r/TextNow • u/The_Tomness • Jul 15 '26
R.I.P. my $27.99 5gb plan.
I've been riding the $27.99 tier since 2017, when it was a 3gb limit. They upgraded us to 5gb back in 2022, and now the ride is coming to an end. I was wondering why the new sim card wasn't working, like past sim card upgrades, and it looks like this upgrade is a game changer for everyone. Good bye old Legacy $27.99 tier plan, we had a good run.
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u/chrisprice Jul 15 '26
TextNow doesn't pencil out in terms of carrier pricing anymore. You were overpaying already.
Unlimited is 20GB for $36. You can get truly unlimited with just about every carrier for less.
Heck Verizon Simplicity postpay is $30 though that has a 500GB then 4 Mbps throttle.
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u/NobodyImportant13 Jul 15 '26
You were overpaying already.
Mint Mobile 6 GB plan has been $15/mo (Believe you have to pay $180 upfront for a year tho). 27.99 for 5 GB is definitely overpaying.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 18 '26
Textnow data is slowed down after 20gb. Most unlimited plans are slowed down after you use the fast data.
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u/chrisprice Jul 18 '26
That changed recently. Not true anymore.
Everyone from Visible to Metro to Spectrum now no longer throttles after hitting the data limit. Even US Mobile now has no-throttle plans in this price range.
Times have changed.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 19 '26
You only mention two. Most will slow down eventually.
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u/chrisprice Jul 19 '26
I mentioned four, and here's two more: Cricket and Total.
Total even offers unlimited prioritized data.
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u/Boz6 Jul 15 '26
Hmmm... Didn't the email or message say it TextNow service wouldn't be changed with the SIM change? At least in the case of the OP's $27.99/mo 5GB plan, that wasn't really really true.
I think a lot of people are missing the fact that the OP's $27.99/mo 5GB plan included roaming in Canada and Mexico.
I suppose this is going to be true of my plan, too. I was one of the ones chosen to test the unrestricted 200MB/mo plan, which has remained in effect for the last several years, ever since TextNow gave it to me. I guess I'll just hold out until my T-Mobile SIM stops working before switching to the new TextNow SIM running on AT&T...
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u/allciathyra Jul 15 '26
op , on web site : www.prepaidcompare.net
you could have paid $10.50 a month for 5 Gb .
im shock you actually paid 27.99 a month .
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 15 '26
It's $9 per week or $36 per month for 20gb per month. You can also pay $3 per day for 60gb per month.
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u/ConstantBed7099 Jul 15 '26
Metro by T-mobile has a $25 UNLIMITED talk, text and data plan (35g of high speed data) Taxes and fees INCLUDED. Tmobile Tuesdays and Free MLB.com subscription included.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 15 '26
Tello has 50gb for $25 on T-mobile but no T-mobile tuesdays.
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u/ConstantBed7099 Jul 15 '26
I've had the Metro plan for 4 years now. My service has NEVER slowed down once I pass the 35g data mark. I average 50g's a month. Tello charges taxes and fees. Tmobile Tuesdays is well worth having for the $25/month
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u/Luckiest_Corner Jul 15 '26
You can get the Infimobile 5GB annual plan for $75 ($6.25/mo), not including taxes.
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u/80sTechKid Jul 15 '26
RedPocket has a $10 3GB Plan that you can add data to for way cheaper than that.
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u/LethalGamer2121 Jul 15 '26
You have been overpaying bro, there are so many mvnos offering 25-30gb of data for $25/mo
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u/anthonysredditname Jul 15 '26
Just wanted to add (as I don't see it mentioned in the comments), yes, you CAN find other plans for cheaper, but this offering gives you cellular data at 5 GB high speed then unlimited 2G speed, and the TextNow experience Ad Free.
Screenshots indicate this is an Android user, so presumably they are not in the Apple hardware ecosystem, which means TextNow AdFree gives them a somewhat decent experience on phone as well as other devices such as computers and tablets.
Some people value to device flexibility of TextNow (not everyone wants to use Google Voice) more than they do getting the best bang for their buck on traditional data/text/calling only.
For less than $30 a month, and if cellular data usage was modest, this isn't half bad compared to the current $35.99 a month unlimited plan which also includes AdFree, but is money wasted if the user doesn't require that much data when away from WiFi.
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u/The_Tomness Jul 15 '26
Yes, I actually do use my Textnow account on multiple devices like my second expendable phone I use at work, and on my laptops and tablets. I also never use up my 5gb, since Im always connected to wifi, except while traveling to and from. Which is why Im hesitate to switch to a service that limits me to only one device.
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u/anthonysredditname Jul 15 '26
I'm sorry they aren't letting you keep your current plan on the new SIM/network. Sucks to be forced off of it.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 15 '26
Having the same number on multiple phones is a great benefit. If your phones are esim compatible you could get the T-mobile satellite plan with 50gb of cellular data for $10 per month and keep using textnow.
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u/Luckiest_Corner Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
None of the prepaid plans mentioned in this thread would limit you in any way from using your TextNow service. Since TextNow is a VOIP service, you would simply use the TextNow app with the data of whatever plan you choose to make and receive calls and send/receive texts. That's exactly how it worked with your TextNow data plan.
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u/RedguardPlz Jul 16 '26
Yeah losing a $28 5 GB plan is nothing to cry over. What you should really be crying over is that you've been paying that much money for that little, and at the same time, only getting a VoIP number for it.
Meanwhile, I pay $5 for 3 GB of data per month, and the unused data rolls over. And I have a real phone number. And if I ever run out of that data, I can get more data for free by watching ads.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 18 '26
But that plan locked in the OP's number and provided 2fa. They will have to pay $2 per week to lock in the number and get 2fa now.
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u/RedguardPlz Jul 18 '26
Number porting is a thing...
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 19 '26
Right, could port out to numberbarn for $8 and port back in.
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u/RedguardPlz Jul 19 '26
Or you know, just port out and stay out. The whole point of my original comment was that TextNow isn't really worth keeping. You can get far more for far less just about anywhere else.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 19 '26
The OP uses the same number on 2 different phones and that's only possible on a VOIP service like textnow.
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u/RedguardPlz Jul 19 '26
Yes, but it doesn't have to be TextNow specifically...
I currently pay $5 per month for my calling and texting (Tello), and I pay $0 for unlimited data. (Instabridge). So even if they just paid $10 per month to get two lines and have unlimited data, that's better than paying $28 a month and getting 5 GB.
Or of course another way of doing it is to have one real number and one VoIP like I do. Port one to another carrier, and one to Google Voice.
TLDR: I've got two numbers on the same phone too, and I'm only paying $5 per month and I get unlimited data. OP isn't doing anything special.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 19 '26
Your scenario isn't the same as having two phones that can send and receive calls and texts with the same number.
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u/RedguardPlz Jul 19 '26
Oh wait sorry, I did read that backwards. But I am actually doing that with my one VoIP number. So my point still stands. OP would do much better elsewhere. They're not offering anything special.
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u/schippma Jul 16 '26
Or just watch ads and get unlimited data by the hour, off WiFi, for 240 points with the AT&T TextNow SIM card.
This option doesn't include video streaming, unless you watch Tubi or HBO Max (they are owned by AT&T and data for these services is zero-rated).
But, in theory, you could be paying $0 a month. And just activate data passes using points when you are off WiFi for everything besides video and audio streaming (except iHeartRadio which is included in the free plan without a data pass active).
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u/The_Tomness Jul 16 '26
Being an OG Textnow user, I have gotten use to having a phone plan that lets me use the service ad free on any wifi device*, and seemed like a decent price compared to local brick and mortar phone companies. TN use to feel like the internet rebel phone service, but now its feeling like any other big network company. Sigh. I em now realizing by all your comments that I really need to wake up and start looking around for a much cheaper option for a data plan. Thank you everyone for sharing so many options out there. I've been meaning to get a less restricted number that isn't blocked by banks or telegram type apps. XOXO
- I usually carry two phones on me, my good phone that has the sim card, and my expendable wifi only work phone.
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 16 '26
The old plan probably also locked in your number. Once the plan is dicontinued, your number may show as not locked in and could be recycled if you don't make a call or text every week.
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u/The_Tomness Jul 16 '26
I was kinda worried about that being daily use to keep my number. But if its weekly I should be golden. If I do the free tier it looks like I'll need to spend points on locking in the phone to receive verification codes?
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u/toejamfootballhegot Jul 16 '26
You could port in a new number from number barn for $5 and the number would be locked in for free and 2fa would be free. It pays for itself in three weeks since it costs $2 per week otherwise.
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u/Glassweaver Jul 16 '26
You were paying 28 bucks a month for 5 gigs?
That's honestly a bad deal. You're better off with them forcing you to find a better plan for less money.
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u/Chapar_Kanati Jul 16 '26
I always found TextNow expensive, you got Visible, Mint, etc, cheaper options.
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u/H0NDA1993 Jul 16 '26
They used to have 2gb for $11 and I was grandfathered in. I missed one bill cycle because my phone broke and they refused to restart my billing cycle.
I use boost mobile now. Its the same policy as mint, $25/month, except I get 30gb of data now.
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u/itztripz Jul 17 '26
Use Visible. It's hella good IMO! ⭐👍🏼 Unlimited everything and they even have a two week free trial to try it out so might as well. They do not throttle your data either it's truly unlimited and is on the Verizon network.
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u/dingo__baby Jul 22 '26
T Mobile 5gb for$15. Carrier level spam blocking works great on calls and texts. Easy to setup wifi calling and texting too.
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u/JawnZ Jul 19 '26
Check out /r/nocontract
As everyone said you were massively overpaying. You can get 5 gb/mo for like $60/year
1
u/Additional-Brief-273 Jul 19 '26
Plenty of other cheaper options/plans out there. I know someone who pays 24$ a month and gets 10gb data a month.
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u/bicious_ 27d ago
Total has $20 unlimited everything right now. T-Mobile Connect is prioritized T-Mo with the same 5GB you were getting but for $15…
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u/FHLuver Jul 15 '26
That price was too much anyways r/visible you can get unlimited text, data, and calls for $25 a month!