Hello Mobile Pros and Cons: All You Need to Know Before You Sign Up

Hello Mobile is an MVNO carrier that uses T-Mobile’s network to deliver affordable plans to customers interested in a budget phone service. The major trade offs with Hello Mobile are deprioritized data and low high-speed data allocations. All users may experience deprioritized data whenever their area is in high demand, and Hello’s unlimited plans start throttling data much faster than other unlimited MVNO plans on the market. That being said, Hello Mobile is a good option for low-data users, which we will get into in this article! 

Hello Mobile Pros and Cons

There are a lot of cell phone providers on the market, making it difficult to decide which one is the best for you. In this section, we will cover the pros and cons of Hello Mobile to help you decide if you like Hello Mobile for your new cell phone plan. There are many factors to this decision, including data consumption, coverage, price, phone selection, cell phone plans, customer service, and more.

PRO — Cell Phone Plans

Hello Mobile offers seven plans, each of which has its own benefits and downsides. The seven Hello Mobile phone plans are as follows: 

• 500 MB for $5 a month
• 1 GB for $10 a month
• 4 Gbs for $15 a month
• 5 GB for $20 a month
• Unlimited for $25 a month
• Unlimited Plus for $40 a month (comes with mobile hotspot)

While Hello Mobile’s $25 unlimited plan offers, in our opinion, the best value, their 500 MB and 4 GB plans deserve honorable mentions. The ability to get a phone plan with unlimited talk and text for only $5 is fantastic and lets users who spend the majority of their time covered by WiFi have a great talk and text plan for incredibly cheap. For users looking for a great deal but still wanting some GBs to use during the month, we like the $15 4 GB plan the most. It is a good mix of data allocation while remaining a cheap option for phone coverage. 

If you can limit your cell phone usage to WiFi networks, then you can make the most of their low-data cell phone plans. You can download audio and video before you go out and configure settings on your device to limit background data usage when you are out and about. Taking advantage of this, you can keep 500 MB or 1-5 GB of high-speed data for emergencies while using WiFi for the bulk of your data. 

PRO — Bring Your Own Phone

You can bring just about any unlocked cell phone onto Hello Mobile’s network. You should check your phone’s compatibility before switching, but it is likely that your favorite device will work just fine! Hello Mobile’s store does not have too many devices, but you can purchase unlocked devices from Amazon, Best Buy, and many other cell phone providers when you need a new device. 

PRO — Price

This is huge. You can get unlimited talk and text and 500 MB of high-speed data for only $5 a month. There are few cell phone plans on the market that offer such a low price for service, making this a fantastic option for people who don’t need a lot of data each month. This price is available for single-line accounts; no contract is necessary. Hello Mobile’s unlimited cell phone plans only offer 20 GB of high-speed data, so any serious data user will run out quickly each month. 

PRO — Coverage

Hello Mobile uses T-Mobile’s excellent nationwide network, providing its customers with fantastic coverage in almost every state. This ensures you are covered no matter where you are and where you go. Make sure to check your local coverage maps for information regarding the best cell phone coverage in your area! 

PRO — Free Second Month

To add to the great pros of joining Hello Mobile’s service is a completely free second month! All new customers receive one month free when they make an account.

PRO — Multi-Line Savings

Hello Mobile also offers significant multi-line discounts, with their flagship $25 unlimited plan lowering to $17 a month with five lines. These savings are really nice, but they are not as imperative as they are in major wireless providers or more expensive MVNOs like Cricket Wireless and Mint Mobile. This just means you can enjoy a Hello Mobile single-line plan without paying an arm and a leg.  

CON — Low High-Speed Data Caps

Hello Mobile is only viable for low-data users. With the data intensity of so many phone processes, regular mobile data usage will quickly rack up data usage throughout the month. With Hello Mobile, you can only use 20 GB of high-speed data before your data speeds are throttled for the rest of the month. 

This is one big downside to Hello Mobile. There are no ways to get around this limitation. If you use more than 20 GB of high-speed data each month, you will be in trouble with Hello Mobile. That being said, if you are a low-data user and use less than 20 GB each month, then this is a fantastic place for you to get cell phone coverage. 

Hello Mobile, like most MVNOs, offers “unlimited” cell phone plans with a limited amount of high-speed data (4G LTE/5G) and unlimited 2G or 3G data. Using 2G or 3G is unbelievably slow compared to high-speed data speeds.

CON — Data Deprioritization

Hello Mobile, like all MVNOs, operates with MVNO data. This means Hello Mobile customers are slowed down first whenever there is congestion in the area, while major wireless customers retain maximum data speeds. There are, generally, three tiers of data in the United States, with all MVNOs using the lowest tier of data. 

Hello Mobile users have high-speed data whenever there isn’t congestion in a major wireless network. Anytime you are in an area without congestion, you have the same data speeds as T-Mobile customers! This is an amazing way to get the same coverage and speed that T-Mobile customers receive. The downside comes whenever there is congestion on the network. This is, unfortunately, hard to predict. 

Festivals, concerts, and sporting events are common times when a lot of congestion hits the area. If you’ve ever been to a football game and tried to access your phone for just about anything, we are certain that you’ve seen what it feels like to try to use data with congestion. With MVNOs, many city areas receive congestion with some regularity, making the difference between the major provider and its MVNOs more distinct. 

Hello Mobile At a Glance

Hello Mobile is best known for its affordability. With its unlimited plan coming in at only $25 and the second month being completely free, Hello Mobile is here to provide affordable MVNO coverage on T-Mobile’s network. Hello Mobile is available all across the United States, and it has seven plans ranging from 500 MB to 20 GB each month. This section will cover the basics of Hello Mobile before we move into the pros and cons and how they hold up to the competition. 

What Sets Hello Mobile Apart? 

There are so many options for MVNO cellular providers, and it is very important to know what sets Hello Mobile apart from its competition. Hello Mobile’s $25 unlimited plan and the affordability of their plans across the board make it a strong contender for an MVNO in the area. If you are looking to switch to an MVNO from your major wireless provider or looking to change carriers from one MVNO to another, this article will review the ins and outs of Hello Mobile so you can decide whether or not it is right for you. 

Price of Hello Mobile Plans

Hello Mobile is very cheap. They have six plans, and the cheapest comes in at $5 a month for unlimited talk and text with 500 MB of data. Their plans rise in price and data allocation up to their $40 unlimited plus plan which comes with, of course, unlimited data as well as unlimited international calling to select countries and a mobile hotspot. 

The affordability of their plans makes them stand out among the competition and makes up for some of the areas in which they are not as strong. 

What Kinds of Plans does Hello Mobile offer?

All of Hello Mobile’s cell phone plans offer limited high-speed data, with each one providing different amounts of data at different price points. 

All of their plans have unlimited talk and text, but their unlimited plans only come with around 20 GB of high-speed data before your plan gets throttled down to significantly lower speeds. One of the major pain points for Hello Mobile customers is the fact that their high-speed data is so quickly used up if they are streaming or using any other significant amount of data regularly. Data deprioritization is not unique to Hello Mobile. Many MVNOs have a semi-hidden threshold where they will cut off high-speed data to their customers.

What Network does Hello Mobile Use?

Hello Mobile runs on T-Mobile’s network. Hello Mobile’s network covers a fair portion of the continental United States, with fantastic 4G LTE and 5G connectivity. If you live in any major metropolitan area, you can be sure that T-Mobile has you covered with high-speed data. 

Can You Bring Your Own Cell Phone?

Yes! As long as your cell phone is compatible with Hello Mobile, you can port over your phone and phone number to the new carrier.

Hello Mobile vs. Competitors

The market is saturated with wireless providers. It is difficult to narrow it down, but it is important to cross your T’s and dot your I’s before you sign on to a new carrier. It is all too easy to overpay for wireless service when it’s not what you need. Hello Mobile is a fantastic provider for low-data users who can limit their high-speed data consumption during the day-to-day. Let’s take a look at how Hello Mobile holds up against the competition. 

Hello Mobile vs. T-Mobile

First, let’s look at Hello Mobile compared to the major wireless network T-Mobile. They share the same network, so the quality of the service is the same throughout, but Hello Mobile suffers from the same data deprioritization that all MVNOs do. There are two ways your data may slow down when you use Hello Mobile. One is if you go over your data allocation and, for the rest of the month, operate with slow data. The other is if you are in an area where T-Mobile’s network is congested. If they run out of bandwidth, all of their MVNO customers have their data speeds reduced so their main customers can still enjoy high-speed mobile data. 

T-Mobile is much more expensive than Hello Mobile. That is the main trade-off between these two companies. If you are a high-data user, T-Mobile is the way to go. They have plans with unlimited high-speed data and a guarantee that your data will always be at maximum speeds, but you pay a premium for that service. If you are a low or mid-data user and don’t utilize your phone as much when outside of Wi-Fi — Hello Mobile is the place to be. 

Hello Mobile vs. Visible Wireless

Visible Wireless is another awesome MVNO that runs on Verizon’s network. Visible’s main strength is that they offer unlimited plans with no high-speed data caps. This makes them a better choice for high-data users, but Visible doesn’t have any offerings for low-data users. Visible only offers unlimited plans, similar to how major wireless networks operate. Hello Mobile and Visible Wireless are two of our favorite MVNOs, so we recommend checking out what they bring to the table before deciding on one over the other. 

Hello Mobile vs. Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile has a great list of cell phone plans. They offer similar low-data plans and have an easy family plan that nets great prices on all their options. The downside to Mint Mobile is that all their plans are contracted out in three-, six-, or twelve-month contracts. Mint Mobile offers a great set of plans with easy family savings, but you must pay for the whole contract upfront. Hello Mobile offers no-contract service with a lot of flexibility. 

Hello Mobile: Review Summary

The Good

• Affordability. Hello Mobile’s least expensive plan is only $5 a month! For people looking to save money on their plan, be it limited or unlimited data, Hello Mobile is a great place to look. 
• Free second month. A lot of MVNOs have pretty barebones plans with few perks for sticking along, but a free second month is a great part of Hello Mobile’s service.
• Leading 5G network. T-Mobile holds the crown as the major wireless company with the best and most far-reaching 5G network, and Hello Mobile customers (with compatible phones) get to enjoy that same network. 

The Bad

• Spotty 4G LTE coverage. While T-Mobile has the most 5G coverage, its 4G LTE coverage in the continental United States is lagging significantly behind the other two major wireless companies. We recommend checking their coverage map to make sure that they have strong coverage in your area.  
• Data Throttling. While Hello Mobile is very affordable, that comes at a price. After using 15 GB of data, your high-speed data vanishes for the rest of the month. These low speeds make it difficult to do anything but the most basic tasks, and if you are using your phone off WiFi to stream video or load anything significant, your 15 GB allocation can vanish with haste. 
• Low quantity of phones in the store. Hello Mobile’s phone store is, unfortunately, lacking in new models. Users have the choice of many models from 2020 and 2021, but it seems like the latest and greatest are not available in Hello Mobile’s store. 
• Lack of Perks. This is a bit of a reach, but do not expect to see any free subscription services or cloud data included with any Hello Mobile plans. They make up for it in affordability, but in order to keep their prices low, they have to remove the bells and whistles. 

Hello Mobile offers great plans for cheap, but users should prepare for deprioritized data as they use the service. Hello Mobile is a great MVNO for people who are looking to save on their monthly bill, but if you are okay with spending a little extra, other MVNOs provide more comprehensive service and plans. If you want more information regarding cell phone plans in your area, you can check out Really’s comparison tool for all the information you need!