Wanna switch to Ting - iPhone dilemma

[Frugalista]

Hi fellow Mustachians,
 
My Sprint contract expired about 2 weeks ago (yay!) and I'd like to switch to Ting. My dilemma is that my son ( he's 17 and still a dependent) and I both have iPhone 5's which aren't supported by Ting - iPhone 4 and 4s are in beta.  Considerations:

1. I could switch to Android and sell my iPhones.
    -- I'll  lose money on the iPhones. Apparently iPhones on the Sprint network don't have as high a resale value as AT&T, at least on Amazon. :(
    -- I've done some research on pros/cons btwn iOS and Android.  Still undecided there. The open source on Android worries me because of malware risk.
    -- what is the inconvenience factor on switching from iPhone to Android?

2.  According to Ting website I could save anywhere from $80 to $100 a month based on our current usage. And would break even in 3 to 6 months depending on phones we  switch to.  Woohoo! But this doesn't take into consideration $ lost on sale of iPhones.

3.  Or I could wait till (if) Ting supports iPhone 5. I am on email list for new devices notification.

So whadaya think?  Anyone using Ting?  If so, do you like it? I'm already on the Sprint network. I'd like to keep our current phone numbers. Everyone online sings it's praises and then I notice they get $25 bonus for folks that switch and give them as a reference. Sheesh.

Anyone switch from iPhone to Android? Pain points?  What Android phone would you recommend?

Thanks!

[Insanity]

We were about to get new phones, but I decided to hold off and wait.  You could probably sell your iPhone 5 more than we could the iPhone 4s.  So, it might be worth doing the switch if you don't want to play the waiting game.

[dumbblond]

I switched from a Verizon (unlimited everything) plan over to Ting, and I'm loving it. The biggest benefit for me was being able to see my usage and have control of how big (or small) my monthly bill is. It sounds like you're already familiar with how Ting's coverage will be for you since you're already on Sprint's network so I would encourage you to switch.

Something to consider about changing platforms--are you guys a Windows or Apple family? If you have macs, I think the switch from iPhone to Android would be a lot more difficult since Apple does a good job at making sure all of their stuff works together without too much effort. I don't have much experience with Android at all...DH and I are both using Windows Phone (Ting supports it...so check it out if you're open to other options :) ). I have an extreme dislike for Apple due mostly to a bitter experience developing for the platform a few iterations ago, and DH will not let us get Android because of security concerns so WP was really our only option. I have a bunch of friends who use Android, and they feel pretty comfortable with it, especially since they have an antivirus installed and don't download tons of apps.

[nottoolatetostart]

Hi - not sure if this response will help, but I did recently switch from AT&T to Ting (in November). I had an iphone on AT&T, a nicer model, but went ahead and just sold it on ebay and bought 2 Sprint iphones for my husband and myself through ebay. Selling my old AT&T iPhone almost paid for both of the new to us Sprint iPhones. Both have worked great so far.

My previous bill was $92/mo with AT&T for 1 iPhone and 1 dumb phone and this month, I am hoping to coast in at $33 inclusive of tax/fees. Totally worth it! Plus, you could always hang on to your iphone 5's and see if Ting will support in a few more months, but buy something basic on Ebay to use for the time being.

Good luck! My only regret is not pulling the trigger sooner.

Make sure you check out the referral thread on this forum for an extra $25 savings.

[tariskat]

I have an old iPhone 3gs (it's not broken, so I don't 'fix' it) and switched to Ting, and just bought a full price Kyocera dumbphone for 80$ as my normal text/call phone.  I kept my iPhone and still use it for music, email, etc., and I have wifi at home and work so it basically functions as it always did.

When I had data turned off on Ting, I got iMessages on my iPhone while I was on Wifi, and since most of my family has iPhones, most everyone went through iMessage.  For people without iPhones, their texts came in on my dumbphone like usual.  When I wasn't in wifi, messages sent as a text on other iPhones sometimes didn't reach me at all on either phone, especially pictures and videos.

I ended up turning data on in Ting, which now redirects all texts to my dumbphone, but now I never miss a message.  Last month they didn't bill me at all for my data usage, since I used so little (1 Mb on the 100Mb 'plan'), so that's a win.  My texts have gone up since none are free anymore, since they're not iMessages.

This has been a very good route for me and I'm happy with it - it's a 23$ phone bill over 80$ at AT&T or 56$ at Tmobile, with a dumbphone for phone usage and my iPhone as my fun toy.

[CBnCO]

Coincidentally, I am currently in the market for a used iPhone 5 so I can switch to Sprint!  A friend of mine started a new "framily" group and we are on our way to the seven lines required to get to the $25 per month level.  After coming off of contract with VZ, I've considered a variety of ways to cut my bill, including Google Voice and an MVNO like Ting..at the end of the day, if we can get it to $25 per line for unlimited voice and text and 1GB of data; and with a direct Sprint relationship that allows the full use of iPhones and 4G; it won't be the absolute cheapest option; but, for me, presents a pretty good value and is much less than I'm paying VZ today. 

[TangoPapaCharlie]

Google "Ting iphone 5".  If you haven't made a move yet, you might want to wait a little bit longer.  Once this is official will be selling our AT&T iPhones and switching to Ting.

[Le0]

Moto G - $200 Phone.

Wife has it and its great. I would have it, except I bought a nexus 4 when it was the cheapest [smart]phone out there.

[frugally]

I have an iPhone 4s on Ting - works great!

[PantsOnFire]

iPhone 5 is on Ting's list of supported devices now. 

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

I'm not an iPhone user myself but you might find helpful the Planting Our Pennies series on switching to Ting as iPhone users.

[NinetyFour]

LOVE TING!!!  Switched from Verizon in August.  I was paying about $55 per month.

With Ting, I have paid a TOTAL of $74 in 7 months!!

Make sure to use the Ting referral thread.  I would post my referral code here, but I will respect the forum rules and not post it here, since I already posted it in the referral thread.

[thesinecure]

iPhone 5 is on Ting's list of supported devices now.

yes it is

unfortunately i'm 18 months into my 24 month requirement, so i can't port over yet

but may try my wife's phone first and get the ball rolling, hers is a 4 and we're well past her original 2 year

[Cpa Cat]

So whadaya think?  Anyone using Ting?  If so, do you like it? I'm already on the Sprint network. I'd like to keep our current phone numbers. Everyone online sings it's praises and then I notice they get $25 bonus for folks that switch and give them as a reference. Sheesh.

Thanks!

I just switched from Sprint to Ting about a month ago. There is zero difference in service. I did it while my husband was sleeping and he didn't even notice until he asked what happened to the Sprint bill.

Besides that - we ended up lower than Ting's quote. I think we're a bit more frugal with our usage since we switched to a plan that tracks everything.

The way the referrals work:
1. You click on someone's referral link and get a statement credit of $25 (they also get a credit).
2. You then have you own referral link. You get a $50 credit the first referral and $25 for each thereafter.
3. There's a thread here in the forums where people post their links - you use the last person's and then put yours up. So I ended up with an immediate $75 credit.