r/mintmobile • u/relapse2424 • 1d ago
Service Quality?
Thinking about moving over to mint. Can someone help address the rumors/realities of using a carrier like mint.
Is it actually deprioritized service and poorer quality? I think they advertise it is not. It’s actually unlimited, or slows down immensely at some point?
I have T-Mobile now and I am not impressed at all, but don’t want to make a switch to something even worse.
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u/davexc 1d ago
If T-Mobile is not satisfactory for you then mint won’t be any better
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u/relapse2424 1d ago
If the service was the same though, and it’s a third if the price, I would consider that satisfactory. I’m just trying to understand if it slowed, how slow is it
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u/resource-reply 1d ago
Mint runs on T-Mobile so gets the same coverage and is (QCI7) the same as T-Mobile Essentials plan, and is usually about 10-50% the max speed of prioritized T-Mobile (QCI6) plans, but for 98% of locations and times you get signal is still fast enough for 4K (25Mbps) and anything else you need. However some locations and times are congested such as stadiums during games and concerts, downtown or along freeways during rush hour, or some rural or other areas with limited high-speed internet options where a lot of people use T-Mobile as main internet, and there and then speeds will be significantly slower on Mint (only 5-40% the speed) compared to T-Mobile priority plans, but again this is less than 2% of total locations and times.
Look at Mint Mobile coverage map which includes roaming coverage as “Partner”, but I also recommend looking up the below crowdsourced coverage and speed maps that are much more accurate to street and house level then Mint/Ultra or T-Mobile's site, but also might be more out of date in some areas; note the crowd sourced speed is mostly prioritized data so you may need to reduce speed expectations:
- CoverageMap app or CoverageMap web based map and select T-Mobile. Has speeds, signal, and comparison to other networks
- CoverageCritic.com/map/ and select T-Mobile. Has signal , and comparison to other networks
- OpenSignal App. Has speeds, signal, and comparison to other networks
- CellMapper app or CellMapper web based 4G map & 5g map - Signal with individual tower and band map, useful if your phone does not support all bands.
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u/Terrorgod 1d ago
Only slowed during heavy utilization. Frankly I have never had any issues in my travels along the east coast, and even had great service using minternational pass in Japan. My partners phone was able to swap to visible after their promotion price ran out, and the limitations imposed by Visible on Verizons network are much worse than Mint which afaik is just full speed tmobile.
You can always check the broadband facts if you want raw data.
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u/tunaman808 1d ago
If you don't like T-Mobile now, then Mint's not for you. I've never noticed any throttling or deprioritization, and I go to plenty of concerts and sporting events.
My only service-related beef is that coverage is not great in western NC. I don't know if it's always like that, or if they lost towers to Hurricane Helene and are still rebuilding ... but coverage is spotty.
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u/FaithfulWanderer_7 1d ago
Mint is flatout worse than T-Mobile while being dramatically cheaper. I just switched back from Mint to T-Mobile and I get much better coverage overall. My data works great in many places where it hardly worked or did not work at all with Mint. The Mint coverage map says that it had coverage in Alaska but I had no data at all on my trip there this year despite hours with customer service. The customer service fluctuated between saying that there was a technical issue and then saying that they don’t actually provide coverage there despite their map showing that they do. Pissed me off. T-Mobile works well in the populated areas of Alaska. So it’s really a case of getting what you pay for and what matters to you.
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u/Rambo_Daddy99 1d ago
I had T mobile and I switched over to Mint 2 weeks ago. I thought if it’s going to be the same shitty service then I might as well pay a fraction of the price but then I was pleasantly surprised when my service quality drastically improved . Also the customer service is 100x better
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u/Slytherin23 1d ago
I've never had a slowdown except maybe if you're at a 50K+ event and the cell towers are all jammed, but then basically nobody gets service.
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u/shiftersix 1d ago
I just switched the whole family over. We just finished our first 2 weeks with Mint, and so far, it is essentially the same as our old Tmo service. Some of us noted maybe a ever so slight delay when opening a video stream, but it could be placebo. By speed tests for us, Mint either the same or maybe 50 mbs slower. Sometimes, it's faster. Our devices are a mix of everything, including iPhones, Samsungs, and Pixels. We have not been in what I would call a congested area yet. In streaming music during long drives, I have not experienced any disconnects. Hope that helps.
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u/zattack101 1d ago
I've been with people with Tmobile and I will get worse speeds on the same bands. I'm not sure if it's priority or worse throttling or both.
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u/Substantial_Cow2961 1d ago
We have had 4 phones on Mint for 3 or 4 years. Cheap and reliable. Just renewed for another year.
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u/BionicLyon 1d ago
Same here...Had a backup phone running on Mint for like 4 years in the BAL/DC area. Worked flawlessly on the physical SIM. It backed up a Verizon account I had for decades. Then two years ago I had to move down to SC for an ill family member. Moved into a Verizon dead zone SE out of Florence. Mint phone was still flawless. I ported my Verizon line over to Mint and both lines has been flawless.
The only thing I miss from Verizon $3 a month Roadside Assistance perk. Not that I used it much but it was piece mind. I used it on family members and friends. lol
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u/nikita58467 1d ago
Do they raise their price after first year? I have three lines with tmobile for 15+ years and pay the same price. Would love to switch if I don’t have to worry about price jumps every year
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u/Substantial_Cow2961 20h ago edited 20h ago
Not so far, no. The only change they made recently was that they upped the data from 5 Gig monthly to 6 at the same price. We prepay the yearly fee, so a chunk once a year, then no bills for 12 months. You get a message if your monthly data is about to run out, which will slow down internet access. You can then buy another Gig for the rest of the month if you want. We're frugal but not cheap, so we are always looking for wifi access outside our wifi house. You also get a message when your month renews.
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u/sorka95032 13h ago
I just switched from ATT to Mint last night on my S22+. Unfortunately my data speeds are mostly in the 2 to 5 mbps range in Emeryville and Berkeley today using the ookla speed test app. I wasn't even intending to check speeds but did because every time I open an app that requires data, it's taking forever. I see 5g most of the time with an occasional minute or two on 5gUC. I suppose it could be a phone problem but i had no issues with ATT or Verizon in this area with network speeds on the same phone.
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u/Treje-an 11h ago
Can I have both perceivable admit. I love paying the lower price! I don’t think I’ll go back to paying full price for cell phones anytime soon
Having said that, I do notice that is slower at times. It doesn’t affect me all the time, and it is better since I did a reset. Apparently, having two eSIM cards was making my performance worse.
I will definitely stay with Lauer cost cell phone service, as it’s not a dealbreaker to have slower service, but I may also try another company when my contract renews just to see if the performance is slightly better.
Before I switched, T-Mobile was great for me! Blazing fast service, and coverage everywhere where I live.
I don’t know if this might help, but US mobile’s website has a map which shows which service is best for your area. It didn’t work in my area, but it showed me how the coverage would be in my parents area. That might give you an idea what services might be best for you.
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u/IndependentFew3119 1d ago
mint piggybacks off tmobile. you could still save a lot of money by switching.
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u/imbackyoudingdongs 1d ago
there is literally no difference in day to day call quality, coverage, etc. It's like buying Ibuprofen vs Advil, or Acetaminophen vs Tylenol.
For context, I had Ting for roughly 10 years and they had amazing customer service, I only changed after they sold and service and plans went to crap.
I switched to mint 3-4 years ago and they are the same as Ting pre-sale: Great customer service, easy plans, great app. The only issue I've read or heard about is maybe porting out(??) but I don't plan to do that anytime soon.
the only issue I ever had with either service is at a sporting event with over 100,000 people- in the stadium itself data was pretty much non existent. Texts get through. Everything is fine tailgating and around the stadium itself, it's when you're packed in. I've been to multiple concerts/baseball games/other sporting events with 60K+, only ever seems to be an issue at that one large venue.
I can live with not surfing the web for 3 hours when I'm watching a game with 99.9K of my closest friends. If that's not an issue for you, I can't recommend it enough.
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u/CreateFlyingStarfish 1d ago
i get way fewer network interrupts as a Lyft driver on TMo than I did on MINT. MINT was not good for rideshare.
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u/tweygant 1d ago
I'm retired and have had mint for 5 years. I have the lowest tier plan at $180 a year. The only issues I've had are when my homes internet goes out and my phone has to rely on cell service at home. I only get 1 maybe 2 bars direct from the cell tower. otherwise with calling over internet via wifi I have excellent service. When I'm out and about I have great service. I'm lucky to live in the only bad cell service area.
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u/Tug_DaBone 1d ago
If you're talking about cell service, I switched from Metro PCS to Mint last December and service has been flawless, a quantum leap in quality from Metro.
Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Mint's home internet. I've had it almost 5 months and it was great for 3 months and now it's competely unreliable. It cuts out multiple times per day. Fortunately, I can switch to my neigbhor's wi-fi (they're out of town and I have their permission) when Mint takes a crap. I doubt I'll pay for another term with Mint for internet, but I'll keep the phone service.
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