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A couple months ago I posted a Facebook Live video where I talked about a new way we are saving money on our cell phone bill through Republic Wireless. I’ve been using Republic Wireless almost exclusively for two months now. So I thought it would be a great time to share my detailed Republic Wireless review. And while I’ve been using it for only two months, I should note that my son has had a phone through Republic Wireless for 15 months now. So I’ll also share what our experience has been with his phone as well.
First of all, I did not want to switch away from my iPhone. I was happy as a clam with my iPhone, and the thought of switching to Android made me anxious. I’ve been with AT&T for over a decade and they’ve always been good to me. But they haven’t been so great for my wallet… I think you probably know what I’m talking about. And it’s not like I have the most expensive plan either.
Taking advantage of a family plan and splitting a 10GB data plan 5 ways was costing me and my husband $112 a month (just for our portion). And while that is a lot of money, I had gotten used to paying it. I figured, “Well, this is just what a cell phone plan costs, right?” Wrong. A couple of my friends have been swearing by Republic Wireless, so I finally decided to give it a whirl.
To be honest, the first step I had to get past was giving up my iPhone. I LOVE iOS. But my husband (a recent Android convert) finally convinced me. So I did it and it wasn’t as bad as I thought, here is a breakdown of what to expect with Republic Wireless.
Here is my detailed Republic Wireless Review:
Republic Wireless Phones
Republic Wireless has a fantastic selection of phones. Just a year ago, there were only 3 that you could choose from, and now there are like 10 or 11 to choose from. And they even have the latest Samsung, Google, and Motorola phones, as well as some very inexpensive phone options too. Their list is being updated constantly, so check their website for the most up-to-date phones.
My Samsung S7 Edge phone is AMAZING, I actually prefer it over my iPhone now (GASP!) The Android operating system took me about a day to get used to, but once I got used to it, it made a lot more sense to me than IOS. Using a Republic Wireless plan, the phone functions just as it normally would under any other carrier.
You do have to pay outright for the phones (or use their Affirm financing program). But they do offer some more inexpensive options starting at around $179. The Moto G, for example, is only $179 and it’s a fantastic phone and will do just about everything you need it to. You can also bring your own Android phone and buy one of their SIM card packs for $5.00 to get your service switched over.
Call quality
Call qualityBy using WiFi for talk and text in addition to cell, they are able to save you money and provide extra coverage in the places cell can’t always reach. They offer coverage beyond just cell towers anywhere there is WiFi and super affordable plans to go with it.
If I’m in my house or any place where the phone connects to a wifi network, the phone uses wifi to make phone calls. This is actually the biggest way that Republic Wireless saves money and can offer phone plans for so cheap. When the phone is not within a wifi connection, the cell towers take over.
Republic Wireless piggy-backs off two of the nation’s leading 4G LTE carriers. During checkout, depending on the location of your account address, they can intelligently determine which network offers the best coverage experience in your area.
Like all carriers, the network might be great in your town, or the coverage could be spotty. Make sure to check this map to see if your area will be a good match for coverage. I can only speak for my city (which isn’t a big city, mind you), but the coverage has been great.
There are a couple dead spots in town that I’m aware of… for example when I pick my kids up from school, I don’t get any service in the parking lot of the school. But the service in that area with my AT&T phone was very weak too, so maybe it’s something else that is causing the weak cell service.
Their technology actually senses the quality of your phone’s connectivity and uses available cellular data as backup to fill in any gaps in your conversation.
Republic Wireless also has an Adaptive Coverage™ technology, enabled with Bonded Calling™. They have managed to pull together 3G, 4G LTE, cellular voice, and WiFi network signals down in milliseconds so that no matter if you’re on 3G, 4G LTE, or WiFi when you’re talking on your phone, if the signal starts to get bad, your phone automatically patches the gap with one of the other, better, networks.
The result is fewer interruptions, even if your WiFi connection fades as you move around. Oh, and cellular voice roaming is always included.
Data quality
Similar to the call quality, using data around town has been fine. I even used my phone as a hotspot several times and had no issue. Checking email, watching videos, using social media – it all works snappy-fast. Like it’s supposed to.
My son’s phone
My son has an older generation Republic Wireless phone. His still works very well, too. However, if he is on a phone call that starts while the phone is in wifi, and he then leaves the wifi area, the call can sometimes drop while it’s changing from wifi to cell towers.
Other than that, the service on his phone has been great.
Before I made the switch to Republic wireless, I was concerned that I would have the same “wifi-to-cell tower” phone call issue. Fortunately, I haven’t – not even once. In fact, I’ve tested it and tried to get it to drop a call by beginning the phone call in my house and then walking down the block.
No dropped calls. It appears that their newer system with the Adaptive Coverage™ technology has completely fixed this issue.
The Price
This might be the best part. You pay only $20 per line for a 1 GB plan. There are NO contracts and NO overage fees.
Plus – you can change your plans on a month-to-month basis, which comes in really handy for me. If I know I’ll be traveling a lot one month, I know I’ll be using a lot more data. So I can just up my data package for the month using their app (no need to call customer service), and then change it back the next month. Easy peasy.
The Ultimate Verdict
Honest opinion – you owe it to yourself to at least check it out. Mark is switching over this month to Republic and after that switch, we will save $79 per month. I honestly always thought that cell phone services are just one of those things that I would always have to pay an arm and a leg for.
Especially if you are currently not in a contract with your phone provider, give it a try. As long as coverage is good in your area (and it probably is), you’re most likely gonna have a very good experience. And if you don’t have a good experience – there’s no contract and they have a 14-day money back guarantee.
They also have two great deals going on right now:
- From 12/7 – 12/12: Take $100 off a Moto Z Play (discounted from $449 to $349, while supplies last.)
- From 12/13 – while supplies last: Take $50 off an Ascend 5W by Huawei (a soon-to-be-launched new phone with a premium design made even more affordable at Republic, discounted from $179 to $129, while supplies last
PLUS – both of these phones will come with up to six months of FREE service (on their $20 unlimited talk & text + 1GB of cell data plan. Taxes and telecom fees not included. See offer for full details1.)
Disclosure: I teamed up with Republic Wireless to bring this review to you. All opinions are my 100% my own.
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