Reviews of Cricket Wireless Mobile Cell Phone Plans
Gear up to switch mobile providers? Review the features, pricing, and coverage of Cricket Wireless to compare information technology to the top prepaid competition.
- What is Cricket Wireless?
- Pros and Cons of Cricket Wireless
- Prepaid Plans and Pricing: three.5 Stars
- Phone Pick and Pricing: two.5 Stars
- Network Coverage: 4.5 Stars
- Client Reviews: 4.0 Stars
Prepaid phone plans similar Cricket Wireless offer flexibility and convenience that mobile contracts can't match.
But for such a low price, is the service even proficient?
Find out if Cricket Wireless is worth switching to, and what yous tin can look in coverage, customer service, and more.
What is Cricket Wireless?
Cricket was founded in 1999 by Spring Wireless International. This cellular service provider is considered a "mobile virtual network operator," or MVNO.
This means that Cricket doesn't own the infrastructure it uses (similar prison cell towers). Instead, they buy usage rights from some other provider at wholesale prices — in this case, AT&T.
Lesser line: Cricket offers AT&T coverage at discounted rates.
Largest MVNO Providers by Subscriber Count [1]
- Metro by T-Mobile: xx,000,000 users
- Cricket Wireless: 11,000,000 users
- Straight Talk: 9,717,000 users
- Boost Mobile: 8,900,000 users
- Consumer Cellular: 4,000,000 users
Pros and Cons of Cricket Wireless?
Cricket Wireless offers flexible prepaid options and discounts that are perfect for families, simply this wireless carrier isn't for everyone. Let's take a look at the advantages and downsides of Cricket:
Pros
- Slap-up family discounts
- 2nd-best 4G and 5G data coverage networks
- Gratis HBO Max included with the $sixty/calendar month plan ($55 with AutoPay)
Cons
- Unhelpful customer support
- Phone prices are fairly expensive
- Poor phone option (no Samsung flagship devices, no Google phones)
- Expensive basic plan compared to the contest ($30 for only 2GB of loftier-speed data)
Is Cricket Wireless Whatsoever Good?: Full Overview
Below, review the information plans, phone selection, and network coverage of Cricket Wireless to run across how it compares to other meridian prepaid companies.
| Overall Score: 4.0 |
|---|
| Prepaid Plans and Pricing: 3.5 |
| Phone Selection and Pricing: 2.5 |
| Network Coverage: 4.5 |
| Client Reviews: iv.0 |
Prepaid Plans and Pricing: iii.v Stars
If you lot don't use much information, Cricket probably isn't for y'all. The company offers the most expensive bones plan with the least amount of data. For half the cost of Cricket'due south 2GB programme, you tin become twice the amount of information from Mint.
Yet, if you employ a fair corporeality of information, Cricket offers a competitive suite of prepaid plans starting at $35 per month — which is equal to Heave and equivalent to Verizon.
| Data Plans and Pricing | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cricket | Boost Mobile | Verizon Prepaid | Mint Mobile |
| $30: 2GB | $15: 2GB** | $25: 5GB**** | $15: 4GB |
| $35: 10GB* | $25: 4GB*** | $35: 15GB**** | $20: 10GB |
| $50: Unlimited (no mobile hotspot)* | $35: 10GB | $50: Unlimited (no mobile hotspot) | $25: 15GB |
| $55: Unlimited + 15GB hotspot* | $l: 35GB | $65: Unlimited + hotspot | $xxx: 35GB |
| *With AutoPay **Everyman tier Boost programme is for new Bring Your Own Phone customers ***Second-lowest tier Boost plan is for new customers only ****All Verizon plans include a $5-$xv college introductory price for the first 10 months of prepaid membership | |||
Information technology's as well one of the few smaller wireless service providers that offers true unlimited data plans, unlike Heave and Mint.
How to check information usage:
On Android: Go to your Settings > Connections > Data Usage
On iPhone: Get to your Settings > Cellular > Usage
Phone Choice and Pricing: 2.5 Stars
Phone selection and pricing are weak points for Cricket:
- Cricket simply offers 32 devices, the least among tiptop prepaid competition (Verizon and Mint Mobile both offering 64, AT&T offers l, and Boost Mobile offers 34)
- Does not offering any Google Pixel phones
- Does not offering whatever Samsung flagship devices, just budget models like the Galaxy A series
- Phone pricing is more expensive than Heave Mobile across the board
Hither'due south how Cricket's phone prices stack up to the competition:
| Telephone Pricing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Cricket | Boost | Verizon | AT&T | Mint |
| iPhone thirteen 256 GB | $929.99 | $929.99 | $899.99 | $899.99 | $929.00 |
| iPhone 12 256 GB | $879.99 | $879.99 | $849.99 | $879.99 | $879.00 |
| Samsung Galaxy 20 FE 5G | $449.99 | $399.99 | N/A | $699.99 | N/A |
| Samsung Galaxy A52 5G | $349.99 | North/A | N/A | $499.99 | $549.00 |
| Moto G Stylus 5G | $229.99 | $199.99 | $249.99 | $249.99 | $449.00 |
Interestingly, Cricket offers its own line of budget phones that run on the Android Os and are created by Emblem Solutions (which also makes AT&T-sectional phones).
If you like Cricket'due south network coverage and plan pricing, you tin notice less expensive devices by shopping at 3rd-party sites like Amazon or Back Market. Just make sure y'all buy a device that is fully unlocked for the AT&T network.
Does Cricket offer family plan discounts?
If you are purchasing a phone plan for your family or with your pregnant other, Cricket offers some great quantity discounts for each new line.
For example, the $l unlimited programme is only $40 per line with 2 lines, $xxx with three lines, and simply $25 with 4 lines.
Network Coverage: 4.v Stars
Curious if Cricket Wireless is a expert network? Rest assured, as mentioned in a higher place, Cricket runs on the AT&T network, which gives customers some of the all-time nationwide high-speed coverage available.
AT&T ranks second in both 4G and 5G availability.[two]
4G Coverage past Carrier (% of the The states)
- Verizon: lxx%
- AT&T: 68%
- T-Mobile: 62%
- Sprint: xxx%
5G Coverage by Carrier (% of the Us)
- T-Mobile: 37%
- AT&T: 16%
- Verizon: 11%
It should be noted that T-Mobile uses a depression-band version of 5G, which allows for broader reach but has the drawback of slower speeds compared to Verizon and AT&T.
Cricket also has a nationwide 3G network that is like in scope to its 4G coverage. Nonetheless, be enlightened that Cricket's 3G network will exist taken offline in February 2022.
You can check coverage availability in your area by checking out the interactive coverage map on Cricket'southward website.
Customer Reviews: 4.0 Stars
Like many wireless service providers, Cricket comes with mixed reviews from customers online. Notwithstanding, it has favorable ratings compared to most other common carriers.
For instance, while Cricket may have a ii.0-star rating on Trustpilot, compare this to AT&T, Boost Mobile, and Verizon, which have 1.iii, 1.iv, and 1.ii-star Trustpilot ratings, respectively.
| Consumer Diplomacy | three.vii stars (out of v) |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot | ii.0 stars (out of 5) |
| Google Play Store (for myCricket app) | 4.3 stars (out of five) |
| Apple App Shop (myCricket app) | iv.six stars (out of 5) |
Complaints about Cricket
As usual with wireless companies, client service is the weakest indicate for Cricket. Here is one negative review that shows a common theme:
"Cricket wireless is a rip-off. None of their reps have a clue how to assist with bug. They are known to hang up on customers when they don't know what they are doing. And they detest to reimburse their customers and will definitely give you the runaround."
— Larry via Trustpilot
Praise for Cricket
Nevertheless, customers practise appear satisfied with the quality and cost of Cricket. Hither'south a typical positive review:
"I have had very few dropped calls within the ten-plus years that I've been with Cricket. My monthly payment has never gone up, no hidden fees, and no contracts ...Their plans fit perfectly in my budget."
—Ona via Consumer Diplomacy
The Bottom Line
Cricket Wireless offers savings, great family unit plans, and splendid network coverage.
The only real downside of Cricket is the lack of phone selection, but in today's 24-hour interval and age, information technology is very piece of cake to shop around online to notice the phone you desire at the toll y'all can afford.
For these reasons, Cricket Wireless is certainly worth considering. Bank check out the plans they have bachelor to come across if there is one that meets your needs.
References
- ^ "MVNOs": Best MVNO, 2021.
- ^ "How to Find the Best Cell Phone Coverage 2021: WhistleOut, 2021.
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