AT&T new plan is out

[supergoofy]

I just signed up and thought I would post here in hope it may help somebody out.

I had the 700 minutes plan, with unlimited text and 200mb of data per smart phone. We have 3 smart phones and 1 dumb phone. Total bill a month is $160.

The issue we had was each phone was on its own as far as data was concerned so if phone A used 210 mb but phone B used 100 mb we got an overage charge of about $20. And lets face it 200mb is not a lot of data.


Yesterday I switched to the new AT&T Mobile Share 1 plan. Its good for four phones and it includes unlimited talk and text which I had on the other plan.
The data is shared on this plan and the plan comes with 10GB of data which equals 10240 MB. That is not a typo I went from 600 to 10240 for data.

Now the kicker I pay the same for this plan. It is $160 a month.


Hopefully this helps some of you out

 

[DawnM]

This was discussed on Feb. 2nd when the new plan came out.

If you don't need subsidized phones, you are golden. Some people want a new phone every 2 years, which, in that case, won't save you money.

With the Next plan, you have to either buy your phone outright or pay the monthly extra for the phone.

Dawn

 

[supergoofy]

This was discussed on Feb. 2nd when the new plan came out.

If you don't need subsidized phones, you are golden. Some people want a new phone every 2 years, which, in that case, won't save you money.

With the Next plan, you have to either buy your phone outright or pay the monthly extra for the phone.

Dawn

Didn't see that thread or hear about the subsidized phones.


Currently we all have IPhone 4's so there is no need to upgrade.

 

[stsomewhere]

My husband just switched our 4 cells phones around and it dropped our bill by $100 a month.

 

[scrapquitler]

Yesterday I switched to the new AT&T Mobile Share 1 plan. Its good for four phones and it includes unlimited talk and text which I had on the other plan.
The data is shared on this plan and the plan comes with 10GB of data which equals 10240 MB. That is not a typo I went from 600 to 10240 for data.

Now the kicker I pay the same for this plan. It is $160 a month.

I saw this ad last night. We currently have Verizon: two smart phones & two dumb phones with unlimited data (on the smart phones) unlimited texts and 1400 minutes for $225. I'm definitely going to look into this plan from AT&T becuase DD wants to upgrade to a smart phone and I'd love to save $65 a month, and 10Gb Data would be enough for us (we currently use about 5, which I'm sure will go up if we add DD).

 

[supergoofy]

I saw this ad last night. We currently have Verizon: two smart phones & two dumb phones with unlimited data (on the smart phones) unlimited texts and 1400 minutes for $225. I'm definitely going to look into this plan from AT&T becuase DD wants to upgrade to a smart phone and I'd love to save $65 a month, and 10Gb Data would be enough for us (we currently use about 5, which I'm sure will go up if we add DD).

We don't use a lot of data most days as wifes work has wifi, home has wifi so it jumps over to that when the phones are there.


My DD who's 15 biggest useage is texting. 500-600 text a month is a normal bill. During the summer I think she hit near 900 texts in a month. There is a reason I insist on unlimited texts.

Most months we hit the 200 mark on all phones. Figure the jump in data allowed was enough to take the jump.

 

[elgerber]

I saw this ad last night. We currently have Verizon: two smart phones & two dumb phones with unlimited data (on the smart phones) unlimited texts and 1400 minutes for $225. I'm definitely going to look into this plan from AT&T becuase DD wants to upgrade to a smart phone and I'd love to save $65 a month, and 10Gb Data would be enough for us (we currently use about 5, which I'm sure will go up if we add DD).

One thing to consider, is you will have to get new phones, I don't believe Verizon and AT&T run the same kind of phones, so you will have to add monthly charges for the phones which will likely eat up the monthly savings.

 

[DawnM]

That is fine, but when you do want new phones, you will need to pay full price for them. There are no more $200 or under iPhones if you are on this plan.

Just be aware.

Dawn

Didn't see that thread or hear about the subsidized phones.


Currently we all have IPhone 4's so there is no need to upgrade.

 

[lucigo]

I just switched, we have 4 smart phones and one dumb phone. Our bill is going from $240 to $160. I was hoping to get one of those new big phones soon but now I will just have to make due. Maybe I will just get a tablet, maybe I will just be happy with what I have LOL

 

[JillyBean1899]

One thing to consider, is you will have to get new phones, I don't believe Verizon and AT&T run the same kind of phones, so you will have to add monthly charges for the phones which will likely eat up the monthly savings.

That is correct, AT&T and Verizon use completely different technologies. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM phones, which have SIM cards. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA phones, which don't have SIM cards and are tied to their networks. AT&T and T-Mobile tend to sell their phones "locked" so you can't buy their phone and then switch the service over to the competitor (although there are ways to unlock it, and they will sometimes do so once you've completed your contract with them, which is very useful if you're going to use it as a hand me down phone for a prepaid SIM card service or plan to travel overseas to a country that uses GSM phones). Verizon and Sprint can only activate phones that are already loaded in their system, so you typically can't use them elsewhere once your contract is up.

Think about it this way ... remember Betamax and VHS? Both were tapes, both played movies, but you couldn't use one in the other's machine.

 

[Lewisc]

That is correct, AT&T and Verizon use completely different technologies. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM phones, which have SIM cards. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA phones, which don't have SIM cards and are tied to their networks. AT&T and T-Mobile tend to sell their phones "locked" so you can't buy their phone and then switch the service over to the competitor (although there are ways to unlock it, and they will sometimes do so once you've completed your contract with them, which is very useful if you're going to use it as a hand me down phone for a prepaid SIM card service or plan to travel overseas to a country that uses GSM phones). Verizon and Sprint can only activate phones that are already loaded in their system, so you typically can't use them elsewhere once your contract is up.

Think about it this way ... remember Betamax and VHS? Both were tapes, both played movies, but you couldn't use one in the other's machine.

Not 100% accurate. iPhones are now "global". Verizon iPhones have a SIM card. The phones are GSM unlocked. You can your iphone to Europe, put in a local SIM card, change a few settings and the phone will work fine. I've done it in Europe. AFAIK you can put an AT&T SIM card into a Verizon iphone and it will also work.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I checked this last week and think I posted about this.
We have 4 smart phones with Verizon and pay $250 for unlimited talk, unlimited text and 2 gig of data each phone,,,,not shared.
I was impressed with the $160...sure AT&t coverage in my area not great but for $1200 a year we'd switch.
BUT like others said if you want a new phone you are screwed. We are eligible for upgrades (3 of us) next month. IF we want new phones our bill would be MORE than Verizon each month.
No thanks....
there is fine print and you need to see if this will work for your family.
We had 2 year old smart phones that are prehistoric compared to new.
So for better coverage and new phones for less we are a Verizon family still....

 

[Jules123]

I have 3 smart phones and 1 dumb phone. We share 6gb of data and unlimited talk and text and I pay around $260 a month. We have all upgraded our phones within the last 6 months. I chatted with AT&T today and the guy told me I could switch to the $160 plan and it would save me money each month. My question is, he said that when it was time for my regular upgrade on all my phones, then is could start paying $40 per month to get a subsidized phone on each line. If that's right, wouldn't it make sense for me to just change to this plan now and then in 18 months, change back to the subsidized plan so I can get a discount on a new phone? Was this guy right or will, once I switch, I will always be on the unsubsidized plan?

 

[descovy]

I have 3 smart phones and 1 dumb phone. We share 6gb of data and unlimited talk and text and I pay around $260 a month. We have all upgraded our phones within the last 6 months. I chatted with AT&T today and the guy told me I could switch to the $160 plan and it would save me money each month. My question is, he said that when it was time for my regular upgrade on all my phones, then is could start paying $40 per month to get a subsidized phone on each line. If that's right, wouldn't it make sense for me to just change to this plan now and then in 18 months, change back to the subsidized plan so I can get a discount on a new phone? Was this guy right or will, once I switch, I will always be on the unsubsidized plan?

AT&T rep is right. You are not screwed out of a subsidized plan. Rather, you can choose to buy phone outright, do the NEXT plan, or switch to a subsidized phone. Monthly service on a subsidized phone costs $40 per line vs $15.

I suppose everyone is different, but in my household of 3 phones not all need to be upgraded at the same time. Some people are content holding on to the phone longer or having a hand me down when I get a new phone.

I like the new plan because under the old way of doing things you paid an inflated price for phone service whether you were in a subsidized contract or not. You would be foolish to hold onto a phone out of contract because they charged the same amount. At least now you can choose to get a subsidized phone and pay more for service, or choose to bring your own device/keep your phone and pay less for service.

And yes, in the meantime before you need to upgrade, may as well save a few bucks while you can.

Coincidentally, the monthly difference between a subsidized phone service ($40) and bring your own ($15 ) equals $25. That $25/mo you save by being out of contract equates to $600 at 24mos. A new iPhone 5s today costs $650 out of pocket, yet the "subsidized" price comes to $199. So... I'd choose to Buy a phone for an extra $50 vs $199.

Seems to me, that $600 you save to buy a device outright is a better deal than paying a discounted $199 on the phone. Shoot, use your monthly savings to buy a new phone in 2 years.

But if having a subsidized phone is preferred, you still have that choice. You just pay an added $25/mo for the pleasure of your discounted phone. At least the other phones you are willing to hold on to/hand down will continue to get a discount on the service.

 

[SueInBoston]

AT&T rep is right. You are not screwed out of a subsidized plan. Rather, you can choose to buy phone outright, do the NEXT plan, or switch to a subsidized phone. Monthly service on a subsidized phone costs $40 per line vs $15.

I suppose everyone is different, but in my household of 3 phones not all need to be upgraded at the same time. Some people are content holding on to the phone longer or having a hand me down when I get a new phone.

I like the new plan because under the old way of doing things you paid an inflated price for phone service whether you were in a subsidized contract or not. You would be foolish to hold onto a phone out of contract because they charged the same amount. At least now you can choose to get a subsidized phone and pay more for service, or choose to bring your own device/keep your phone and pay less for service.

And yes, in the meantime before you need to upgrade, may as well save a few bucks while you can.

Coincidentally, the monthly difference between a subsidized phone service ($40) and bring your own ($15 ) equals $25. That $25/mo you save by being out of contract equates to $600 at 24mos. A new iPhone 5s today costs $650 out of pocket, yet the "subsidized" price comes to $199. So... I'd choose to Buy a phone for an extra $50 vs $199.

Seems to me, that $600 you save to buy a device outright is a better deal than paying a discounted $199 on the phone. Shoot, use your monthly savings to buy a new phone in 2 years.

But if having a subsidized phone is preferred, you still have that choice. You just pay an added $25/mo for the pleasure of your discounted phone. At least the other phones you are willing to hold on to/hand down will continue to get a discount on the service.

This is exactly my thinking as well...We will be switching at our billing cycle. I am sad to lose 2 unlimited data, but in the last 12 months, our 4 smartphones used less than 6 gbs at most...so the extra savings each month will be nice. In the past, we've upgraded every 2 years even when the phones were perfectly fine, now we will just hold on for a bit longer.

 

[MillauFr]

My daughter has unlimited text and data for $32.85 per month from Virgin Mobile. I guess I don't understand how paying hundreds of dollars every month is a good deal? So what if we had to pay the full cost of her IPhone? I just wish T-Mobile would finally kill all of the subsidized plans once and for all. I understand that they are offering to pay all of the early termination fees from people on contract plans.

 

[WVMomof3]

I just switched, we have 4 smart phones and one dumb phone. Our bill is going from $240 to $160. I was hoping to get one of those new big phones soon but now I will just have to make due. Maybe I will just get a tablet, maybe I will just be happy with what I have LOL

With 5 phones, the price is $175. With taxes and fees, I figure the bill will be @$200. We also have 5 phones, 3 smart and 2 dumb. I did just change ours, but wondering if it will be worth it as we will only be saving @$30-$40/ month. We do have a discounted plan, so I think we will also save a little there. Before it was 15% of $60 now it should be 15% off of $100. $6 more in discount, woohoo.

 

[teambeaman]

I pay $145 for 2 smart phones and 1 dumb phone. I looked into switching, but if we lose or break a phone and need to get a new one it will be more a month in the end than what we pay now. Also, they said they were eventually going to get rid if the other plans so if I switched I might not be able to switch back again to what we have now, so I just kept my current plan.

 

[mbf]

My daughter has unlimited text and data for $32.85 per month from Virgin Mobile. I guess I don't understand how paying hundreds of dollars every month is a good deal? So what if we had to pay the full cost of her IPhone? I just wish T-Mobile would finally kill all of the subsidized plans once and for all. I understand that they are offering to pay all of the early termination fees from people on contract plans.

For you this is just fantastic but in my area there is pretty much no coverage for Virgin, T-Mobile, or Sprint phones. Huge blackout areas in my hour long commute to and from work. Oldest DD goes to college in a mountainous area where cell phone coverage with any carrier is pretty bad as well.

Basically, one size does not fit all.

 

[Lewisc]

So what if we had to pay the full cost of her IPhone? I just wish T-Mobile would finally kill all of the subsidized plans once and for all. I understand that they are offering to pay all of the early termination fees from people on contract plans.

What's wrong with people having a choice?

Many reviewers list the Nexus 5 (jointly developed by LG and Google) as one of the best phones available for people who are buying an unsubsidized phone.