Your Guide To Hello Mobile

So many new mobile companies pop up that it can be difficult to keep track of them. So many companies offer mobile service that there is no way you can find the best deal without spending hours and hours tracking down every single one. You can’t just look at the major networks, like AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon, there are so many Mobile Virtual Network Operators that crowd the field as well. 

“Hello Mobile” is a new MVNO that was established in 2018, so it’s a very new player on the mobile scene. Is it worth it? Should you switch? That’s why this article is here, to help gather the research for you so you don’t have to scour the internet for it yourself. 

Hello Mobile Network

First, we need to remember what a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is. An MVNO is a company that provides mobile service without owning the physical network on which it operates. That means that an MVNO buys time on another company’s network at a bulk rate, and then they sell it to subscribers. 

MVNO providers use one of the big four networks, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, or Verizon, so their service is backed by the infrastructure of the big networks. You don’t have to worry about reliability from a small player. 

Hello Mobile uses both T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s networks for their services. They say that their phones work on both networks simultaneously, so you don’t have to choose one or the other. That should give you the power of both networks, an advantage when you’re using an MVNO.

Hello Mobile Plans

As of this writing, Hello Mobile has plans that range from $5 a month to $25 a month for a single line. With five lines, it drops down to a range from $5 a month to $17 a month per line. With more lines, the prices get better as you get more data.

Hello Mobile includes some cool features with every plan. You don’t get an extra charge for calling someone in more than 60 countries on landlines and 30 countries on mobile numbers. Phones connect automatically to Wi-Fi calling on more than 10 million locations using the My Mobile Account app. 

They also don’t charge an activation fee, and they give you the second month free. Plus, no extra fees and taxes are already included in the service. No contracts, either, so you aren’t locked into the service if you don’t like it. 

When you run out of minutes or data, you’ll have to get more. They make it easy to refill, so you don’t have to worry if you keep running out of data. You can get an unlimited plan, but they will throttle your data speeds when the network gets congested. 

The Unlimited Catch

There’s a reason that Hello Mobile’s unlimited plan is so inexpensive. It’s not actually unlimited. If you read the fine print on their deal, you’ll find out that they throttle down their unlimited plan after 15 GB. 

Other plans will deprioritize traffic after a certain point, but Hello Mobile drops your data plan down to 264 kbps. Yes, you read that right. 264 kbps. If you think $25 a month is worth the 15 GB you get in data, go for it. If you’re looking for a true unlimited plan, you’ll need to find something else. 

Just to compare, you can get the Sprint Kickstarter Unlimited for $35 a month, and they only deprioritize your data after 20+ GB. That is, they don’t automatically throttle it down to a crawl. They only slow you down when the network is congested. 

Hello Mobile Phones And Numbers

Hello Mobile isn’t picky about what you bring to their service. All you need is an unlocked phone, and they can take it. Even if you don’t have an unlocked phone, their website says that you can contact the mobile carrier to get it unlocked. 

There’s a page to check to see whether your phone will work from its IMEI or MEID number. Depending on compatibility, they may be able to get you started right away or you’ll have to wait for them to mail you a SIM. 

Of course, you can always buy a device from them. As of this writing, they have nine different models from LG and Samsung. You can also bring over your phone number to the new service.

Hello Mobile Customer Support

Hello Mobile has a phone number, an email address, and a chat support system. Their chat support claims that you can get instant answers, but that’s unlikely without 24/hour customer service. Their phone service has long hours, 16 hours on weekdays and eight hours on the weekend days. 

Some users report that their customer service and reliability aren’t very good. They report being charged for SIM’s that they didn’t receive, chat that doesn’t answer questions, and phones that never worked like they were supposed to. It’s impossible to tell whether those cases are outliers, though. 

Either way, Hello Mobile has a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with their service, you can get a full refund. 

Conclusion

Hello Mobile looks like it would be a good deal. It runs on both Sprint and T-Mobile networks, so it should have the same reliability as the big players. The rest depends on how well Hello Mobile manages its service. If they do a good job, it could be a great deal. If not, then, at least you can get your money back.