Can anyone recommend Virgin Mobile

Pardus

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2000
8,197
21
81
Looking to finally to get a cell phone, Virgin Mobile has $25/mo plan, 300 talk mins and unlimited data. Been looking around, no one else seems to come close to that.

Anyone have Virgin Mobile? Yea or Nay?
 

Jinny

Senior member
Feb 16, 2000
896
0
76
i had it for about 3 weeks back in march.
the data connection was unreliable for me. it'd be down for hours at a time. (i'm in san francisco)
maybe it has improved since...
 

Ksyder

Golden Member
Feb 14, 2006
1,829
1
81
No roaming, only Sprint towers. Something to keep in mind. And the Optimus V is a decent phone, but I started to have problems with it under heavy use like lots of texting. And a somewhat weak screen. The unlimited data is nice, and decently fast if you have a strong signal.
 

Dulanic

Diamond Member
Oct 27, 2000
9,951
570
136
I've been contemplating switching from Sprint at some point in the future. But I truly enjoy my newer technology phones. Am I willing to sacrafice that? Possibly...
 

NetGuySC

Golden Member
Nov 19, 1999
1,643
4
81
I have it, the sprint network is weak here outside of the towns and off the interstate. My wife has the optimus v phone and she has been pretty satisfied with it.
If you have wi-fi in your house it helps allot if the signal is weak there. We use the line2 app so that my wife can make calls / text over a wi-fi network, it's not perfect but is worth the money.

Overall excellent deal
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,757
990
126
I've been contemplating switching from Sprint at some point in the future. But I truly enjoy my newer technology phones. Am I willing to sacrafice that? Possibly...

I met a dude who had an EVO 4G on Virgin Mobile.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,080
136
Never had it. Want to go with them this fall when my Verizon contract expires.
As others have said they are Sprint only, no roaming on any other CDMA networks.
 

Pardus

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2000
8,197
21
81
thanks all for the replies, wanted to get virgin mobile to use the phone as a gps instead of lugging around my nuvi.. found out none of the virgin mobile phones have a gps chip in it.. kinda blows.

i looked at verizon, sprint, tmobile, etc, all way too expensive for a basis cell phone plan with data and they all lock you into a contract.

guess i will consider pre-paid then.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
Say what!? It may not be listed on the sheet, but the Optimus V definitely has GPS.
 

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
The Intercept and Optimus both have GPS chips and the Google App with Maps and Navigation.

Of the phones available on Virgin, the LG Optimus is the best Android offering at the moment.
 

Bman123

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2008
3,221
1
81
In my area Sprint coverage is awesome but when I had my optimus v my data was so hit or miss
 

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
Say what!? It may not be listed on the sheet, but the Optimus V definitely has GPS.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/resources/phones/prepaid/manual/lgoptimusv.pdf

link to the manual, page 210. i can verify, since my daughter has that phone. not horrible service, and the net is spotty in some areas. overall, the price is good enough to let those glitches go. the only down is that the coverage in the U.P. michigan is about nonexistent, and thats where we will be this summer.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,757
990
126
Probably did a ESN clone? I've always wondered how hard it is to do that. Most forums ban that type of information.

Can't be too hard, in my area there are many people on Craigslist who will flash a phone to Metro/Boost/Virgin. I've read conflicting things about Virgin being able to/not being able to detect the phone isn't one of theirs. It's not legal that's why you don't see other forums allowing direct talk about how to perform it. And I thought the FCC passed a law years ago saying if I had a phone with Verizon and left I was suppose to be able to use it on Sprint. I wonder what ever happened to that
 

quikah

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2003
4,137
701
126
data can be unreliable, but generally OK. Not super fast. Basically, you get what you pay for. For $25, I live with the occasional data outage and mediocre speeds. Data has been a lot better recently, but just last week there was a several hour outage nationwide.

Optimus is an OK phone, but again, you get what you pay for. It is not going to come close to a top of the line phone. Needs more internal storage and can get laggy at times. Battery life is awful if you have a poor signal and don't turn off mobile data (this is most phones though).
 

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
verizon is way way better on interstates in the middle of the country. i'm a die hard tmobile fan, but i have a verizon mifi just for road trips. I tried an optimus V as a hotspot as first, but lost 3g on the interstates often.
 

senseamp

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
6,197
126
I got optimus V a couple days ago. Reception is worse than T-mobile, I'd say. I get no reception in the work cafeteria, and only 2 bars in my cube, in center of silicon valley. Data is very spotty as well. To the point that I wouldn't rely on it, but it works sometime. Of course, we are talking about a $25/month plan on a $150 phone. I am going to wait the 30 days and decide what to do with it. I suppose for the price, it's good enough to keep around even as a wi-fi media player. It's cheaper and more functional than my Zune HD.
 

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
do sprint phones roam on verizon towers on poor signal areas? maybe that explains why the optimus V/virgin mobile was so bad on the interstate whereas a sprint phone may be acceptable
 
Nov 29, 2006
15,741
4,274
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In my area Sprint coverage is awesome but when I had my optimus v my data was so hit or miss

This. I had it for a month in march and the data was down a lot. Got rid of it. Hopefully its better now. Im sure they got slammed with customers hogging all the data early on.