Simple Mobile Cell Phone Plans Review

As prepaid wireless companies go, Simple Mobile has a pretty good array of plans for data users.

But while its limited data plans look good—especially for the price—we absolutely don’t recommend either of Simple Mobile’s Truly Unlimited plans. Even representatives of the company couldn’t give us full details on how Simple Mobile’s Truly Unlimited plans work, and we’re still not clear on the details.

^{* Not including taxes and fees or discounts for auto re-up.}

Simple Mobile prepaid plans and pricing

Simple Mobile plans are affordable and easy to understand—except for its Truly Unlimited plans.

We actually really like how many data options Simple Mobile offers. Its limited plans let you choose from 1, 2, or 6 GBs of data, which will cover your average Facebook surfer who mostly uses Wi-Fi.

But if you like to stream videos or play games, then Simple Mobile might not cut it for you. That’s partly because while it does offer two unlimited plans, trying to figure out exactly what those plans include was like navigating a labyrinth of conflicting information and confused customer service reps.

Mixed messages on Simple Mobile’s “Truly Unlimited” plans

^{* Not including taxes and fees or discounts for auto re-up.}

We chatted with two separate customer service reps to try to find out if there is a set data threshold for its unlimited plans, or if Simple Mobile can reduce your speeds during any busy time. This means any time the network gets a little crowded, your data speeds would be slashed right away.

Conversation #1: The rep told us Simple Mobile’s system would monitor data usage and reduce speeds “according to its data policy.” When we asked what that data policy said, they couldn’t say.

Conversation #2: This rep gave us the opposite answer. When we asked at what point our speeds would be reduced, they said our speeds would never be throttled. According to them, we’d have access to LTE speeds all the time, no matter how much data we used.

If that’s true, then Simple Mobile is the only wireless provider we’ve ever seen who hands out a data free-for-all plan, and for only $50–$60 per month. And customer reviews don’t back that up—from what we’ve heard, Simple Mobile definitely does throttle your speed at some point. It just won’t say when.

Considering all the confusion, we recommend just avoiding Simple Mobile’s unlimited plans altogether.

Auto re-up discounts on all Simple Mobile plans

If you want to save a little extra cash on your Simple Mobile bill every month, we recommend signing up for auto re-up.

That means when your plan expires at the end of every 30 days, Simple Mobile will automatically “re-up” it and give you the exact same plan and data again for another 30 days so your phone is always ready to go.

Simple Mobile auto re-up discounts:

• 1 GB plan – $5 off
• 2 GB plan – $2 off
• 6 GB plan  – $3 off
• Truly Unlimited plan – $5 off
• Truly Unlimited (plus mobile hotspot) plan – $3 off

Simple Mobile cell phones and devices

You can get most of the latest smartphones at Simple Mobile, and even finance them if you want to.

Simple Mobile definitely has a more limited phone selection than a big-name provider does, but we’re still pretty impressed that it has the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy options. You just might not find other Android brands (like the Google Pixel) in the lineup.

How good is Simple Mobile’s performance?

Simple Mobile uses T-Mobile’s network—but its coverage is relatively sparse.

^{*COVERAGE IS NOT AVAILABLE IN CANADA. The map depicts the general coverage area and is not a guarantee of coverage. Coverage is not available everywhere. The map displays only the predicted and approximate wireless coverage for voice calls, while outdoors, of the network including roaming coverage, if applicable. The coverage areas shown do not guarantee service}

Like most prepaid wireless companies, Simple Mobile shares a network with one of the big-name providers—in this case, with T-Mobile.

But that doesn’t mean Simple Mobile has the exact same coverage as T-Mobile. If you look at its coverage map, Simple Mobile’s coverage is pretty patchy. You’ll probably be fine in most metro areas, but you definitely can’t head out of town for a camping trip and expect that you’ll still have good service and speeds.

Simple Mobile international coverage

If you have a lot of friends or family in other countries, Simple Mobile makes it pretty easy to keep in touch with them. All its plans come with unlimited international texting from the US, so you can message your cousin in Costa Rica every morning if you feel like it and never worry about extra charges.

Simple Mobile also offers unlimited international talk, but for only 60 countries. If you want to call your dad in Mexico, you’ll still have to pay roaming charges. But you can get an international add-on plan for $10 per month if you know in advance you’ll be making a lot of international calls.

With the international add-on plan, your balance rolls over every month, which is nice. You’re still paying for international calls, though—you’re just giving yourself $10 per month to do it.

Simple Mobile customer service

The customer service reps we spoke to were nice—but they couldn’t give us straight answers.

First things first: no wireless company gets outright glowing reviews for its customer service. But we’d still put Simple Mobile on the lower end of the good customer service spectrum.

As we mentioned earlier, we talked to two customer service reps for Simple Mobile. Both of them gave quick responses and were super polite, but they couldn’t give us reliable answers to our questions about Simple Mobile’s unlimited plans.

It doesn’t matter if you get the friendliest customer service rep in the world if they also can’t answer your questions.

Recap—Is Simple Mobile good?

Simple Mobile’s data plans are pretty good by prepaid carrier standards. It gives you a few different data options, and its prices are totally reasonable. But if you want a prepaid unlimited plan, we recommend going somewhere else, like MetroPCS or Boost Mobile.

• Plans: Simple Mobile lets you choose from 1 GB, 2 GB, or 6 GB of data. You can also choose one of Simple Mobile’s two unlimited plans, but we don’t recommend either of them because it’s unclear how much data you get before Simple Mobile can reduce your speeds.
• Performance: Simple Mobile uses T-Mobile’s wireless network, but its coverage will probably work well only in metro areas or major cities.
• Customer service: The customer service representatives we talked to were nice, but they couldn’t give us the information we needed.
• Overall: Simple Mobile is a great prepaid pick if you just want a data plan, but it’s not our first choice for unlimited.