Social Feed

One must not confuse "network connectivity" with cellular connectivity. Network connectivity can (and likely does) mean LAN Wi-fi connectivity in this case.

There's also the gotcha that you must also be a member of one of the affiliated credit unions to qualify.

harshness said:

One must not confuse "network connectivity" with cellular connectivity. Network connectivity can (and likely does) mean LAN Wi-fi connectivity in this case.

There's also the gotcha that you must also be a member of one of the affiliated credit unions to qualify.

Click to expand...

Sprint and T-Mobile cannot call themselves as cellular connectivity because cellular means what is known as System A (Wireless) and System B (Wireline Carrier). For San Francisco, A would be CellularOne which is now known as AT&T Wireless and B is Verizon Wirelss which was originally known as GTE MobilNet. Sprint and T-Mobile are known as Personal Communications System (PCS) carriers which is known as System C and System D. Cellular means 800Mhz and PCS means 1.9Ghz. As far as network connectivity, it can literally mean any network whether wired, wireless, mobile, cellular, PCS. As I said before, read the Mint Mobile disclosure at https://www.mintmobile.com/911-and-e911-disclosure and you will still reach the conclusion that it WiFi and not cellular, Members Mobile is using the same exact disclosure word for word except replace the "Mint Mobile" with "Members Mobile".

If you read everything else, it tells you they use T-Mobile and it would not be LAN Wi-Fi connectivity as why would anyone need data from phone if they already have internet connectivity since one will be pushing the same data capacity usage over both the in-home Internet WAN and also the mobile provider. To be a member of Safe1 which is the credit union mentioned, it costs nothing except opening and linking the Safe1 checking account which has no monthly balance requirement, no monthly fees. That part is already mentioned. The only thing is one will lose $35 as it's not free since you have to pay for one month of service first at the retail price before the free offer will kick in so basically you should have $35.01 in the account so $0.01 balance remains to prevent the linked account from auto-closing due to a zero balance. So like mentioned in my earlier response, step 3 in the how to qualify is what will be the real cost.

Almighty1 said:

Sprint and T-Mobile cannot call themselves as cellular connectivity because cellular means what is known as System A (Wireless) and System B (Wireline Carrier). For San Francisco, A would be CellularOne which is now known as AT&T Wireless and B is Verizon Wirelss which was originally known as GTE MobilNet. Sprint and T-Mobile are known as Personal Communications System (PCS) carriers which is known as System C and System D. Cellular means 800Mhz and PCS means 1.9Ghz. As far as network connectivity, it can literally mean any network whether wired, wireless, mobile, cellular, PCS. As I said before, read the Mint Mobile disclosure at https://www.mintmobile.com/911-and-e911-disclosure and you will still reach the conclusion that it WiFi and not cellular, Members Mobile is using the same exact disclosure word for word except replace the "Mint Mobile" with "Members Mobile".

If you read everything else, it tells you they use T-Mobile and it would not be LAN Wi-Fi connectivity as why would anyone need data from phone if they already have internet connectivity since one will be pushing the same data capacity usage over both the in-home Internet WAN and also the mobile provider. To be a member of Safe1 which is the credit union mentioned, it costs nothing except opening and linking the Safe1 checking account which has no monthly balance requirement, no monthly fees. That part is already mentioned. The only thing is one will lose $35 as it's not free since you have to pay for one month of service first at the retail price before the free offer will kick in so basically you should have $35.01 in the account so $0.01 balance remains to prevent the linked account from auto-closing due to a zero balance. So like mentioned in my earlier response, step 3 in the how to qualify is what will be the real cost.

Click to expand...

Well since Sprint hasn't existed for 6 years now, they can't call themselves anything

While I get what you are saying from a historical perspective, is it even relevant? All three carriers use multiple bands. Verizon and AT&T have 1900 MHz, Sprint had 800 MHz that T-Mobile acquired and either offloaded or is looking to offload and I believe T-Mobile has some native band 5 in very limited areas.

AT&T is mainly AWS, PCS, WCS, DoD, C-Band
T-Mobile is mainly DD, AWS, PCS, BRS
Verizon is mainly AWS, PCS, CBRS, C-Band

EarDemon said:

Well since Sprint hasn't existed for 6 years now, they can't call themselves anything

While I get what you are saying from a historical perspective, is it even relevant? All three carriers use multiple bands. Verizon and AT&T have 1900 MHz, Sprint had 800 MHz that T-Mobile acquired and either offloaded or is looking to offload and I believe T-Mobile has some native band 5 in very limited areas.

AT&T is mainly AWS, PCS, WCS, DoD, C-Band
T-Mobile is mainly DD, AWS, PCS, BRS
Verizon is mainly AWS, PCS, CBRS, C-Band

Click to expand...

Yeah, I am just talking about historically as there are the traditional carriers which has the better coverage and then there are Sprint/T-Mobile regardless what form they are now still has the poor coverage because they can add all the bands they want but the problem is it's not easy to get past the NIMBYs. As for AT&T, remember the current AT&T is basically Cingular which had two networks, the AT&T Blue network which came from AT&T Wireless and also the Cingular Orange network that came from Cingular. The Orange network is the one that sucked big time. The AT&T Blue network is fine only for the parts that were originally TDMA as when they started with GSM, they had very poor coverage so people stayed with the TDMA service instead.

So yes, there is a so called Joint Venture with AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon but that is not combining the three networks as AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon will each still be competitors and run their own network. All the Joint Venture does is all three of the companies will provide as a joint venture would be the signal to deadspots via Satellite as a joint effort using the same equipment and signals but anything that is not deadspot signal will still be from whoever the user's actual service provider is. Until that happens, the best choice would be U.S. Mobile since one will have access to all three networks so hopefully at least 1 of the 3 works when needed. T-Mobile would probably be able to get better over time in areas where they can actually add coverage but in places like San Francisco, the traditional carriers meaning AT&T and Verizon would still have the advantage of the existing footprint because the companies can only use the existing physical locations to expand.

Remember the whole point of the thread is that Members Mobile is not a WiFi network as it does say it uses T-Mobile and provides 4G/5G = nationwide service as why would anyone need WiFi Unlimited Data on another provider that uses someone's existing WiFi Internet connection as that does not make sense. 4G/5G would already imply that it's a Mobile Wireless carrier that does not use WiFi.

Not to mention, it already says it uses T-Mobile to deliver 4G/5G data nationwide:



Yes, the 911 terms and conditions used by Members Mobile talks about WiFi being needed but it's exactly the same as what Mint Mobile says, just replace the word "Mint Mobile" with "Members Mobile" in the terms and conditions for Mint Mobile and you would also come to the conclusion that Mint Mobile also is not cellular and also a WiFi carrier. Ulta also uses the same exact agreement, so it could be that these MVNO's who uses T-Mobile all were supplied with that document and everyone just changes it with their own name. No different than Medicare Advantage plans all have the exact layout except specifics are different regardless what provider one goes with. It's a generic document. It's probably more for liability since you do not see U.S. Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, Verizon actually have a terms and conditions for 911 anywhere so perhaps because these are MVNO's, their 911 services are more limited and do not have things like address location information which for some carriers, you have to actually manually enter so they know how to locate you.


The whole point of the thread is to provide useful information and accurate information. It would help if there were actual comments or reviews of people who use Members Mobile to see what they actually say. Ofcourse the big gotcha is that before the free 1 year service even is available, one has to pay for the one month of service at the $35.00/month which is not disclosed until you read the FAQs so essentially the 1 year of service really will have a out of pocket cost of $35.00 before one would even qualify to get the free promotion. If it didn't have that requirement, it would be worth a try since one has nothing to lose as the checking account is free with no minimum balance requirement and no monthly fees regardless of balance which basically means $0.01 to prevent the account from automatically closing with a zero balance. It's not like Navy Federal where one is required to keep $15.00 that one cannot withdraw as it's excluded from the available balance until one cancels the membership.

Almighty1 said:

Sprint/T-Mobile regardless what form they are now still has the poor coverage

Click to expand...

T-Mobile is #2 today. Your information is outdated. Damn good coverage.

navychop said:

T-Mobile is #2 today. Your information is outdated. Damn good coverage.

Click to expand...

It's not my information is outdated. It's that you misinterpreted what I actually meant. I am talking specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area where T-Mobile has still poor converage as experienced by myself and others as seen on Nextdoor and Facebook. Here is a good example thread to read:

View: https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1mb0s8a/terrible_tmobile_service_in_sf_is_it_just_me/


It would have damn good coverage only because you don't live in something called a major metropolitan area where it would be harder to increase coverage as it would be easier to increase coverage in areas where it's easier to just add coverage with less buildings among other things as you also do not are not located somewhere that has lots of buildings, mountains among other things. That applies to all the people other than Juan who has responded. The other reason is you probably didn't even realize that T-Mobile never had their own network in California and Nevada when Cingular Wireless existed as T-Mobile used Cingular Wireless's network until Cingular Wireless was acquiring AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile basically bought the entire California and Nevada network from Cingular Wireless in 2004. Whether information is outdated or not, what matters is the actual signal measure in dB and not using bars which is useless and personal experience. Yes, T-Mobile may be the best thing since slice bread at your location but that does not mean it at all locations. Ask the Venture Capital firms on Sand Hill Road in Palo Alto, California why they will only use Verizon and not T-Mobile because one has coverage and actually works while the other doesn't. So like anything, it's a YMMV situation as it depends on your specific area. And like I said, if you want damn good coverage, U.S. Mobile will give you that because unless you are in a deadspot, you will get the big 3 in whatever # order you want based on actual performance personally which is what matters.

Almighty1 said:

you don't live in something called a major metropolitan area

Click to expand...

I live in downtown Albuquerque and have great coverage with T-Mobile. I'm often in KC, Dayton, Las Vegas and LA and never have issues with T-Mobile. Not-so-ironically it's only rural KS and MO where I have issues.

comfortably_numb said:

I live in downtown Albuquerque and have great coverage with T-Mobile. I'm often in KC, Dayton, Las Vegas and LA and never have issues with T-Mobile. Not-so-ironically it's only rural KS and MO where I have issues.

Click to expand...

There is a difference. LA is big even in landsize. San Francisco is 7 mile squared but it's full of mountains which is why it's harder for coverage. Downtown San Francisco is fine even in 1997 with pretty much everyone. T-Mobile/Cingular/AT&T PCS were very spotty as people had to be next to the window in order to even make a call or else it's as dead as a door brick. Up until 2009, I used to live in San Francisco Chinatown and never had any issues with Verizon since 1989 but the issues came when I moved and it would show randomly anywhere between 0-2 bars so it randomly works when it wants to.

I can't really tell if it gets worse or not when I don't have a signal to begin with even with Xfinity Mobile on Verizon but Verizon seems to be degrading in the company in general because since April 2026 for example, despite contacting Verizon Executive Relations, the 7726 spam is still broken as the usual sequence is:
#1 - Forward spam to 7726
#2 - 7726 responds and asks for the phone number of the sender of the spam
#3 - phone number for sender of the spam sent to 7726
#4 - 7726 acknowledges and completes the spam reporting

but since April 2026, it's been:
#1 - Forward spam to 7726
#2 - 7726 acknowledges and completes the spam reporting

It does not ask for the phone number of the sender of the spam. Verizon claims that the 7726 is provided by a third party.

T-Mobile from what I know and experienced has always had good customer service. Verizon did too but think it went downhill. AT&T is the one who always had bad quality service.

I had a interesting experience with Xfinity Mobile too when I visited Toronto, Ontario Canada in 2024 which would only work for calls and texts but not data even though it's connected to Freedom Mobile and stayed that way for roughly 5 days. We had to go to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side before it finally switched to using Verizon's network on the New York state, USA side and then it seemed it seemed to be using Rogers when we got back to Toronto where the data did work but that was only for a few hours and then it went back to Freedom Mobile with the data not working again. So it seems that while Verizon is who Xfinity Mobile uses in the U.S., their roaming partners outside the U.S. is not the same as Verizon. That's why it seems like U.S. Mobile would be the best choice as the big 3 is available without factoring in the joint venture. Xfinity Mobile's unlimited voice, text and data while traveling outside the U.S. included in the current plans seems attractive and hopefully the data actually works. Maybe U.S. Mobile will have something similar or as a add-on when needed. As for the JV, this can also mean the big 3 can even provide worldwide service while traveling outside the US which might be what might happen since they are no longer limited to not having networks outside their U.S. national footprint.

I live in WNY and spend a lot of time along Lake Erie within clear eyesight of Canada.

On T-Mobile I've only roamed onto Telus, every time I've checked it's been LTE band 13. T-Mobile roams on to Telus very easily for me. It doesn't matter if it's Niagara Falls (US side), some where along Lake Ontario or my spot along Lake Erie, if I can smell Canada it roams into Canada.

On AT&T I've roamed on to both Telus and Rogers, but it's usually Telus. I can keep a native AT&T for much longer than I can keep native T-Mobile, it's a FirstNet line so as long as there's a sliver of band 14 I'll stay connected to US towers.

On Verizon I hit Canadian towers for the first time a few weeks ago, in one area it was Bell, in another Rogers.

The way I understand it is all three big US providers have roaming agreements with all three big Canadian providers.

In my general area, as someone having all three providers my observations are for coverage it's #1 Verizon, a veryclose #2 AT&T, #3 T-Mobile. For data speeds #1 T-Mobile by far, #2 Verizon, AT&T a distant #3. I've got the new Pixel XL and Pixel Fold coming, we'll see how that new MediaTek modem compares to modem in the Pixel 10 series.

EarDemon said:

I live in WNY and spend a lot of time along Lake Erie within clear eyesight of Canada.

On T-Mobile I've only roamed onto Telus, every time I've checked it's been LTE band 13. T-Mobile roams on to Telus very easily for me. It doesn't matter if it's Niagara Falls (US side), some where along Lake Ontario or my spot along Lake Erie, if I can smell Canada it roams into Canada.

On AT&T I've roamed on to both Telus and Rogers, but it's usually Telus. I can keep a native AT&T for much longer than I can keep native T-Mobile, it's a FirstNet line so as long as there's a sliver of band 14 I'll stay connected to US towers.

On Verizon I hit Canadian towers for the first time a few weeks ago, in one area it was Bell, in another Rogers.

The way I understand it is all three big US providers have roaming agreements with all three big Canadian providers.

In my general area, as someone having all three providers my observations are for coverage it's #1 Verizon, a veryclose #2 AT&T, #3 T-Mobile. For data speeds #1 T-Mobile by far, #2 Verizon, AT&T a distant #3. I've got the new Pixel XL and Pixel Fold coming, we'll see how that new MediaTek modem compares to modem in the Pixel 10 series.

Click to expand...

I don't think the roaming would be a problem for people who are customers with the big 3 compared to a MVNO because it seems like Verizon roams with Telus, Bell and Rogers and Xfinity Mobile supposedly uses Verizon's roaming agreements as a MVNO. Verizon and Verizon MVNO all use a PRL so for what it's worth, it only seems to connect to Freedom Mobility and I have no way to try this again as I have only visited Canada twice, once in 1987 and once in 2024. I cannot even find anyone else who connects to Freedom Mobility while in Canada either as it's always the big 3 so it seems like it's connecting a someone that is not a roaming partner even though Xfinity Mobile when I talk to their International Data department have told me to basically try everything for troubleshooting but they never solved the problem and ending up just crediting my account so both lines were free for that month, I was spending like 2-3 hours daily with them. Xfinity Mobile seems to disable the manual network selection and there is no access to the APN settings. I am still on a iPhone 6S Plus so it's harder to determine the speeds part. Need to figure out how to backup the voicemails so the filename would have both the phone number of the caller as well as the date/timestamp when I actually find time for it and then move to a new phone which was originally going to be the iPhone 17 Pro Max with 1TB but probably will be a iPhone 18 Pro Max now.

I was asking Xfinity about the sales tax bit on internet and they finally researched it.

Basically, the current plan at $70.00 month for the Internet, the gateway rental says included and the unlimited data says included. The sales tax is on the gateway at $1.30 as it's based on the $15.00/month gateway rental price before the $15.00/month credit.

My previous plan when they started charging $25.00/month for xFi Complete which is basically unlimited data which includes the modem. The sales tax is $0.71 per month because the package looks like this:
$16.67 or 66.67% or 2/3rd goes to the gateway rental
$8.33 or 1/3rd goes to the unlimited data
so it seems that the sales tax was charged on the unlimited data and not on the gateway rental. While it's supposed to be the other way around, the lower amount is what matters.

This explains why the February 10, 2026 bill shows a $1.88 sales tax instead of $1.30 because originally I got charged $0.71 before switching to the current plan so it resulted in $0.58 added to the January 15, 2026-February 14, 2026 plus the current $1.30.