On August 31, Yahoo Mobile — an unlimited call, text, and data smartphone plan currently owned by Verizon — will shut down. The plan was only launched in March last year, but it will be shuttered as part of Apollo Global Management's acquisition of Verizon Media, of which the Yahoo brand is a part. The deal is worth $5 billion and will also see brands like AOL and TechCrunch change hands.
Yahoo Mobile customers received unlimited text, talk, and data alongside Yahoo Mail Pro, 24/7 Yahoo account customer services, and the ability to turn their phone into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for $39.99 a month, which is $30 cheaper than a single-person Verizon unlimited plan. If they do not want to cancel their Verizon membership, all current Yahoo Mobile users can renew for an additional month while looking for a new service provider but will be unable to renew their subscription at the end of that 30-day period. After that, users will have 60 days to transfer their phone number to another service provider before their account and number will become permanently unavailable.
According to the Yahoo Mobile update, users can move to a supported carrier, by going to their user profile through the Yahoo Mobile app or website before August 31. After opening the account page, go to the profile tab to find the Yahoo Mobile account number and request a port-out PIN be emailed to the paired Yahoo Mail account. With a Yahoo Mobile account number and port-out PIN, users can contact compatible services providers and request a phone number transfer. Once users contact the new provider, the new will contact Verizon to transfer the phone number.
The update page announcing the shuttering of Yahoo Mobile advises current users to switch to a Visible membership. Visible is also owned by Verizon and is advertises rates between $40-$25 a month per line. The lowest rates are locked behind the Party Pay feature, which reduces the bill of a four-person group to $25 a month each. Because Visible was the infrastructure behind Yahoo Mobile, it offers the same unlimited plan, minus the premium Yahoo account and email.
There are other alternatives to a Visible membership, some even on Verizon’s network. Verizon’s own Total Wireless offers unlimited plans for as low as $23.70 a month. Of course, many cheaper alternatives to a plan with a large service provider require users to meet certain criteria and will slow data speeds after extended use. For users looking to move past Yahoo Mobile with minimum fuss, a Visible plan might work best, but users should consider viewing other alternatives before switching.
