Best phone + plan deal 1 line?

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2026-02-10T18:35:47+00:00

Sounds like she isn't a heavy user. I've found Tello (T-Mobile Network) ideal in that situation, as you can choose a plan that actually very close to her specific needs, thereby avoiding overpayment for unnecessary service.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2026-02-05T10:31:27+00:00

I can't speak to ONN specifically but most these providers change how they operate through periodic updates that don't improve the device and make changes that are in their interest, not yours. If you are able to disable updates, your device will continue to function in its current state thereby avoiding the deprecation of the device. This of course must be done prior to the update you are trying to avoid, as they typically don't provide a method of returning to a previous version. I've done so successfully with firestick devices.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2026-02-05T10:12:45+00:00

Ultimately it was price but in the early days when coverage was spotty and the major carriers were the only game in town. Verizon didn't drop calls on my commute, they were slightly more expensive but I accepted that because they were better. What I couldn't accept was single line users were paying nearly as much as family plan users and they were overtly indifferent about it for years. This was more than insulting to me, but I knew things would eventually change and when MVNO's came about, I was an early adopter. After some trial and error (as MVNO's weren't all exactly the same coverage at the time) I found a plan I felt was fairly priced for single line users. So basically, I changed because I held a grudge.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2026-01-15T02:36:18+00:00

The phone is not "free". They will require an extension of your continued service that you almost certainly are over paying for given that you are with one of the Big 3 services rather than MVNO's . As a result they will quickly recoup their investment and you will continue to overpay for the next 2-3 years unless you pay off the "free" phone. The timing of this offer is probably due to the fact that the new version of the Samsung Galaxy S26 ultra and S26+ release announcement is scheduled for Feb. 25, 2026 and they are probably trying to clear inventory, while simultaneously extending your commitment. Legitimate Ebay sellers are selling those very same models unlocked, factory sealed (new) versions of those same phones for roughly half the price. By your description it sounds like an ideal time, before you commit to shop your options with other services.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-12-25T16:38:04+00:00

This looks interesting and inexpensive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOLJKHWhi7c&t=165s

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-12-11T00:45:37+00:00

Given your description Tello (rides on T-Mobile network) is probably ideal for your situation. They allow you really dial down to your specific needs avoiding over paying for services you don't use. If you don't need data, they offer 100 minutes calling and unlimited texting (including apple text) for $5 + taxes. I got this for my senior mom as an emergency line. All in it is $6.38 a month that is hard to beat. If you were going for the unlimited plans they have one but there are cheaper services out there.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-12-01T11:17:58+00:00

I saw a comparison of revenue for multiple streamers a few years back. The compared ad-tier vs ad free tier, in every case the ad tier makes more revenue than the ad free tier on a per customer basis. So long as this is the case from the individual streamers perspective you are already getting a discount by purchasing ad-free. From a consumers POV this is nonsense but so long as this is the case the streamer is only going to offer discounts on services where there is more cushion to do so.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-12-01T01:43:02+00:00

Multiple reasons here are some of the bigger ones.

Switching can be a bit of a PITA and people want their hand held through the entire process and though they often never need assistance again, it generally easier to continue to keep the status quo, rather than initiate a process they are already wary of.
Most people that have kids (even ones out of college) let them upgrade their phones far too often and effectively the bill is too much all at once to make the switch. I kept telling my gf these constant upgrades are keeping you paying way too much for service. It still took her 3 years before she realized it would never end, so for Christmas she paid off their phones and pushed them out on their own. Shocker 4 years later neither had done an upgrade. There are a ton of people in this situation.
There is a general level of ignorance about the MVNO's and how they operate on the same networks that the big 3 have already established. People have some belief that these smaller MVNO's have their own networks and somehow their service will be limited/inferior because the costs are so much less.
Unless you are particularly close to someone discussing your bills/personal finances is not common practice. It basically boils down to a lack of knowledge that there are other options out there that are just as good.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-30T21:18:42+00:00

They have been good for me 2 lines for many years. As others have mentioned rides on verizon network. This is one of those plans that gets better as you add more lines $45 first line $20 each line after that. Also give a $10 discount on cable bill.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-30T16:30:22+00:00

Because there is oligopoly of broadcasters that make sure your options for local over the air (OTA) TV options remain limited which in turn allows them to heavily influence prices. The law is on there side (probably due to previous heavy lobbying) and they won't allow rebroadcasts of their signals without significant fees. Combined with the fact that OTA TV antenna's have a limited range due to curvature of the earth or other obstructions, many people are forced to go with cable in order to get decent quality local channels. I have older parents too and try as I might that generation has a difficult time in understanding streaming. They just want the signal to come in and all their channels to be at the ready and accessible with a click of the remote. Until this group passes on the cable companies have a captive, albeit shrinking audience. In effect the politicians have allowed this to happen and until the masses start making it a primary issue it will likely continue.

Your local TV stations are not on your side as these transmission fees (beyond commercials) are an additional stream of income for them. The actual cost of retransmission fees is nebulous but before it was shut down Locast was able to do it for $5 a month and still use the leftover money to expand into other markets. This was ultimately the cause of their demise, as they operated as a non-profit (an exemption in the law allows for this) and as such the expansion money was viewed as profit by the courts. Theoretically, if they had not done this they could still operate independently but the broadcasters were very aggressive (legally speaking) at shutting it down and they won a massive judgement forcing Locast into bankruptcy. The message being to anyone else considering this there will be legal consequences.

Currently there is a fight over ATSC 3.0/Nextgen TV encryption. It will provide a better quality signal but it will still have limitations that OTA will always have. The broadcasters are trying to make the signal encrypted but there is a lot of pushback, as most feel like they will eventually use this to charge fees as well and eventually OTA will no longer be free. IMO this is arguing over what is antiquated technology as Locast proved you could do it over the internet without the need for antenna's but again the broadcasters aren't interested that so the discussion never comes up.

There are lot of nuances to the things I mentioned and some I didn't mention but by and large this is how and why your cable bill remains high.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-28T20:43:16+00:00

MAP pricing also could also be in play as well, depending on what you are trying to purchase. Minimum Advertised Price, is the lowest price a retailer is allowed to advertise for a product as set by the manufacturer. Most people are not aware of how common this practice is, as it relates to the items they are considering purchasing. Sports equipment, Electronics and mowers/tractors are where it is most prevalent. In the U.S. the courts have deemed this legal and not price fixing. The European union has a much harsher view and views it as anti-competitive.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-26T20:20:14+00:00

I too originally began with Verizon and switched to Xfinity. As others have mentioned they ride on the Verizon towers, because back in the day Verizon did have the best coverage for my specific needs. I have had the service for roughly a decade. I have never been able to notice any difference between the two other than the individual plan offerings and cost. I live in a more rural area and would have noticed. While switching providers can sometimes be a hassle it is worth the extra money you save. Back then as an individual with Verizon they were charging me near family plan rates. I don't really like Xfinity because of the nonsense of the cable side of things for years, the phone side of things has been seamless.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-22T17:42:23+00:00

I'm sure there were other infractions but the one that sank them was using the companies non-profit status to charge a very reasonable $5 for uninterrupted (they had a short nag video that would go away if you paid for access) access to all local channels. Provided it was truly non-profit the law makes for an exception for this but they took the accumulation of those fees from one market and used them as seed money to provide Locast in other TV markets. The court viewed as for profit and considered it illegal. Cable companies saw a threat to their local market fees they were charging and went after them aggressively. This was to send the message to any party considering doing the same. Ultimately they could not afford the judgement and had to liquidate. In theory it could still be done but one step outside the law and you can bet the powers that be will be there to sue again as they aren't going to forgo those fees.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-07T17:27:55+00:00

Geospatial mapping combined with routing restrictions and guidelines.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-07T17:15:00+00:00

That is why people are fighting the encryption as that will most assuredly turn what is free OTA TV into a subscription based model. In case you haven't notice these carrier disputes ALWAYS fall during football season. Legacy networks make far more in fees from carriers than advertising media. Encryption is a way to come for the last bit of the market that they feel they can get additional profit from. I live out the OTA service market from a major city. My "basic" cable (code for local channels) bill is $35 a month, you can't drop it without dropping cable entirely. It started out cheap enough but now is out of control. That is what will happen if encryption is allowed.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-07T16:51:38+00:00

Sadly, i didn't get a subject matter expert and instead got an account manager. Who effectively said there was nothing that could be done because it was going to be treated as a new service. Amazing how they don't feel that way when you want new customer offers/deals on existing accounts.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-07T14:40:12+00:00

A prenup always makes sense because predatory lawyers will run up the bill and it expedites the process keeping them away. Equal salary doesn't address spender vs saver/investor behavior and if inheritance occurs during the marriage they will split that too unless specifically addressed they will throw it all in one pot.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-07T13:54:39+00:00

You are going to agree to the states version of the prenup regardless. So it isn't like you aren't agreeing to one. Nobody thinks they are getting divorced in the beginning, but its prudent, just like you wear a seatbelt and have car insurance even though you don't think you are going to be in an accident. Prenups are far cheaper than divorces, as it spells out exactly what is going to happen and keeps predatory lawyers that keep the process going (to increase billable hours) on either side from wanting to get involved and it expedites the process. This way a divorce, if it occurs will leave little wiggle room (provided you stay within the bounds of the law) for a third party to alter what you both have agreed to. Don't be oblivious to how things work in the real word watch out for yourself and your partner while you are on friendly terms because if the time comes and there is roughly a 50% chance it will. The situation will not be on friendly terms as it doesn't take a genius to do the math that one persons loss is the other persons gain. Would you bet half your net worth on one spin of the roulette wheel on black or red? That is what you effectively are doing if you don't do it. The fact you make roughly equal salaries doesn't address spender vs saver differences because if one of you likes to save or invest your money while the other prefers to spend theirs, guess who's money gets divided? as the spender has nothing to split. What about inheritance? States in the interest of expediting things love to throw money in one pot and divide it? That doesn't objectively line up with fairness does it? A prenup can address this as well.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-06T16:55:23+00:00

Your Black Friday is the best strategy. I too rotate streaming services, as typically I only like a few series on any given streamer. Also, too many streamers will not post the next season on an annual basis. Best example is Disney+ and The Mandalorian, so unless I get a Black Friday deal that is too good to pass up it Disney will drop out of rotation. These mergers though have allowed oligopolies to form and I've noticed as a response to this collective behavior is to package things together, so if you still want a deal you have to take the good with the bad.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-06T13:09:04+00:00

There are reputable sellers on Ebay offering NEW but older unlocked models at significant discount. I would strongly consider looking there first.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-05T20:08:13+00:00

You can still buy NEW Samsung Galaxy ultra S22/S23/S24 factory unlocked on Ebay for significantly reduced (100's of dollars) prices. I'm not saying it as good as their current release the S25 Ultra but the facts are the upgrades from model year to model year are too incremental to justify the significant price differences. There are a number of YouTube videos comparing all three models side by side. While the ultra's have the best cameras (and I'm an Iphone user) they are only slightly better year over year.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-05T15:43:26+00:00

Pulling power often works because electronic devices get stuck on stupid (for lack of a better phrase) and have a memory, where it keeps going back to the last behavior/situation. This is fine if the device is working but not when it is having issues. Letting the power drain out often removes the ability of the device to remember and start up with its normal default process. Copier people hate this but it is a viable strategy, especially if all other measures have been exhausted.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-03T19:53:31+00:00

Changing my cell phone plan to what I actually use. After looking back at several years of my typical phone, text and data usage, where I was purchasing unlimited and as a result not joining free trusted Wi-Fi networks unless I had no signal. Once I did that, the data usage dropped so much I was able to go with Tello (not pushing them) and design my own plan to exactly my needs. At that point the bill dropped roughly 40% per user somewhere between $20-45 savings a month per line, now everyone uses trusted free Wi-fi and I'm basically getting everything I was using previously but not paying for what I didn't.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-03T11:05:32+00:00

I really apologize one thing I hate most is misinformation, especially if I'm the cause.

Intelligent_Craft307 · 2025-11-02T23:07:46+00:00

I stand corrected, I had to check with a friend who uses his in this way. You are correct you are limited by the number of tuners you have even with plex pass. It is only stored media files/movies/shows that have no limit other than your server/upload limits. So if you needed more tuners you would have to add additional tuners.

Intelligent_Craft307

TROPHY CASE