https://www.mintsim.com/

[WM: CSipSimple is not my favorite. YMMV.]

Also, I strongly suggest studying T-Mobile’s account web interface well. You don’t want to accidentally change away from this plan, accept a ‘free’ phone or anything like that. You probably will want to setup auto-refill for sure. And I’ve added funds from time to time to the account to increase my T-Mobile GSM minutes, (although I try to stick with cheaper Vestalink VoIP).

Whenever I upgrade cellphones the SIM just works in all of them.

I recommend a two step process, so I’ll provide two URLs. The first is a $5 SIM card, and the 2nd is The Plan, which supports Binge-On! Meaning outside of my 5Gb high speed data, I can listen to unlimited Pandora at work, and watch unlimited Hulu & Netflix on the bus commuting to and from work. I use my data mostly for tethering via Android’s wifi hotspot to an Ubuntu computer. I get fantastic mostly equal up/down speeds in the DC Metro area too.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPPHHFK?ref%5F=sr%5F1%5F1&qid=1479560309&sr=8-1&keywords=t-mobile%20SIM&pldnSite=1

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tmobile-30-Wireless-Airtime-Card/15443357

If I consume over 5Gb (Bingo-on stuff excepted) it drops to unlimited 64K speed until the next billing month starts. Texts at least sent from the US are free. I know I couldn’t send any from outside the US; or maybe it was they were very expensive. I think that was the case; they’re expensive to send overseas. They only give 100 minutes of GSM calls, but more can be purchased for .10 a minute which has proven to be useful several times. But be warned: T-Mobile’s GUI is intentionally trying to get you to switch away from your current plan, so don’t do it! Just add more money to the account so you can make more calls. And 5Gb of LTE data is the limit until refill day.

FWIW: I upgraded from an HTC one A9 to a Pixel, and have relied so far on Vestalink service (over T-Mobile). The reason I upgraded was because everyone complained about the quality of my calls although they always sounded fine to me. Aside from that I really liked the phone. After exhausting all other possibilities I attributed the issue to a poor performing CPU + too-little RAM and bought the Google Pixel. After a week with the Pixel so far, no one has complained about my call quality (!) and I needed this to work well for my job performance. I spend several hours a week in team meetings held over the telephone.

Thanks for another great article!

If you’re a heavy cellular data/voice/SMS user, Ting probably isn’t the best choice, but it seems like a good match for a heavy WiFi user.

Another backup possibility is to use pre-paid SIM, especially the longer term ones (IIRC, you can get deals like a $100 pre-paid card that lasts a year).