US Mobile -- any users? thoughts?
 

I stumbled across US Mobile's website and their Unlimited Premium plan seems very interesting. Of note, being able to switch between the big 3 carriers at a whim.

Is there anyone out there with experience with them?

Yes, I just started a free trial with them a few weeks ago. Their top plan, paid annually, is ~$32/mo which is slightly more expensive than my current carrier, but has more perks. Their mid-tier and low-tier plans are decently cheaper. They even have an $8/mo plan for my kids. So far I have been very happy.

The only surprise is that it is NOT as easy as you might think to switch between carriers. You have to be on Wifi and get a new eSim every time you switch. Depending on your device it may require a reboot. The first time I tried it, it didn't work, so I deleted the eSim only to find out I could only try to activate each eSim one time. So I had to use their online chat to get it fixed. It took me about 30min, but now I know not to delete the eSim but instead I probably should have just rebooted my phone.

On my Pixel 7, the only easy way I could find to do this process was also using a separate device. On one device you go to their website and request the change. It shows a QR code. On my Pixel I scan that QR code to receive and then activate the new eSim. Then you wait or probably just reboot. I think with two devices and Wifi I'll be able to do it in <5min from now on.

So, long story short, I think I'm going to switch to them for my whole family and I'm very happy with it, but I don't think I'll be switching between networks willy nilly. Perhaps on a long trip somewhere I may switch, but then when I get home I'll need to switch back. Switches cost $2/ea unless you are on their top-tier plan. For this reason, I think I'm going to go with their least expensive unlimited which gives you 10GB/mo of high-speed but not free network changes.

PS - their top-tier plan will soon let you be on two networks simultaneously on the same phone, for the same price. That might be of interest to some people. I'm not sure how well it will go back and forth between the networks -- will it automatically change based on performance? For data that sounds great, but for text messages not so much since you'll have a different phone number on each network.

Features are platform and carrier dependent so you should be aware of what isn't supported.

You might also want to search to check for wifi calling as that's useful for calling overseas numbers while overseas on wifi (free to many countries even on the inexpensive pool plans).

Apple - everything should work on Verizon/Warp
Android - everything should work on AT&T/Darkstar. Some Android devices work better with a psim than esim. Manufacturer factory unlocked (vs carrier eventually unlocked) or by manufacturer can impact this so possibly chat CS before signing up and activating.

Earlier thread which also has roaming info https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...l-roaming.html
International roaming features are currently carrier specific https://www.reddit.com/r/USMobile/co...ional_roaming/

As @kirkbauer mentioned, switching between them is not seamless simultaneous access. Those who are thinking of Google Fi's dual network one (secretly two) phone number, this isn't it.

USM also changes their plans seemingly every 4-5 months by adding plan features (minutes, roaming countries, pooling, etc), removing plan features, and discontinuing entire plans. If you see one you like, subscribe monthly and stay on it. They retain the right to change existing subscribers features for Annual plan. You'll probably be happier if you don't chase too many sign-up promos, referrals, or gimmicks as they seem to have gotchas. ETA: or promises of "coming soon" as they push releases out beyond ETA with regularity.

Customer support is ok for a MVNO, imo. There's complaints of when things go wrong, first line chat reps might need to escalate or you have to take to reddit USM staffers. I feel like I get what I pay for and a bit more as the app/website show data usage details (some MVNO do not) and support can be contacted 24x7 via chat, e-mail, and phone. I use the inexpensive "Shareable Data" aka Pool plans and buy travel esims for international data.

I've bene using them for close on 2 years. The first year or so of that on a standard plan when I was in the US. And for the past ~9 months on their (no longer offered) $5 light plan which I use mainly from Australia via Wifi/Backup calling.

All up I can't fault them. I haven't used any of their more advanced features like jumping between networks - partially because I don't have a need, but mainly because those features didn't exist when I was still in the US. The only problem I've had is that Pixel Backup Calling (wifi calling over a 2nd data SIM) didn't work on their 'Warp' (Verizon) product, but I ported over to their T-Mobile product and it works fine. That was 18+ months ago, so may well have changed by now.

The do change their plans (and prices) fairly frequently, but I think thats just a side effect of them growing and trying to find the right price/service points. The plan I'm on is no longer offered and hasn't been for around a year, but I'm grandfathered into it, so I'm still only paying $5/month (only catch is they recently removed the ability to buy additional data on this specific grandfathered plan - which is annoying as otherwise I'd just do that whenever I was in the US).

Their CEO is active on Reddit, and generally the feedback there is very positive, both for the product and the support.

They do have referals that give free service, but I don't think Flyertalk allows posting them?

New ToS hit my email https://www.usmobile.com/terms?utm_t...ampaign=active

YMMV but some people are interpreting that if you're on Dark Star/AT&T Unlimited Premium without throttling and switch to another network briefly, then switch back you can be throttled after 100 GBs of data. It's called out that they have the right to throttle if you boomerang (whimsy side effect?). Could be fine for some users who don't intend to hit that cap. The updated terms were sent after the plan/promo was released in less than a week and e-mail said new terms would apply to my existing account.
https://www.reddit.com/r/USMobile/co..._for_darkstar/

I am on a grandfathered unlimited plan, so I am not paying very much due to the multiple-line discount. They are a bit all over the place in their offerings (Reddit has the horror stories), but the service has been fine, even in my my very large urban environment.

It's a mixed household here, T-Mobile and Verizon, which was the original attraction to USM. I kind of see it as the MVNO equivalent of AS Mileage Plan (in the old days), which has some value.

Looking for any recent reviews on native roaming while on their unlimited premium plan. We've had the 55+ plan with TMobile for years, but their new rate hike which takes us to $100 a month is just the last straw. Inflight wifi is now, or soon free on all US carriers, and I can pay $7 a month for the same with-ads Netflix subscription. The value adds they include no longer have value.

I don't see any option for a multi-line discount with US Mobile, it seems each phone on the premium plan is a separate account? So I will do two accounts monthly, and get the $10 Amex credit on one of them, so that will make the cost roughly half TMobile with much, much more data available for international roaming along with roaming calls which TMobile would change 0.25/min while US Mobile seems to offer for free.

I guess I could save even more by doing the shared data plan for two lines if they actually roll out data roaming in Canada with free voice calls, but then I need to buy an e-sim from another vendor for affordable global data.

I don't want to do IMS or anything like that - but after doing an online chat with them, they suggested the Verizon network for the best coverage while in the US, then switching to the TMobile network for the global roaming option without an extra e-sim - and then switching back after returning to the USA. Unless, of course, the Verizon service just isn't that great.

You can have multiple lines on a single account, but for the premium plan that doesn't give you a discount so there's no benefit other than making things easier to manage (for the by-the-gig plans it allows you to pool data so there's a real benefit).

Data in Canada/Mexico is supposed to be released today/tomorrow, but I don't know if it includes voice.

I can't give any feedback on their international data, but I can say that in conjunction with a 2nd data SIM they work great when outside of the US for voice/SMS. I'm grandfather on their $5 'Light' plan, and spend 95% of my time outside of the US. My US Mobile line "just works" no matter where I am - whether that's somewhere on wifi using wifi calling, or whether it's using either my Australian data SIM or a travel eSIM in another country, the US mobile line is always available and working!

Very not pleased with US Mobile. Apparently there is a secret catch to their $10 off monthly promo - it is only available when you use the ATT network. If you sign up under the Verizon or T-Mobile networks, the plan is $44 a month instead of $35. There is no way to see this ahead of time.

They don’t tell you this until you sign up, by which time time you’ve had to port your number from your current carrier, losing any legacy plan you may have had.

I think this is pretty deceptive.

I got drawn in by their “unlimited everything” pitch earlier this year, promising unthrottled data and hotspot. I have a backup phone on Visible for about five years that I’d use for hotspot when my AT&T work phone lost coverage. After testing the free month, I liked it enough to commit to a full year at around $32–$35 a month. This phone stays powered off 90% of the time, but that “truly unlimited” promise got me anyway.

About a week after I paid, Reddit lit up with the CEO admitting users were burning through terabytes of data. That’s definitely abusive, but they’d hyped up “truly unlimited high-speed data.”

The initial policy was rough: 25 GB per day, a monthly cap, location monitoring to detect home Internet use, and outright bans. A few other harsh rules popped up too.

Credit where it’s due: he crowdsourced feedback and revised the policy. Now your first 100 GB of hotspot data is high-speed. The next 100 GB drops to about 5–10 Mbps. After that, it throttles to roughly 600 Kbps. It’s not the “unlimited high-speed data” they still advertise, but most people won’t reach that limit in a month.

Reading the ToS, I saw that floating between carriers is free, but if you start on AT&T, you get a higher priority QCI and more high-speed data. Switch to Verizon and back, and you lose that priority level, which really matters in busy urban areas during peak times.

I chatted with customer service, and they insisted you could switch off AT&T and back on without losing priority. They sounded confident, but I wasn’t convinced. Not many people read the ToS like I do, so I don’t blame them for missing it.

Anyone have first-hand experience?

I found the Verizon service the best, I really did not want to use the ATT network, it's so bad in Southern California, they are the reason I switched to TMobile in the first place. I pushed them pretty hard and the non-disclosures regarding the $10 off promo not clearly stating it was for ATT/Dark Star only and not the other two networks - I still think it's pretty shady and I may still pursue a FTC complaint.

What I am trying to figure out before I stay with the unlimited plan long term is the following:

1. 'by the Gig' - will this include data and voice in Canada? No one at the company seems to know
2. If I switch to the Starter Plan for $25 which has more than enough domestic feature for me, and I buy a $45 roaming package to cover my voice and text (and data) in Canada, how long does that roaming package last? One billing cycle, or until the voice/data is used up? No one can seem to tell me for sure - I've heard both answers

Frankly I could drop to the Starter Plan, go back to Verizon which is the better network, and pay $45 for a roaming package that will cover my trips to Canada, Taiwan and Japan in June - but then I'm not sure what to do in July and August when I go back to Canada again - I don't want to pay another $45 each month to cover roaming and I certainly need voice/text service there, so a data-sim is not going to work for me

The Annual Unlimited Starter does include a ‘starter’ pack of roaming minutes/SMS/data.
Using more than that would require expensive top-ups for an extra pack, however, so a separate (dual) data (e)SIM would probably work out cheaper.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...81a6595d8.jpeg

I need to have another look at that - my main concern was voice/text while abroad, and if this is 1gb PLUS 200Min/250Text per each monthly billing cycle, then yes you're correct - I just need a separate data e-sim to cover my travels and then my monthly cost is $25 minus $10 for the Amex BPlat rebate. Voice/texts will come through the voice SIM (USMobile) while data and iMessage will (should) come through the data e-sim - but would this mean my imessages no longer use the phone number, but my Apple ID email?

From what I’ve read, that should work fine, you should even be able to received calls and use data at the same time with an active-dual-SIM phone (I think most are now). Even a local SIM might work for e.g. Canada if you go up there often enough.

iMessages will work on your phone provided your phone can message (SMS) their system from your phone number. It will persist for at least 30 days after the last SMS, I believe, even if you swap SIMs (it prompts on this, and a few days before expiry, IIRC).

https://www.usmobile.com/internation...ng-phone-plans

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7bd27e778.jpeg

I confirmed the data package is a one-time inclusion only when you pay annual for the plan - otherwise no roaming service is included with the starter plan.