Is your carrier canceling your phone plan? The good news is you probably won't have to switch to a new plan unless you want to. In most cases, your carrier lets you keep your current plan as a grandfathered phone plan.
When carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile release new phone plans, their old options are retired and no longer available. However, customers currently on those plans are typically allowed to keep them and any associated perks.
While keeping a grandfathered plan may be a good way to save money when a carrier increases rates, sometimes you may need to upgrade. Old plans often lack the newest features and are still subject to price increases.
Read on to learn if you have a grandfathered phone plan, and if you should upgrade to your carrier's newest offering or switch carriers.
What is a grandfathered phone plan?
A grandfathered phone plan is an older plan that is no longer available for new customers, but can be kept by current users until they upgrade.
In legal situations, a grandfather clause is a provision in a law or contract that allows old rules to continue to apply in certain situations. The term has its roots in post-Civil War era America, when lawmakers enacting voting restrictions had to make exceptions for people whose grandfathers had full voting rights before the war.
For wireless carriers, it's a way to keep customers on their current plan even after changing the available plan lineup. That said, the FCC doesn't require carriers to keep old plans available for customers. Carriers offer grandfathered phone plans as a courtesy, not because of a legal standard or contract between them and their customers. This means that carriers can still adjust grandfathered plans, including tweaking perks and raising prices.
Legacy phone plans from major carriers
Carriers update their plan offerings every two to three years. Usually, this is due to price increases, new features, or new plan structures. Keeping a legacy or grandfathered plan may save you money, but remember that the plan features are locked to that plan. You will not receive any new features or perks that come with new plans.
Wondering if you're on a grandfathered plan? Below are some of the most popular grandfathered plans from each major carrier.
AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon grandfathered plans
- AT&T Unlimited Premium
- AT&T Unlimited Extra
- AT&T Unlimited Starter
- AT&T Value Plus
- AT&T Unlimited Elite
- AT&T Mobile Share Plus
- AT&T Unlimited & More
- AT&T Unlimited & More Premium
- AT&T Mobile Share Flex
- AT&T Unlimited Choice Enhanced
- AT&T Unlimited Plus Enhanced
- AT&T Unlimited Choice
- AT&T Unlimited Plus
- AT&T Mobile Share Advantage
- AT&T Unlimited
- AT&T Mobile Share Value
- Go5G Next
- Go5G Plus
- Go5G
- Magenta Max
- Magenta
- T-Mobile One
- T-Mobile One Plus
- Simple Choice
- OnePlus Promo Plan
- All Legacy Sprint plans
- Get More Unlimited
- Play More Unlimited
- Do More Unlimited
- Start Unlimited
- 5G Start
- Go Unlimited
- Beyond Unlimited
- Beyond Unlimited w/ 5G Ultra Wideband
- Above Unlimited
- Above Unlimited w/ 5G Ultra Wideband
- Single Unlimited Talk & Text 500MB
Should you stay with a grandfathered plan?
If you just found out your carrier is discontinuing your plan, you'll need to decide whether to upgrade or stay with your grandfathered plan. You should look at features like data allotments, pricing, and coverage to see if the switch is worth your time.
In most cases, it's probably fine to stay with your old plan for another year or two after it is canceled. Carriers rarely introduce enough new features to entice someone to immediately pay more for service. Exceptions to this rule could be new features, such as satellite connectivity or new streaming perks.
If you've been on your grandfathered plan for some time, it may be worth upgrading to the newest plan. Old plans typically offer less mobile data and features, and most carriers have begun incremental price increases that make grandfathered plans only slightly cheaper than their current lineup. Truthfully, on a very old grandfathered plan, you may be paying more and receiving less.
Leave your old plan for a cheaper carrier
If you've outgrown your grandfathered phone plan but don't like the pricing of your carrier's new options, it may be time to switch carriers.
Customers on AT&T's grandfathered unlimited plans can switch to US Mobile for service. Its Unlimited Starter plan offers 70GB of premium data and a 20GB mobile hotspot on AT&T's 5G network for just $25/month.
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US Mobile
Unlimited Starter Plan (Dark Star)
$25.00/mo
$20/mo. for 6 months; $25/mo. thereafter
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If you're on a grandfathered T-Mobile phone plan, you can switch to Mint Mobile for the same excellent 5G service. Mint is owned by T-Mobile, and its Unlimited Plan offers 35GB of premium data and a 10GB mobile hotspot.
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Mint Mobile
Unlimited Data Plan
$25.00/mo
$75.00 upfront payment for 3 months (equals to $25.00/month). Intro pricing for new customers only.
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If you're ready to leave one of Verizon's legacy plans, you can switch to Visible instead. Visible is a Verizon-owned MVNO with three excellent plans. The mid-range Visible+ plan includes unlimited premium data and an unlimited mobile hotspot with speeds capped at 10Mbps.
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Visible
$35 Visible+ Plan
$35.00/mo
Taxes & Fees included
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Max McCaskill
Sr. Staff Writer
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