After three months of using Virgin Mobile as a pay as you go provider, I think it is time to write a review. I’ve had many negative things to say on other boards and truthfully, it has actually gotten worse.
First, the good things: Pay as you go internet. Only pay when you use it. That’s great for me because I travel a few times a month and those are the only times I can’t rely on wireless. I purchased the MiFi 2200 from Walmart just before Christmas. It was around $140. It’s exactly the same as the verizon or sprint one but this one works exclusively with Virgin Mobile. Here is another instance where I wish there was a sim card and it could be unlocked because now I need to resell it instead of using it on another service.
Initially, Virgin Mobile offered 3 plans.
- $10 for 100 megs
- $20 for 1 GB – Walmart Special
- $40 Unlimited
When they said unlimited they really meant unlimited. However, speeds are so ridiculously slow in most areas that you couldn’t burn through 5 gigs of data even if you wanted to.
I was drawn to the fact that those were great prices, virgin mobile runs on Sprint’s network and the pay as you go was crucial to me. What I failed to understand was that Sprint network traffic gets firs priority over Virgin Mobile data. This in effect reduced my speeds to horrific dial up when I used it in most areas. I say most areas because in some areas speeds were excellent. It worked out that the closer you were to a poorer area of town the worst the speeds were.
Since the initial purchase, Virgin Mobile has charged their unlimited plan twice. First, they changed unlimited to 5GB and kept the price at $40. The next month they dropped it to 2.5GB and raised the price up to $50. Thereby eliminating every single benefit of being with Virgin sans the pay as you go. The first month I took the unlimited plan. The 2nd and 3rd months I have done the $20 for 1 GB Walmart plan. I always used top ups from walmart. When I first got the device it took close to an hour to activate and a call into tech support. One can get more support from a walmart greeter than these people. Because I couldn’t get the credit card to save, I gave up – on 3 different occasions.
Now, things have progressed even worse. So we first have dialup speeds with basically $150 device. Second, we no longer have unlimited options AND they raise the prices. So what does the Great Book say about other ways to piss off your cliente? Easy, lets have the power adapter stop working and refuse to do anything about it.
The last sentence could change but I was told they had to open a help desk ticket and they wouldn’t get back to me for 7 days.. Yes 7 days I can’t charge the device with a power outlet on my 30 day pay plan.
This is what happens when one decides to save money and be efficient. As soon as my power cord is replaced and my data runs out I am selling this piece of garbage.