Are there bad things about Mint Mobile?

So you’re thinking of switching to Mint Mobile, but you’re a bit skeptical. We get it, premium wireless service for $15/month* sounds absurd. That’s why we’re here to tell you that yes, there are some bad things about Mint Mobile. So in the interest of transparency, we’re going to take this opportunity to come clean and address all the issues you’ll have to deal with when you join the movemint.

Are there bad things about Mint Mobile’s pricing?

$15/mo

It’s normal to feel like you’re not getting a top quality product unless you’re paying a LOT of money for it. However, our premium wireless starts at $15 a month*. That’s how much it was when we started in 2016 and, despite inflation’s best efforts, that’s how much it is now – even as we’ve increased our data amounts three times during the same period. This is mainly because we only charge you for wireless service. We don’t have stores or salespeople, we don’t throw in a bunch of add-ons and we don’t put our logo on stadiums and stuff.

Also, you’ll probably have a lot of people asking “Is Mint Mobile good?” when you mention the price, so you might get tired of listing all the great reasons to switch to Mint every time it comes up.

Wireless in bulk with no long-term contracts

We don’t lock you into multi-year “agreements” to get our best rates. Instead, we keep our prices low by offering wireless in bulk, with 3, 6, and 12-month plans. The more months you buy up front, the more you save. So while getting a monthly bill right after you just paid last month’s bill might be one of your favorite big wireless features, we don’t do monthly bills here. No offense to people named Bill though, we still appreciate them quite a bit.

Just wireless, no bundles

Sure, having your favorite music service, streaming service and shopping subscription all tied to your big wireless contract is…convenient, for some people? But we choose to stay in our lane and just offer premium wireless for $15/mo*. So you’ll have to add your favorite streaming services separately, at a lower cost than those big wireless bundlef*!s. This means you can also opt for the premium, ad-free versions, or cancel them whenever you want to save some money, since you’re in control of your own subscriptions.

Are there bad things about Mint Mobile’s service?

Nationwide coverage

It’s a lot harder to lie and say “oh, I just got this text” when you’re able to connect with friends & family pretty much anytime, anywhere. You can blame that on nationwide coverage on America’s largest 5G network, which provides 5G coverage to 98% of Americans and 4G LTE coverage to 99% of Americans**. Plus, that 5G is included at no additional cost***, so if you really love waiting for videos to buffer, you’re out of luck with Mint Mobile. 

Use our coverage checker to see if you’re one of the millions of “unlucky” Americans supported by our network.   

Flexible data options

We know it’s much easier to just let big wireless talk you into jumping straight onto an unlimited plan so you don’t have to think about how much data you’re using. But here at Mint we actually DO want you to think about how much data you’re using, to the point where we’ve written a blog literally titled “How much data do I need?” and even developed a short quiz to match you to the ideal data plan. 

And if your data usage changes, we’ll even let you know if you could be saving by switching to a plan that more closely matches your needs. Switching to a different plan requires approximately two or three clicks in the Mint Mobile app though, which we know is quite a chore for some people. BTW, we offer an unlimited plan, which many of our customers use; we’re just saying there may be other data options that work for you even better.

Speaking of data, we’ve raised the data amounts on all of our plans three times now, without raising the prices. Not the kind of “unexpected changes” you’re used to with the other guys, but still bad if you don’t like surprises, even the pleasant kind.

Additional features included with every Mint plan

We have so many included features, you might forget to use some of them. At the very least, anytime a friend asks you what all comes with your Mint Mobile service, you’ll have a hard time remembering the entire list. Having to say “I know I’m missing something” can be frustrating, but thousands of Mint subscribers manage to work around it every day. They also enjoy the following:

Free Wi-Fi Calling

“Sorry, I missed your call, I don’t get any signal in my basement” won’t be a valid excuse when you can get a strong, reliable network connection anywhere you have Wi-Fi, thanks to free Wi-Fi Calling.

Free Mobile Hotspot

Mobile hotspot allows you to use your phone like a Wi-Fi router on the go, keeping your devices connected to the internet wherever you get a Mint signal, so you can work from anywhere. But we won’t tell your boss if you don’t. (10GB mobile hotspot on unlimited plans)

Free Calling to MEX, CAN & The UK

Those loved ones in Mexico, Canada and the UK who make you feel guilty for not calling enough? They’re going to expect daily check-ins when they find out you could be calling them for FREE with a Mint plan.

Free Scam Protection

This feature warns you of potential scam calls so you can avoid getting taken advantage of by suspicious individuals. Hard to spin this as a bad thing, honestly. Maybe you really love chatting with shady strangers?  

We’re extremely online 

Of course you love waiting in traffic to get to a big wireless retail store (when else are you going to listen to your podcasts?). And you probably love waiting in that retail store for an employee to assist you with something and also relentlessly upsell you. We get it, human interaction is important. Unfortunately, we don’t have retail stores, and we don’t have salespeople. We just deliver huge savings directly to you.

But we do agree that human interaction is important, which is why, along with our extensive Help Center, dozens of How-to videos and 24-hour Chatbot, we have a highly-rated, award-winning Care Team available over the phone. Now you’re thinking “at least I’ll get some sweet, sweet hold time featuring hours of the same 90s melody on a loop then,” right? Unfortunately, no. In addition to their 96% customer satisfaction rating*****, our Care Team also has an average hold time under a minute. So you’ll need a different excuse for not showing up to that baby shower.

Are there bad things about switching to Mint Mobile?

Switching is almost too simple

We know jumping from one wireless carrier to another can be a bit daunting, and some people live for the thrill. Wondering if you did everything in the right order, if you have everything you need, just before making another commitment…what a rush, right? Well we eliminate that. We have easy-to-follow blogs that will walk you through switching from AT&T or switching from Verizon, or switching from just about any other carrier and our user-friendly app helps you switch with just a few clicks. It’s so easy to switch, it’s almost boring.

BYOE (Bring Your Own Everything)

We understand being required to purchase a new phone, usually with a lengthy contract attached to it, is a time-honored big wireless tradition. But when you switch to Mint Mobile you can bring your own unlocked phone (we’ll even show you how to find out if your phone is unlocked). And if you’re wondering if you can keep your number when you switch, the answer is yes: you can transfer your own number to Mint too, which means you no longer get to send everyone in your contact list a selfie to prove to them that this new number is really you. We know this is a deal-breaker for some people though, so we still provide new phone numbers to those who want them.

See if your unlocked phone is compatible with Mint Mobile at mintmobile.com/byop.

What are some other bad things about Mint Mobile? 

We’re bad at ending blogs

Seriously though, Mint Mobile strives to provide premium service at an affordable price with the quality you deserve from a necessary utility like wireless. We started in 2016 with the customer in mind and that hasn’t changed. So the only truly bad thing about Mint Mobile might be that you aren’t with us yet. If you’re ready to change that, start by checking your coverage and seeing if your current phone is compatible with our network.

_{Published August 2023; Updated January 2025}

_{*New activation & upfront payment for 3-month plan req’d. Taxes & fees extra. Addt’l restrictions apply. See mintmobile.com for full terms.}

_{**5G and/or 4G LTE access req’s capable device & SIM w/in appropriate coverage area. Actual availability, speed & coverage may vary.}

_{***5G capability incl. at no extra cost.}

_{****Data speeds reduced during network congestion or after monthly allotment of 5G and/or 4G LTE access. Certain data-intensive activities including online gaming, file downloads/uploads, and video streaming, may be limited and/or inaccessible on network after 40GB on Unlimited Plan. Videos stream at ~480p.}

^{*****As of August 2024}