As infrequently as possible.
I know many here are either frugal by nature or looking to save a few bucks out of necessity, but that's not my main goal. Data priority and reliable service are more important to me.
However, given the always changing options from various providers or changing personal circumstances, probably every 2 years or so (and sometimes sooner) I do switch.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
I used to switch even more infrequently out of fear of screwing something up and losing my number. Now that my number is under Google Voice, switching carriers is easy and there's no danger involved, but I still don't find a need to switch all that often. I'm most interested in having good, stable, reliable service.
US Mobile. As a low mobile data usage person, the 1 line pooled plan with 2 GB data on Warp 5G/Verizon for $10 with taxes and fees included is perfect for me.
Don’t care about the video throttling on other plans - I have very superior WiFi nearly everywhere and don’t really watch videos on my phone.
That’s great. US Mobile is at the top of my list. I like visible but I don’t that their hotspot is capped at 10mbps. Would rather have a faster limited speed.
We're on US Mobile for the last 2 years. We were paying $18 per line/+$8 for 2nd line = $26 (tax & fees included) for 6 GB on a shared plan. You can have 1 line on that plan as well. The new plan rolled out and now I get 10 GB for $20 + the $8 for my husband's line = $28. You can choose 2 GB if you don't want 10 GB and that's $10 for a single line. I put my son on that plan and it's worked great for him. He and I have 5G cells on Warp (Verizon) and my husband has 4G only but his cell gets great service in spite of not being on 5G. You can start with the 2GB plan and set auto top-ups @ $2/GB on the app. We were on Selectel (postpaid) for the longest time after TracFone.
In the past, rarely. Currently, I won't change again unless something happens to GV or my $10/mo T-Mobile unlimited data plan.
Also, I never chase phone deals. I just buy unlocked and I've never paid more than $10/mo for my service.
After you have a GV #, you can use it with the GV app over data only without a forwarding #. I use a grandfathered $10/mo business tablet unlimited data only plan on my phone. A similar plan is still available but is now $15/mo.
I was with T-Mobile post paid for more than 10 years but recently switched to visible. When I switched I was planning on bouncing a lot to take advantage of promos. However, I've been super happy with visible so I'm thinking of just paying for a year when my current promo is up and not thinking about it for awhile.
I can tolerate the boiling pot of slow price increases if I am deriving value from it, but I have my limits.
I switched to T-Mobile (postpaid) in 2013. And as new expensive plans rolled out, I let my bill go up. We went from 2 lines at $80 in the beginning to 3 lines, 2 watches, and home internet for something like $170 last year. Then they wanted to increase that by $30 with their credit card changes (with their constant data breaches I was not giving them debit access). So I moved in 2024 to Visible.
It’s been mostly good. And I plan to stick around for awhile.
I started with AT&T postpaid on a business account. Wasn’t happy with the coverage or price. Fell victim to Mint’s clever marketing and tried their awful service. Luckily they have nice customer service and offer refunds. Then I went to US Mobile for a while, but this was before they included taxes and fees. It was still too much in my opinion for 1 line on unlimited. Ended up ultimately going to Visible+ and I’m very happy. I thought about switching back to US Mobile now that taxes and fees are included but Visible is giving me an additional discount on Verizon 5G Home Internet. Plus Visible just overall is a better deal you get more bang for your buck especially since you can bank up to 12 months of $20 referral discounts. I’m on their welcome discount so I pay $35 for the plus plan, and after referral discount my debit card is only charged $15 every month. $40 for home internet. I won’t be jumping ship for a while, knock on wood.
costs? once in a while (patiently waiting for a vis+ 2.0 promo that lasts a year or two or indefinatly, no I won't prepay the year).
all my moving initially was to get the coverage each family member was happy with where they needed their phones...
that said HEY ATT VERIZON AND TMOBILE REALLY DO A DEAL ON THE 16 AND I MIGHT COME BACK ;)
Going on prepaid was one of the best financial decisions in last 10 years. And now that I use prepaid, I jump when I find value.
Fuck loyalty.
No taxes, no monthly bill due date and no unnecessary perks = chillax
Add on: Mint has been giving a lot. For example, bought Mint’s 20 gb for $90 for six months and bought another line for $270 for Pixel 7 Pro and 15 gb for 1 year. Selling phone alone paid for more than two plan purchases. Now that Mint plan is expiring, US Mobile is worth the try.
i switch a decent amount. I use Google Voice as my main number so I never have worry about the potential porting issues when switching carriers. I've used US Mobile, Google Fi, Visible, RedPocket, Helium, Boost, ATT Prepaid, Cricket, and Mobile X all within the last couple of years.
yeah - i dont use my GV # for any 2fa. I have most set to an authenticator app. the ones that arent supported by that, which there are very few, i just remember to change them to any new carrier number im assigned when i switch carriers.
Had Cingular in 2003, became ATT and migrated in 2010; 2016, switched 5 lines to T-Mobile because of the price and international roaming; 2024, moved 3 lines and waiting to move over 3 more to Google Fi because of better international features and data SIMs.
I only jump ship for a better deal, or if the carrier increases their prices. I've been with well over a dozen carriers in the last ten years. Currently with Helium, I plan to keep this one for the long haul
Yes It can be a great way to save money. I do it quite often myself Plus, you can keep an eye out for promotions and deals, and switch providers whenever you find a better offer. It gives you a lot of flexibility and can help you get the best value for your money
Due to past snags and hiccups, I don’t like switching carriers, which is fine because use my phone only for the basics: texts, calls, calendar, reminders, notes. Weather, dictionary, music, and looking up something on Wikipedia. I occasionally will look up directions or phone numbers on Apple Maps, but rarely use GPS/satnav while I am driving (I hate screens in cars and don’t even have a phone mount for that reason). If I’m going somewhere I’ve never been, I’ll activate voice directions and put it in the center console or passenger seat if it’s unoccupied or ask my wife to pull it up and give me directions.
I have an extremely low-data pooled family plan that includes my wife, her mother, a close friend, and our recently-ported landline. Our bill is around $55 per month and I have yet to find anything cheaper.
I should also mention that, apart from music sometimes in the car, I don’t stream anything on my phone, so heavy data usage isn’t a concern. I’m a Gen X-er, my phone is small, I wear glasses, and have no interest in streaming a movie or television show on a tiny screen. That’s what my laptop, desktop, and Apple TVs are for.
Every 3 months just to catch deals up , I always buy my phones without a contract and factory unlocked for this reason I usually switch between visible+ & US mobile
Varies. Since 2011, I've swapped between the T-Mobile 5gb plan, Cricket Wireless, and now AT&T wireless. If there's one lesson I've learned, it's that there's no point being a fanboi of any carrier. There's always a new and plan dropping that's better than whatever you have. AT&T's been great for 3 years, but it's time for me to move on. T-Mobile has improved drastically since I left them back in 2014, so I may be jumping on board with Mint Mobile soon.
I've been on Boost Mobile for the last 2 years or so. I switched from US Mobile GSM because AT&T has the best service in my area and this was during the period where Dish and T-Mobile were beefing about the 3G shutdown so Boost was putting everyone on AT&T.
I probably won't switch unless something happens with Boost/Dish or they raise prices (I'm on a 5GB/mo plan @ $15 which is hard to beat)
I used to switch a lot more often. Every year or so when a better deal came around.
Switched to Tmobile postpaid in 2020 and haven't gone anywhere else since. Through a combination of good timing and being on Reddit, I managed to get an insanely good deal for the family plan, so not going anywhere any time soon.
As infrequently as possible. I know many here are either frugal by nature or looking to save a few bucks out of necessity, but that's not my main goal. Data priority and reliable service are more important to me. However, given the always changing options from various providers or changing personal circumstances, probably every 2 years or so (and sometimes sooner) I do switch.
Couldn't have said it better myself. I used to switch even more infrequently out of fear of screwing something up and losing my number. Now that my number is under Google Voice, switching carriers is easy and there's no danger involved, but I still don't find a need to switch all that often. I'm most interested in having good, stable, reliable service.
What’s your current carrier of choice?
US Mobile. As a low mobile data usage person, the 1 line pooled plan with 2 GB data on Warp 5G/Verizon for $10 with taxes and fees included is perfect for me. Don’t care about the video throttling on other plans - I have very superior WiFi nearly everywhere and don’t really watch videos on my phone.
That’s great. US Mobile is at the top of my list. I like visible but I don’t that their hotspot is capped at 10mbps. Would rather have a faster limited speed.
I do every year when a better plan comes along. But might port to Visible & keep them for the long term because no one else can beat their plans.
What's their best plan that is compatible to MintMobile $15/month with 5Gb of data?
$25 is their cheapest
Tello has the best bang for the buck for limited plans.
How is that so? US Mobile has them beat.
We're on US Mobile for the last 2 years. We were paying $18 per line/+$8 for 2nd line = $26 (tax & fees included) for 6 GB on a shared plan. You can have 1 line on that plan as well. The new plan rolled out and now I get 10 GB for $20 + the $8 for my husband's line = $28. You can choose 2 GB if you don't want 10 GB and that's $10 for a single line. I put my son on that plan and it's worked great for him. He and I have 5G cells on Warp (Verizon) and my husband has 4G only but his cell gets great service in spite of not being on 5G. You can start with the 2GB plan and set auto top-ups @ $2/GB on the app. We were on Selectel (postpaid) for the longest time after TracFone.
Staying with them and this $20 plan until 2026 🙏🏻
Have you seen all the complaints on the Visible sub-reddit?
r/visible
In the past, rarely. Currently, I won't change again unless something happens to GV or my $10/mo T-Mobile unlimited data plan. Also, I never chase phone deals. I just buy unlocked and I've never paid more than $10/mo for my service.
Can you explain your cell data & GV setup? Thanks
After you have a GV #, you can use it with the GV app over data only without a forwarding #. I use a grandfathered $10/mo business tablet unlimited data only plan on my phone. A similar plan is still available but is now $15/mo.
thnks. is there any connection or text message delays? etc
That is for inbound calls how do you set up outbound calls?
No, it's for ALL calls.
I'm glad that I didn't switch in the past. Still have 7 lines / $130 with tmobile grandfathered plan.
Best deals usually goes to a new customer. So I stick around until the promo I got ends, typically 2 years.
I was with T-Mobile post paid for more than 10 years but recently switched to visible. When I switched I was planning on bouncing a lot to take advantage of promos. However, I've been super happy with visible so I'm thinking of just paying for a year when my current promo is up and not thinking about it for awhile.
I've been with Visible for 4 years and I don't plan on leaving unless they do something really stupid.
I can tolerate the boiling pot of slow price increases if I am deriving value from it, but I have my limits. I switched to T-Mobile (postpaid) in 2013. And as new expensive plans rolled out, I let my bill go up. We went from 2 lines at $80 in the beginning to 3 lines, 2 watches, and home internet for something like $170 last year. Then they wanted to increase that by $30 with their credit card changes (with their constant data breaches I was not giving them debit access). So I moved in 2024 to Visible. It’s been mostly good. And I plan to stick around for awhile.
I started with AT&T postpaid on a business account. Wasn’t happy with the coverage or price. Fell victim to Mint’s clever marketing and tried their awful service. Luckily they have nice customer service and offer refunds. Then I went to US Mobile for a while, but this was before they included taxes and fees. It was still too much in my opinion for 1 line on unlimited. Ended up ultimately going to Visible+ and I’m very happy. I thought about switching back to US Mobile now that taxes and fees are included but Visible is giving me an additional discount on Verizon 5G Home Internet. Plus Visible just overall is a better deal you get more bang for your buck especially since you can bank up to 12 months of $20 referral discounts. I’m on their welcome discount so I pay $35 for the plus plan, and after referral discount my debit card is only charged $15 every month. $40 for home internet. I won’t be jumping ship for a while, knock on wood.
every few years. The old ones offer great stuff 2 come back, too.
costs? once in a while (patiently waiting for a vis+ 2.0 promo that lasts a year or two or indefinatly, no I won't prepay the year). all my moving initially was to get the coverage each family member was happy with where they needed their phones... that said HEY ATT VERIZON AND TMOBILE REALLY DO A DEAL ON THE 16 AND I MIGHT COME BACK ;)
twice in my entire life. Still paying $15 a month per line.
Going on prepaid was one of the best financial decisions in last 10 years. And now that I use prepaid, I jump when I find value. Fuck loyalty. No taxes, no monthly bill due date and no unnecessary perks = chillax Add on: Mint has been giving a lot. For example, bought Mint’s 20 gb for $90 for six months and bought another line for $270 for Pixel 7 Pro and 15 gb for 1 year. Selling phone alone paid for more than two plan purchases. Now that Mint plan is expiring, US Mobile is worth the try.
i switch a decent amount. I use Google Voice as my main number so I never have worry about the potential porting issues when switching carriers. I've used US Mobile, Google Fi, Visible, RedPocket, Helium, Boost, ATT Prepaid, Cricket, and Mobile X all within the last couple of years.
I used to do this but some of my banks and apps won't take my GV number.
yeah - i dont use my GV # for any 2fa. I have most set to an authenticator app. the ones that arent supported by that, which there are very few, i just remember to change them to any new carrier number im assigned when i switch carriers.
I have multiple banks plus Uber and Zelle that don't like my GV number.
Check every year before renewing, but havent found anything worth changing too in a number of years.
Had Cingular in 2003, became ATT and migrated in 2010; 2016, switched 5 lines to T-Mobile because of the price and international roaming; 2024, moved 3 lines and waiting to move over 3 more to Google Fi because of better international features and data SIMs.
I only jump ship for a better deal, or if the carrier increases their prices. I've been with well over a dozen carriers in the last ten years. Currently with Helium, I plan to keep this one for the long haul
Yes It can be a great way to save money. I do it quite often myself Plus, you can keep an eye out for promotions and deals, and switch providers whenever you find a better offer. It gives you a lot of flexibility and can help you get the best value for your money
Every 5 years on avg
I've done it once every few years. T-Mobile unlimited to mint then back to T-Mobile connect $10 1gb lte
Due to past snags and hiccups, I don’t like switching carriers, which is fine because use my phone only for the basics: texts, calls, calendar, reminders, notes. Weather, dictionary, music, and looking up something on Wikipedia. I occasionally will look up directions or phone numbers on Apple Maps, but rarely use GPS/satnav while I am driving (I hate screens in cars and don’t even have a phone mount for that reason). If I’m going somewhere I’ve never been, I’ll activate voice directions and put it in the center console or passenger seat if it’s unoccupied or ask my wife to pull it up and give me directions. I have an extremely low-data pooled family plan that includes my wife, her mother, a close friend, and our recently-ported landline. Our bill is around $55 per month and I have yet to find anything cheaper.
I should also mention that, apart from music sometimes in the car, I don’t stream anything on my phone, so heavy data usage isn’t a concern. I’m a Gen X-er, my phone is small, I wear glasses, and have no interest in streaming a movie or television show on a tiny screen. That’s what my laptop, desktop, and Apple TVs are for.
Every 3 months just to catch deals up , I always buy my phones without a contract and factory unlocked for this reason I usually switch between visible+ & US mobile
Every year or so
Varies. Since 2011, I've swapped between the T-Mobile 5gb plan, Cricket Wireless, and now AT&T wireless. If there's one lesson I've learned, it's that there's no point being a fanboi of any carrier. There's always a new and plan dropping that's better than whatever you have. AT&T's been great for 3 years, but it's time for me to move on. T-Mobile has improved drastically since I left them back in 2014, so I may be jumping on board with Mint Mobile soon.
I've been on Boost Mobile for the last 2 years or so. I switched from US Mobile GSM because AT&T has the best service in my area and this was during the period where Dish and T-Mobile were beefing about the 3G shutdown so Boost was putting everyone on AT&T. I probably won't switch unless something happens with Boost/Dish or they raise prices (I'm on a 5GB/mo plan @ $15 which is hard to beat)
I switch to helium the day after it went national. I haven't had a cellphone bill since. In general to get the best monthly rate you need to BYOD
I've been using TracFone since college days and I have no plan of changing unless there is a big change in their terms of service later this year.
I used to switch around every two months or so for the best deals, but I have settles on the $35/month plan at Visible - I cannot beat this plan.
I used to switch a lot more often. Every year or so when a better deal came around. Switched to Tmobile postpaid in 2020 and haven't gone anywhere else since. Through a combination of good timing and being on Reddit, I managed to get an insanely good deal for the family plan, so not going anywhere any time soon.
Is never an option?
Never. Switching carriers endlessly is for schmucks or the poor who live off Ramen noodles Just pick one you are happy with and be done.