were in a very similar situation to you - stuck on AT&T network because of location, with iPhone 5's (not 5s's), heavy data users (2+GB each/mo). We were also under contract, so our phones were locked (At&t will probably unlock them after we pay the termination fee, if we ask).

We just switched a couple weeks ago to Net10. $85/mo for 2 phones, w/ unlimited talk/text, and 2.5GB data each (throttled over that) (comes to $91.xx after tax). Not too difficult to do, and no complaints so far. Online tech support was helpful when I had a question. You lose built-in visual voicemail, but download YouMail, and it's even better.

Not as cheap as some other services espoused on here by I.P. Daley and others, but it's another option.

[MooseOutFront]

Switched my wife's ATT iphone 4S on iOS7 to StraightTalk about 10 days ago.  Their unlimited plan runs $45+tax on month-to-month.  Comes with unlimited talk, text and data with the data throttle kicking in above 2.5GB.  That was necessary because she doesn't have wifi at work and streams music all day.

1. Order straighttalk micro att compatible sim card
2. Log in to ST website and click on BYOP setup
3. Port number over (right before bed for example)
4. when phone quits working put in new Sim Card
5. Make sure you're on wifi and go to Settings-General-About and a box pops up to update your carrier settings.  After done, your phone says TFW 3G in the top left instead of ATT.

We have had no issues at all with the service.  That setup process as I detailed wasn't very clear though.  There was no mention of the carrier setting update.  Ignore anything about updating APN settings as that's old info.

[gecko10x]

^^ Almost exactly the same for Net10 (they are both owned by the same company).

[AndrewJackson]

Airvoice Wireless has an unlimited talk+text plan with 500 mb of data for $30. If you go mmm on your data usage, this would be a pretty optimal choice. Plus, you do not need an unlocked phone to use airvoice as their service is entirely on AT&T.

[Daley]

Plus, you do not need an unlocked phone to use airvoice as their service is entirely on AT&T.

That only applies to voice and SMS services, you still need to be carrier unlocked to do data and MMS.

Their unlimited plan runs $45+tax on month-to-month.

Their "unlimited" plan is anything but. Their support is rotten to deal with, too. Part of the reason for the Superguide in the first place was to help people avoid making the mistake of going with MVNOs like StraightTalk/NET10/Tracfone. I've been there, I've done that, I got the lumps for it. Trust me when I say there's better for the money. Much better.


Ashyukun, again, read the Superguide... go on a data diet, learn what your actual usage is. It'll be worth it.

[MooseOutFront]

If a person needs ATT coverage and they aren't willing to back off from using data (or able to make their SO quit using data) then I don't see a better alternative than straighttalk in the guide (which is thorough and excellent btw, particularly the ISP part).  Though I do plan on staying month to month for a while in case there are issues or one pops up that's a better deal.

I have read about certain people that complain about premature data throttles so I'm keeping an eye out for that, but if they allow high speed up to 2.5 GB like they claim then that's plenty.

This appears to be a decent online community for MVNO discussion:
http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/325-US-Prepaid-MVNO-Discussion

[oldtoyota]

I use AirVoice Wireless. It's $10/month.

I have NO complaints about the above company. It's no frills, but it gets the job done.

Before, I was paying $70/month to T-mobile and could not even get service in my house...

While I was in FL on a trip, another couple was having trouble making calls, and I was able to make calls from anywhere. As a former T-mob customer, making calls from anywhere was truly a new experience...

"What cell phone service provider do you have?" I asked. (I would have bet $100 it was T-mobile.)

"We have T-mobile," they replied.

I knew it! I was so happy to leave that scuz company in the dust.

[Daley]

If a person needs ATT coverage and they aren't willing to back off from using data (or able to make their SO quit using data) then I don't see a better alternative than straighttalk in the guide (which is thorough and excellent btw, particularly the ISP part).

It's not in the guide currently, but H2O Wireless is a second tier provider, quality wise, and mentioned many times throughout the massive discussion. I aim for quality of customer service and bang for buck because aiming just for the cheapest service possible always ends with terrible service, which is the dictionary definition of experience with Carlos Slim's brands. Even at their worst, Locus (H2O) was never as bad as NET10/TracFone at its best. You get what you pay for. Between them, Airvoice, Consumer Cellular, and Aio for the AT&T data hogs, there's literally no reason to stay with Straghttalk.

Don't let the bottom line dictate who you spend your money with. That's being cheap, not frugal.

[Ashyukun]

Going to do some closer tracking of my data usage- H2O and Aio would both be considerable savings over my current bill, and the ability to not have to worry as much about going 'over' on Aio would be nice. Considering just dropping the iPad's coverage completely- now that we can't have them at work and I don't bring it in I rarely use it off of WiFi these days, and if I really had some need to I should be able to tether it to the iPhone like I did when I had a WiFi only one.

Will be able to save even more once the fiancee's phone is out of contract and she can switch over to one of the cheaper carriers- she still has an older Verizon feature phone and is quite happy with it so could save a LOT over her current $35 or so.

[fodder69]

What device are you using on the $40 plan though? It says that only basic/feature phones can use that plan, smartphones seem to have to use the $55 plan with 2GB of high speed data (which admittedly is still roughly half what my current bill is). Combined with the tablet plan it would still be about a 30% savings over now and over $400 of savings over a year...

I use an iphone 5 with the $40 plan. You might want to look at the ETF for your finacee's contract. For me it was a no brainer for me to pay $180 to get out of my contract for the next 11 months and save $60 a month. They had a deal for get your 3rd month free also. If you feel like helping me out shoot me your email in a private message and I can send you a referral link :-).

[Ashyukun]

I use an iphone 5 with the $40 plan. You might want to look at the ETF for your finacee's contract. For me it was a no brainer for me to pay $180 to get out of my contract for the next 11 months and save $60 a month. They had a deal for get your 3rd month free also. If you feel like helping me out shoot me your email in a private message and I can send you a referral link :-).

I already considered the ETF- she's only got a few months left on the contract and has an already fairly frugal plan, so it wasn't enough of a savings to switch it now. If I do end up deciding to go that route once I've figured out my usage (and AT&T has unlocked my phone), I'll hit you up for the referral link. :)

[Baylor3217]

So what sucks about straight talk?

[Ashyukun]

Signed up for the mid-range AIO plan. Hopefully the number transfer doesn't mess with the existing plan/coverage until the new SIM gets here and I can activate it. :)

We'll see what happens with the fiancee when she's out of contract... Republic Wireless looks pretty good, but with the added cost of the phone would take over a year for the savings realized to make it a break-even deal and start actually saving money (though she'd have a much nicer phone out of the deal...).

[Ashyukun]

So, a bit of a follow-up. Have had my 4S one AIO Wireless for coming up on a month now and have been quite happy with it- noticed essentially no difference in service other than the oddity that you seem to have to punch in the fully number with area code and can't leave the AC off even if it's in the same one as my number is in. I'm on track to being well under the data limit as well.

My ONE gripe about the whole thing is half AT&T being moneygrubbing berkwits and half my timing being bad. I switched over to AIO a week after my AT&T cycle ended- and they 1) bill a month after the cycle ends- which means that I got hit for the $100 service bill for mid-Dec through Mid-Jan a week ago AND 2) they don't pro-rate- at ALL. Which means unless I can raise enough of a stink about it that I'm going to get charged ANOTHER $100 for the ONE WEEK of service between that last cycle end and when I cancelled it completely. The call center girl I talked to when I called to find out what the deal was with the charge I already got hit with said they can't do anything about it, but I intend to go out to the AT&T store down the street from where I live and lay into them in person about it. AT&T's rates are ridiculous to start with, but $100 for a week's worth of service? That's highway robbery.

[Daley]

AT&T's rates are ridiculous to start with, but $100 for a week's worth of service? That's highway robbery.

Two things:

1) AT&T should pro-rate you on service if you were on a postpaid plan.

2) If you're sick of doing business with AT&T directly, you should probably consider a different MVNO than Aio, as Aio is AT&T. Airvoice, on the other hand, is an AT&T wholesale network buyer using the exact same towers but is not owned by AT&T.

[Ashyukun]

AT&T's rates are ridiculous to start with, but $100 for a week's worth of service? That's highway robbery.

Two things:

1) AT&T should pro-rate you on service if you were on a postpaid plan.

2) If you're sick of doing business with AT&T directly, you should probably consider a different MVNO than Aio, as Aio is AT&T. Airvoice, on the other hand, is an AT&T wholesale network buyer using the exact same towers but is not owned by AT&T.

Yeah, it seemed really weird that they'd not prorate it at all, which is why I plan to go into the store in person to try and get that fixed. Honestly, when I went in to cancel the iPad's data plan in person despite having to wait longer than I'd have liked because of how busy the store was I walked away very pleased with the encounter- the guy who helped me didn't pressure me to change my mind at all and simply took care of cancelling the service and checking that everything else was in order. I'm hoping that I'll have a similar experience this time. I've never really had an issue with AT&T's service, just how much I was paying for it...

[MooseOutFront]

The ATT charge will be pro-rated and will show up as an account credit when your next bill cuts.  That's what happened to us this month.  Still haven't refunded my card, but I'm sure they will at some point.  I haven't called them about it at all.

We're on month 2 of StraightTalk having switched over from ATT.  No issues at all.

[MooseOutFront]

The ATT charge will be pro-rated and will show up as an account credit when your next bill cuts.  That's what happened to us this month.  Still haven't refunded my card, but I'm sure they will at some point.  I haven't called them about it at all.

Got a check in the mail today from att for the overpaid balance.  Plenty quick enough, though a credit card refund would have been nice since I was on auto-pay and they had it on file.  Never called them about it.