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3.7

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: June 13th, 2023

Virgin Mobile is a provider of non-contract cellular phone and wireless services. It is a wholly owned brand of Sprint and has been providing telecommunications products in the United States since 2002 using the wireless Sprint 1900 MHz PCS, CDMA, and digital network. 

The company provides customers with branded handsets and broadband devices, which are sold through the company's website or at 40,000 retail brand locations. In fact, Virgin Mobile has one of the largest storefront presences among wireless provider companies. Customers can also get Virgin Mobile products at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target, Wal-Mart, and many convenience stores.

It is easy for customers to purchase “top-up” cards at more than 150,000 locations throughout the country. 

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The Good

  • "Unlimited" Service Plans
  • Add-Ons
  • Simple Payment System
  • Variety of Phone Options
  • Member Benefits

"Unlimited" Service Plans

Virgin Mobile makes it easy for a customer to get set up with an affordable cellular phone or another wireless device with calling, text messages, and data. The company doesn't require an annual phone contract and has a 7-day, no-questions-asked return and refund agreement period if customers are unsatisfied.

Virgin Mobile offers three unlimited plan options. Note that after using the allotted LTE for each plan, Virgin's terms state that data speeds are then reduced to 2G.

  • For $35/month your phone plan comes with unlimited talk, data, and text with 5GB of mobile data.
  • For $45/month, you get unlimited text, talk, and data plus 10 GB of high-speed 4G LTE data. Also, the client gets 100 international minutes and unlimited international texting.
  • For $60/month, your cell phone plan gets unlimited everything, including unlimited 4G LTE data.

Add-Ons

The carrier caters to additional needs and preferences by offering add-ons for mobile hotspot, phone insurance, and international calling.

  • Mobile hotspot — Share data with up to five devices (starting at $3/day)
  • Phone insurance —  Protect your device against damage, theft, or loss ($7/month per device)
  • International calling —  Make unlimited calls to Canada and Mexico and choose from 70+ other countries for more coverage (starting at $5/month)

Simple Payment System

In addition to providing a number of service plans, Virgin Mobile also makes it easy for customers to pay their bill. Customers can get a top-up card at any of the 150,000 stores throughout the United States and add money to their current balance. This lets you pay for your phone however you'd like. You can even pay your monthly charge on your phone; there is no need to log onto an online account for you to pay with your top-up card.

Plus, it's easy to change your plan if you want more or less data, talk, or text.

Variety of Phone Options

Another thing customers enjoy with Virgin Mobile is the variety of phones available. Even though there aren't Windows or BlackBerry phones, there are several Apple smartphone and Android device options to choose from. The cost listed for most of the phones listed is significantly less than the suggested retail price. Additionally, there is also an affordable $19.99 basic flip phone that customers can use if they only need standard calling and texting (Alcatel GO FLIP).

Device brands include:

  • Alcatel
  • Apple
  • Coolpad
  • LG
  • moto
  • Motorola
  • Samsung
  • ZTE

To assist during the phone selection process, Virgin Mobile includes customer reviews of each specific phone model available online. This information helps prospective customers choose the phone that will work best for their situation.

If you want to bring your iPhone, you have the option to do so by ordering a Virgin Mobile iPhone SIM card for $9.99. Most iPhone versions work with Virgin Mobile, but make sure to check your phone's compatibility before purchasing a SIM card.

Unfortunately, you cannot bring your own non-Apple current cell phone to Virgin Mobile.

Member Benefits

In addition to network coverage and phone services, Virgin Mobile rewards customers with a number of member perks (at no additional cost) with its partners. Partnerships and deals are subject to change but benefits have included discounts for Virgin Hotels, Virgin Wines, Turo car rentals, Priceline hotel reservations, Papa John's pizza, Shaw Academy online courses, and even SoFi student loan refinancing (0.125% discount).

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The Bad

  • 4G LTE Speeds Actually Limited
  • Coverage Gaps
  • User Complaints

4G LTE Speeds Actually Limited

The word "unlimited" is somewhat misrepresentative when applied to the two cheaper unlimited plans. Even though the carrier advertises unlimited data, there is actually significant data throttling if a customer goes over the stipulated quota for the month. Customers have noted that data was incredibly slow (reduced to 2G speeds) on their phone after using the LTE GBs available with their specific plans.

Coverage Gaps

Though Virgin Mobile's network reaches 99% of people, some areas of the country, such as most of Montana and Wyoming, don't have voice coverage through Virgin's network. In some other places there is only very basic data plan coverage or voice coverage, meaning that if a customer is traveling to communities outside their normal coverage area, they might not be able to easily get a signal for their phone.

User Complaints

Customer reviews describe some potential challenges to be aware of:

  • Customer service communication issues
  • Poor coverage as compared with other carriers
  • Device issues

If customers have a problem, they can request assistance from the company seven days a week between 7:00 AM-9:00 PM CST.

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The Bottom Line

Virgin Mobile's strengths lie in its simplicity: simple plans, a simple payment system, and a straightforward inventory of phones and available services. Many customers are more than content with what Virgin Mobile can provide.

However, its less-than-perfect coverage, 4G LTE data limits, extra international fees, and lack of a multi-line family and friends discount should give potential customers pause.

Read through verified Virgin Mobile reviews on our site below for further insights.

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Star Rating

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3.1

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44 Reviews

Review Breakdown

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20%

4 grade

25%

3 grade

25%

2 grade

5%

1 grade

25%

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Emily Hugo, MN

I called Virgin Mobile to ask if there are payment plans lower than the 35$/month I was currently paying. They responded that yes, there are. One of the options is paying 10$/month for I believe 5,000 texts, unlimited calling, but no data. I was honestly fine with THAT option, but then the customer service person offered another option that he seemed to really want me to have. This other option was 30 dollars a month, and they would allow me to keep ALL of the benefits I currently had (unlimited talk, texting, and data). I said that would be great, because money is currently really tight right now. THEN, the customer service person said something I was not expecting at all. They said they would pay this month's cell phone bill for me!!!!!!! I was so grateful, I wanted to cry!!!! Wonderful, amazing customer service!!!! This company really cares about their customers and it shows!!! 10/10 would recommend virgin mobile!!!!!This gentleman couldn't be any kinder and more compassionate than he already was. He was so respectful to me and really cared about me, and he doesn't even know me!!! I wish I caught his name.

5 years ago

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Persephone Tenorio Rocky Ford, CO

Been with Virgin Mobile for many years and started with their unlimited data and text with minutes for calling. Due to being a loyal customer, they would up the minute limit and eventually granted me unlimited everything for the same price. They also upped my data usage limit which made me feel like a valued customer. The biggest downside to Virgin Mobile is their lack of coverage nationwide. It works well where I live now in Southeast Colorado, but unfortunately my new home in Northern California has terrible connection so I will have to make a switch to a different carrier. Would stay with Virgin Mobile if I could!

4 years ago

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Sarah Renfrow Portland, OR

I have had Virgin Mobile cell service for 7 years. Over that time period I have had probably 3 different phones. I have never had any problems with the service at all. I use my phone for both business and personal use, travel throughout several states, and signal/reception has never been a problem. I use the $35/month plan and have never had any problem with billing. On the rare occasions that I have had to contact the company, customer service has been good.

6 years ago

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Eileen R White Philadelphia, PA

I Believe Virgin Mobile is one of the best cell phone companies out and the reason is they work with there customers when times I couldn't pay my bill they would give be one month free or half I would pay and they would pay the other half what Virgin Mobile have learn is how to keep there customers happy and long term

4 years ago

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Becky

I have been with Virgin Mobile almost 8 years now and I am somewhat satisfied with the service overall. The service has never been up to par in my area since I have been with them since 2009, but in other areas in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex seem to be just fine . Whenever I need to speak with customer service, they have always been friendly and helpful to me. I never recall being on the phone for very long waiting for the next available to rep...usually within a couple minutes at most. The phones to choose from are are ok I guess. Like another person who rated said that some seem to be second hand Sprint phones, and that Boost Mobile that also is a Sprint sister company does seem to offer more phones and better prices at times, too. I am with the company mainly because the service is very affordable even if at times their service signal is not always up to par in my area. The service and phones are in no way bad enough for me to leave. Maybe one day I will seek into another service provider, but not anytime soon.

6 years ago

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Anthony Lodi, NJ

Virgin Mobile has been my cell phone provider for nearly 7 years, but by no means does that mean I love the company. It's just not costly. I use the $35 dollar plan, and what you see is what you get. It's $35 dollars plus tax. However, with that cheap cost comes cheap phones,Sprint hand-me-downs, and a few flagship phones. They sell out quickly of phones, so if you have a phone that you want, then buy it asap. They take forever to restock their supply. Not to mention, their phones range in price with huge gaps. You may be able to get a smart phone for $70 or $80 dollars, with no clue as to the phone's quality, or you'll see that they have the newest iPhone and last generation's Galaxy S5, but very little in between. So if you wanted to drop some money on a "good enough smart phone", you'd be hard-pressed to find on. This is strange, since their sister company, Boost Mobile, has a very wide range of phones and plans. Customer service isn't bad. They are very honest, and in my experience, try very hard to make sure that you are satisfied. However, if your phone has a manufacturer's defect and your phone still falls under the company's 1 year warranty, they will make you pay a $25 dollar fee to cover the cost the manufacturer's processing fee. Service is nothing spectacular, but it isn't bad. For $35 dollars a month, you get what you pay for. However, it does show the short -comings of the sprint network, as I live in a pretty populated area of New York State and the service drops, and is sometimes none existent. So if you are lost and without WiFi, you may be upset by the GPS functionality on your phone. Also, if you go past the data cap for your month, your data speed gets dropped to 2g speeds, and with speeds comparable to dial-up, it makes loading a 21st century webpage a very annoying experience. For Virgin Mobile, what you see is what you get, and I appreciate that philosophy, but they are lacking in many areas. However, if you manage to find a phone and you don't mind the quality, or you can afford an iPhone, and you don't mind inconstant nature of the Sprint Network, or you always have WiFi, and you don't mind paying a fee for a phone that is under warranty- than Virgin Mobile is right for you. It is a solid performer in the prepaid market, and in my experience, has gotten better, but still is not that good. With Sprint, I can't imagine them getting better any time soon. However, it still seems to be the prepaid company with the most bang for your buck. If you do not want a contract, and are wary of the T-Mobile's Uncarrier philosophy, then Virgin Mobile might be your best bet.

8 years ago

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McKinzie Figueroa Provo, UT

I have used Virgin Mobile for years. I originally signed up for it as a teenager because I could not afford much else. I really liked how affordable it was, but ultimately had to cancel because the area of coverage was not very good. I would not get service in places where my family members (who had Verizon) would. I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a cheap and affordable service.

5 years ago

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August Moulton Lehi, UT

I had virgin mobile for years. The only reason I switched was because my husband’s employer used a different service and it was easier for us to use the same provider. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back as I never had a single issue that wasn’t resolved quickly. Customer service was great and billing was simple.

5 years ago

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Dee Farquharson Washington, DC

I had Virgin Mobile for years. I like that they were constantly getting new phones for purchase. They were pretty cool. Topping up minutes for the phone was little expensive, but i could usually catch a deal at Target or Walmart. It's a part of Sprint so customer service was pretty much the same as Sprint's. Connection could be spotty and I had issues receiving pictures via MMS on some devices; buying the high end devices was the solution I was given (which i didn't opt for )

5 years ago

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Carrie Ross

Virgin supplies decent products and service. The app is user friendly and they have a few member perks that I rarely use and contests that I probably will never win. The cost of the service is higher than it needs to be.

4 years ago

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Catherine Tucker

Bunch of thieves.... Upgraded my phone and added on a Nintendo Switch for my Nephew for Christmas. Got it out of the box checked it and screen was ok and switched on.. thought it was ok. Came to Christmas and the charger port is broken. Called Virgin Mobile only 14 days return and Nintendo will deal with it after 30 days but will cost me £157 to repair. They are not interested in dealing with the complaint and basically told me it wasn't their problem.... If I could afford to buy out my contract would. Will never do another contract with them and just switched my home provider as well. Well done Mr B on sitting on your private island while providing the worst service ever....

4 years ago

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Jerry Hosner

I love the customer support and the service. That said I just discovered that they do not offer wifi calling even on their post paid plans. I would like to have known this going in.

4 years ago

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Crystal Buford, GA

I have been virgin mobile customer for a long time, the service is not very good but not too bad. So paid full for a XR and activated in February. But the service is so bad on the new phone , basically you pay monthly fee for no service, so need unlock the phone to get better service. But Virgin Mobile won’t unlock the phone till 12 month payment done, that is crazy, even you discounted the service, you wasted almost a thousand dollars on the phone. So please do not use Virgin Mobile or Sprint family services. If I could, I would give them a “0”. There is no service for the money you pay and the customer service is absolutely horrible, hanged up on me period.

4 years ago

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Dennae J Sutphin Dayton, OH

Been with VM for 1.5 years. Device broke, so they replaced it (1.5 yr old device). I wasn't told I had to return my old device. They suspended my service after telling me they wouldn't when I told them I would return the broken device. "Colby" lied and told me that if I returned device and gave them the confirmation # my device would not be suspended. It's a work and personal phone. I already lost an estimated 2000 dollars of work when my device broke and it took them 4 days to solve the issue and send me a new phone. (I paid $30 for shipping and they charged my bank card twice. I had to file an unauthorized transaction with my bank to solve the issue as VM told me it was my bank's fault in which it was VM's fault). It took 5 days to receive the phone via USPS when I was told it would take 2 days. After about a month I received a text from VM telling me my service would be suspended the next day if they didn't receive the broken phone. I'm now without service and work again. Thanks VM. I will be taking my business else where.

5 years ago

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R Fitzner

Virgin is the worst company I have ever dealt with. The customer support team is entirely based in the Philippines, they sell to you with local salespeople, but when you have problems you get referred to their "Customer Care" department. The customer care department appears to be entirely based in the Philippines I called them over 12 times trying to set up a payment plan, over three different departments every staff member was a non local, who's english while passable made the specifics of the issues difficult to communicate. Their overages are insane, if you ever get caught roaming or using anything an inch beyond what your contract allows for they will nail you with hundreds of dollars of overages. Then they will call your house and mobile phone, spam your e-mail, and otherwise bully you until you pay them in full. I made the mistake of not realizing the Wifi at the university campus I was on didn't extend to the food court while doing some high bandwidth work over several days. I used an additional 2.5 gigabytes of data and they charged me 250$. More than 3x my plan for my phone and two gigs a month combined! When I called them and mentioned that 4.5 gigabytes of data normally costs around 120$ a month, they told me that I was contractually obligated and that there was nothing they were willing to do. Then told me they would go to collections if I didn't pay them by the end of the month. They also lied to me over the phone when on my 5th referral to a new department (getting passed around until I gave up) I advised them I would be recording my call for use in court, as they were refusing to help me. They then told me it was illegal to record my conversation with them, which it is not! "The Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46 [Criminal Code] imposes a general prohibition on interception (recording) of private communications, but then provides an exception where one of the parties to the private communication consents to the interception of that communication." You are allowed (without even asking for permission!) to record any conversation to which you are a party to. However they refuse and have the company policy of not allowing conversations by their customer care team to be recorded, and will lie and tell you to do so is illegal. I was offered a record of an online chat I had with one of their team members, I said yes please, but made sure to take photos and videos of the chat from my computer at the same time. The chat they sent me was doctored to hide all charges, all dates, and all names. Making it completely useless. They edited away anything conspicuous. Then, they tried to take an additional payment out of my account when I turned off pre-authorized payments. If you try and turn them off the system will still withdraw one more payment unless you deal with hours of phone calls to get them to disable it. They are rude, unprofessional, and care nothing for their clients. I will never ever be a customer for them ever again.

5 years ago

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Jeff Chagnard

Have been with Virgin Mobile (VM) for over 10 years now and have always been a loyal customer. Recently VM decided to only sell iPhones and eventually do away with all android phones. For this, and this alone they will be loosing my business. To assume that all customers are interested in using apple products is a mistake as there are plenty of people (myself included) that will not use apple products.

5 years ago

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Pat Gustafson Las Vegas, NV

VM discontinued service without warning due to a network upgrade at sprint in the middle of my billing cycle. Was told I had to purchase a new phone and calling plan to reestablish service. I complained and they offered a refund of the last billing month ( I hadn't used even a fourth of my voice minutes for the month). I then quit virgin mobile and went with a different carrier assuming I had the refund coming. Received voice mail that my refund was cancelled as I had made too many calls, even though I paid for minutes not calls. Classic bait and switch tactic. I still can't figure out why they didn't just discontinue service at the end of my billing cycle; instead they took my monthly payment first and then discontinued the service.

5 years ago

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Hyrum Sandy, UT

As far as cell phone plans, they're on the cheaper side. Overall, I was happy with my plan, though some months I bumped up really close to my data limit, which was unpleasant.

6 years ago

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Humzah

Being a paying customer for almost 10 years, Virgin Mobile has always provided me great deals in texts, calls, wifi deals and phone offers. Their customer service is also really efficient.

4 years ago

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Bridget Walker Gulfport, MS

Virgin Mobile was one of the first cell phone services I ever had. They were an average service. I was living in the country and the service went in and out too much. It wasn't the right service for me.

1 year ago

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dart

my contract with virgin mobile end they still charged me the rate with contracts , I called them to correct the rate they do not things ,they blame me did not call them before , I speak to manager , he do the same thing ,I feel been rip off , very poor service , I wish I can give them no star , I am going to other company after stay with them over 2 years

5 years ago

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A Customer Conifer, CO

Lotsa of service issues, poor coverage, and absolutely abysmal customer service. You can almost never get through to tech support, if you do they are ignorant and run you through the same reboots until the ticket is finally escalated. You never hear back.

5 years ago

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Marge Morana Rochester, NY

Have had service about one month. Dropped call, voice distortion, static, breaking, bad connectivity, volume so low other end can't be heard, can't access voicemail, voicemail does no download, networking problems, on and on. Unpredictability, unreliability is unbelievable. Attempting to change service, but even this is difficult, due to communication problems with this service. Customer service is of no help.

6 years ago

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Dwhoush Slidell, LA

This was my first cell phone I ever had! The service was decent but the flexibility of the different plans helped a lot. Being a prepaid service, it really helped. Also, the customer service was always great!

4 years ago

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Joseph Tempe, AZ

I like Virgin Mobile, the plans are very affordable and the service is excellent

9 months ago

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Tina Clark Fort Wayne, IN

They sent me a JUNK iPhone and blamed ME for the imperfections! I will contact better business bureau on BRIGHTSTAR AND VIRGIN MOBILE next week, if they don't send me a usable phone !!! IF THEY MAKE IT RIGHT, I'll take this bad review off.

6 years ago

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Lindsey American Fork, UT

Virgin Mobile is a good option for children or teenagers just starting out with phones. It was a cheap option for me just starting out with a phone.

6 years ago

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Rai Durant Tallahassee, FL

The perfect first phone company for my children. I am able to keep track of their minutes while ensuring they have a durable phone!

4 years ago

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Dasha Directo Provo, UT

We bought my grandma a plan with Virgin Mobile. It's great for those grandparent aged people. The service wasn't too great though. My grandma's call wouldn't catch at certain places.

5 years ago

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Lisa Fitzgerald Emmett, ID

I think they are marvelous. They are always available to help me out with anything.

4 years ago

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Tony's Babygirl Staton St Louis, MO

Ok company, doesn't have very wide service range in areas. Plans are reasonable.

1 year ago

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Paul St. Petersburg, FL

It works and everything is cheaper than ATT & works better yhan Verizon

4 years ago

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Jeanine Crawford Valencia, CA

Need more people that speak "American" English. It's too time consuming, repeating etc.

4 years ago

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Jackie Palm Coast, FL

Their very attentive when i need them. I seldom have any difficulty.

5 years ago

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Thomas Kirby Glen Allen, VA

Good price. iPhone support. Good service. Reliable network.

5 years ago

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Mary Sweeney

They are reliable. They don't drop calls. Their price is reasonable.

5 years ago

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Isabel Managua, MN

Virgin Mobile is okay. The service only works in certain locations, but it’s good for the low price.

4 years ago

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Christina Shumway Managua, MN

Virgin mobile has okay service. It can be really spotty at times and doesn’t work in certain locations.

4 years ago

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Darius Williams Alexandria, VA

Pretty good service at an affordable cost. Reception can be spotty at times but you get what you pay for

5 years ago

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Anonymous Damascus, MD

Haven't had problems and get good coverage

5 years ago

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Rebecca Managua, MN

Virgin mobile doesn’t have very good service. It only works in the city but no where else

4 years ago

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stephen schradin

Horrible customer service I could not reach a operator not matter how many times I tried

6 years ago

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Ursula Shawnee, KS

The worst company in the world! Impossible cancel account!

5 years ago

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Irene

Very poor customer service and phones are not the best

5 years ago