Looking to switch providers since I’m definitely not getting a good deal anymore.
Hoping the extremely kind folks of r/japanlife might be willing to offer advice.
I’m on UQ Mobile and paying just over 4,000 yen for 3GB and unlimited calls under 5 minutes.
^(It was an OK deal at the time (this is before all the ahamo/povo/irumo/elmo/datsumo/things so the price itself didn’t seem too crazy) since they gave me a free iPhone 6S (my existing phone at the time was on its last legs) and they gave me 40,000 yen cashback (literally in cash, not annoying points). Plus the monthly charge was cheaper initially because of all the temporary bla bla 割 options whatever. Very convoluted as many of you will know/remember.)
^(Now that those benefits/discounts have already played out/expired, I’m really just overpaying for what I’m getting in terms of data and other features.)
I should have switched a lot sooner but honestly I’ve been putting it off since it’s always been a massive hassle
Have checked out the following past threads but just wanted to double check my thinking is right before I take the plunge.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/14y5obl/i\_am\_done\_with\_rakuten\_mobile\_what\_are\_my\_options/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/14y5obl/i_am_done_with_rakuten_mobile_what_are_my_options/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/161lbz9/cheaper\_mobile\_phone\_options/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/161lbz9/cheaper_mobile_phone_options/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/13s6ory/who\_has\_bestcheapest\_mobile\_voice\_data\_plans/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/13s6ory/who_has_bestcheapest_mobile_voice_data_plans/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/16xgiaw/question\_regarding\_speeds\_of\_cheap\_mobile/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/16xgiaw/question_regarding_speeds_of_cheap_mobile/)
**Ahamo**
It seems that the majority of people are recommending Ahamo.
The website says 2,970 yen for 20GB data and unlimited calls under 5 minutes, which is perfect for me.
Also saw people saying the speed is still 1mbps even with the throttling (which is better than UQ I think) but I couldn’t find any confirmation of that on their site.
**Non-Ahamo options**
***Y-Mobile***
I was at our local Aeon mall on the weekend and went into the Aeon Mobile shop (which seems to be one of those shops that handles all the networks) and they were eager to get me to sign up to Y-Mobile. Problem is they were quoting about 4,000 yen for roughly the same features that Ahamo offers for 3,000 yen.
The other “problem” is them offering 20,000 yen worth of Waon points. They said “*oh you can just buy an Amazon gift card with the Waon points at a ministop and then it’s more usable*” but:
(1) The fact they’re offering 20,000 yen worth of points suggests they aren’t actually giving me a good deal (in terms of the package itself)
(2) People in some of the above threads mentioned that the reception was bad with Y-Mobile and (funnily enough) they went with it because of those 20,000 points but instantly regretted.
**Kakaku(dot)com** **recommendations**
Kakaku seems to recommend Mineo, IIJmio, Povo 2.0 and Linemo. I looked at all of them and noticed that Kakaku doesn’t seem to have any special deals (特典）for Ahamo, which I thought might explain why they aren’t recommending it (ie they don’t get as much for referring Ahamo perhaps?).
I’ve seen people saying those MVNOs have spotty network speeds/coverage but is that still the case?
**My gut feeling**
My gut feeling is saying I should just go with Ahamo since I can’t find many people (or anyone) on japanlife complaining about coverage or network speeds.
I actually mentioned Ahamo to the salesperson in the Aeon mobile shop and their only comeback seemed to be “*oh but there’s no proper customer service if something goes wrong, it’s all chat-based*”, which didn’t necessarily seem like a massive negative to me.
Plus the fact that the pricing is simple with no hidden extras or temporary discounts to make it seem good at first (ie get you in the door) is attractive.
If the trade-off between Ahamo and the cheaper MVNOs is saving about 1,000 yen but getting much worse network speeds/coverage then I’d rather just pay the extra 1,000 for stability.
\–
I’d also like to ask if anyone has signed up for Ahamo at a Docomo shop. I’ve read online that it costs 3,300 yen (I presume this is 事務手数料）, which I thought might be an option if doing it online turns out to be difficult (for paperwork reasons etc).