Phone provider

[TylerDunne]

Hi,

I've been paying Softbank too much for too long, so I'm looking at changing to a cheap provider. Does anyone have any recommendations? Also, any advice or stories about breaking away from Softbank would be appreciated!

Thanks.

[N00bster]

Ymobile will let you keep using Softbank's network with the same performance, at a faction of the price. It's worth checking them out if you are satisfied with your network conditions.

[seb]

I did it in November-December last year, for the same reason.

My advice to get out

- if you are on a contract with cancellation fee, you can switch to something like GigaHodai which has no cancellation fee. I then waited until I finished using 1.5Gb of the cheap 2Gb in the plan before switching
- if I remember well, you have to apply for the MNP online, because in the shop they will charge you a small fee. Your new mobile provider is usually eager to help you with that

For where to go next, it depends on how much you use/need your phone.

I went for Aeon Mobile, which is dirt cheap, but honestly sometimes I get disconnected or really slow for seemingly no reason. If you watch TV series in your daily commute, it might be worth getting something better. Aeon Mobile also did not care about my visa status in any way. (Rakuten, SB, and likely AU/NTT all require 2 years left on your residence card).

[TylerDunne]

Thanks guys, I didn't know about Ymobile but I'll check it out.

And thanks for the loophole seb, not sure if I have to pay a cancellation fee yet but if I do I'll take that path.

[adamu]

I think if you go with anything less than Softbank / Docomo / AU, you are going to experience slower internet service, but much cheaper prices.

I used to use U-mobile, which was terrible. Then I switched to Line Mobile which was great, but then either due to increasing customer numbers or them getting bought by Softbank, or another reason I don't know, it's become pretty slow. My guess is that whatever provider you pick, performance will degrade once they get enough customers because they don't increase the allocated bandwidth proportional to the number of customers.

I plan to switch to Rakuten one day. They use Docomo now, but they're building their own network, and it's already active in parts of Tokyo and Osaka.

Here's a youtube video. I like their attitude. No, I don't work for them, lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOb0Hwax_cI

[TylerDunne]

Thanks adamu. I'm looking to set up with a broker soon, most likely through Rakuten, so they might be a good option so I'll have a bunch of things together for points/discounts perhaps

[StockBeard]

I'm with Aeon Mobile as well.
They piggyback on the Docomo network. It makes business sense that when bandwidth is tight, Docomo will favor their customers over those of MVNOs such as Aeon mobile. On my daily commute in particular I experience terrible bandwidth when I'm close to Shinjuku. But given that I pay close to 3 times less what I used to pay for Softbank, I'm fine with the occasional signal drop. I would not go back to one of the big 3 just in the hope that my signal gets better for 10 minutes in a day, not worth the money IMO

[RetireJapan]

Switched to Aeon a while back, pretty happy with them: https://www.retirejapan.com/blog/mobile ... n-japan-2/

[Galway Dave]

I also switched to Aeon mobile after going from AU to Ymobile then to Aeon mobile. Ymobile will be cheaper then the big three (AU, Docomo, Softbank) but a MVNO will be even cheaper. People are always amazed when I tell them my monthly mobile bill is less than 2,000yen a month and they are paying over 10,000yen a month. Think of the yearly savings! Your best investments wouldn't be making that. If I was looking to change providers now, I would look at Rakuten mobile. Also very competitive price wise and they are starting up their own network. Currently they have some very interesting offers, like the first year free but I think you will need to sign up for a 3 year contract. I think I might give them a year to get properly set-up before switching. Living in the countryside, I have had very few issues with Aeon mobile and the price is so cheap, I cannot really complain.

One note to consider is that you will need to have a Japanese credit card to set up with Aeon or Rakuten mobile.

[ricardo]

I used to have a EMobile router. I think they became YMobile but it was rubbish. Often disconnected and had slow performance.

If the Coronavirus effect hits us then some of these smaller companies could go under. I’m sticking with au for now. You get what you pay for, and in times of crisis - especially when networks become overloaded due to more home working - it could be a false economy to switch.

A good internet connection is vital for most people these days.

Not the time to be switching, IMHO.