Surprisingly Happy with Simple Mobile

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-05-2013, 01:42 PM

Hello fellow Berry Enthusiasts!

When I decided to come back to BlackBerry, I wanted to consider a pre-pay plan. I was done with contracts and large monthly charges for BIS.

A quick timeline background. I was on Nextel many moons ago with an old BlackBerry (one of the first). I then went with Verizon for a long time with Palm and Motorola Q. I then decided to try T-Mobile. I decided on T-Mobile because I wanted to try their unique UMA service, and I had heard of their "Five Fave" plan where you got five numbers of unlimited calling, along with unlimited Wifi Calling on UMA. At the time, this was trend-setting. No one offered unlimited plans, and to have five numbers unlimited on network and then totally unlimited UMA was amazing to me. Unfortunately, this came at a price. With all the features, plan cost, bells, whistles, and other add-ons, my T-Mo 2 year contract bill always exceeded $200 a month. And over time, there were always issues with UMA. At first, it worked GREAT. As time went on, I started having trouble. Dropped calls, no access, marginal call quality, and just general issues that made UMA a bad choice for me. And when my 9780 auto-transferred from network to UMA or VS VS, it did not always seamlessly keep calls in tact like it was supposed to do. Sometimes it did, but other times I dropped the calls. Sometimes, UMA would simply drop the call when I was within feet of the wireless router. Of course this ALWAYS happened at the worst possible times, like when I had an angry client on the phone and could not afford to drop a call. I had to do something else. For a while, I tried Android and iPhone and quickly learned I had to go back to Black. After research, I reluctantly decided to try Simple Mobile's $50 BlackBerry unlimited plan. Reluctant because I assumed I'd have issues with a "Prepay BlackBerry Plan".

Porting my number to Simple Mobile was easy, the service set up quickly, properly and effortlessly, and I've been incredibly happy ever since. Actually more happy with service than I was with T-Mobile. I was also surprised with the professionalism and savvy of the BlackBerry specialist that I got on the phone from Simple Mobile. I expected far less than I received.

With Simple Mobile, I don't need to worry about UMA transfer since it is not available, and it's an unlimited plan for calls and data anyway so I can do everything I need on network. I never drop calls any longer since my Berry is not tempted to use UMA. And I must admit, going from over $200 a month to $50 unlimited BIS is amazing. No, I can't roam and I can't use my Simple Mobile number in Canada or Europe, but I've got a foreign sim for that, so no issues.

I've seen a few ops post a few issues with Simple Mobile, but for me, there are NO issues whatsoever. I've been surprisingly happy with them. A pleasant surprise. I'm actually amazed.

**DannyAves** · 01-05-2013, 02:20 PM

If you have a small business or know someone with one, then get the T-Mobile small business plan. I get 1,000 minutes + unlimited texts + unlimited data for $39.99 per month.

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-05-2013, 02:34 PM

Thanks.

Do you get UMA as well for that price? 1,000 minutes would not work for me. I average 3,000 minutes per month.

**jhanks64** · 01-05-2013, 02:49 PM

I looked on their web site and can't find any mention of BlackBerry.

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-05-2013, 02:54 PM

Agreed, there is no BIS service from what I can see. Also, data is not included at these lower priced business plans. At the higher priced plans, it appears to be aimed at their Android market, with "X" Gig per month in data available depending on the plan, but no BlackBerry Internet Service.

**DannyAves** · 01-05-2013, 03:10 PM

Yes, you get UMA as well. Unlimited everything is $54.99 per month.
Small Business Unlimited Phone Plans | Business Savings | T-Mobile

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-05-2013, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by DannyAves

Yes, you get UMA as well. Unlimited everything is $54.99 per month.
Small Business Unlimited Phone Plans | Business Savings | T-Mobile

Thanks again, however, I don't see BIS. It appears BlackBerry is not offered.

**DannyAves** · 01-05-2013, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by BBerryPowerUser

Thanks again, however, I don't see BIS. It appears BlackBerry is not offered.

Yes it is, I'm using it, just call them.

**jhanks64** · 01-06-2013, 02:12 AM

I kept looking. They don't offer any BB phones, but if you provide your own, they have a $50 unlimited plan.

I just bought an unlocked T-Mobile Torch 9810 so I can try the service in my area.

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-06-2013, 09:14 AM

Interesting. Well, if you can call them and have them turn on BIS, that's not a bad deal if you don't need unlimited for the lower priced plans. If you can truly get BIS for $50 then it's on par with Simple Mobile.

Simple Mobile uses the T-Mo network, has BIS included, is unlimited data, voice and text and is $50 a month.

I don't do contracts any more, so it would have to be Pre-Pay.

Most Pre-Pay's like to charge extra $ for BIS. It may only be $10, but it is an extra charge for the use of BIS. If T-Mo Pre-Pay will turn this on for free, that's a good deal. Simple includes BIS for the same price as Data. Not all do.

**kbz1960** · 01-06-2013, 09:41 AM

Where do you live? Do you have service everywhere in hour area you go?

**Denise in Los Angeles** · 01-06-2013, 11:07 AM

I bought an unlocked BB 9780 via Craigslist for my nephew, and put it on Simple Mobile, in Los Angeles. He has the $50 plan, and gets great service, unlimited voice, text, and BIS.

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-06-2013, 12:42 PM

I have a few residences, but more importantly, I travel a lot. T-Mobile (Simple Mobile MVNO) works OK for me. They are not as good as ATT, but they are getting better, IMO. T-Mo certainly has coverage in the metro areas. That's what's important.

Again, what I like about Simple Mobile, is my Berry no longer has to worry about UMA swtiching, and I seem to drop calls very seldom. On T-Mo with UMA, I dropped calls constantly. All for over $200 a month. Ouch.

I like the $50 unlimited BIS plan on Simple. It is straight forward and simply works well for me. No compromise. As I said, I've been pleasantly surprised. I don't know of any other MVNO in the U.S. that offers BIS and unlimited everything else for $50. All without a contract.

**kbz1960** · 01-06-2013, 02:31 PM

Thanks but I need something that works out in the sticks

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-06-2013, 06:44 PM

Go to simple mobile's site or T-mo and see if you have coverage in your "sticks" area. You never know. You may be OK. If not, you may have to go withT-Mo contract service with UMA.

**TubbyPoutine** · 01-08-2013, 11:29 PM

Originally Posted by BBerryPowerUser

Thanks again, however, I don't see BIS. It appears BlackBerry is not offered.

Here is their $50 Unlimited BIackberry BIS plan: SIMPLE MOBILE No-Contract-Plans: 50-blackberry-plan

**jamesp614** · 01-09-2013, 09:51 AM

Are the data speeds throttled after hitting certain download limits?

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-09-2013, 06:24 PM

I have not seen throttling with my use, and I stream a bit during the day. It is supposed to be unlimited. Obviously, they will address bandwidth abuse per subscriber if warranted.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9780 using Tapatalk

**jamesp614** · 01-10-2013, 10:02 AM

And you are getting 3G speeds? No EDGE? As I am paying $40 for TMO pre-pay right now with only 100 minutes, this would seem to be a much better deal.

**BBerryPowerUser** · 01-10-2013, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by jamesp614

And you are getting 3G speeds? No EDGE? As I am paying $40 for TMO pre-pay right now with only 100 minutes, this would seem to be a much better deal.

Yes, I am absolutely getting 3g Speeds, consistently, and have not been throttled back. I know this seems crazy, but since I switched to Simple Mobile, my 9780 performs better. I think it is because it no longer wants to hop on WiFi for UMA. I was contracted on T-Mo and had UMA grandfathered as "HotSpot at Home" so all my calls were free on WiFi and it transferred my mobile number to Wifi every chance it got. I did not mind as my T-Mo plan only had 600 minutes included and I needed UMA because I typically use about 3,000 munites per month. UMA Auto Transfer sounds good in principle, but over the years, the UMA service was very unpredictable for me, and I frequently lost calls, could not make calls, had to reboot my Berry to re-connect to UMA and the list goes on. Simple Mobile has been amazingly simple, to steal their namesake. They are unlimited data (up to 4g) and unlimited text and calls, with true BIS.

If you call them to switch, when you say you want to activate a BlackBerry, you will be switched to their BlackBerry Support Team, and you will probably notice (I did) an sudden upgrade in customer service and BlackBerry Savvy. The guy I got on the phone was superb. He had me up and running in 10 minutes. Before they switch you to their BlackBerry support specialists, they will ask if you have your phone ready, a Simple Mobile SIM ready, and a PIN ready for activation.

MAKE SURE you have a Simple Mobile SIM card, and that you have pre-purchased a PIN before you call from one of the online stores like PinZoo. Buy the $50 unlimited PIN and get the number of the PIN instantly online before you call. Have your BlackBerry ready to go. They may ask for your IMEI. But the most important thing, have the Sim Number ready and a PIN number so that you have Pre-Paid for your $50 unlimited BlackBerry. Evidently, you can't activate with a credit card. You can re-up with one, but not activate. I do PINS anyway every month because I can usually find a $50 pin for around $47 dollars so I save an extra $3 bucks, and I don't have to worry about them having my credit card on file.

Let me know if you have any questions. I do NOT work for Simple, am NOT affiliated with them, and have no financial interest in their service or company. I'm just amazed at their service for what I pay.

Good luck!