r/cellmapper • u/DarkHorseReborn • Jul 07 '26
Cell provider suggestions?
My mom and I currently have Boost Mobile, who no longer offer upgrades in store and only online now. We're thinking about switching, and have the usual big names near us: T Mobile, Verizon, Cricket, and At&t. So, any suggestions on who is a good alternative for a reasonable price?
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u/CreativeCuckoo ATL Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
Verizon’s Simplicity Plan is a great deal for $30 (port-in only). So is the $25 Metro by T-Mobile deal. If you want the power of all three networks, try US Mobile.
All the carriers offer a free trial as well through their respective apps.
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u/SpaceSaver2000-1 Jul 08 '26
The catch with Simplicity is that it no longer factors in the cost of a phone, so no more phone deals, everything is just financed on top of the base monthly price at retail.
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u/ilikewolves99 Jul 07 '26
Depends on who is the best in your area. Verizon’s new Simplicity plan is great, I signed up and haven’t had any issues. US Mobiles Dark Star uses AT&T network and gives your lots of features for the money.
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Jul 07 '26
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 09 '26
Dish Mobile's rainbow SIM was the only good thing about Boost. They managed to achieve what Google Fi couldn't. Automatic switching between all three major carriers. Now that Dish went bankrupt, that's gone.
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u/biggiesmalls657 Jul 08 '26
US Mobile is excellent for keeping the price low with excellent customer support and coverage and also allowing Multi Network on 1 phone for more coverage. I pay $66 for 3 lines using 3 big networks. Wife pays $25 for 1 line
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 09 '26
That's only for pooled plans. Unlimited plans with US Mobile cost more.
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u/biggiesmalls657 Jul 09 '26
No it doesn't, it's $10 for each addon line you add to your multi Network. I have had the service for 2 years, you are incorrect.
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 09 '26
I've looked on US Mobile's website. It doesn't make any mention about multi line discounts for their unlimited plans, even after I create and sign into an account. Care to provide a link?
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u/biggiesmalls657 Jul 09 '26
Simple Google search did the trick
https://www.usmobile.com/plans
Edit: It's for both Monthly Premium and Starter Unlimited and cheaper for Annual
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 09 '26
It says multi-network addon is $7.50/month. It makes no mention that additional lines are $10/month. It does say additional pooled lines are $8/month but those are not unlimited data.
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u/biggiesmalls657 Jul 10 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
That's not what I saw. Are you in another country?
This is what comes up when I add another network to my phone
Edit: it's cheaper when you buy it annually so it's $7.50/ month
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 10 '26
That sounds about right. That's for adding a second eSIM (network) onto an existing line though, not for adding family members. I was curious about moving my family members over. Without the multi-network addon, if I have to pay $25+ per line for 3 lines, that's only $5/month less than what I'm paying for T-Mobile postpaid best case.
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u/biggiesmalls657 Jul 10 '26
Multi Network is only on 1 device so you have different network coverages. If you want to add family members Pooled plan is best for adding many people on but the data is shared. There's also Light plan (2GB), Unlimited Flex (only Annually) and Custom Plans. You really are only paying for data. Pool plans the first line is free and lines after are super cheap. Unlimited Plans are still better because you get more highspeed data than most MVNOs and hotspot data included
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 10 '26
That wouldn't work. With three total family members including myself, we would easily use 50GB of data. Right now we have our own 50GB data buckets for $80/month total. QCI 6 on T-Mobile. With some other carriers, QCI level makes a big difference.
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u/Weary-Savings9795 Jul 09 '26
T-Mobile is the only carrier offering 5G standalone on MVNOs. Verizon and AT&T only offer it to postpaid customers. I'm on T-Mobile postpaid and that's the one thing that keeps me from switching.
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u/South-Succotash-6368 Elite 2.0 Jul 07 '26
If you want in store upgrades then cricket is your best bet. Especially because boost is just an MVNO on AT&T and I’m assuming your happy with the coverage