Best Phone Coverage in Detroit: Cell Service in the Motor City

Home to over 600,000 residents, Detroit is a big city in Michigan with a vibrant culture, lots of restaurants, and a hopping downtown. Living in Detroit is great! With so many people there, however, it is important to have a service you can trust. You want the best cell phone coverage in Detroit to make sure that your night out at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge doesn’t end with you struggling to load your Uber profile to call a ride home. 

Our research found that T-Mobile, Verizon, and Mint Mobile are the top three for best phone coverage in Detroit overall. This article features detailed information on the following: 

• Map of the fastest cell phone coverage in Detroit
• Local and national carriers that cover Detroit
• Frequently asked questions about phone coverage in Detroit

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Phone Coverage in Detroit at a Glance

Lightning-Fast Data Speeds on Major Networks

As you can see from the above image, almost all of Detroit is blanketed by 5G coverage. This is an excellent place for high-speed data, as all three major networks have almost complete coverage with their 5G networks. As with any city, there are quirks to the network coverage and unique dead spots among the big three. Due to its high bandwidth, we chose T-Mobile as Detroit's best cell phone coverage over its competitors, AT&T and Verizon. Verizon’s more frequent slowdowns in Detroit take it from our running, but while their service is in third place, it is still rather good. T-Mobile and AT&T are very close in terms of service, but T-Mobile is a smidge ahead when looking at its widespread network improvements over the last couple of years. 

Local and National Cell Phone Carriers in Detroit

The top three carriers in Detroit are Verizon, AT&T, and Visible Wireless. 

As major wireless networks, T-Mobile and AT&T own and operate their own networks throughout the country.  Mint Mobile, on the other hand, is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). MVNOs receive bandwidth leased from the major wireless networks and offer more affordable plans that often have high-speed data caps and the potential for deprioritized data in times of high bandwidth usage. 

Let’s look at which of these carriers provides the best phone coverage in Detroit.

#1 in Detroit: T-Mobile 

Fastest 5G and 4G LTE in Detroit

Due to its constant improvements, it is difficult to gauge T-Mobile’s current 5G coverage and speed over Detroit. This is a testament to their commitment to providing a stellar nationwide network that competes with Verizon and AT&T. Years back, T-Mobile struggled with rural coverage. Cities and suburbs were good, but their coverage quickly faltered, moving outside of population centers. If you are frequently moving around rural Michigan, you may note dead spots along your journey, but their 5G and 4G LTE coverage within the city is excellent. Users have mixed feelings about T-Mobile’s Detroit coverage, some citing problems with Canada roaming messages in Comerica Bank, others noting quality service in and around the city. 

Price: Varies

Plan: T-Mobile offers three unlimited plans at various price points. Like Verizon, these plans are very expensive as the single-line plan and offer immense multi-line savings. 

The multi-line savings in two and three-line plans is spectacular. Right now, T-Mobile is running a promotion where the third line does not add any price to your monthly bill, making it a great incentive to find a pair of friends willing to join you in a new T-Mobile account. T-Mobile plans are well-priced compared to the competition, but they don’t offer a lot in the way of add-ons. T-Mobile, unlike the other two major wireless carriers, gives users on their cheapest plan 50 GBs of premium wireless data, which means you are guaranteed their fastest possible speeds nationwide. While their data coverage is excellent, 

T-Mobile’s family plan pricing gets a bit strange near the end, but the third line is where the big savings come in. T-Mobile Essentials is half price per line with three lines, and their two more expensive unlimited plans, while not quite 50% off, receive significant savings. T-Mobile’s plans are great, but they don’t include many add-ons. Their main offering is premium data. While the base Verizon Unlimited plan did not offer any premium data, T-Mobile Essentials comes with 50 GB premium, their Go5G has 100 GB, and their most expensive plan has unlimited premium data. While their data coverage is excellent, some Detroit Residents complain about dead spots in New Hudson and the city's rural areas. 

T-Mobile’s network is more robust than the competition, with few reports of slowed data in Detroit’s downtown. That being said, premium data is awesome when you’re coming out of a big concert at Saint Andrew’s Hall and need to fire up your GPS for directions home. 

👍 What We Liked

• Large 5G Network. T-Mobile has the best 5G coverage in the United States. This high-speed data lets you stream HD video and audio with little to no buffering as you travel through the city. 
• Premium Data. While it is an unlikely occurrence, a surprise slow-down of your mobile service is quite vexing. Fifty (or more) premium gigabytes is a great add-on to T-Mobile’s service. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Phone Deals. T-Mobile’s phone deals, which you may have seen recently, are locked behind their most expensive cell phone plan. If you are interested in their Essentials plan, you have to wait until you pay off the device in order to switch off of Go5G Plus, which is much more expensive than you need. 
• Price. This is a common qualm with major wireless networks, but T-Mobile’s prices are steep without multi-line discounts. 

#2 in Detroit: AT&T 

Best Cell Phone Plan Range in Detroit

AT&T is just behind T-Mobile in providing the best cell phone coverage in Detroit. Their 4G LTE network covers more of the rural areas around the city, but their 5G city coverage falls behind T-Mobile’s. While you are relaxing in Beacon Park or staring over the Canadian border at William G. Milliken State Park, you can rest easy knowing that your data will remain fast and reliable. 

Price: Varies

Plan: AT&T offers three unlimited plans at various prices. Their price is comparable to the plans at T-Mobile. 

AT&T offers three unlimited plans. 

• AT&T Unlimited Starter Plan, priced at $65/60/45/35/30
• AT&T Unlimited Extra Plan, priced at $75/65/50/40/35
• AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan, priced at $85/75/60/50/45

Like T-Mobile, AT&T’s unlimited plans start at a high price point and become much more affordable with the addition of new lines. Their savings are not as good as T-Mobile’s, but they are still significant. With three cell phone plans, AT&T has a basic plan with new bells and whistles, a medium plan, and a premium plan with many extras. 

• AT&T’s starter plan has unlimited high-speed data with 3 GBs of high-speed hotspot data.  
• AT&T’s extra plan comes with 50 GB of premium data and 15 GB of high-speed hotspot data. 
• AT&T’s premium plan comes with unlimited premium data and 50 GB of high-speed hotspot data.

AT&T’s coverage around the city is excellent. Large urban centers around the country receive a lot of attention from major wireless companies, and many users report a few issues with AT&T’s coverage around Detroit. There is occasionally network congestion near offices in Southfield and Downtown, and service sometimes switches over to Canada roaming before you cross the border. 

👍 What We Liked

• Large 5G Network. While not as large as T-Mobile’s, AT&T has a great 5G network. Over the next couple of years, we expect AT&T’s 5G network to grow exponentially. 
• Urban Area Coverage. AT&T has a lot of coverage in the less-traveled areas outside of the city. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• SD Streaming. Cutting video streaming off at standard definition for the starter and the mid-tier plan is a tough sell for anyone who likes to stream video when on the move. 

• Premium Data. AT&T’s base plan provides no premium data, leaving your line open to slowdowns if you stumble into a high-volume area. While cheering for the Lions next season your data will, unfortunately, crawl without their premium data. 

#3 in Detroit: Mint Mobile

Most Affordable Cell Phone Plans in Detroit

You have likely seen a few ads for Mint Mobile featuring their owner Ryan Reynolds. This MVNO on T-Mobile’s network enjoys the best cell phone coverage in Detroit without charging the intense prices you see with the major wireless networks. They are known for affordable cell phone plans, but it is worth noting that their unlimited plan is not unlimited high-speed data. Mint’s unlimited plan comes with 35 GB of high-speed data before your data is throttled down to 3G speeds. 

Price: From just $15/month

Plan: Mint Mobile has a variety of limited-data cell phone plans. Ranging from 5 GB to 35 GB of high-speed data, Mint’s plans are very affordable. 

Mint Mobile is our favorite MVNO in the Detroit area. As they work off of T-Mobile's network, Mint Mobile customers enjoy T-Mobile's tremendous 5G network without paying the steep price for a major wireless cell phone plan. The downside is that, unfortunately, they don’t offer unlimited high-speed data. These are the plans Mint Mobile offers: 

• 5 GB High-Speed priced at $25/20/15
• 15 GB High-Speed priced at $35/25/20
• 20 GB High-Speed priced at $45/35/25
• Unlimited (35 GB) High-Speed priced at $40/35/30

A plan with Mint Mobile will save you a lot compared to the major wireless networks at the cost of unlimited data. If you start a multi-line plan at Mint Mobile, you will enjoy its lowest prices with three-month contracts. Mint Mobile family plans to let each user choose the plan that best suits them, giving each person their own data pool. Starting at just two lines, Mint Mobile’s family plan savings are what we like most about the company. If you are a single-line user, you must take out a yearlong contract to get the low prices. A year-long contract is quite serious and locks you down for a while. 

Since Mint Mobile runs on T-Mobile’s network, the same complaints people have about switching to Canada roaming and dead spots in the rural areas around the city shall plague you with this service. That being said, we expect users will be satisfied with Mint Mobile’s coverage around Detroit. 

👍 What We Liked

• Affordable Plans. The low cost of cell phone plans at Mint Mobile is a big draw to their service. 
• T-Mobile’s Coverage. T-Mobile has great coverage in Detroit. Mint users enjoy T-Mobile’s strong 5G network without paying a premium for its service.  

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Prepaid Plans. Regardless of contract length, all Mint Mobile plans are purchased, in full, upfront. That’s a pretty high cost that is hard to fit into budgets.
• Data Deprioritization. Mint Mobile does not offer any unlimited high-speed data plan, making these plans ill-suited for high-data users. 

Get to Know Your Local Carrier Options in Detroit

While Verizon did not make our top three, they do provide excellent coverage throughout the city as well. There’s no need to switch providers before you get into the city and see what’s what. While T-Mobile is the best overall, you may not notice any serious annoyances with AT&T or Verizon during your time in Detroit. Along with the big three, there are many MVNOs that provide great alternatives to a plan with Verizon or AT&T. 

Cricket Wireless is our pick for AT&T. Unlike Mint Mobile, their unlimited plan provides unlimited high-speed data, a great boon for high-data users. They, unfortunately, do not have any super inexpensive plans as Mint Mobile does, but Cricket Wireless has great multi-line savings that rival what you get with major wireless networks. 

If you are interested in an MVNO on Verizon’s network Visible Wireless is our pick for you. Visible is our favorite overall MVNO with their $30 cell phone plan that provides unlimited high-speed data on Verizon’s nationwide network. As with all MVNOs, Visible Wireless will slow down your data first if you are ever in a congested area. This may affect your time in Detroit, but it all depends on when and where you try to use your high-speed data. Big events and gatherings are the places where you will notice your data slowing the most. 

FAQ: Your Questions About Cell Phone Coverage in Detroit, Answered

Is Verizon or AT&T better in Michigan?

While both networks have excellent coverage, AT&T is our pick due to its steady network and strong signals throughout the state. 

How do I find out who has the best cell service in my area?

You can find the best cell phone coverage in your location by checking each company’s coverage map. For more information, you can look up your neighborhood or county and often find notes on Reddit about each carrier’s quirks in the area. While T-Mobile provides the best cell phone coverage in Detroit as a whole, your experience in the North End may differ. 

Is 5G available in Detroit?

Yes! Every major wireless network has impressive 5G coverage in Detroit. 

Which cell phone carrier truly has the best coverage?

Each cell phone carrier has its strengths and weaknesses. In Detroit, T-Mobile has the best cell phone coverage, but that is not the case everywhere in the country. 

TLDR; Verizon is your best bet for fast phone coverage in Detroit

Use really.com to compare! 

Detroit is an amazing city. T-Mobile’s network keeps you connected no matter where you are in the city, helping you keep in touch with your friends and get to where you need to go. Mint Mobile, a T-Mobile MVNO, leverages that network to provide the same high-quality coverage at more affordable prices. If you want more info about plans available in Detroit, you can compare carriers at Really.com to decide which phone carrier is best for you.