Republic Wireless has long had one of the cheapest data plans on the market and has been a true disrupter in the mobile plan space.
They’ve changed their plans and pricing over the years a few times, but their $15 for unlimited call, text, and wifi data plan is still the best value priced plan around. High-speed mobile data add-ons are also reasonably priced (with no overage fees), starting at just +$5 for 1 GB.
Until this point, one of the biggest barriers for people to make the move to Republic was always the fact that you had to purchase one of their Android devices directly from them, and the selection was very limited (plus, high-end smartphones are not cheap).
That’s no longer the case.
Republic Wireless has opened up the long-requested feature ability for you to bring your own phone to their prepaid plans. You simply need to:
- Check your phone’s eligibility (see the site for details)
- Install the Republic Wireless app on your phone
- Order the Republic Wireless SIM card (costs just $5)
- Activate your phone
Republic Wireless Bring your Own Phone Model Eligibility:
With this initial rollout, eligible phones must be unlocked, have Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and be a specified phone from one of the following makes:
- Alcatel
- Huawei
- Motorola
- Samsung
These are all phones that Republic Wireless sells directly as well, and at fairly good prices, considering that there are no overpriced monthly contracts to subsidize the cost. For example, the Alcatel A30, Samsung Galaxy J3, Moto G Play, and Moto E Play are all under $200 each.
With bring-your-own-phone, these phones can now be purchased anywhere. The latest version of Republic Wireless has them running on T-Mobile’s network (Republic is a T-Mobile and Sprint MVNO).
Republic Wireless Plan Options:
Once you’ve activated your phone, Republic has a number of very competitively priced plans plans, including:
- $15/month: unlimited talk, text, wifi data
- + $5 per each 1 GB cell data
You can switch in and out of plans whenever you’d like, since there are no contracts.
Republic Wireless also has a risk-free, 14-day money-back guarantee, and with no contracts, there is really nothing to lose if you want to check them out and save money on your mobile plan.
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Republic wireless has a great model. 1) They should increase the money back to 30 days. 2) can’t wait for them to accept Iphones.
They still only accept iPhone knockoffs. Lame.
I was with Republic for two years and switched off of their plan to AT&T this past December. In those two years I learned one thing; Republic has a potentially very disruptive idea that could have a very real impact on the wireless world if they used a different carrier.
I was on the Sprint network for the two years that I had Republic and I had more dropped calls and delayed texts in those two years than I had in probably the previous 6ish years that I had on both the AT&T and Verizon networks. I love their model but until they switch to a world class network their value proposition will only be price, which is good for some wireless customers but falls far short for many customers in my opinion.
With these new phones, they have switched from Sprint to T-Mobile.
T-Mobile has made a lot of upgrades to their network, and were recently rated as the fastest network by Speedtest: http://www.speedtest.net/awards/us/carrier/2015
If they moved to AT&T or Verizon, costs would definitely increase, but if Speedtest is correct, why not get the best of both worlds? I know that T-Mobile isn’t as strong everywhere, but for the places it is, it’s a strong value.
The gotcha here is that Republic’s rates are pre-tax and pre-surcharge. In many cases that puts their prices at the same rate or higher than Cricket. Cricket has much wider variety of phone choices too.
My wife and I have been on Cricket here in Wisconsin for a couple years now. Cricket’s customer service is terrible, but luckily we haven’t needed help too often. We’ve been very pleased with their coverage–both in town, on the road, or even in the north woods.
I think “gotcha” is not the appropriate word. Every carrier I’ve seen displays their rates pre-tax/surcharge. “Gotcha” implies some sort of devious fleecing of the customer. It’s up to the customer to compare rates.
Good point. I guess I was just hopeful that Republic would be cheaper. But with a little looking I saw that wasn’t the case, since Cricket’s rates include all taxes and fees. So from my perspective, it was a “gotcha”, whereas for most it would not be. Good clarification.
I just looked, and it looks like the cheapest Cricket Wireless plan is $40 ($35 with autopay). So why do you think they are cheaper? If you can get by w/ 1 GB, Republic would be $20 (+ taxes).
Republic Wireless’ recent developments have been interesting. As another person said, the reason I was hesitant to sign up with them for so long was because they used the Sprint Network, which is terrible (soooo many dropped calls and unsent texts).
I have Cricket, which uses AT&T’s network and I love it. $35 per month (taxes+fees included) for unlimited talk, text and 2.5 GB data. Republic Wireless seems like a good option for some though!
I’ve had republic for greater than 2 years, not a single dropped call or missed text. Plus the biggest bonus of all was the option they had at one point for a phone with a 5.00/month plan of unlimited wifi calling/texting and data….perfect for the pre-teen in the house, with bump to 10/month for unlimited call/text over sprint and unlimited wifi data.
Wow. That 5/mo plan does sound awesome.
I’ve used Republic for a couple of years now and have been very satisfied. With the expanded selection of phones and the new network, I think it is an even better deal. That said, my old Moto X first gen phone is still going strong, so for now I’m not upgrading. Whenever one of my friends complains about their cell phone bill, I let them know about Republic. Status quo bias shows up a lot, though. Even when people are convinced they would save money, they still often decide to stick with what they have. Aren’t brains fun?
It is great to see more options available from a newish player in the field. Boost mobile (sprint) still seems to win out with unlimited talk,text,wifi,2g data + can build to 5g High speed.
I’ve had Republic for almost two years and I am honestly satisfied with my service. The caveat to note about the new phones added to their plan is that you have to double, triple check the model numbers because they are very specific. Republic addressed this by posting all of the information you will need to know to bring your phone over. The downside is if you wanted to buy the phone from say Amazon or Overstock, you would not have access to all of the information you need until you open the packaging. A number of people were disappointed when they purchased a phone only to learn that it was not in fact useable on the Republic platform.
What is unlimited wifi data? Why if I have wifi at home would I need to pay to use it on my phone? I’m confused at what this means, cus they say they have mobile 4g added onto their more expensive plans. What is the unlimited wifi data exaxtly?
How does the phone automatically connect to several WiFi networks as you move around town? Do you have to enter all the passwords? It is a disruptive but for $33 you could have Verizon quality with 6gb of data per month with Total Wireless on any phone!. $25 per line with 2-4 lines. When it gets down to $10 difference in price go with Verizon network.