Money Saving Gadgets

Like a lot of extreme savers, I am incredibly frugal. I find myself constantly looking for the best deals and ways to cut costs to keep more money in my pocket. And I am guessing since you are here on Savingadvice, you like to save money too.  Well, I have the newest gold mine for you. The company is called Gen Mobile and they’re offering super good quality phone service for as low as $9 per month.  If you are curious, check out the Gen Mobile review below.

I personally haven’t had the best experience with small cell phone operators so I was definitely prepared for the worst yet pleasantly surprised with Gen Mobile.

That said, this post is a full-on scorecard for the service, from delivery all the way to usage capabilities. With that, here is a little bit of background on America’s phone plan costs.

America as a whole spends far too much on its monthly phone plans. For example, if we look at this data from CNBC, we see that American’s pay about $125 a month for their phone bill. Which is a lot!

I know people who won’t even spend $125 on a pair of sneakers they will wear for 12 months, let alone a monthly phone plan.

What is Gen Mobile?

Somewhat new to the market and making its debut in the summer of 2018, Gen Mobile was founded by Robert Yap – a veteran in the wireless phone industry.  The business is smaller, but family run. Gen Mobile is part of a class of telecommunications businesses called Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs).

MVNOs do not own their own wireless networks, but instead rent space from one of the major US carriers. There are about 139 MVNOs in the United States. The numbers of these kinds of businesses have grown since 2009 due to changes in FCC regulations. By and large MVNOs have better customer service and since they do not have infrastructure costs, they can offer lower prices to consumers. Gen Mobile is no exception. Their service piggybacks on Sprint’s network and their minimum plans cost $9 per month.

Here is Gen Mobile’s coverage map.  They have a presence in most of the United States.

Gen Mobile offers several different kinds of plans. Its pricing starts as low as $9 and spans up to $25 a month. Any plan over $15 includes unlimited calling to 100 countries (a big plus for my global friends and any expats!). See the listing of all 100 countries below:

Gen Mobile prides itself not only on its affordability but also on its high-quality customer service. It offers live chat, phone calls or email customer care from 8 AM to 6 PM PST.

Fun Facts

• You can keep your number the same when switching from another provider to Gen Mobile
• You can buy a preowned phone from Gen Mobile, which is another great cost savings feature
• Each plan comes with a 7-day money-back guarantee, 4G LTE data, no annual contract, nationwide coverage, and unlimited global texting
• Gen Mobile has a user-friendly app that helps you manage your account (track usage, make payments, etc.)
• If you miss your monthly bill payment, Gen Mobile grants you a 15-day grace period where you are still allowed to text before shutting off your service.

Current Phone Selection: 

They’re offering most of the standard phones:

Phone Plans: 

As part of my Gen Mobile review, we look at the actual phone plans Gen Mobile offers. There are two versions you can sign up for. A one-month phone plan – think about this as a month-to-month plan. This may be good for those who don’t know what their future plans will look like.

There is also a three-month phone plan option. As you can see in the pictures below, these plans are a bit cheaper than just the one month plan.  They are generally less expensive than signing up for one month of service.

One Month Phone Plans:

Three Month Phone Plans: 

Positives and Negatives:

Gen Mobile’s positives greatly outweigh it’s negatives. Let’s lay out all the facts:

Positives:

• Versatile: Different plans for different kinds of people. As you saw above, you have a one-month or three-month plan with no contracts to get you stuck in. All of the plans offer different calling minutes, data, and texting abilities.
• Affordability: Far cheaper than the average phone plan. As discussed above, the average person spends about $125 on a phone plan per month. So even if you purchase the most expensive Gen Mobile plan at $25 a month, you are saving $100 a month, which is $1,200 a year!! Talk about cost savings.
• Hotspot: Gen Mobile offers free tethering. This means you can enable your phone to be a hotspot. This is great for all my fellow travelers out there, trying to get your work done with inconsistent wifi.
• Pre Owned phones: Say you no longer like the phone you have or you need a phone. Gen Mobile offers you the option of buying preowned phones, which are a fraction of the price of regular phones that most service providers offer.
• Pair with phone number: No more “new phone, who dis?”. By allowing you to pair with your pre-existing number, your contacts will stay intact and you don’t have to worry about asking the question at the start of every new number conversation.
• Customer service: Gen Mobile is dedicated to having great customer service. It offers three different ways to reach customers and is available for a large portion of the day.
• 100 countries: This unlimited calling to 100 countries is a game-changer for expatriates. Seriously.  Many phone plans charge you over 50 cents a minute for international phone calls. This is definitely something to be taken advantage of.
• No credit checks. If you are still trying to get your credit score back up to where it once was, or say you’ve never had a credit card before, then this service will not discriminate against you!

Negatives: 

• Data: Truthfully, this is the only real negative I can find. Once you surpass your monthly data amount, that’s it. No more data for you. For heavy data users, this could be an issue. However, Gen Mobile offers plans with up to 3 GB of data, which is more than enough for me. I will be the first to admit I am definitely data-dependent, so if I can make 3GB work seamlessly then you probably can too.

Personal Experience: 

As part of this Gen Mobile review, I reviewed one of their phones. My Gen Mobile package arrived very quickly. Just a couple of days passed by between shipping it from them to my doorstep.

When it arrived, after I took the bubble wrapping off, the package looked something like this:

Then, upon opening, I saw my phone and instructions – with specific phone plans and how to get started. It was super easy, by the way. All I had to do was charge the phone and then dial 611 (or you can dial in from a separate phone, if easier) and hook up my phone.

I really liked that it provided a little reminder, it is small enough to keep on your fridge so you can always look back at it if needed.

So after setting up the phone, I was ready to put it to the test.  So, the the weekend I did this review I headed to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for the weekend.  The idea was to see how good their service is outside of a highly populated area – the mountains were perfect for this purpose.

I had service the whole time.  There were no problems with calling, texting or using social media. These were all hugely important to me as I run a part-time business through my phone so I had to make sure I was always available.

Gen Mobile really did pleasantly surprise me with how great the service was. I have tried other random MVNOs (not to be name) that were just bunk. They were nothing that they said they were – making you pay extra for every little thing.

In doing this Gen Mobile review I found them to be very transparent. They offer what they say. Yes, there are additional things you can purchase with your plan, but they are not mandatory. Only if you want extra specific items a la carte to make your plan more tailored to you.

Gen Mobile Review Wrap Up: Its Good, Get it.

For anyone in the market of a new phone service provider, I would definitely recommend Gen Mobile. Heck, even for those who don’t even need a new phone provider, I would still recommend it. Gen Mobile costs about one sixth the price of a regular phone plan, you get a tailored plan and excellent customer service. Learn how you can save $600 a year with Gen Mobile.

Have you ever used Gen Mobile? If so, what was your experience like? Let us know in the comments!

About the author: Gini Dimasi is a corporate finance analyst, blogger and graduate of Framingham University.   She’s a finance expert, bitcoin enthusiast, real estate investor and index fund aficionado.  She regularly blogs at Dual Income No Kids and The Wicked Wallet.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this article are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, savingadvice.com will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will add value. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”