Can anyone beat Tello?

It looks that redpocket beats tello now

$5/mo for 500mb LTE data then unlimited 2g.
No voice minutes
Unlimited text

Something to consider, I guess.

Thanks for catching that! I'm not sure if it applies to the $3 FP/RP plan, though. I looked again, and the add-ons specifically only mention data.. If one can select minutes, it's not obvious how to do so. I have to chat with Red Pocket in the next day or 2, and will try to remember to ask about it.

Could you make reliable VoIP phone calls with its 2g data? If not then it only worth of 2 dollars.

Does not really matter, I don't get many calls. I can pay by the minute.
I'm leaning toward signing up for unlimited in-car AT&T wifi for $15/mo so can call out at home and near car then use work phone when at work. :slight_smile:

I'm curious how you arrived at the $2 'worth'?

.... I read some time ago that at least some VoIP systems will work with Tello '2g' speed-- I think Text Now and Google Voice have been reported. I never tried either myself on 2G, and reports were several years ago.

It's been several years but I've made Google Hangouts calls on Tello 2g data and they worked fine.

500 Mb of LTE data will get one approximately 2,500 call minutes using the Google Voice app for calls since it has been stated that GV uses about 0.2 Mb of data a minute while calling, assuming my math is correct.-- 5 x 0.2Mb=5 minutes of calling or 1 Mb of data use and 500Mb x 5 minutes=2500 minutes. So if one can also make calls at 2g speeds using GV app, then one could call forever.:dry:

https://support.google.com/voice/thread/1679055?hl=en

Chelle writes: "It's been several years but I've made Google Hangouts calls on Tello 2g data and they worked fine. "

I remember a report in the latter days of the RingPlus forum from someone who said TextNow VoIP calling also worked fine on Tello 2G.
(Remember that 'fallback 2G' is really throttled LTE. It seems that latency might be more important than throughput for VoIP, and while true 2G cannot support VoIP, slow LTE seems to work pretty well.)

Hungry_Hog, I think I may remember where your "worth $2" came from, since I now remember a previous thread where you stated that fallback 2G was only worth $2 to you.
If that's the case, then Tello's $5 or $6 plan should be 'worth' it against FreedomPop/Red Pocket's $3 plan, if you can make use of the extras. (Unlimited text, over double the high-speed data, fallback 2G.) Of course, 'worth it' is always dependent on whether or not the extras are useful to an individual.

Wait, I'm confused here. Does Tello offer unlimited text with their 500mb per month plan?

Yes Unlimited texting is included in this plan Voice is 100 min and of coarse 500 mb @ 5.00 per month plus T&F

Tello's $5 plan is 500mb without minutes. The $6 plan is 500mb and 100 minutes.

As to whether or not unlimited text is incluided with the 500mb data-only plan:
User reports I've seen say yes, although the plans page does not say so..
Unlimited text used to be included with any data purchase.
As written on the plans page, now unlimited text accompanies any minutes purchase.

Actual user experience seems to indicate it comes with either. I can't really verify it, though. Until this month, my 'hybrid plan' (paying for monthly data only) did include unlimited text-- but my line was an old one that may have been grandfathered, and this month I changed to a minutes+data plan.

Of course, it's not safe to assume it will remain so while the description doesn't include it.

Yes unlimited text is included with any plan. I have been on the 1GB plan (data only) and SMS text are unlimited.

MMS uses data and deducts from the data balance (if available) or PAYG balance if there is no data available. Note that MMS will not work on throttled data (just read that in the FAQ - never tried it as I rarely use voice/text on Tello)

I know it says that in the online help, but I manage a Tello plan for a family member going on 2 1/2 years who uses up her LTE data allotment early in the month every month, but she sends and receives MMS group texts all month. These incoming and outgoing MMS clearly show in the Tello activity well after all of the 0 MB entries show up after the LTE data is exausted. Also, she still has the original $10 PAYG balance, which is turned off for LTE data. This could be YMMV.

It was kind of strange that MMS would be blocked with the throttle. There are the terms, and then there are the way things really work!

The answer, direct from Tello (but some time ago) is that their carrier agreement with Sprint for unlimited 2G excludes MMS. It's not the speed itself.
It's always possible that the carrier agreement has changed, or that Sprint may not be universally enforcing it. I have seen reports from some folks that MMS on throttled data didn't work, but those reports may not have been recent, either.

I suspect that the restriction may be loaded on to the phone itself via the Profile. If so, a Profile update might change the behavior of the phone/MMS/2G to whatever the current policy is, or perhaps some phones don't pay attention to directions.

I think that may be the case (phone specific). iPhones for example are easy to control this way. We have an iPhone that it's hotspot feature simply shuts down once the allowance is met and one is at 2G and the phone reports this not being a feature enabled. In fact something's just don't work. Some apps report not having any data access. I don't have that experience with Android devices. I do have to run some tests to confirm this - I just don't have a Sprint SIM compatible with the other device I wanted to test this.

Edit:
I wonder how my hotspot would behave. I may just switch the device over for this test close to the data running out.

I just realized that there is a good way I can use up my paygo balance on my Tello backup line. Apparently Tello lets you buy a data only plan. However, you can still get voice/text using the paygo balance. So, I can set up a $10/month 2gb data plan with no talk/text but can still get talk/text at $.01/unit. So what I will do is port in my Mint line to replace my Tello number in a few weeks when my year with Mint runs out. I have enough paygo with Tello to last 2-3 months. I'm sure Mint will have another promo by the holidays when my paygo runs out I will port the number back to Mint. The timing actually works perfectly for me.

Good thought, bingyee.
A reminder that you can't use funds already in your PayGo balance to pay for a plan. But you can certainly use a hybrid plan where you pay for data only, and use your PayGo balance for minutes. (I've done this for a couple of years, and I'm pretty sure others here have as well.) And like Mint, tethering is allowed.

In one of the threads here or elsewhere, a Tello rep said they would consider the possibility on a specific-case basis of allowing PayGo deposit to pay for a monthly plan. I haven't read of anyone saying they got it OK'd, but it's worth asking if you have a large balance.

You can always ask for a refund. Apparently they have been giving them even if it has been a while since you bought the credit. Of course if you are like me and are sitting on bunches of free credit that doesn't help.