My older two children shouldn’t have smartphones, however as a substitute each have an Apple Watch SE w/ Mobile. After a 12 months on BetterRoaming service, which was the most cost effective possibility on the time for these not on a serious postpaid plan, I switched their Apple Watch plans over to the US Cell Smartwatch Plan.
I’ve been on US Cell for just a few months now, and I wished to offer an replace that US Cell is the clear winner for our Apple Watch service. US Cell gives higher mobile protection (in my space) on the Verizon community, a less expensive ongoing worth, and a greater customer support expertise. Listed here are the small print, with direct comparisons to BetterRoaming the place out there.
Plan abstract.
- $78 for 12 months if paid upfront ($6.50/month), or $9.50 month-to-month.
- Limitless Speak & Textual content
- Limitless Information
- WiFi Calling Enabled
- Immediate eSIM Activation (Truly true! Below 10 minutes to arrange)
- 24/7 Buyer Help
- Works with 4G LTE and 5G watches
General expertise utilizing Apple Watch as a standalone telephone for a child. A serious takeaway is that the Apple Watch is a tiny telephone with a tiny mobile antenna inside. Most individuals use Apple Watches as companions to their iPhone, so it’s simply meant as a backup while you’re out operating or swimming or one thing. As a main telephone, it has a tough time getting a sign in areas of weak protection and inside buildings. Mainly, a throwback to the early 2000s for us extra “mature” of us.
Actually, the most typical failure level was a child forgetting to cost the watch in a single day. In different phrases, you’ll be able to’t at all times depend upon the watch to work, so that you’ll have to work out backup plans (i.e. meet at this tree, or ship me an e-mail by way of faculty Wifi). The setup remains to be handy and helpful, and over time they do determine the place you’ve got service and type the behavior of charging the darn factor.
Mobile community protection makes use of Verizon towers. US Cell presently solely presents their standalone Apple Watch plan on “Warp”, which is their contractually-obligated different title for the Verizon community. BetterRoaming is a worldwide eSIM supplier, and my finest efforts point out that they’re now on the T-Cell community (however was on AT&T?). After switching to the Verizon community, I discovered that our protection points positively improved, however there are nonetheless occasions the place they don’t have a sign, even subsequent to a smartphone that works completely positive.
US Cell allows you to decide the world code in your telephone quantity (if not porting-in). BetterRoaming simply assigns you one and also you don’t get to decide on. This may increasingly or could not matter to you.
US Cell has aggressive pricing. At my annual renewal, US Cell’s annual plan was $78 (works out to $6.50 per 30 days) whereas BetterRoaming was at $99. BetterRoaming has since dropped the worth to match, so each are actually $78 for the primary 12 months if pay as you go upfront. Nevertheless, I don’t know for those who can renew at $78 with BetterRoaming, because it says the financial savings are just for “New clients”. US Cell allows you to renew at $78/12 months and it’s month-to-month pricing can also be decrease ($9.50 vs. $10.99 per 30 days).
US Cell general has stable buyer help and consumer interface. After organising Apple Watches with each corporations and coping with a number of MVNOs through the years, I’ve discovered that US Cell has among the finest customer support throughout all of the MVNOs. You possibly can inform they invested some cash into this a part of the expertise. Their movies are helpful and their on-line chat is responsive – most significantly, the reps appear to know what they’re doing! In reality, it was such a very good expertise that (along with different causes), just a few months afterward I additionally switched my private smartphone line from Mint Cell to their US Cell Limitless Plan*. That’s a separate publish, however the customer support half held true, because the port-over and setup course of with US Cell was a lot smoother than my stint with Seen.
* That’s my US Cell referral hyperlink, which presents a $25 credit score after spending 6 months and $100 complete at US Cell w/ port-in. Works on each common smartphone plans and the Smartwatch plans, however word the port-in half, as I didn’t port-in a quantity for our Apple Watches. Full positive print:
To qualify for the $25 referral bonus, you could keep lively paid service in good standing for six months, port in a brand new line, and spend a complete of $100 on Limitless, By the Gig, or Smartwatch plans — Different plans, top-ups, gadgets, add-ons, roaming, and sure promotions (listed at usmobile.com/promo-archive) are excluded. Annual plans might be prorated month-to-month (e.g. $228 equals $114 after 6 months).