So my outdated Samsung Galaxy A50 worked just fine until Boost Infinite merged (or whatever) with Boost Mobile. I was asking questions on Reddit, when a familiar white knight (AKA Rolandh) mentioned this RW spot was still alive. It sound like I shouldn’t get a new phone from Boost, and get locked in for 12 months. So I have to either do a bring-your-own-phone with them, or switch carriers. I guess my first question is how painful is the switching process? Also, anyone love their carrier? I mostly use my phone for talk (I’m old) text, and Pokemon Go. I can afford a pricey phone, if that’s my best option, but I’m hard on my toys and would rather have something that won’t cause me to cry if I drop it 50 times. (The Samsung Galaxy A25 looked interesting until I saw it had 26% 1-star reviews on Amazon.) I know these are vague and general questions, but I figured I’d just get a conversation going.
Theoretically, nothing about the Boost Infinite brand being rolled into Boost Mobile should have caused your phone to stop working. So, for clarity, this is when your Samsung Galaxy A50 started to forget its APN(s)?
There was a suggestion made on Reddit that you try the Boost Config app.
You might try installing Boost Config to see if it sorts matters. If you still have the old DISH CarrierApp on the phone, delete that first, restart the phone, then install Boost Config.
This is a matter of personal preference but I wouldn’t want to be married to Boost for another 12 months.
Bring your own is quite possible with Boost. In my experience, switching providers is not nearly as bad as Internet horror stories might make it seem.
I’m very happy with Mobi (Verizon network) and Tello (T-Mobile network). I use Mobi for primary service and Tello as a backup.
For now, I’m going to leave it there and ask others to chime in. Meanwhile, if you haven’t already seen it, you might peruse the Reviews category.
Thank you so much, Roland. I’ll grab the Config app. As far as the problem with my phone, perhaps it wasn’t on AT&T before the switch. I know some of my friends who I played Pokmemon with were always complaining about AT&T coverage. Thanks, also for the reassurance about switching, and the other suggestions. I’ll look forward to hear from others on the site. But I have to share one more thing with you that I think will amuse you. As I was Googling around, I found this bit on Wirecutter about Boost. It was written just a couple weeks ago, and seems somewhat prophetic: “Boost had planned on reselling T-Mobile until it could launch its own network but is now readying a switch to AT&T, which means customers of Boost (and the other resellers that Dish has bought, such as Ting and Republic Wireless) are in for some potentially drastic changes. To us, that doesn’t justify the relatively modest savings that some of its plans offer.”
I will just chime in a little @DavidL (not much room after @rolandh contributes): I have moved phone numbers to different carriers several times since the demise of Republic Wireless. The porting process requires following “the rules” - but as long as the service you are leaving provides correct details, it happens quickly and without customer hassles. Find which of the major carriers covers your geographic use area, and try one of the discount providers.
Thank you, Clint. That’s good to hear, and good advice. I appreciate it.
Do you remember which plan you were using while the Republic brand still existed? If you were using Republic 5.0, you were and still should be on AT&T’s network. If you were still using a My Choice plan, you should be on T-Mobile’s network. Either way, Boost Config is supposed to set the correct APNs.
No one has great coverage everywhere. @Clint’s advice is sound. Determining which of the three national networks has robust coverage in one’s area will point one to which providers they might want to consider (Boost or otherwise). Here’s a good resource:
One need not necessarily heed that site’s advice regarding specific providers or plans but knowing which network has the best coverage is useful information.
The linked article looks like it was written three years ago.
tl;dr: Initially, DISH indeed intended to use T-Mobile as its primary network partner while building out its own 5G network. The deal with T-Mobile was part of regulatory approval for the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. Next, DISH and T-Mobile got into various disputes, so DISH struck a deal for AT&T to replace T-Mobile as its primary network partner. Then, DISH and T-Mobile kissed and made up, so DISH went back to T-Mobile as its primary partner. Now, once again, DISH/Boost says AT&T will be the primary network partner when its native network lacks coverage.
DISH deserves some credit for actually building out its native network though said native network still suffers from significant growing pains. Otherwise, observing DISH/Boost’s operations are like watching a soap opera. Ultimately, that’s why I left for other providers. In terms of my day-to-day service, I don’t need the drama of dealing with DISH/Boost but that’s a decision we each must make for ourselves.
Stray point: Whatever you decide to do on terms of a carrier, plan to burn a month.
Wait until you have just crossed the boundary into a new service month, then see about porting to the new carrier. This gives lots of time if there are porting issues and will minimize the chance of losing your number if someone flips a wrong bit. For most people, the thought is to wait until near the end of the month so as not to waste money, but if something goes wrong and your number is lost due to bad timing, it is a false economy.
Yes, you end up paying for a chunk of service on the old carrier that you won’t use, but that beats the hassle of having to get a new number because the old one got lost in transition.
Hi, Roland,
It was My Choice. I tried Boost Config, and it set up an APN that didn’t seem to make any difference. I’ll play around with it a bit more.
That’s actually a link within the article. The article itself was from July 12th. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-wireless-carrier/ But it sounds like you have newer and better information about the Boost/T-Mobile relationship than whoever wrote the article. I appreciate that.
For now, I’ll probably buy my own phone but stick with Boost. But I’m going to take a bit of time, check out some phones in local stores, and read a lot more reviews. Thank you so much for all the help.
That’s a really good tip. Thank you. At least if I end up paying for some service I don’t use, it will be inexpensive service.
If your Republic plan prior to transition to Boost was My Choice, your SIM is a T-Mobile rather than an AT&T network SIM. That can be verified as follows:
- Dial
*#06# - Note the first 5 digits of your SIM’s ICCID
- If the first 5 digits are 89014, the SIM is an AT&T network SIM. If the first 5 digits are 89012, the SIM is a T-Mobile network SIM.
Particularly, if your SIM is T-Mobile network, a new 5G capable phone may improve your experience. T-Mobile is aggressively upgrading its 5G network and that’s having a negative impact in some locations on its legacy 4G LTE network.
Not necessarily; the press just, at times, fails to get the details right.
Whether you stick with Boost or eventually choose another option, I strongly encourage you opt for a factory unlocked phone. If you buy a phone from Boost (or most other providers) at a discount, it will be locked to that provider for some perod of time (anywhere from 60 days up to a year). Choosing factory unlocked gives you options.
I think the unlocked Pixel 8a is $400 on Amazon right now.
It looks to be $450 on the Google store.
I have the Pixel 6a which is still a pretty good phone and I paid about $450 for it.
Thank you! I’ll check it out.
Absolutely. I plan to get one from Best Buy. I’ve had excellent luck with everything I’ve bought there, and great service.
RolandH:
I am confused about how they (Boost/Dish/Echostar/whoever) pull this off:
I have a T-Mobile SIM in my Pixel 6a (Boost Mobile) phone (was on the old R.W. plan at switch so I got a T-Mobile Based Boost Infinite SIM).
They say they have converted 73% of the customer base to this new tech?
Will they have to provide a new SIM card to the rest of us to pull this off?
I’m going to start with the observation, that in its current form, Boost’s “power of three networks” and “dynamic switching” is wildly overhyped marketing. It’s really just domestic roaming similar to when the old Republic’s Sprint service would roam to Verizon’s network in certain locations.
Just as with other domestic roaming implementations, Boost’s will hold onto its native “Boost Mobile Network” if one’s phone so much as sniffs its existence even if coverage is weak to the point of being useless. Practically, native coverage needs to be non-existent before a switch to one of Boost’s domestic roaming partners (AT&T or T-Mobile) occurs. Worse, because Boost’s native network has no 4G LTE fallback of its own, if one is on a call and wanders outside Boost’s native coverage, the call won’t seamlessly transition to one of the roaming partners. It will just drop.
If this information is in the linked press release, I am managing to miss it. Might you have seen it somewhere else?
Anyway, I’m skeptical of the 73% of the customer base claim (73% of the customer base with compatible phones, maybe). There are a handful of phones compatible with Boost’s native network. There’s the iPhone 15 series, Samsung’s S24 series, a few newer Motos and some of the Boost exclusive Celero series that I know of. Given Boost’s history as a discount brand, I highly doubt 73% of the entire Boost customer base is rocking one of these newer and, generally, expensive phones.
There are online reports of Boost being able to reprogram some existing SIMs over the air. Otherwise, a new SIM (the fabled “rainbow” SIM) would be required.
But; a new or reprogrammed SIM, in and of itself, won’t magically make one’s phone compatible with Boost’s native network. Again, as of now, there are a relative handful of phones (including none of the Pixels) compatible with Boost’s native network.
All of the above said, there’s also the reality, DISH/Boost’s corporate parent is by its own admission severely cash strapped. If it is otherwise unable to refinance its debt, Chapter 11 bankruptcy toward year end would seem inevitable. Now, Chapter 11 doesn’t necessarily mean a business ceases to operate. Chapter 11 is reorganization not liquidation. Chapter 11 is often used to restructure debt on more favorable terms when other methods of doing so aren’t an option.
You are right about the 73%, I saw that in another article similar to this one:
My main hope is they just leave me as-is on T-Mobile. The service I have now works very good in my rural area.
I don’t need 1gbps download speeds at the moment.
Thanks RolandH for the great post as usual!
Good Morning @muerte33,
About the preference for T-Mobile coverage. My first inclination was to suggest you not worry because, as far as I know, your Pixel(s) are not compatible with DISH/Boost’s standalone 5G network.
But, then I saw these:
These “upgraded” SIMs are likely fabled “rainbow” SIMs. It makes financial sense for DISH/Boost to get as many folks as they can onto their standalone network. After all, they’re paying for it whether it’s used or not.
Apparently, “rainbow” SIMs can be programmed with either native DISH/Boost coverage roaming to AT&T and/or T-Mobile or just AT&T coverage. My guess (and that’s all it is) is phones not compatible with the native network will get AT&T coverage.
Boost dealers have been advised of the intent to move away from T-Mobile:
It seems that may not be limited to new subscribers.
Should Boost advise you they are sending you an “upgraded” SIM, I’d be interested in knowing what the first five numbers of the ICCID are? Historically, Boost SIMs have been:
- If the first five numbers of the ICCID are 89105, it is a DISH/Boost native “rainbow” SIM.
- If the first five numbers of the ICCID are 89014, it is an AT&T network SIM.
- If the first five numbers of the ICCID are 89012, it is a T-Mobile network SIM.