Xfinity Mobile - thoughts?

@wishlish I know. That is why I am asking. The only reason I would even consider it is the fact they use Verizon towers. Where I live and travel for work verizon is the only reliable network. I am also not happy that I would have to start dishing out my for a phone when I am happy with my Galaxy 6. The costs would work out to be the same except I would have an G8 and unlimited data compared to my 5GB and G6. And I do LOVE the 8.
But it’s Comcast. I hear ya, brother.

@wishlish even better, not only do you get the quality comcast customer care, but then you get to wait while they pass the issue on to verzion, who surely will get right on that.

@mfladd Considering it is comcast and even with the regional manager involved I still can’t get my billing issues sorted out (internet only slow mbps so nothing complicated here!!) and it has been over a year. Not to mention some dude in FL is getting his services cut off soon as his information was in my billing. They didn’t believe me until I sent them a pdf and mentioned I hoped our two accounts were not intertwined such that mine would be cut off too. I’d not be a first adopter.

I’d suggest, as others did, to monitor what is going and and then decide if you plan to totally screw yourself with their issues or if somehow they have turned over a new leaf. I have not found their services all that reliable either (well except I do admit their hot spot stuff seems to work OK and is actually faster than what I have at home).

For phone I have used both Net10 $45/mo with auto refill(who piggy backs off of several networks) and Smartalk phone cards $45/mo (no idea what they do as the phone a friend gave me is locked to AT&T but I do know they sell several different sim cards for phones locked to different services) and found service most everywhere.

@Kidsandliz Yup, I know the grass is probably not greener. But the price and data is what has interested me. Again, with my work and area I have no real choice but verizon towers. Perhaps I am just a glutton for punishment. I need to do more research and hear more on their service before I would make any switch.

I am just amazed that their have not been more opinions here. The people hear usually are on the know, and ALWAYS give an opinion when given the chance. But it is the weekend, maybe more people will say FUCK NO during the week.

@mfladd I’m actually following this with deep interest. Xfinity sent me the same offer, and I’m debating it.

@OldCatLady I have been watching numerous online reviews. Every single review so far says the coverage is excellent. The downside is you have to have comcast home packages - which I already do and don’t plan to change. If you use only 2 gigs of data a month and even with a new phone cost you are looking at $45 a month. Unlimited and phone will cost $67. And you can switch to unlimited anytime you need it thru the app. This does not include taxes and fees which reviewers are saying are less than Verizon. They don’t even charge a bullshit activation fee like verizon.

The service will also automatically switch to hotspots when within range to minimize data use.

I am considering.

@OldCatLady Talked to a representative. There is also no cost for porting your existing number and my monthly taxes would come out to a whopping $1.67. I am going to stop at an Xfinity Mobile store when I am in the area this week for work (1.5 hours away) - no new phone sales tax in DE which would save me $37.

Representative said that hopefully after the new year Comcast would be able to provide sim cards to those that want to bring over their old phones.

@OldCatLady Also it should be noted that Mobile is a separate service so you will not receive just one Comcast bill. Mobile billing is separate.

@mfladd It all sounds good. Like almost too good to be true …

@wishlish So I have been an Xfinity customer for 15 years never missed a payment for starters, thought I’d try Xfinity Mobile, WHAT A MISTAKE! These guys are prics just like Xfinity are of course!! When I first bought my Galaxy S8 + (newest phone at the time) a year ago, they said sorry we don’t have insurance available right now but you’ll be notified when we get it. Well I wasn’t ever notified and called and they told me that oh gee I was outside of the open enrollment period now I couldn’t get insurance. I told myself oh well I’ll just be careful with the phone. I was, but the phone got “burn in” which is not fixable, I got a replacement phone from the warranty, which ALSO GOT BURN IN…Needless to say they pretty much gave me the finger when I asked them for help these guys are assholes (forgive my lack of a civilized word) and as soon as my device (that’s a piece of crap) is paid off I’m going elsewhere. If other internet providers could match Xfinity I would go to them too XFINITY ARE GREEDY JERKS THAT DON’T CARE AT ALL ABOUT YOU, WHAT SO EVER!!!

@scotts68 @wishlish So sorry to hear that. I purchased my phone over year and half ago and was able to purchase the insurance no problem. Weird you were told that.
I had to use the insurance for a faulty phone, and then got a refurb phone from insurance. That phone failed and got another from that warranty - so far so good - fingers crossed. My issues have been with the insurance company - Assurion - not Xfinity Mobile. I have had no problems from them at all.

@djslack I shall let you know. I think I am going to take the plunge.

@communistjack Prices are good, but Comcast’s are better. And while comcast customer service has issues, all the reviews I have looked at says Straight Talk’s is horrendous. But thank you for offering other possibilities.

@mfladd buddy. Long time no talk… I would be cautious. But it may be worth a try. Before you jump. Check out other Verizon mvno. If they are the only ones with service. Also I believe sprint piggybacks off their towers. They have a deal where you buy a phone and get service for free for 1 year… (unless that just ended). I’ll do a little research but also it looks like you prefer android. Have you looked into google? I think they use T-Mobile and sprint which that sprint may not piggyback the Verizon towers but worth a look.

I switched to T-Mobile and am so glad but if they don’t have service in your area… also the whole hotspot issue. If you have Comcast you can use the hotspots with any cell service.

@sohmageek What up, Sohma!
I checked into google before and it wasn’t available to me. No one uses Sprint here. The only actual players are AT&T and Verizon. A Cricket just opened up - not sure about them.
True on the hotspot thing accept with this plan it automatically switches over rather than having to search and sign into it. Thanks!

@mfladd Cricket = AT&T.

@mfladd there are no T-Mobile stores around here. Or any in state. I tried them and was pleasantly surprised. Also with my iPhone it’s automatic no search no login. I had to go to their site to get a setting put in. But it auto connects.

@sohmageek I meant I don’t know of anyone who uses T-Mobile here. They don’t have the coverage.

@mfladd that’s what people told me too. Then I tried it
(I dropped from $400 for 5 lines no phone finance to $240 with 5 lines 4 phones being financed, plus added an iPad (extra line- data only) and a T-Mobile sync up drive (another line data only for hotspot in car and other things.)

@mfladd We switched to Cricket last year. Two phones, I get 4gb of data (they keep increasing it, I started at 2gb), he’s got a basic phone, no data. Unlimited talk and text on both. No calls outside of the U.S. though.

$60 a month.

We went with them because they’re on the AT&T network.

@narfcake

@mfladd
/8ball Does the 8ball also offer bad advice from time to time?
Yes

@RedOak Competition. It makes everything better.

@mfladd Oh sure, blame me for the outcome of the /8ball when there’s a perfectly good goat you could’ve double blamed instead!

@mfladd New phone, new service…
What could go wrong?

After all, early adopters always get what they want.
/youtube you get what you need

So, OK, blame me. I can take it.

@2many2no Your blame might go on for quite a while if things go bad. I am holding you responsible for anything that happens under your goathood, even after your reign.

@mfladd oooooh do a data speed test at https://sourceforge.net/speedtest/

also here is a cheap case for the s8 plus http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rugged-Armor-Shockproof-Hybrid-Hard-Stand-Case-Cover-For-Samsung-Galaxy-S8-Plus-/253101621119

@jml326 the biggest issue with google fi is $10 per gig of data, @mfladd wants ALL THE DATA … for “activities”?

@communist Haha. I am not telling.

@cranky1950 I will let you know.

@cranky1950 it may be poopy but if you gobble down butt loads of data, xfinity mobile seems like a ok deal(Bring your own phone would make it a great deal)

@communist I was told in the store they expect to accept new devices (like my daughter’s LG Gizmo) and other phones by the new year. They are still in their infancy.

@communist Where do you see that? I still see only the Samsung 8’s and iPhones 7’s on that page.

I received my 8+ yesterday. I just finished activating and setting up. I will come back and talk about it later.

@mfladd

@communistjack Thanks. So people can get a basically super inexpensive phone with this service if they don’t want all the bells and whistles. If they used 2 gigs a month that would make their entire bill around $26, including taxes. That’s not a bad deal.

That being said, I sooooo love the Samsung 8+. Still trying to learn everything it offers. So far for unlocking the phone I find the Face recognition to be meh. But the iris scan works really well.

@mfladd I’m happy you found a good fit… I just hope Comcast doesn’t find some way to ruin it like they do with all of their other offerings.

@jbartus Oh, I know they will. In time, when a lot of people jump on board. They will creep the prices up slowly to the point it is no longer a great deal. Comcast sucks - just not at the moment (cellular-wise).

@reclaimercube Tagging @medz.

@reclaimercube I use Fi. Love it.

It’s only real downside: no iphones

@thismyusername That’s more of an upside really

@mfladd @thismyusername thanks for the responses. So far I’m just finding it hard to quit T-Mobile.

@reclaimercube yeah. It’s great as long as you don’t use much data off of wifi. Let me know if you need a referral code for $20.

@medz See and right now I’m paying 65$ a month and I use about 50GB of data a month usually. I’m always streaming live TV.

@reclaimercube ok. Supposedly for a 1 person plan, they cap it at $60. We usually pay $65 for the 2 of us.

@reclaimercube actually, $60 max for unlimited data, but you’d still pay $20 for the text and call part, so $80 for you.

@medz so you’re saying as my official spokesperson for Project Fi to stick with T-Mobile?

@reclaimercube Yeah. If you’re using 50GB of mobile data per month, it’s gonna be cheaper to stay with your $65 T-mobile plan.
Even though Project Fi (soon to be called Google Fi) has the VPN for open wifi locations, I doubt you’re going to be able to bring your mobile data usage down far enough to make it cheaper. In fact, using only 6GB of mobile data would get you to the $60 cap for a single plan. You have unlimited data beyond that, but if you’re looking to save money you would have to use only 4GB of mobile data per month or less.
It works for me because I have good wifi at work and at home. Most restaurants we visit have open wifi as well. From Oct 9th until today, I’ve used 33GB wifi data and only 472MB mobile data.

Now, if you’re looking for improvements in service, Project Fi switches between several cellular networks (and wifi) depending on what is going to give you the best signal. We were on T-mobile before and I got zero signal in my basement. At the time, they wanted to charge me extra to be able to tether my cell data or use wifi calling. I rely on the wifi calling with Project Fi when I’m in my basement and it’s super easy to use because it switches over automatically. I don’t know if your speeds are throttled on the T-mobile unlimited plan. Last I knew, Project Fi does in fact slow down the speed at some point… I found this:
If you use more than 15 GB of data in a cycle (less than 1% of individual Fi users as of Jan. 2018), you’ll experience slower speeds above 15 GB with Bill Protection. If you’re on an individual plan, this means you’ll pay just $60 for between 0-15 GB of data, and you can still enjoy free data at slower speeds after 15 GB.
If you need significant amounts of high speed data, you can opt to pay $10/GB for the data you use past 15 GB in a given cycle.

In other words, if you want unlimited fast speed, without paying more, Fi isn’t for you.

@medz Damn thank you for the eloquent post. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that you are absolutely right. When I was going to school for a bit in Quantico, VA there was ZERO service where we were staying at. I ended up going into a Sprint store and getting the cheapest phone available because T-Mobile was unusable. Working for the government, there are no Wi-Fi hotspots at work.

Also I tend to hop around through phones and I know Project Fi only works with certain phones currently, right? T-Mobile hasn’t stopped me using a Xiaomi, Moto z2 force, Essential PH-1 and hopefully soon a DOOGEE S70.

@reclaimercube Yah, certain phones only. Selection is slowly getting better with more price options. I’m still rocking the original Pixel. I still get regular OS updates and I have no real complaints.