Virgin Mobile says prepaid Apple iPhone 5s, 5c coming Oct. 1

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Prepaid wireless carrier Virgin Mobile will soon be carrying both Apples iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, with the company teasing that it will join a number of other smaller U.S. carriers in selling the devices starting Oct. 1



Virgin's home page revealed on Friday that the higher-end iPhone 5s and the mid-range iPhone 5c would be "coming soon" to its network. The company confirmed their impending arrival in a tweet from its official twitter account, pegging Oct. 1 as the arrival date for Apple's new smartphones.

When the device debuted on the United States larger carriers and around the world last week, the iPhone 5s sold out quickly, exhausting supplies within 48 hours. Some of Apple's initial stock appears to have gone to smaller regional carriers, which will launch the iPhone 5s on October 1.

The Oct. 1 arrival of the iPhone 5s and 5c marks a significant change from Virgin's timeline for the iPhone 5. That device did not arrive on Virgin Mobile USA until June of this year, several months after the device launched worldwide.

While Virgin gives no indication on pricing, the previous model retailed for $550 off contract. Virgin will likely keep comparable pricing levels for the new models.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 21

    I'm hoping Straight Talk does the same thing. It runs on Verizon's network.

  • Reply 2 of 21
    Originally Posted by DougD View Post

    I'm hoping Straight Talk does the same thing. It runs on Verizon's network.

     

    Not with the iPhone. It uses GSM+LTE for the iPhone, so AT&T’s network.

  • Reply 3 of 21
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    Not with the iPhone. It uses GSM+LTE for the iPhone, so AT&T’s network.


     

    Wrong. There are iPhones on Verizon through Straight Talk and Net 10. It also depends on your zip code.

     

    Once you know what home network you want, here's how to determine which phones work on that network.



    NET10 and Straight Talk iPhones and BlackBerrys use the Verizon network.



    The Huawei W1 Windows Phone uses the AT&T network.



    NET10 and Straight Talk Android phones use Sprint, AT&T or Verizon depending on model:

     


    • AT&T: Huawei Inspira, Huawei W1, LG L35G Optimus Logic, LG Optimus Extreme, LG Optimus Ultimate, Samsung S730G Galaxy Discover, Samsung Galaxy S II, ZTE Illustra, ZTE Merit

    • Verizon: Huawei Ascend Plus, Huawei Ascend Y, M865C, Huawei Glory, LG Optimus Dynamic L38C, LG Optimus Showtime, LG Optimus Zip L75C, Samsung Galaxy Centura, Samsung Galaxy Proclaim S720C, Samsung Galaxy S Showcase S950C, UNIMAX MAXBravo

    • Sprint: Samsung S735C Galaxy Discover, Samsung Galaxy Precedent, Samsung Galaxy S III, LG Optimus Black, LG Optimus Q, LG Optimus Quest, LG Optimus Net, Huawei Ascend II, Motorola Defy XT

     

    http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2011/12/how-to-get-tracfone-net10-or-straight.html

  • Reply 4 of 21
    Originally Posted by gwmac View Post

    There are iPhones on Verizon through Straight Talk and Net 10. It also depends on your zip code. Once you know what home network you want, here's how to determine which phones work on that network.




    So you can’t bring your own iPhone to Straight Talk, then. Or if you do it’s then using AT&T?

     

    NET10 and Straight Talk iPhones and BlackBerrys use the Verizon network.


     

    Guess they lied to me.

  • Reply 5 of 21
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     



    So you can’t bring your own iPhone to Straight Talk, then. Or if you do it’s then using AT&T?

     

    Guess they lied to me.


     

    It all depends on your zip code. Just use a Verizon friendly zip code. Read the article in the link. You can also use an iPhone on pageplus which uses Verizon you just have to go though a few extra steps to activate it. Plenty of FAQ's that walk people through. 

  • Reply 6 of 21
    Sprint. Virgin. Same crap different device.
  • Reply 7 of 21

    So it's a burner iPhone?  Uhh, interesting.

  • Reply 8 of 21
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tylerk36 View Post



    Sprint. Virgin. Same crap different device.

     

    Actually it is the same device. I would also point out that just because you might get bad service in your neck of the woods means nothing to people in other parts of the country or even other parts of your very own town. I get great coverage from Sprint and also appreciate the fact that I get unlimited LTE data which I take full advantage of on a daily basis. I also take numerous trips around the country and never had a problem with Sprint service in my travels and that includes multiple 1,000+ mile road trips where I streamed Pandora and used Apple maps the whole way. 

     

    It also sounds like you are a current VM customer. The huge difference between VM and Sprint is that Sprint customers can roam for free on Verizon where there might be no or poor Sprint coverage along with several other roaming partners. So we essentially get to use the Verizon network. VM and Boost do not get to roam so are limited only to Sprint's native network which is far more limited. That is the price you pay for pre-paid vs. contract is no roaming for better coverage. Sprint is fine in towns and the interstate but once you get out in the countryside or smaller highways Verizon is king but no big deal since we can use their network for free. 

  • Reply 9 of 21

    I'm a current VM customer and was beyond surprised that the 5S is coming to VM, considering how long it took for them to begin offering the 5. So far I am very happy with my VM service, especially only paying $30/month, no tack-on taxes, etc.

     

    The only issue I have is we pay full price for a device that is sim-locked to the VM USA network; meaning if I am oversea, I lose the freedom to purchase a local sim card and use cellular service abroad. Not sure if this apply to the 5S but pretty sure.

  • Reply 10 of 21

    What does this mean that it's coming to VM? Why can't you just buy one from Sprint and activate on VM? Or buy an unlocked ATT-compatible from Apple and use with StraightTalk? Isn't this just a question about radio/band supported? This talk about it coming to this regional carrier or that MVNO is certainly confusing to me.

  • Reply 11 of 21

    Can you not... just... buy an unlocked iPhone from Apple and use whichever SIM card you like with it? Like you can in the UK and virtually every other country in the Western world?

     

    The US cellphone market continues to perplex me.

  • Reply 12 of 21
    Originally Posted by Euphonious View Post

    Can you not... just... buy an unlocked iPhone from Apple and use whichever SIM card you like with it? Like you can in the UK and virtually every other country in the Western world?

     

    There are four iPhone models, each with different bands. Two of the national telecoms (and many of the smaller ones) don’t work with SIM cards.

  • Reply 13 of 21
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    There are four iPhone models, each with different bands. Two of the national telecoms (and many of the smaller ones) don’t work with SIM cards.


     

    Not true in the least. T-Mobile and AT&T are GSM/LTE like most of Europe and other countries. Sprint and Verizon are CDMA/LTE which is less popular globally. However, ALL of the U.S.  iPhone models have sim card slots and if you unlock them the Sprint and Verizon models can be used on any GSM carrier in the world with the exception of ones in the U.S.A. like AT&T and T-Mobile and even then there are ways to overcome that easily. 

     

    I know this because I have an unlocked Sprint iPhone 4S that I have personally used in over 6 GSM countries and simply bought and installed a local sim card in those countries. 

     

    Unlocking an iPhone on Sprint or Verizon is very fast. In fact Verizon iPhones come unlocked and Sprint iPhones can be unlocked with a quick phone call to Sprint and connecting it to iTunes. 

  • Reply 14 of 21
    Originally Posted by gwmac View Post

    Not true in the least.


     

    First of all, get over yourself. Take a few seconds before instantly replying in the negative to learn what we’re actually talking about.

     

    I keep telling you vendettas will get you nowhere.

     
    T-Mobile and AT&T are GSM/LTE like most of Europe and other countries. Sprint and Verizon are CDMA/LTE which is less popular globally.

     

    And this differs from what I’ve said how?

     

    However, ALL of the U.S. iPhone models have sim card slots


     

    Thanks for stating that as though I said anything to the contrary.

     
    …and if you unlock them the Sprint and Verizon models can be used on any GSM carrier in the world…

     

    ‘Kay. We’re talking about US carriers as a whole. You’re saying a Verizon/Sprint-activated iPhone can be vice versa’d to another CDMA carrier? Which? Because Verizon, at least, refuses to take in CDMA phones from other carriers.

     

    …with the exception of ones in the U.S.A. like AT&T and T-Mobile…


     

    And… you’re wrong. It works with any of them. Proof, from last year.

  • Reply 15 of 21

    But in the UK you don't have to buy a 'Sprint iPhone' or a 'Verizon iPhone'. You can just buy an iPhone. It's unlocked because it's never had any network association.

  • Reply 16 of 21
    Originally Posted by Euphonious View Post

    But in the UK you don't have to buy a 'Sprint iPhone' or a 'Verizon iPhone'. You can just buy an iPhone. It's unlocked because it's never had any network association.

     

    Right, exactly. We use two different techs over here for our voice, and so we have to deal with all the different bands that go with ‘em. The iPhone (activated CDMA) you can buy in the US is GSM unlocked for the entire world, but it can’t then be swapped between CDMA carriers (almost certain that’s still the case). The GSM-activated iPhone… what, I think it’s the same; can’t then be activated on CDMA. Not sure about that one.

  • Reply 17 of 21

    please i  have iphone 5 and i upgraded it's system to ios7 and my problem  now that every time i connect the iphone to the computer  and open itunes it says that it couldn't connected and tells me to go to the summary and instead of seeing (ali salman's iphone ) i just see (iphone) and one button (restore ios7) and when i do that it just formats my iphone it deletes my programs... so what should i do???

  • Reply 18 of 21
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    First of all, get over yourself. Take a few seconds before instantly replying in the negative to learn what we’re actually talking about.

     

    I keep telling you vendettas will get you nowhere.

     

    And this differs from what I’ve said how?

     

    Thanks for stating that as though I said anything to the contrary.

     

    ‘Kay. We’re talking about US carriers as a whole. You’re saying a Verizon/Sprint-activated iPhone can be vice versa’d to another CDMA carrier? Which? Because Verizon, at least, refuses to take in CDMA phones from other carriers.

     

    And… you’re wrong. It works with any of them. Proof, from last year.


     

    Except that is not what you said at all. You said "Two of the national telecoms (and many of the smaller ones) don’t work with SIM cards." and you were clearly referencing Sprint and Verizon since they are CDMA/LTE carriers. All LTE phones whether iPhone or Android use SIM slots. You can try and backtrack all you want and pretend that is not what you meant but no one is fooled. It doesn't matter what iPhone model you have since all will work with SIM cards and you stated 2 won't work with SIM cards which is wrong. 

  • Reply 19 of 21
    gwmacgwmac Posts: 1,807member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

     

     

    Right, exactly. We use two different techs over here for our voice, and so we have to deal with all the different bands that go with ‘em. The iPhone (activated CDMA) you can buy in the US is GSM unlocked for the entire world, but it can’t then be swapped between CDMA carriers (almost certain that’s still the case). The GSM-activated iPhone… what, I think it’s the same; can’t then be activated on CDMA. Not sure about that one.


     

    There are now 2 different iPhone models for the U.S. market. One works on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon and the other one is only for Sprint. Furthermore only the Verizon one is unlocked out of the box due to a court settlement. Other iPhones can be unlocked easily but it requires a phone call and then connection to iTunes to complete the unlock. The reason phones can be used on other U.S. carriers has nothing to do with the bands now so much as the ESN in the database pool. IF that ESN is not in the pool it can't be activated. Pre-paids like Pageplus and others have ways of getting around this since they don't use an ESN pool like the big 4.

     

    I don't have a vendetta against you but I do not like to see false information allowed to go unchallenged. 

     

    http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

  • Reply 20 of 21
    I love virgin mobile and the iphone! Use my link to try them out and receive a $25 account credit.

    https://refer.virginmobileusa.com/FHSf0r
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