1 Year with Mint Mobile - 4GB/5GB, $15 a month, Is it worth it?
Join Mint Mobile and get $15 credit: fbuy.me/r5HwG
I have spent the last year using Mint Mobile's $15 a month plan and I am excited to report all of the positives and negatives of making the switch from large cellular providers. Today, I break down what is Mint Mobile, how does family plans and discounted plans work, how is the service itself, and how does international travel work! Oh, and a bonus all of your questions from my first video that I did of 1 month with mint mobile.
Update! It is now 5GB of data!!!
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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Why I moved to Mint Mobile
01:10 - What is Mint Mobile? How does it operate?
02:35 - $15 a month plan + my savings
07:05 - Family plan on mint mobile
09:35 - Is mint mobile service any good (domestic)?
14:05 - International data on mint mobile
18:30 - eSim instead for international
20:20 - Recap - 1 Year of Mint Mobile
22:05 - Wireless hotspot with mint mobile
23:25 - What happens when you run out of data?
24:30 - Mint mobile in Alaska?
25:25 - Does wifi calling drain battery?
25:50 - Wrap-up
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#MintMobile #TMobile #review
As a guy who grew up with a phone hanging on the wall it feels ridiculous to pay a big cellphone bill
They have a new international plan now. Just did an 8 day Tokyo trip. Got their 10 day pass with 500 minutes, 500 texts and 10gb of data for 20 bucks. They also have a 1 and 3 day pass for 5 or 10 bucks respectively.
People are tired of playing expensive cellphone bills.
Word brother, been with T-Mobile since the beginning but they just keep upping that monthly cost and their service always cuts out randomly
Thats why I left t-mobile after I paid off my phone
Along with expensive cable/satellite service....
When you run out of data you can stick with slow speeds or you can buy 1 GB for $10 or 3 GB for $20
Made the switch best decision ever!
Awesome!!!
Thank you, sir. Struggling out here... this is so helpful.
A great fair review. I am a Mint Mobile user for three years. My daughter, wife, and I have different plans.
Great work, I love the thorough discussion and quality in the details. Well done, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the info. Great review! 👍💯
I find it absolutely mad how expensive mobile plans are in the US, even Mint feels expensive to me - in the UK, I pay £28 per month for 4 SIM's; 2 are unlimited data only and the other 2 are unlimited text, minutes and data. Thats about $35!
My son just moved to Mint because Straight Talk conned him into switching to a SIM that's incompatible with his phone. He's pretty happy with the service so far.
I'm on that same boat currently. Switching to a dumb phone soon, and I checked to see if it was compatible, website said it was, so I bought a sim with a plan, wasn't compatible lol. So mint is my next go.
The next Ryan Reynolds / Mint Mobile ad I see on KZhead better have a cameo from James!
Fingers crossed
Long video in length but definitely didn’t feel long since it was so comprehensive compared to other reviewers and answered some questions only you seem to bring up. I’m trying to switch from Verizon to Mint since I WFH and am on wifi about 95% of the time. Great review and definitely will be giving them a shot!
Thank Jelani! Glad you enjoyed the video... I really wanted to cover everything on my mind after a full year. Let me know if you have any questions and how it goes!
For sure! I just made the switch completely since I was on the trial for about 2 days and it has been doing everything I need it to do. Even checked some speeds and I am getting WAY faster speeds with Mint than I did with Verizon (HUGE surprise)! Definitely will be sticking with them after my 3 month plan is up and renew for yearly plan
Pro tip: play speed at 1.75x
PRO tip Always use atleast 1.25x Didnt see comment above me....
@@jwatts24 how you liking it
I definitely don’t regret signing up for Mint Mobile when they first came out. I saved so much $$$ every year since then! 😁
Same here!
This is awesome!!! I watched the entire video and defiantly will be switching to MINT! I have att right now and I personally think mint is a way better deal with better coverage!
Thanks for your video review. You helped me to decide to try out Mint! 👍
Awesome
Mint is adding more data FOR FREE 4GB will be 5GB 10GB will be 15GB 15GB will be 20GB Believe there is an upgrade to unlimited as well.
airalo esim video would be great!
T-Mobile has a 55+ unlimited plan, where it’s $30 per line for unlimited data and we’re still eligible for the free upgrade every year too with 0 dollars out of pocket. Caveat, you have to know someone 55+ to be the account holder.
T-mobile 55+ plan is based on two lines, but if you need only one its $40. per month! Same with their Military discount based on 2 to 4 lines..... why would anyone pay for other people's phones, its like co-signing loan for a teenager's car!
Hmmm.... I've had the 55+ Magenta plan for a couple years and am paying $55/mo unlimited, taxes and fees included. Absolutely no issues with T-Mobile but seriously considering switching to Mint or Tello and saving around $475/yr.
@@MrBobm001it's $50 now
I've been using metro pcs for 5 years. I'm switching. I pay 120 for 3 lines now unlimited. Soon il be paying for 6 months what I did each month
Metro charges $5 to pay your cellphone in person?? Why you have to pay extra after so much monet paying per month?
I went to a Mint Mobile plan for my husband who does not use a cell phone very much. At $15 a month it turned out to be a good deal and easy to set up, except when we went to renew the plan I was told that it was $25 a month. No amount of talking to customer service reps (they follow a script, no matter what you ask) changed the fact that if I wanted to renew for the next 3 months, it would have to be at the $25 rate. We were very upset and discouraged because all of the ads stressed the $15 a month.
I am your position now. I am looking for a new carrier, but don't know which one to use.
it is based on the more you pay upfront. A year ahead is $15 a month versus one month at a time
It seems pretty clear right now that you keep the same rate if you pay for an entire year
my experience is if you come to certain areas, google map can't even load. and that is frustrating. My guess is deprioritization kicks in and it affects the signal
Do u have a physical or esim and what type of device
i hate the reception that i get inside my house whit mint but it was almost the same reception that was getting with at&t for a lot more money so I am good with that
Actually, the Mint modern family plan is different from regular Mint mobile. First i want to get to the requirement, and that is in order to join a Mint family plan, the person who signs up for the service needs to sign up as a single line customer for at least the 3-month package before creating a Mint family. Mint modern family plan is generally Mint Mobile, but you only pay quarterly for all of the lines. And you only pay the bill for one line at a time, If one line signed up in January they would pay again in April, and then August, before the plan renewed again the following January. I think this is better for families, because if they signed up for regular Mint phone plans, let's say the unlimited plan, they were paying over $1,000 upfront for a year of service, that is a lot of money for people to pay all at once for cell service, from a provider that is trying to save them money.
ouch! here in Chile my plan cost ~12 dolars/month with 120 Gb, 1K minutes. Many years ago I payed almost $32 dolars.
Just switching over now to Mint from Verizon. Our cost (2 lines) should go from about $130 -> 30 for 4GB! I'm a bit nervous about running out of data, but rarely used our 4GB on Verizon and now we will each have that much data! Should be good to go.
How's it been? Looking to do the same
@@Iinustechtips No complaints! Can't tell the difference between this and Verizon except price.
@@mulletsquirrel ok thats good to hear as others was saying data was being excessively used with out there consent. IOW data usage was WAY higher on mint than Vzw (for instance)
I travel to areas of the US where some service providers are not available, i.e. Verizon is not available, but AT&T is good. If T-Mobile is not available, will the SIM card switch or use the service that is stronger, i.e. AT&T? According to the help line on their web site, they said they would switch to the strongest tower. Is this really true.
Strongest tower of T-mobile. it won't connect to verizon or at&t towers
We stay part of the year in an area that only has a Verizon tower nearby, had to switch from Att, not sure if this would work for me.
Would be a bit cheaper on the monthly rate, but the yearly rate is a better deal. Have you looked at visible? Which is Verizon network
I have an Apple watch with mobile service, I guess it wouldn't support it because I can't put a SIM card in the watch. :(
TMobile just bought Mint. But they said nothing will change. We'll see i guess.
How about pennsylvania
I got burned on billing but service is ok I got a text to extend payments buy 3 months and get 6 months it expired in the usual 3 months.I aint doing that again data sucks
If you're overseas, always get pocket wifi or a sim at the airport.
Totally agree! I am a huge fan of the esim stuff now :)
Am a lil late to the video. Just got Mint and find that it does not seem to offer the 5G Ultra Capacity connectivity like I was getting on my TMO Connect Prepaid plan.
I believe that mint does support all the bands and speed. UC is just tmobiles branding and gets those little icons as an indicator. Perhaps once the acquisition finalizes
I have a question and i couldnt find the answer on the site either. I want to keep my phone and my number. I know my phone doesnt use esim so ill need to order a sim card from the site. But what i cant find, is if i order the sim, do i set up the plan on this phone im planning to use, and THEN put the sim card into this phone? Or do i need to put the sim into my phone first, and use a seperate computer to set up my account?
This article clears it up www.mintmobile.com/blog/switch-it-up-how-to-bring-your-phone-number-to-mint/. You want to port your number fully to mint first and THEN put in or register your sim.
Hi James, I'm planning to become a member of mint mobile, my question is. I'm going to retire soon and I'm planning to spend few months per year in Mexico and some months in California. Are there plans for that. I'm spending lots of money with t-mobile, thanks I like your videos
So I use Mint mobile in the US, but use Airlo when I travel out of country with an eSim. Maybe better for you to go with something like this maybe or just a full T-Mobile plan with international
@@JamesMontemagno thank you very much
@@josepfeiffer3657 si yo nesecito tener un numero de USA, ahi llega el checke del seguro y la cuenta de banco esta todo conectado y el doctor y cuando te llamen para cualquier Cosa del seguro. No puedo deshacerme de mi numero, tu sabes como hacerle para que salga mas barato, gracias eres muy amable
@@josepfeiffer3657 muchas gracias saludos que este bien
@@josepfeiffer3657 como es eso de tello no habia escuchado de eso, si eso es todo lo que nesecito para llamadas y mensajes, y disculpa la confianza te agradezco
I had t mobile I was spending 1,440 a year done with them it 🎉
I loved Mint, but since the recent purchase by T Mobile, my service has gone in and out daily. I end up toggling on and off airplane mode, or have to restart my phone several times daily. No access to my unlimited data, at times no ability to call or text. I used to recommend Deadpool cellular (Mint), but I can't recommend them at this time.
I could be totally wrong, but your battery might be old. I was having issues with reception, getting calls, etc. However, once I replaced my phone's battery no more issues. I will note that at the time my Samsung S9 Plus was around 3.5 years old when I replaced the battery and I was on Verizon Prepaid plan.
@@americanbobtail1 Thank you for the reply. I bought a new phone in case it was an age issue, but I still have intermittent issues ( most often with internet, less often with the 'Emergency Calls Only' mode when I cannot call or text. Hope your day goes well😊
When you used your data are you referring to any plan?
We have the smallest 4GB $15 plan
Actually I don't know if it works in Mexico
What happens if you decide to leave in the middle of the 3, 6 , or 12 month? Can you leave in the middle?
You can leave in the middle, but it is prepaid, so no refunds
@@JamesMontemagno Save few dollars now but lose more dollars for unwanted, non-useable services!
@5:13 Unclear, as to what those fees are. The actual cost of those fees were not addressed.
Here is an overview of their fees and taxes www.mintmobile.com/help/what-are-the-fees-and-taxes-associated-with-my-mint-mobile-plan/
@@JamesMontemagno Thank you, James!
I want to be able to be outside the USA for 1 year without losing my US phone and be able to receive 2FA text messages. Is mint going to allow me to do that?
Most would come through on WiFi most likely (you could test this at home). Else you can buy international service/data plans and then toggle on and off cellular when abroad. Better is to try to move your 2FA to an app which is more secure.
what exactly do you actually pay? I try to buy a phone with 10 gbs plan. and the small plan says after discount the plan will be 35 dollars a month and with all the extra fee and tax. I don't understand what the difference ?
It depends on how much data you want. $15 is for the 4gb a month when you pay for a year ahead of time. The more data you want the more a month it goes up
Why did you elect to get a third phone for the esim with airalo? Why did you not put it on your wife's iphone 11 since that has esim capability? (i.e. Mint Mobile on the physical sim card and Airalo on the esim).
It’s a good question. At first I just was scared and I had the spare phone I used for development so I figured it was easier. We just traveled again and I have a. Mint mobile eSIM and then swapped it out to the Airalo eSIM when in the road… but that was generally lack luster as iMessage got all messed up with contacts. To iMessage you have to toggle things on and off and idk just easier with a spare phone IMHO since I just make calls through google voice anyways
Hey James, great video. Some questions: 1. Can I pay for Mint service via PayPal? PayPal is the ONLY way I'll pay for anything online. 2. I'm currently with T-Mobile and have poor service at my home, so T-Mobile sent me a free signal booster that hooks into my router, and makes a huge difference in my signal, giving me 5 bars consistently. Will this booster work with Mint? 3. I've read reports of some Mint users experiencing consistently inflated monthly data usage for the same basic everyday phone use compared to when they were using other providers. From your experience with Mint, does your monthly data usage seem in-line with your actual phone use? 4. Does Mint have visual voicemail? Can't live without visual voicemail! 5. I also have an iPhone SE2. I'm guessing yours is working well with Mint? As I understand, I can use my current SIM and get a port-out PIN from T-Mobile to keep my current phone number? 6. I'm guessing that if I decide to switch to Mint, once I'm good to go, all I need to do is cancel T-Mobile? 7. In addition to the SE2, I also have a Galaxy S10 and a Xiaomi Redmi 7A, so if I switch to Mint, will I be able to just pop the SIM into any of my phones without any operational issues? Thanks!
Great questions! Remember I dont' work for Mint Mobile, just a user so you should clarify with them, they have great support, but here is what I can tell ya: 1.) Yes you can use paypal, just verified in teh app 2.) I don't know about the signal booster... i assume not, but I also have bad signal quality, however I use Wi-Fi calling, and have never had any issues at all, it is amazing 3.) I have never had this issue on usage. I even compared it with iOS data usage and it looked simialr to me. 4.) Yes, just in the main voice mail app on iOS 5.) Yup, on my iPhone SE works great. We also had t-mobile, you get your port out number and then on mint mobile's website you would order your sim card from them and then they have a guide on porting your number over. When you port your number over T-Mobile will auto cancel your plan. I would recommend downloading the last bill for knowledge before porting 6.) See above 7.) Yeah you can move the sim around. You may need to go into the app and activate the phone with the sim, but no fee or anythign like that.
Thanks so much! I currently have the 55+ unlimited plan with T-Mobile which is $55/mo including taxes and fees. I only need the 4GB Mint Mobile plan, and doing the math, I'd save around $475/yr, which is looking pretty darn good. I'll contact Mint regarding the signal booster. Thanks again, and great informative video!
Just curious, is there any particular reason you chose Mint over other providers like Tello? Tello seems to be a major competitor with possible better pricing with same coverage.
@@JamesMontemagno Dude, you're an awesome and kind soul for this reply. I wish you the most splendid year ^^
If you are familiar with TMobile network coverage, but tired of the prices you pay for your plan with them, you can't go wrong with Mint Mobile.
But also during busy periods, tmobile customers will get priority over mint. Just saying not one for one.
Why can't they try to solve my family plan that I've paid for 3 months in advance!!! I've called Customer Support 8 times in the last 5 days!!! What an F***ing nightmare!!!
Been with them since 7/12. 7/14 phone stopped working. 7/16 they said they'd send me a replacement. 7/17 they denied the replacement promised. Had to send phone Nokia for replacement, got replacement, didn't like sim card. Contacted Mint and they told me to have Nokia unlock the phone. Do NOT recommend as Customer Service is not helpful in my 2 week experience. I'm doing the footwork after paying and not only am I paying to provide my own customer service, they are not helping me and I paid in advance. Sad.
Where did you orginally get the phone
What happens after a year? Will I still have this price or will it go up?
After a year you renew for another year at the same price :)
Yes and No, less than 5 days left on my One year plan but when I checked on renewing its $203.28 (180. + recovery fee 18.50 + 4.78 taxes) whats with this "recovery fee?
so does Mint charge a Smartphone Access Fee? and other dumb charges?
Here are all fees: www.mintmobile.com/help/what-are-the-fees-and-taxes-associated-with-my-mint-mobile-plan/ minimized when you buy the 12 month plan from what I have seen
Wife and I have T-mobile unlimited. Q: if switching to Mint unlimited, will she be able to text and call her mom in Mexico without having to pay extra? She calls a lot ! Also, can we watch Netflix, Hulu, etc….??? I heard we couldn’t!?!? Thx….
From what I can tell Mexico is included. See www.mintmobile.com/features/international-calling/. I would call or message mint to check to be sure. They are very responsive. As for Netflix and Hulu I haven’t had any issues, but I’m on the 4GB plan so I don’t stream stuff often, usually KZhead, I just watch on WiFi or download for offline use
@@JamesMontemagno Thanks for the fast reply👍
I've been on the Mint $45 for 3 months new customer unlimited plan for 2 weeks now. The biggest issue for me so far is that the unlimited plan really isn't unlimited because although you get 5G, you don't get full 5G speeds and video is limited to 480p quality. I say its not really unlimited because of the 480p video and if the internet speeds are slow enough, you might choose to not use it. For lots of people, this isn't an issue and they might be willing to fight through it. For me, 480p video quality and the slightly slow web speeds is a bother and causes me not to want to use mobile data. Mint, however, doesn't limit video to 480p or slow speeds on any of their limited plans, so I might switch to $300 for 20gb per month for a year plan if I use less than 20GB of data (I'm gonna push it and see how much data I can use intentionally).
Their “unlimited” plan is only 40GB high speed data if you read the fine print. If they let you stream video at fill speed you’ll probably use it up too quickly. You can always manually adjust the resolution I think? At least on KZhead you can.
@@abc33155 Not quite. The highest resolution I have been able to get is 480p without having horrible buffering that made the video unwatchable. At 480p on a Galaxy S21FE and a Flip 4, the video looked like a pixelated mess. My workaround was to sign up for Google One for $20 per year. I get 100GB added to my Google Drive (which I use mostly for my photos) and I get an unlimited Google VPN, which I use mostly for watching videos and movies. Mint coupled with Google One is still half the price of T-Mobile's Magenta plan (the best GSM plan).
I would switch but att is holding me hostage by not unlocking my Samsung Note 20 Ultra paid for phone. STOP THE MADNESS.
Oh no!!! That is a bummer
Watching this from the across the pond is super interesting. I currently pay £15 a month ($18) and I get 75gb data, unlimited data on social media sites (Facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram, whatsapp and pintrest), unlimited video (on netflix, youtube, amazon prime, tik tok), all with 5g, wifi-calling and no contract.
What network?
@@MccTube voxi
US cell & internet services in general are stupidly expensive and slow compared to several other countries especially in Europe and Asia.
if you lost your phone, how can u recover your mint mobile e-sim ?
I think you would just order a new eSim and it would disable your old one. I think…
Hi James, great video about Mint. I use TMO's prepaid, 10GB for $35, thinking of switching to Mint since TMO bought it. I don't quite understand if there's a difference between MVNO and LTE or 5G, would the call quality be any different if I were to switch? I remember the days when I tried FreedomPop which was VoLTE and it was terrible, everyone sounded like they were underwater. Is an MVNO service a downgrade? Thanks.
What if you don't own your phone yet?
You can buy an unlocked phone and double check it is compatible on the mint website. Most modern phones are, but you can also buy through them as well phones.mintmobile.com/phones.html
Spectrum is cheaper 2 lines unlimited 63.33 2 iPhone 14 plus 5G
Depends what you are looking for and if you have spectrum. $30 a line is the mint mobile unlimited so pretty similar. Also not everyone needs multiple lines. There are tons of providers out there, you do you :)
WHAT ABOUT THE RECOVERY FEE????
Yeah it is a tricky one. I do the teary renewal so it isn’t too bad. Even with them still extremely cheap compared to what I was paying before
@@JamesMontemagno Yeah, the less you have to renew, the lower the total fee cost annually.
What if I want a new phone, does mint mobile sell phones?
They do! They will also give you 6 months of service when you buy a new phone and signup for 6 months: www.mintmobile.com/deals/
@@JamesMontemagno Does the phone come unlocked and with a Sim card? (when you buy a new phone and signup for 6 months) Thank you.
Whats the promo code
First link in the description
@@JamesMontemagno I entered Coupon code JAMES4017 at check out. I received an error ... Coupon "james4017" does not exist!
And if MINT goes out of business, kiss your money goodbye!
Well considering T-Mobile now owns Mint, I am not worried about that....
It’s not 15 a month it’s 15 for the three months and then it goes up to 25 Jesus I wish people would get that through their head
Not when you prepay for a year like I outlined. When you pay for the full year it is $180.. or $15 a month. Like anything you have to read the details
All I need to know is how to actually talk to a living human at Mint mobile. Does anyone know the Telephone number ?????
Open the app and click support and a phone number is listed
@@JamesMontemagno Thank you James. I appreciate you. God 🙏 bless 🌸
Dude for him to say that using mint mobile is good but service might be out for several hours is F***ing hysterical lol 🤣
SCAM ALERT Once under contract your rates will rise They won't guarantee this not happening STAY CLEAR
I haven’t had my rate rise ever. As I mentioned the $15 date is when you prepay for the year not the month to month. So after the 90 day trial then if you switch to month to month it would go up, but that is pretty clear on the site
You simply must be a Ryan Reynolds Stan,getting paid or just simply a liar because none of what you said applies to the greater majority of us who feel deeply betrayed by R.R and his wireless service.
Why do you feel betrayed? What is wrong with the service?
@@traceejohnson290 I signed up for the unlimited package. They didn’t tell me that came with a 35gb data cap. After which my data ran super slow, like 3g slow. I’m no longer with them. I went back to T-Mobile.
@@uploead Everything has fine print. Such as this on the Mint Mobile website plan details --> "Customers using >35GB/mo will experience lower speeds. Videos stream at 480p."
MINT MOBILE IS A SCAM BEWARE.
How so? I have been on mint for over 18 months and have 0 complaints
@James Montemagno I have been with Mintmobile 45 days without 1 full day of service and numerous "support chats", some over an hour long, with no redress but always given the same remedial action of "turn your phone off and on"; that's nonsense. I never knew if I had service, and when I wanted to use my phone, there was no service. On the occasions when there was service, I'd get a voice mail message that had been sent 6 to 12 hours earlier. There's more, but regarding mintmobile is a waste of more time. They are liars.
Why can't people just stay off their phones instead of texting and driving? They make me sick
It is a bull àter 4 gigs you đo not have any dât at all It í a trap
I find it absolutely mad how expensive mobile plans are in the US, even Mint feels expensive to me - in the UK, I pay £28 per month for 4 SIM's; 2 are unlimited data only and the other 2 are unlimited text, minutes and data. Thats about $35!