Cricket Wireless Buyer's Guide: Everything you need to know

Cricket Wireless Buyer's Guide: Everything you need to know

Cricket Wireless is a prepaid carrier that's owned by AT&T and offers great prices and access to the vast AT&T network. Cricket uses the AT&T network exclusively with LTE and 5G access on all plans. Unlike signing up for AT&T service, there's no contract, and there's no credit check. The carrier also works with most unlocked phones, making it a quick and easy way to get great coverage.

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Cricket Wireless plans

Cricket has four main plans for phones, and they all come with unlimited talk and text in the U.S., access to AT&T's nationwide 5G network, and Cricket Call Defense. Cricket Call Defense is software designed to identify and block fraudulent calls, plus identify spam and telemarketing calls. All Cricket plans apart from the 5GB option are also available with a $5 auto-pay discount.

The top Cricket unlimited plan also comes with 150GB of cloud storage via the myPhotoVault app as well as HBO Max with ads. When you sign up with this plan, you can sign into HBO Max using your carrier information as long as your Cricke account is active.

Cricket also has multi-line discounts, so you can save when you bring the whole family. That's up to five lines.

Cricket has partnered with Wi-Fi provider Boingo as well as LinkNYC to provide Wi-Fi for customers in range. This benefits customers by providing fast and reliable data in areas that may not be optimal for cellular connectivity, as well as not using up their data while connected. These areas include places like sports stadiums and even military bases. LinkNYC has many points across New York City that provide Wi-Fi and other services, and your Cricket phone can automatically connect to these points as well.

Cricket also has three data plans called Simply Data. These plans come in 20GB, 50GB, and 100GB sizes. All of these plans come with 5G and unlimited data speeds. These plans are a great fit for someone that only needs data on a device without a phone number.

International benefits

For new customers, free calling in Mexico and Canada is included with all of Cricket's data plans, excluding the 5GB plan for $30/month. If you sign up for one of the unlimited plans, you'll also get unlimited texts to 37 countries worldwide. These destinations include: 

Cricket also has some calling add-ons available to certain plans. You can add Cricket International for $5 per month with calls to landlines in 35 countries. You can also pay for Cricket International Extra which adds 1,000 minutes of mobile-to-mobile calling in 31 countries. Finally, a few individual countries can be added for $10 to $15 per month with features varying by country.

(Image credit: Cricket)

Phone compatibility

(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

If you're ready for a new phone, you can buy one directly from Cricket. Cricket has a decent selection of Androids and iPhones, including some new-ish devices like the Galaxy S21 FE. You can also get a mid-range device like the Galaxy A53 5G. If you need help paying, financing is available through Affirm.

If you don't want to buy through the Cricket website, one of the nicest things about AT&T's network is how well unlocked phones work with it. Just about any unlocked GSM-compatible device will work with a Cricket SIM.

(Image credit: Cricket Wireless)

Cricket still has a small list of compatible 5G phones on its site, but users online are reporting that 5G is working on compatible phones like the Galaxy S23 series without issues. Some less common phones may only work with LTE, even if they support AT&T 5G bands, so it's worth checking around online or asking customer support if 5G is important for you.

BYOD devices give you a few more options. The Galaxy S23 series, for example, is supported on 5G even though Cricket does not sell this model. Some other phones that should work on the network with 5G, like the OnePlus 9 Pro, are not supported, however. Other BYOD 5G devices may work with the proper APN settings, though it's best not to bet on unofficial support just yet. Still, with AT&T's growing 5G footprint, it's best to get a 5G phone at this point.

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Do you go with Cricket?

If you live and work in an area with great coverage, there's little reason not to try out a prepaid carrier. One of the main reasons to opt for AT&T postpaid over Cricket is premium data. This data is prioritized over other data on the AT&T network. The result is that if a tower is very congested, the Cricket customer may see speeds plummet while an AT&T customer does not. For most people, it won't be a big deal, and for many, won't even be noticeable. Unfortunately, this all comes down to your area and the congestion, so it can be hard to predict.

At least you're not locked into Cricket if you decide it's not a good fit.

If you're looking at other prepaid carriers, there's a lot more competition. Mint Mobile, for example, offers similar data amounts for less money. Since it's based on T-Mobile, it also has great 5G coverage.

Still, Cricket continues to be one of the best prepaid carriers you can get as long as you're looking at the unlimited plans, especially when you bring more than one line.

•  MVNO deals: Mint Mobile (opens in new tab) | Visible (opens in new tab) | Boost (opens in new tab) | Tello (opens in new tab) | Cricket (opens in new tab)