Red Pocket Review: It’s (Almost) as Good as Mint Mobile

For all our mobile reviews, we give a rating based on four main criteria:

• Dollar value ↓
• Network coverage ↓
• Data performance ↓
• Customer service ↓

Then, we average the scores to make an overall score.

If you are someone who values cheap monthly prices and mostly connects to Wi-Fi, then you’ll be happy with prepaid mobile carriers in general (like Red Pocket). They’re like off-brand cereal. They’re still good, actually. And a lot cheaper.

Check out what you can expect from Red Pocket service below.

Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect from a Red Pocket cell phone plan:

Pros:

• Access to all three networks
• International benefits on all plans
• Discounted family plans
• Huge range of phone deals
• Aggressive new-customer promo prices
• Easy and fast eSIM activation

Cons:

• Confusing website
• One night of completely dropped service
• Limited priority data on all plans
• Must pay a large sum upfront for the lowest yearly price

Though you must choose a network at the time of your Red Pocket sign up, you can use the CoverageGenius tool to switch networks. According to Red Pocket’s site, the network switching process can take from a few minutes to 48 hours. While you keep your number, your old plan is immediately canceled, and you will be charged for your new plan. Since you won’t be refunded for unused days, try to switch around the end of your billing cycle.

Like many MVNOs, Red Pocket’s high-speed data can be deprioritized during network congestion. This means that when you use your phone during rush hour or in crowded public spaces, your phone activities might slow down significantly (or not work at all).

Mint Mobile’s service has never dropped for me in the almost five years I’ve had it. Red Pocket’s service was initially just as great— I could listen to podcasts, turn on Google Maps, and play YouTube for my kids during rush hour traffic. While I noticed some slower speeds than my Mint Mobile service when I performed speed tests at work and at home, I could still play YouTube and even a movie on Netflix.

Here’s what ate up most of my data: Downloading apps. I even discovered that watching ads uses up data. Who knew! So if you use apps that have a lot of ads or ad pop-ups, you’re going to burn through data a lot faster. To save data, make sure to connect to Wi-Fi whenever you can.

I had no problems with Red Pocket until my fourth night. My Red Pocket service had literally no bars and no service during the night. Both my Mint Mobile and Red Pocket phones operate on the T-Mobile network, so what gives? My phone told me I could only access emergency calls. Yet on my Mint Mobile phone, speeds were high and strong. This was the only time it happened, but it was not a good experience.

I found a really useful feature on Red Pocket’s app. In the “Data warning & limit” section, you can toggle on “Set data limit” and then choose at which point of your data usage you’d like a warning.

Thankfully, this feature was already toggled on when I activated my service; otherwise, I would have no idea it existed. Mine was set to 2GB, so I got a notification on my phone when I hit 2GB. I would recommend setting it to around 5GB (or whatever is half of your allotted data), so you’ll be warned whenever you use up half of your data.

As I noted above, Red Pocket will throttle your speeds once you hit your premium data cap. Unlike other prepaid carriers, it doesn’t just turn off data completely when you hit your data limit (like Tello). However, the data is so slow that it practically doesn’t work anymore. Once I hit 10GB, my speeds slowed to almost a standstill, taking about five minutes just to OPEN YouTube. This has happened to me with Mint Mobile as well, and I had to survive on 1GB for a week. The best way to avoid this is to always connect to Wi-Fi when you can.

To sign up for Red Pocket, you need to pick a network first. This sounds confusing because it is. Luckily, an agent was able to help me out, explaining that I must scroll down Red Pocket’s home page (below the testimonials and before the phone deals) until I see an image of all three major networks. You have to click into the network you want to get started. You will see plans and discounts associated with each network.

All in all, the activation process took around 10 minutes. I opted for an eSIM card for the Plus Plan for $20 per month (10GB), and paid $22.80 at checkout. Make sure you are connected to the Wi-Fi during the activation process. If you are not connected to the Wi-Fi, it will keep telling you that something is wrong and to contact customer service.

I also realized during the activation process that the Red Pocket eSIM is not called “Red Pocket” or even “GSMT”—you’ll see “T-Mobile.” Don’t be alarmed. The GSMT network I signed up for literally works on the T-Mobile network. You will also be able to confirm this new SIM because you will see your phone number right below it.

Once you toggle on your T-Mobile (or AT&T or Verizon) SIM, your Red Pocket service will be up and running!

I will say that setting up Red Pocket Mobile was much easier than the Mint Mobile activation process, but it could be because my phone has eSIM capabilities. I used a physical SIM with Mint Mobile, and it was not easy to activate. So while I can’t speak to the ease of a Red Pocket physical SIM activation, the eSIM activation was a breeze.

I thought it would be as easy as logging into my Red Pocket app and hitting some kind of cancellation button. Sadly, there is no such button in the app. I started an online chat with a Red Pocket rep who asked me for my email, IMEI, and ICCID. I couldn’t find the ICCID, but he said that was fine and escalated my cancellation. Apparently, Red Pocket cancellation needs escalation and official approval. The agent stayed online with me until the process was completed, which took about an hour.

In comparison to the other carriers you could choose, I would only recommend switching based on three main factors: Coverage, better phone deals, and cheaper plans. For example, T-Mobile offers great coverage in the West, but you might get better coverage with AT&T and Verizon in other areas in the country. At times, AT&T and Verizon also offer better phone deals depending on the promotions available.

If you want a cheaper plan, a T-Mobile MVNO like Mint Mobile offers similar network coverage at a much lower cost. Otherwise, Visible also offers affordable rates on Verizon’s network, with no high-speed data cap. US Mobile is also a handy option if you want to jump between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon networks for the greatest flexibility.