Legally-Speaking, thanks for replying after my reply here.
Just to be as clear as possible:
The main thrust of my message was concerning simple distrust, as I said.
Your listed items 1 & 2 are not any concern here, but #3 very much IS a problem.
I ordered and received one. So it is a real thing and works if that is what you want. My 1Mbps down went up to 15Mbps and that was with the magic box in a poor location (it even said it was poor during setup). I didn't want the big box in my house so sent it back. It is large and heavy and meant to go on a window ledge... no one round here has window ledges. Not sure about the health implications of a magicbox in my house either.
If you want one there is an email address to order. Anyone wants it let me know. You have to have a sprint postpaid line. A free one is okay. And you will have to return it if you stop the line or pay for it.
The good thing about a sprint postpaid line is access to wifi calling. You can't get that on sprint mvnos.
So many have taken this free year of unlimited deal that it is virtually fool proof if you follow the steps. Sprint also has a 14 day cancellation policy if it messes up.
I get that 1 & 2 are not an issue. You said you get "great access via both the Sprint & Verizon networks" on Tello, so I'm confused how 3 is a problem. BTW, Magic Boxes are being used currently. They're on backorder (3 weeks).
With regard to failing to end service before the year expires to avoid the post-promo costs, I know of no smartphone that doesn't have a calendar. Set reminders with alerts in your calendar. Heck, you can set an audible reminder for every day of the month just before the year expires just to be sure. Done and done.
We are Twigby users presently - which fails over to Verizon in non-Sprint areas like ours is.
Mostly our phones get used only when we are away from home & otherwise they stay powered off.
If we do need to use them at home or within about a 50 mile distance from here, the (usually very strong) Verizon signal is used - there is zero Sprint coverage around here.
(This also becomes problematic with getting stuff from them via our home address.)
The bulk of calling & texting for us is done at home via google voice and/or Obi box at zero ongoing cost.
Hello Mmfacemm, and thanks !!
I have strong doubts that we qualify - or that one would do any good here:
As there is zero Sprint coverage all around here & they refuse our address when queried; also this box seems to be device specific & I see no references at their site as to what it connects to or uses for signal ??
Previously we lived about 10 miles from here & where there was no cellular signal of any sort.
Our housemate used an AT&T Microcell booster connected to our ISP & that got hers to work fine, but that was all it could do.
Very cool, this is news to me:
Does this translate to the simple fact of merely needing to be within wifi signal to make calls as if they were on cellular - or does it require some special app and/or tweaking to use this, please ??
I may yet try it:
I only hesitate because a couple of times before, with close deadlines involved, illnesses & other complications forced me to miss them & messed things up, costing extra $$ and so forth.
Perhaps knowing more about the wifi calling will be the tipping point on this deal for me...?
Basically the box just connects itself to the sprint system during setup and then boosts the LTE signal in the area. You just connect to sprint as usual on any of your devices. It will boost the signal for your twigby line too. Anything that connects to sprint. Your next door neighbors might even get a better signal.
I think the box just needs to be able to pick up LTE band 41 or 25. It needs to be very close or at a window. It also only boosts data as they have a different box for voice - airwave I think it is called. Anyone having issues on a sprint postpaid plan should be able to get one if their system thinks your address should be able to get bands 25 or 41. They do a quick check and then send it out.
Wifi calling is supported on certain devices so it depends what you have. If yours is supported you will have a menu for "calling plus" in your phone settings (it will come up automatically if you are on sprint postpaid with a compatible device). So as long as you have a wifi connection it can use that.
Yes I understand that stuff happens. You could always use it for 9 months and cancel early or something. But then if you are happy at Twigby there is little reason to leave. After sampling many mvnos I am of the opinion that if you find one you trust and like then paying extra is okay.
It costs me $3.89 a month in taxes and fees. You get verizon roaming too including 200mb of data a month. So a bit better than twigby there.
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Mmfacemm for being so very helpful & clear !!!
As we are not data users, the Magic Box will not help us - good to know - and AFAIK there is exactly zero Sprint signal around here.
But this great info changes the deal for us in a very good way=>
That low for the fees, etc. INCLUDING the same verizon roaming - now THAT is a winner for what to do with my now useless CN phone - and if the 'gold' from that will also work to cover it for a while, then so much the better !!!
Magic Box is much more than a booster. It's a small cell. Wifi Calling and Calling Plus are two separate and distinct features often mistaken to be the same. Data roaming is capped at 100 mb on the free plan.
Sorry if I wasn't perfectly accurate. I believe that calling plus encompasses wifi calling. If you want to enable wifi calling you select calling plus. At least on my phone. It also has an option for VoLTE so yes you are right that they aren't exactly the same but for this explanation close enough.
Thanks for the correction on the 100mb. Yes you are right.
Keep in mind, your first bill will be a bit more than later bills. Although $30 activation fee is "waived," you have to pay it upfront. It'll be credited back within 2 bill cycles. Rather silly policy, IMHO.
very interesting that on iPhones, they are less picky about specific models of iPhone 6's and SE's.
Apple iPhone 5c (Verizon only)
Apple iPhone 5s (Verizon only)
Apple iPhone 6
Apple iPhone 6 Plus
Apple iPhone 6s
Apple iPhone 6s Plus
Apple iPhone 7 (Verizon only)
Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Verizon only)
Apple iPhone 8 (Verizon only)
Apple iPhone 8 Plus (Verizon only)
Apple iPhone SE
Apple iPhone X (Verizon only)
From the FAQ: "Your $30 activation fee is waived as part of this promotion. The fee will appear on your first bill and a credit will appear within 2 bills."
Back in June/July they launched the one year promo without any fanfare and I must have been one of the first trying to sign up. Anyway I think they launched the page early and by the time I had signed up and ordered the sim they had pulled the whole thing. I freaked out because it seemed way too good to be true and canceled everything. Anyway the page came back up a day or two later ... several weeks after that the success reports flooded in and eventually I decided I wanted to do it again. However the system thought I was already a sprint customer so I couldn't do it online. Hence I needed to call in to purge the old sign up and start again. 2 hours on the phone later I had signed up and at least got to use my own sim to save that cost.