Is it possible to use a Sprint iPhone 4S on Virgin mobile, being that they use the same network? I figure I might be able to get a better deal on a Sprint 4S on eBay rather than pay $649 from Virgin....
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Can you use a Sprint iPhone 4S on Virgin Mobile?
- Thread starter todd2000
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I think this might be incorrect. My understanding is that Virgin is owned by Sprint and uses the Sprint network. I'm definitely not an absolute authority on this, though, so where did you get your information?
Incorrect - it's using Sprint's network. However the MEID numbers are only in Virgin Mobile's Database and vice versa, so trying to activate a Sprint on Virgin or a Virgin on Sprint will not work as the device will not show up in their system
One of the main reasons why VM is selling the iphone is to help Sprint fulfill commitment to sell $15.5B of iPhones. So you need to buy the iPhone outright, and in return you get a low monthly rate.
VM definitely seems to be the best deal in town, especially if you are planning to keep the phone for a long time. The downsides are that, people say their 3g network is very, very slow, and since the iPhone is locked to VM, the re-sale value would be lower than an unlocked iphone.
I was a former VM user (5 years). Last week I bought an unlocked iPhone new from Apple and switched to Straight Talk. I do pay $15 more per month but I'll get a much larger calling area (there's no Sprint service where my Dad lives in Montana) and I'll get unlimited voice. I rarely went over my 300 minute allotment but when I did, it was a pain to make sure that I had enough extra money in my account to last until my next month's auto payment.
VM's 3G is also painfully slow where I live. Straight Talk is very snappy and I'm very pleased with the increase in speed. I liked paying $25 a month but, the benefits are worth an additional $20 a month.
Yup. VM also sucks, since they are Sprint without roaming, so it's a crappy network made even crappier, and one that won't work in 60-75% of the country.
That's simply not fair. I had VM for 5 years and was very satisfied with the service. No, it didn't work in some places and yes, there were a limited number of phones I could use, but customer service was great and most importantly, I was only paying $25 a month. VM most definitely isn't for everyone but it's an amazing value and nobody can deny that.
It's OK for some people who are OK with not having any cell phone service when traveling. If people need cell phone service while traveling, they need a real carrier. I recommended it to a friend who just didn't want to pay much, and he's OK with it, but he knows that if he leaves an urban or suburban area, he's not going to have any service except 911.