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Will you cancel your contract and switch to Virgin Mobiles $35/mo plan?


  • Total voters
    59

Big.Mac.Daddy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 5, 2012
629
0
Just simply wanted to know who would cancel their contract and make the switch to Virgin Mobile USA $35/mo deal.

Edit: looks like if you sign up for automatic payments it's only $30/mo if that sways your decision.
 
Last edited:

kfergiez

macrumors 6502
Jul 5, 2010
276
1
While the cheap plans are tempting, the problem is lack of coverage. Have you seen Montana and Idaho? NONE. Now I admit, theres not a lot of people those areas, but at least VZ loves us.
 

unlimitedx

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2010
635
0
Why do people care about nationwide coverage that much as long as the coverage works well in the area you live in and you don't travel? According to recent news articles a lot of people do not travel that much
 

aneftp

macrumors 601
Jul 28, 2007
4,362
546
Even though iPhone 4s is global dual CDMA/ gsm phone.

It's pointless to go prepaid full price $650 on CDMA networks.

The resale value is significantly less cause of the CDMA locks (unless u hack/flash the phone.

Frankly much easier to get used second hand iPhone 4S locked to AT&T an use it on prepaid carriers like H2O or straighttalk for a few dollars more a month with much faster data speeds and resale value.
 

Big.Mac.Daddy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 5, 2012
629
0
Even though iPhone 4s is global dual CDMA/gsm phone.

It's pointless to go prepaid full price $650 on CDMA networks.

The resale value is significantly less cause of the CDMA locks (unless u hack/flash the phone.

Frankly much easier to get used second hand iPhone 4S locked to AT&T an use it on prepaid carriers like H2O or straighttalk for a few dollars more a month with much faster data speeds and resale value.

$30 on Virgin Mobile vs $45 on straight talk.

$15 difference X 24 months = $360 saved by going with Virgin Mobile (no small chunk of change)

Also if your buying it full retail I assume the GSM part of the phone is unlocked as well like it is on the full retail Verison/Sprint models right? Worst case scenario someone could use the Gevey Ultra S to unlock it for gsm networks.
 

BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
While the cheap plans are tempting, the problem is lack of coverage. Have you seen Montana and Idaho? NONE. Now I admit, theres not a lot of people those areas, but at least VZ loves us.

Exactly. I've traveled many places that Sprint, and in some cases, AT&T and Verizon don't have native coverage, so roaming is a MUST for me. I choose carrier first, then device, as the carrier matters a lot more than the device.
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
Also if your buying it full retail I assume the GSM part of the phone is unlocked as well like it is on the full retail Verison/Sprint models right? Worst case scenario someone could use the Gevey Ultra S to unlock it for gsm networks.

If you are buying a verizon or Sprint phone outright, do they unlock for local GSM networks as well? I was under the impression that the unlock was still only for overseas carriers.
 

Big.Mac.Daddy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 5, 2012
629
0
If you are buying a verizon or Sprint phone outright, do they unlock for local GSM networks as well? I was under the impression that the unlock was still only for overseas carriers.

Perhaps, but I was responding to aneftp who was saying the resale value would take a hit because it was locked to CDMA. Even if it was only unlocked or international gsm carriers you could easily eBay it internationally without taking a hit on the resale.

If you wanted to sell it here without a hit to the resale you could simply use the Gevey Ultra S to unlock gsm options. All the while enjoying your $30/mo plan and the savings you get from it.
 

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,720
Boston, MA
Perhaps, but I was responding to aneftp who was saying the resale value would take a hit because it was locked to CDMA. Even if it was only unlocked or international gsm carriers you could easily eBay it internationally without taking a hit on the resale.

I understand. I was simply asking for my own knowledge. I am likely going to buy the next iPhone off contract because I don't want to lock myself into a contract for another two years as we may be moving. It would be nice to buy a Verizon version that is unlocked globally and locally.

As a direct response to your statement though, a lot of people shy away from eBay, especially internationally. eBay's seller policies aren't great for international sales.
 

Big.Mac.Daddy

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 5, 2012
629
0
I understand. I was simply asking for my own knowledge. I am likely going to buy the next iPhone off contract because I don't want to lock myself into a contract for another two years as we may be moving. It would be nice to buy a Verizon version that is unlocked globally and locally.

As a direct response to your statement though, a lot of people shy away from eBay, especially internationally. eBay's seller policies aren't great for international sales.

Ah, sorry sometimes macrumors gets me where I automatically assume someone is going to try and discredit me or troll me so I am defensive in my responses to prevent that from happening, even if that wasn't going to happen ;)

Yeah I agree on the international eBay sellers are able to scam easier than normal. I would stick with the Gevey Ultra S myself and sell via Craigslist for a high price (I could imagine an iPhone that could work on Virgin Mobile + Straight Talk would fetch some good coin)
 

aneftp

macrumors 601
Jul 28, 2007
4,362
546
Perhaps, but I was responding to aneftp who was saying the resale value would take a hit because it was locked to CDMA. Even if it was only unlocked or international gsm carriers you could easily eBay it internationally without taking a hit on the resale.

If you wanted to sell it here without a hit to the resale you could simply use the Gevey Ultra S to unlock gsm options. All the while enjoying your $30/mo plan and the savings you get from it.

$30 is limited 300 minutes with virgin mobile plus requires auto debit which can at times a pain in the u know what. And you get throttled with CDMA data after 2.3GB. Not that "full speed CDMA" on sprint network is fast to began with.

If you want to compare apples to apples. Straight talk $45 plan with unlimited minutes texts And soft 2GB cap vs Virgin mobile $50 unlimited plans.

Frankly I would buy full unlock iPhone 4s for $650 and use it on any gsm network.

Virgin mobile iPhone will be CDMA locked even though they are the same exact phones. Apple does not sell "unlocked" CDMA iPhones.
That's why I said resale value is decreased with paying full $650 for virgin mobile.

And even if you "unlock" the gsm portion of the iPhone 4s (with Verizon/sprint) and now virgin mobile. The "unlocked " gsm portion WILL NOT work inside the USA territory. It will only work internationally.

Apple programmed that to make USA CDMA carriers happy by disallowing those phones on USA gsm network.

This is why it's a pain to resale CDMA locked iPhones especially those locked to prepaid cause your resell market is much lower.
 

BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
$30 is limited 300 minutes with virgin mobile plus requires auto debit which can at times a pain in the u know what. And you get throttled with CDMA data after 2.3GB. Not that "full speed CDMA" on sprint network is fast to began with.

If you want to compare apples to apples. Straight talk $45 plan with unlimited minutes texts And soft 2GB cap vs Virgin mobile $50 unlimited plans.

Frankly I would buy full unlock iPhone 4s for $650 and use it on any gsm network.

Virgin mobile iPhone will be CDMA locked even though they are the same exact phones. Apple does not sell "unlocked" CDMA iPhones.
That's why I said resale value is decreased with paying full $650 for virgin mobile.

And even if you "unlock" the gsm portion of the iPhone 4s (with Verizon/sprint) and now virgin mobile. The "unlocked " gsm portion WILL NOT work inside the USA territory. It will only work internationally.

Apple programmed that to make USA CDMA carriers happy by disallowing those phones on USA gsm network.

This is why it's a pain to resale CDMA locked iPhones especially those locked to prepaid cause your resell market is much lower.

That pretty much sums it up. Plus, you get AT&T's massive network plus roaming partners with Straight Talk.
 

labman

macrumors 604
Jun 9, 2009
7,786
2
Mich near Detroit
A Simple look at the coverage maps tells me that Virgin is not worth it IMO! So I voted no!

Sprint

mapdatawimaxUS.gif


T-Mobile
natl_big.gif


AT&T
coverage_Voice.gif


Virgin Mobile coverage btw Data is in Blue

VMU4MMLE.gif
 

chiefpavvy

macrumors 6502a
Feb 23, 2008
707
0
Straight Talk [GSM] > Crappy Sprint Resellers (Boost, Virgin, Cricket, et al.)

$30 is $30 too much for that network.
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,278
13,009
where hip is spoken
A Simple look at the coverage maps tells me that Virgin is not worth it IMO! So I voted no!
NEVER use coverage maps when deciding on which cell provider to go with. The best indicator is to check with friends and family in the area of a potential provider to see what the real world coverage is like.

If VirginMobile service/coverage is acceptable in your area, then a VM prepaid iPhone is definitely worth considering. My wife, and I, and 2 kids all have VM Android phones. We're grandfathered into the $25/month plan. The service in our area and those areas we travel to is excellent.

I recently purchased a brand new 32GB AT&T iPhone 4 and went with StraightTalk. Terrific price and terrific service. And although I didn't need to jailbreak the phone, I did need to poke around "under the hood" to get 3G data and MMS working. THAT alone causes me to shy away from recommending StraightTalk to my non-techie friends and family.

The nice thing about the VirginMobile deal is that it will all be configured to work out-of-the-box. The money saved over the course of 2 years will more than make up for the potentially lesser resale value (vs. a GSM iPhone).

The VM deal is not for everyone though. I've been delighted with VM service over the past few years, but I know of people who have had absolutely horrendous nightmares with them too. Are they better or worse than any other carrier? Not in my experience.
 

labman

macrumors 604
Jun 9, 2009
7,786
2
Mich near Detroit
NEVER use coverage maps when deciding on which cell provider to go with. The best indicator is to check with friends and family in the area of a potential provider to see what the real world coverage is like.

If VirginMobile service/coverage is acceptable in your area, then a VM prepaid iPhone is definitely worth considering. My wife, and I, and 2 kids all have VM Android phones. We're grandfathered into the $25/month plan. The service in our area and those areas we travel to is excellent.

I recently purchased a brand new 32GB AT&T iPhone 4 and went with StraightTalk. Terrific price and terrific service. And although I didn't need to jailbreak the phone, I did need to poke around "under the hood" to get 3G data and MMS working. THAT alone causes me to shy away from recommending StraightTalk to my non-techie friends and family.

The nice thing about the VirginMobile deal is that it will all be configured to work out-of-the-box. The money saved over the course of 2 years will more than make up for the potentially lesser resale value (vs. a GSM iPhone).

The VM deal is not for everyone though. I've been delighted with VM service over the past few years, but I know of people who have had absolutely horrendous nightmares with them too. Are they better or worse than any other carrier? Not in my experience.


A person also need to consider if they travel and coverage in the areas they travel too. this is why maps are good. They also need to look at customer service and the policy.
 

BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
A person also need to consider if they travel and coverage in the areas they travel too. this is why maps are good. They also need to look at customer service and the policy.

Yup.

Also, that's not Sprint's coverage map, it's Verizon's, since they user Verizon as a roaming partner. The Virgin map is Sprint's real map. They are just too ashamed to show it on their own site. That T-Mo map also includes a LOT of roaming.
 

Sunsean

macrumors 6502
Mar 27, 2012
255
0
Just wanted to chime in on the CDMA unlocked GSM discussion...I recently just rushed into a sale on Craigslist for an 'unlocked' 64gb 4s. The sale was quick (guy was in a rush, of course), but I did ask him what network he had been using the phone on. He said T-Mobile, so I assumed it was an AT&T unlocked iPhone. Few hours later, I'm home trying to get my ST AT&T sim to take, and find this Gevey Ultra S sim tray. Turns out it is a Verizon phone unlocked for GSM use with this Gevey Ultra S. Little tinkering around and I got it to work 100%, everything is a go (including mms, imessage, facetime).

But bad news is I paid "GSM" price for the phone, but if I decide to resell it I would have to be honest about it being a Verizon phone and will probably lose some $...I still got a good deal on it, $540 for a mint 64gb 4s with Applecare until March 2013. But like others said, CDMA phones go for less...I'm thinking I could still get $500 though since it is unlocked with the Gevey Ultra S.

...will actually most likely wind up just using this phone as it is working on the straight talk sim card, but I'm a little worried about ios updates, as the unlock requires jailbreak...
 

BiggAW

macrumors 68030
Jun 19, 2010
2,563
176
Connecticut
Just wanted to chime in on the CDMA unlocked GSM discussion...I recently just rushed into a sale on Craigslist for an 'unlocked' 64gb 4s. The sale was quick (guy was in a rush, of course), but I did ask him what network he had been using the phone on. He said T-Mobile, so I assumed it was an AT&T unlocked iPhone. Few hours later, I'm home trying to get my ST AT&T sim to take, and find this Gevey Ultra S sim tray. Turns out it is a Verizon phone unlocked for GSM use with this Gevey Ultra S. Little tinkering around and I got it to work 100%, everything is a go (including mms, imessage, facetime).

But bad news is I paid "GSM" price for the phone, but if I decide to resell it I would have to be honest about it being a Verizon phone and will probably lose some $...I still got a good deal on it, $540 for a mint 64gb 4s with Applecare until March 2013. But like others said, CDMA phones go for less...I'm thinking I could still get $500 though since it is unlocked with the Gevey Ultra S.

...will actually most likely wind up just using this phone as it is working on the straight talk sim card, but I'm a little worried about ios updates, as the unlock requires jailbreak...

Does the Gevey really work reliably? It just seems fishy to me... I kind of feel like getting one and trying it out, even though I don't even have a passport yet!
 

joshwithachance

macrumors 68000
Dec 11, 2009
1,999
924
The problem with Virgin Mobile is that it uses Sprint's network, which is TERRIBLE. I got an iPhone 4S with Sprint because, at the time, they were the only ones who would give me my own contract with a small deposit because I was just building credit. When the iPhone 6th generation is announced I will be switching to Verizon or AT&T so fast.
 
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