Boost Mobile is a phone carrier that offers wireless service using T-Mobile’s network. It is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) prepaid cell phone carrier. As T-Mobile has the largest network in the country, customers of this brand will get reliable coverage. However, it comes with a drawback, i.e., the network speed may slow down while the network is busy. But don’t worry, as this company provides additional hotspot data compared to the average MVNO. It becomes a huge difference for a few people.
What is Boost Mobile?
Boost Mobile is known as a cordless telecommunications association active in both Australia and the United States. This one is a famous prepaid company in the United States. These offer unlimited prepaid phone plans along with talk, text, and data.
You can get a vast collection of top-quality cell phones, free Tidal music streaming, a shrinking payment option, etc. This payment option provides a discount each month for those who pay bills on time.
What Network Does It Use?
It is one type of wireless service provider that doesn’t have its private wireless network infrastructure. Therefore, MVNO needs to take help from the infrastructure and network towers of another company. It takes support from both T-Mobile’s and Sprint’s LTE network & towers to offer wireless service to its consumers.
It was acquired by Dish after the merging of T-Mobile and Sprint in 2020. The Dish is making its 5G service and has the target to take the place of Sprint. It has secured access to T-Mobile’s network also for the next seven years.
We have given the best 5G and 4G coverage here.
The Best 5G Coverage:
T-Mobile: 36.7% 5G coverage (80% of the population)
AT&T: 15.9% 5G coverage
Verizon: 10.9% 5G coverage
The best 4G coverage:
Verizon: 70% 4G coverage
AT&T: 68% 4G coverage
T-Mobile: 62% 4G coverage, i.e., 99% of the population.
Boost Mobile Coverage Benefits:
It provides multiple advantages over other plans offered by the three major networks.
Lower Prices: They offer low costs to the customers except for hundreds of physical stores and sales staff. You are capable of saving up to $600 per year.
Flexible Plans: There is no need to get those features that you don’t require. Just customize the plan you prefer to suit you.
Keep Your Phone And Number: Now, you can bring your phone by not upgrading to the latest handset. If you need, you are capable of porting your number across.
Easy To Switch: As soon as you have your phone, you can switch over easily. All things will be set within a few days.
No Commitment: No contracts are there due to which you can give payment as you need. Whether you are not happy or you are willing to amend your plan, do this any time.
How Good is The Boost Mobile Network?
Previously, before merging of T-Mobile and Sprint, the four carriers of the nation had each 4G coverage:
- Verizon had the most extensive 4G coverage, covering 70% of the country.
- T-Mobile had 59% 4G coverage.
- AT&T had 58% of 4G coverage.
- Sprint had 27% of $G coverage.
Then, the company took help from Sprint’s network. As a result, coverage of the company was less than spectacular. The 4G network of T-Mobile’s has covered 99% of the population after the merger of the T-Mobile-Sprint. Then, it has become the largest and fastest 5G network in America. The company recently had the honor of using T-Mobile’s network. Therefore, you can say that the network is excellent, widespread, fast, and reliable.
What Other Carriers Use the Same Network?
As of 2020, most of the MVNOs use the new T-Mobile’s towers and network after T-Mobile and Sprint merged. We have given here some names of MVNOs that used either T-Mobile or Sprint’s network previously includes:
- Mint Mobile
- Ultra Mobile
- Altice Mobile
- Tello Mobile
- TextNow
- Consumer Cellular
- Metro by T-Mobile
- Net10
- Google Fi
- Red Pocket
- Republic Wireless
- Simple Mobile
- Straight Talk
- Ting
- TracFone
- US Mobile
- Gen Mobile
- Wing
- Freedom Pop
- Pix Wireless
- Project Fi
- ROK Mobile
- Twigby
- Virgin Mobile
Does It Use CDMA or GSM?
These are the two technologies— CDMA and GSM— used in cell phones. You can take help from the technologies while 4G is not available. Whether your phone is not so old, it is capable of supporting both technologies. It becomes easier for you than to switch carriers.
The GSM network is used by T-Mobile, due to which the company supports all GSM phones. You must not have to take tension in case your phone is not using similar technology. It is still effortless to save money on your cell phone plan. If you are willing to check your phone’s compatibility, then you can take help from our IMEI checker.
How is Boost Different from Metro by T-Mobile?
Each of these two uses T-Mobile’s network. There is plenty of difference between coverage between the carrier previously known as MetroPCS and Boost Mobile. You can get different types of limited and unlimited data plans from each of these two. Each of the carriers provides their best deals in-store instead of online.
It is the variety of plans offered by the two carriers making the main difference between them. When it comes to Metro, you can see only three data plans. The range of these plans is from 10GB to unlimited. The company offers plans even small, like 1GB for $10/month up to its top-tier unlimited plan. However, the carrier also has a plan for light data users. It can fulfill your requirements and save you money.
Does Sprint Own Boost Mobile?
No, it doesn’t. The company took help from Sprint’s network earlier to offer service. But it has been on a wild ride that follows the merge of Sprint and T-Mobile.
The good news is that T-Mobile provides an excellent wireless network in the nation. DISH is going to develop its wireless network after the end of the agreement with T-Mobile.
Plans Using Sprint or T-Mobile Network:
Customers get a huge variety of different single-line prepaid plans from the company. It does not provide any credit checks and service contracts.
Their prepaid plans include unlimited talk and text, a mobile hotspot, and 99% nationwide coverage. However, the costs of the company provide taxes and fees.
1 GB new BYO Customers Only Plan: The plan offers unlimited talk and text, 1 GB of 4G or 5G data, along with a 1 GB mobile hotspot. You have to pay $10 a month. T-Mobile is the network used here.
2 GB new BYO Customers Only Plan: You can get unlimited talk and text, 2 GB of 4G or 5G data, and a mobile hotspot in this plan. The price is $15 per month.
5 GB new Customers Only Plan: The plan provides unlimited talk and text, 5 GB of 4G or 5G data, and a mobile hotspot. It costs $25 each month. The plan has a T-Mobile network.
10 GB Starter Plan: Unlimited talk and text, 10 GB of 4G or 5G data, and a mobile hotspot. $35 is the cost of this plan per month. T-Mobile is the network used in this plan.
15 GB $THINK-IT Plan: The plan offers unlimited talk and text, 15 GB of 4G or 5G data, and a mobile hotspot. $45 per month is the starting cost of the plan. The charge comes down to $35 after six on-time monthly payments. It uses the T-Mobile network.
Go Unlimited 35 GB SD Streaming Plan: In this plan, you can get unlimited talk and text, 35 GB of 4G or 5G data, unlimited 2G data, unlimited SD streaming, along with a 12 GB mobile hotspot. The standard cost of the plan is $50 each month. This plan uses both T-Mobile and Sprint.
There don’t exist any credit check prepaid plans with family discounts. All 2, 3, 4, or 5 lines use both T-Mobile and Sprint. In the data-only plan, you will get 50 GB of data and a mobile hotspot. $50 is the cost of the plan.
Are There Any Limitations of Boost Mobile?
The company uses the network of T-Mobile, which is the biggest 5G network in America. They provide the best 5G coverage. It covers 80% of the population and 36.7% of the territory.
The third-best 4G network covers 62% of the region and 99% of the population. They may get the complete power of the expanded network of T-Mobile, but still, it has an additional benefit.
You can get a robust & reliable 4G LTE signal, faster upload and download speeds, Talk & Surf with VoLTE, along with a huge variety of Expended Data Network-capable phones. The coverage-related advantages of the company are the same as the new T-Mobile’s benefits.
They provide less expensive prepaid plans than T-Mobile. It doesn’t have a credit check, annual service contracts, unlimited music streaming, etc. On the flip side, T-Mobile is known as a larger carrier company that comes with multiple shops, services, devices, and an extensive service network.
Although the company uses the biggest 5G network in the country, a few people find this frustrating. According to them, 4G coverage of their network is the least impressive among the ‘big three. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T customers get a huge collection of machines where a few are not compatible with Boost Mobile. All of these deliver top-notch service.
How Are You Capable Of Removing Cell Phone Reception?
Whether you are facing issues with lousy cell phone reception, there are a few ways following which you are capable of improving.
One process is that you can move to a place where the reception is reliable. You are capable of verifying this in advance by checking the site of your carrier and network coverage map. If required, you can Google it also.
Secondly, you can do this by easily upgrading your cell phone. The latest models come with advanced radio technology designed to get newer and faster carrier signals and spectrums. Compared to the older phones, these have better reception as well as coverage. For instance, T-Mobile developed a new spectrum a few years ago named Band 12.
Compared to the earlier spectrum, Band 12 is four times quicker inside buildings. People with iPhone 5S can not use it as it is not compatible with the technology operating on the recent spectrum. But the latest upcoming iPhone models like iPhone 6S, 7, and 8 support the technology. The current models can be compatible with all technologies and work on the recent and quickest spectrums.
Is the LTE Coverage of the Company Good?
T-Mobile has the third rank amongst the big networks. But you are capable of counting on reliable service when you use the company. After the completion of Uncarrier’s acquisition of Sprint, you are required to count the blessings transitioned by the company to T-Mobile’s network. If you are living in urban areas, it shines more. People living in the big towns may depend on the Boost Mobile 4G LTE connection.
Boost Mobile 5G Coverage:
The company provides the 5G network. However, T-Mobile still is leading a significant role across nationwide 5G support. Recently, 5G coverage has been available only in some nations like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Some small places are there which have access to Boost’s 5G network. You should have to put the ZIP code at the site of the company. Check then whether you have sufficient luck to have 5G coverage in your neck of the woods or not.
Boost Mobile Coverage in Your Area:
It may seem that you have got trustable Boost Mobile coverage in your neighborhood. But as a user, no one wants to sign up for a plan to look for your iPhone model. It is the reason why this is so vital to narrow your coverage analysis to your particular area.
It is when you should use WhistleOut’s address lookup feature. Before signing up for any type of plan, you need to check it. Navigate to the comparison engine, choose your talk, text, & data preferences, and after that, punch in the street address reading “Coverage Check.” You can see some keys on the upper-right hand of your display and then get location-specific coverage info.
Data Speeds on the Network:
There is the fact that you need to consider before using an MVNO like the company is that the network you are using may be deprioritized. In other words, whether plenty of people use the T-Mobile network at a time, you can get last dibs on cordless data. You may face deprioritization during peak-usage periods. For example, you can face issues while everyone is at home from work in the evenings. Therefore, whether you find your phone acting strangely sluggish, it may happen that something deprioritized your connection.
In the company’s plans, users can enjoy unlimited talk, unlimited text, and unlimited data. The cost begins from $15/month for 2GB of data. Then, the price will increase with the increase of data by about $10 per month. They provide hotspot allotments with their unlimited plans but don’t offer the prepaid plan pack. However, if necessary, you are capable of using prepaid unlimited plans. It is because these are cheaper than unlimited plans such as Mint Mobile. This is hard to get a prepaid provider offering 30GB of mobile hotspot included with your plan.
Boost vs. Other Prepaid Providers:
Here, we have given a comparison of unlimited plans between Boost vs. prepaid providers.
In the first look, you may feel like you are overpaying the plans for Boost Mobile over other prepaid options. But if you do a little bit of deep research, you can see that hotspot data allotment makes a major difference. For instance, Simple Mobile and Mint Mobile provide their customers merely 5GB of mobile hotspot data. People won’t get any hotspot data from Metro by T-Mobile with their unlimited plan.
On the flip side, the company offers their customers 12GB of phone hotspot data for their normal unlimited plans. Users can enjoy up to 30GB of hotspot data on their premium plan. The company is an ideal option if you are willing to enjoy a prepaid cell phone option, not skimping on the phone hotspot data.
The company is leading the major role till now while you are going to select prepaid unlimited. People can use unlimited data for half of their cost on Mint Mobile using T-Mobile’s network. Visible or US Mobile can also be used. Both of these offer cheaper unlimited plans on the network of Verizon. Each offers more widespread 5G access. Whether mobile hotspot data is not so vital, you can use a different prepaid unlimited carrier.
Customer Service:
The company provides plenty of various methods through which you can reach customer service reps. It is recommended to do chat or social media.
However, cell phone companies don’t have any fame for delivering good customer service like cable providers. The test interactions with the customer service of the company go very well.
It allows you to call in or chat with someone from the website of the company. You can take help from social media like Twitter. The company responds to social media platforms very quickly, and it is convenient also.
What Do You Mean By Unlimited Music Streaming?
All plans of the company provide you with music streaming for unlimited time. It indicates that you can spend multiple hours listening to Beyoncé on Spotify.
It becomes cool whether you will have the 3 GB plan. You are capable of streaming music daily on your hour-long commute. The unlimited music deal of the company will provide high-speed data. For example, it offers GPS navigation, using which you can search the restaurant recommended by your friend.
What Happens Whether You Go Over Your Data Or Hotspot Limit?
All plans of the company are unlimited technically. Therefore, it doesn’t offer any.
The automatic fee to go over a data limit. Using the 3 GB plan, you will find the speed gets reduced to a snail’s crawl for the remaining month.
The costs of the company’s 3 GB plan are as follows:
1 GB LTE data – $5/mo.
2 GB LTE data – $10/mo.
People who are willing to use more than 3 GB per month need to set up a recurring data boost. You should invest your money for one or two extra gigs per month.
Mint Mobile vs. Boost Mobile:
Each of these two is an MVNO carrier that takes the help of T-Mobile’s network for delivering excellent service at a lower cost.
You can indeed get Mint Mobile available at a low price, but still, the other one is your favorite. It comes with a lot of features that must attract the data-heavy user. Using the carrier, you can get better value if you sign up for more than one line. Mint carrier doesn’t come with any multi-line discounts. But it is ideal for those who use an average amount of data and whose prime goal is to look for an affordable plan. It will help you to save money over time.
Using Mint Mobile, it is possible to save money. Just sign up for three, six, or twelve months at a time. Every plan of the carrier has unlimited talk and text. It doesn’t provide overages after you have finished your data. The speeds may be decreased, but it is possible to upgrade your plan mid-cycle. You can include more information easily.
Whether you have good T-Mobile coverage, the company has a plan providing a lot of data, great international calling & roaming options, and a decent amount of hotspot data. People who are willing to save money should sign up for many lines on the company’s network.
Requirements from a Phone Service:
As soon as you sign up to any of the three big carriers for phone service, it means that you are paying for multiple features not required, or you may get additional information than you use. When you want to use the prepaid carrier, you can save some money. It offers you merely those which you require. The company has the main focus on providing users with plenty of options. Therefore, they are capable of selecting those which suit them best. Mint carrier has divided their data into four distinct plans, which you can buy upfront as three, six, or 12-month increments.
| Mint Mobile | Boost Mobile | |
| Network | It uses T-Mobile. | T-Mobile is used, formerly known as Sprint. |
| 5G | It offers a 5G network. | The 5G network is supported. |
| Minimum plan | This carrier provides a minimum plan of 3 months. | It offers a 1-month minimum plan. |
| Data | It offers 4 GB, 10 GB, 15 GB, or Unlimited network services. | 1GB, 2GB, 3GB, 5GB, 6GB, 10GB, 15GB, 35GB (Unlimited)— different network plans are offered. |
| Talk and text | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Mobile Hotspot | Hence, the hotspot is free. It is capped at 5GB included in the unlimited plan. | You can get a mobile hotspot up to 30GB. |
| Video streaming | SD video streaming is available. | Along with SD video streaming, you can get HD streaming benefits with a $60 Unlimited plus plan. |
| International | The company allows you to call freely to Mexico and Canada. | It comes with Add-on services. |
| Base cost | It starts at $15 per month. | $10 per month is the base cost here. |
It is Mint Mobile that leverages the T-Mobile network for its service. The network is vast, but it is essential to check the Mint coverage before signing up. On the flip side, the Boost Mobile carrier is complicated as it used the network of Sprint earlier. This one is still known as its Nationwide Network. You can check the Nationwide Network coverage also that is different from the T-Mobile map of the company.
Supported Phones:
Both of these two carriers are compatible with 5G on the T-Mobile network. What makes them perfect is that they don’t offer any extra cost, whether you have a supported device. However, for those who merely want a phone compatible with each carrier, then you can get some phones available in the market. If you wish, you can check your phone whether it is compatible with Boost Mobile or not. Besides, it is essential to check if it supports your preferred network.
Boost Mobile company uses the former Sprint network and works with Sprint phones. But many are still there that are unable to be activated on Boost Mobile. In most cases, you are required to take the help of a compatible phone. The simplest method you can check is to enter the IMEI number on the website of the company. Whether you take the help of the company’s Expanded Network, you can use almost all unlocked phones.
While you are going to consider the phones supported by these carriers, Mint Mobile comes with a clean benefit. As it uses the GSM network of T-Mobile, it is compatible with almost all unlocked phones supporting its bands. Therefore, you won’t face any problem till your device has a 4G LTE and VoLTE friendly network. You can identify if your device supports Mint Mobile. To do this, you must navigate to its website, or you can download the app. The process is very easy and simple. You can switch to Mint Mobile whether you are unavailable in the market for a new phone.
International Usage:
You should know that you won’t use this on the international stage out of your plan with the Mint Mobile carrier. This plan offers free calls to Canada as well as Mexico. However, whether you are willing to do something else, you are required to buy international roaming credits via “UpRoam.” These range from $5, $10, to $20. This company costs $0.05 per text message sent, $0.20 each megabyte in most international nations, $0.25 per minute for calls, etc. However, in Mexico, the costs are lower. In Canada, the prices are at $0.02 per text, $0.06 per minute, and $0.06 per megabyte.
Boost Mobile provides international packages in the Todo Mexico PLUS plan for $5 each month. In this plan, you get calling and texting features. Besides, you will get 8GB of data when you are going to visit Mexico. You are capable of calling and texting anyone in Canada. You can get almost all benefits in the International Connect PLUS plan with unlimited calling. It is available in more than seventy nations and 200 minutes for phone lines. All of these are available for $10 every month. Therefore, whether you are a traveler or your family is abroad, the plan offers you additional flexibility.
The Bottom Line:
Whether you are a light data user who prefers to monitor your usage, you can use the cheapest plans of Boost Mobile. Using these plans, you are capable of lowering your cell phone bill.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- How can you switch to Boost?
If you are willing to switch to this carrier, you require a Boost Mobile SIM card and a compatible phone. Hence, it is necessary to purchase a SIM card while signing up for a plan with this company. You can buy the SIM card at some brick-and-mortar shops such as Walmart. While switching to the mode, you can use a new cell phone. If you want, you may see the recent phone’s compatibility to check whether it has this or not.
- Does Boost Mobile have 5G coverage?
The company provides 5G network coverage, but till now, it is limited. The 5G coverage of the company is available, especially in major towns such as Los Angeles and New York. Enter the ZIP code of your address at the company’s site for checking 5G coverage if it exists in your area.
- What towers does Boost use?
The company uses T-Mobile’s towers for delivering cell service. However, DISH owns the company Boost Mobile and developed its cordless service afterward.
