AT&T Community Forums

AT&T PREPAID vs. Cricket

Cricket is owned by AT&T, Cricket is cheaper, and Cricket uses the AT&T network, so I thought why not switch to Cricket. I read on the forum that AT&T has faster download speeds.

I've also been hearing that the cell reception is not the same. A friend who has AT&T was in the remote Santa Cruz mountains, and he had cellphone service for calls and internet, but others who had Cricket, T-Mobile, and Sprint had no service.

Are there other disadvantages with going with Cricket?

Responses

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

sandblaster

ACE - Expert

•

64.7K Messages

5 years ago

The Difference Between Cricket and AT&T, is that Cricket does not have Hidden Fees like AT&T does. Cricket is no contract and both of these company are PARTNERSHIPS AND RUN OF THE SAME TOWERS, NO LESS OR MORE, BOTH COMPANY GET THE SAME AMOUNT. HINT PARTNERSHIPS!

@Cricketpartner1 Lots of inaccurate information there. There is no partnership, ATT owns Cricket. Also, Cricket is prepaid. Compare Cricket to ATT Prepaid and you’ll see very little difference. What you claim to be “hidden fees” is just the difference between postpaid and prepaid. There are no hidden fees and all ATT service, both postpaid and prepaid, is no contract.

1

K

kbox

New Member

•

1 Message

In recent research What I have found is not only is it your service provider, but the phone you have.I suggest you look on your provider's page n see which phones have roaming with there COMPANY. better question to ask is do you need a special phone for roaming. Do not call n ask some one because in my recent research I have found that they all say no n that all phones roam. however 4 Some reason while in my house my phone but go to Roman. Called the phone company they tell me I need to buy a new phone and it would give me better service. I also used to have a service at my mom's house up North then I got a different phone and no longer had Service. So we should lay I purchased 2 new phones from my company and I still Good network they went into roaming,. However I don't walk right outside my house and it would work fine. Show after purchasing 2 new phones I started to do more research. Even though my address actually showed that it had coverage. which I did as long as I went out side. I put my parents address. it showed no coverage with almost all cellphone companies. some showed they had roaming available. so I ask fo you need a special phone? WOW! Low n behold it said yes. so I took to my phone company again n asked that question, I was told no. when I told them What to look up and the computer, They were surprised big. Let me say to you that I have not just spoke to one representative I had spent many many hours on the phone. I even went in to the store while I was there it turned out 1 of our corporate reps for their They spent hours on the phone trying to fix my problem funny thing is is that the th Phone I had just bought purchased The 2nd phone is actually also making up for their store.lol! Anyway I also told d(Edited per community guidelines)rs in a kid there and the corporate rep and they were both surprised they looked it up online and couldn't believe it was true. I actually ended up purchasing a phone through Amazon. just so I could see if my idea was correct. because even though I paid full price for both of my phones from Boost, I was not allowed to transfer them to another service provider. they told me I had to stay with them for another 12 months. I have been with them for years like 20yrs. between Boost n sprint, which by the way own boost. Up until a few years ago I was always pleased with my service. I'm thinking I no longer purchased the most expensive phones. I bought either the upgrade or mid grade. I'm not saying you have to buy the expensive phones, you just need to make sure that you have a phone that you're phone company website says it roams. also, I'm not saying the page wear you purchased your phone . I'm saying example boost,AT$T great company by the way. best I found so far.home page ask if u need a special phone 4 roaming. I got a Samsung 9+ with 2yr. warranty 4 350.00 Amazon. unlocked. Good luck, be safe, God bless.
Kbox64;-)

(edited)

Like

4 years ago

0

formerlyknownas

ACE - Sage

•

117.1K Messages

8 years ago

Cricket, like other prepaid carriers, requires you buy your own phone. No payment plan is offered.

Crickets poor reception is due to 2 possible reasons;

1. ATT postpaid uses both ATT and partner towers. Prepaid GoPhone and Cricket may use ATT towers only.

2. ATT postpaid is prioritized first.

0

A

Anonymous

New Member

•

25.7K Messages

8 years ago

AT&T Wireless customers get a number of advantages versus those who go with Cricket (Cricket is also owned by AT&T). I currently have a AT&T Wireless (Business Premiere) account and also a regular Cricket Wireless account. Here's what I've found as to the two differences.

Cricket Wireless uses the same towers but does not give its customers:

1) CRICKET DOES NOT OFFER - Prioritized Enhanced Calling

Prioritized Calling (AT&T Wireless offers this to their subscribers). If a cellsite gets congested with too many calls a Cricket Wireless customer or other MNVO customers call may sometimes not always go through. Sometimes a Cricket Wireless customers or MNVO customers call is dropped to advance and prioritize a AT&T Wireless customer call being placed or received.

2) CRICKET DOES NOT OFFER - Offer HD Calling

AT&T Wireless provides customers with High Definition (HD Calling) for those with newer phones or phones which accomodate such. Clarity is certainly enhanced for those who have a difficult time hearing when it comes to cell phone clarity. Cricket Wireless does not offer HD Calling.

3) CRICKET DOES NOT OFFER - Wi-Fi Calling

AT&T Wireless customers which own iPhone 6, or the iPhone 6S can utilize wi-fi calling. If a customer has home wi-fi internet, the customer can request AT&T to turn their phones wi-fi calling feature. This allows an AT&T Wireless Customer which may have signal issues inside the home or office to utilize their wi-fi internet for receiving/making calls or sending text messages.

4) CRICKET DOES NOT - Offer continuous 4G LTE Service

AT&T Wireless customers which have 4G LTE phones generally always remain on 4G LTE Network all the time for superior call and service coverage however Cricket Wireless customers may receive 4G LTE or 4g or even 3g service depending on the time of the day when the network has its heaviest usage consumption. FYI - One minute a Cricket Wireless customer can be on 4G LTE, or the next minute 4g or 3g. I've experienced this on my Cricket Wireless phone constantly. This does not happen on my AT&T phone nor usually with a AT&T Wireless Customer (but certainly can depending upon network consumption).

5) CRICKET DOES NOT - Higher Upload/Download Speeds

My AT&T Wireless service dances around my Cricket Wireless service speed when it comes to download and upload. When it comes to streaming on Cricket Wireless I really dont notice any issue, however my AT&T Wireless service is much more faster.

6) CRICKET DOES NOT - HotSpot

My AT&T Wireless phone and plan allows me to use my phone's built-in HotSpot. Cricket Wireless does not allow its customers to use HotSpot.

Remember. One alway's generally gets what they pay for! Even though Cricket Wireless offers maybe less costs, it has to reduce its services and its features to be able to offer lower price plans.

0

formerlyknownas

ACE - Sage

•

117.1K Messages

8 years ago

No monthly payment plans to buy phones. Cricket has a few bargain phones with a few bucks off for activation, but you have to buy phones at full price.

0

dvdlgh

Tutor

•

4 Messages

7 years ago

According to a Rep at the AT&T store postpaid and prepaid (Gophone) coverage is the same as both postpaid and prepaid use AT&T and partner towers. Postpaid has priority during congestion. Cricket uses AT&T towers only resulting in less coverage and download speed is limited to 8 mbps. Postpaid and Gophone have priority during congestion.

0

firefly1336

Contributor

•

1 Message

7 years ago

I came across a situation where a friend of mine has cricket and I have at&t go phone and we both have the same phone. On a trip in Colorado, there were times I got no service and yet he did. Why would that be?

0

dvdlgh

Tutor

•

4 Messages

7 years ago

GoPhone gets AT&T roaming just like AT&T postpaid. Cricket doesn't. My own experience has shown me the same and A Rep from an AT&T Corporate store the same thing.

0

Gary L

ACE - Expert

•

16.5K Messages

7 years ago

@firefly1336 wrote:

I came across a situation where a friend of mine has cricket and I have at&t go phone and we both have the same phone. On a trip in Colorado, there were times I got no service and yet he did. Why would that be?

Look at the different coverage maps for GoPhone and Cricket for the location you were at, are the maps the same?

0

EK7721

Tutor

•

6 Messages

7 years ago

Points of clarification:
1. Cricket does hotspot if your phone is hotspot compatible, but not available on unlimited plan. ATT offers hotspot only on unlimited plus prepaid.
2. I've never had 3g or 4g service, only LTE with Cricket.

3. Cricket is just as fast as ATT prepaid.

Obviously some difference is to be expected prepaid vs. postpaid, but the savings are worth it to me.

0

formerlyknownas

ACE - Sage

•

117.1K Messages

7 years ago

@dvdlgh wrote:
GoPhone gets AT&T roaming just like AT&T postpaid. Cricket doesn't. My own experience has shown me the same and A Rep from an AT&T Corporate store the same thing.

@dvdlgh

Incorrect. Gophone and all other prepaid CANNOT ROAM or has LIMITED ROAMING. ATT Gophone can roamin Canada and Mexico only.

0

1
2
3
4
5

AT&T Community Forums

jlee0909