Simple Mobile FAQs: 7 Things to Know Before You Sign Up

Simple Mobile keeps things…simple! Their no contract plans and flexible pricing are great for anyone on a very specific budget. And if you happen to need more data or something similar to that effect you can refill or add to your plan at any time. They want to make things as easy as can be for those who aren’t familiar with the cell phone landscape and/or aren’t interested in jumping through a thousand hoops just to get phone service. We wanted to take a look at Simple Mobile today to help you decide whether or not this carrier is right for you, so let’s get started.

• A quick summary of Simple Mobile
• Simple Mobile's coverage
• Their plans and prices
• Services and features provided
• Simple Mobile versus competition
• How you can get in contact with their customer service
• Review summary

1. Simple Mobile FAQs: A Quick Summary

Simple Mobile phone plans are all no contract which means you never need to worry about being tied down to the carrier if you want to leave or decide the service isn’t for you. And if you love savings, you can join their rewards program for points that you can then use to save money on said service plans and add-ons. Simple Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. This means that they purchase service access wholesale from one of the three major networks that own infrastructure across the country – AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile – giving customers service at a much cheaper price. Simple Mobile is a MVNO of T-Mobile.

A REALLY Tip: MVNO Edition

If you are unfamiliar with MVNO’s, you should know that they are more likely to subject users to data deprioritization and throttled speeds. 

• Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers.” Which means that those who are direct customers of the “parent” company will get network priority when you’re in a high traffic area like a concert hall or sports stadium, or when there’s network congestion.

• Throttling is also more likely to occur with MVNOs and “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable.” This will happen when you go over a certain number of gigabytes of data for the month, which is referred to as a “data cap.” You’ll see this number displayed somewhere on your carrier’s website. Your normal speeds will slow down until the start of your next billing cycle.

2. Simple Mobile’s Coverage

Simple Mobile uses the T-Mobile network to provide coverage for its users. T-Mobile’s 5G coverage and access is hailed as the best coverage overall. So you can expect some pretty solid 5G speeds for any MVNO under the T-Mobile umbrella. Their 4G LTE isn’t as widespread as their two major competitors, Verizon and AT&T, but it’s by no means a dealbreaker. 

A good way to look at your coverage options is to go directly to the source and see what the Simple Mobile coverage map looks like from the website itself:

Simple Mobile has you input your ZIP code before looking at their coverage map to see what coverage would look like in your area and to give you the best picture. Check the Simple Mobile coverage map here. And if you need any more data Ookla’s coverage map allows you to see where cellular towers are located and which company owns them. This coverage map provides information about coverage from 2G to 5G for several providers. 

3. Simple Mobile’s Plans and Prices

Simple Mobile has five “30-Day Smartphone Plans” in total. Three are “limited” data plans and two are “unlimited” plans. They also have four “Add-on Plans” where you can add 2GB, 5GB, or 10GB of high-speed data to your plan or International Calling. You can add up to four additional lines with each Simple Mobile plan which leads to more savings. All plans from Simple Mobile are deprioritized.

If you purchase your phone from Simple Mobile, your device will be locked until your device is paid for in full or if you sign up for a Simple Mobile plan but you have a phone not bought through them your device will be locked to provide service. Look at their Unlocking Policy page for more details. You can save a few dollars on each plan with Auto Pay. Just like any carrier, there are Pros and Cons with Simple Mobile so it’s always good to read-up before you sign-up!

Plan One: 3GB High Speed Data

This plan gets you 3GB of high-speed data.

Each of Simple Mobile’s limited plans come with the same features: unlimited talk and text, unlimited international calling to 100+ countries, $10 international calling credit for 100+ destinations, international roaming in 16 Latin-American countries, and is hotspot capable (terms apply). You get the first 3GB of data at their typical high speeds and then you’ll be reduced to 2G speeds after. 2G speeds are slow, you won’t be able to do much more than call, text, or send the occasional email.

This plan costs $25.00 for 30 days, $23.75 with Auto Pay. At this rate you get 3GB at $8.33 per GB at full price.

Plan Two: 5GB High Speed Data

This plan has 5GB of high-speed data.

You get unlimited talk and text, international calling, $10 international calling credit, international roaming in select Latin-American countries, and is hotspot capable with terms applying. You’ll also get the first 5GB of your plan at the typical high-speeds before you are reduced to 2G speeds.

This plan costs $30.00 for 30 days, $28.50 with Auto Pay. At this rate you get 5GB at $6.00 per GB at full price.

Plan Three: 15GB High Speed Data

This plan comes with 15GB of hotspot data.

You get unlimited talk and text, international calling, $10 international calling credit, international roaming in select Latin-American countries, and is hotspot capable with terms applying. You’ll also get the first 15GB of your plan at the typical high-speeds before you are reduced to 2G speeds.

This plan costs $40.00 for 30 days, $37.50 with Auto Pay. At this rate you get 15GB at $2.67 per GB at full price.

Plan Four: Truly Unlimited +5GB Hotspot

This plan comes with 5GB of hotspot data.

For their first Unlimited plan you get all of the same things from the limited plans but you also have a 5GB hotspot. Simple Mobile’s unlimited data cap is 40GB and when you go over 40GB your speeds will be throttled to 2G.

This plan costs $50.00 for 30 days, $45.00/mo for the first 3 months with Auto Pay and $47.50/mo thereafter with auto refill. At this rate you get 40GB at $1.25 per GB at full price.

Plan Five: Truly Unlimited+ +15GB Hotspot

This plan comes with 15GB of hotspot data and 50GB of cloud storage.

For their second Unlimited plan you get all of the same things from the limited plans but instead of a $10 international calling credit it is $20 and you also have a 15GB hotspot along with 50GB of cloud storage. The unlimited data cap is 40GB and when you go over 40GB your speeds will be throttled to 2G.

This plan costs $60.00 for 30 days, $57.00 with Auto Pay. At this rate you get 40GB at $1.50 per GB at full price.

4. Simple Mobile’s Features

While this carrier offers pretty good deals for their customers, there are some differences in the features and benefits that may entice you to pick this one over another. If you’re a frequent traveler, talk to your international friends and family a lot, or are looking for a bit more “perk” with your plan then this section will break down all of that juicy info so you can know what you’re potentially gonna get: 

• Domestic Roaming Data

• Domestic roaming is available with Simple Mobile under all plans but are subject to certain limitations and aren’t guaranteed.

• Mexico & Canada Connection

• Simple Mobile includes data roaming, talk, and text in Mexico.

• International Connection

• Simple Mobile plans include unlimited international calling to 100+ countries, an international calling credit for 100+ destinations, and international roaming in 16 Latin-American countries but not text.

• Video Streaming Quality

• Simple Mobile streams at 480p Standard Definition on all plans. 

• Streaming Services and Cloud Storage

• Simple Mobile does not have any streaming services but with their Unlimited+ +15GB Hotspot plan you can get 50GB of cloud storage.

• Device Financing

• If you buy a phone from Simple Mobile, they allow you to pay for your device in installments over time.

• WiFi Calling

• Simple Mobile offers WiFi calling, which allows you to send and receive phone calls over a WiFi connection rather than cellular reception.

• Spam Protection and Free Trial

• Simple Mobile does not offer these features.

5. Simple Mobile Versus Competition

It seems like everywhere you turn you run into a new cell phone provider wanting you amongst their customers. So it’s safe to say that like many others, Simple Mobile has some competition from their own network providers and other MVNOs alike. Here are a few of their match-ups:

Simple Mobile vs. Mint Mobile

Both Simple Mobile and Mint Mobile use T-Mobile to provide coverage to customers, so coverage is the same across the board there and they both deprioritize your data. If you aren’t adverse to a contract Mint Mobile’s $30 Unlimited plan is half the price of Simple Mobile’s biggest unlimited plan and their data cap is 40GB which is the same. So depending on your feelings about contracts you could be saving a pretty penny every month with Mint Mobile.

Simple Mobile vs. Metro by T-Mobile

We’re matching-up another T-Mobile MVNO and this time it’s Metro by T-Mobile. Metro has undergone a few changes recently and it looks as though Simple Mobile may have them beat. Metro’s three unlimited plans are all $55, $65, and $75 per month (before the $5 Auto Pay discount) and their data threshold is 35GBs (their plans are also deprioritized like Simple’s phone plans) which is 5GB less than Simple Mobile’s unlimited plans. Simple Mobile’s prices and data allowances have Metro beat.

Simple Mobile vs. Boost Mobile

Boost Mobile is another popular MVNO option which is under the T-Mobile umbrella. The coverage is the same between the two and they both deprioritize data with their plans. Boost Mobile has five unlimited plans, their data varies as the cheapest unlimited plan is $25 a month for 30GB of premium high-speed data before your speeds are throttled, then their second unlimited plan is $50 per month for 40GB of high-speed data, and then $60 for 50GB of high speed data. And if you like having the latest Smartphone, Boost Mobile’s Infinite Access plans are great as you get the latest iPhone and Galaxy each year for free. 

The prices trend a little higher than Simple Mobile’s plans but you are getting more benefits and data with Boost Mobile. We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan.

6. Simple Mobile Customer Service

There are over 800 physical store locations worldwide, you can use their store locator to find the nearest one to you. They also offer support over the phone at 1-(877)-878-7908 or through live bot on their website.

7. Simple Mobile Review Summary

We think that Simple Mobile’s limited data plans are a great option for those not looking to be locked down to a contract and want to keep things flexible month by month. You can add data should you need if you are trending higher than you thought you would or you can switch to a lower tier plan if you aren’t using as much as you thought. Their unlimited plans are a bit on the expensive side and there are other offers out there that might be more of interest to you. 

The Good:

• Simple Mobile does not have any contract so you never need to worry about being tied to the company should you want to move onto another provider.
• You get access to T-Mobile's widespread 5G network.
• They have a lot more international benefits than a lot of other MVNOs on the market right now.
• You can refill or add-on to your plan at any moment.

The Bad:

• You will be subject to data deprioritization which means your data speeds could be inconsistent when you’re out in public not on wifi.
• You don’t get any big benefits that you would with a major cell carrier.

Want to compare other carriers?

Really.com helps users compare between features, coverage, price, reviews, and more!

We’ve taken a look and looked at Simple Mobile Reviews before and covered even more about them through here on our REALLY Simple Mobile section.

And if you want to compare and contrast Simple Mobile to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.