Hello Mobile Pros and Cons: All About the Budget-Friendly Wireless Service

Researching what wireless company is right for you can be a big task, especially with so many options out there offering you a variety of price plans for data packages. Everyone has their own “deal breaker” when it comes to a phone plan and price can be a big flashing one. With price plans seemingly getting more and more expensive, wanting an unlimited plan but not wanting to pay an arm and a leg is something many would like.

That’s where Hello Mobile comes in.

Just a few years ago in 2019, Issa Asad, the Founder and CEO of Q Link Wireless, launched a new wireless company that provides low-cost phone plans to those who want to stay connected but don’t want to break the bank. And seemingly they don’t want any of their customers to feel left behind or go without some of the coverage you’ll find from other wireless companies- more on that later.

Hello Mobile prides itself on a few key things: low prices, no contracts, and reliable connection. They want to take those deal breakers you might have and turn them into deal makers. 

So that leads us to ask the question, is Hello Mobile all that it’s cracked up to be? How does it work? What makes it different from other phone companies? And what are Hello Mobile’s pros and cons? Let’s find out shall we?

• How Hello Mobile works
• What plans does Hello offer?
• Hello Mobile pros and cons
• What Hello Mobile customers are saying

How Hello Mobile Works

Hello Mobile is a MVNO- (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) which means that instead of owning its own towers it instead will use the signal of a bigger network. In this case, Hello uses T-Mobile to provide wireless service to customers, which means Hello Mobile users can gain access to T-Mobile’s widespread network at a lower cost.

Hello Mobile’s user interface is pretty easy to follow and they offer a lot of information to you in what you can save by taking their “Savings Quiz” which is listed on their website. There you will be asked the following questions:

• How Many Lines Do You Need?

• You will have a choice of one, two, three, four, or five lines.

• What’s Your Monthly Data Usage?

• Then you will select between three data choices: 1GB for those who don’t use a lot of data, 4GBs for the casual user, and Unlimited for those who are always using their data and need to have bigger resources.

• How Much Do You Pay Per Line?

• Hello Mobile wants to show you how much you could potentially save with them so you’ll put how much you spend with your current phone plan and then it will tell you how much you will save with Hello.

With their “Savings Quiz” you’ll get a ballpark estimate to how much you could potentially save if you switch over to Hello Mobile.

But how does Hello Mobile work?

1. Once you’re on the official Hello Mobile website you will have a couple different “starting” options depending on if you want to use your current device or buy a new one through Hello.

• If you want to bring your own device you will need check to see if your phone is compatible with Hello and the way to do that is to go to the “Bring Your Own Phone” tab, and check through either typing in your current wireless’s carrier and the brand of your phone or get better results by typing in your phone’s IMEI number. (They will tell you how to do that if you don’t know how or are confused).
• If you want to buy a new phone you will need to look at their “Shop All Phones” tab and pick out your new phone from their inventory. They have a pretty big inventory for a MVNO with Apple, Android, flip phone, and handheld phones available. 

2. After you have your phone you will then choose how many lines you need and then pick your phone plan.
3. You’ll then be asked to put your email address in and then you will add your billing and payment information to proceed with the transaction.

Overall, Hello Mobile makes both shopping for phones and plans pretty easy. But now that you know how it all works, you might be curious what their plans are at a glance…

What Plans does Hello Mobile offer?

One of Hello Mobile’s main selling points is their low-cost data plans; they have four “limited” data plans and two “unlimited” plans, one with a hotspot and one without.

• Tip: To view all of the plans in their full detail, click on the plan link under “Plans” on our charts below.

First up we have Hello Mobile’s plans for one line:

If you’re in need of more than one line, Hello Mobile does promote the more lines you have, the better savings you’ll encounter.

Those are the full prices you will be paying for the plans, there aren't any hidden fees and SIM card kits and the activation is free. The only extra costs you will pay for is if you buy a phone through their website as well.

Listed under their plans you will see they offer a “second month free” deal where if you decide to switch to Hello Mobile you will get your second month’s phone plan for free which is a pretty nice perk to have.

If you’re a frequent data user, we’d definitely opt for the unlimited plans as without, their data plans are on the low-side compared to other phone companies. However if you are someone that doesn’t use their phone other than to make calls and texts, talking to you flip phone users, then a lower-cost lower-data plan might be your perfect fit. 

Hello Mobile Pros and Cons

Even seemingly perfect wireless companies have their flaws and Hello Mobile isn’t any different- but that’s not to say they don’t have their fair share of pros too. Let’s discuss what could be your make or break with Hello.

Pros

• Low-cost Phone Plans
• Additional Bonuses to Phone Plans
• Free Second Month of Service
• Add-on Data Option

Low-cost Phone Plans

You can expect to find other MVNOs to have low costing phone plans, it comes with the label. But with Hello Mobile you’re truly getting a cost that might be worth the switch over. An unlimited plan that’s only $25 a month is hard to beat and Hello certainly takes their budget-friendly advertising seriously. (Though it’s good to note that they do come with potentially slower data speeds- more on that in the cons section). 

They also have a great deal for a phone plan in this day and age, especially when you count their family plans. Hello Mobile has insanely great multi-line pricing, the more lines you add, the more you’ll save! In some other wireless providers' cases it seems like it’s the opposite at times.

Some Additional “Bonuses” to your Phone Plan

If you view Hello Mobile’s plans in full you can see everything that comes with it and each plan comes with a few bonus add-ons you might not find in other MVNOs:

• Unlimited International Calling to certain Select Countries
• No Activation Fees and No Contracts
• Free SIM Kit and Activation

International calling and the free SIM kit/activation are the highlights, some phone companies will charge extra for these two benefits and at Hello Mobile you get them for free with your phone plan.

Free Second Month of Service

At Hello Mobile if you sign up for your first month you will get your second month free! It’s like their own version of a “buy-one get-one free” deal you’ll find at retail stores. Along with their low prices, it just leads you to more savings in the long run.

Need More? Add Data!

If you are a Hello Mobile member and you don’t have an unlimited plan and need more data for the month you can add more for a small cost on their refill page via your personal account page. Only add when you need it and keep your current data plan at your monthly rate if you don’t.

Cons:

• Data Deprioritization
• No Additional Perks

Data Throttling and Deprioritization

Hello Mobile’s current biggest drawback is their data deprioritization. Data throttling is when your data is dramatically slowed to the point where sending an email can take forever and surfing the web is almost impossible. While data deprioritization is the temporary slowing of data speeds because of network congestion and high traffic areas. This is because Hello Mobile is a MVNO and since they are using T-Mobile’s signal, in those congested areas T-Mobile will prioritize their direct subscribers over those through Hello.

At around 15 to 20GBs of data used with your Hello Mobile plan you will notice your speeds start to get slower. Inconsistent speeds can cause inconsistent use and can be a real hindrance for highly frequent phone users. 

Hello Mobile's prices and plans are pretty great, but if you are someone that cares about being able to use your phone’s data at all times then you might want to consider stepping back or looking elsewhere.

No Additional Perks

Most, if not all, major wireless companies will come with perks now. You’ll find streaming service bundles, exclusive deals for paying customers, and additional perks that make those more expensive phone bills seem worth it. At Hello Mobile there are no additional add-ons or perks in that same vein. So again, if you’re someone that’s always on their phone and likes to stream video when you’re out and about using data, you may want to seek another phone plan.

What Hello Mobile Customers are saying

It’s always good to get a second opinion, especially when you’re looking for something as big as a phone plan, that’s why you’re here after all! So let’s see what some customers of Hello Mobile are saying online…

For the most part, people seem happy with their Hello Mobile service, but there are a few negative reviews in the bunch, here’s a few of the positive and negative reviews we saw online:

“I love Hello Mobile!!! A $5 a month service fee, for unlimited calls, and text is really a great gift, compared to the cost of other “pay as you go” plans, by other greedy companies. I send a great big THANK YOU to Hello Mobile for providing this $5 a month service, Especially for those of us who can’t work, and are on a fixed income.” -Nicholas Tallarida (12/28/2023) via Trustpilot

“I love the fact that I have unlimited calls (local and international), texts messages and data (internet) for the price of $25. BUT, I must say that I hate the speed of the data. It is SUPER SLOW! So I have to ask always for a WiFi nearby in order that I can browse my social media, look for addresses or any other thing that I might need to search for in Google.” -Ivan Mejia (12/28/2023) via Trustpilot

“My daughter has only had her phone for a week, but so far it is OK. It is super super slow, but we got it for her so we could contact her when she is out with friends, and we have been able to do that. If you plan on using apps/etc. A lot, I do not recommend.” -Cat (01/2/2024) via Trustpilot

There’s also a whole Reddit thread of people talking about their own experience with Hello Mobile which seems to be mirroring the other reviews, mostly good, and some negative.

Here’s the Reddit thread to view it for yourself in full.

With their seriously cheap prices, yet slower than average data speeds, Hello Mobile seems to be a great choice for those who don’t plan to use their data on the go and instead use their phone to call and text when out and about.

If you want to compare and contrast Hello Mobile to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.