This is one of Prepaid Phone News' series of comprehensive US prepaid mobile operator profiles. These posts cover all the major US mobile operators and MVNOs that offer prepaid plans.
Overview: Straight Talk, TracFone, NET10 and SafeLink are all owned by Mexico based América Móvil, the fourth largest mobile operator in the world.
The four América Móvil US brands combined have 22 million subscribers which makes the company the largest US prepaid mobile operator. América Móvil does not break out subscriber numbers for each of its prepaid brands.
NET10 is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), it does not have a network of it's own but buys service from other operators which it re-sells.
NET10 phones use the T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks in the 50 states and Claro in Puerto Rico. Each NET10 phone has one of the five as its home network which it uses whenever possible.
NET10 GSM (AT&T and T-Mobile) phones on all plans and NET10 Verizon phones on pay as you go plans will roam on other networks for voice and text messaging only. Data roaming is available in a few areas.
Net10 Verizon and Sprint phones on unlimited plans do not roam at all.
See How to Tell Which Network (AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon) a TracFone, NET10 or Straight Talk Phone Uses for more about NET10's network options.
Technology: AT&T, T-Mobile and Claro based NET10 phones use GSM on the 850 and 1900 Mhz bands for voice and GPRS (2G), Edge (2.5G), UTMS/HSPA (3G) and HSPA+ (4G) data.
T-Mobile devices use the 1900 Mhz band for voice and GPRS (2G) and Edge (2.5G) and the 1700 Mhz AWS band for 3G and 4G. T-Mobile has begun deploying HSPA+ (4G) on the 1900 Mhz band in many areas to better serve users with unlocked AT&T phones and international visitors.
Sprint based NET10 phones use the 1900 MHz band for voice and data including EVDO 3G.
NET10 phones on the Verizon network use CDMA on the 850 and 1900 Mhz bands with 1xRTT (2.5G) and EV-DO 3G data.
Plans and Pricing: NET10 has pay as you go and monthly plans
NET10 Pay As you Go: NET10 gets its name from the original 10¢ per minute pricing of the pay as you plan, which for many years was the only plan available from NET10. Current pay as you go pricing varies from six to ten cents per minute depending on the amount you top up with and whether you buy a one time refill or enroll in an online only Easy Minutes auto-refill plan. The following airtime options are available.
NET10 Airtime
Cost
Days of Service
Minutes
Price Per Month
Price Per Minute
$15 1
30
200
$15
7.5¢
$20
30
200
$20
10¢
$30
60
300
$15
10¢
$30 1
30
500
$30
6¢
$45
60
600
$22.50
7.5¢
$60
90
900
$20
6.67¢
$100
180
1500
$16.67
6.67¢
1 Easy Minutes Plan - available online only, auto-refill required
Prices of messaging and data are based on voice minutes.
Text messages are charged at a rate of 0.5/minutes per text.
Data is charged at the rate of one minute of data use equals half a voice minute.
Picture messages cost one minute plus the cost of the data transfer which is typically another minute or two.
On NET10 pay as you go plans unused minutes roll over as long as the plan is refilled before its service end date.
NET10 Monthly Plans: NET10 has the following monthly plans
NET10 Monthly Plans
Plan
Monthly Cost
Phones
Voice
SMS
MMS
Data
750 Minutes Plan
$25
non-smartphones
750 ninutes
1 min ea.
1.5 min plus data used
1 minute per minute of browsing
Unlimited Talk, Text and Data
$50
non-smartphones, smartphones, BYOD SIM
unlimited
unlimited
unlimited
Unlimited (throttled to 240 Kbps after 1-2 GB
Unlimited International Talk, Text and Data
$65
non-smartphones, smartphones, BYOD SIM
unlimited including international
unlimited
unlimited
Unlimited (throttled to 240 Kbps after 1-2 GB
As is usually the case, NET10's "Unlimited" data does have limits. NET10's terms of service prohibit streaming audio or video or using the phone as a wireless modem for a laptop or other device (tethering). Customers who use more than 1 or 2 GB of data in a month have reported having their data speeds reduced to about 250 Kbps.
Auto Refill and Family Plan discounts: Customers who enroll in auto-refill on the NET10 site using a credit or debit card get a $5 discount on unlimited monthly plans, making the Unlimited plan $45/month and the Unlimted International Plan $60/month. Customers with multiple phones on the $50/month plan get an additional $5 off the monthly plan price for the second and third phones.
Beware that canceling your NET10 service or porting your number from NET10 to another operator does not automatically cancel Auto Pay. You must call NET10 to cancel and avoid being charged for service you are no longer using.
International Rates: NET10 international calling and messaging features vary by plan.
The $65/month Unlimited International, Talk, Text and Data plan includes no extra cost calls to most landlines in 32 countries (PDF list of covered countries) and to cell phones in Canada, China, India and Mexico. NET10 does not support international direct dialing (+1 - country code - city code - phone number). Instead you have to dial an 11 digit access code, wait for a prompt and then enter the number your are calling,
On the pay as you go and $25/750 minutes plans, NET10 offers calls to 100 countries for 5 cents per minute extra. Free online registration is required to use this plan. International direct dialing is not supported, you need to dial a two character (*1) access code and wait for a prompt before dialing the international number.
Strangely it's not possible to send international text messages with most NET10 phones and SIMs even on the International Plan! The exception is with NET10's Android phones on the Sprint network which can send international texts at no extra charge.
Coverage: NET10 coverage varies depending on which network the phone uses. The AT&T based phones have the best overall coverage with the Verizon and T-Mobile phones close behind. Sprint based NET10phones have the smallest coverage footprint by far. Unlike most carriers NET10 does not provide detailed block by block coverage maps. See Coverage Maps For All Prepaid Carriers for links to coverage maps for the mobile operators that NET10 uses.
Devices: NET10 offers feature phones on the AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile networks and Android phones on the Sprint, Verizon and AT&T networks. To determine which network a NET10 phone uses see, How to Tell Which Network (AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon) a TracFone, NET10 or Straight Talk Phone Uses.
NET10 smartphones only work with the Unlimited plan, they can not be used on the pay as you go or 750 Minute plans which are restricted to non-smartphones, aka feature phones.
NET10's branded feature phones (aka dumb phones) can be used on any NET10 plan.
SIMs: NET10 also sells SIMs that you can use in any compatible GSM phone. SIMs for the T-Mobile network are available from the NET10 site.
Until recently NET10 also sold AT&T based SIMs on their site. The AT&T SIMs were removed from the NET10 site on Jan. 25, 2013. América Móvil claims the AT&T SIMs are merely out of stock but the simultaneous disappearance of AT&T micro and regular SIMs from both the NET10 and Straight Talk sites seems suspicious and could mean that the MVNO agreement between América Móvil and AT&T is ending.
At this time, NET10 AT&T SIMs are still available from Amazon, BestBuy and eBay seller ShopCellDeals
NET10 SIMs only work with the Unlimited plans, they can not be used on the 750 minute or pay as you go plans.
The GSM NET10 feature phones use SIM cards. However these SIMs are locked to the phone they were sold with and can not be used in any other phones including other NET10 phones. All NET10 phones are virtually impossible to unlock and can not be used on any other service.
Data (APN) Settings for NET10 SIMs:
The following data Access Point settings have been reported to work with NET SIMs in Android phones:
NET10 APN Setup
NET10 AT&T SIM
NET10 T-Mobile SIM
Name
NET10
NET10
APN
att.mvno 1
wap.tracfone
Proxy
Leave blank 2
Leave blank
Port
80
8080
MMSC
http://mmsc.cingular.com
http://mms.tracfone.com
MMS Proxy
66.209.11.33 3
Leave blank
MMS Port
80
Leave blank
MCC
310
310
MNC
410
260
Authentication Type
PAP
Leave blank
APN Type
default, supl, mms 4
default, supl, mms 4
1 Try using wap.tracfone if att.mvno doesn't work.
2 NET10 recommends using proxy.mvno.tracfone.com but doing so causes speedtest.net and some other sites to be blocked. There are no known problems with leaving the proxy field blank.
3 NET10 recommends using mms2.tracfone.com which resolves to 66.209.11.33. Some users have reported that picture messaging is more reliable with 66.209.11.33.
4 If the APN Type field is a dropdown, choose "internet+mms".
How to Buy: NET10 phones and are available at NET10.com and at major retailers including Target, Best Buy Walmart and Costco. Basic models can be purchased at supermarkets, convenience stores and chain drugstores.
SIMs are available online at www.net10sim.com for $14.99 and for under $5 from Amazon and eBay.
How to Activate: NET10 phones can be activated at net10.com by clicking the Activate link at the top of the screen and following the instructions. You can also activate by calling 1-877-836-2368 from any phone except the one you are trying to activate.
I've seen multiple reports of users having problems when porting existing numbers from another carrier using the website. Some have even lost their numbers. If you are porting it's best to call NET10, preferably using the "Executive Resolutions Dept." number at 1-305-715-6500 or 1-800-876-5753, Monday – Friday from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Eastern time.
Payment Options: PIN cards or codes are available at convenience stores, supermarkets, chain drugstores and big box retailers like Target and at NET10.com. PINs can be purchased at a discount from callingmart.com and other online retailers.
With NET10 feature phones you can top up with a PIN using the Prepaid menu on the phone.
You can refill using a credit or debit card by calling 1-877-836-2368, or on the NET10 site which also offers an auto-refill service. You can also buy top-up cards or PIN codes wherever NET10 phones are sold and at many convenience stores, gas stations and 3rd party online sites.
Taxes and Fees: Unlike most prepaid operators which include all taxes except state sales tax in the plan price, NET10 adds additional taxes to the price of refills These taxes vary by state and average between 76¢ and $1.72. You can avoid these taxes by by buying PINs online from sites like callingmart.com or at local retail stores.
Account Management: If you register at NET10.com you can top up and check your used and remaining minutes etc. online.
Free information services calls
911 - Emergency services
Customer Service:
Phone support: 1-877-TEN-CENT (1-877-836-2368) is the official NET10 support number> Automated service for adding top-ups is available at this number 24/7. You can reach a customer support representative at this number from 8 AM to 10:45 PM Eastern Time 7 days a week. Calls are handled by off shore call centers. Wait times are usually short and the representatives courteous. However, they often appear to be following a script and seem unfamiliar with the details of NET10 devices and services.
The general support number for SIM Customers: is (855) 333-CELL (2355).
An alternative is NET10's "Executive Resolutions Dept.", a possibly Miami based call center at 1-305-715-6500 or 1-800-876-5753. It's available Monday – Friday from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM EST. At other times calls to that number are handled by the off shore call centers. The Executive Resolutions representatives are more knowledgeable and better equipped to resolve complex issues. I recommend always calling 1-800-876-5753 for things like no service and billing issues, porting your number from another carrier and switching phones while keeping your service.
Social Media: Users have reported that they were able to get problems fixed by submitting a support ticket on NET10's Facebook page. NET10 is also active on Google+.
Phone Sales and General Information Web Site: NET10.com
NET10 Pros: Phones and Airtime cards are widely available. Inexpensive unlimited plans with data, good coverage with most phones, bring your own device SIMs available.
NET10 Cons: not transparent about how much data is included with the unlimited plans, cumbersome international dialing, no international messaging on most phones, lack of detailed coverage maps, "taxes and fees" charged on online top-ups. Pay as you go rates are no longer very competitive.
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