Cell Phones and Service Providers

[spazzyfry123]

I feel like I just sat down and looked at the menu for The Cheesecake Factory. There are a million options for plans and providers and phones and storage and and and...

This will be the first time in probably ten years that I'm going to have a phone bill. I've accepted a new role with a new company, and I think it's time to make a change and become a "two phone guy." I've always just used my company phone as my personal phone, but I've got to get some separation.

I'm overwhelmed with the sheer amount of paths. Android vs Apple. Verizon vs AT&T. Purchase a phone outright vs monthly. Free phones with a bonus iPad and we'll walk your dog every Tuesday just because you're you!

If anyone has some direction or is going through something similar, please share your input. I guess this has just always been one area of my life that's been decided for me.

[2000cs]

Figure out who has the best coverage where you live and travel most, go with that provider. Look to see if they have any good phone deals. If you already use a Mac or other Apple products, you’ll probably prefer an iPhone; if you not in the Apple universe, get whatever you like.

I’m a fan of keeping all personal stuff, including social media, on a personal phone and only work stuff on the work phone.

[vreihen16]

Dumb question - Was your former company phone an Apple, Android, or plain old dumb phone?????

[Tyga11]

Verizon has the best coverage by far. Nothing else is really close. If you want to cheap out - I would go TMobile.

[spazzyfry123]

Thanks folks. I should have mentioned that I'll be sticking with Apple. Thanks for that. I feel that I actually prefer a Samsung, but the reality is that I have an Apple watch, Apple ear buds, and have used Apple exclusively for the past several years as it was the only option for work. It's probably been five or six years since I've had a non-Apple phone.

Knowing that I need to get a new phone, I'm seeing a myriad of plans for "free" phones, but the terms have me skeptical. Some of these seemingly have perpetual monthly payments - almost like a phone "lease" of sorts. Confusing.

[vreihen16]

I always buy my phones outright. If you go into an Apple store, you can apply for their credit card and get 2-year free 0% financing.

On the phone plan front, I've been a post-paid Verizon (and predecessors) customer since the 1980's. My monthly bill is $208 after taxes and fees for two unlimited phones plus a cellular Apple Watch.

Since I was involuntarily retired back in July, I am looking at Verizon-owned pre-paid plans. If you have 1-2 phones, Visible by Verizon has a special for $35/line all-in right now with unlimited 5G UW, tethering, and free cellular watch service. For 4+ phones, Total Wireless by Verizon starts to become a better deal at $30/line all-in although it may charge extra for tethering and cellular Apple Watch service. I'm going to be changing to Visible before their promotion ends, because $70 all-in versus $208 after taxes/fees to use the same towers at apparently the same network priority is a no-brainer. Oh, and there's no contract or lock-in with either pre-paid plans if you bring your own phone.....

[avantegardestyle]

Originally Posted by spazzyfry123

Thanks folks. I should have mentioned that I'll be sticking with Apple. Thanks for that. I feel that I actually prefer a Samsung, but the reality is that I have an Apple watch, Apple ear buds, and have used Apple exclusively for the past several years as it was the only option for work. It's probably been five or six years since I've had a non-Apple phone.

Knowing that I need to get a new phone, I'm seeing a myriad of plans for "free" phones, but the terms have me skeptical. Some of these seemingly have perpetual monthly payments - almost like a phone "lease" of sorts. Confusing.

three phone guy here, one for business, one for personal and one for the side chicks lol
I have T-Mobile, I have 5 phones on my plan and pay about $160 per month for all 5
Good for international travel too with a $30 roaming charge for like 10 days providing you call them in advance

my two main phones are apple with one android
my gripe with apple is after a year the phone Battey sucks, then you either have to get new battery or upgrade the phone. I think this is intentional on apples part and I hate it

[M_Six]

Think about what you do with your phone. Especially since it'll just be a personal phone. Some folks watch movies and shoot video and do Facetime, etc, so they need the biggest and best iPhone. Others, like myself, use the phone as a phone and some texting/email/surfing and the occasional picture. So I stick with the iPhone SE as it's smaller and cheaper. I'm already bummed that the upcoming iPhone SE4 is going to be bigger. I'll be keeping my current SE2 until it's no longer supported.

[JeffL0]

T-Mobile's over-55 plans really can't be beat. Coverage is pretty good. Sure, not like Big Red but neither is the phone bill either. We have two lines unlimited data and our bill, including taxes and fees, is $80.

[spazzyfry123]

Originally Posted by M_Six

Think about what you do with your phone. Especially since it'll just be a personal phone. Some folks watch movies and shoot video and do Facetime, etc, so they need the biggest and best iPhone. Others, like myself, use the phone as a phone and some texting/email/surfing and the occasional picture. So I stick with the iPhone SE as it's smaller and cheaper. I'm already bummed that the upcoming iPhone SE4 is going to be bigger. I'll be keeping my current SE2 until it's no longer supported.

Great point for utilization. I am definitely looking for an unlimited plan of sorts so that I'm not thinking of any overages. I am an "extreme" phone user in the sense of work (100+ calls and meetings, who knows how many texts a day, etc.). But for personal use, I just need to check my personal E-mail, make the ocassional call, text, surf Bimmer Post, stream some tunes, and GPS. So certainly a smartphone, but I also don't need the latest and greatest $2000 phone.

Originally Posted by JeffL0

T-Mobile's over-55 plans really can't be beat. Coverage is pretty good. Sure, not like Big Red but neither is the phone bill either. We have two lines unlimited data and our bill, including taxes and fees, is $80.

I've got some years to go before I join the 55+ club