Total Wireless has launched another aggressive promo, this time for single-line customers with their own phones to bring to the network. It's being marketed as "get 50% off when you bring your phone."
If you meet those requirements you can get Total Wireless's Total 5G Unlimited plan for $25/month with taxes and fees included and a five-year price lock. To get this plan, you also need to sign up for autopay. For your first month of service, you'll pay $30. A $5/month autopay discount, which lowers the price to $25/month, won't appear in your account until your second month of service. (UPDATE: Subscribers to the plan have reported they were able to add an autopay discount in the final checkout stages and get it right away. This is good new, but contradictory to the fine print describing the offer on Total Wireless's website.) The normal price of the plan is $50/month after a $5 autopay discount is applied.
This offer is available exclusively online and through Total Wireless retail stores. It's not available in big box stores including Walmart and Target. It's scheduled to be available until 10/11/24.
The Total 5G Unlimited plan includes unlimited talk, text, and premium priority data that doesn't slow down compared to other customers on the network when the network is busy. It also includes 10GB of international roaming data in 15+ countries, roaming in Canada and Mexico, and 15GB of hotspot data although only one device can connect to the hotspot at a time.
I am currently subscribed to this plan as part of Total Wireless's $15/line for multiple lines promo. According to my tests, 1080p video streaming is supported by default when connected to 5G Ultra-Wideband (speed cap of about 9 Mbps on fast.com), and 720p to 1080p is supported by default when on 4G LTE (speed cap of about 4.5 Mbps on fast.com). I discuss this and my data speed tests in more detail in my review of Total Wireless.
The Five-Year Price Lock Red Tape
Total Wireless says if you subscribe to this plan you'll lock in the promotional rate for a minimum of 5 years. However, there is a particular red flag to be aware of. The price guarantee "does not apply to additional promotions, add-ons, features, or discounts, such as an autopay discount." This disclaimer opens the door for Total Wireless to raise the price of the plan by $5/month down the road by removing the plan's autopay discount.
Is Total Wireless Undercutting Another Verizon Prepaid Brand?
What's particularly interesting here is that I think the offer can be viewed as one that's undercutting another Verizon prepaid brand, Visible by Verizon. Visible offers a $25/month unlimited plan with taxes and fees included as well. However, Visible's plan does not include any premium priority data, and that can make a big difference for people living in areas where or when Verizon's network is congested. It can make Visible's plan barely usable in those locations. Visible's plan also lacks roaming in other countries and Mexico and Canada usage. It also does not come with a free 6-month Disney+ subscription. The only areas where Visible's plan may be considered a better offer is if you need truly unlimited hotspot data which Visible's plan offers. The Visible plan is also available to customers who would like to purchase a phone from them, whereas the Total Wireless offer is for BYOD only subscribers.
Total Wireless Website May Have Bugs
This 50% off promo is only supposed to be available on Total Wireless's Total 5G $50 unlimited plan. However, I was able to add any plan I wanted to my shopping cart, along with a SIM card, and they all appeared at a 50% off discount. The $65 flagship plan appeared at $35 in my shopping cart before the $5 autopay discount. The $40/month base unlimited plan, which doesn't have an autopay discount appeared at $20/month. If you want to buy those plans instead you may or may not see the discount after the first month depending on if this is an error on Total Wireless's website or not.
One final note, if you are interested in this offer and have an eSIM only iPhone you will likely need to buy a physical SIM kit first and activate your line using the details of the SIM kit. According to the FAQs on their website, you can transfer to eSIM after.
UPDATE: Redditors are stating they have been able to activate this plan on eSIM and perhaps this particular FAQ is now outdated or meant for those who purchase an iPhone directly from Total Wireless.
If you're interested in this promo, you can get it here.
