Author Topic: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints  (Read 5145 times)

MichaelB

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Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« on: June 20, 2017, 10:50:38 AM »
I recently made the switch from AT&T to Republic Wireless, and cut my wireless bill $125 per month to $45. I was wondering if anyone had any complaints about Republic at all? I've got a couple, and I would like to know if it's just me or not.

Since switching, I get a LOT of phone calls from scammers/recordings. Like, 4-5 per day. Anyone else have that experience?

Also, the network seems to not be the greatest. Went on a road trip from Charlottesville VA to Louisville KY. All thru West Virginia, there was no Internet. We hadn't run out of data--there was just no access. Yes, we were out in the boonies for a lot of it, but this was even when driving through the state capital. It came back about 20 minutes or so after crossing the border into Kentucky. And it works just fine for us in Charlotte, NC.

Personally, I am okay with these things to save $80 per month (aka $13,800 over the course of the next decade when invested at 7% returns). If I don't recognize a number, it goes to voicemail. And I have experienced no hardships or major inconvenience because of this, but my wife's response to this was  "You get what pay for." So I want to know: does anyone else have any issues with Republic?

RWD

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2017, 10:57:17 AM »
There has been quite a lot of discussion about Republic Wireless on these forums. One somewhat recent example:
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/republic-wireless/

Easy search for more threads: https://www.google.com/search?q=republic+wireless+site%3Aforum.mrmoneymustache.com

Meowmalade

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2017, 11:01:00 AM »
They have an intermediate number that routes to your actual number.  You can call and get that number changed to try to cut down the spam calls.  My husband gets tons of spam texts but it hasn't bothered him enough to call (it would bother me!).

We're on the old Sprint network but you're probably on T-mobile.  My needs are pretty simple but I LOVE that I can go travel internationally, and as long as the wifi is good enough, I can make and accept calls from my normal phone number.

MichaelB

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2017, 11:13:26 AM »
They have an intermediate number that routes to your actual number.  You can call and get that number changed to try to cut down the spam calls.  My husband gets tons of spam texts but it hasn't bothered him enough to call (it would bother me!).

We're on the old Sprint network but you're probably on T-mobile.  My needs are pretty simple but I LOVE that I can go travel internationally, and as long as the wifi is good enough, I can make and accept calls from my normal phone number.

Interesting about the intermediate number--I'll check it out. I haven't had any spam texts at all--just phone calls.

Roboturner

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2017, 11:19:44 AM »
For what it's worth, my verizon number has increased in spam calls 5x over the last 6 months or so. I'm currently switching to Google FI, which creates a database of spam numbers to auto-block, so we'll see if they get cut down at all

Roboturner

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2017, 01:48:12 PM »
They seem sneaky because on my phone the caller ID shows up as my area code and the first 3 digits also match

ha same here

RWD

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2017, 03:15:35 PM »
They seem sneaky because on my phone the caller ID shows up as my area code and the first 3 digits also match

ha same here

I get these too on AT&T. I moved out of that area code about 14 years ago (just kept my cell number) so I always know that a matching area code means telemarketers.

Rubic

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2017, 07:49:23 AM »
I average about 1.5 spam calls per day.  It's pretty easy to recognize in
my case, because almost all of my real callers are in my contact list and
can be identified.  I'm also hearing from others that cell phone spam is
increasing regardless of the service provider, as it appears the spammers
are learning how to game the system.

Overall, I've been happy with my Republic Wireless experience over
the past two years.  My monthly bill averages $13.70 with taxes and
data refund applied.

At some point I'll probably switch to Google FI -- maybe when my Moto G
finally dies -- but for now I'm a satisfied RW customer.

MichaelB

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2017, 07:54:19 AM »
Interesting that everyone's finding the spam calls are going up across the board. It's just strange b/c before the switch, I got them rarely if ever. Starting the same day the number transferred, they immediately went up to multiple each day.

Daley

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2017, 10:35:20 AM »
Interesting that everyone's finding the spam calls are going up across the board. It's just strange b/c before the switch, I got them rarely if ever. Starting the same day the number transferred, they immediately went up to multiple each day.

There's a reason for that in Republic's case... or at least there is for their proprietary hacky hybrid Sprint/VoIP services (and not their current T-Mobile based offerings as far as I know - unless they're still doing that for some incomprehensible reason, though I doubt it given all of those associated problems have gone away after the T-Mobile shift).

The older Sprint/VoIP Republic hybrid actually has two phone numbers associated with the account. Your primary Republic service is not actually mobile phone service in this situation, it's VoIP service - which is why you can do "WiFi only" plans. Because of this, you now have two numbers if you're paying for their "mobile" plan: The number you ported in which is now on a VoIP server, and the actual mobile number attached to the smartphone that your "primary" VoIP number gets forwarded to when their VoIP app doesn't have WiFi access to connect to the server.

There aren't many "new" or "virgin" phone numbers left in the United States, and the phone numbers used can have a hard life that's compounded by our society's continued higher demand for recirculating those numbers, thus leaving them out of circulation to try and "clean" that history for shorter and shorter periods. This winds up with a lot of used numbers that have inherited a lot of "baggage" from previous customers...

...but back to Republic. If you bought a proprietary used handset of theirs, this is why the spam load has increased. You've been assigned a second phone number that you're not supposed to know about specifically so your "WiFi first" VoIP service can still be used with a mobile phone and you can receive calls. And to make matters worse, they technically reclassify your primary number after the port to VoIP as a "land line" or "non-mobile number" if you will, which now requires additional optional registration to the Federal Do Not Call List instead of having it classified as a "mobile number" by default, which is legally supposed to be wholly off limit to marketers.

This said, yes, spam calls are ever increasing the past few months on mobile numbers across the board. I've experience it myself, and seen and heard similar complaints from friends and family. I can't help but wonder given the timing if that increase is corollary to the fact that the FCC and FTC both are being defanged under the new administration combined with a new legislature that's actually wanting to redefine the very concept of telephone marketing to the point of meaninglessness. Corollary is not causation, of course, but the timing with the corresponding headlines does raise an eyebrow or two.

...or it could have just been a coincidence.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2017, 10:46:31 AM by I.P. Daley »

tonyquart

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2017, 01:33:30 AM »
Wow. Thanks. It surely increases my knowledge about these spam calls. I am personally planning on moving to Republic. That's why I search everything about them. One of my friends has switched his services to Republic, and yeah, he also got quite many unwanted calls in these past few weeks. I don't know if it's relevant or not, but he chose to fight back those callers. He told me that he found a lawyer from lemberglaw.com and consulted this matter to them. He said he would sue the company shortly. I'll ask him if it works or not in the end.

Wallerstein

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2017, 06:21:16 AM »
They seem sneaky because on my phone the caller ID shows up as my area code and the first 3 digits also match

ha same here

Ditto. 

I get 5 - 7  spam calls a week. All with my area code plus 877-xxxx. So far over the last two months those last 4 digits are always different.

thisisjeopardy

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2017, 10:03:18 AM »
I see these phones for sale all the time on the marketplace here. I bought an expensive google phone that is compatible with Project Fi - googles service that switches between Sprint, US Cellular, T-Mobil, or WiFi.. Unlimited Voice and text, data at $10/GB (prorated to the MB).. last month was my most expensive bill at around $45 (usually $10 less) because I was traveling allover Europe and using my phone for directions on the highway (the only that change about being in EUrope btw was I got a notification that voice calls would be 10c/minute, data/text was the same).

The phone will last a few years, but it's one thing I spend money on is a new one every year or every 2 years depending.

nolefan21

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2017, 06:06:21 PM »
I'm on RW also. I do notice I get several robocalls or solicitors a week but it seems to be everyone these days. Together for both phones we pay about $42 a month so I'll take it. Other than one support issue which took a little too long to get a replacement phone out from RW, we've had no issues. I am willing to accept that I may not get a data connection in some rural areas and download Google Maps ahead of time for directions. Also, using Amazon Music (w/ Prime) to download music and then Podcast apps to download episodes while on Wifi helps with paying for less data.

Roboturner

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Re: Republic Wireless Questions/Complaints
« Reply #14 on: July 06, 2017, 11:37:17 AM »
For what it's worth, my verizon number has increased in spam calls 5x over the last 6 months or so. I'm currently switching to Google FI, which creates a database of spam numbers to auto-block, so we'll see if they get cut down at all

Alright so I've now had my Google FI service for 2 weeks (same number), haven't had a single spam call yet (knock on wood)

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!