I recently tested a Moto X from Republic Wireless, and was so impressed that before getting around to writing this review I have already bought one from them. I’ll be buying the second as soon as I am free from the chains of my old AT&T contract, which happens next month. In the 5 years that we have been iPhone users this is the first time I have been happy about dropping my iPhone….
Our household has been running on iPhones since 2009, we would typically wait until our 2 year window was up before upgrading, but had paused at the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 respectively. As both are a little dated, I opted to compare the tech specs of the 5s with the Moto X.
Technical Specs
When playing with both devices, I found them to be of similar performance quality, this is reflected in their technical specs below. I find this interesting as I wouldn’t have thought of the Moto X to be a top tier phone, but it really is a solid device.
Money Matters
The real reason that I wanted out of AT&T was money, I was tired of receiving a bill each month for $135 for our two phones. Republic Wireless offers 4 different plans, we will likely select one 3G and one 4G for our family as I want that extra speed when on the go. Note that you can swap plans once twice a month also.
The unlimited aspect of the cellular internet is actually focused on 5GB, if you exceed that then you will be throttled down to 2G speeds for that month, however they give you a free pass on exceeding it once in every 6 month period. I’ve only exceeded 5G once on my iPhone, but I was using cellular at home rather than running off wifi at the time too.
Monthly Expense
Despite the upfront cost of the device being $299 rather than $199 the reduced monthly costs make a breakeven point of month 3, after which your annual outflows have been reduced.
Carrier Technology
Republic Wireless uses three different technology platforms:
- Wifi – whenever possible it will jump onto a Wifi network to run your calls without relying on cellular data.
- Primary Carrier – when not on Wifi, Republic Wireless will seek out the Sprint 4G (or 3G) network to run on, it is a MVNO that uses excess bandwidth from the primary carrier.
- Roaming – when not on Wifi, and there is no Sprint coverage, Republic Wireless will join a roaming network.
I found Sprints coverage excellent, but obviously this is location specific. When I trialed the Moto X on a road trip I had service with Republic Wireless when I did not with AT&T.
International
Currently, you can only dial into the 48 states and Canada with this handset. If you are calling internationally then it wouldn’t work for you. Personally, when I need to dial international numbers I tend to use a Skype app. If you simply must be able to dial Internationally then this is a weakness of the currently structure. Interestingly, on the reverse side, when traveling overseas you jump onto Wifi and can call back to the US for free, which is a great feature. Your habits will dictate whether this offers a viable solution for you.
Number Porting
We ported over the number from AT&T with ease, you just need the account number from your AT&T bill (which can be accessed online also) and a quick form here will get the number migrated. They recommend checking your eligibility to transfer first with their tool here.
Contacts Porting
To port the contacts from the iPhone you simply sync it within iTunes, then export that to Google, there is a guide that explains in more detail here – but it really is about 2 seconds longer than that.
Summary
Republic Wireless is a great alternative to AT&T, or any of the traditional carriers, it is emerging as a leader in the MVNO sector, but it isn’t the only option out there, be sure to check out other potential alternatives to see what might be best for you, such as Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, TracFone etc. I haven’t reviewed those products so can’t compare them.
I think the only areas for improvement that I am looking for from Republic’s pricing is that they don’t have a great family plan, it seems to be best for single people, but in our case as a two cellphone family we are still coming out ahead after just a couple of months by making the switch, plus we are getting a better phone than the Iphone 4 and 5 that we are currently running. With no contract, and lower monthly expenses, this is one more string cut away, and another step towards financial freedom.
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I switched my family to RW earlier this year. The DW and I have a MotoX and DD has a MotoG. Have had issues with the G but really like my service on the X. Went from $200 to $100 a month
Good stuff- I haven’t tried the G but the X seemed solid to me too.
It sounds really good, Matt.
But the two things that will keep us harnessed to ATT and our iPhones are these: international calling, and free iPhone-iPhone texts and facetime, even internationally.
It’s HUGE to me to be able to send my daughter a text, and even more huge, when Skype is being cranky, to be able to facetime with her and the baby.
I will mention this to our son and DIL, tho, who don’t have those particular concerns.
If you call to international numbers a lot maybe not ideal, but calling/texting home to the US is fine on wifi as I understand it (haven’t tried personally)
Yes. I have personal experience with this. Last year I called using WiFi from several countries in Asian back to the US without a problem. Texting was great on WiFi also. Oddly enough u was even able to use cellular in Singapore.
Google Hangouts dialer was recently released and is a game changer. In addition to calling any number in the US and Canada for free, you can make international calls. And unlike most similar apps, the recipient does not need to have the Hangouts app installed. It works like a traditional phone, but per minute rates apply. This basically means you can have RW’s Moto X or G and be able to make intl’ calls.
Still doesn’t address the FaceTime, tho. Learning, at a tennis tournament (DH plays 3.5 league) that there’s a sad baby who’d like to see me, and talking to him face to face from the tourney is pretty darned wonderful.
You obviously don’t understand that Skype and Google Hangouts are video chatting platforms that work on ALL devices, including iPhones. You can use any device, even a computer, to make a video call to an iPhone by using Google Hangouts, Skype, ooVoo, Tango, or whatever video chatting application you want to use. It’s free. And it might not be FaceTime but it certainly works with iPhones, too. So, yes, you can use an android phone to join your baby via video while away at tennis tournaments.
Yup. DD and her family are in Italy; so the fact that we can facetime is really important.
Yep- makes sense then.
Have you tried hangouts? It works across most (if not all) platforms for both text and video calls.
Is it an app? I haven’t had a ton of success with most of the add ons like viber and whatsapp–they seem pretty buggy.
Skype is a pretty solid app. FaceTime is basically a rip-off of Skype and can’t even do half of the things that Skype has been able to do for years.
Two of my close friends use RW and I’m interested in making the jump next year when my ATT contract is over. One feature I’m hoping that RW has sooner or later is short code texts. For example, there are some sites I use for 2-step verification when signing in, or I get updates from my banks, and I’ve read on the community boards and elsewhere that this is
hmm.. I wasn’t aware of that, will look into it.
Correct. At this long short codes aren’t supported. Not a big deal in my book. I just use Google voice for the few times I need it. Or if I only need to get incoming, or is a Sprint phone number that is associated with my RW account. I can have texts sent to that from sorry code numbers and they receive into my phone just fine.
Here is the RW article.
https://community.republicwireless.com/mobile/mobile-access.jspa#jive-content?content=%2Fapi%2Fcore%2Fv3%2Fcontents%2F64799
I was on straight talk for awhile (but switched to TMo for international data) – pretty good plan at $40/month. Saved a ton of money. I can attest though, I could no longer 2-step verify my bank stuff, a lot of the non-contract plans for some reason seem to block them. RW jumping on wifi is an interesting addition though
We just got a moto g on Selectel wireless (reseller of Verizon). Wete on a plan that is $75 for up to a year! I signed up for it in Feb. And still are on it. They do have plans with data also. Only downside is no 4g which was OK for us
Cool. But moto x is 720p see: http://www.motorola.com/us/FLEXR1-1/Moto-X/FLEXR1.html
Good catch- thanks! Will adjust.
So – I just double checked and I see:
Camera specs
Rear Camera
10MP Clear Pixel (RGBC) / LED Flash / 1080p HD video (30 fps)
(Slow Motion Capture 720p 60fps)
From https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/answers/prod_answer_detail/a_id/94877/p/30,6720,8696/kw/camera%20settings/action/auth
I think he was talking about the Moto x screen display.
Display
4.7″ AMOLED (RGB) / HD 720p
Corning® Gorilla® Glass
^ copied from the link. And also, you can switch your contracts twice a month, not just once.
I can’t see where I wrote the screen was 1080? Thanks for the point on switching contracts, will double check.
I am a widow age seventy-two who has never had a cell phone. Is this service feasible for me? Is there a forum to address basic issues for the inexperienced user? I’m looking for voice, text, photos, photo handling, etc., minimal data. I would appreciate multiple responses with your opinions. Thanks, Jeanne
It’s not as neat as going with a big carrier, but if you are willing to try, the forum at republic wireless would try to help you.
Thank you, Matt. Any other opinions or input? I can use all the advice I can get.
My mother (turning 70 this year) used one of the “flip phones” for a good ten or so years. She was paying $50 a month to Verizon to continue to use it when I converted her and my brother to Republic Wireless. She had been used to a phone with physical buttons, a more cursor-oriented interface like a personal computer, etc., so when we got her the new smartphone, it was difficult at first. We helped her out when we could, but really it was just a matter of trial and error. The only thing that will prevent you from learning to use it over time is if you say to yourself “I don’t want to mess with it because I’m worried I’ll do something wrong.” My mother called me by mistake a dozen times when she first got the phone. There were many times when I would call her and she wouldn’t answer (she was looking at the phone trying to figure out how to “pick up the phone!”), but I just kept calling back until she figured it out. It’s been a year and she doesn’t have these problems anymore.
Also, here is a forum where you can browse topics and search for answers. I’ve never had a problem with my Republic Wireless phone that I wasn’t able to get answered by searching in the forum. https://community.republicwireless.com/welcome
Yes, it is convenient to be able to go into an AT&T store and (after waiting 30 minutes for your turn) pepper the sales associate with questions about your phone and how to use it. But that costs the company money, and that cost is reflected in the price. I love that I am able to have a fully functioning phone and text service and use data at home, work and coffee shops (where I have WiFi) for around $12.50 a month ($10 + taxes/fees) instead of a minimum of $60/month like the cheaper places charge. So, searching through the forum can be a little frustrating and time-consuming if you want an answer now, but you can also post questions yourself and people tend to be helpful.
I hope this helps!
Great perspective, thanks Tom.
Thank you very much Tom. I am leaning even more toward going with republic. Do you have a recommendation on which phone would be most trouble free? Or which one to avoid?