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Phone Arena
4 hours ago
- Business
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile users say loyalty isn't just about price
Everyone's got their own reasons for picking a phone carrier – maybe it's the price, coverage, perks, or just how good the customer service is. T-Mobile, for example, has made a name for itself with aggressive pricing, which helped it grow into the $288 billion powerhouse it is today. Yep, despite all the online hate and drama, the Un-carrier keeps gaining ground faster than anyone else in the US wireless game. But what if price wasn't even part of the equation? Would people still stick with T-Mobile ? That's the exact question Redditors have been chewing on lately, and the answers give a pretty interesting peek into what really matters to customers. One big theme? International roaming. A lot of folks said global travel is the main reason they stick with T-Mobile instead of jumping to Verizon or AT&T. – woodsongtulsa, Reddit, July 2025 – chortle-guffaw2, Reddit, July 2025 – Interesting_Change_7, Reddit, July 2025 Of course, not everyone is in love with T-Mobile 's travel perks. Some users pointed out that Verizon actually offers more GB of high-speed data abroad on many of its plans, so it really depends on how much roaming you need and where you're headed. But international service isn't the only thing keeping people loyal. For many, T-Mobile just works best in the US, especially when it comes to true Verizon still wins in rural coverage, especilly when it comes to 4G, but T-Mobile takes the crown for fastest 5G in the country and offers solid service in most populated areas. – Any_Insect6061, Reddit, July 2025 T-Mobile is still leading when it comes to 5G coverage – first map is T-Mobile 5G, second Verizon 5G, third AT&T 5G. | Image credit – FCC – TraKat1219, Reddit, July 2025 Perks also play a big role. Things like Netflix on Us and satellite connectivity are enough to keep a lot of users from switching, even if the signal's not perfect everywhere. Still, a few commenters admitted they'd switch to Verizon or AT&T if money wasn't an issue – mainly for better rural coverage or more consistent customer support. Bottom line: if you are trying to decide whether to stay with T-Mobile or jump ship, it really comes down to what matters most to you. Do you care more about cool extras or do you want top-notch coverage no matter what it costs? Either way, this Reddit thread shows that loyalty in the wireless world is rarely about just one thing – it's a mix of features, experiences and good old-fashioned personal help choosing? Check out our carrier guides to find the best fit for you:
CNET
a day ago
- CNET
I Tried AT&T Internet Air for a Week. It Wasn't Even Close to Fast Enough
When it comes to home internet, I often say that the best broadband connection is one you never notice. With steady buffering and long load times, AT&T's 5G internet offering, AT&T Internet Air, never let me forget I was using it. Seemingly overnight, we've seen a rise in 5G home internet popularity. One report found that 89% of new broadband subscriptions in the past two years came from just two 5G providers: T-Mobile and Verizon. So when AT&T launched AT&T Internet Air late in 2023, I was excited to see how it compared. I was quickly disappointed. I have as friendly a testing environment as you'll ever find for an internet provider. I live alone in a one-bedroom apartment, and the list of connected devices I own is shockingly short: Just my iPhone SE, Apple TV 4K and a MacBook Pro that I use to work from home. That's not much strain to put on a Wi-Fi network, but even so, AT&T Internet Air couldn't handle it. That's why I have a hard time recommending the service to anyone. AT&T's wireless internet connection consistently delivered download speeds below 10 megabits per second -- a far cry from the 90Mbps to 300Mbps it advertises. That said, wireless internet speeds are more dependent on location than wired options like cable and fiber, so your experience may be much better than mine was. (Subscribers on AT&T's subreddit reported speeds in the 150Mbps to 300Mbps range.) There were things I liked about AT&T Internet Air -- namely, the easy setup and useful app -- but that's like saying I like everything about a car except the fact that it can't go above 25 miles an hour. Internet providers have one job -- to deliver a fast, reliable connection -- and AT&T Internet Air was an unequivocal bust on that front. Locating local internet providers Read more: My T-Mobile 5G Home Internet Experience: What I love and What I Wish Were Better Joe Supan / CNET Setting up AT&T Internet Air All in all, it only took me 11 minutes to set up AT&T Internet Air. It truly couldn't have been simpler. The box only comes with two items: A gateway device and a power outlet. I followed the instructions in the box, downloaded AT&T's Smart Home Manager app and scanned the QR code on the device. The app suggested that I place the gateway device near a window and facing west if possible. I was able to find a spot that checked both boxes near my desk, where I'd need the strongest internet speeds possible. Once I'd landed on a location, the app ran a quick test and gave me the approval. I was now ready to test out the connection. AT&T Internet Air speed and reliability There's no way around it: AT&T Internet Air's speeds were incredibly disappointing, and the speeds I was getting would be basically unusable for most people. It boils down to the advertised speeds versus the actual speeds you get. After dozens of speed tests throughout the week, AT&T Internet Air averaged a download speed of 5.86Mbps and 9.87Mbps upload in my apartment. The highest download speed I got at any point was 10.63Mbps, while upload speeds peaked at 14.38Mbps. At the same time, my $50 Connect More plan through Xfinity -- advertised as 300Mbps download -- returned average speeds of 321/109Mbps. AT&T Internet Air's latency was also very high, with an average ping rate of 298ms. That's bad news if you plan on doing any online gaming, where 40ms or lower is considered ideal. AT&T says that users typically experience download speeds between 90Mbps and 300Mbps and upload speeds between 8Mbps and 30Mbps. My upload speeds fell within that range but I never came close to 90Mbps download. The highest I got was 14.38Mbps. (I used Ookla for all of my speed tests, which is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Wireless internet like AT&T Internet Air or T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is inherently more erratic than a wired connection like cable or fiber. Because it transmits data wirelessly from a cellular tower, it's more vulnerable to network congestion and weather disruption. That's why router placement is particularly important -- if you don't have a clear line to the nearest tower, your internet connection will suffer. But I did have a clear line. I could find a spot for the router right against a window facing west, just as I was instructed during setup. The problem didn't seem to be the location of my home, either: AT&T's coverage map shows the entire city of Seattle blanketed in 5G Plus speeds, which it describes as its fastest tier. AT&T's coverage map indicates that I should have been able to access AT&T's fastest speed tier. AT&T I tried moving the router to a few different locations over the course of testing but speeds never improved. In fact, it got even slower when I moved it to another room or away from the window. AT&T recommended calling customer support to help determine the best spot for the device based on where the closest cell tower is. Wireless internet providers like AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all include a caveat in the fine print that says they may temporarily slow your speeds if the network is congested. That might explain my test results if they were all happening at 'internet rush hour' -- the hours between 7 and 11 p.m. when traffic is highest. But I tested AT&T Internet Air at various times throughout the day and never saw much of a difference. How was it using AT&T Internet Air? If anyone can get by with slow internet speeds, it's me. I live alone and I don't do any bandwidth-stressing activities like online gaming and the only devices connected to the internet are my phone, laptop and streaming device. But even with that minimal setup, AT&T Internet Air struggled to pull its weight. Zoom meetings at work were reliably unreliable, to the point where I had to switch back over to my Xfinity connection several times. Working in Google Docs, the connection would routinely drop out, causing me to wait a few seconds before I could continue writing this review. AT&T Internet Air's range was basically limited to the room with the router. When I ran speed tests in my bedroom -- one wall away from the router -- my connection slowed to a mere 1Mbps in download and upload speed. It was a frustrating experience. I found myself switching back over to Xfinity or cellular data on my phone every time I wanted to do something like watch a YouTube video from the group chat or take a FaceTime call. I don't need gig speeds -- I probably don't even really need 100Mbps speeds -- but I do need at least 15Mbps, which is what Netflix recommends for streaming in 4K. Unfortunately, AT&T Internet Air failed to clear even that low bar. How does AT&T Internet Air compare to other 5G internet providers? 5G home internet has taken off in the past few years and AT&T is later to the party than competitors T-Mobile Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet. In general, using 5G technology for home internet has been an unequivocal success. A survey from J.D. Power released last summer found that customer satisfaction is higher for wireless customers than cable or fiber, even though it received lower performance scores. 'A lot of the concerns I had heard about fixed wireless access were that it's just never going to be as fast as fiber,' Carl Lepper, senior director of the technology, media and telecommunications intelligence practice at J.D. Power, told me at the time. 'But for a lot of people, affordability trumps that. And it's not often that you need superfast speeds, depending on how you're using your internet.' 5G home internet often reaches rural households where cable and fiber aren't available and it's a significant step up from the satellite or DSL service that those internet users are typically stuck with. And because 5G providers are cellphone carriers first and foremost, they offer significant savings when you bundle home internet with a cellphone plan. Provider Monthly price Advertised download speeds Advertised upload speeds AT&T Internet Air Read full review $60 ($47 with an eligible AT&T wireless plan) 90-300Mbps 8-30Mbps T-Mobile Home Internet Read full review $50-$70 ($30-$50 with cellphone plan) 87-415Mbps 12-56Mbps Verizon 5G Home Internet Read full review $50-$70 ($35-$55 with qualifying Verizon 5G mobile plans) 300-1,000Mbps 20-75Mbps Show more (0 item) Shop providers at my address Those savings aren't quite as significant with AT&T as they are with T-Mobile and Verizon, but paying $47 a month for home internet is still a solid deal. If you're not bundling with a cellphone plan, AT&T Internet Air is on the expensive side and there's no guarantee that it will make up for it with faster speeds -- as my week with AT&T showed. The final verdict: AT&T Internet Air could still be useful for some After those disappointing results, you might be surprised to learn that I still wouldn't swear off AT&T Internet Air completely. Other customers have clearly gotten faster speeds than I did -- Reddit users regularly report speeds north of 700Mbps -- and there's a chance my apartment is just in a particularly bad location for the service. Unlike T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, AT&T Internet Air does not offer a free trial, so you'll be out at least $60 if you sign up and find out the speeds aren't fast enough. I'd still recommend going with T-Mobile or Verizon first if you want to try out 5G home internet, but AT&T Internet is still worth a shot if you're stuck with limited options. I tried AT&T Internet Air for a week FAQs: What is AT&T Internet Air? AT&T Internet Air is a 5G fixed wireless connection that offers a singular plan. Pricing starts at $60 monthly or $47 if you bundle it with an eligible AT&T wireless plan. In areas where AT&T's faster fiber service is unavailable, this fixed wireless option could be an alternative for some. Is AT&T Internet Air fast? AT&T Internet Air advertises download speeds of 90Mbps to 300Mbps and upload speeds of 8Mbps to 30Mbps. However, after conducting a dozen speed tests at home, my actual speeds were significantly lower than what was advertised. The highest speed I was able to reach for upload was 14.38Mbps, which is on the lower end of that range. With AT&T Internet Air, I only averaged 5.86Mbps download and 9.87Mbps upload. Compared to other 5G providers, Verizon and T-Mobile advertise much faster speeds, topping out at 415Mbps and 1,000Mbps, respectively. However, it's worth noting that even if you get faster speeds at your home with a 5G fixed wireless connection, your speeds can be temporarily slowed down during network congestion. In addition, AT&T's latency is very high, which can be pretty bad if you're a gamer. The average ping rate that I received at home was 298ms. For online gaming, your ping rate should be 50ms or lower.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AT&T to Pay Out Huge Data Breach Settlement, and You Might Be Eligible for Up to $5K
Two sizable data breaches in 2019 and 2024 exposed the personal information of AT&T customers, but now the company is set to resolve the matter with a gigantic settlement pay out -- and you don't even have to still be a customer to get in on it. On Friday, June 20, US District Judge Ada Brown granted preliminary approval to the terms of a proposed settlement from AT&T that would resolve two lawsuits related to the data breaches. The current settlement would see AT&T pay $177 million to customers adversely affected by at least one of the two data breaches. The settlement will prioritize larger payments to customers who suffered damages that are "fairly traceable" to the data leaks. It will also provide bigger payments to those affected by the larger of the two leaks, which began in 2019. While the company is working toward a settlement, it has continued to deny that it was "responsible for these criminal acts." For all the details we have about the settlement right now, keep reading, and for more info about other recent settlements, find out how to claim Apple's Siri privacy settlement and see if you're eligible for 23andMe's privacy breach settlement. What happened with these AT&T data breaches? AT&T confirmed the two data breaches last year, announcing an investigation into the first in March before confirming it in May and confirming the second in July. The first of the confirmed breaches began in 2019. The company revealed that about 7.6 million current and 65.4 million former account holders had their data exposed to hackers, including names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. The company began investigating the situation last year after it reported that customer data had appeared on the dark web. The second breach began in April of 2024, when a hacker broke into AT&T cloud storage provider Snowflake and accessed 2022 call and text records for almost all of the company's US customers, about 109 million in all. The company stressed that no names were attached to the stolen data. Two individuals were arrested in connection with the breach. Both of these incidents sparked a wave of class action lawsuits alleging corporate neglect on the part of AT&T in failing to sufficiently protect its customers. Who is eligible to file a claim for the AT&T data breach settlement? As of now, we know that the settlement will pay out to any current or former AT&T customer whose data was accessed in one of these data breaches, with higher payments reserved for those who can provide documented proof that they suffered damages directly resulting from their data being stolen. If you're eligible, you should receive a notice about it, either by email or a physical letter in the mail, sometime in the coming months. The company expects that the claims process will begin on Aug. 4, 2025. How much will the AT&T data breach payments be? You'll have to "reasonably" prove damages caused by these data breaches to be eligible for the highest and most prioritized payouts. For the 2019 breach, those claimants can receive up to $5,000. For the Snowflake breach in 2024, the max payout will be $2,500. It's not clear at this time how the company might be handling customers who've been affected by both breaches. AT&T will focus on making those payments first, and whatever's left of the $177 million settlement total will be disbursed to anyone whose data was accessed, even without proof of damages. Because these payouts depend on how many people get the higher amounts first, we can't say definitively how much they will be. When could I get paid from the AT&T data breach settlement? AT&T expects that payments will start to go out sometime in early 2026. Exact dates aren't available but the recent court order approving the settlement lists a notification schedule of Aug. 4, to Oct. 17, 2025. The deadline for submitting a claim is currently set at Nov. 18, 2025. The final approval of the settlement needs to be given at a Dec. 3, 2025, court hearing for payments to begin. Stay tuned to this piece in the coming months to get all the new details as they emerge. For more money help, check out CNET's daily tariff price impact tracker. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Craig Robinson even tricked his dad with his fake announcement about quitting comedy
"Yes, Dad. Dad, I'm still in comedy." Craig Robinson might have committed to the bit too hard. The Office actor announced earlier this month that he was retiring from comedy, only to eventually reveal that it was all an elaborate ruse as part of an AT&T marketing campaign. Robinson's lie was so convincing, however, that he tells Entertainment Weekly that it genuinely fooled people close to him. Robinson visited the EW's San Diego Comic-Con Studio on Saturday alongside his The Bad Guys 2 castmates. When asked if his bit had fooled anyone he knows, Robinson responds, "A thousand percent. Everybody." He continues, "My father was like, 'What's this going on?' I was like, 'I'll call you back, Dad.' 'Cause I didn't wanna tell him." Robinson then takes a moment to clarify his status in the comedy world. "I'm not quitting. I'm back!" he says. "You're welcome. Yes, Dad. Dad, I'm still in comedy." The comedian's Bad Guys 2 costar, Marc Maron, chimes in, "How'd it feel with that day off?" (Robinson actually maintained the lie for about 10 days.) "What you're saying is, it was a joke?" fellow Bad Guys 2 cast member Natasha Lyonne adds. "It was a nice, relaxing," Robinson says. "It was a re-shift in focus." Robinson initially announced that he was "quitting comedy" to begin "following something bigger," and hinted that he was planning on starting a small business. (We immediately called that claim into question, as the comedian still had a number of live shows planned throughout 2025.)Later, Robinson revealed the full scope of his scheme, which ended with an AT&T Business commercial that reunited him with his Office costars Ellie Kemper, Angela Kinsey, Creed Bratton and Oscar Nuñez. The ad sees Robinson reveal his new project, CraigAI (or "CrAIg"), an AI alarm clock that he wants to sell to "help small businesses wake up" The Bad Guys 2 also stars Sam Rockwell, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, and Zazie Beetz. The film hits theaters on Aug. 1. Watch the livestream of EW's San Diego Comic-Con video interviews below. Check out more of . Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
CNET
4 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Cricket Wireless Debuts Prepaid Plans Starting at $35
Cricket Wireless has revamped its prepaid plans to trim prices and offer more perks, including hotspot data and bundled extras like streaming services. Cricket, owned by AT&T, competes with prepaid providers from other carriers like Verizon's Visible, T-Mobile's Mint Mobile and Dish's Boost Mobile. Cricket has trimmed its offerings down to four plans (from five) and dropped prices on all of them. Cricket's cheapest plan, called Sensible 10GB, is still $30 per month if set up with autopay (or $35 normally) and offers 5G service with 10GB of monthly data (up from 5GB previously), with speeds dropping down to 128Kbps thereafter. As a basic plan, there's no option to add fancier options like hotspot data, cloud storage or a bundled streaming service, nor can it be used in Mexico and Canada like pricier plans. The mobile company's cheapest unlimited 5G plan, Select Unlimited, is $35 per month with autopay (or $40 normally), a $5 savings from its earlier plan. While it also lacks extras, hotspot data can be added on. This is the presumed family value plan, as four lines can be included for $100 a month. Those who do want extras can pick the 5G Smart Unlimited plan for $45 per month with autopay (or $50 normally), which is a bigger upgrade on the older version of the same plan; not only is it $10 cheaper per month, but it offers 15GB of hotspot data and 100Gb of cloud storage (up from 2GB). This plan can be used in Mexico and Canada, with texting available from the US to friends in more than 200 countries and territories. The middle plans, Select Unlimited and Smart Unlimited, come with the caveat that Cricket may temporarily slow down data speeds if the network is busy. Cricket's priciest unlimited 5G plan, Supreme Unlimited, is $55 with autopay per month (or $60 normally), which is $5 cheaper than the previous version. It's intended for mobile power users with 50GB of hotspot data (up from 15GB previously), 150GB of cloud storage and HBO Max Basic with Ads, along with use in Mexico and Canada as well as texting to friends internationally. Note that all of Cricket's plans have video streaming in SD (around 480p), below the HD (1080p) that's standard on most other plans. All of Cricket's new plans include taxes and fees in the monthly price. Carriers such as T-Mobile have begun to split those out, which end up as additional charges on customers' monthly bills. Cricket's price drops follow similar moves made by the prepaid mobile providers from other carriers. In April, Verizon's Visible added a new $45-per-month higher-tier plan with 4K video streaming and international travel service. A year ago, Boost Mobile emerged from its transition to new ownership under Dish Network with refreshed offerings including a $25 monthly plan as its new cheapest option.
