Anyone here use Cricket Wireless?

[Marty Gulseth]

I hope this does not violate any rules. If it does, my regrets and please just pull the post.

It's time for a new phone, and I'm thinking perhaps also a new carrier. From what I find on the web, they have pretty good service and coverage. I use a smartphone now, but I don't use a great deal of data or advanced features - e-mail (personal and work when I'm away from a computer), occasional web-browsing, navigation.

If you prefer, feel free to PM me.

Thanks, everyone! Regards, Marty

[John Sanford]

My son does, he's been happy with it. I use Boost Mobile, $40 a month unlimited talk, text, data, works well enough for me. The one place where the pay as you go (i.e. no contract) carriers fall down is their coverage in the boonies isn't as good, and you don't get the latest and greatest phones. If neither of those is going to be a factor for you, then go for it.

[Jim Matthews]

I use Consumer Cellular (https://www.consumercellular.com/), which has reasonable costs
and no contract. I don't know much about their data rates.

They use the previous generation carrier, so they may not
be as fast as the current offerings.

If you're just sending text and (horrors) making voice calls, it's adequate.

[Bert Kemp]

I'm just gonna say Check out republic wireless, no contacts , really cheap plans, great phones. may not work for everyone but is great for me.

[Jerome Stanek]

My SIL uses pageplus for hers. She only needs a phone for emergencies so she gets a $10 phone card that lasts her 120 days.

[Wade Lippman]

Most of the cheap plans (I use Straight Talk) are really just resold AT&T; no better, no worse.

[Jerome Stanek]

I think that Pageplus uses the Verizon network as they will put an old Verizon phone in service for you

[Dave Lehnert]

I have a Tracfone that cost me $150/ year for talk and text (limited). When camping I will be the only one in the group with cell service.

[Alan Bienlein]

I have Boost Mobile and just recently took a trip from Houston Texas to Baltimore Md and had coverage 95% of the time. You can't beat it for only $40 a month unlimited!

[Bert Kemp]

I can beat it $25 a month unlimited no contract talk text and data:p

[Curt Harms]

Most of the cheap plans (I use Straight Talk) are really just resold AT&T; no better, no worse.

Right. I'm pretty sure all the 'second tier' cellular providers simply resell 'first tier' bandwidth. I use a prepaid service and it does use AT&T's GoPhone network. Coverage east of the Mississippi is pretty good, west of the Mississippi can get a little spotty away from populated areas.

[Brian Elfert]

If you leave major cities and highways often you may have issues with prepaid coverage. Many of them will only use the host company's wireless network and won't roam. If you buy directly from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile they will often roam to another carrier's network in areas they don't have service at no extra charge. For many the lack of coverage isn't an issue, but for some it is. My employer sticks with Verizon, even though most expensive, because Verizon offers the best coverage overall when employees are often outside of major metro areas. We've tested all of the major carriers.

[John Sanford]

If you leave major cities and highways often you may have issues with prepaid coverage. Many of them will only use the host company's wireless network and won't roam. If you buy directly from Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile they will often roam to another carrier's network in areas they don't have service at no extra charge. For many the lack of coverage isn't an issue, but for some it is. My employer sticks with Verizon, even though most expensive, because Verizon offers the best coverage overall when employees are often outside of major metro areas. We've tested all of the major carriers.

This. In major metro areas, prepaid works fine. Outside, not so much. How much this will affect someone depends a lot on where they live and frequent. It will be less of a problem east of the Mississippi than it is in eastern Wyoming.

[Dave Richards]

I'm also a Republic user and use the $25/month service. It works well for me and except when I'm driving, most of the time there's a wifi network available so I'm not using the 3G service. 4G is available for a slightly higher fee but I don't have the need for it. At work in the shop, my old phone with Verizon would ring but the signal isn't good enough to actually use the phone. With the Republic service I have excellent service because I'm able to use the company's wifi. If you don't need 3G or 4G data at all, you could go with the $10/month plan. You'd still get data over wifi when it is available and unlimited talk and text over both wifi and cellular. I think it is at least worth a look.

[Marty Gulseth]

Thanks to everyone for your insights. A lot of the "alternative" carriers aren't available in my area, and after reading these posts and doing some homework, I think I'm gonna suck it up, stick with the big guy, and pay a few extra $$ for the coverage.

Regards, Marty

[Greg Portland]

Most of these alternate carriers use the Sprint network (Cricket uses AT&T). Make sure the actual network provides good reception in your area.

[Charles Wiggins]

I think that Pageplus uses the Verizon network as they will put an old Verizon phone in service for you

I use Page Plus and yes it runs on the Verizon network.
Love it. No contract, they have both monthly plans and pay as you go (https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/).
I have a dumb phone and don't talk and text a lot so I do 250 mins/250 texts/10MB data for $12/mo ($13.81 w/taxes and 911 access charges). I have run out of texts one time in almost two years.
That's another thing - no overages. If you run out it just stops working until you renew, which you can do at any time.
They have other plans, and once you port your phone to their service you can switch between levels each month as needed. You're not locked in at any particular level.

[Kev Williams]

I got my wife on Cricket about 9 or 10 years ago. Back then service was sometimes sketchy, but these days she has service everywhere my Verizon phone does. When I changed her Kyocera phone for a Razr at about 3 years, she'd wracked up over 3200 HOURS on the first phone, which works out to around 5200 minutes a month. Her phone bill started out at about $52 a month, right now with full internet and all else on her Iphone, her bill is $55 a month, never any funny surprises. It's always been a complete "use it and don't worry about it" service for her. I'm sure other one-price services are similar, but we're more than happy with Cricket--