Anyone familiar with Ting?

[Heidi Mull]

I've been researching budget carriers to switch to, and came across Ting. I'd never heard of them at all.

Apparently they run off Sprint and T-mobile networks. The interesting thing is you don't purchase a set plan, rather, you pay for what you use in the tiers they have set up.

I like the concept, and I don't tend to use a lot of data. DH is getting a plan with a different carrier that includes unlimited data and hotspot and I could use google talk to make most of my lengthy calls through that to keep the price of this phone pretty low, I'm thinking.

Has anyone experienced or heard anything about them, good or bad?

[justjim]

I think the only thing I remember about Ting is that they are on Sprint OR T-Mobile. It's $6 a month if you do not use the phone at all.

[snikwahpn]

I am on Ting currently. Yes, there is a base charge of $6, then different rates for calls, text, and data, based on ranges of actual usage. I do not use my phone for data, so my last month's bill was $26. You may be on the T-Mobile or Sprint network, depending on which protocol your phone is set for. I'm on the T-Mobile side. T-Mobile and Sprint are in the #3 and 4 rankings in terms of nationwide coverage, after Verizon and AT&T. Their coverage is better in the east than out west; I am in Indiana, which isn't too bad, although even in Indiana there are places in the hill country in the southern part of the state where cell coverage is just plain lousy for all 4 carriers--some towns are in deep valleys between the hills, and nothing works well.

How well is Ting working for me? I have little problem with calls getting through. Sometimes a text does not get delivered--I'm beginning to think my son lives in or near a dead spot. I had a Sprint phone 12 years ago, and even in Indianapolis, it only worked in certain rooms of our house. We were in the middle of moving from SE Indiana, outside of Cincinnati, when I got it; my phone did not work at our old place down there--sometimes if I walked down our 600' driveway to the county road it would work, but mostly I had to drive 3 miles to the state highway to use my cell phone.

So, yeah, it is cheap if it works where you are. Ting's website shows the coverage maps for T-Mobile and Sprint. You can also look up the maps for all 4 major carriers at https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ If it looks like it will work in areas where you hang out, it may be worth a try.

[Trebor English]

My brother in law switched to Ting.  He's a lawyer in Miami, FL.  His travel is usually limited to air travel to a city where they are having a football game.  He is happy with the coverage.  Between cities he's at 35,000 feet.  For him boondocking is a Hilton in a city that's new to him.  

He switched his now 96 year old mother to Ting a couple of years ago.  She never figured out how to use the new phone.  After repeated laundry cycles forgetting the phone was in a pants pocket it quit working.  

Bottom line, it is real, it can be cheap.

[justjim]

You might consider the ebay Red Pocket $5 a month/ $60 a year plan. It fits well with your plan to use Google voice because you start out with 100 minutes of talk, 100 text and 500 Mb of data each month and you can buy more. The biggest difference is that it can be on any of the networks. I used this plan last year and may have continued had my phone been on Verizon. Instead it was on Sprint and second tier Sprint sucks.

100/100/500

This year I switched to their unlimited plan for $19 a month. Unlimited talk/text and 2 Gb of high speed data with unlimited 2G after. I now have a Verizon phone and it's been wonderful.



unlimited plan