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Looking for advice on getting a cheap prepaid plan in the US for a couple of months
I have someone visiting the US from out of the country. They have a Google Pixel 6a, just need a temporary plan for a month or two. Mostly they're going to be home within wireless range, we're just looking for a little bit of data while going out. I imagine a few tens of MB/mo will suffice. Has anybody tried to do this recently? What should I expect to pay? I'm looking on Amazon, and the reviews seem filled with stories of being sold pre-expired SIMs.
Just do something like mint mobile
Thanks! Regarding the 10s of MB, the idea is they'll only be using it for communication. Signal, WhatsApp, SMS. But yeah I hear ya about plans not going that low. Just laying out my reqs..
Even just images via those services can be several MB per image. If you check your own devices' data use per app you'll see how much/little they use.
It's still a far cry from using it like you main internet connection for home use ofcourse, but unless money is extremely tight, I'd go for 1-3 gigs. You can always just share your own data connection as a hotspot if you're away from wifi and they're in dire need of internet connections outside of that. So many places have free wifi these days too.
Or does that cost money in the US? I seem to recall that using your own device as a portable wifi/tethering is hard coded to cost extra money? Or at least it used to be?
It depends on the provider. I use Visible and get unlimited data and tethering for $25/month, using Verizon's towers. They do throttle your speed after a couple GB, but I can still use Instagram and stream music with no issue, which is all I really care about. I think they're the cheapest for unlimited with tethering, but there are other prepaid options available that either do not have tethering, or have data caps.
Mint is good, but uses T-Mobile towers. Check out Visible if you want more coverage (they use Verizon). $25/mo and you only have to pay for a month at a time instead of the minimum 3 months with Mint.
I was also going to recommend Mint Mobile, but you make an excellent point. @akkartik, be sure to check the tower coverage in your area.
mint mobile is the one i'd recommend. if you're in the states for 3 months, mint mobile costs $15 for any of their plans (including unlimited)
I use US Mobile as a cheap second number. Something like $10 gets me 500mb of data so I can check email if needed and enough talk and text to work even as a main number.
I can also vouch for Mint. Cheapest plan you can get while retaining the most amount of quality, IMO.
Haven't used it in a long time, but Straight Talk was hassle-free for me. They set it up at Wal-Mart. I paid $35/month and it was unlimited everything. Data speeds dropped after 10 GB.