In this Guide. Public Mobile is a Telus subcarrier that runs on Canada’s largest network. While you won’t get Telus’ lightning-fast 5G speeds, Public Mobile offers 3G and brand-new 4G LTE plans. As a prepaid-only mobile carrier, there are no contracts or commitments. Every plan is month-to-month, giving you the freedom and flexibility to Virgin offers a $55-a-month plan with unlimited calling, data messaging, and Internet access. T-Mobile offers a similar plan for $50 a month. Both throttle excessive data users. Virgin is Virgin Mobile reserves the right, without notice, to temporarily limit throughput speeds when monthly data usage on the $40 Broadband2Go Plan exceeds 5GB.Customers will continue to have access to Broadband2Go service but maximum speeds may be limited to 256 kilobits per second or below for the remainder of the monthly plan cycle. Jun 25th, 2012 5:24 pm. Virgin owned by Bell and runs on Bell towers The service is exactly the same. Koodo is owned by Telus and runs on Telus towers. They are simply sub brands. Jun 26th, 2012 7:30 am. Jun 26th, 2012 7:30 am. Oh yeah Bell also owns PC Mobile too in case you didn't know. Ne0's Bio: Virgin Mobile have got rid of their great family plan scheme that offered a discount on extra plans added to your account if you were a Virgin broadband customer. You used to be able to get £2 off 4 additional SIMs on your existing Virgin Mobile account, which made Virgin’s already low prices even more appealing. Metro by T-Mobile cell phone plans. Metro’s $50 Unlimited Plan is a pretty great deal if you want oodles of high-speed data for streaming, gaming, and browsing. At 35 GB, its data cap is higher than many other discount providers. It also gives those with 5G-capable phones access to T-Mobile’s 5G network. . Marcin Kaźmierczak2021-06-29 13:50redaktor 13:50/ W maju czołowi operatorzy internetu mobilnego w Polsce znacząco podnieśli średnią prędkość łącza – wynika z danych serwisu Wzrost zanotowano także w przypadku firm oferujących internet domowy, co zaowocowało zmianą na pozycji lidera. Ranking internetu mobilnego LTE W dalszym ciągu na najwyższą średnią prędkość pobierania danych za pomocą internetu mobilnego w standardzie LTE mogą liczyć klienci T-Mobile – wynika z raportu W maju pobieranie danych było możliwe ze średnią prędkością 48,6 Mb/s, co oznaczało wzrost względem kwietnia o ponad 4 Mb/s. Średnia prędkość internetu LTE w maju 2021 r. – ranking operatorów Sieć Pobieranie danych [w Mb/s] Przesyłanie danych [w Mb/s] Ping [w ms] T-Mobile 48,6 10,3 30 Orange 39,3 10,2 29 Play 35,6 9,6 35 Plus 32,3 9,5 40 Źródło: Raport Na wyższą średnią prędkość niż miesiąc wcześniej mogli liczyć także abonenci pozostałych czterech czołowych sieci działających w Polsce, przy czym największy wzrost w relacji miesięcznej odnotowano w przypadku klientów Plusa (32,3 Mb/s). Znacznie mniejsze różnice pomiędzy operatorami można było zauważyć w przypadku średniej prędkości przesyłania danych. Oscylowała ona wokół 10 Mb/s. Ranking internetu domowego Wzrost średniej prędkości transferu danych miał miejsce także w przypadku czołowych sieci oferujących internet domowy. Najmocniej względem kwietnia parametr ten wzrósł w przypadku sieci Inea. Abonenci sieci mogli w maju pobierać pliki ze średnią prędkością 166 Mb/s – o 12,5 Mb/s wyższą niż w kwietniu. Tym samym Inea wysforowała się na pozycję lidera wśród dostawców internetu domowego. Jej klienci mogli liczyć także na najwyższą średnią prędkość przesyłania danych, która była zbliżona i wyniosła 163 Mb/s. Średnia prędkość internetu domowego w maju 2021 r. – ranking operatorów Sieć Pobieranie danych [w Mb/s] Przesyłanie danych [w Mb/s] Ping [w ms] INEA 166,0 163,0 10 UPC 160,1 27,8 17 T-Mobile Stacjonarny 145,8 48,1 17 Vectra 135,8 32,7 20 Źródło: Raport Abonenci zdetronizowanego w rankingu UPC mogli pobierać pliki ze średnią prędkością 160 Mb/s, jednak w przypadku przesyłania danych musieli borykać się z najwolniejszym łączem (średnio 27,8 Mb/s). Na podium w obu kategoriach znalazło się jeszcze T-Mobile, a poza nim uplasowała się Vectra, która dostarczała także najmniej stabilne łącze z czołowej czwórki Dirt cheap data plans: Virgin Mobiles vs T-Mobile Thread starter desura Start date Aug 30, 2013 Mar 22, 2013 4,627 129 101 #1 These are the two I know of. Virgin Mobile runs off the sprint network. It's $35/mo (or $30 if you pay several months in advance I believe). Phones are unsubsidized, but 2 year cost compared to Sprint is like half. 300 minutes + "unlimited" data. T-Mobile has their own network, though I'm not sure how good it is. $30/mo. Kind of hard to find. Big plus in my book is that they seem to have more options in way of phones, and so you can take any unlocked phone, like the recently price-dropped Nexus 4, and go on their network. 100 minutes + 5gb fast internet and then throttled internet afterwards. How do they compare? #2 T-Mobile has worse coverage but is significantly faster. Sprint is so slow that they honestly shouldn't be a consideration by anyone for any reason. #4 It all comes down to how your coverage is where you plan to use your phone. Nothing else really matters in comparison. Mar 22, 2013 4,627 129 101 #5 You might want to look at the currently active 'Should I Switch to Sprint' thread: Well, that was easy. Right now I'm still using a flip phone on...sprint. Doing the maths and stuff...I can actually upgrade to the Tmobile $30/mo plan and a smartphone, and actually pay roughly the same as I currently pay to sprint for the dumbphone (it's on a family plan and stuff) Feb 24, 2000 78,794 261 116 #6 It all comes down to how your coverage is where you plan to use your phone. Nothing else really matters in comparison. Exactly. Sprint has some of the best all you can talk/text/data plans but the coverage is absolutely horrendous. What good is a great deal if you only have 0 or 1 bars of coverage? Ask your friends, family and co-workers which providers offer the best coverage then start looking for a good deal. If T-Mobile has great coverage in your area, I'm a huge fan of Platinum Tel esp if you load up on their 50% off coupons (assuming it's still working of course). Feb 24, 2000 78,794 261 116 #8 Counterpoint- I recently switched from Sprint, not prepaid, to T-Mobile prepaid, the same $30 100minute/5 gb data discussed. Wher I live Sprint's coverage wasn't good, but I could roam for free so I usually could make calls. T-Mobile's coverage is just as bad but now I just don't have any signal at all sometimes. I take road trips. On the interstates I could pretty much always use Google maps anywhere on Sprint, sometimes it was a little slow to DL maps, but it worked. With T-Mobile MOST of the time I could not get any maps to DL at all. My point isn't that T-Mobile is bad but people shouldn't be so quick to diss Sprint. Whe it comes to coverage its not Verizon, but neither is anyone else. #9 Counterpoint- I recently switched from Sprint, not prepaid, to T-Mobile prepaid, the same $30 100minute/5 gb data discussed. Wher I live Sprint's coverage wasn't good, but I could roam for free so I usually could make calls. T-Mobile's coverage is just as bad but now I just don't have any signal at all sometimes. I take road trips. On the interstates I could pretty much always use Google maps anywhere on Sprint, sometimes it was a little slow to DL maps, but it worked. With T-Mobile MOST of the time I could not get any maps to DL at all. My point isn't that T-Mobile is bad but people shouldn't be so quick to diss Sprint. When it comes to coverage its not Verizon, but neither is anyone else. You are comparing T-Mobile pre-paid vs. Sprint non-Prepaid which isn't much of a valid comparison. Apples to oranges. About as useful as comparing Virgin Mobile pre-paid vs Verizon non-prepaid. I don't recommend any of T-Mobile's prepaid plans because there is no roaming and coverage is much worse. And FYI, Virgin Mobile has much worse coverage than Sprint and there is no roaming as well. Virgin Mobile(which is a Sprint prepaid plan) vs T-Mobile prepaid is a more valid comparison. #10 And FYI, Virgin Mobile has much worse coverage than Sprint and there is no roaming as well. Virgin Mobile(which is a Sprint prepaid plan) vs T-Mobile prepaid is a more valid comparison. I've personally found Virgin Mobile coverage to be identical to Sprint (I was on Virgin Mobile for about 3 years) where we live. The only difference is where Sprint hands the connection over to Verizon roaming. The real differences were the individual phones (some phones have better signal reception than others) and the ability to roam. Might not be this way everywhere, but definitely everywhere I traveled. #11 I've personally found Virgin Mobile coverage to be identical to Sprint (I was on Virgin Mobile for about 3 years) where we live. The only difference is where Sprint hands the connection over to Verizon roaming. The real differences were the individual phones (some phones have better signal reception than others) and the ability to roam. Might not be this way everywhere, but definitely everywhere I traveled. You are an anomaly...I'll let the actual maps speak for themselves. Virgin Mobile coverage: Sprint coverage: #12 I am on Virgin and have no complaints. Then again I live in an area with Sprint LTE and have an LTE phone. #13 Assuming that TMO has decent coverage in your area, its a no brainer to go with them. The wider choices in phones is a huge point in their favor. Virgin Mobile is limited to a subset of variations of Sprint devices. #14 If you actually research those maps you will see that Virgin's coverage of interstate travel isn't that different from Sprints. Which makes sense because along interstates Sprint has pretty good 3g coverage. Its not as good as Verizon's, last time I checked it was about on par with ATT. And those 3 are the only carriers that cover interstate travel to any substantial degree. Which is important for things like searching for gas stations, pois, etc, while traveling. #15 Last edited: Aug 31, 2013 #17 chose VM over tmobile due to cheaper with a usable number of minutes. their data speeds are fine when on 3g. I routinely get 100KBytes/s, very low latency etc. Unfortunately a lot of the time I seem to be on 1xRTT which is way slower. This is my main beef with them, and is probably why most people think they have terrible speeds. I think their throttling algorithm kicks in sometimes too when it shouldn't (I never use >1GB data and according to them it shouldn't kick in before because a lot of the time when I'm on 1xRTT I'll enable WiMax and it'll be no faster. Other times WiMax is super fast and it's fantastic. Usually I'm very happy with VM. Seem better than metroPCS #18 I've used tmos $30 UL plan for over two years now and I still love it. I used to have VZW back in the 3G UL days and I've prob saved $1K since switching. I've moved back and forth between CA and WA and coverage is good for me in these metro areas. Dec 17, 2008 2,129 222 106 #19 Virgin Mobile unlimited data throttles after a certain amount (2 or Gbs if I recall) Virgin Mobile uses the sprint network. It is different than the contract sprint for contract sprint can roam on verizon network so make sure you have coverage. You can't choose your device with Virgin you have to select from their limited choices. T-Mobile's "Walmart" plan gets you 5GBs of high speed data. T-Mobile contract phones getter better coverage than the Wal-Mart prepaid plans since you do not roam on the prepaid plan. You can choose any compatible sim device with T-Mobile It all comes down to how your coverage is where you plan to use your phone. Nothing else really matters in comparison. This, this, a hundred times this. If equal coverage get T-Mobile for you can get something like a nexus or a good used phone for cheap, but you can have the cheapest phone or the most expensive phone and you get crappy coverage and suddenly it doesn't matter. Oct 27, 2000 9,904 510 136 #20 their data speeds are fine when on 3g. I routinely get 100KBytes/s, very low latency etc. Unfortunately a lot of the time I seem to be on 1xRTT which is way slower. This is my main beef with them, and is probably why most people think they have terrible speeds. I think most people think it's slow because 100KB IS slow. That's barely fast decent enough to stream music. I know because I had sprint and my music would always skip. I switched to TMo and average 3mbps, which is what I averaged on sprint LTE. On tmobile LTE I see 10-15. Sprints 3g is horrible and their 4G is still only as fast as others 3g. #21 Sprint is so slow that they honestly shouldn't be a consideration by anyone for any reason. And now I'm stuck with 1 year and 10 months left to go with them. But I thought what the heck Sprint is cheaper than Verizon or ATT for unlimited data. Not saying it's worth it. Did XtremeLabs speed testing with their mobile app. Don't really want to post the results. Using the Samsung GS4 btw. #22 chose VM over tmobile due to cheaper with a usable number of minutes. their data speeds are fine when on 3g. I routinely get 100KBytes/s, very low latency etc. Unfortunately a lot of the time I seem to be on 1xRTT which is way slower. This is my main beef with them, and is probably why most people think they have terrible speeds. I think their throttling algorithm kicks in sometimes too when it shouldn't (I never use >1GB data and according to them it shouldn't kick in before because a lot of the time when I'm on 1xRTT I'll enable WiMax and it'll be no faster. Other times WiMax is super fast and it's fantastic. Usually I'm very happy with VM. Seem better than metroPCS You consider 100KB/s on 3G to be fast? D: That's just terrible. On Straight Talk, I got 5 times that amount. Umm...If you "routinely"(translation: once in a while) get 100KB/s, but "a lot of time"(translation: mostly) I get 1xRTT why wouldn't anyone have a right to think Sprint has terrible speeds? And now I'm stuck with 1 year and 10 months left to go with them. But I thought what the heck Sprint is cheaper than Verizon or ATT for unlimited data. Not saying it's worth it. Did XtremeLabs speed testing with their mobile app. Don't really want to post the results. Using the Samsung GS4 btw. The results are that bad that you're ashamed to post them? Good Lord... For me, Sprint was just as expensive as AT&T and Verizon(or maybe only $10/month less which is essentially peanuts) when I checked them. Hopefully this SoftBank acquisition will make Sprint competitive(both in terms of prices with T-Mobile and coverage with Verizon/AT&T), because as it is now they're not. Mar 22, 2013 4,627 129 101 #23 Blah, I just realized that Tmobile has *no* coverage in my area. The coverage maps for Tmobile are really misleading, because they also count their roaming agreement with ATT...which isn't available on the $30 plan. So then the next closest thing available for me is the Virgin Mobile, either an iphone 4s for $350 about, or a Galaxy SIII for about $330. It's $30/mo with automatic billing. Which...kinda sucks. I was excited for getting the cheap Nokia 521. Thanks to the HSN for putting the brakes before I purchased. I thought that as time went on, the coverage would improve, but it appears to not be the case. Anyone tried Republic Wireless? I'd try it if the phone weren't so lousy. #24 I heard that StraightTalk has ATT sims again so that might be an option. Mar 22, 2013 4,627 129 101 #25 Right now I'm thinking that I might be able to justify a Nokia 820 purchase for use offline. micro-sd card means I can put lots of music on it. But the true killer app appears to be Nokia drive, which is offline navigation (GPS?). The main reason for me to have a smartphone is for navigation functions, honestly. Advertising Cookies Policies Privacy Term & Conditions About us This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. skip to main content Virgin’s got plans that all the single ladies (and guys) might love. Virgin Mobile shuts down and transfers customers to BoostVirgin Mobile shut down operations in January 2020 and transferred all its customers to Boost such, we won't be updating our review for Virgin Mobile, but you can read our full review of Boost right last time I used Virgin Mobile, I was in college and using a shiny new flip-phone (well, more of a slider). Not to date myself, but Virgin Mobile has changed a lot since my college days. Now there are no more flip-phones, and there are some interesting member perks. But those perks also come with quite a few not-so-great limitations, which is why we only gave it one-and-a-half stars. All-in-all, we think Virgin is still a great pick for a college student or someone who needs just one phone line. Pros Up to 35 GB of high-speed data per month with unlimited plans, then your data is slowedMember benefits and discounts on well-known brands Cons Limited streaming and gaming qualityNo family plans—only one line per accountBYO iPhones only Virgin Mobile phone plans and pricesYou get one line and one line only. Not to mention a bunch of other limitations Virgin Mobile makes things simple by only have one basic plan, which you can customize to fit your data consumption needs. This plan has one line, unlimited talk and text, and a minimum of 5 to 35 GB of unthrottled (full-speed) data. Here's a look at the most inexpensive version of the plan. Virgin Mobile Unlimited Plan with 5 GB of data If you want a Virgin Mobile plan with more than a piddling 5GB of data, you can go up to the 10 GB or "Unlimited" (which is actually 35 GB) data options. Virgin Mobile $45 and $60 Unlimited Plans Virgin Mobile Family Plans Unfortunately you'll be limited to just one line with Virgin—there are no family plans available, which means there are no multi-line discounts, So you’ll be paying at least $35 each month for each line. That adds up quick if you need a phone line for more than just you. Essentially, two lines will cost you $70. To compare, Visible Wireless can get you up to four lines, each with unlimited data, for $100 (and Visible's Verizon-run network is better than Virgin's Sprint-run network). Visible Wireless plan with four lines Data throttling There are some limitations on your data even before you reach your full-speed data limit on a Virgin Mobile plan. Your video, music, and game streams will be throttled. Here's a breakdown of the speeds you'll get, and some other perks that will cost you extra. Virgin Mobile Inner Circle unlimited plan features FeaturesInner CircleHigh-speed data 5-35 GB (depending on the plan) Video streaming resoultion SD (480p) Music streaming Up to 500 Kbps Game streaming Up to 2 Mbps Mobile hotspot $5/mo. extra for 1 GB International calling $5–$10/mo. Member benefits access Yes After you use up all of your high-speed data—in Virgin’s case, 5-10 GB a month—your data speed will be slowed, or throttled. Sure, you can keep using data, but your downloads will be like watching paint dry and your video streams will buffer more than a late-night janitor who’s cleaning the floors. Not to mention that 23 GB pales in comparison to 35 GB of unthrottled high-speed data from MetroPCS. If you really want to go big and stream all your favorite Hulu shows without feeling like time has stopped, check out T-Mobile’s 50 GB of unthrottled data or the Verizon Above Unlimited plan’s 75 GB of unthrottled data. Oh em gee. What’s the best cell phone plan? Virgin Mobile member benefits We used to rave about Virgin Mobile's awesome member benefits here, like 25% off and free shipping from Reebok. But those benefits are no more. Virgin seems to have slashed all of its fun discounts and perks so you'll just left with a standard old cell phone plan (what is this, the 2010s?). If you're looking for snazzy bonuses, like access to HBO and other premium channels, then check out AT&T’s Unlimited plans. Virgin Mobile phonesYou can get the latest devices, unless those devices are made by Google With Virgin you can buy the latest devices from most of the major companies, including Apple, Samsung, and LG. One notable exception is the Google Pixel, which Virgin doesn't sell. For example, here's what it would look like to buy a new iPhone 11 Pro Max 64 GB phone when you sign up for Virgin's $60 Unlimited Plan. Virgin Mobile’s Bring Your Own Phone program is limited to iPhones—and you might not even be able to bring older iPhone models, either. Virgin doesn’t explicitly state this, but we can all take the hint when we see “We support the models of iPhone below, but all are not compatible with our network” in the FAQs. How good is Virgin Mobile performance?Virgin runs on Sprint’s network, so don’t expect stellar coverage or speed. Virgin Mobile runs on Sprint’s network, so don’t be surprised if you run into some of the same coverage and speed issues as Sprint users. What can we say? Third-party tests ranked Sprint’s coverage as third or fourth out of the top four cell providers (that top four includes Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile).3, 4 Of course, coverage depends on the area you’re in, so you may get lucky and never see “No service” pop up on your screen. Because of this, we recommend checking Virgin’s coverage map to get an idea of whether your location is covered—or not. Speed on the Sprint network is a similar story. Three different independent companies pretty much came to a consensus that Sprint is dead last for 6, 7 But low ratings aside, we’ve used Sprint for a while and experienced few speed or coverage issues in both Washington state and Utah. So take those ratings as you will. Dealing with Virgin Mobile customer serviceIf Virgin Mobile played Super Mario, it wouldn’t collect enough stars to beat the game. The customer service ratings don’t look so great for Virgin Mobile8—but we’ll caution you that most cell phone companies are in the same boat. That’s right, wireless providers are pretty notorious for poor customer service. We agree that’s no excuse, but it does mean you’ll want to take a deep breath and focus on remaining patient when you do need to reach out to a representative. If you hate phone trees and waiting on hold, you could send a few hashtags Virgin’s way on social media. (We even saw a couple shoutouts praising Virgin’s customer service team on Twitter, so it must be doing something right.) Twitter: @VMUCare Facebook: @VirginMobileUSA Recap—how good is Virgin Mobile? Is Virgin Mobile the one for you? Here are our thoughts. Plans: Virgin’s plans come loaded with limitations: you get only one line per account, and your video streaming is stuck in standard definition (480p). (Not to mention your music and gaming speeds are limited too.) You’ll also need to pay extra for international calling and a mobile hotspot. Performance: Virgin runs on Sprint’s not-so-highly-rated network, so your service may drop and your speed may stutter if you don’t live solidly within a Sprint coverage area. Customer service: Customers don’t have high praise for Virgin’s service team, but Twitter seems to work. We recommend reaching out on social media so you can at least play a game of Heroes of the Storm while you wait. Overall: If you’re single or just looking for a one-line phone plan, Virgin does offer low prices. But otherwise, the limitations outweigh the benefits. Written by Catherine McNally Catherine has a degree in journalism and an MBA, and has spent the last 10+ years writing everything from Okinawa travel guides to stories on Medium. She’s been online since AOL CDs were a thing and is an unapologetic PC gamer. She believes the internet is a necessity, not a luxury, and writes reviews and guides to help everyone stay connected. You can also find her on Twitter: @CMReviewsIt. Related Articles Back To Top Home Media Favorites Menu Devices Apps & Games Android Lounge Automotive App Development Smart Home Wearables Browse More Thread Starter I've been with vm for almost 3 years now, I'm happy with what they provided and its always easy to be with prepaid. However, I'm switching to t mobile $30 web exclusive prepaid. Don't get me wrong, vm is a great prepaid, but the lack of coverage like in my area, is near impossible to send text messages in the house. Even when I got 4 out of 5 bars out door, would still get messages delay or cannot receive calls (mt and evo v). I wonder does anyone has the same thought as I do. Also, I have read that is possible to transfer number, is there anything I should pay attention or need if I want to keep my account? Thanks for reading this long post. Download the Forums for Android™ app! Download I switched from VM to T-Mobile prepaid and have been quite happy. Coverage is similar, but I'm getting much better speeds from T-Mobile. My 3G speeds on VM were typically under 500 Kbps and too frequently under 100 kbps, with T-Mobile my worst speeds are over Mbps and are typically double that up to about 8 Mbps on my Galaxy Nexus. You can transfer your number but it will cancel/close your VM account, as they use your phone number as the account number. Thread Starter Thanks mogelijk. The galaxy s2 deal makes me think about this. Also my housemate who are having t mobile phone, they get 4 bars in the basement and with vm I only get non to 1 on the top floor.. Btw, do I need to call VM before I transfer my number? No, you do not need to call Virgin Mobile. If it isn't an option to transfer your number when you activate (depending on how you activate), just call T-Mobile and they will transfer your number for you. The Galaxy S2 looks like a good deal, though I still like the Google Galaxy Nexus since it gets the Android updates right after they are released. Of course, the Galaxy Nexus is $50 more currently, though it's replacement (which appears to be an LG Optimus Nexus) should be announced next week. It is one of the advantages of T-Mobile Monthly, you can use any phone that works on their network. You just need to order a SIM Card Activation Kit. Yeah i am doing the same thing tomorrow. It is awful how bad the coverage is with virgin. I already paid for a month of service with Virgin and only had it 4 days -_- i'm going to try and sell my account and maybe recoup at least 20-25 dollars. Idk why i came back to them. Although today i was out and about in the city(I went early voting) and i did finally experience 4g coverage for once...although we were in walmart parking lot when i got it and we literally moved over 2 rows in the walmart parking lot and i didn't get the 4g signal anymore and the 3G was abysmal. So i guess t-mobile Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G is what i'll get tomorrow or i'll get the Nokia Lumia 710 for monthly 4G. I keep seeing the commercial and they show a white s3 being held when they talk about monthly 4g, but I go on t-mobiles website and they don't show it What do you consider abysmal? This is about as good as it gets for 3G in Vegas. 4G is alright, usually between 4mb to as high as 12mb down. Attached Files: I'm gonna wait til network vision rolls out here. Too hard to let unlimited data go for $35. My data for the Evo V has never been throttled even after over 4 GB of data used per month, I still get full 3G/4G data speeds. You can buy any compatible phone and use it on T-Mobile Monthly. If you want an S3, likely the best way is to buy the phone for full price from a T-Mobile store. Then you just need a Prepaid Sim Activation Kit to set it up on a prepaid plan. You can buy the Kit from the T-Mobile store or Walmart (though apparently most charge between $8 and $15) but it is cheaper on the website ($1) -- it typically takes just under a week to get one from the website. This is one of the advantages of T-Mobile's prepaid, you can use any GSM compatible phone, regardless of where you purchase the phone (so long as the phone is not stolen or otherwise has an invalid ESN). While I realize the $30 T-Mobile prepaid plan is not for everyone, due to having only 100 talk minutes, getting 5GB before throttling at "3G" (HSPA+) speeds that are as fast as WiMax -- without the disadvantages of WiMax) is really nice. I'm still considering that plan lol I don't use much mins but still go over 100. 200 minutes would be okay, so that'd be $40 at 10 cents a minute which still isn't bad considering you can use any unlocked gsm phone. Depends on how much I'd be able to get one of the new nexus models, I just might jump ship...especially if the J Butterfly based Nexus would come to fruition. -drools- I'll probably switch to the tmobile 30$ plan later on and get a galaxy nexus or Samsung galaxy s2. Maybe in a month when the price drops. I'm sorry sprint and virgin mobile but your speeds for 3g are way to sluggish in certain areas and Wimax is severally limited. even when you unleash the power of s off, and radios. Another option to consider for extra minutes, especially if you are around WiFi part of the time, is to use a VoIP program. I use Google Voice with GrooveIP, but only have it connect when I'm connected to WiFi. It's a good way to "extend" your minutes without paying extra. Nexus 4 here I come! $299 and $349 for 16 GB and 32 gb, respectively So this will work on t mobile monthly 4g but without 4g? Does the $50 plan work too? ^Yeah, when your activating your Sim, pick the $50 plan, I'm only doing the $30 plan because of the 5gb of data I think it's 8 and 16 GB only. Was curious, with the price on the Nexus 4, if they lowered the price on the Galaxy Nexus. I found the Galaxy Nexus is no longer being sold from the Play Store (message on the page, "Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ is no longer available for sale." On the front page of the Play store, they do show the new Nexus devices and you can sign up to be notified when they go on sale. Google PlayCorrect, and no micro SD card slot. I like keeping mucho music on my phone. No SD card is a deal breaker for me. Bummer. They go on sale 11/13. I'll just go back to using Google Music and utilize Google Drive and Dropbox. No big deal to me. Quad core will be sweet. Considering switching from VM to TMobile. For the Nexus 4, the micro SIM activation kit would be the correct option correct? Share This Page Home Media Favorites Menu Devices Apps & Games Android Lounge Automotive App Development Smart Home Wearables Browse More I am currently on Virgin Mobile's Beyond Talk plan which is $25 per month and has 3G speeds with unlimited web, data, messaging, and email plus 300 minutes. T-Mobile has a plan that is $30 per month and has 4G speeds with unlimted web and text plus 100 minutes. I'm thinking of making the switch from Virgin Mobile to T-Mobile. Anyone know how the service compares? It's $5 more per month and has less minutes, but I'm tempted by the 4G. Download the Forums for Android™ app! Download TMO is also GSM. It means some things will be done differently. And it will depend on the bands on your phone. TMO uses the 1700 band, but the newer phones will do 1900. TMO does have value "bring your own phone" plans where you don't get charged for a subsidized amount. For practical purposes, it means you won't be able to use the same phone on T-Mobile that you used with Virgin Mobile. I'd been using T-Mobile for 2 1/2 years before I just canceled. Great customer service. Very reliable (no dropped calls or finicky connections). Better integration with Google Voice than Virgin Mobile (not sure if that matters to you). And the 4G speeds are fast (maybe not as fast as LTE, but fast still). I ended up switching just because T-Mobile's coverage in certain less-populated areas isn't that good, and I do sometimes visit some remote suburbs (not always in urban settings). I don't know if this has changed, but when I used Virgin Mobile, it was renting its network from Sprint, and I think Sprint has better coverage than T-Mobile does (in terms of area). Hey I am thinking of switching from VM to TMO since vm is hardly breaking 1mbps. What kinds of speeds would you get from TMO (i am sure it would be a little better now since they are close to LTE). Also, how was the general coverage (3G/LTE vs 2G etc) as you went about your daily life? Thanks Ugh, always kills me when I see how much folks pay for their plans. I have to bend over every month for Verizon. Ever hear the phrase "You get what you pay for?" There's a reason the plans are so cheap. I was so tempted by their $30 monthly 4G plan that I jumped off a very grandfathered plan to take advantage of it. I was sworn to that nothing would change by way of level of customer service I was receiving. Bullsh*t. I came to find this was NOT the case. I always liked using their chat function to troubleshoot with tech when I had a problem. It kept my hands free so I coupd go through their steps on the phone. I don't know if it was just my account or if all of their customer service took a nosedive, but I found I was no longer able to chat with tech, and the troubleshooting chat reps could only tell me to pull the battery or do a factory reset. So I took my phone into the store. The chick working the counter was like "Oh yeah I can fix that, give me a few minutes." I walk around the store for a few and she calls me back. The b*tch had moved all my apps to my sd card! She did NOT ask permission to do this! What's worse, many of my widgets and shortcuts were displaying errors! I told her to put everything back and set me up for a warranty replacement. First she told me my phone was out of warranty. It was an HTC Amaze that was just launched in NOVEMBER. She did a second look and found out I was right. Then she said in order to do a warranty replacement I would have to send in my phone first and take a loaner dumbphone in the meantime since I was now on the monthly 4G plan. Again, bullsh*t. I've done several warranty replacements while on T-Mo's post paid plans and they went flawlessly. That was the tipping point for me to switch to Verizon. OP, take all this into consideration. But since you asked about speed, they are fast but coverage is a huge huge issue. ETA: T-Mo recently laid off thousands of employees and shut down 7 call centers, including one just a few miles from where I live. While getting my account set up at Verizon I had to call T-Mo to get my account number to port my phone number over. THEY'VE OUTSOURCED THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! i am hearing very mixed reviews- some folks say they are awesome, others not so much- the '4g' is what i really like however i am concerned about coverage etc- i live in a pretty suburban area, no huge distances between centers of towns and populations etc so i am confident i would have great service, but still a little ehh vm is great (for the most part) except the recent text outages and stuff like that- not sure what to do!! haha Gmash Extreme Android User Take any opinions or experiences on a forum like this with a grain of salt. ALL carrier coverage issues depend hugely on where you live and plan to use your phone. I have Cricket and have full bars everywhere in my building at work. A co worker has Verizon and barely gets a signal at all. It all depends where the towers are. Try asking people in your area about their service. Greatly depends on your location. At work inside my building/office, I get measly GPRS speeds (~50Kbps up/down). If I go outside to the parking lot, I get 1Mbps. At home 6Mbps. yeah i mean VM i am getting just about 1mbps anywhere and frequently way less- .7mbps to .5mbps at the lowest ive seen- its really sucky but i do have the $25/mo plan and the 300min while i dont use them all now is nice to have... Its an issue of sacrificing ok coverage with godawful speeds for decent speeds and no coverage haha Share This Page

virgin mobile vs t mobile