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iPhone on Virgin Mobile USA?

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macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 17, 2002
329
28
Just wondering what people's experiences were with the iPhone on Virgin Mobile USA?

What download speeds were you getting?

Is MMS and FaceTime supported?

Any other information (pros/cons) you could supply would be helpful.

I'm currently with VM USA and am interested in the iPhone 5, whenever it comes out.

Thanks for any replies.
 
nburwell

nburwell

macrumors 603
May 6, 2008
5,450
2,364
DE
I had VM US for about a month with the 4S. The voice and data coverage were absolutely awful. Data speeds were pretty much nonexistent since they essentially piggyback off of Sprint's network. I ultimately left VM and went to ST until the 5 came out and went back to AT&T.

They do support MMS. I can't comment on Facetime since I never use it.
 
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macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 17, 2002
329
28
nburwell said:
I had VM US for about a month with the 4S. The voice and data coverage were absolutely awful. Data speeds were pretty much nonexistent since they essentially piggyback off of Sprint's network. I ultimately left VM and went to ST until the 5 came out and went back to AT&T.

They do support MMS. I can't comment on Facetime since I never use it.
Click to expand...

Wow! Were you using it in Philadelphia? I'm closer to central PA, but travel to Phila. and South Jersey a lot. This is making me rethink buying it with VM. What was your experience with Straight Talk? Did they have decent speeds and support MMS? Any other pros/cons? I'm guessing you had to buy another phone that worked with ST?
 
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KoukiFC3S

macrumors 6502a
Jul 4, 2010
536
1
http://i.imgur.com/9LLoc.jpg

Here are my speeds on VM.

I have had it for 3 weeks, and while it can be slow, the speeds are sufficient for youtube, gps, and social network apps. As you can see in the pic I used up 3GB in 3 weeks, and that's with wifi at home.
I did 2 facetime calls over cellular and both went smoothly.

Voice and sms also work great. I clocked in about 3 hours of calls.

If your area is scheduled to get the sprint network vision you will be able to use the increased data speeds on virgin as well.

In conclusion, if you have decent sprint coverage, then virgin will work just as well for you.
 
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macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 17, 2002
329
28
KoukiFC3S said:
http://i.imgur.com/9LLoc.jpg

Here are my speeds on VM.

I have had it for 3 weeks, and while it can be slow, the speeds are sufficient for youtube, gps, and social network apps. As you can see in the pic I used up 3GB in 3 weeks, and that's with wifi at home.
I did 2 facetime calls over cellular and both went smoothly.

Voice and sms also work great. I clocked in about 3 hours of calls.

If your area is scheduled to get the sprint network vision you will be able to use the increased data speeds on virgin as well.

In conclusion, if you have decent sprint coverage, then virgin will work just as well for you.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Those speeds seem slow, but I'd be using primarily GPS and MMS mostly 3G or 4G service. Thanks!
 
TacticalDesire

TacticalDesire

macrumors 68020
Mar 19, 2012
2,286
23
Michigan
Sprints 3G network (what virgin mobile uses) isn't exactly fast but it should be adequate for moderate smartphone usage (social networks, google searches, the occasional download or music video etc.). I don't think you should have any issues with coverage being on the east coast.
 
V

ValerieDurden

macrumors 6502a
Feb 3, 2010
673
70
Philadelphia, PA
TacticalDesire said:
Sprints 3G network (what virgin mobile uses) isn't exactly fast but it should be adequate for moderate smartphone usage (social networks, google searches, the occasional download or music video etc.). I don't think you should have any issues with coverage being on the east coast.
Click to expand...

With Network Vision the 3G speeds are improving, I have only been with Sprint for a week now but I am averaging 1.3-1.5Mbps and in certain areas over 2Mbps which is not bad considering the max for CDMA is 3.1Mbps. I have no issue with facebook, browsing the web or streaming audio/video it's quick enough for everything I do and with LTE coming in my area soon it will only get better.
 
nburwell

nburwell

macrumors 603
May 6, 2008
5,450
2,364
DE
Cursor said:
Wow! Were you using it in Philadelphia? I'm closer to central PA, but travel to Phila. and South Jersey a lot. This is making me rethink buying it with VM. What was your experience with Straight Talk? Did they have decent speeds and support MMS? Any other pros/cons? I'm guessing you had to buy another phone that worked with ST?
Click to expand...

Yes, I used it in and around Philadelphia. Even when I traveled up to Rhode Island for a wedding, the entire way up there the data was absolutely awful. I would tread cautiously if you're still considering VM.

On the other hand, I absolutely loved ST. Data, voice, and pretty much everything worked the way it should on my 4S. I had to sacrifice visual voice mail and MMS (if the other person didn't have an iPhone). But if you can get past that, then I would highly recommend them. I only switched back to AT&T because I didn't know when the 5 would come to ST (and now coincidentally, it's available).
 
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macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 17, 2002
329
28
Thanks for all of the tips. I have a lot of thinking to do between Virgin Mobile (who doesn't even have the iPhone 5 yet) and StraightTalk. Both seem to have opposite plusses and minuses.
 
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