Unreal Mobile Review

Chris Holmes Staff Writer

Updated 08 August 2018

In this Guide

UNREAL Mobile Setup
UNREAL Mobile Calls and Texting
UNREAL Mobile Data
UNREAL Mobile Coverage
Bringing Your Own Phone to UNREAL Mobile
Verdict

UNREAL Mobile is a new offshoot brand from successful MVNO FreedomPop that offers dirt-cheap talk, text and 4G LTE data
We found the setup process with UNREAL somewhat challenging, but experienced good service once we were up and running
UNREAL's prices compare favorably to fellow Sprint MVNOs like Tello and Republic

FreedomPop, leader of the "freemium" market, has launched a side brand called UNREAL Mobile. The new venture offers unlimited talk and text and varying amounts of data (1GB, 2GB, 5GB) starting at $10/month.

You'll have to ignore the company's claims of unlimited "everything" at these prices; as others have pointed out (and as the company plainly states on their website), the unlimited data is limited to 2G speeds, not fast enough to stream video.

There's a lot more to know about service on UNREAL Mobile, so it's a good thing we had the chance to try it out.

UNREAL Mobile Setup

Let's start with the most painful aspect of service on UNREAL: setting it up.

We were sent a Samsung Galaxy S6 with UNREAL Mobile's app/account loaded onto it, so the hope was that we'd be able to start using the service straight away. Upon firing up the phone, calls and texts worked but I couldn't connect to data unless we were on WiFi. As it turned out, there were more setup processes we had to go through to get it going, which I only discovered after checking out the help section on UNREAL's website.

First I installed "Google Play Services," per the instructions on the site, but still couldn't browse the web. After I followed the next suggestion, syncing the UNREAL Mobile app/account to the phone, I was able to start using the data.

UNREAL Mobile Calls and Texting

UNREAL Mobile gives you the option of making calls via network (Sprint) or VoIP (voice over IP). To make calls via the network, you simply use the phone's native calling app. I had no problems with this.

In order to make VoIP calls, you have to use the UNREAL Mobile app. This requires either a WiFi signal or a solid network connection, since calls go over Sprint's data network. Apparently the signal at my desk wasn't strong enough, because my initial attempt to make calls over the app failed. Moving to an area with better reception resolved this, however.

Texting worked fine for me using the Samsung Galaxy S6's native messaging app.

UNREAL Mobile Data

I initially experienced some frustration bringing up web pages using the UNREAL Mobile phone from my desk. As it turned out, walking 20 feet to an area with better reception resolved the issue. I also tested the data out at home and on a trip to Philadelphia, and it worked gangbusters. Looking at my usage via the UNREAL app, though, I realized that 2GB is really not much high-speed data—I could use it up in a matter of a few days.

UNREAL Mobile Coverage

As mentioned, UNREAL Mobile runs on Sprint's network. Sprint has by most measures the weakest network of the big four U.S. carriers (a group that also includes Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T). Their map, which is also embedded under the "coverage" tab on UNREAL's website, has broad pockets of dead zones throughout the mountain west, midwest, southwest and Pacific northwest.

Despite these uncovered regions, Sprint pretty well blankets both U.S. coasts, so if you live in those areas, Sprint's—and by extension, UNREAL's—coverage may be more than adequate.

Bringing Your Own Phone to UNREAL Mobile

UNREAL Mobile offers three phones for sale on their website: the ZTE Prestige 2 ($49.99), the Samsung Galaxy S5 ($99.99) and the Apple iPhone 6 ($249.99). If none of these strike your fancy, you can bring your own "Sprint capable" device along with you for service on UNREAL.

Since we were shipped a phone preloaded with UNREAL, we didn't go through the whole BYOP process. However, a quick perusal of their discussion board reveals some particularities with this.

First of all, UNREAL hasn't yet made company-branded SIM cards available, so you'll need to pick up a Sprint SIM from somewhere like eBay or Amazon. Second, your device must be inactive but not unlocked. I'll quote directly from a post on UNREAL's message board: "This device must be inactive and released by any other carriers, NOT unlocked. Please beware as some people will try to sell a device as quickly as possible by saying it is released when in fact it is unlocked. It will be very difficult to use an unlocked CDMA device with any carrier. You will also need to make sure that the device is Sprint eligible. This includes a clean ESN and has been used on the Sprint network before."

I had trouble looking up my Verizon device's compatibility on UNREAL via their checker, as I kept getting a message about the phone being unrecognized.

Verdict

UNREAL Mobile is a brand-new service, and as such appears to still be working through some kinks. Setup was a bit challenging and bringing your own phone to UNREAL sounds like a potentially difficult process.

However, if you're successful on both of these fronts, you can count on good—and cheap—talk, text and data service. When you compare UNREAL's cost to those of fellow Sprint MVNOs like Tello and Republic, they emerge as the least expensive of them all:

Chris Holmes

Staff Writer

Chris Holmes is a Contributing Writer for WhistleOut, where he covers the cell phone and internet industries. His work has been cited in publications like The Verge, The New York Times, and WIRED.

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