Boost mobile vs other prepaid carriers. who and why?

[syoungs]

so my contract with verizon is coming to an end, ive been with them 5 years, and am tired of paying 180$ a month for 2 smartphones. we were looking at getting some pre-paid options.

I have used boost mobile in the past and had no problems with them, but that was 6 years ago, so maybe they are not all that great anymore.

anyone here use pre-paid that cares to share their experience?

[fair-chase]

I'm using Simple Mobile. It's not great, but at $45/mo. for "unlimited" everyting, I can't complain. Service gets sketchy in blues (works on top but not in valleys) and there is a large black out area where you will get no service from Grand Coulee to the Canadian border. Service is decent in the Cascades and will usually work as long as your not under heavy cover. Service around town here is good, and internet is fast until you hit the limit and get throttled.

Not the best, but I haven't found a reason to switch yet as they all have their pros and cons. If I traveled anymore, or if having reliable service while hunting were a priority, I would switch.  For now though it gives me a good excuse not to answer my phone when hunting. 

[cbond3318]

I used Boost for a few years. Never had a problem with them or there coverage until I moved to Montana and they had no coverage and I had to switch to Verizon which sucked having to sign a contract. Another plus with Boost was after so many months of no late payment the bill would go down 5$ I think. it ended up being 50$ a month for unlimited everything.

[syoungs]

any idea what the data cap is on simple mobile? i think its like 2.5g with boost till they throttle you back. im starting to think that they are all pretty equal.

[fair-chase]

I'm sure they have a set limit, but I'm not sure what the actual number is. I usually notice throttling kicking in about 5 days before my monthly service expires.

[FC]

I used Virgin mobile for a couple years and they weren't bad for $50 a month! Check out Straight Talk from Walmart too.

[Heredoggydoggy]

I've had a Tracfone for years, and have had no problems other than the cheapie open-face phone that dialed 911 every time I leaned against something.  When the phone died, I got a folder, so the keypad is covered.  Once a year I buy a 1-year card with 400 minutes.  It's a double-minutes phone, so I get 800 minutes.  At the rate I use the minutes, I probably won't live long enough to use the 2,000+ minutes I have now... 

[xd2005]

I've been using Straight Talk for a couple years now without issue. In fact, just purchased 1 year renewals for my wife and I. Was $990 for both, in store, so was $41.25/month. Although data is unlimited, you're throttled after, I think, 2.5GB.

The phones we have use the AT&T network. I think they have others that work on Verizon and maybe others?

[tjthebest]

I would look into tmobile. That way you can use there payment plan when you buy a new phone. (most of the time verizon phones only work on verizon).  They have month to month plans without contracts. On of them is $50 i think for unlimited everything.  Then for phone recomendations i would say you should get a Moto X. It is pretty much the best smartphone on the market right now(not just my opinion but a lot of peoples). And its got a good price point on moto maker and they have been having good sales lately.

[FC]

I would look into tmobile. That way you can use there payment plan when you buy a new phone. (most of the time verizon phones only work on verizon).  They have month to month plans without contracts. On of them is $50 i think for unlimited everything.  Then for phone recomendations i would say you should get a Moto X. It is pretty much the best smartphone on the market right now(not just my opinion but a lot of peoples). And its got a good price point on moto maker and they have been having good sales lately.

I have unlimited everything through T Mobile on my Note 3 and it costs me about $130 a month...

[follow maggie]

I've used net10 for 5 years and benn pretty happy with it.  Unlimited talk, text, data for $50/month.  I don't think they allow streaming, so not a good choice if you like to do that.  Their phones are pretty crappy, so you're better off to buy whatever phone you like unlocked and use that.

[Smossy]

Walmart; Straight Talk - Used it for 3 years with no problems. Only limited by your phones capabilities.
Unlimited minutes, Unlimited data, Unlimited texts. $45 a month. Cant really beat it IMHO
Specially now with the BYOP (bring your own phone) stuff they have with the prepaid sim cards.

[jeepster]

Boost was the worst phone service I've ever had

Go to Wally world and get straight talk, I pay 120$ every 3 months of truly unlimited everything, depending on what phone you get, it dictates who your provider will be, but I have an AT&T phone, and it even works in Alaska

[Ricochet]

Another vote for Straight Talk.  I was told they use Verizon towers, so they have very good coverage.   

[whackmaster]

so i went out on a limb and got metro pcs had verizon for ten plus years out in nowhere in monroe i have only one choice for internet and that is satellite metro pcs is the bomb wow look at this service save my self $600 a year i can use my laptop at home with this service
you wont be sorry 

[xd2005]

Straight talk uses Verizon and ATT, depending on the phone you have. With that in mind, make sure you get the right phone. Also, if you get a Verizon-based one. Check Straight Talk's website to confirm compatibility.

[xd2005]

Straight talk uses Verizon and ATT, depending on the phone you have. With that in mind, make sure you get the right phone. Also, if you get a Verizon-based one check Straight Talk's website to confirm compatibility.

[KopperBuck]

I would vote for Straight Talk as well. I have friends that have it down here, and they have no issues. I was going to have my wife moved to it, but the iPhone we had was a Verizon that we couldn't bring in. If it had been a Sprint phone we would have been alright. She's on prepaid Verizon now.

[whackmaster]

metro pcs 

[whackmaster]

right now i have two smart phones and internet at home did i tell you it is unlimited minutes on everything $85.00 a month 

[Bean Counter]

So with Straight Talk you have all the same signal coverage that you would with Verizon?

[KopperBuck]

So with Straight Talk you have all the same signal coverage that you would with Verizon?

That's a 10-4. Use pretty much all major carrier towers.

[Bean Counter]

So does that mean that you'll get 4g if your buddy Hajj next to you has a Verizon plan and he has 4g?

I'm with Sprint and somewhere I was told that they will use Verizon towers but I don't even get 3g out in BFE whereas some of my pals get 4g 

[syoungs]

I ended up going with a tmobile prepaid plan. 5 gigs of data a month, unlimited text, only 100min, but I've only used over 100 twice in 3 years, 10 cents a minute I f I go over. Only 30 $ a month. Decent coverage where I live and work. Could be better, but I'm saving 140 a month between 2 lines, worth it for me.

[Alpine Mojo]

Several years ago I switched from TMobile ($50 per month) to Tracphone (averaging $12 per month).  I thought I was getting hosed at the time with a monthly plan from TMobile.  But, I only use my phone to make phone calls.  I don't use text or facebook.

[floatinghat]

There are really only 4 networks, VZ, T, S, and TMO, there are few smaller carriers but these are the dominate network.  They also have MVNO's  who resell their service.  I have a list on another PC, cheap will get poorer coverage, not talking data spped but network access.  Speed (through put) just seams to be parallel to coverage.