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Republic Wireless Review
Is the New $20 Pesky Upstart Worth Your Time?

Republic Wireless made headlines when it began offering a $20/month unlimited plan on the LG Optimus smartphone starting in late 2011. Using the Sprint network, RW’s business model is to offload as much traffic to Wi-Fi as possible, using cellular only when necessary. The service has suffered a number of setbacks since, first with the outdated LG Optimus phone, then suffering backlash over the definition of "unlimited," and then releasing the first version of the new phone, the Motorola Deft XT, with a serious hardware bug.

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After taking pre-orders for the "dual-band" Defy throughout 2012, Republic began shipping the phones in time for the holiday season. The service is now in "open beta;" anyone can now sign up and receive a phone within two weeks.

Overall, the service does not disappoint. While Republic's technology offerings are not cutting edge, the Android phone is fast, has a wide array of features, a good battery life, and the backing of a solid network carrier. Some glitches have yet to be worked out, but the service is ready for primetime. And Republic's 30-day trial period means you can test drive it for yourself with no risk.

Phone

Republic Wireless' $250 Motorola Deft XT runs Android Gingerbread (2.3) on a 1 GHz and 512 MB RAM. The phone comes with a 2 GB MicroSD card, which can be upgraded up to 32 GB. The phone has a 5 MP, rear-facing camera (as well as a front-facing camera), GPS and Bluetooth, and a battery that RW claims will last up to 9.5 hours on continuous use. I've never run out of battery, even with data enabled an entire day.

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Perhaps the phone’s most distinguishing feature is its ruggedness. The phone is NEMA-rated as dust-proof and water resistant; a quick Google search yields a number of videos showing the phone being submerged in water without any ill effects.

The phone largely lives up to the hype. Admittedly, I’m not a hard-core techie who requires bleeding-edge technology, but I’ve been very happy with the phone. It feels solid in your hand and is not too thin or thick, slippery or grippy, heavy or light. Even with an added case, the phone fits well into your pocket but doesn’t seem fragile or crushable either. The 3.7-inch touchscreen is responsive, and the "tactile feedback" (brief vibration on each input touch) is a great feature (although my girlfriend hates it). The four capacitive -touch buttons work great.

Coming from a dumb phone (not even a feature phone), Android 2.3 is amazing. When multiple apps are running there can sometimes be a slight delay switching between home screens or opening processor-intensive apps, but certainly nothing damning. The phone's internal memory (512 MB) is a little disappointing, but by moving some apps to the SD card the phone can handle a good deal.

Republic Wireless say they’re aiming to upgrade the phone and its systems in the future, but haven’t given out a specific timeline for this. The distro is slightly customized to use WiFi preferentially so you can’t upgrade on your own. Rooting is possible but technically not allowed, and because you can’t bring your own phone to RW and because all phones have to be bought directly from them, bricking your phone means starting from scratch, $250 and all.

Service

Sprint's 3G service (no 4G) is solid as well. In an urban area, coverage should be fine. I personally haven’t encountered any problems in either of the place I live (southeast Michigan and southeast Pennsylvania), nor on a road trip I took through the northeast. International coverage isn't supported at this time, although you can make and receive calls on Wi-Fi from anywhere in the world. One great thing about Republic Wireless is that roaming is fully included in the unlimited coverage promise at no extra charge.

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Sprint’s data service is solid and quick. Download speeds have varied greatly for me, but I seldom have to wait longer on my phone than I would have to on my computer. Syncing is near-instant and and e-mails arrive at essentially the same time as on my computer, especially on Wi-Fi.

The biggest challenge facing Republic Wireless is the handoff between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Although cellular-to-Wi-Fi handoff is supported, users walking out of their house to the car will be disappointed to find calls drop. Republic says they’re working on this, although a solution does not seem to be near at hand. In the meantime, users will simply have to adapt and take solace in the fact that the Deft XT will automatically reconnect dropped calls.

A few features are still missing from RW’s service, namely MMS, SMS over WiFi (currently all go over cellular), and 911 dialing over Wi-Fi. The latter two will be fixed in RW's upcoming over-the-air update; RW says they have no plans to fix the MMS issue. Republic also has had little to say about future 4G support, although it’s unlikely this will happen any time soon, especially with the Defy XT.

Techies will be happy to hear that Republic Wireless fully supports all aspects of Google Voice, which I have also found to be true. Numbers can be ported in and out, excepting Google Voice numbers.

Requirements And Installation

"The Republic", as it’s colloquially known, is not for everyone. Easily the most attractive part of the plan is the $19/month (plus taxes and fees), no-contract plan, which is orders of magnitude cheaper than the nearest competitor. The relatively expensive phone ($250) and inability to bring your own phone cut into this savings somewhat, but for users upgrading from a dumb phone (such as myself) or looking to stick with the plan for a while, it’s a steal.

Overall, Republic Wireless provides a great phone and excellent service for a truly can’t-be-beat price.
Both the phone itself and the Sprint 3G network it runs on are fast, solid, and reliable, but admittedly not cutting edge. For users looking for the latest phone, fastest speeds, or biggest collection of apps: RW is probably not for you. But for entry- to mid-level smartphone users, Republic Wireless is a great deal.

Republic Wireless is still in beta mode, and customers should be aware that tech support is community-based or via e-mail, which means a great deal of self-support - probably not the best for your techno-phobe grandmother. There’s also always the risk that RW could go belly-up if their business plan doesn’t succeed, or that Sprint could be bought up by a larger competitor. There seems to be no immediate risk of either of these happening, however.

Overall, Republic Wireless provides a great phone and excellent service for a truly can’t-be-beat price. It’s not perfect and issues still exist, but the company has done a great job making the system easy to set up and use. For those interested in upgrading to a smartphone or cutting their bills, Republic Wireless is a great option.
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dcurrey
Premium Member
join:2004-06-29
Mason, OH

dcurrey

Premium Member

SMS over IP

They are supposed to release an OTA update in January that move sms to sms over ip. This should solve the no sms over wifi issue. If I understand it correctly even with no wifi sms will then transmit over data.

jjoshua
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Scotch Plains, NJ

jjoshua

Premium Member

Works pretty well

Got a dual-band defy xt for the wife. The acceptance factor is mostly positive.

Sprint coverage is not as good as ATT or Verizon - that's the only issue. I'm in a heavily populated area of NJ so there's no excuse for this.

Also, we could not keep a phone call going while traveling down the turnpike - kept getting disconnected. Again, there's no excuse for this.
m3nphls
join:2012-10-02
Brooklyn, NY

m3nphls

Member

Re: Works pretty well

Well, it's sprint network what do you expect? Come here to NY and is even worst.
iwinrar
join:2010-03-18

iwinrar to jjoshua

Member

to jjoshua
Which is funny as sprint works the best here, maybe because it was an ex nextel market?
bgil
join:2013-02-19

bgil to jjoshua

Member

to jjoshua
I'm considering signing up for Republic but am worried about coverage. I asked in their forum and got a reply that "Republic Wireless has a full roaming agreement with Sprint so that we can use any tower that a Sprint phone can. You might want to peruse this post: »www.rwusers.com/forums/v ··· .php?p=2
It basically says that Republic's coverage is the same as Sprint's that includes their "Off-network roaming", i.e., Using another carrier's CDMA network such as Verizon Wireless. It implies that one gets the best of both worlds - Sprint and Verizon coverage combined.

Your posting indicates this is not the case. I'd very much like to hear more about what you know about this.

thanks!
chex383
join:2003-03-13
Victoria, BC

chex383

Member

This looks amazing

Exactly what I would need in a carrier. I am in Canada now ( and on one of the cheapy upstarts here, PublicMobile.ca ) but if I was back in the States, I would switch to this service in a heartbeat. The WiFi integration they have is miles better than what I am getting with my cheapy carrier, and that Mots phone is much better.

- Stefan in Montreal, Boston ex-pat.

J E F F4
Whatta Ya Think About Dat?
Premium Member
join:2004-04-01
Kitchener, ON

J E F F4

Premium Member

Re: This looks amazing

Do they have Wind there yet?

Also, does the Republic phone allow unlimited Canada calling? Or is it US only. By this, I mean would it allow someone in Florida unlimited calling to Ontario?
chex383
join:2003-03-13
Victoria, BC

chex383

Member

Re: This looks amazing

No, no wind.ca or Mobilcity.ca here in Montreal, only PublicMobile.ca. I am on their $30/month unlimited data/text/calling plan, but only covers Montreal Island.

No clue about the Republic calling details..
simon726
join:2006-12-21
Ajax, ON

simon726

Member

Re: This looks amazing

said by chex383:

No, no wind.ca or Mobilcity.ca here in Montreal, only PublicMobile.ca. I am on their $30/month unlimited data/text/calling plan, but only covers Montreal Island.

Don't forget that Videotron is dominant in Quebec!
hok (banned)
join:2002-02-27

hok (banned) to J E F F4

Member

to J E F F4
said by J E F F4:

does the Republic phone allow unlimited Canada calling?

Yes, see web page at »community.republicwirele ··· DOC-1122 please
johnner1999
join:2008-12-27
Litchfield

johnner1999

Member

Data speeds

Sprint and fast 3g data shouldn't be used unless a negative is added to the sentence.

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Re: Data speeds

Just call it mobile dialup and be done

djdanska
Rudie32
Premium Member
join:2001-04-21
San Diego, CA

djdanska to johnner1999

Premium Member

to johnner1999
said by johnner1999:

Sprint and fast 3g data shouldn't be used unless a negative is added to the sentence.

I was thinking the same thing! Good sprint 3g? Really? You don't hear that very often.
Boilermaker
join:2001-12-20
Carmel, IN

Boilermaker to johnner1999

Member

to johnner1999
I am hoping in my area 3g will be better with all the newer Sprint phones running on 4g service.

I got my wife RW service to save money and get her her first smart phone. With the calm and behaving children, the durability of the phone was definitely a selling point. Her last phone was imploding. As my wife is mostly near WiFi, the service has been good. Sadly, there is an intersection that cause problems with calls, but if it was a different service it would just be a different intersection.

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Ewww

Gingerbread

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Gingerbread?

quote:
Coming from a dumb phone (not even a feature phone), Android 2.3 is amazing.
Granted that you were coming from a flip phone, but no Android phone should be considered less than ICS (Android 4.0.x). It's like they are selling you a new computer that comes with a fresh new copy of Windows XP.
Paul in WA
join:2010-09-11
Centralia, WA

Paul in WA

Member

Re: Gingerbread?

For $20 a month I could easily get used to XP again.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Gingerbread?

said by Paul in WA:

For $20 a month I could easily get used to XP again.

OK XP might not have been the perfect analogy. Pick another old OS that support has waned.

My now 4 year old G1 ran Gingerbread when I retired it. If they are just now coming out with it, that doesn't bode well for getting updates over the life of the phone. Users may also find more and more apps requiring newer versions of Android.

Acuity
join:2002-06-22
Londonderry, NH

Acuity

Member

Re: Gingerbread?

It's actually not a bad one. Still more than half of users on Android are running Gingerbread. Android developers are well aware of this, and as such a lot of newer apps still run on on it despite its age.

Gingerbread isn't a bad OS. If you're currently on 4.2.1 you want want to go back, but for people on a dumb phone, they'll take it in a heartbeat, and get to run just about everything I am on 4.2.1.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Gingerbread?

said by Acuity:

It's actually not a bad one. Still more than half of users on Android are running Gingerbread. Android developers are well aware of this, and as such a lot of newer apps still run on on it despite its age.

Gingerbread is 2+ years old. Honeycomb is almost entirely a tablet OS, so phones didn't get it. ICS is just over a year old and Jellybean almost 6 months. The typical phone life-cycle is 2 years with US carriers so it stands to reason that half the phones would be older than a version that just turned 1.

I'm not saying that Gingerbread is a bad OS. It's not. ICS and JB are much much better once you have used them all and can spot the differences and improvements. I've had all 3 on my MyTouch4G and I prefer living with JB even though it breaks my FFC and camcorder then living with GB and a fully functional but not as friendly phone.

I can't think of too many other modern technology where people would advocate buying what is 3rd generation old technology when you can get closer to current gen for about the same price. The only difference is what plan it works with, which AFAIK is purely an artificial restriction.
cooperaaaron
join:2004-04-10
Joliet, IL

cooperaaaron to Acuity

Member

to Acuity
I came from 2.2 and now have a Nexus 4, what an upgrade !

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg to cdru

Member

to cdru
said by cdru:

said by Paul in WA:

For $20 a month I could easily get used to XP again.

OK XP might not have been the perfect analogy. Pick another old OS that support has waned.

My now 4 year old G1 ran Gingerbread when I retired it. If they are just now coming out with it, that doesn't bode well for getting updates over the life of the phone. Users may also find more and more apps requiring newer versions of Android.

You would be surprised the number of companies who is still running XP and it's running fine. I've even had to blow the dust off and review NT 3.51 at one big company's server farm. But hey, if it still works, why upgrade.

I'm a RW beta tester. So, I'm going to post my experiences with the service and phone but in another post.

dcurrey
Premium Member
join:2004-06-29
Mason, OH

1 recommendation

dcurrey to cdru

Premium Member

to cdru
Think I would take XP over Windows 8!
iwinrar
join:2010-03-18

iwinrar to cdru

Member

to cdru
I think you meant vista :P

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru

MVM

Re: Gingerbread?

said by iwinrar:

I think you meant vista :P

If you're going to go with Windows, you're just as dumb to start off with XP or Vista unless there's a REALLY good reason not to.
watmore
join:2007-07-27
La Pointe, WI

watmore

Member

Dual Band

I bought the Dual Band Republic Wireless phone. I travel occasionally to an area that has no Sprint coverage but does have Verizon coverage.

My Defy dual band phone will not allow outgoing calls on the Verizon network when roaming. Interestingly, it will allow incoming calls to my dual band phone when roaming on Verizon. Republic customer service says a new "OTA" should solve the problem. No date for this new OTA.

The phone works great on Sprint and wifi but I am beyond disappointed that it won't roam onto Verizon like promised.

ropeguru
Premium Member
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA

ropeguru

Premium Member

Re: Dual Band

Why are you sooooo disappointed? It is in BETA and should be expected to have issues.

This is why open BETA trial should not be put out there. People giving things such a bad wrap when it isn't intended for "production" use.

PeteyPete
@sbcglobal.net

PeteyPete

Anon

Re: Dual Band

That's no longer an excuse, they're opened to the public now so people should stop using the "BETA" term as an excuse for crappy phone service. Then again for $20 you pay for what you get...
bgil
join:2013-02-19

bgil to watmore

Member

to watmore
I'm considering signing up for Republic but am worried about coverage. I asked in their forum and got a reply that "Republic Wireless has a full roaming agreement with Sprint so that we can use any tower that a Sprint phone can. You might want to peruse this post: » rwusers.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2
It basically says that Republic's coverage is the same as Sprint's that includes their "Off-network roaming", i.e., Using another carrier's CDMA network such as Verizon Wireless. It implies that one gets the best of both worlds - Sprint and Verizon coverage combined.

Your posting indicates this is not the case. I'd very much like to hear more about what you know about this.

thanks!

dfrandin
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Las Vegas, NV

dfrandin

Premium Member

Lovely idea, one question tho...

I have just one question, and its a doozy.. Since virtually all public wifi has a splashpage/"login" before you're actually connected, and private wifi is pretty much WEP/WPA, *how* does this service "seamlessly" swap between 3G and wifi??
So, say, you're walking down the street talking on a "phone/3G" connection and, say, an attwifi/Starbucks/McDs access point comes into range, does the phone switch over to it? and, if so, how does it bypass the "pull up browser/click checkbox" hoopla? As I said, lovely idea, but the devils in the details... Plus do they cancel you if you use too much "3G" vs not enough wifi?? Love to get a tech explanation of the plan vs the "mom&pop" oriented marketing-speak explanation...
ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL

ISurfTooMuch

Member

Re: Lovely idea, one question tho...

That's an interesting question. I suppose they can have the phone attempt to contact a server on their network via wi-fi before attempting to switch the call over. With an open AP using a Web login, that attempted contact should fail, so the call ought to remain on cellular.

Running a very quick speed test would also be good, since you need to be sure that the connection is good enough to handle the call.

dfrandin
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Las Vegas, NV

dfrandin

Premium Member

Re: Lovely idea, one question tho...

But without some kind of semi-intelligent script that basically can, essentially do what the laptop user at McDs/Starbucks does, ie: starting a browser, getting redirected to the splashpage, checking a box and clicking ok, this isn't gonna work too very well that *I* can see... Not to mention the fact that these attwifi access points are carefully tuned to reduce coverage to JUST the venue its installed at.. F'instance, I regularly get lunch at a BurgerKing, which has wifi (seems all of the BK's in Las Vegas do, apparently), BUT BK's wifi SUCKS for anything besides web browsing.. I do system admin via ssh during lunch and its next to impossible to keep an ssh session going via the BK signal, so I connect (or *try* to) the Starbucks/attwifi RIGHT NEXT DOOR, and I get a VERY weak signal, such that it drops off too often.. I'd love to put an external antenna on the wifi card, but its an internal card and that would be most difficult... Anyway, just my .02...

FastDSL1
join:1999-08-22
Snellville, GA

FastDSL1 to dfrandin

Member

to dfrandin
That isn't one question.

You cannot bypass a login if it is needed for actual data transmission. Furthermore, if the necessary ports for transmission are blocked, you can still connect to some WiFi's but not be able to use it for calls (ie. the republic won't be green = cell over wifi). Get a VPN.

You are realistically not going to go from cell to wifi. This is excluding the WiFi networks you already have saved. Also... making a phone call can be quite problematic if you are connected to WiFi but it is not of sufficient quality to make a phone call. Expect numerous failed attempts and/or a while before it attempts the call on Cellular. There are supposedly some apps that will do all of that hoopla for you in the background, but once you get all your "necessary" apps installed, you're not going to have room on your phone for it anyway.

Sprint is terrible. I can't wait until I move on (When they stop supporting the Optimus and I lose free service). If Sprint wasn't so terrible and with the supposed better call handling on the Defy.. it probably wouldn't be terrible.. but I'll more than likely head back to T-mobile ($30 100min/5GB/unlimited text is looking nice or go back on the family plan).

Fair warning, I am still rocking the Optimus S so the WiFi card and the cellular reception are better in the Defy. However, casual browsing of the republic forums will tell you it's mixed baggage (the Defy).

Last, I pretty much never visit the forums.... but I have not really heard of anyone getting kicked off yet. I believe there have been warnings. Frankly, don't even think about coming if you are not willing to buy into the philosophy. This is about using WiFi when at all possible.

dfrandin
Premium Member
join:2002-06-14
Las Vegas, NV

dfrandin

Premium Member

Re: Lovely idea, one question tho...

Started out as one question.. morf'ed into more.. so sue me :-> I'll agree on the crappy Sprint network.. I'm currently on VirginMobile, $25/$35/mo plan, and 3G via my phone (LG Optiumus V) reminds me of dialup.. But, its better than no internet at all.. I don't make a lot of phone calls, only rarely hit the 300 min limit, usually less than 100.. Thanks for the clear explanation of Republic.. Since the only places I use wifi that doesn't have a "login" is home, and I make next to zero calls via the cellphone there, since we have Vonage for the home phone. I expect there will be no chance of my moving over to Republic ESPECIALLY as 1) my VM phone is rooted (so I can run OpenVPN on it) and 2) I'd have to buy another pricey phone (that they frown on rooting).. I admit the monthly price is nice, for those who can buy into their philosphy..

MovieLover76
join:2009-09-11
Cherry Hill, NJ
(Software) pfSense
Asus RT-AC68
Asus RT-AC66

MovieLover76 to dfrandin

Member

to dfrandin
it doesn't automatically connect you to every wifi hotpspot it sees, but it does preemptively offer suggest wifi AP's that the phone sees, once you connect to a AP it will automatically connect next time, home and work will likely autoconnect, and unless your out and about all day long, I suspect this should be enough wifi usage to keep your account safe.

They do state that if they warn you several times you can lose your service is you don't use wifi often enough, but it's way more lax than when it was originally offered.

Their is technology that can learn splashpages/login screens, so that it can connect automatically later. I thought I heard of it in releation to them, but I'm not sure. Sprint 3G is too slow and the phone is too out of date for it to be of any interest to me.

If they offered it on any GSM 3G phone and you just had to install an app, i'd be all over it.

Almost got it for my mother, but lack of MMS is a deal breaker for her. That's a very basic feature, they really should prioritize fixing it because many entry level smartphone shoppers aren't the tech people who are going to use email or IM on their smartphones to share photos.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

Good replacement for Vonage

I just got fed up with Vonage and their fees. This phone fills the bill plus I can take it with me. I'm retired & disabled so I'm home 95% of the time, so the vast majority of my usage is wifi, but the rare occasions I'm out & about, I've never had any problems with the 3G.

So far the only issues I've had are the fact that all SMS text must be sent thru 3G ... there is no wifi texting, soon to be remedied with the OTA update this month, and the HUGE issue of storage.

The Motorola Defy XT557 Dual-Band, currently the phone that Republic Wireless ships ... has 380MB of internal storage and a 4GB SD card.

The ridiculous amount of internal storage is compounded by the fact that the bloatware that ships with the phone CANNOT be moved to the SD card, and once you reach 40MB of space remaining, the phone will not allow any more apps to be be installed until you make space available.

So essentially you have 340MB of usable internal storage ... which the bloatware that ships with the phone easily gobbles about 150MB, reducing that available storage to 200MB or less. I immediately replaced the ridiculously paltry 4GB microSD card that shipped with the phone, with a 32GB class 10 card.

With the OTA update this month, RW is removing a couple apps (Facebook & Dashboard) to relieve some of the internal storage crunch, but to my mind that's not enough. We should be able to remove ANY app, Google+, Google Play Music, and Google Play Books for instance which are fat bloatware apps that I, for one, will NEVER use.

All in all, it's a decent smartphone, at a somewhat inflated price, with a tremendous monthly service fee. It does exactly what I wanted it to do, replace Vonage and provide portability, with access to email, texting & web.

wmcbrine
join:2002-12-30
Laurel, MD

wmcbrine

Member

No MMS? WTF?

I'm currently on the worst service (Boost iDEN), and even I have MMS. (In fact, I only have MMS, since Boost iDEN has never been updated to support proper SMS. But, I digress.)

••••
ShellMMG
join:2009-04-16
Grass Lake, MI

ShellMMG

Member

Thanks for the Review

This phone and plan is almost *exactly* what I'm looking for.

Our young adult offspring are moving on and when their $9.99 plans expire, they're on their own. Our daughter just signed up for a VZW iPhone (she lives in Chicago but bought it here in south central Michigan over Christmas). I hate my dumbphone because I use texting and the keyboard is terrible.

Sprint coverage is a bit weak near our home but it's far better than AT&T, which sucks eggs. I'm a homebody so RW's wifi dependency isn't a problem, PLUS we have a VZW jetpack for mobile data.

This would be PERFECT.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Not if this is your primary phone..

I've been a beta tester of RW since day one. They have offered me more lines of service but I rather pay more for better phone selection and less buggy software.

The new phone is a 110% improvement over the old Optimus S so you people who are ragging the phone, your nuts.

I got an extended battery for mine and it will go almost 4 days on one charge. Almost un heard of on a andorid phone.

My suggestion is, don't let this replace your primary phone. You will be sorry but it's worth the 20.00 a month to have a backup or if you ONLY text and make calls. It will surf and it hands off calls between CDMA/WiFI better then before.

250.00 is more then the phones worth but its the only cow in the barn for now.

For more input, go to republic wireless's forums and see what problems people are having.
gy954
join:2013-01-28
Forestville, CA

gy954

Member

Re: Not if this is your primary phone..

Please tell us more about the "extended battery"

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Re: Not if this is your primary phone..

Whats to tell. Most are basically Extend 3500mAh battery + Case for Motorola Defy that sells for under 8 bucks (ebay). The case does not compromise it's water resistance and only adds a little thinkness to it (makes the handset easier to handle IMO). Wife uses it, loves it. Even the orig battery is acceptable for an andorid. Wire it what I consider everyday mode where it polls for emails every hour, weax and about a dozen or so texts, it had 80% battery after 24 hrs. 55 on day 2 and 30 on day 3. I'm sure fooling around with it would make it last longer. Who knows.

TmoFTW
@rr.com

TmoFTW

Anon

Soo

How is this different then T-Mo's UMA system they have on the BB8310?

RR Conductor
Ridin' the rails
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA

RR Conductor

Premium Member

Who?

Who is Sprint? I haven't seen them here in Northwestern California

Kim Mast
@alter.net

Kim Mast

Anon

Republic Wireless

Our experience (2 lines, 1 year) with Republic Wireless has been good. With the new Defy phone, it's gotten even better. We just added a new line for our daughter -- her first smartphone, and so far, so good.

I agree that it's not for everyone though.

If your use model is personal (non-business), mostly wi-fi, no need for the latest phone technology, and Sprint in your area has a reasonable network, then this is a good, simple option.

If your use model is business, or lots of travel, and/or you want an iphone or the latest Android, or Sprint's service isn't good in your area -- then by all means go to Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile and pay a higher price.

Kim

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

Re: Republic Wireless

said by Kim Mast :

If your use model is personal (non-business), mostly wi-fi, no need for the latest phone technology, and Sprint in your area has a reasonable network, then this is a good, simple option.

Don't forget the biggest advantage+ ... it's inexpensive. $20.00 a month is peanuts compared to other 1-2 year contract plans with gigantic early termination fees that come very close to $75.00 to $100.00 a month.

evilt00l
join:2003-03-20
Winchester, KY

evilt00l

Member

Former user

I had the single band version of this phone, and it was solid enough. I as well was coming from a dump phone, and paying a higher price for a net10 device with only like 250mins. So it was a great deal and I jumped on it. Less than 30 days after my purchase the dual band was released. So I attempted to get them to let me exchange or pay to upgrade but I was told no I needed to return for refund and place new order.

Back on 11/19/12 I emailed them to set up the return, it took them a few days to get me the return label, and I was out of town so I didn't send it back until early December. They acknowledged via email on 12/11/12 they had the phone. Today 1/10/12 I'm sitting here still awaiting a refund. Large phone companies may have bad customer support, but at least they have support. I've used their website, tickets, community forums, twitter account and 30 days later I'm still sitting here refundless and phoneless.

As of tomorrow they will of had the phone that I paid for longer then I had it. I sent their help account, ticketing account, twitter account, and online community 1 last post. If I've not gotten a satisfactory answer by tomorrow I'll be calling the bank trying to do a chargeback, contacting the BBB, and sending a complaint to consumerist.com as well.
ckweb
join:2013-01-14

ckweb

Member

I'm just on the sidelines waiting for now..

I am sure it's hard to go from a closed beta to open to the public for Republic. They will likely lose out on many customers until they get all of the kinks worked out of their system.

I am actually waiting for all of the fanfare to die down and then jump in to try out their new phones and service. Hopefully, they will be more reachable and functional once they have had some time to deal with the gazillion Black Friday and Christmas orders and prior beta users (I almost jumped in last year myself) that, like you, also decided to upgrade their single bandwidth phones during the holiday period.

I guess there are always downsides to being a small company in a huge and monopolized cellular phone market! I can wait until they learn from their mistakes and throttle down from their official (trying not to be a beta) launch.

Best of luck in the meantime and please keep us posted on what happens with your new phone order!

nunya
LXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO

nunya

MVM

I'll bite.

I just ordered two of their phones. I did the $29 / mo plan to avoid paying so much upfront for the phone. I'm sure something better (phone-wise) will be along sooner than the 15 months it will be to recover.

angrykat
join:2013-04-16
Davenport, IA

angrykat

Member

Re: I'll bite.

You'll wish you hadn't bitten.
We tried Republic Wireless (owned by Bandwidth) for a month when this report came out. It had very slow data speed, horrible call reception and dropped calls. Everyone kept complaining they couldn't understand me. Plus the only phone they have available felt very underpowered, like I had taken a step down from my last 2 year old phone. We were still within the cancellation period, so we canceled to get a full refund for the over $500 cost of 2 phones. Or so we thought. Their customer service is non-existent. It is email only, and they don't actually help with anything. They drug their feet the whole way, reimbursing $20, $20 there. Their customer service kept saying they couldn't help until we had waited 10 business days for the payment to clear (it didn't), and then said they would just mail me a check (they sent $20 instead of the remaining $450 they owed). By then it had been 116 days since my original purchase and I was still nowhere close to getting the rest of the refund back. I had to have my credit card dispute the transaction to get my money back. I think they were purposefully dragging their feet, hoping I would forget. If I had waited 2 more days, not even the credit card company could have helped me.

In short, sure it is unlimited, but it is unlimited crap: horrible call and data service, underpowered phone choice, nonexistent customer service, and they will try to steal your money!

If you are looking for cheap smart phone service, try Ting instead. We are on them now, and our plan is about the same price as Republic Wireless with much better everything (except data speed. After all, they are both Sprint re-bundlers). Sure, they are not unlimited, but we found out that we don't actually use that much phone data and minutes since we use wifi so much anyways. Plus with Ting, you don't have to buy a new $300+ phone; you can bring in an existing one or get a used one on ebay for much cheaper.