I’m not so sure DISH had any idea what they were going to do with Republic and their other MVNO acquisitions beyond that they would grow their customer base. I think the idea to use Republic as a satellite retention brand came later. Either way the DISH purchase was the beginning of the end.
I did get the notification today that my phone has been unlocked so I am free to move. We have A32 5G phones which I really don’t want to replace so will be limited to MVNOs on either T-Mobile or AT&T networks.
I liked what I saw of the MobileX Basic Unlimited plan as it is a lot closer to our actual usage we have on the Republic Everything You Want Plan. It is also less than what we are paying for Republic at this time. I might have to bite the bullet and get new phones that are compatible with Verizon. I’m not looking forward to having to go through a migration and setup of my wife’s phone though.
No, but then if he was reading my account, he saw that I had Everywhere You Go, and that the closest equivalent of Boost Infinite base and the Canada/Mexico add-on added up to less than EYG. I didn’t think to press for details at the time.
My big concern is that my RW Ambassador credit may vanish in the transition. It would more than cover base+C/M roaming. Having an extra line on a different carrier has its uses, but I couldn’t justify the cost against Mint with UpRoam if the RWA credit goes away.
I’m done with the New Republic and have no desire to move to Boost Infinite so will be moving to someone else.
Thanks for bringing up US Mobile. I had forgotten about them. The US Mobile shareable data plan looks like it would be pretty good for us. On a heavy month we use a combined 13 GB - 14GB but normal is less than 10GB. The 12GB/mo plan for $33 for two phones, taxes included, and $2 per GB is a lot less than we pay today plus it includes hotspot use. With US Mobile supporting T-Mobile we could keep our current phones. The only unknown is how T-Mobile’s signal is at our house just below the crest of a hill. AT&T has a strong signal where as Verizon is ok but will downgrade to 4G on occasion. When our Republic service was on Sprint we had a good signal so maybe T-Mobile will as well if they use the same towers.
Just a note for anyone considering service relying on Verizon’s network, you will need to make sure the phone is compatible - and I don’t just mean the phone make and model, but the phone itself, by having the IMEI checked.
I’d like to take advantage of some good Verizon coverage in my area, but not at the expense of buying five new phones.
I believe this to be the case. When the RW Tech dropped the Boost Infinite news on me, he said my existing RW SIM would not need replacing. He said that I would receive instructions in e-mail. The two-week figure he gave me may have been for 5.0 customers. We’re already on AT&T, so changeover should be less complicated. Should be.
That’s what I found with our A32 5G phones. There is a GSM and Verizon version of the phone and they cannot crossover. Otherwise I wold probably have been subscribing to MobileX aleady.
How would we know if we have the same problem with our s21? We’ve been attempting since May (off & on) to get it to work on mobilex, first with an esim & then with a physical sim, with little success.
What I did since I could not find it on the MobileX site was go to Verizon and use their phone compatibility check. With the check I could see if our phones were at least compatible with the Verizon network before spending time researching MVNOs.
Historically, CDMA carriers maintained whitelist databases of phone IMEIs allowed on their networks because CDMA service was tied to a phone’s IMEI. Historically, Verizon and the now defunct Sprint were CDMA carriers.
GSM technology did not tie service to a phone’s IMEI but rather to the SIM’s ICCID. Historically, AT&T and T-Mobile used GSM technology. Despite using GSM technology, historically GSM carriers may or may not maintain whitelist databases of phones allowed on their networks. Specifically, AT&T has long maintained such a whitelist database. This is among the reasons, some Republic members had difficulty moving from My Choice to 5.0 despite having factory unlocked phones. Generally, most factory unlocked phones will activate on AT&T’s network but may or may not be supported for certain network features such as carrier WiFi calling or visual voicemail. The same is true of T-Mobile though to a far lesser extent than AT&T.
We should be past the whole GSM/CDMA conundrum because 4G LTE and 5G technologies (all of which are evolutions of GSM) are mutually compatible across all carrier networks. In other words, all U.S. cellular networks are LTE/NR networks. LTE is 4G technology. NR (New Radio) is 5G technology. The GSM/CDMA divide no longer exists.
Still, despite there no longer being a technical need to maintain whitelist databases, U.S. carriers carry on with the practice. This allows the carriers to charge phone manufacturers for “certification” of their phones for use on their respective networks.
Apple does not put up with this carrier nonsense, which is why a hardware compatible iPhone, if unlocked, works as expected on all U.S. networks. A homogenous experience across networks is critical to Apple, so if you want iPhone on your network you play by Apple’s rules.
On Android, unlocked Pixels are the closest one will come to the iPhone experience in terms of activation and network feature support. Samsung, which theoretically, has the juice to reign in the carriers for whatever reason does not try to do so.
Verizon’s solution is supposed to be something called CDMAless activation, which, in theory, ties service to the SIMs ICCID just as GSM always has done. Consequently, generally, it’s possible to move active Verizon SIMs from one phone to the next as one may do with SIMs from historically GSM carriers.
Despite the availability of CDMAless activation, Verizon still sometimes enforces its IMEI whitelist database. It’s entirely possible for Verizon to add individual phones’ IMEIs to its whitelist database and is better about doing so than AT&T. Verizon MVNOs can certainly ask Verizon to add a phone’s IMEI to the database but it does depend on the MVNOs willingness to ask and the relationship between the MVNO and Verizon.
Otherwise, a long-standing workaround is to activate the Verizon network SIM in a phone Verizon will accept then move the active SIM to the phone one wants to use. @southpaw, I understand the mentioned workaround wasn’t successful for you but as I recall there were special circumstances? Regardless, there is never a guarantee a workaround will always succeed.
Typically, my MobileX SIM resides in a carrier agnostic factory unlocked Samsung Galaxy Note20, where everything works as expected including WiFi calling. Yesterday, I moved the MobileX SIM to a Samsung Galaxy A32 5G acquired from Republic Wireless by DISH, which has been carrier unlocked. Talk, text and data (after adjusting APNs) work as expected over cellular. WiFi calling is not available. I cannot remember what phone with which I activated the MobileX SIM (I have too many phones). Neither the A32 5G or the Note20 pass Verizon’s online IMEI check tool.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting one should overlook other options in favor of using the workaround that has been successful for me and many others. I will point out, however, that MobileX and US Mobile both offer generous trial periods. One might first attempt activation with a new number to determine what works and what does not for themselves and whether those results are acceptable.
Additionally, as of yesterday, US Mobile released new plans, which offer premium data on T-Mobile’s network. Previously, premium data on US Mobile was limited to Verizon’s network. Similar to the old Republic’s choice of T-Mobile or Sprint coverage, US mobile offers a choice between T-Mobile or Verizon coverage.
Specific to your situation, is the problem an inability to activate the SIM at all? Or, do things not work after activation? If the latter, what, specifically, doesn’t work?
I haven’t, but a friend of mine on one of the old My Choice plans (I think) has received an e-mail that he will be getting a new SIM shortly. He verified what others have said about continuing the old charge structure for 6 months before the $25 kicks in if your old charge was below $25.
I’m on a 5.0 Everywhere You Go plan, and I’m waiting to see what happens to me…
That would be me! I’ve procrastinated so long making a decision. Now, I’ll wait until we receive the SIM card and hope (pray) my phone will use wi-fi again!
I just got that email this afternoon about the switch to Boost Infinite.
It says Boost Infinite can use the T-Mobile or AT&T network, but the My choice users are on T-Mobile, so does that mean we stay on T-Mobile?
I assume we are going to get new SIM cards (cannot use E-SIM)?
Is it $25 a month total, or do they add all the fees and taxes onto that too?
Thanks
Generally, Boost Infinite offers a choice of AT&T or T-Mobile coverage similar to the old Republic’s choice of T-Mobile or Sprint coverage. The choice, however, is entirely Boost Infinite’s. Unlike the old Republic, if dissatisfied with your coverage Boost Infinite will not switch you from AT&T to T-Mobile or vice versa.
For My Choice subscribers, the email says the network remains the same. So, I presume, they are sending T-Mobile network SIMs. eSIM is available on iPhone only.
Taxes and telecom fees are not included but are minimal (likely to be noticeably less than your My Choice plan). Hotspot is a $10/month add-on.
Thanks for the quick response RolandH!
I think I will give the Boost Infinite a try.
My fallback will be the C-Spire Pre-Paid plan for $25 a month per line, taxes and fees included for 10gb high speed data, and unlimited throttled, hotspot included. There is a store local too, so I can get hold of a real person!
Does anyone know whether the Boost Infinite App is required on an Android phone?
Hopefully we can manage our account through a web portal.
I will have 2 lines to move over from My Choice to Boost Infinite.
Thanks!
Neither the A32 5G or the Note20 pass Verizon’s online IMEI check tool.