Best cell phone/data plan for truckers

I'm biased but i'd say sprint however they dont have great service everywhere. Verizon seems to be the number one choice.

 

I've got Sprint. 4G less than half the time but 3G almost everywhere else. My buddy has T-Mobile. Same. Unlimited. See if your company has a partnership. Corp discount. Worth every penny out here. I have the Hopper at home. Was able to stream NFL and college football. Priceless.

 

If you can get an unlimited data plan with Sprint, then go for it. I wasn't aware they still offered unlimited data.


I have a grandfathered unlimited data plan with Verizon. You must get unlimited if you plan to watch any video with your phone's data connection.


You will also want to use your phone as a wi-fi hotspot. If you purchase an Android phone then you can "root" it to get your wi-fi hotspot for free. Companies like Verizon and Sprint want to charge you $20/month to do this, but once you've rooted your phone, you're home free.

 

Definitely go with a carrier that offers unlimited data. I use AT&T and have been with them for 15 years so I get unlimited data. I was told that new customers can't get that option from AT&T. I use YouTube, web browser and netflix when I'm staying in the truck.

 

I had sprint....they BLOW! What good is unlimited, if all your phone does is spin and tries to stream/download anything. Good luck on watching YouTube or a movie with sprint. Now I have verizon..never had a problem yet. It is true that you get what you pay for.

 

I have Verizon..
Tried to save some money by going to Sprint last year.

I lasted a whole week.
I hear they got a little more 4g now than they had back then.

 

Just as I thought. They call it "unlimited" data but they are restricting your hotspot to 5 GB, which isn't near enough to be watching YouTube and Netflix on your laptop.

Let me suggest Googling "how to root such-and-such a phone" if and when you get an Android phone and want to root it. What "rooting" essentially means is, you remove software that was put on the phone by your phone provider to control what you can do with the phone, and in its place you put some other software that gives you greater control over your own phone. Another way of saying this is you gain "root access" to your phone, which means that certain areas of the phone's operating system (Android) that Sprint or Verizon had previously prevented you from accessing, are now freely accessible to you.

Unfortunately rooting can be somewhat complicated and even a bit risky - phones can be "bricked" (damaged beyond repair) if something goes badly wrong - but if you read up on the subject and be very careful, it can be done safely. I was an Android novice when I first rooted my phone. It took many tries, actually, before I finally succeeded.

I can't guarantee that rooting will allow you to bypass Sprint's 5 GB limit but I think it will. This you will have to investigate. The main thing is, don't get an iPhone if you want to get free unlimited data from your phone and use the hotspot for free. Get one of the zillions of different Android ones out there instead.