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Metro PCS vs. Virgin Mobile

I'm ready to drop my Verizon service and take the plunge in to the world of prepaids. I've decided I'm going to get an LG Optimus Andriod phone, but I'm trying to decide between Virgin & Metro PCS as my carrier. Can anyone tell me if the data download speed will be faster with Virgin or Metro (assuming no 4G)? I'm confident the voice service will be similar (I'm in the Dallas area). Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
well, metro has 1x and lte at the moment. virgin utilizes sprint's evdo service. with that phone in particular virgin would be better, but why not put something like the evo or epic or whatever you want on boost mobile??? same towers, lower bill (drops 5/month every six months until you're at 35/month as long as your payments are on time.) i personally have metro at the moment. it's the least expensive of the carriers that i have some nice pull with when problems arise, ha ha.
 
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After being with Metro for YEARS I switched to Virgin to get a better phone and faster internet.

I missed SOOOO many text from various people on multiple carriers. Went back to metro and now I think I get all of my text again.

Virgin sucks and the support sucks like any other major company using India. I also got all kinds of unknown charges I had to keep calling and having removed.
 
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Metro is slowly but surely getting better

I couldn't agree more. And, with the upcoming LG Esteem, it seems like they are realizing that it's not just broke people who use the service but also people who don't like to be tied down with contracts. I'll admit being broke was the reason I chose them at the time about 10 years ago but I stuck with them because I wanted to have the freedom of not worrying about being under a contract and also I have never had bad reception in my area. I have just been waiting for them to release some higher end phones.
 
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I couldn't agree more. And, with the upcoming LG Esteem, it seems like they are realizing that it's not just broke people who use the service but also people who don't like to be tied down with contracts. I'll admit being broke was the reason I chose them at the time about 10 years ago but I stuck with them because I wanted to have the freedom of not worrying about being under a contract and also I have never had bad reception in my area. I have just been waiting for them to release some higher end phones.


I've been with metro for about 7 years and I was broke at the time too but then I liked the no contract and obscene overage charges. Always had good to great coverage at most of my hangouts. I've also had the same $50 plan from day one and I find the fact that they usually had added features to my plan rather than remove quite nice. With luck and a good strategy metro will be in Tmobiles or even sprints spot in a few years.
 
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Thanks guys. I tried Virgin for a month, and after having no service in my house, or my office, I returned the Optimus V for a full refund. I then got my Optimus M through Metro, and have been very happy with my service. I did notice that if I was in an area with good Virgin service my internet was significantly faster than Metro's, but the service was much more spotty with Virgin, so I'm glad I made the switch.
 
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I have an Ascend as well..mind sharing your tactics on how you got 3g with Metro?


On metro phone dial *228 then click 5 when it asks what you want then say yes if it asks for confirmation about roaming list update. Once updated phone will reboot and if you got prl #3020 there's a good chance you'll get 3G service. I've been trying but I'm still stuck on prl #3019.
 
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Metro has always had 3G. The 1X has nothing to do with meaning 1 or 2G. I rooted a Huawei Ascend and downloaded a cpu tuner that had a 3G only setting and I always had signal and service.

This post is somewhat misleading. Like the Metro reps who try to tell you that Metro's 1X is "3G". lol

1X-RTT is technically a "3G" technology. However, it only gives you speeds around 100 kbps (think dialup). When you say "3G" people have a certain expectation of speed, and Metro's 1X-RTT doesn't come anywhere close to that expectation, unfortunately.
 
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Metro has always had 3G. The 1X has nothing to do with meaning 1 or 2G. I rooted a Huawei Ascend and downloaded a cpu tuner that had a 3G only setting and I always had signal and service.

NO, Metro has always has 1x RTT which has a max data rate of 150kbps, and in real life often 100k or less. In 1997, the ITU officially classified 1X RTT as "3G" technology.

But in 2005, the ITU issued revised 3G CDMA guidelines which stipulated minimum data speed of 384kbps for "3G". While they never officially demoted 1x RTT from being "3G technology" it no longer met the requirements of 3G, namely data speed. EVDO is full 3G which is why 1x RTT started being called "2.5G". It was sort of in no-man's land.

Sort of like a pristine Model T Ford in 2011. It's still an automobile, it runs -- but it can't meet the minimum 40mph interstate speed that got imposed after in was invented. It can't compare to a 2011 Ford Focus.

When Verizon, AT&T, Spring get 2,000kpbs for their "3G" speed, the 1x RTT 100k is obviously not in the same league. It's doesn't meet minimum 3G speed.

All the people defending Metro's use of 1X RTT either don't know or don't want to admit the 2005 ITU revised standards. :rolleyes:
 
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well, metro has 1x and lte at the moment. virgin utilizes sprint's evdo service. with that phone in particular virgin would be better, but why not put something like the evo or epic or whatever you want on boost mobile??? same towers, lower bill (drops 5/month every six months until you're at 35/month as long as your payments are on time.) i personally have metro at the moment. it's the least expensive of the carriers that i have some nice pull with when problems arise, ha ha.

Questions:
1. How can you get an EVO shift with Boost??
2. How come you say Metro is the least expensive if Boost has reduction down to 35 a month and Virgin starts at 35 a month for limited mins??

I am with Spring atm and am looking at early termination of services due to the fee increase they are pulling. My contract was going to end last days of December... So I still need to make up my confused mind... :thinking:
 
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Wasnt trying to mislead anyone. Just trying to be of help. I had a friend root his android and tried setting it to 2g only. The end results were no recievable signal at all. Yes, after delving into the facts, metro's 3g signal is at the base end of 3g. After more research I was told that they are in the process of upgrading to a more desireable 3g signal. No E.T.A. though. :-(
 
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Wasnt trying to mislead anyone. Just trying to be of help. I had a friend root his android and tried setting it to 2g only. The end results were no recievable signal at all. Yes, after delving into the facts, metro's 3g signal is at the base end of 3g. After more research I was told that they are in the process of upgrading to a more desireable 3g signal. No E.T.A. though. :-(

No, they're not upgrading -- at least officially they are not. Metro is implementing a CAPPED EVDO in some of their 14 markets to relieve stress. Capped at 200kbps, seems to be the consensus. Again, only a few markets, CAPPED, and temporary. They plan on turning off their CDMA at some point -- probably in the next couple of years, since they keep promising publicly they will do it. They are pushing everyone to LTE and VoLTE.

Most of their 14 markets will never see EVDO.
 
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I have both metro and virgin and i can honestlysay they are both rather even here in the dfw area where i reside. I have an intercept with virgn and an acsend (soon to be admire) on metro.

For about the last week or so ive had a 3g connection on my metro device. Was shocked as all hell and asked the question most o us did: "when the hell did metro get 3g?!" But its here and it works. My virgin phone does appear to download apps/images SLIGHTLY faster. But 3g coverage with metro is spotty en route to several destinations. But at work, my ole ladys house and my house, i keep a 3g symbol on my phone.
 
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No, they're not upgrading -- at least officially they are not. Metro is implementing a CAPPED EVDO in some of their 14 markets to relieve stress. Capped at 200kbps, seems to be the consensus. Again, only a few markets, CAPPED, and temporary. They plan on turning off their CDMA at some point -- probably in the next couple of years, since they keep promising publicly they will do it. They are pushing everyone to LTE and VoLTE.

Most of their 14 markets will never see EVDO.


Yes they are upgrading. Im not dreaming it up cause my source is a friend in corp. for Metro PCS
 
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No, they're not upgrading -- at least officially they are not. Metro is implementing a CAPPED EVDO in some of their 14 markets to relieve stress. Capped at 200kbps, seems to be the consensus. Again, only a few markets, CAPPED, and temporary. They plan on turning off their CDMA at some point -- probably in the next couple of years, since they keep promising publicly they will do it. They are pushing everyone to LTE and VoLTE.

Most of their 14 markets will never see EVDO.

Why wouldn't all markets see EVDO? and where do you come up with that?....not asking for your source, just curious as to where your knowledge comes from and if its believable or not.
 
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Why wouldn't all markets see EVDO? and where do you come up with that?....not asking for your source, just curious as to where your knowledge comes from and if its believable or not.

I may have to retract that. Now Metro apparently is going to put EVDO -- still capped -- in all markets. The Metro employee who told me said initially was supposed to be "select" markets. However, it apparently will NOT "blanket" the markets, just in the busiest areas to relieve stress.

Metro themselves said publicly many times they were skipping "3G" (code word for EVDO) to go straight to LTE. Now they are going back and upgrading to EVDO in some areas of all markets, and still capping it.
 
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