This is not a paid post, it is just my experience. However, if you want to sign up and use my link to do so, I will receive a small referral payment.
I have most recently been using Google Fi as my cell phone service provider as it provides free international data, talk, and text. However, there are a ton of new MNVOs (mobile network virtual operators) that offer a better value when compared to Google Fiber. Consumer Reports rated U.S. Mobile as the best Cell Phone Service this year by quite a big margin. So I decided to give it a try.
MNVOs, like U.S. Mobile, are smaller companies that purchase data and minutes from the big three service providers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile). They don’t have their own cell towers and can afford to charge less than the big three as they don’t pay for the infrastructure or advertising (or at least not as much advertising). The downside is that the big three prioritize their own customers when things get busy; and the MNVO service may be de-prioritized.
I would guess that for 99.5% of cell phone users, they are never going to notice if their data gets deprioritized (and it most likely will rarely be de-prioritized anyway, unless you are at a large event at a stadium and trying to stream data).
So why do people stay with the big three cell phone providers? I would venture to guess it is because they just don’t consider switching. They have been with their provider for years and it just seems like too much work to switch.
What Makes U.S. Mobile Unique
Most MNVOs use one (or maybe two) of the big three service providers for their network. For example, Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile towers and service. U.S. Mobile has partnerships with all three — AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
When you sign up, you get to pick which of the big three providers you want to use. This part confused me at first as they aren’t allowed to say which provider is which. So here is a cheat sheet:
- Warp = Verizon
- Dark Star = AT&T
- Light Speed = T-Mobile
You can enter in your address to see what service provider they recommend for your area.
But here is the cool thing. You can switch between providers. If you want to try out “Warp” for a week and then switch to “Dark Star”, you can do so. If you are on their top tier plan, Unlimited Premium, you can switch eight times a month for no charge. All other plans let you switch twice (ever) and after that it is $2 a switch. With eSIMs, switching between providers is almost instant.
And for an additional $10/month, you can add a second provider as a back up data plan. In other words, you can use your main line with Warp but if you know areas around you don’t have great Verizon reception, you could add Dark Star (AT&T) as a back up for when reception is poor. Note that this doesn’t apply to talk/text — only data. The way this works is that you set up two eSIMS on your phone; one for each provider.
Plans
To start off, when you sign up you get a free month of service (up to 30GB of data, unlimited talk/text). During this month, you can try out the three providers. If you use my referral link, you also get a $25 credit to use for your second month.
The most expensive plan is the Unlimited Premium, which costs $44/month. Right now there is a sale if you want to go with Dark Star (AT&T) for $35/month for the first year. With Unlimited Premium you get unlimited priority data (so the same data that direct customers of the big three get), a large chunk of hotspot data, and 20GB of international data when traveling.
Unlimited Starter is $25/month gets you unlimited high speed data for the first 70GB of data each month, but it is de-prioritized if there is heavy data traffic. If you go over 70GB, it slows down your data (basically to stop people from using it for home internet). You get 10GB of hotspot data. You don’t get international usage unless you pay an additional fee when you go abroad: $15 for 1GB of data, 150 minutes of calling, and 150 texts, or you can pay $30 for 5GB of data, 500 minutes of calling, and 500 texts.
If you are traveling regularly, or using a ton of data, the Unlimited Premium plan makes a lot of sense. Otherwise the Starter plan should be fine.
U.S. Mobile also offers By the Gig plans that start at $10/month for 2GB with unlimited talk and text. If you don’t use a ton of data each month, the $10 or $15 plan would be plenty.
My Experience
I have found U.S. Mobile to be extremely easy to use once I understood the basics. I easily ported my number over and have had no issues switching between the three carriers. The data is extremely fast, though I haven’t yet tried it internationally. Using an eSIM has been simple on my Google Pixel 9 phone. I am currently trying out the second data line, but so far it hasn’t been needed so I’ll probably cancel that once I start being charged for it (they offer two months for free).
Want to try out U.S. Mobile? Use my referral link for one month of free service and a bonus $25 credit to use for your second month (only available through referral).