Verizon's MVNO Pageplus Cellular
Low Cost U.S. Cellular Service
This is an informative, non-commercial, site. I have no affiliation with Pageplus Cellular other than being a customer.
Last Update: 14 May 2013
Current CallingMart Discount Code for Pageplus Cellular: 5% off using code mom135 until 6/4/2013
Key Advantages of Pageplus Cellular
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I created this simple web site because so many people have asked me about Pageplus Cellular that it was easier to just direct them to a web site than to answer their questions individually.
For those that want low cost U.S. cellular service, the best choice (unless Verizon does not have service in your area) is almost always Verizon's MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) Pageplus Cellular. Unless you have four or more smart phone users, on a family share plan, upgrading every 24 months, and all using large amounts of data, Pageplus Cellular is almost certainly a much less expensive way to go.
Pageplus Cellular is pretty much guaranteed to be much less expensive than any other carrier unless the user spends a tremendous amount of time in a non-Verizon area. Much less expensive than TracFone, Consumer Cellular, Jitterbug, etc.
One of the biggest selling points of Pageplus Cellular is that you can use a smart phone without having to sign up for a data plan. You can either not use data at all, or pay-as-you-go for data, or choose a plan that includes an appropriate amount of data. You can't do this on any of the top tier carriers. Data plans are available with 10MB, 200MB, 250MB, 2GB, and 5GB, but are not mandatory; if you're happy with using only Wi-Fi data you can do that.
Phone number porting is available. I don't think that they charge for this (they didn't when I signed up anyway).
Currently my family has four Android smart phones on Pageplus Cellular. Our monthly outlay, total, for four smart phones, is about $66 (total, not per phone). We use the landline at home. We use Wi-Fi for data when it's available, and don't hesitate to use 3G mobile data when necessary, but aren't stupid about it--most data usage can wait until there's Wi-Fi available.
The biggest negative Pageplus Cellular about is that LTE handsets don't work, even on 3G. Pageplus Cellular only offers 3G data (Verizon will not let its MVNOs offer LTE data). While being limited to 3G data is not an issue, being unable to use smart phones that support 4G LTE is a pain. This limits you to older Verizon smart phones that lack LTE (in reality you can get many LTE handsets to work but it's not a trivial task). Presently, my family's handset collection is the following: one HTC Incredible 2, two HTC Incredibles, one Motorola Droid 2 Global.
The big obstacle for many people is that you don't get a free or highly subsidized phone so if you need the latest new smart phone you'll be paying a lot up front for the phone. Of course these costs are quickly recovered because of the much lower monthly costs, but many people that are happy to pay $200 up front, then an extra $60 per month for 24 months ($1640) for service don't want to pay $600 all at once.
Roaming Capability is Critical
Never choose a wireless provider that does not provide roaming capability. If you ever travel through or to rural areas you'll want to be able to roam, even if it costs a little extra, because one major reason to have a cellular phone is to be able to make calls when away from home. Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile do not offer roaming, at all.
Why Would Anyone Want a Smart Phone Without a Data Plan
Even if you don't get a data plan, it's still nice to have a smart phone because you can run Android or iOS apps that don't require a network connection (such as GPS apps that use stored maps), you can use Wi-Fi for data, and you can also use the camera, and the larger screen is nicer for texting.
On the standard plan from Pageplus Cellular you can still use pay-as-you-go-data in case you really need web access, but it's rather expensive at 99¢/MB. If you expect to use a moderate amount of data you should sign up for a monthly plan that includes some data. The 12 ($12/month) includes 10MB of data and extra MB are 10¢ each. Talk n Text 1200 ($30/month) includes 250MB of data and extra MB are 5¢ each. There are also plans with 2GB of data and 5GB of data ($55 and $70 respectively). Remember, you can change plans at any time so once you know your typical monthly usage you should make certain that you aren't paying for more than you need.
Note that MMS (picture messaging) uses the data network and you will use data to send MMS.
Verizon considers its 4G LTE network "the family jewels." Verizon is not allowing its MVNOs access to their 4G LTE network at this time. Furthermore, you can't even use a 4G LTE handset in 3G mode. So 4G LTE data is not available on Pageplus Cellular and 4G LTE handsets cannot be used (actually it's possible but non-trivial to use a 4G LTE handset).
It's important to understand that the main advantages of 4G LTE data versus 3G data accrue to the carrier, not the subscriber. 4G LTE greatly increases the data capacity of the network, but practically speaking the 3G user will not experience any major difference between 4G LTE data and 3G data on their smart phone. Videos will stream the same. Audio will stream the same. Uploading or downloading over 4G LTE is slightly faster, but you're talking about very small absolute differences, i.e. a photo may take 2 seconds over 3G versus 0.5 seconds over LTE. LTE phones have poorer battery life because the LTE radio operates at higher power.
The big advantage of 4G LTE data to the user is when tethering a laptop or desktop to the phone, or when using a 4G LTE data device such as a Mi-Fi router or a USB modem, and when performing tasks that transfer large amounts of data over the network.
Another advantage of 4G LTE is that you can have simultaneous voice and data on a 4G LTE phone (except for the iPhone 5) whereas on a 3G phone you cannot. Apple chose to reduce cost and size of the iPhone 5 by not including a separate antenna for 4G LTE so the CDMA radio and the LTE radio cannot operate simultaneously but on other LTE phones there is no such restriction. It is unknown if the iPhone 6 will fix this problem.
Where can I buy a Smart Phone to Use on Pageplus Cellular
Any Verizon phone will work, with the following exceptions:
Pageplus Cellular sells some new phones, see https://www.pagepluscellular.com/phones/.
Digicircle sells used phones with a guarantee. Seach by carrier (Verizon). Remember, no LTE phones. Some good choices are the HTC Droid Incredible 2, and the Motorola Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global. Look for phones rated "Excellent" or "Like New."
craigs list is a good source for used phones but you have to be careful. You should meet the seller at a Verizon store where the store staff will verify that the phone has a good ESN (not a stolen phone). A good craigslist phone is one where the seller still has the original box and states that the phone has always had a screen protector and a case on it since it was new, and includes photos. Expect to pay $100 for an HTC Droid Incredible 2 or Motorola Droid 2 in excellent condition, or $60 for an HTC Droid Incredible or a Motorola Droid 1.
Amazon often has some new Verizon phones available from resellers. Search for "Motorola A956," "Motorola A955," or "HTC Droid Incredible 2."
You can buy a new iPhone 5, intended for use on Walmart's StraightTalk service. See http://www.walmart.com/ip/Apple-iPhone-5-16GB-Black-for-Straight-Talk-No-Contract/22401226, but it's rather pricey at $649.
Phones that are more than two years old may need a replacement battery if they don't hold a charge for long:
Battery for HTC Droid Incredible 2
Battery for HTC Droid Incredible
Battery for Motorola Droid and Droid 2
I really want an iPhone 5, but since it's 4G LTE it won't work on Pageplus Cellular, right?
The iPhone 5 sold by Verizon will not work on Pageplus Cellular because it supports LTE. However the iPhone 5 sold by another Verizon MVNO, Straight Talk, has LTE disabled and can be activated on Pageplus Cellular (be sure to not activate it on StraightTalk first). Note that the StraightTalk service, while a good deal ($45 for unlimited everything) does not include any off-Verizon network roaming at all. This means it will not work outside Verizon's native coverage area except for 911 calls.
See http://www.walmart.com/ip/Apple-iPhone-5-16GB-Black-for-Straight-Talk-No-Contract/22401226. Pretty pricey, but if you simply must have an iPhone and want to use it on a low cost plan, this is the way to go.
Where will I roam off of Verizon and incur Voice Roaming Charges?
It's rare to roam off of Verizon in urban areas but some rural areas are covered by smaller, local carriers. Some examples are:
1. Golden State Cellular in California which covers the Gold Country and Yosemite. Driving to Yosemite on the northern route you lose Verizon just outside of Oakdale and pick up Golden State Cellular. See http://www.cellularmaps.com/image/golden_st_map2.jpg. Some Golden State Cellular areas also have Verizon coverage so the map does not mean that you will be roaming everywhere in that area.
2. U.S. Cellular in rural parts of Southern Oregon, including Crater Lake. Some U.S. Cellular areas also have Verizon coverage.
3. Mojave Cellular in Kingman Arizona. See http://www.cellularmaps.com/image/mohave_11a.jpg.
Remember, on Pageplus Cellular data will not work when roaming. However considering the fact that many lower cost providers, such as Virgin Mobile, won't roam even for voice and text, even at extra cost, Pageplus Cellular is not so bad.
Similarities
Differences
The key question to decide is whether or not you can live with the differences in exchange for the significant savings.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Pageplus Cellular Service versus Verizon Service
Advantages
• Best coverage and
quality because it's on Verizon's network.
• Voice roaming onto other CDMA carriers in the rare
instances that Verizon does not service a specific area (extra cost).
• Lowest prices of any prepaid provider.
• Smart phones can be used without a data plan.
• Use any Verizon phone, new or used, except
Verizon's own prepaid phones or Blackberries or LTE 4G phones (LTE service is
coming soon)
• 3G data.
Disadvantages
• No free or subsidized phones-you bring a
Verizon compatible, new or used, non-LTE phone.
• Every minute charged (no free N&W or MTM (of course on unlimited plans this is not an issue)).
• Voice roaming off of Verizon costs 20-29¢/minute
extra (double-dialing required for outgoing calls when roaming).
• No data roaming. If you're in an area where
Verizon is not the CDMA carrier you will have no data service, while with
Verizon proper you can usually roam onto other CDMA carriers for data.
• No international roaming (except Canada &
Mexico).
• No family plans. While Pageplus Cellular is much cheaper
for a single smart phone, once you get up to four smart phones on a family plan on
Verizon the cost advantage of Pageplus Cellular is much less,
at least for heavy data users.
• No LTE data service, 3G is as fast as you can
go, for now.
• No simultaneous voice and data because this
only works on LTE phones (other than the iPhone 5).
• LTE phones will not work at all, even on 3G.
There is a way around this, but it is rather complex.
• No Blackberries.
• Phone numbers not available in all service
areas, even if service is available, but you can always port your existing phone
number
Pay as you go (4-10¢/min, 5¢/text, 99¢/MB data). $10, $25, & $50 refills last 120 days. $80 refill lasts 365 days, Balance rolls over. 50¢/month fee. Off network voice roaming 29¢/minute. Be certain to renew before the expiration date or you'll lose your existing balance. No grace period.
The 12: (250 min, 250 texts, 10MB data): $12/month. Extra MB of data are 10¢ each. Off network voice roaming 29¢/minute.
Talk N Text 1200 (1200 min, 3000 texts, 250MB data): $30/month. Extra MB of data are 5¢ each. Off network voice roaming 20¢/minute.
Unlimited Talk & Text (200MB of data): $40/month. Extra MB of data are 5¢ each. Off network voice roaming 20¢/minute.
The 55: Unlimited Talk & Text (2GB of data): $55/month. Extra MB of data are 5¢ each. Off network voice roaming 20¢/minute.
$69.95 Plan: Unlimited Talk & Text (5GB of data): $69.95/month. Extra MB of data are 5¢ each. Off network voice roaming 20¢/minute.
In 2012, Pageplus Cellular dropped their two extremely popular texting plans (unlimited texting for $15 per month or 2000 texts for $10.95 per month). These were great plans for teenagers that didn't use many voice minutes but that texted a lot. These were add-ons to the standard plan where minutes are 4-10¢ each. Existing customers can keep the $10.95/2000 texts plan, but the unlimited plan is now 10,000 texts for $15 per month and is not available to new customers. Clearly Pageplus Cellular prefers that customers choose one of the more expensive plans that include voice, text, and data. Glad I got my teenage son on a texting plan while they were still available.
How Much Data to You Really Need?
A 2012 study showed that average data usage in the U.S. was 450MB per month. The study also looked at the percentage of users that used more than 3GB/month: 11% on T-Mobile, 4% on AT&T and Sprint, 3% on Verizon. Unless you're doing a large amount of video streaming you're unlikely to be using a lot of data. Also remember that free Wi-Fi keeps expanding and that you should use Wi-Fi when available if you want to reduce your mobile data costs. Another study showed average Android data usage over cellular to range from 0.87GB to 1.05GB depending on age. Yet another study (March 2013) showed average data usage ranging from 0.76GB to 1.36GB depending on carrier and OS.
The best thing to do is to look at the amount of data you typically use in a month and choose a plan that's closest to that amount.
Some Monthly Price Comparisons
One dumb or feature phone
One smart phone with 250MB of data, 3000 texts, and 1200 voice minutes
One smart phone with 1 GB of data plus unlimited voice and text
One smart phone with 2 GB of data plus unlimited voice and text
One smart phone with 4 GB of data plus unlimited voice and text
One smart phone with 10 GB of data plus unlimited voice and text
Two smart phones with 4 GB (total) of data plus unlimited voice and text
Three smart phones with 6 GB (total) of data plus unlimited voice and text
Four smart phones with 8 GB (total) of data plus unlimited voice and text
Caveats
Restarting Early on Pageplus Cellular
Normally, a Pageplus Cellular user on a monthly plan will have the plan renew every month automatically and have the cost charged to a credit card, "stacked" PINs, or will have a cash balance in the account. However if you have a particularly heavy month for data usage and reach your data limit you can call Pageplus Cellular and have then restart your plan early (nothing rolls over, you simply start a new month early).
Autopay, Large Balance or Stacked PINs?
There are three ways to pay the monthly fees for Pageplus Cellular. There are pros and cons to each.
Autopay
Autopay simply charges your credit card each month and automatically renews your plan. This is most similar to a traditional cell phone plan though you pay before (pre-pay) you use the service each month, rather than after (post-pay). If you run out of minutes, texts, or data you can either have some extra money in your account to pay for overages, or you can call customer service and start a new month and reset everything. You can call and switch plans at any time. The only disadvantage is that you can't buy discounted refills so you pay about 5% more than you really have to.
Large Balance
You add a bunch of money to your account and each month Pageplus Cellular will deduct the cost of the monthly plan. The advantages are 1) you can buy refills at a discount, typically 5% from a reseller, and 2) you can change plans at any time. The disadvantage is that if you exceed your data allocation you will quickly drain your account since data overages are rather high (5-20¢/MB).
Plan Specific Stacked PINS
You buy a bunch of PINS for your plan and add them to your account. Each month Pageplus Cellular uses one of the stacked PINs. The advantage is that you can't accidentally run up large overages like you can by keeping a large cash balance on your account--if you run out of minutes, texts, or data and have no additional funds in your account then you can call and start the next month early. The disadvantage is that once you buy the PINs you're stuck with using them up on the plan that they are for--you can't switch plans and use the value of those PINs on another plan. Don't buy a bunch of PINs for one specific plan if you think you might want to switch to a smaller or larger plan.
It's a good idea to keep a few dollars in your account to cover voice roaming charges if you typically travel out of Verizon's native coverage area. There are no extra charges for texting while roaming, and there is no data roaming.
Buy your airtime at Calling Mart http://www.callingmart.com/products/wireless/wirelesscards.aspx?af=20bf00b7-2668-4c52-b0d9-6e2ee7d6ca79&bn=2 when they have a 5% off sale (usually around major holidays, connect with them on Facebook and you'll receive notifications of sales). These links include my affiliate code which I appreciate you using, but of course that's up to you. You can add a bunch of money to your account and Pageplus Cellular will deduct the monthly fee each month, or you can buy refills specific to your plan and "stack" them up on your account.
Pageplus Cellular Customer Service
You shouldn't have many occasions to call Pageplus Cellular customer service but the key thing is patience. You can be on hold for a very long time so use a speakerphone. Like any business, you may get a really good CSR or a really bad one, but my own experience is that things have greatly improved in terms of the CSR competence. Their customer service is U.S. based.
Turning off the Balance Announcement
If you here a recording with each call that tells you your balance and want to turn this off then you must call customer service. However if you're on a call and the other party disconnects you will still get a balance announcement.
"Your Account has a Zero Balance"
There is some bug in Pageplus Cellular's accounting system that will cause you to occasionally get a recording that informs you that "Your Account has a Zero Balance" even though your account is actually just fine. Apparently it has something to do with placing a call while their computer is updating accounts. Just ignore the message and place the call again.
Pageplus Cellular has a lot of dealers. See https://www.pagepluscellular.com/dealers/. You can always go to a dealer for activations, ESN changes, rooting, etc. You'll pay a little more but if you're not super-technical then it can be worth it. A dealer may be able to root your phone, for a fee.
Minimizing Usage of Minutes, Texts, and Data
If you're trying to use a smaller plan to save money there are several ways to accomplish this.
1. Install the Talkatone app to use Google Voice over Wi-Fi when you have Wi-Fi data available. This lets you use your cell phone to make calls but you will not use up any minutes.
2. Send texts via Google Voice or via e-mail (the latter is possible if you know the carrier of the recipient).
E-mail to text gateways for U.S. carriers:
Remember that only the first 160 characters will be sent, and the subject counts as characters.
3. Use Wi-Fi whenever possible
4. Keep mobile data turned off when not in use.
5. Root your Android phone and install the DroidWall app and don't allow apps to use mobile data unless they actually need it.
6. If you love streaming music, consider using an application on your home computer that records tracks to MP3 or M4A files. Then transfer these files to your phone's internal memory or SD card. PianoBar (Linux) is a free, terminal based application for Pandora. There are non-free programs for Windows. Or just rip your CD collection to MP3 files. Or listen to the radio.
Android and iOS apps can consume data even when you are not using them. Some apps will automatically update themselves. Some apps will serve up advertising. E-mail apps will continually download e-mail. This may be okay if you have unlimited data or 5GB of data, but it's not okay if you're on a plan with a small amount of data.
You should keep Mobile Data turned off except when you actually want to use it for something specific such as web browsing. Connect to Wi-Fi whenever possible, and your apps will do their updating over Wi-Fi.
If you are willing to root your Android phone then you can install a very useful app from the Google Play store called Droid Wall (see https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.googlecode.droidwall.free&hl=en). This app allows you to specify which apps are allowed to use Wi-Fi and which apps are allowed to use mobile data (and which apps are not allowed to use any data at all). There is no equivalent app for iOS.
From Wikipedia: "Rooting is often performed with the
goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and hardware manufacturers put on
some devices, resulting in the ability to alter or replace system applications
and settings, run specialized apps that require administrator-level permissions,
or perform other operations that are otherwise inaccessible to a normal Android
user. On Android, rooting can also facilitate the complete removal and
replacement of the device's operating system, usually with a more recent release
of its current operating system."
There are some very useful apps that require
rooting. One, mentioned earlier, is
Droid Wall, which allows you to specify which apps are permitted to use
Wi-Fi and/or mobile data. Another is
VPNC which allow the use of Cisco's ipsec VPN on older Android devices
(newer devices, running Ice Cream Sandwich or greater do not need this app).
Rooting can be a difficult process though there are many web sites that go through the process step by step. Fortunately, there are rooting services available as well. Expect to pay about $25 to have an Android phone rooted. Search on craigslist or go ask a Pageplus Cellular dealer.
What's Wrong with Some of the Other MVNOs?
Despite the heavy advertising, most of the other MVNOs have serious functional limitations or are very expensive compared to Pageplus Cellular.
Boost: Limited to Sprint's very limited native coverage area with no roaming even at extra cost.
Virgin: Limited to Sprint's very limited native coverage area with no roaming even at extra cost.
Consumer Cellular: Much more expensive than Pageplus Cellular. Uses AT&T's network.
Jitterbug: Much more expensive than Pageplus Cellular. Uses Verizon's network.
TracFone: Much more expensive than Pageplus Cellular. Network varies.
Straight Talk: No low-usage plans. Their Verizon-based service does not allow roaming off of Verizon. No longer selling AT&T SIM cards (which did allow roaming). Soft data limits even though advertised as unlimited data. Network varies.
Ting: Ting is actually pretty good. The main issue is that there is no data roaming off of Sprint's native network and Sprint's native network is much smaller than Verizon's native network. Ting does allow voice and text roaming at no extra cost. Ting has family plans so you could actually pay less on Ting than on Pageplus Cellular in some situations. Ting does offer 4G LTE and with Ting you can use new phones (no Blackberry, no iPhone, no PTT (push to talk) phones), see https://help.ting.com/entries/22567167-BYOD-Whitelist- for supported phones. There is one issue that affects Sprint and Ting and that's the problem of roaming onto Verizon. If you're in an area with Sprint coverage, even if the coverage is so poor that you can neither place or receive calls, your phone will often not roam. There are ways people have programmed their Sprint phones to force roaming onto Verizon, but Sprint gets very upset if they see that a customer is always roaming because it costs them a lot of money.
T-Mobile: Not an MVNO, but T-Mobile's prepaid service has one advantage: You can pay as little as 83¢/month once you achieve "Gold Status" by spending $100 on refills. So for a very low use phone T-Mobile is cheaper than any other carrier. The downside is that T-Mobile's network is very limited and roaming is very limited as well so there will be many rural areas with no coverage.
Questions, Comments, Suggestions? e-mail me at communicateATnordicgroup.us (replace AT with @)
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