Wow! That plus unused data credit and low price = very tempting!
If one is using an eSIM equipped phone (Apple iPhone XR, XS, XS Max or later, Google Pixel 3a series or later and certain Samsung Galaxy S series and Note series models, it’s possible to check out potential alternatives without disturbing current service (RW or otherwise). MobileX, Mobi and Tello (my current three favorites for those with modest cell data needs) all offer eSIM activation.
Apparently, MobileX had a short cell data outage yesterday. I know this because the MobileX app notified me and notified me again when cell data was restored. Talk & text were not impacted. It was like the old RW status page but with push notifications added (nice touch).
MobileX making some more noise: MobileX Appoints Mohammed Malique as Group Lead for the UK and EU to Drive UK & European Expansion.
The eventual idea is that MobileX service will work across multiple countries with a single phone number.
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MobileX has updated its marketing website. It’s much more useful in terms of learning about what MobileX offers. Signup and account management is still app based. Check the new website out here.
When I first signed up with MobileX, I let the AI determine how much data I needed. It estimated high because I was doing speed tests. For this month, I decided to drop the data to 0.5 GB (the minimum purchase) and also dropped unlimited talk & text to 150 minutes and 150 text messages ($2.50 as opposed to $4.50 for unlimited t&t). Thought there might be interest in evidence MobileX really does refund unused cell data.
Intriguing 
…
For those who might not know, Mr. Adderton is the Founder and CEO of MobileX. He previously founded the Boost Mobile brand in Australia later bringing it to the U.S. in partnership with Nextel and others. Boost in the U.S. became part of Sprint when it acquired Nextel then part of DISH Wireless as part of the TMO/Sprint merger.
I’ve been attempting to try it, but they’re having trouble getting an esim to work on my s21. I don’t want to port my number from Republic until I try Verizon’s service in our area now, since I believe there’s no going back. Years back they were the best alternative here, but maybe not so much now since they’ve been upgrading networks.
The good news is that the MobileX expertcare folks are all over it, which to me is a good sign.
Yeah, Samsung phones seem to be more problematical when setting up eSIM particularly on Verizon’s network. I’ve used MobileX on both a carrier unlocked Galaxy A32 5G and a factory unlocked Galaxy Note20 but am using a pSIM (physical SIM) because I wanted to be able to test service on multiple phones.
Trying before buying is a good approach. I don’t think MobileX does after the fact porting like the old RW used to do, so if you decide to stay with MobileX, it might mean canceling the trial service then starting over. I’d be happy to hear otherwise.
@imrandy said:
The good news is that the MobileX expertcare folks are all over it, which to me is a good sign.
That’s encouraging news. I’ve been kicking the tires on MobileX since December of last year. I’ve found Xpertcare to be responsive to feedback but haven’t encountered any significant technical issues. Please let us know how it turns out.
Will do. Here was xpertcare’s response to my question about porting after the trial: “Currently, we do not have support for post-activation port-ins. So if you are wishing to port in at later date, you would need to create a second account to go through the activation process again and we would need to deactivate the new number assigned on the other account to free up the IMEI for use. So in short yes, you can test run the service with a new number, but we would then need to proceed to close out that account and have you make a new one afterwards for doing a port afterwards if that route is taken.”
Still trying to activate an eSIM with MobileX but have been unable to do so. Here’s what’s occurred so far:
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The app said my s21 would work with their eSIM but it returned an error code.
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I sent them the IMEI & they tried with the same result. They double checked & said my phone/IMEI should be compatible with their network.
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I sent them both IMEIs and the EID & they escalated it, I’m assuming to Verizon, to get it whitelisted.
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I was able to proceed past the original error and initiate service, but my phone still wouldn’t find the eSIM. Their help said to put the numbers in manually but there’s no way to do that on my Samsung. It just offers to scan a QR code.
5 They sent me a scanable QR code, the phone reads it, says “Checking Sim information,” and returns “Can’t add eSIM. Try again. If this problem keeps happening, contact your service provider for help.”
At this point I’m out of brains & as a hail mary, am wondering if y’all think Republic might have some kind of lock or hold on my device. I’m on the 5.0 plan. I’m open to other ideas as well.
To their credit, MobileX has offered several times to send me a physical SIM, but I’m hardheaded and am exhausting all options with the eSIM first.
As you are on the 5.0 plan, all phones are locked to Republic at activation, you will need to request an Un-lock from them, the error code should have spelled this out, but hey 
Thanks jBen. I’ll give it a try.
@jBen said:
As you are on the 5.0 plan, all phones are locked to Republic at activation, you will need to request an Un-lock from them, the error code should have spelled this out, but hey
I think there is a misunderstanding here. Phones are not locked to RW merely by activating on RW 5.0 service. Only phones purchased from RW’s online store on or after December 1, 2021 are locked to RW. Unlocked phones whether purchased from RW prior to December 1, 2021 or from third party sources are not locked to RW by activating on a 5.0 plan.
@imrandy said:
I sent them both IMEIs and the EID & they escalated it, I’m assuming to Verizon, to get it whitelisted.
This is very likely the issue. IMEIs for factory unlocked phones are often not in Verizon’s (or AT&T’s) whitelist databases. For some reason, getting a factory unlocked phone’s IMEI2 (the IMEI generally used for eSIM) added to Verizon’s whitelist database seems to be a monumental task. It seems to be less of a challenge to get a factory unlocked phone’s IMEI1 (the IMEI generally used for pSIM) added to the whitelist database.
For what it’s worth, the phenomenon is not limited to MobileX. I’ve seen other providers using Verizon’s network face similar challenges. Also, it seems Samsung phones as opposed to iPhone and Pixels are more often afflicted.
@rolandh,
Thanks for the clarification, having reached the point where I can’t remember what I had for breakfast if it’s past lunchtime I will certainly defer to your wisdom.
I do remember there was confusion and discussion on what was locked when 5.0 came out, but that was before DISH bought out RW … so the discussion was lost
Does this still seem to be the case (MobileX has QCI8 prioritized data)? Not having deprioritized data on Verizon would be pretty good selling point for me (bad T-mobile coverage in local area).
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Hi @elbajo,
MobileX’s CEO is on the record as saying data is prioritized. I’ve seen nothing to suggest that’s changed.
US Mobile also offers prioritized data on, at least, some of its plans if one has a 5G capable phone. Both 5G and LTE data are prioritized despite the 5G capable phone requirement.
There’s logic behind US Mobile’s 5G phone requirement. 5G data is cheaper for the carriers to deliver and those with a 5G capable phone would only be connected to LTE when 5G was unavailable.
Circling back to MobileX, to the best of my knowledge, a 5G capable phone is not required for priority data.
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Thanks. Yeah, I read that about US Mobile as well last night, so good to know there are two options. Google Fi didn’t work for me as we don’t need enough lines to make it cost effective compared to the other two. Appreciate the help.
Thank you for all of this information, @rolandh! MobileX sounds promising!
My transition from 5.0 to Boost seems to have gone smoothly, but based on what you’ve shared, ordering a SIM card from MobileX to give them a try might save me money, especially after the 6 months are up. Based on my usage and the numbers you’ve reported, I could end up with a $15/month bill between my wife and me.
I’d like to ask you about Wi-Fi calling on your MobileX iPhone, specifically about putting the phone in airplane mode, then turning Wi-Fi on. Have you had a chance to test calls/SMS/MMS in this mode? In this context, do you notice any difference between MobileX and other carriers?
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Also, MobileX is coming to Walmart stores and is currently available online. Not available in my local store as of this post: Robot or human?
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