MICHAEL SAVES RATING: 8/10
Mint Mobile offers low-cost phone plans on T-Mobile’s network, but the service is only best for people who are willing to buy in bulk.
| Pros |
| ✅ Affordable multi-month plans ✅ 5G available at no extra charge ✅ Easy activation and setup ✅ Solid app experience ✅ Family plan offered |
| Cons |
| ❌ No monthly plan option ❌ Slower data during network congestion ❌ No physical stores ❌ Rates less desirable outside of a promo |
If you’ve seen the ads for Mint Mobile featuring actor Ryan Reynolds, you may be wondering if the affordable wireless service provider is worth the savings.
The short answer is that yes it’s a good service, but it’s not for everyone. I’ll explain…
Is Mint Mobile Worth It? Real Customer Review
I’ve tested more than 15 cheap phone plans over the past few years. Mint Mobile offers among the best pricing, features and app experience in the wireless industry.
This review is based on my personal experience. I’ve been a paying Mint Mobile customer four separate times since 2018 — testing the service for 12 months total. Learn more about my testing process.
In this article, I’ll share the key things you need to know about Mint Mobile before you sign up!
Table of Contents:
- What Is Mint Mobile?
- Network Coverage
- Plans and Pricing
- Additional Features
- Phone Options
- Mint Mobile Customer Service
- Is Mint Mobile Right for You?
1. What Is Mint Mobile?
Mint Mobile is a low-cost cell phone service provider that offers prepaid plans. The service runs on T-Mobile’s network and utilizes its cell phone towers, including 5G at no extra charge.
Mint Mobile has been acquired by T-Mobile. The deal was finalized as of May 1, 2024.
After the acquisition, Ryan Reynolds no longer has an ownership stake in the company. However, he is staying on in a creative role to promote Mint Mobile in commercials.
I recently got an email from a reader who is considering Mint but worries about T-Mobile making the service worse.
This is a valid concern.
In an email to subscribers, Mint Mobile said there are no plans to change the service’s $15 per month pricing. The email said customers will get the same reliable and affordable service.
If you’re uneasy about T-Mobile’s takeover of Mint, you do have other options. Tello and US Mobile are two carriers that offer plans on T-Mobile’s network, but they aren’t owned by T-Mobile.
I’ve tested Tello and US Mobile multiple times over the years. Both are good Mint Mobile alternatives to consider.
2. Mint Mobile Coverage Map
Since Mint Mobile relies on T-Mobile towers to provide network coverage, your experience with the service will depend heavily on how T-Mobile performs where you live.
That’s why it’s important to visit Mint’s website to confirm voice and data coverage where you live, work and travel.
Mint Mobile’s coverage map lets you zoom in to an exact address to determine whether the service offers 5G coverage on T-Mobile’s network in your location.
You can also expand the view using the minus sign on the right to check for coverage dead spots in your region.
If you’re happy with your existing network (Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile), I recommend that you look for a low-cost cell phone service provider that uses that network.
In the case of Mint Mobile, that’s T-Mobile.
Coverage maps can be unreliable. If you’re unsure about T-Mobile’s coverage where you live, ask people you know about their experience with T-Mobile or post a question on the Nextdoor app. If you get positive feedback about T-Mobile in your area, Mint Mobile is worth a closer look.
Aside from the coverage map, I recommend that you enter your city on RootMetrics’ website to see how the major networks stack up where you live.
RootMetrics is an independent company that evaluates the performance of wireless networks.
My Personal Experience
I’ve tried out Mint Mobile in four cities where T-Mobile’s network is strong. I can only recall one dropped call during my four separate tests of Mint Mobile dating back to 2018.
Data speeds are sometimes inconsistent, but it’s always been usable from my extensive testing.
Like most carriers, Mint Mobile supports 5G. While testing 5G data speeds in South Florida using the Speedtest app, I recorded download speeds higher than 300 Mbps with my iPhone 12.
When using the 4G LTE network during previous testing, I averaged download speeds around 20 to 25 Mbps.
5G Speed Test Results
| Date | Download Speed | Upload Speed |
| 2/15/2023, 10:00 AM | 251 Mbps | 24.3 Mbps |
| 2/15/2023, 11:00 AM | 287 Mbps | 17.1 Mbps |
| 2/15/2023, 12:00 PM | 308 Mbps | 19.8 Mbps |
| 2/15/2023, 1:00 PM | 169 Mbps | 17.5 Mbps |
| 2/15/2023, 2:00 PM | 315 Mbps | 18.7 Mbps |
When you sign up for a low-cost carrier like Mint, you can expect your data speeds to be slowed down during times of network congestion. This is referred to as deprioritization.
But even when my speeds temporarily dropped to 5 to 10 Mbps, I could still stream video on my phone.
3. Plans and Pricing Explained
Mint Mobile offers four main plans that work out to as low as $15 a month, but there isn’t actually a monthly plan. You must buy plans for either three, six or 12 months at a time.
The New Customer Offer is normally for three months and gets you the lowest price.
- 5GB Plan: $45 ($15/month)
- 15GB Plan: $60 ($20/month)
- 20GB Plan: $75 ($25/month)
- Unlimited Plan: $90 ($30/month)
Mint Mobile added more monthly high-speed data to its plans for both new and existing customers as of April 14, 2023. There was no price increase.
I put together this chart to compare the old and new data allotments:
| OLD | NEW |
| 4GB per month | 5GB per month |
| 10GB per month | 15GB per month |
| 15GB per month | 20GB per month |
| Unlimited (35GB per month) | Unlimited |
After taking advantage of the New Customer Offer for three months, single-line members can lock in the lowest price by choosing a 12-month plan at renewal.
Here’s a tip: Single-line members should avoid renewing for only three months since it’s the worst value.
5GB Plan
| New Customer Offer | $45 for 3 months |
| 3-Month Plan Renewal | $75 for 3 months |
| 6-Month Plan Renewal | $120 for 6 months |
| 12-Month Plan Renewal (Best value) | $180 for 12 months |
15GB Plan
| New Customer Offer | $60 for 3 months |
| 3-Month Plan Renewal | $105 for 3 months |
| 6-Month Plan Renewal | $150 for 6 months |
| 12-Month Plan Renewal (Best value) | $240 for 12 months |
20GB Plan
| New Customer Offer | $75 for 3 months |
| 3-Month Plan Renewal | $135 for 3 months |
| 6-Month Plan Renewal | $210 for 6 months |
| 12-Month Plan Renewal (Best value) | $300 for 12 months |
Unlimited Plan
| New Customer Offer | $90 for 3 months |
| 3-Month Plan Renewal | $120 for 3 months |
| 6-Month Plan Renewal | $210 for 6 months |
| 12-Month Plan Renewal (Best value) | $360 for 12 months |
Meanwhile, family plan accounts with two or more users get the best pricing while paying for service only three months in advance, not a full year. Mint’s family plan launched in May 2022.
Unfortunately, there are typically no additional family plan discounts or perks with Mint Mobile.
For those on the fence, Mint Mobile offers a 7-day free trial to let you test out the network before you commit.
Taxes and fees vary depending on your location. You can see the additional charges during the checkout process before you place your order on MintMobile.com.
DEAL ALERT: Mint Mobile frequently runs deals on plans and phones. One popular recurring deal I’ve been tracking offers six months of free service when you buy a new phone and a six-month plan.
4. What Features Are Offered With Mint Mobile?
All Mint Mobile plans include unlimited talk and text. Your high-speed data limit (5G and 4G LTE) varies depending on the plan that you choose.
With the service, your data is never cut off completely.
If you go over your high-speed data for the month, speeds will be reduced until the next month. You can also purchase add-on high-speed data from Mint’s app.
Plans also include these features:
- Free international calls to Mexico and Canada
- WiFi calling and texting
- Free mobile hotspot (10GB cap with the Unlimited plan)
Mobile Hotspot
Mint Mobile offers free mobile hotspot with all plans. This lets you connect to the internet even if you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection.
I connected my laptop to my Mint hotspot and recorded a download speed of 35 Mbps from Speedtest.net:
This speed was fast enough for me to watch a YouTube video and browse the web from a coffee shop that had a strong T-Mobile signal but no free Wi-Fi available.
Typically, I limit my use of Mint’s mobile hotspot because any data consumed will count toward your plan limit.
If you have Mint’s unlimited plan, hotspot usage is not unlimited. You can only use up to 10GB of high-speed data for mobile hotspot per month.
If you’re looking for a plan with unlimited mobile hotspot data, consider Visible by Verizon. That’s my primary carrier.
International Roaming
Mint Mobile offers international roaming with its UpRoam add-on. This allows you to access talk, text and data while outside of the United States.
From your account, you can add international roaming credits in $5 to $20 increments.
International roaming credits can be used in more than 200 countries and destinations around the world. Rates vary by country.
5. Phone Options
Mint Mobile has improved its phone offerings over the years. When I last checked, there were several dozen compatible phones available for sale on its website.
Mint sells mostly high-end phones including Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices.
I’ve noticed that Mint Mobile has started to bundle phones and plans. For example, Mint has offered six months of free service when you purchase a new phone and a 6-month plan.
With Mint, you can also buy a new phone elsewhere and bring it to the service or keep your existing phone.
Before you sign up, confirm that your phone is unlocked and compatible with Mint Mobile. To do so, visit this page on Mint’s website and enter your phone’s IMEI number.
6. Onboarding and Customer Support
Mint Mobile is able to keep its prices low because it doesn’t have physical stores. For people who depend on in-person customer support, that’s going to be a huge drawback.
On the other hand, customer support is available by phone, chat and email for those who need it.
Mint Mobile’s setup process is very simple, even if it’s your first time switching to a low-cost carrier. When you sign up, you’ll receive a colorful activation kit with instructions.
Mint also has video tutorials to help you activate your service and either transfer your number or request a new one.
Your activation kit will include a physical SIM card. However, you can also get started with Mint Mobile’s eSIM if you have a compatible device.
For those who want a physical SIM card, here’s what Mint Mobile’s activation kit looks like:
If you need further assistance, the Mint Mobile app is the place to go. Sign in for chat support or to find the customer service phone number. My experience with Mint’s support has always been pretty good.
The app is also the best place to monitor your data usage. Here’s a screenshot from my account:
Since Mint Mobile’s plans have high-speed data limits, the app will help you see how much data is remaining for the month and when your data renews.
Elsewhere in the Mint Mobile app, you can complete tasks like making a payment and changing your payment method.
If you’re not tech-savvy, consider adding the MINTech Advisors service to your plan. For $15 per year, you’ll get access to a dedicated call-in phone number for priority tech support.
I like this option for people who are concerned about activation issues when switching to Mint.
7. Is Mint Mobile Right for You?
Mint Mobile doesn’t offer all of the premium perks that T-Mobile is known for, but it does have cheap phone plans that can substantially lower your cell phone bill.
The way I see it, Mint Mobile is best for these type of customers:
- Willing to pay for 3-12 months of service at a time
- Low-data users (5GB plan) or high-data users (Unlimited plan)
- Know T-Mobile’s network is strong where they live
- Already have a paid-off phone that’s compatible with Mint Mobile
- Comfortable with a digital-only carrier
There are other alternatives to T-Mobile’s postpaid plans. Metro by T-Mobile, Tello and US Mobile are prepaid options that you may want to consider, especially if you prefer to pay monthly.
Have you tried Mint Mobile? Add to my real customer review in the comments below!
How I Tested Mint Mobile
I’ve tested Mint Mobile four separate times since 2018, most recently in 2023. That adds up to 12 months of experience with the service.
Before recommending Mint Mobile, here are some of the key factors I considered:
- Pricing: I compared Mint Mobile’s pricing and range of plan options to other low-cost providers.
- Performance and Reliability: I used Mint Mobile’s service regularly throughout the testing period to make calls, send text messages and access data. I also evaluated data speeds using Speedtest.net.
- Customer Service: During each testing period, I reached out to customer support to rate their service.
I’ve been reviewing cell phone plans since 2016. I pay for all of the services that I review and none of my content is sponsored.
This review was last updated in February 2024.
I know this is about MINT MOBILE, but I use US Mobile, and for $25 a month unlimited 35 Gig and slow down after, never got passed the 35 yet. Using Spotify, and still best service I have found. I would never fall for a $15 a month that is really not that advertisement. Couldn’t afford that at once $45 every 3 months anyways, and hearing bad things about Mint, just makes me say I got the best service US Mobile.
It is a scam to me to say it is $15 a month that you never ever do. It is actually $45 every 3 months. Not the same damn thing. They just use that and sign you up and your paying at once actually $45. Not actually what they advertise is it? $15 a month is paying $15 a month, not $45 every 3 months. So, that is the whole damn reason I would never sign up. Plus, they talk (Ryan Reynolds) says cheaper than the $40 or more other services. Yes, if it was actually $15 a month, not $45 every 3 months. A whopping $45 at one time is not much different than just doing that whopping one time charge on the expensive either. So, I will never sign up until they actually do monthly charging only. That is their loss for not changing to normal monthly charges.
Mint Mobile Prepaid Number Porting Forfeiture
After being a happy Mint Mobile prepaid customer for several years, I decided to compare my reported data usage by transferring back to T-Mobile, where my 5GB data plan lasted a while. After only four (4) days with T-Mobile, I realized my reported data consumption was about the same. So I called Mint Mobile to restore my prepaid account. I was informed today that prepaid accounts forfeit all prepaid funds. I forfeited $20 per month for 8 months = $160.
Ok, over time I either didn’t know of or forgot about that forfeiture clause in the terms and conditions. It happens. I’m not a lawyer. But I had to call and talk with a Mint Mobile representative to obtain my account and PIN numbers as prerequisite to changing carriers. Even if Mint is following their policies on keeping my prepaid funds, SHOULD Mint have proactively reminded/warned me at that time that according to their terms and conditions I would be forfeiting 8 months of funds so I could at least reconsider my actions?
Not one peep about it. The representative just gave me what I asked for and then asked if there was anything else he could do for me. Was my 8 months of remaining prepaid account status visible on his screen? If so, why he said nothing? If not visible to him, then why Mint Mobile deny representatives from having access to this data in order to advise prepaid customers? They retained my prepayments and perhaps the prepayments of others for their bottom line. Is silence is a part of their business model?
I wonder if the USA Federal Trade Commission would be concerned, not about the forfeiture policy, but about companies that willfully omit advising customers of these immediate and avoidable loses in a timely manner.
Beware.
Dropped calls every day, all the time. $15 a month and you get what you pay for. Half the time cannot receive or send pictures over text. I have had it for two years. Very unreliable. I like the annual premium but he service is just soooooooo bad.
Sounds like you might need a different network? If T-Mobile is your preferred network and this is happening, call support and see if they can look into an issue with your device. You definitely shouldn’t have to deal with this!
I wanted to get my dad something inexpensive so he could have when out and about (in his 80s). I found an almost brand new iPhone 8 for a reasonable price and signed him up for Mint. No issues whatsoever, was so very easy to activate and worked instantly. I ended up switching my mom and myself over from AT&T where we had both been for over 20 years. Porting of our numbers was smooth and we were up and running within minutes.
Wifi calling works well too. What a $$$ save for us! I was paying $80 a month for a 5 GB plan with AT&T, now I pay $15 a month. We are all coming up on our 1 year anniversary with Mint and no plans to change. I also just saw we are getting a spam screener, even better!
Mint mobile got me I paid $202.00 for 12month service in feb2024 my phone no longer work had I new the phone stopped working. Why can’t I get the rest of my money
Most of my family has been using MINT for 2 years now and we are very happy with the service. The transfer and set up was very easy and the CHAT at Mint walked us through the entire process. We carried our current number from Verizon to Mint and purchased new phones. Entire process was easy with no issues. Just make sure whatever phone you have is compatible with Mint. Mint site can verify your phone.
I was a Mint enthusiast for 18 months until I travelled abroad and discovered it doesn’t own up to its promises. Mint offers WIFI calling and emphasizes that in its ads. I bought my phone from Mint and typically used WhatsApp to call family and friends living abroad or when I was travelling overseas. Recently, I needed to contact LG multiple times to get a refrigerator fixed. I checked, and Mint’s system assured me I had activated WIFI calling–but my third extended call to LG was cut-off mid-conversation. I soon discovered my international roaming balance had been drained at the rate of .25 a minute without any warning whatsoever. I contacted Mint customer service online a half dozen times and was put through multiple iterations of “help” sequences that each time assured me WIFI calling was activated. Nope. Only after returning to the U.S. and entering my phone data into an obscure Mint page was it revealed Mint had sold me a product that is not WIFI calling capable–and Mint continues to sell that same phone today (and others) without disclosing this. I asked Mint to replace the phone and refund the International roaming charges for their failures. Nope. The only option left is arbitration in California–which is not a realistic option in a small dollar consumer dispute. I am somewhat ashamed I’ve attracted three other families to Mint. Their customer service wasted hours of my time and the irritatingly scripted cheesy banter used by CSRs wastes time and the CSRs solved nothing.
We switched to mint 2mo ago. So far it’s great. We are snowbirds 6mo of the year and it works great for us. We each have the 5gb plan and have our own phones. The transition was pretty much seamless. For what ever reason my phone didn’t transfer all my contacts, and I blame than on my phone. Had the same problem when I switched to that phone
I backup my contacts to Google for this very reason. It’s happened to me before as well! Glad you’re happy with the service.
HI YA I SWICTH FROM BULLSHIT T-MOBLIE TO MINT WITH TWO PHONES AND WAS OK WITH TRANFER BUT T-MOBLIE STILL CHARGE ME TWO MONTHS FEES AND TRY TO TAKE OUT OF MY ACCOUNT AGAIN!!! SO GLAD TO BE AT MINT WITH NO HEADACKS SO FAR THXS MINT
I have to say the transfer from ATT to Mint was easy! I signed up on-line, got email instructions to install the Esim. the transfer of my phone number, the closing of my ATT account and the activation went smoothly…took (Aprox) 15-20 minutes total. I also did a speed test…moving to MINT just about doubled my 5G speed. time will tell if it remains this good…and at a great price. we will see, but so far, all is good.
This service has to me an “Achilles Heel” –
a 10 number group text limitation. I scanned their entire T&C (terms & conditions) and this reality is NOT included. In a conversation I had today with a manager, I was told that as a prepaid plan, that is how it has always been and likely will always be. Wow! When my year is up, I will look elsewhere.
I tried Mint Mobile for about a year. They never got my billing right. I had two lines on $20 month plans. For a quarter (which is how they bill) that should be $120. I was charged $228.26 per quarter. I realize there are fees but this is outrageous. Unfortunately, you can’t talk to a person for a billing issue, you have to chat. I got somebody who had such long delays between my send and her reply as to make the whole situation unbearable. After an hour of this, the call conveniently disconnected. A few weeks later, I attempted to move to another carrier. I was at the Xfinity store attempting to get my number transfer PIN when the person at Mint asked why I was changing carriers. I told her Mint can’t get my billing right and I couldn’t get action from anybody. The salesperson in her kept trying to get me to change my mind. I told her I had already gotten new phones and was in the carrier’s store to complete the number transfer. This still did not discourage her. I got more forceful and told her I was “Not going back to a carrier who can’t bill properly and I can’t talk them.” At that point, she hung up on me without giving me the PIN for my wife’s phone. Then we called to see if we could get a refund on the unused monies we had paid them. The agent gave my wife some half-baked excuse and when my wife asked for a better explanation, the agent hung up on her. Take it from somebody who overpaid over 400 dollars and can’t get anybody to listen. If you go to Mint Mobile, get ready for a less than stellar customer experience.
I don’t really know what I expected for such a cheap plan. I’m on the 15gigs 20/month plan and I might as well have an iPod touch. I can’t go on any websites or apps, they just don’t load and I’m in a major city so I should have great coverage. I’m going to try upgrading to the unlimited plan and pray that that will help but atp mint has been worse than boost mobile which is a low bar to lose to.
DO NOT USE MINT MOBILE. COMPLETELY USELESS !!!!!!
I switched over from Verizon as they raised my rate again. I am not a big phone or data user so I thought I would just get the basic service from Mint. Right from the get go I had issues just getting it activated and then it only works sometimes even when I am 3 feet from my router/wifi station. I went downtown Detroit to a Tiger baseball game and could not send or receive texts at the stadium or anywhere else in Detroit. Totally useless. Then it took me over an hour to get a live person to see if there was a glitch but I could not hear the tech person over the 500 other tech reps yelling in the back ground. They transferred me to someone else who said, ” Oh yeah, you live in a area where the service is terrible. ” Really?! Detroit is no small town and the coverage map shows I should have excellent 5G service but I keep getting a “cellular service for voice calls unavailable” message. I say again, DO NOT USE MINT MOBILE !!!!!
Love Love Love Mint Mobile. I have had zero issues along with my very elderly mother. I switched from the thievery of AT&T and I couldn’t be happier. Thrilled with their yearly billing.
I just switched to MINT as well and had absoutely no issues. As a 72yr old senior I found it easy to transition. I did call customer service twice and was on hold for 10 to 15 minutes but once connected found the experience good.
just got return label took 6 days and about 40 hrs on phone everyone had a excuse for not sending me label bought phone and 1 year of service couldnt connect me with a phone number and the help there has no idea whats going on i filed with bbb seems they are from overseas answers phones and internet now ill see how long it takes for refund this company could be shut down very bad all around and you dont get 6 months free look up phone you are buying some where else alls they did was add 6 months of service on to price off phone
I’m a bit surprised by all the bad reviews. I have been with Republic Wireless for 10 years. It used to be good before Dish took over. Many people from the original beta era, switched to Mint Mobile and said it was great. I have 1 GB a month for $27. It used to be enough, but as of late, I have run out of data before my statement date, one time while gigging using GPS to three different events. Left me panicking. I’m wondering how a comparison between Mint M and RW looks?
I’ve in the past have used Mint and honestly never had any issues…Where I live is in a low line area and I got better coverage than Verizon….I think some of these complaints are going a little to far….SORRY… I’m getting ready to go back to them Verizon is way to high on there pricing… It’s not what they tell you when you sign the contract…They told me $80 a month I was getting billed $120 and even $160…they do the same thing to my girlfriend…We DROPPED them…
They pay you? They give half the data they used to, so the good value is gone.
I found Visible for 30 a month, unlimited data and even unlimited tethering at 5mbps a much better deal.
And don’t use T-Mobile coverage maps, they lie. It shows my last neighborhood and current one as fully 5g, yet I have never gotten 5g and the 4g speeds are often 1 or 2 mbps, terrible. Even the T-Mobile router that promises speeds of 100 mbps minimum only gets me 5 Mbps in their 5g area.
Visible is my primary line. I like them for Verizon’s network.
Mint mobile worked well for exactly 22 months. Then, from one day to another, June 1st, I did not have any data although it showed LTE. Now, 29 days later, I have been talking to mints customer service every day. They all try the same “troubleshooting”, nothing works. We need the money so it really hurts that I need to switch to AT&T because I need reliable service and data!!
I’m considering switching with 2 lines on a 12 month/unlimited, but am trying to figure out what the rate will be after the plan is up. With my current provider I pay $124/mo for 2 lines. So this would save me a HUGE amount! But I thought I saw something where it jumps way up after the contract. It would have been helpful if info about the renewals had been included in the review. Can anyone speak to this?
With Mint Mobile, you start with a 3-month introductory plan at the lowest price. After that, you can renew for between 3-12 months. 12 months will be the lowest price. I have the prices listed in the review.
EXACT thing happened to me. i had to go to the T-Mobile store the next day to fix it. Finally worked but I “used up my 5G” early (estimated I’d need about 8G/month) and since I didn’t pay them it’s ungodly slow. And I was on T-Mobile before. I’m paying $15/month instead of $92/month now but getting what I paid for.
stay away from these people. Terrible service, constant outages, can’t talk to anyone.
My one and only experience: My father was using Mint Mobile. When he died, I called to cancel his service. The high-pressure tactics to get ME to switch to Mint…. and worse, them trying to get me to keep my deceased father’s account active!…. was horrible. It left such a bad taste in my mouth. Without that experience, I’d likely be very interested in using them because the cost savings are impressive. My Dad had no real problems with them while he was on the system. But why does Customer Service have to screw it all up?
It isn’t like I’ve never had CS issue with other phone carriers, but this was enough to make me swear off Mint Mobile for good.
Thank you for posting this as well as your video with the discount code. I appreciate you clearing up the caveat of having to pre-pay.
I’m paying $50/mo for T-Mobile prepaid 50GB plan, not really heavy on data outside of Spotify in the car… So if I go for $15/mo unlimited promo rate with your code and pay $45 for 3 months, then when that 3 months is up I can pay the next 12 months (x$15) to get a year of service at the same rate. Then what? Rinse and repeat every year to continue locking in pricing? This would save me $35 a month and just turn the phone bill into a yearly bill vs monthly.
I am a little wary of the peak usage throttling for data you mentioned… I’m in the DC metro area in MD and wouldn’t be surprised if there was a constant “peak usage” that is constantly slowing down speeds. I don’t want to switch and have constant slow data because 8am-10pm every single day is a “congestion” time and there’s really never a chance to get good speeds. Also concerned about call quality, dropped calls, slow to send or receive SMS… but if Mint uses all of T Mobile’s towers and service, this should not be an issue and your article didn’t mention problems with any of that besides one dropped call which could happen on any network really.
I had no issues using Mint Mobile. Sadly, I had issues porting my number from them. They do a lot of retention calls and give you the run around a lot hoping you give up. They really don’t make it easy to do. I had to port a number and it took an hour, multiple CSRs, and then finally my just yelling at them to get them to give me the PIN so I could port it.
I’ll never port another number to them again.
Aside from that, if you’re visiting from another country for a month or two, you could do worse… this does fine for that. Much like when I go to Canada and I get Google Fi for a month b/c I can tether and do just about everything without worry. That’s what Mint mobile does here. Although I don’t believe it works in Canada… they may have changed that… but that’s what I was told last year when I was thinking about buying it. I just went to Fi instead and had a good time with that.
Fi seems expensive, but when you factor in that they’ll give you a free data SIM and even a free LTE watch eSIM for the $65/line you pay, it kind of works out in the end in your favor.
Mint finally broke me today. I’ve tolerated several other fiascos with them, but enough is enough.
1) Took them 6 weeks to properly activate my son’s phone. He was without service the whole time, and given zero credits. Everything they did finally get it working was done in their back end systems. Once they finally found someone competent, it was literally 5 minutes of work to get it to activate.
2) We had everything set up for a 12-mo auto-renewal. Instead, Mint activated a 3 month plan at a higher rate upon auto-renewal, and refused to change it. We cancelled the line.
3) I have to use Wifi Calling because I live in the mountains and cellular service is often understandably very poor or non-existent. So I switch my phone to Wifi Preferred calling and it works great. However, 1-2x per week Mint will force my phone’s settings back to Cellular Preferred, and I receive the message “Mint has updated your Wifi calling preferences”. If I don’t see the popup message when they do that, I will be completely offline due to my inability to get a good cellular signal in the mountains. I miss calls, miss texts, until I force it back to Wifi Preferred and everything is good again. Mint will screw me up again this way tomorrow for about the 60th time. Mint needs to leave my personal settings on my phone alone. I’m sick and tired of this and will finally cancel for good after my current plan ends for this issue alone.
4) Today Mint decided to terminate my wife’s service due to non-payment. Mint tried to trigger a payment and failed, since I refuse to keep a payment method on file (exactly for this reason). When the payment failed, they shut down my wife’s line. This would be fine and understandable, except that she still had 8 months left on her 12 month plan with no payment due. Mint had no explanation for why they tried to force a payment on us, or why they shut down her line when we had according to them “244 days left on your existing plan”. Even though they sent an email that her service was shut down, and even though she was completely without service, they still claimed that all was good and nothing had happened. Mint agents wanted us to pay for roaming credit which might fix the problem, even though we were not international so not roaming. Idiotic. After two hours of arguing with them, they finally restored service while still claiming they had not shut it down, or tried to initiate payment, despite receiving an email from them to the contrary.
I’ll happily pay more for stable service from another carrier. The sad thing is that all their issues seem rooted more in incompetence than anything else.
My son has had Mint for a year and loves everything about it. He had good coverage in Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands. I’m looking into switching now, because of his experience.
Absolutely the worst experience ever switching from AT&T to Mint. Mint could not set up my e-SIM, despite successfully jumping through the set-up hoops online. Multiple calls to customer service (at least two were disconnected before I could get the help I needed). After HOURS of talk time with useless Mint customer service I was able to wrestle a code out of them in order to get my AT&T service restored.
This ranks as one of the worst customer service experiences of my adult life and I will never, ever sign up for a low-cost carrier again.
Hi Michael,
Nice review, I think you cover a lot of the questions I initially had when I was considering the switch. Unfortunately, after having mint for a few months now, I can say the largest con is missing above. A con large enough for me to consider switching even before my pre-paid time is up.
Once your data plan allowance is consumed, the website simply says your data will “slow”. What they don’t tell you is that it will slow to 2G speeds, meaning 0.1MBs or LESS. At this speed, even google maps can’t function properly. iMessages can’t properly send. The phone is crippled when it’s away from WiFi. Looking at the terms and conditions, there is nothing to suggest that speeds would decay this far. Then you’re stuck with the option to upgrade at full price (no longer new customer price).
Hope this helps some people who are looking at Mint, you need to significantly over estimate, or your phone will become useless.
My Mint Mobile Experience so far:
Signing up for the initial 3 month plan was simple. The initial came with 3 months free, so in effect got 6 months for $45 plus tax or $57. The company mailed the sim card and instructions in a few days. The change over and porting of my Verizon phone number was fairly simple and quickly completed. Since I spend most of my time east of the Mississippi the coverage is good with few exception areas. You can call Canada and Mexico from the US, but at least when in Canada, to call back to the US you need to buy additional international time. I bought $5.00 worth, so with tax it was $6.79. While in Toronto Canada, I was on the phone for about 25 minutes and used $0.80 worth of my funds with a great connection. The balance remains in your account until used.
I am concerned about traveling to an area that shown no coverage on their map. So far I’ve been made aware that you can use Wi-Fi calling without charge from someone’s hot spot.
On a recent trip we went from ABQ – TUL – IND – SYR and there was always service.
I have since signed up for the 12 month renewal, based on my experience with them so far.
With Verizon’s small plan the cost was $48/ mo including tax. So the savings is significant.
Basically, so far, so good. Hope it continues…..
IMHO,
Jim
wheres ryan reynolds when you need him ??
Mint Mobile has the absolute worst customer service I have experienced from any product or service in my life. I have spent the entire last 3 months since starting with them on the phone- literally, I have had to chat and call them every single week repeatedly. They have done nothing right and I would cancel the service for myself and family members except we are locked into a 6 month plan right now. I have never in my life had such a bad experience with a product or service or company of any sort. I have looked into filing more public complaints against them- they should not be in business.
Thank you! I was considering trying Mint Mobile but I don’t need hassles and headaches with my phone service, so NOPE.
I agree about the bad customer service. I have 3 lines but had to set them up with different emails because the website sucks. Tried to get minutes for a cellular Ipad Pro (previously on Verizon) and they told me it only worked on WiFi, and when I told them it was cellular they than said I needed a physical sim card.
I live in Nebraska. I purchased a 3 month plan, gave my cc and told it wouldn’t go thru, he tried more than once. I was told to call back in an hour and try again. I checked cc and it was charged twice. I called back and requested a refund of the duplicate charge. I did receive a refund. I waited 6 days for the sim card (my Samsung S20 FE 5G not supported) but told it would be 2-3 days. I got the sim called in to get set up, and was told there is no coverage in my area, their system would not accept my zip code. I had checked there coverage map, it shows 4G LTE. I was told, they could put in a different zip code (like New York’s) to “get around” their system and force it to take it. But, that I would only be able to text and make calls from INSIDE MY HOME while connected to my wifi. If I stepped out side, I would have no service. WHY did they even sell me a plan and make me wait 6 days for a sim card?? Total waste of my time. I asked for a full refund.
Is no customer service the same as or worse than no customer service?
sorry i am not agree with you. i get very good service, i live 20815 zipcode and i had no problem with the service.
Filled in online order requesting physical sim card. I did not check e-Sim. When I received order confirmation it said I had asked for e-Sim. I called customer support. I was told they would process a refund which would take 7 to 10 days. That could not provide me with any kind of confirmation for the refund. I think this is unacceptable and I am calling my credit card company.
Do NOT use Mint Mobile- I bought two new phones [different numbers] and was STUPID enough to pay for the yearly plan on each-I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO GET MOBILE DATA ON EITHER PHONE!!! After over EIGHT hours and mor then SIX contacts with them [TWO SEPERATE TIMES being told they were moving the tower for me and would call me to check on my coverage-NEITHER ONE OF THE AGENTS CALLED BACK- I spent another call on line where they finally sent out NEW SIMS CARDS for each phone-STILL NO MOBILE DATA–Today I asked for a refund and was told oh sorry its past the seven days-WHAT!?! I HAVE NEVER HAD MOBILE DATA AND THEIR RECORDS SHOULD SHOW THAT!!! STAY AWAY FROM MINT-NO MATTER HOW CHEAP THEY ARE-IF THE MOBILE DATA DOESNʻT WORK THE PHONES ARE USELESS!!!
Yes, Do not use Mint mobile or any small carrier if you want great customer services you can get from Big carrier like AT&T or Verizon. But if you want to pay less for phone call, go with small carriers.
It all depends on what you want from your cell phone carrier: to make phone call with ok or bad customer service for lower price or pay more for the phone call with great customer service in case of problem.
You cannot get both.
I so wish I had read this before attempting to sign my very elderly mother up with just enough service for safety. She still drives if I’m not looking and I insist she carry a phone with her when she’s out. Otherwise, she’s a dedicated land line user…anyway, I started with Mint the first part of December, and here it is the end of February and I just got the refund. My experience was exactly as described above, except the phone NEVER got connected, forget about mobile data. The agents absolutely LIE and never follow up. The fight I had trying to get a refund was miserable, too. It took 2 complaints to the Better Business Bureau to get my money back. If you’re thinking about Mint Mobile, for your own sanity, just DON’T GO THERE!
I’m having a similar issue now. Paid for a year, tried for many hours over the span of 2 days to get the data working again, several reps and a manager later, was told they can’t fix the issue and will pass it on to their tech reps who they claim will get back to me. I’m out hundreds of $ and also can’t work until it’s fixed or I change carriers. Wish I knew of this scam earlier. It’s a shame bc it wasn’t bad when it was working.
I’m sorry for all of the trouble. I know it has to be frustrating. However, technical issues don’t mean it’s a scam. If you don’t get a quick resolution, file a BBB complaint. If they cannot get your data working, I imagine you will be refunded.
This very negative review seems to be factual and a different version of my attempts to contact mint mobile custom service.
T-Mobile (Mint’s carrier network) offers device insurance from Asurion, also available through T-Mobile’s Metro PCS subsidiary, but I have been unable to find a way to get Asurion outside of the big carriers like T-Mobile. Mint needs to cut a deal with Asurion so a lost/damaged device coverage plan can be transferred from T-Mobile or started fresh with Mint.
In the meantime, you could always take advantage of free cell phone protection from a credit card. Some banks offer it as well.
Asurion is a ripoff. Used them several times and ended up paying more to get a refurb barely working phone than to buy a used one from craigslist. And if their barely working phone phone breaks again? Forget it the cost is prohibitive.
Goodwill has shop onlne that sells batches of phones and indicates whether they are locked, good or bad. Buy 20 for $50 and find the good ones.
Nice review but Mint was bad for me. Sim activation messed up so phone had no Mint service up BUT Mint ported my number from Verizon despite phone not being active. Put Verizon sim back in but Verizon said Mint had to authorize transfer back. However Mint said they only send authorization pin to the phone via text BUT THE PHONE was not active!@#. After complaining for hours Mint finally gave pin verbally and I was able to go back to Verizon. Maybe a rare case but No foxin Mint for me.
Sorry you had such a bad experience. I’m glad you acted quickly and didn’t lose your phone number.
Thank you for the warning I’ll stay with the service I currently have.. as I have never had any issues since I first started years ago.. thanks I’ll not go to mint?
sounds great. can I keep my same phone and number?
Yes to number and in most cases your phone too
Is Mint Mobile available in Canada?
US
Just got ripped off from Mint Mobile . The add said I could cancel service before 7 days and get a refund . I payed for the service but never changed carrier service from Verizon because I changed my mind and wanted to keep Verizon . So their refund before 7 days is a rip off
If I sign up for the 15GB plan, can I use more than 5GB for mobile hot spot?
5GB mobile hotspot is for unlimited plans. If you have a 15GB plan, hotspot is pulled from that 15GB — so yes you can use more than 5GB of that for hotspot if you want to
I plan to use hotspot for emergency only. Maybe just to send an email from laptop or something like that. I am not looking to get unlimited plan. Will I be able to use hotspot if I sign up for 4GB/month or 10 GB/Month plan?
Yes, you can use hotspot on any plans. With the plans that have data caps, hotspot usage will go against your monthly limit. But since you said for emergencies only, you shouldn’t really use much hotspot. I’d be more concerned if you planned to regularly stream video over hotspot.
How easy or difficult is it to transfer pictures etc from old samsung phone to newly purchased motorola phone from mint mobile.
Would be easiest if you were moving from Samsung to Samsung, but not too bad. Here’s a tutorial: https://www.androidcentral.com/how-transfer-data-your-old-android-phone-your-new-phone
Transfer the photos onto your computer, then transfer on to the new phone.
Very helpful review. Thanks for providing it! 🙂
Found the change from Consumer Cellular to Mint Mobile easy and when I had questions, there was live help available by online chat or text. Hoping it will be great as many people seem to like it. Will let you know in a couple months how it goes. Loved that Mint offered so much MORE for less money than my plan with CC did. Also Mint had no issues with my Galaxy A20s phone when CC said it would be incompatible with them moving forward into 4G.
I don’t know who you are talking too. I am on the phone waiting for the second time today. The first I waited over 30 minutes for someone to answer, this time its over 26 minutes. HORRIBLE customer service and did nothing to resolve my issue. I am cancelling as soon as they answer their phone!!!!
At least they have a phone number, unlike Visible! I was on the chat for two hours today and two hours Saturday and my phone still won’t activate!
Isnt Visible part of Verizion cellular? If so, couldnt you just go to a Verizion store?
Visible is part of Verizon, but it’s online-only
It took me 5 tries and a half a day to actually get some help. Than what they promised they would do they never did. All they had to do was emailed me a new eSIM code. Said it would arrive within 24 hours and it never happened. I’ve been three days without a phone. Ridiculous.
I waited an hour and 20 mins for the guy to tell me the phone I purchased from Mint Mobile doesn’t ship with a charger. Only 20 mins was waiting for my call to be answered. An hour was on the line with Mint Mobile. BTW – the phone didn’t work.
The only internet service I have is with my phone hot spot, is the high speed data only available up to 5GB per month no matter how much data you purchase?
You can only use 5GB of your data for mobile hotspot. The “unlimited plan” has 35GB total data per month, which includes your cellular data too. Have you thought about a carrier with truly unlimited data (and mobile hotspot) like Visible?
I would absolutely advise anyone AGAINST using this inexpensive, unreliable, w/ customer service that resolves NOTHING from from the DR, Mexico or the Philippines. I have spent literally a week trying to get my phone, that was purchased through them, unlocked b/c the service was HORRIBLE. It is still pending! I was told that to unlock it you have to have been on this crappy service FOR A YEAR!!! WHAT A SCAM.
Have a Hollywood “good” guy do the marketing & get people to believe him. Live & learn! We made the mistake of using the $15/mo. for 3 months promo & it is costing us more $$$ than any other carrier. My clients and my elderly Mother cannot contact me…
For your sanity & wallet’s sake DO NOT USE MINT MOBILE.
Always make it a priority to read comments/reviews… so glad I did!! Had given it some thought about switching to Mint Mobile & will DEFINITELY stay with AT&T now after reading yours & others. Thank you for taking the time to let me & others know of your experience with Mint Mobile.
This is one person’s opinion, and experience. You are aware you could have a different experience right? Not trying to be rude, just thought I’d throw that out there.
I absolutely love mint Mobile! I get the family pan for all 3 of us for $45. That’s $15 a month per phone. Never a dropped call and I have had good customer service when needed. Easy set up and excellent coverage. So many of my friends switched too. Great discounts too if you refer someone!
Thank you for your post. I was seriously considering Mint Mobile but I think I will just stay with my current carrier. I guess the old saying-you get what you pay for-applies to this.
oh my god! Same here.. im glad i continued reading… i knew there must have been a catch at such a low price. I guess i will stay with verizon then!! 😀
Agreed!!!
My attempting to transfer from T-Mobile to mint mobile is off to a horrible start. Calling to customer service seems pointless as no one answers and the call dropped after 15 minutes of elevator music. So far it looks like a total ripoff.
Do you have to rely on calling support to handle it? I transferred from T-Mobile to Mint and even changed phones. I didn’t rely on humans, though. I used T-Mobil’s website menus to declare my leave and transfer number, in combination with Mint’s website to register and prepare. It was pretty easy and straight forward.
At the very end, I did call T-Mobile to confirm my account would indeed be deleted and no longer be charged at renewal. Even after that, though, T-Mobile still charged me again at renewal, so I had to call and bitch to return my money.
I was fine with Sprint originally, but forced into T-Mobile with their recent merge. I changed to Mint because T-Mobile had slapped me with 2 price hikes already, one immediately at the merge, and another a few months ago. Single unlimited lines shouldn’t be $85/mo—it was bullshit.
I agree. I have been trying to activate my ESIM for 3 days. Would email me a new code within 24 hours and it never happened. I just told him to cancel and refund my money.
I’m not sure I understand so probably need qualification. Are you only using Mint Mobile for or from DR, Mexico and Phillipines? If so why would this apply to users who are withinn US only? I’m trying to make an informed decision to switch and save money and wold rearely (if ever) need to call beyond Canada, with 99% of my calls, texting and internet being within the US.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I was very close to switching and your review saved me a lot of headache. Thanks again!
I cannot begin to tell you how much I wish I’d read your review before signing up. I’ve also had the same ridiculous experience of the last 5 days just trying to get the service installed. Everyone appears SO helpful but actually do NOTHING. They apologise, upgrade you to “escalated service” (supposed to be a fix in 4 hours, but I’ve waited 10 already with no response) but still nothing happens. Even with an ESim compatible phone they can’t load the ESim to my phone and the “back office” has to fix the issue. If they’d sent a physical Sim I’d have service already.
I wish I had read your review before I switched from AT&T to Mint Mobile. Crappy customer service, days with a phone for Mint Mobile switched on service after AT&T released me. Poor service times and phone I purchased from them doesn’t work. I so regret moving to Mint Mobile, I’m going back to AT&T.
My experience signing up, including a call to customer service, went basically FLAWLESSLY. Perhaps I got lucky, but the price is hard to beat, the app is great, the helpful emails (that I signed up to receive) and customer-focused texts they send me have all been TERRIFIC so far, and I’m a total NEWBIE!
I’ve been as fortunate as you have, Chuck….but its possible that pretty much nothing could be an issue – I hate cellphones and use mine for a rare text or two and about as many phone calls per day! I was pretty squicked when I called a few times for help with my Samsung Galaxy phone. Every time they said “that is a phone issue and you’ll need to call Samsung for help”. Other than that, it seems to work great for the little bit I use it :). I’m all about reading reviews, and now I’ll just be waiting for something to go wrong..lol!
My experience also. Very limited customer support from off shore representatives who thing they speak perfect english. Unable to log in and there system does not allow (for security reasons) for resetting your password from any number other than the subscription number. My application is a dedicated RV hotspot, so cannon receive SMS traffic when the RV is in storage. Price looked good until you try to do something out of the context of their tiny cookie cutter.
AGREE 100%
So far, Mint Mobile has provided abysmal service. I can go for days without service, and today I have been without service for three days: dead in the water, and I have no recourse. Since my phone isn’t working, how can I report the problem?
This has been an ongoing problem even after I contacted “customer service” sometime ago, being assured that it was fixed.
I am seventy-six years old and disabled. I need my phone working ALL the time, not when Mint deigns it to work. Because of their ineptness, I missed a critical telemed appointment today because the physician’s office was not able to get through to me and post the link.
Finally having had enough of their unreliability, will be switching providers in the near future.
I’m a former T-mobile user and did the transition to Mint this past week and it was very user-friendly. You really don’t have to be tech-savy as they hold your hand through process with guided YT videos. I was able to keep my previous phone number and only was without it for one day during the transition. One thing that I miss from T-mobile is their free music streaming without using data (YT music, and I believe Pandora, Spotify). I wish Mint did this. I hope I’ll like the service in the coming months/years. We’ll see.
I hope you like Mint Mobile. I’ve had it for one year now, and had switched from AT&T and I LOVE the lower price, and have never looked back. We have VERY fast Internet service with EPB fiber optics, and I am not charged extra for data usage when I’m surfing the net or streaming from home, so I’ve never gone over my 15 GB/month plan.
I’m sorry some folks have had such a hard time with it, but I LOVE the price and since my husband and I are retired and on a fixed income now, it’s a real lifesaver for our budget.
I don’t need to visit a store for help with my phone, and I’ve not had any negative access or phone issues with Mint Mobile. We’re going to stay with Mint as long as it keeps working well for us.