Virgin Mobile...Thanks to whoever recommended it...

[torinsmom]

How much do they charge per month for each extra phone? I have a phone and dd and ds have a phone. Our other ds is due to get a phone in the Spring, so that will be 4 phones. I'd like Dh to get a his own phone - he has one from his job, but cannot use it for personal calls much.

VM plans are individual plans. There are no family plans. Each person has their own plan, so it may be more expensive than another carrier if you have 4 phones. It is $25/month for 300 minutes and unlimited text and data and $40/month for 1200 minutes and unlimited text and data. Phones range from $20-$200 each.

I have been really happy with VM. I have had better service than AT&T and the customer service has been better than AT&T(although that isn't say much) I was paying $120/month for 2 phones- 1400 minutes and 200 texts per month, no data. With VM, I am paying $75/month(tax) for 1700 minutes and unlimited text and data.

 

[mnrose]

How much do they charge per month for each extra phone? I have a phone and dd and ds have a phone. Our other ds is due to get a phone in the Spring, so that will be 4 phones. I'd like Dh to get a his own phone - he has one from his job, but cannot use it for personal calls much.

It is per phone as a PP said. However, they also have phone/text only plans, which are a bit cheaper than the data plans (internet and email). My DH has a plan with 1500 minutes, and 1000 texts and a tiny bit of data for $30 a month. The same plan with the data added would be $40 a month.

This is still cheaper than any of the so-called "family" plans with other carriers.

 

[Free4Life11]

I just got the LG Optimus V, the brand new phone for $149.99 from Radio Shack. It's Android and it's awesome! I previously had an HTC Hero and I actually like this phone better! The best part is I'm paying $25 per month as opposed to the $65 I was paying with Sprint.

 

[Wmartin1218]

I have a question....if i get a Virgin Mobile plan in Pennsylvania, and i travel to California, for a month on business. Can i still use that phone out there as long as the area i'm in has sprint coverage? Or is my coverage area locked to Pennsylvania? Because i'll need it daily while traveling, and i'll be in a big city....Sacramento

 

[gshumaker]

Not true of Virgin Mobile. T Mobile, Verizon and AT&T all have ways to "throttle" users on their networks. Virgin Mobile, which resells Sprint, does not. There was an article in the WSJ just today about this, and Sprint says that it does not place limits on users, and does not have the capability in it's network to do that. Since Sprint does not, there is no way for Virgin Mobile to place limits (as the reseller).

this article says they are throttling starting 2/15

http://notebooks.com/2011/01/14/vir...and2go-plans-to-be-throttled-starting-feb-15/

 

[torinsmom]

this article says they are throttling starting 2/15

http://notebooks.com/2011/01/14/vir...and2go-plans-to-be-throttled-starting-feb-15/

What I read here says they are throttling Broadband2Go, and doesn't mention throttling data plans on the phones.

 

[Green Tea]

I have a question....if i get a Virgin Mobile plan in Pennsylvania, and i travel to California, for a month on business. Can i still use that phone out there as long as the area i'm in has sprint coverage? Or is my coverage area locked to Pennsylvania? Because i'll need it daily while traveling, and i'll be in a big city....Sacramento

It is just like any other cell phone. You can use it anywhere (domestically) Not sure about internationally.

 

[gshumaker]

What I read here says they are throttling Broadband2Go, and doesn't mention throttling data plans on the phones.

yes that is what my original post (#15) was about - broadband to go - not VM data on their phones

 

[eh24fan]

My question is about the PP that said it won't roam. If I'm in an area that shows as "white" on their coverage map what happens?

 

[Judique]

I checked the map and it does look like some white around the area I live. But I wasn't sure how accurate that was. I just worry about changing and having issues. My plan with Verizon is an old one and I would hate to lose it. I am not sure if I know anyone with sprint but I will check around. Everyone I know has Verizon. Maybe the coverage will continue to get better. I would love to save $$. Our cell phone bill is the last big bill we haven't been able to cut.

I am in Maryland and I switched today. I picked up two new phones from Radio Shack - the LG Optimus. They were 149.99 with a $10 store promo, so $139.99 each. We also had an old Verizon plan and also old phones and no data and extra cost for texting. It was time to change. I am slightly concerned about the no roaming thing but not much as the map shows decent coverage for all the areas I usually frequent. The 25/40/60 plans can't be beat and you can set them up to auto load and also top off if you need more minutes. Due to extra heavy usage this past month I went over my minutes on my Verizon plan last month to the tune of $140. The only way to beat that was to change my plan with Verizon. I chose the $40 plans with Virgin. The equivalent with Verizon is double the price. I sure hope this works out. Our phones are not active yet as we are waiting for our numbers to get ported from Verizon.

 

[Judique]

I have a question....if i get a Virgin Mobile plan in Pennsylvania, and i travel to California, for a month on business. Can i still use that phone out there as long as the area i'm in has sprint coverage? Or is my coverage area locked to Pennsylvania? Because i'll need it daily while traveling, and i'll be in a big city....Sacramento

Yes, you can still use it out in Cali.
Go to the Virgin site and check out the coverage map. It looks like Sacramento has pretty decent coverage.

 

[MissionWDW]

I haven't read all the replies, but wanted to add that I have the Virgin Broadband and LOVE it! The device I has is good for up to 3 computers. It's $40 a month for the service, which is cheaper than what comcast was offering for their broadband alone....I didn't want their cable service. Plus, I can take this little thing with me anywhere and have internet. I plan on taking it with me to Disney next time. Also, I don't have their phone service, but I do use Boost. $50/month for unlimited talk, text, web, etc. DH and I were barely affording our cell phone bill with ATT. So glad we switched. BTW, Boost also uses the same network as Virgin's broadband (the Sprint network).

 

[lukenick1]

I am in Maryland and I switched today. I picked up two new phones from Radio Shack - the LG Optimus. They were 149.99 with a $10 store promo, so $139.99 each. We also had an old Verizon plan and also old phones and no data and extra cost for texting. It was time to change. I am slightly concerned about the no roaming thing but not much as the map shows decent coverage for all the areas I usually frequent. The 25/40/60 plans can't be beat and you can set them up to auto load and also top off if you need more minutes. Due to extra heavy usage this past month I went over my minutes on my Verizon plan last month to the tune of $140. The only way to beat that was to change my plan with Verizon. I chose the $40 plans with Virgin. The equivalent with Verizon is double the price. I sure hope this works out. Our phones are not active yet as we are waiting for our numbers to get ported from Verizon.

Good for you...I am a new Virgin Customer too and I am going to Radio Shack to get the Optimus phone as well. I was told that you can activate the phones with a new number first then port your old phone number over. You should make sure you like Virgin before porting your number from Verizon because once Virgin takes your number they will not release it back. They are not capable of porting numbers over to other carriers. Only the big companies can port number over to others.
HTH

 

[Judique]

Good for you...I am a new Virgin Customer too and I am going to Radio Shack to get the Optimus phone as well. I was told that you can activate the phones with a new number first then port your old phone number over. You should make sure you like Virgin before porting your number from Verizon because once Virgin takes your number they will not release it back. They are not capable of porting numbers over to other carriers. Only the big companies can port number over to others.
HTH

The numbers ported over last night.

I'm still learning how to use this phone. So far I like it okay, for talking and texting.

I have not been able to get to the net on my phone, but the other phone has worked just fine, except for battery life. It died before noon today and no easy way to charge it where she was. She thinks she had an app running that sucked all the battery. We'll see.

 

[NotUrsula]

My question is about the PP that said it won't roam. If I'm in an area that shows as "white" on their coverage map what happens?

I'm not sure what the PP meant by "roam"; but I suppose that she must have meant being able to use a different carrier's network if you are outside of the VM service area. If that was what the PP meant, then yes, that's true -- if you are outside the service area you just get no service.

However, the VM service area is nationwide, and there is no add'l charge for using your service anywhere in the United States. If you go to the website and put in your zip code it will tell you if your area has service. If you are in a major city or anywhere near an interstate, you'll be fine, but in many areas that are far out in the country you might be in a dead zone.

 

[seven dwarfs]

I am in Maryland and I switched today. I picked up two new phones from Radio Shack - the LG Optimus. They were 149.99 with a $10 store promo, so $139.99 each. We also had an old Verizon plan and also old phones and no data and extra cost for texting. It was time to change. I am slightly concerned about the no roaming thing but not much as the map shows decent coverage for all the areas I usually frequent. The 25/40/60 plans can't be beat and you can set them up to auto load and also top off if you need more minutes. Due to extra heavy usage this past month I went over my minutes on my Verizon plan last month to the tune of $140. The only way to beat that was to change my plan with Verizon. I chose the $40 plans with Virgin. The equivalent with Verizon is double the price. I sure hope this works out. Our phones are not active yet as we are waiting for our numbers to get ported from Verizon.

Cool! Please update when you can at how your sevice is. I am still confused as to what I want to do. I have been looking at straight talk too. (the one that uses verizon)

 

[lukenick1]

The numbers ported over last night.

I'm still learning how to use this phone. So far I like it okay, for talking and texting.

I have not been able to get to the net on my phone, but the other phone has worked just fine, except for battery life. It died before noon today and no easy way to charge it where she was. She thinks she had an app running that sucked all the battery. We'll see.

Thats an easy fix....there is a free app called Task Manager. If you install it on the phone you can press the icon on the homescreen and it will end all running programs in the background. Helps to preserve battery life. Also make sure to shut off wifi and bluetooth when not using it because that will also eat the battery.

 

[Judique]

Thats an easy fix....there is a free app called Task Manager. If you install it on the phone you can press the icon on the homescreen and it will end all running programs in the background. Helps to preserve battery life. Also make sure to shut off wifi and bluetooth when not using it because that will also eat the battery.

Thanks!
The battery lasted a lot longer today and yesterday for both phones.

I'm learning how to use it. There are a couple of programs on the phone that you don't turn off such as the keyboard, background and something else. Would this task manager app exclude these? I'm new to this end of technology so I may be asking a dumb question, but I'm learning!

I really like this phone so far. The 3G service is available in the area where I work even though the coverage map didn't seem to show it. Yesterday I couldn't get the data part to work there, but today I had no problem. I like an app called poynt, was able to map something quickly for one of my people.

The touch keyboard and 'swype' are geting easier as well. I felt so clumsy at first, but now I'm getting the hang of it. The teen with the other phone of course knew all this stuff before she ever got the new phone.....kids....