What’s the Best Unlimited Phone Plan? Let’s Break It Down
We sifted through the fine print to figure out how to score the best deal on all the major carriers….
The Play More package includes Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, and either Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass for as long as you have the phone plan. You’re no longer limited to a year. You also get six months of Apple Music for free. The other $80 tier—the Do More package—includes up to 50 percent off a qualifying smartwatch, tablet, hot spot, or Hum in-car Wi-Fi device, plus one free TravelPass day a month, 600 gigabytes of Verizon Cloud storage, and six months of Disney+, Apple Music, and a choice of Apple Arcade or Google Play Store. Whew. Both the Play More and Do More plans come with a 50-gigabyte cap on data before throttling.
WIRED: Like the competition, every plan includes 5G data access. If you live in a rural area, Verizon has the strongest coverage, according to OpenSignal. Every plan includes six free months of Apple Music and six months of Disney+. All tiers include talk, text, and data to Mexico and Canada and international texting. The top-tier Play More Unlimited and Get More Unlimited plans now include access to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.
TIRED: If you’re on the basic Start Unlimited plan, there’s no Wi-Fi mobile hot spot, and Verizon may throttle your internet speed during any “congestion.” It includes 5G access, but not 5G Ultra Wideband access, which is Verizon’s fastest 5G connection. You also have to step up another $10 per month for 4K streaming, as Starter only allows 480p SD streaming. Verizon has two plans priced at $80 per month (for a single line).
Will your phone work? Verizon has a Device Compatibility Search tool you can use to check if your phone is supported on the network. The carrier used to only support CDMA phones, but most unlocked GSM devices these days will work.
Why We Recommend Unlocked Phones
If you bought your phone from your wireless carrier (most people do), it was probably sold to you as a locked device that works only on one wireless carrier. We recommend you buy devices unlocked online instead because they will work on other networks, allowing you to switch.
As long as you’ve fully paid for your phone, your wireless carrier is obligated to unlock it for you. Just take it in or ask about procedures on how to unlock a device. (Read more at FCC.gov.)
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