As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.

My year is expiring in 5 days and they sent me a reminder, AND they
added that since I use so little data, I might want to get the cheaper
plan. Not many vendors of anything do that.

I'm paying $240 a year and the cheapest plan, that they are suggesting
is $180. When I signed up 2 years ago, less data was included in my
plan, but last January or so they increased the data for maybe every
plan so that now the cheaper plan has almost as much data as mine first
did.


2) Of course, my password for their webpage didn't work, even though I
never changed it. This happens with a lot of webpages. They're
changing it without asking me, right, to increase "security"??

What I do then is follow their procedure but change it to whatever it
had been, so I don't have to update my notes.

But look at their ridiculous rules: "Please enter a password at least 8
characters long, containing at least 1 uppercase letter, 1 lowercase
letter, 1 number, and 1 special character."

And they live up to their own standards. This was the ridiculous
temporary password: g_*tgsBV7*


3) they also have Wifi Talk and Text, which they promote for places with
bad cellular service, but maybe you can use it anywhere there is wifi
and thus not use up your data. Is that right? They don't say a word
about whether it is free or not. Is it typically free? And it's only
for some models of phone. I don't see how they can keep their list
current. And I don't see on my phone how to turn it on. Maybe that
means I haven't got it?


4) Another interesting thing about them: I was trying to make whatsapp
calls to two foreign countries, one where my nephew is living, and
afaict, you can't use whatsapp unless you've already put the number in
your contact list. I hadn't done that and I'm 99% sure that some of the
5 calls I ended up just dialing. (They wouldn't be listed as calls at
all if I'd used Whatsapp, right?) I wondered who paid for them, and by
golly their webpage has a list.

I made 3 calls totaling 9 minutes at 2.5c a minute to one, and 2 calls
totaling 3 minutes at 1.5c a minute, and yet they charged me 0.00 for
each of them. Huh? I thought they had no way to charge me until I
was reminded today they have a Wallet where you deposit $5, 10 in
advance to pay for extra data AND international phone calls. But I've
never put any money in. So maybe they gave me the calls for free
anyhow, only 27 cents' worth, but I would have expected a text or email
saying that, and urging me to put money in the Wallet. Or insisting for
next time.

But I'd be glad to pay. The rates are certainly low enough.


On the yearly plan I'm on there is a $17.75 Recovery Fee and 3.46 per
year in fed, state, and local taxes**. I guess it's worth $18 to
recover from that prostate procedure I had. Or what is the Recovery
Fee? It went up in 2019 from $10.25 in 2018. The taxes went up from
$2.68.

**I read 18 months ago that the Baltimore County budget was suggesting a
$3.50/month tax on cell phones, and I wondered how they would find me to
tax me. But maybe they will. Maybe they have, unless 3.46 is just a
federal tax**. The proposal is per phone line, so if you have a spouse
and two children, that's $168/year. So some say people would be taxed
for having more kids. (Really, if the service only is 20/month, $3.50 is
a 17% tax. This might have not been regressive when only rich people
had cell phones but now there are iiac more cellphones than real
phones.) OTOH, Baltimore County has lost $5 million a year in taxes on
landlines. OT3H, with 800,000 people and what, at least 400,000 cell
phones, at $3.50, they'd take in over 12 million. Wait, my estimate is
way low: it says 700,00 cell phones and 83,000 prepaid phones would
yield $30 million. 783,000 cell phones for a litle more than 800,000
people. Even if they use different standards for who lives in Balt.
County, that's amazing.)

**I read that in 2013, the fed tax was 5.8%. That alone would be $16
in tax but mine is only $3.46. So is the $16 tax embedded in the 240
charge, or whose tax is $3.46? Maybe no one's, they're just keeping it?

On 10/18/2020 11:14 AM, micky wrote:
As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.

My year is expiring in 5 days and they sent me a reminder, AND they
added that since I use so little data, I might want to get the cheaper
plan. Not many vendors of anything do that.

I'm paying $240 a year and the cheapest plan, that they are suggesting
is $180. When I signed up 2 years ago, less data was included in my
plan, but last January or so they increased the data for maybe every
plan so that now the cheaper plan has almost as much data as mine first
did.


2) Of course, my password for their webpage didn't work, even though I
never changed it. This happens with a lot of webpages. They're
changing it without asking me, right, to increase "security"??

What I do then is follow their procedure but change it to whatever it
had been, so I don't have to update my notes.

But look at their ridiculous rules: "Please enter a password at least 8
characters long, containing at least 1 uppercase letter, 1 lowercase
letter, 1 number, and 1 special character."

And they live up to their own standards. This was the ridiculous
temporary password: g_*tgsBV7*


3) they also have Wifi Talk and Text, which they promote for places with
bad cellular service, but maybe you can use it anywhere there is wifi
and thus not use up your data. Is that right? They don't say a word
about whether it is free or not. Is it typically free? And it's only
for some models of phone. I don't see how they can keep their list
current. And I don't see on my phone how to turn it on. Maybe that
means I haven't got it?


4) Another interesting thing about them: I was trying to make whatsapp
calls to two foreign countries, one where my nephew is living, and
afaict, you can't use whatsapp unless you've already put the number in
your contact list. I hadn't done that and I'm 99% sure that some of the
5 calls I ended up just dialing. (They wouldn't be listed as calls at
all if I'd used Whatsapp, right?) I wondered who paid for them, and by
golly their webpage has a list.

I made 3 calls totaling 9 minutes at 2.5c a minute to one, and 2 calls
totaling 3 minutes at 1.5c a minute, and yet they charged me 0.00 for
each of them. Huh? I thought they had no way to charge me until I
was reminded today they have a Wallet where you deposit $5, 10 in
advance to pay for extra data AND international phone calls. But I've
never put any money in. So maybe they gave me the calls for free
anyhow, only 27 cents' worth, but I would have expected a text or email
saying that, and urging me to put money in the Wallet. Or insisting for
next time.

But I'd be glad to pay. The rates are certainly low enough.


On the yearly plan I'm on there is a $17.75 Recovery Fee and 3.46 per
year in fed, state, and local taxes**. I guess it's worth $18 to
recover from that prostate procedure I had. Or what is the Recovery
Fee? It went up in 2019 from $10.25 in 2018. The taxes went up from
$2.68.

**I read 18 months ago that the Baltimore County budget was suggesting a
$3.50/month tax on cell phones, and I wondered how they would find me to
tax me. But maybe they will. Maybe they have, unless 3.46 is just a
federal tax**. The proposal is per phone line, so if you have a spouse
and two children, that's $168/year. So some say people would be taxed
for having more kids. (Really, if the service only is 20/month, $3.50 is
a 17% tax. This might have not been regressive when only rich people
had cell phones but now there are iiac more cellphones than real
phones.) OTOH, Baltimore County has lost $5 million a year in taxes on
landlines. OT3H, with 800,000 people and what, at least 400,000 cell
phones, at $3.50, they'd take in over 12 million. Wait, my estimate is
way low: it says 700,00 cell phones and 83,000 prepaid phones would
yield $30 million. 783,000 cell phones for a litle more than 800,000
people. Even if they use different standards for who lives in Balt.
County, that's amazing.)

**I read that in 2013, the fed tax was 5.8%. That alone would be $16
in tax but mine is only $3.46. So is the $16 tax embedded in the 240
charge, or whose tax is $3.46? Maybe no one's, they're just keeping it?



If you hardly ever use the phone and don't use much data, Pageplus has
their pay as you go plan which is $80/yr for up to 1333 minutes @
$.06/minute and $.05 megabyte of data. They use the Verizon system.
Minutes carry over if you refresh on time. I have enough minutes saved
that I renewed with the 4 months 166 minute refill for $10, which
amounts to $30/yr.

In article , NONONOmisc07
@bigfoot.com says...

As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.




A year or so ago Trader-4 put me on to the Mint Mobile. Sofar it has
worked fine for my usage. I seldom use any data so the least expensive
plan worked for me. By putting in a code he gave me, he got some 'phone
money' back and I got some for the renewal. I think I may have hit 20
% of my data one month. With certain phones it will do wifi call and
data from what I understand. I just do not do that much with a phone.
I do pay by the year mainly to not have to fool with billing as it is
not that much. As pointed out, there is almost no way to come out
leaving that money in the bank for interist.

In comp.mobile.android, on Sun, 18 Oct 2020 14:59:56 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article , NONONOmisc07
says...

As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.




A year or so ago Trader-4 put me on to the Mint Mobile. Sofar it has
worked fine for my usage. I seldom use any data so the least expensive
plan worked for me. By putting in a code he gave me, he got some 'phone
money' back and I got some for the renewal. I think I may have hit 20
% of my data one month. With certain phones it will do wifi call and
data from what I understand. I just do not do that much with a phone.
I do pay by the year mainly to not have to fool with billing as it is
not that much.

Yes, Erols bills me for email privileges only $4/month, and even though
it's deducted automatically, the monthly thing annoys me

As pointed out, there is almost no way to come out
leaving that money in the bank for interist.

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.

One can buy more data if need be iirc $5 for a gig and $10 for 3gigs,
more than if you paid in advance, but I should probably rely on that.

Roaming outside the country is still expensive. Same for two disparate,
distant countries I looked at,
Voice Rate per Min SMS Rate per SMS Data Rate per MB
Peru $0.25 $0.05 $0.20

Unless I'm confuaed that's $200 a gigabyte, and $15 an hour to talk.

On 10/18/20 1:14 PM, micky wrote:
As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.

Cut a bunch.
Mint Mobile doesn't serve Nebraska. I think it runs on Sprint's
Network. U.S. Mobile does cover Nebraska. It runs on Verizon's
Network. I think it offers similar deals to Mint Mobile.
I just left PagePlus because I think I'll be better off with U.S. Mobile.
So, if you ever want to see the balloon painted water tower in York, the
flying saucer tower in Ogallala, or Ole's bar in Paxton, skip Mint Mobile.
Then there are the Sandhills, some of the nicest scenery around.
Cattle ranches
and miles of open spaces.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=nebraska+sandhills&iax=images&ia=images
Lest I forget, the golf course by Mullen is 9th ranked nationally.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/sand-hills-golf-club
One can always travel through Nebraska between the tornadoes and
blizzards
without a cell phone. People did that in the Model T days and most
survived.

On Sun, 18 Oct 2020 14:59:56 -0400, Ralph Mowery
wrote:

In article , NONONOmisc07
says...

As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.




A year or so ago Trader-4 put me on to the Mint Mobile. Sofar it has
worked fine for my usage. I seldom use any data so the least expensive
plan worked for me. By putting in a code he gave me, he got some 'phone
money' back and I got some for the renewal. I think I may have hit 20
% of my data one month. With certain phones it will do wifi call and
data from what I understand. I just do not do that much with a phone.
I do pay by the year mainly to not have to fool with billing as it is
not that much. As pointed out, there is almost no way to come out
leaving that money in the bank for interist.


Mint Mobile seems pretty good !

" Mint Mobile is a cell phone service provider in the United States
but offers no service to the Canadian market. The brand is famously
known to be owned and promoted by Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds. "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfpUM5Wrh2A

My retirement phone plan hasn't changed in 10 years - nor my usage.
I only replaced the original Nokia flip-phone last year ! :-)
I pay $ 100. per year Canadian for pay-as-you-go
with zero data. The unused balance carries over, provided it's
renewed before the time period has elapsed.
I think I have a balance of ~ $ 300. or so.
This non-plan would be ridiculous for most people -
- but perfect for me.
John T.

In comp.mobile.android, on Sun, 18 Oct 2020 14:48:10 -0500, Dean Hoffman
wrote:


Cut a bunch.
Mint Mobile doesn't serve Nebraska. I think it runs on Sprint's
Network. U.S. Mobile does cover Nebraska. It runs on Verizon's
Network. I think it offers similar deals to Mint Mobile.
I just left PagePlus because I think I'll be better off with U.S. Mobile.
So, if you ever want to see the balloon painted water tower in York, the
flying saucer tower in Ogallala, or Ole's bar in Paxton, skip Mint Mobile.



While Maine, Wyoming, Colorado and states west of there have the most
areas not covered by MintMobile at all, Nebraska and Iowa have the most
areas in the coverage map where they don't have, I guess, G4, only G3,
but at ;east on this 3rd party map,
https://www.moneysavingpro.com/carri...-coverage-map/ in
both casee, there are very few spots that don't have G3. Maybe the lack
of G4 is the reason they don't sell in Nebraska.

So I could make pphone calls but for the map iirc I need G4

Maybe I can get a map from a tourist office when I drive into Nebraska?

It is on my list of places to go. I've never been to states north or
west of Missouri (except Oklanhome, Texas, N. Mexico, Arizona and
Nevada) and I'd like to go to all 48.

Actually every state has a tourist office listed in google and they'll
send you a map and other stuff for free. Allow 2 months.

Then there are the Sandhills, some of the nicest scenery around.
Cattle ranches
and miles of open spaces.

No towers to spoil the view.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=nebraska+sandhills&iax=images&ia=images
Lest I forget, the golf course by Mullen is 9th ranked nationally.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/sand-hills-golf-club
One can always travel through Nebraska between the tornadoes and
blizzards

A good plan.

without a cell phone. People did that in the Model T days and most
survived.

Reminds me of the lost chapter of Grapes of Wrath, where the Joad's
in-laws get confused and drive from Oklahoma to Nebraska. Their truck
breaks down and they end up staying in Wichita.

On Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 3:00:09 PM UTC-4, Ralph Mowery wrote:
In article , NONONOmisc07
@bigfoot.com says...

As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.




A year or so ago Trader-4 put me on to the Mint Mobile. Sofar it has
worked fine for my usage. I seldom use any data so the least expensive
plan worked for me. By putting in a code he gave me, he got some 'phone
money' back and I got some for the renewal. I think I may have hit 20
% of my data one month. With certain phones it will do wifi call and
data from what I understand. I just do not do that much with a phone.
I do pay by the year mainly to not have to fool with billing as it is
not that much. As pointed out, there is almost no way to come out
leaving that money in the bank for interist.

Another satisfied customer.
Good to hear you're happy. I got the $30 credit from your referral, that's
a plus. On the downside, I referred someone else and they got nothing, I got
nothing. I wasted an hour with customer service over that. They acknowledged
that I was calling about a new customer, had the information, but refused to
admit that they screwed up. Finally they offered to give me the $30 and the
referral $15, but would not have it count towards the increasing payout for
new referrals. That is where each additonal one increases the payout.
Also, some of what they claimed on my calls with them was
BS. They claimed that the referral code changes each time. Yet on their
website it says to take the code assigned to you and share it any way you
like, by social media, online, or snail mail. So, how could the code change?

It really ****ed me off and like I told them, it changed me from being a very
positive Mint Mobile customer into a big negative. IMO now they are not to
be trusted pond scum.

On Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 3:48:18 PM UTC-4, Dean Hoffman wrote:
On 10/18/20 1:14 PM, micky wrote:
As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.

Cut a bunch.
Mint Mobile doesn't serve Nebraska. I think it runs on Sprint's
Network. U.S. Mobile does cover Nebraska. It runs on Verizon's
Network. I think it offers similar deals to Mint Mobile.
I just left PagePlus because I think I'll be better off with U.S. Mobile.
So, if you ever want to see the balloon painted water tower in York, the
flying saucer tower in Ogallala, or Ole's bar in Paxton, skip Mint Mobile.
Then there are the Sandhills, some of the nicest scenery around.
Cattle ranches
and miles of open spaces.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=nebraska+sandhills&iax=images&ia=images
Lest I forget, the golf course by Mullen is 9th ranked nationally.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/sand-hills-golf-club
One can always travel through Nebraska between the tornadoes and
blizzards
without a cell phone. People did that in the Model T days and most
survived.

Mint runs on T Mobile

On 10/18/2020 01:48 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:
On 10/18/20 1:14 PM, micky wrote:
As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.


1) MintMobile doesn't have monthly billing. They have 3 months, 6
months, and yearly, and it's a cheaper the longer in advance you pay, a
lot more than the amount you lose on interest in the bank, even when
interest rates were higher.

Cut a bunch.
Mint Mobile doesn't serve Nebraska. I think it runs on Sprint's
Network. U.S. Mobile does cover Nebraska. It runs on Verizon's
Network. I think it offers similar deals to Mint Mobile.

My Mint uses T-Mobile. Supposedly that's available in Grand Island,
Lincoln, and around Omaha. It's adequate around here although I think
Verizon is a little better. Like Nebraska there are areas of Montana
without enough people for anyone to build cell infrastructure. It''s
getting better, at least along the highway corridors.

On 10/18/2020 11:14 AM, micky wrote:
As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.



I also use MintMobile and I've been very happy with them.

--
Ken

On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g


--
Ken

In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:41:51 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g

Good. I tend to always wait until the last minute.

On 10/19/2020 08:41 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g



But, please, don't use a firearm. We don't need any more inflated
statistics.

In comp.mobile.android, on Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:41:51 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g

Is there an app for that?

On 10/24/2020 1:17 PM, micky wrote:
In comp.mobile.android, on Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:41:51 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g

Is there an app for that?



You screwed up! It' now October 24. You missed your deadline.


--
Ken

On 10/24/20 3:17 PM, micky wrote:
In comp.mobile.android, on Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:41:51 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g

Is there an app for that?

Can't you kids do anything without your cell phone?
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/revolver-with-a-bent-barrel-picture-id105782539?s=612x612

In comp.mobile.android, on Sat, 24 Oct 2020 14:33:56 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On 10/24/2020 1:17 PM, micky wrote:
In comp.mobile.android, on Mon, 19 Oct 2020 07:41:51 -0700, Ken Blake
wrote:

On 10/18/2020 12:46 PM, micky wrote:

Yes, you also lose money if you want to change in the middle of the year
or if you die. So I'm going to try to die as close to October 23 as
possible, but not later than that.


You can die exactly on October 23, if you want to. It's not that hard. g

Is there an app for that?



You screwed up! It' now October 24. You missed your deadline.

Maybe there will be an app by next year.

On Monday, October 19, 2020 at 10:40:16 AM UTC-4, Ken Blake wrote:
On 10/18/2020 11:14 AM, micky wrote:
As a community service, I wanted to let even the people on home.repair
know more about MintMobile. And of course I'm also posting to
comp.mobile.android, where I've learned a lot about cellphones.



I also use MintMobile and I've been very happy with them.

--
Ken

I see Mint now has a $30 a month unlimited high speed plan. They call
it unlimited, but it slows after 35GB a month. That's the price if
you pay for it a year in advance. It's odd, I didn't get anything from
Mint about it and I'm a customer.

If anyone is interested in Mint, let me know here, I can get you a $15
referral credit when you open a new account.