Which Cell Plan Should I Go With?

Mrs. DX and I have Verizon for our cell phones and I am due for an upgrade. Verizon isn't my favorite carrier out there and I like them for their service pretty much. I'd like to jump ship and maybe go with a plan that has no contract. I currently have an Iphone 5C and would be keeping it. I would like to have at least 4-5 gigs of internet a month. Which of the no contract providers should I go with? I've heard good things about Straight Talk..

If price were no object, which carrier (which cell phone towers) would be your first choice; second choice for quality coverage in your area?

Straight Talk is probably your best bet. Check if you're tied to CDMA with a Verizon iPhone 5c (I know my Verizon iPhone 5 was supposed to be usable on T-Mobile's LTE network but I never tried), if that's the case then you're pretty much stuck with Verizon and its resellers. Straight Talk does have plans that run on Verizon's network.

If you're willing to get a new phone, I'd look at Google Fi. Coverage isn't going to be as good as Verizon in rural areas (pretty much nobody is, although they're catching up) as they're using a combination of T-Mobile and Sprint but the prices are much better - IIRC it's $20 for the base plan + $10 / GB data a month, and you get credit for unused data. Plus if you travel abroad, the call rates back to the US and in-country are the same as T-Mobile and much cheaper than especially Verizon's.

Only downside is you have to get a Nexus device. A 32GB Nexus 5X comes in at $399, but you can most likely sell your iPhone to cover a decent part of the cost.

If you are willing to sell your device and go android, Republic is very similar to Google Fi with cheaper device options and a slightly lower price (IIRC).

I've had Sprint before and like their prices but never realized how spotty their coverage can be (from the looks of the map). I looked at Google Fi's page but if I went with them, I would be spending the same amount of money as I am now with Verizon.

What you have is an iPhone 5C built for VZ.

If you would like to quit VZ directly and go to Straight Talk (ST) using the same existing handset then you will need an ST Sim card compatible with VZ.
http://www.shopstraighttalk.com/bpdirect/straighttalk/PhoneDetails.do?action=view&productVariantExtensionId=35931228

If you would like to keep your phone number, you can move that number over to ST. This moving your number is called "porting".
DO NOT CONTACT VZ DIRECTLY TO QUIT.
Rather, contact ST to have them start you service. ST will then contact VZ on your behalf to discontinue your VZ service and begin your ST service with no interuption to your phone number.

By going to ST Compatible with VZ you will continue to get 100% VZ coverage like you are used to but your price will be $45 for Talk/Text and 5GB of 4G.

Coverage, coverage, coverage.

Then price/package/options/customer service.

Don't be too glib or flip on the package and price. My wife streams music almost constantly. Having a monthly plan that offers her unlimited music streaming saves us quite a bit of money.

I kept my iPhone 6 and went with AT&T GoPhone. I pay $40 a month for unlimited calls and texts, and a few gig of high speed data. After I use up the high speed, I still can access the web, just at a slower pace. I have simply gotten more diligent about seeking out free WiFi and not letting the kids stream videos in the car. I have coverage everywhere, my wife has Verizon and constantly complains about poor coverage and dropped calls. So often in the car together, I have great coverage and she has none. I would never go to Verizon in my area.

I asked the same question last year at this time and with JohnRW's help I ended up with the StraightTalk CDMA kit at $45/mo for 3GB with my Verizon Samsung S3. It was a great service and we will be doing the same with my wife's S5 in the near future to save about $30/mo from her current VZW plan.

I ended up leaving ST a few months in when Google fi launched. At the time the only option was the Nexus 6. It is huge, but very nice. Fi service is pretty good in my area, using mostly t-mobile towers. I have great service 99% of the time. The other 1% is when you get far from civilization. I have also become a data saving junkie. Most months I use less than 500MB.

I considered t-mobile. I think its a great company with some great plans. It just hasn't made sense for me. That said, if google killed fi tomorrow I would go to t-mobile.

I once was burned by moving a phone between carriers. Was locked to the old carrier and I ended up having to pay about $100 to get it unlocked.

So if it applies to VZ phones (I dunno) make sure your iPhone 5c isn't locked by Verizon. If it is, figure out how to remove that lock before migrating.

In reply to 92dxman:

I highly recommend Project Fi if you can get in invite. The refund in data is a nice perk but the biggest draw is you can utilize wifi to make calls and texts. My house was pretty spotty with Verizon and that turned it around. The dual network coverage is also pretty good, there's very few places I've traveled to recently that don't have coverage, even the middle of nowhere where I work.

From what I found, Verizon phones are not locked. I think there is some story behind this, but I cannot remember it.

Financially, Project Fi is worth considering if you can be on wifi a lot, or just don't use much data.

I've been happy with Republic Wireless for the past 20 months or so. you buy the phone up front (limited android selection) and after that, the pricing is good - especially if you use WiFi for data most of the time.

Wife switched to it at Christmas and is also generally happy with it.

In my case I do sometimes have to bounce the phone if going across multiple state / coverage lines. Pretty rare though.

The0retical wrote: I highly recommend Project Fi if you can get in invite.

No longer need an invite. Open to all and Nexus 5x now only $199 (from $349) http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=17381.

I think I have narrowed it down to Straight Talk or Cricket.

I have recommended Cricket to others as well. They have some good pricing on moderate handsets to get you started too.
Cricket is 100% owned by ATT and works exclusively on ATT towers.

2 things:
1) I am not sure (so I recommend checking) that your VZ based Apple 5c will work on Cricket. So you might have to purchase a new handset (but they are reasonably priced.)

2) Cricket charges another $10 if you want to be able to use the data as a hotspot and thereby run data to a laptop or tablet via that handset.

I've been happy with Metro PCS. They are using GSM and are the 'budget' division of T-Mobile

The0retical wrote: In reply to 92dxman: I highly recommend Project Fi if you can get in invite. The refund in data is a nice perk but the biggest draw is you can utilize wifi to make calls and texts. My house was pretty spotty with Verizon and that turned it around. The dual network coverage is also pretty good, there's very few places I've traveled to recently that don't have coverage, even the middle of nowhere where I work.

This is good to know. I was considering it for a while. My 4S is performing very poorly these days and I've been pondering making the jump. Would be nice to cut the bill in half.

I've been very happy with Cricket. My wife and I have been using their service for almost a year. It ends up being $70/month for both lines with an autopay discount. Let me know if you want a referral ($20 discount for both of us)

I have Cricket. 5 lines for $100/month. Never had a coverage issue, except at CMP racetrack, where nobody has coverage.

Google Fi

https://fi.google.com

I use verizons pre paid. They cut data again so its down to one gig with unlimited text and calls at 45 a month. Verizon has the best service locally and just going prepaid cut me and the wifes phone bill buy 130 a month.