What phone and plan do I want?
September 10, 2015 6:26 AM Subscribe
The iPhone (2010-2015, RIP) in my pocket has finally perished and I have to look for a replacement. I am in southern Ontario and have been dealing with Fido mostly problem-free for fifteen years, but I am open to other suggestions. I am all over Canada frequently for work so coverage, it is a thing. Data is less important - my current plan has the lowest possible amount and I think I have exceeded the cap two or three times in five years.
I have been pretty happy with the iPhone so my assumption is that an iPhone 6 is next, but if there is something else I should keep in mind, please speak up. My contract with Fido is, so far as I know, expired three years back so I can shop around. Other family members are with Bell; I am not generally a fan due to previous shenanigans with a landline, but I am not totally averse.
Rogers is right out (the morbidly curious can search my posting history if they want to know why).
Keeping my phone number would be convenient, but it is not a dealbreaker.
I have been pretty happy with the iPhone so my assumption is that an iPhone 6 is next, but if there is something else I should keep in mind, please speak up. My contract with Fido is, so far as I know, expired three years back so I can shop around. Other family members are with Bell; I am not generally a fan due to previous shenanigans with a landline, but I am not totally averse.
Rogers is right out (the morbidly curious can search my posting history if they want to know why).
Keeping my phone number would be convenient, but it is not a dealbreaker.
Seconding Virgin Mobile. I switched to them after having had it with Bell (though I understand Bell shares network usage with Virgin) and have been very happy. I find them affordable, pleasant to deal with, and I was allowed to keep my number when I switched from Bell.
posted by Kitteh at 7:37 AM on September 10, 2015
posted by Kitteh at 7:37 AM on September 10, 2015
The iPhone 6 is an amazing device. The 6s was announced yesterday and should be even better. Were it me, I'd get the 6s.
posted by General Malaise at 7:37 AM on September 10, 2015
posted by General Malaise at 7:37 AM on September 10, 2015
Big fan of Koodo, the budget arm of Telus. Slightly pricey if you roam to the US, though.
posted by scruss at 8:25 AM on September 10, 2015
posted by scruss at 8:25 AM on September 10, 2015
You can probably keep your number now no matter who you go to now.
I'm with Telus, and have been very happy with them. Depending where you travel to, Wind/Virgin/Fido/Rogers doesn't always work well (my spouse's Rogers phone worked in less places than my Telus phone during a recent trip to southern Saskatchewan - I know Rogers is out for you, but I thought Fido was owned by Rogers? Or maybe they just share the network?). Koodo is a good option for both coverage and price, I think, especially if you can keep the data usage low.
I have both an iPhone (5? I think, for work) and an Android (Samsung Note 3, for personal) and I much, much prefer the Android OS. The only thing I like better on the iPhone is the speed of the camera. I use Mac for my home computer, but am not a fan of the phones.
posted by strega_bianca at 8:31 AM on September 10, 2015
I'm with Telus, and have been very happy with them. Depending where you travel to, Wind/Virgin/Fido/Rogers doesn't always work well (my spouse's Rogers phone worked in less places than my Telus phone during a recent trip to southern Saskatchewan - I know Rogers is out for you, but I thought Fido was owned by Rogers? Or maybe they just share the network?). Koodo is a good option for both coverage and price, I think, especially if you can keep the data usage low.
I have both an iPhone (5? I think, for work) and an Android (Samsung Note 3, for personal) and I much, much prefer the Android OS. The only thing I like better on the iPhone is the speed of the camera. I use Mac for my home computer, but am not a fan of the phones.
posted by strega_bianca at 8:31 AM on September 10, 2015
You are almost me. A factory reset and many fewer apps has my 2010 vintage iPhone 4 behaving quite nicely after many dramatic coughing and fainting fits. (Yours is absolutely, positively all dead, not mostly dead?)
My recommendations:
1) Pressure Fido or a competitor (except Wind -- fuck Wind) for the best month to month plan you can get NOW. Fido doesn't want to lose you, so they may make this very worthwhile.
2) Get an unlocked phone direct from Apple for maximum flexibility and a new SIM card for the carrier of your choice. Prices have already dropped slightly for the 5s, 6 and 6 Plus versus old Apple prices, and they're significantly cheaper than what most carriers are offering outside of a plan.
posted by maudlin at 9:50 AM on September 10, 2015
My recommendations:
1) Pressure Fido or a competitor (except Wind -- fuck Wind) for the best month to month plan you can get NOW. Fido doesn't want to lose you, so they may make this very worthwhile.
2) Get an unlocked phone direct from Apple for maximum flexibility and a new SIM card for the carrier of your choice. Prices have already dropped slightly for the 5s, 6 and 6 Plus versus old Apple prices, and they're significantly cheaper than what most carriers are offering outside of a plan.
posted by maudlin at 9:50 AM on September 10, 2015
Response by poster: For what it's worth, I stuck with Fido and got a new plan at about two-thirds the cost of my old one. iPhone 6, rendered about half-price by the Fidobucks credit for my having endured with them for so long. And for anyone else with the dog, note that the Fidobucks program is ending as of January 1, 2016, a fact which a CSR dropped in passing.
Weirdness: I was required to display a driver's license to buy a phone. When I pointed out that I do not drive, there was panic. "We HAVE to see a driver's license." I mentioned that in my previous six phones purchased from Fido stretching back into the nineties, it has never been an issue. "We have had an upgrade." Ah.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:04 AM on September 11, 2015
Weirdness: I was required to display a driver's license to buy a phone. When I pointed out that I do not drive, there was panic. "We HAVE to see a driver's license." I mentioned that in my previous six phones purchased from Fido stretching back into the nineties, it has never been an issue. "We have had an upgrade." Ah.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:04 AM on September 11, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, be aware that the iPhone 6s was announced yesterday so you'll (soon) have the option of getting that or getting the iPhone 6 for less than what it would have cost until recently.
posted by veggieboy at 6:40 AM on September 10, 2015 [1 favorite]