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+--- Forum: General Discussion on PinePhone (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=127)
+--- Thread: US Cell Phone Service Providers with prices and phone numbers - UPDATED (/showthread.php?tid=18438)
US Cell Phone Service Providers with prices and phone numbers - UPDATED - jovval - 07-01-2023
SOURCES
US Mobile I believe I found in the pine64 forums.
For the remaining eight mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), which without exception were less expensive than the carriers
whose networks they used, I had the following sources.
PinePhone APN Settings - PINE64 - https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=PinePhone_APN_Settings
PinePhone Carrier Support - PINE64 - https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php?title=PinePhone_Carrier_Support
T-MOBILE, NOT VERIZON NOR AT&T
I only found T-Mobile (through the company's representative) to claim compatibility.
Contradicting what the links above may say, a representative at AT&T said its network does NOT support the PinePhone.
Therefore, I excluded MVNOs that only work with AT&T: Consumer Cellular, SimpleMobile, and TracPhone.
I welcome comments contrary to the AT&T rep.'s claims.
CANDIDATES
I list these in economical order.
(1) US Mobile 878-205-0088 - 24/7
-$5/mo: unlimited 2500 min/msg 500MB/data with hard cap.
-SIM card: $4 cost waived. I signed up for my account on US Mobile's website.
US Mobile needs to educate its representatives. A wrongly entered APN (using lower case instead of upper case) caused US Mobile to flag the PP (PPP in my case) as "non-compatible" and "an embedded network module."
Only after my *fourth* phone call -- after transferring my account -- did I receive a return call from a supervisor, Daud Navin. (Two other supers had tried to reach me when I was unavailable.) He informed me of the following, critical capitalization.
Settings --> Cellular Network --> SIMs --> Modify APNs --> Add APN:- PWG (PWG MUST BE CAPITAL)
(2) Red Pocket (USA) 1-888-993-3888 Text (Mon-Sun 5 AM - 9 PM PST
Red Pocket for $5/mo gives 500 min/text/MB of talk/text/data, thus matching US Mobile on price EXCEPT a year is pre-paid.
Carriers: T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon
Rep. said that I could NOT have a temp # to test phone's functionality.
"Compatibility does not guarantee functionality? I asked. Yes," said the rep.
Temp # to test phone's functionality, requires setting up an account. If working, I can close the first account and transfer its payment to a second account.
SIM card costs nothing. Go to www.redpocket.com, click on activate SIM and open, or have opened, an account.
I list these in economical order.
(3) Tello (USA) 1-866-377-0294
Tello for $6/mo gives 100/unlimited/500MB of talk/text/data: $1 more for 1/5 of the talk.
Above limit, data shifts to 2G network and slow data is at no charge.
Carriers: Only T-Mobile
Temp # to test phone's functionality, followed by transfer is possible.
Pinephone is "fully compatible". (The rep. said that he knew of some phones that were only partially compatible.)
SIM card costs $2 on tello.com
(4) Mint Mobile (USA) 800-683-7392 - available 7 days a week 5AM-7PM PST - $15/mo
Mint Mobile for $15/mo gives unlimited talk/text and 5G data.
Carriers: Only T-Mobile
Temp # to test phone's functionality, followed by transfer is possible.
SIM card costs nothing upon creation; upon activation, the billing cycle starts.
CANDIDATE, AWKWARD (but see below): sales staff did not convey competence.
(5) Ting (USA) 1-855-846-4389
BoostMobile, Not Ting, for which a web search gave me the phone number above.
Neither of the two representatives with whom I spoke (on two distinct calls) inspired confidence.
All plans have unlimited talk+text.
$8.33/mo 1GB, one year contract total $100/yr - not including fees/taxes
Carriers: T-Mobile, AT&T; BoostM. has its own towers and shares towers
US Mobile, via T-Mobile, won't support Pinephone Pro b/c of its "stand-alone" modem - https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=18432&pid=118379#pid118379
"FWIW, Ting works fine on one of my Pinephones."
Further details on Ting follow in the next link.
Will a Pinephone Pro (Explorer) work with TING - https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=17984
The thread has both pro and con.
PRO: Using Ting resolved of OP's Q.
"... So you see the TING restrictions and also the other channel restrictions. Also Ting now requires VoLTE even if the other carrier does not, adding another exclusion for some devices. // ... // So far, TING has been worthwhile. They have better service and friendlier support than any other carrier I have used..."
CON: Other posts suggest Ting is not reliably compatible. (See link in second quotation.)
"i tested three pinphone imei numbers. beta edition imei says following, "Your phone is compatible!". and two says "no". if these are correct, ting has arbitrary blocks!"
"...pinephone pro uses same modem chip than pinephone, e.g. eg25-g. i put pp's imei number to a website https://www.tingmobile.com/mobile/check_device , and it says "Sorry, this phone is not compatible with Ting"."
"TING says in their fine print that they use both T-Mobile and Sprint networks (the two companies merged, but their networks aren't fully combined yet, and T-Mobile has the unique 1700MHz band in North America, which may mean their two networks might never be fully combined). So, whatever phone you use has to be capable of supporting both T-Mobile and Sprint as it may flip-flop between the two networks while on TING."
"From user feedback, looks like work with TING/T-Mobile bit not TING/Sprint."
The last quotation is from a moderator.
HIGHER PRICE FOR LESS DATA THAN MINT MOBILE:
(6) Patriot Mobile (USA T-Mobile) 972-PATRIOT 972-728-7468 - USA based sales and support staff... Weekdays: 8a.m. - 8:30p.m. CST - $35, 3GB
$25, unlimited talk/text, 1GB, no contract
Carriers: T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon
I did not ask about a temp # to test phone's functionality.
Please, do your own research to confirm my findings.
Too, please post additional details and/or more MVNOs as you can.