My oldest two children don’t have smartphones, but both have one Apple Watch SE with mobile network. After a year of using the BetterRoaming service, which at the time was the cheapest option for people who didn’t have a major postpaid plan, I switched their Apple Watch plans to the US mobile smartwatch subscription.
I’ve been using US Mobile for a few months now and I wanted to let you know that US Mobile is the clear winner for our Apple Watch service. US Mobile offers better mobile coverage (in my area) on the Verizon network, a lower ongoing price, and a better customer service experience. Here are the details, with direct comparisons to BetterRoaming, where available.
Plan overview.
- $78 for 12 months if paid in advance ($6.50/month)or $9.50 per month.
- Unlimited talk and text
- Unlimited data
- WiFi calling enabled
- Instant eSIM activation (really! Less than 10 minutes to set up)
- 24/7 customer support
- Works with 4G LTE and 5G watches
General experience using Apple Watch as a standalone phone for a child. An important conclusion is that the Apple Watch is a small phone with a small mobile antenna in it. Most people use Apple Watches to complement their iPhone, so it’s only intended as a backup if you’re running or swimming or something. As a primary phone, it struggles to get a signal in areas of weak coverage and inside buildings. In short, a throwback to the early 2000s for us more ‘mature’ people.
Honestly, the most common failure point was a child forgetting to charge the watch overnight. In other words, you can’t always rely on the watch to work, so you’ll have to work out backup plans (e.g. meeting at this tree, or emailing me via school WiFi). The setup is still convenient and useful, and over time they figure out where you have service and form the habit of charging the damn thing.
Cellular network coverage uses Verizon towers. US Mobile currently only offers their standalone Apple Watch plan on “Warp,” their contractually required alternate name for the Verizon network. BetterRoaming is a global eSIM provider and my efforts indicate that they are now on the T-Mobile network (but used to be on AT&T?). After switching to the Verizon network, I found that our coverage issues have definitely improved, but there are still times when they have no signal even when a smartphone works fine.
US Mobile allows you to choose the area code for your phone number (if you don’t port it). BetterRoaming only assigns you one and you don’t have to choose. This may or may not be important to you.
US Mobile has competitive pricing. At my annual renewal, US Mobile’s annual subscription was $78 (works out to $6.50 per month), while BetterRoaming was $99. BetterRoaming has since lowered the price, so both now cost $78 for the first year if paid upfront. However, I don’t know if you can renew for $78 with BetterRoaming because it says the savings are only for “new customers.” US Mobile lets you renew for $78 per year and the monthly prices are lower too ($9.50 vs. $10.99 per month).
US Mobile generally has solid customer support and user interface. After setting up Apple Watches with both companies and dealing with multiple MVNOs over the years, I have found that US Mobile offers some of the best customer service of any MVNO. You can tell they invested some money in this part of the experience. Their videos are helpful and their online chat is responsive – most importantly, the reps seem to know what they’re doing! In fact, it was such a good experience that (among other reasons) a few months later I also switched my personal smartphone line from Mint Mobile to their US mobile unlimited plan*. That’s a separate post, but the customer service part held true because the transfer and setup process with US Mobile was so much smoother than my time with Visible.
*That’s my US Mobile referral link, which is a $25 credit after spending 6 months and $100 total with US Mobile with port-in. Works on both regular smartphone plans and the Smartwatch plans, but note the port-in part as I haven’t ported a number over for our Apple Watches. Full fine print:
To qualify for the $25 referral bonus, you must maintain an active paid service in good standing for six months, transfer to a new line, and spend a total of $100 on Unlimited, By the Gig, or Smartwatch plans. Other subscriptions, top-ups, devices, add-ons, roaming and certain promotions (listed at usmobile.com/promo-archive) are excluded. Annual subscriptions are prorated monthly (for example, €228 equals €114 after 6 months).
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