118 of 123 people found the following review helpful.
By Gam3r 4 Life
UPDATE: 05-15-2013 I just wanted to add this to the top of my review to hopefully help people understand something about this phone BEFORE buying it then complaining. This is NOT an unlocked or international phone. This is a Metro PCS Locked phone for Metro PCS only. Im sure there are ways to unlock it, but it is sold and intended to activate on Metro PCS's CDMA and 4G LTE network. If you want an unlocked white Galaxy S3 here is one. Samsung Galaxy S III/S3 GT-I9300 Factory Unlocked Phone - International Version (Ceramic White) I hope this helps yet another person from buying this phone then complaining in a review it isnt GSM, or isnt unlocked, or isnt international.
Also Metro PCS is a CDMA service, the product description doesn't make this very clear. To see that it is CDMA you have to click the "more technical details" link, then it shows (Network Compatibility: CDMA). I tried to get Amazon to add that to the specs so others will know, but they didnt. Also make sure you check your area for Metro PCS service before you buy. Underneath the phones picture there is a link called "zip code checker" to check coverage for your area. Now onto the review.
OK, without going into all the details I will say that since I decided to drop Sprint Ive been through almost all of the carriers, and several different phones. And for one reason or another I wasn't happy.
Prior to the S3 I had the S2 from Boost (also bought through Amazon). But discovered that Sprint had no plans of expanding their 4G CDMA to my area. So with Sprint and Boost I would never have gotten 4G where I live (North Bay, California). Well shortly after this I found out that Metro was getting the S3. And the ironic thing is that I originally left Metro several years ago to go to Sprint because of Metro's lackluster selection of "Smart Phones". So now I'm back with Metro and have 4G LTE!!! But this wasn't without its own issues which I will get into later in hopes of helping others that get the Metro S3 through Amazon rather than directly through Metro. But first onto the phone.
If you are looking for the absolute best performing phone for Metro, or any other carrier for that matter look no further. I know its expensive, but if you multiply the difference you'll be saving by 2 years vs. the others you will end up saving. And this phone is worth every cent. Ive had quite a few phones and thought they were fast, but this thing in FAST!! You can multitask like crazy without it slowing down at all.
I haven't had it long enough to give any battery life reports, but I will update this later to add some details regarding battery, but it seems pretty good for now.
Now as I mentioned above I had issues with 4G that took some research, and several calls to Metro to fix. When I first activated my phone I did the whole process online. Well the first thing I noticed was the speed only being at 1X. I tried several different things like rebooting, factory reset, but still nothing. And according to Metro's coverage map I'm in a fairly good area. But with Sprint I usually only had 1 bar, and 3G speeds of 300 kbs max. And then when I tried T-Mobile it would not connect at all, so I know where I live can be tricky. Verizon worked great, but its exactly double the cost I am paying at Metro. So anyway I did a lot of googling, and discovered a forum that mentioned exactly what my phone was doing. After activating through the site not getting any 4G. And it said that it was most likely because the sim card was not activated or paired to the phone. This seems to happen when activating on your own through the site, but not if you have Metro do it at a store. To test this go to Metropcs.com, log in, then look at your profile/ account info. It is suppose to show 2 things. It should show your phone, and its device number, and also should show a ICCID number. The ICCID is your sim card. Well at first mine did not show the ICCID. So what was suggested was to call Metro and ask them to activate the Sim card. Well this should have been simple, but wasn't. The first person didn't know what I meant. The second person said it was already activated, but they said they would do it anyway. So right after she said that she activated it, I rebooted, and FINALLY saw the 4G for the first time. And then I rechecked my profile at Metropcs.com and it showed the ICCID also for the first time. So if you have this issue its fixable, but it might take you a couple calls. And if they say its already activated just ask them to do it again. That should fix it.
To sum it all up I am very happy that the roller coaster is over, and I have the phone I want, unlimited everything, 4G, insurance, all for $60/ month. If your on Metro do yourself a favor and get this phone. I guarantee you wont regret it!!!!
I thought of something else I would like to add. I know that the initial $500 to get this phone is a lot, and the discounted deals that come with 2 year contracts are enticing. I know, Ive been there and done that. But in the long run you save a lot of money. Ill use the Verizon plan I tried for a couple days as an example.
Metro S3 price with 2 day shipping.....$549.50
Metro's Unlimited 4G LTE plan............$55/ month. (Unlimited Everything, No taxes,fees)
2 year cost of just monthly plan.........$1320.00
Phone cost + 2 years of service..........$1869.50
Verizons current cost for S3 is $199, about $251 with tax and $36 activation (With 2 year contract discounted from 599.99)
Verizons 4GB Plan cost......................$110.00 (Unlimited Calls, Text, and 4GB of data)
2 year cost of just monthly plan.........$2640.00 (Not including taxes and other fees)
Phone cost + 2 years of service..........$2891.00
Verizons Cost of phone and plan for 2 years..$2891.00
Metros Cost of phone and plan for 2 years.....$1869.50
........................................Savings of about $1021.50
So in the initial cost you will definitely save on the phones cost with Verizon, but in the long run you can end up saving a lot with Metro. Now I will admit that Metro's service is nowhere near as good or reliable as Verizon's, but as a long time Metro customer I rarely had any issues. The only issue I have now is slower data speeds. I was getting close to 6mbs download where I live with Verizon, and about 1.5 to 2.5mbs with Metro. But that additional data speed isn't worth doubling my bill. My house is in a tricky spot, I usually only have 1 bar, 2 at the most.
I know my above calculations wont be the same for every carrier or plan. But this was the situation I was in when I tried Verizon. They have lower cost plans with less data, but at least you will have an idea of long term cost, and how to calculate it yourself to help with your decision.
EDIT: I wanted to add something to my review that I think potential buyers might be worrying about, and that is the T-Mobile merger. There have been comments/ reviews, etc. saying that this Galaxy S3 will be a "paperweight" once the merger is complete. In other words it will be useless. This just isn't true. I myself have done a lot of research about this because its just too expensive to end up not being able to use it. The CDMA network is planned to run until 2015, ask your self honestly have any of you kept a phone for 3 years? By then the Galaxy S5 will be out. If anything the service will improve. I also read that there are plans to release a over the air update to allow existing Metro customers to access the T-Mobile network. Here is a direct quote from Neville Ray (T-Mobiles Chief Technology Officer) "Shortly after the merger, MetroPCS phones will be able to connect to T-Mobile's upcoming LTE network - it's a simple matter of an over-the-air SIM update". That will be the Data side of things. As far as calling the Metro S3 has VOLTE, which is Voice over LTE so that it will be able to make calls using T-Mobiles LTE network. And besides the CDMA is only what handles the 1x speeds, 4G LTE will be everywhere soon, and therefore the 1x wont be needed as much as it is now. Im in a pretty bad spot, and still have 4G LTE the majority of the time, and rarely fall back on CDMA 1x. So to sum it all up, the merger isnt anything to worry about, if anything its a good thing for us Metro customers because we will have access to T-Mobile networks as well.
Update: (1-24-2013) Just wanted to update my review since the $55 plan is gone now. They now have a $60 plan with unlimited everything. So basically the one I have but $5 more. Still the best deal out there.
Update: (5-5-2013) I left the Metro S3 for awhile, and ironically I am back. I tried a few other carriers, and phones, and ended up buying a new Metro S3 and so glad I am. Unless something crazy happens, I dont see myself leaving again for a long time.
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
By RPichardo
I was a bit worried about the phone, but alas!
I'm not worried now! WOW! I just placed my iPhone 5 on Ebay! That tells you have much better this phone really is and what value the $70 all inclusive/no limits MetroPCS plan is above the rest.
Just being able to have an extra battery on hand for long days and out there, made this cell a cut above the iPhone 5!
You won't be sorry!
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
By Louis
I just switched (back) from using a Samsung Galaxy S2 Skyrocket running ICS on Straight Talk for $45/month plus tax to a Samsung Galaxy S3 on MetroPCS for $55/month flat rate. Simply put, I am glad to be back on Metro PCS and if you are like me and use LOADS OF DATA (say, more than 2.5GB a month), then I highly recommend this Samsung Galaxy S3 phone (as the phone speaks for itself) and the Metro PCS service on the promotional $55/month (no tax) unlimited 4G LTE plan. The Galaxy S3 is not leaps and bounds better than the Galaxy S2 Skyrocket, as I would consider it an incremental upgrade but yet the best phone that I have ever owned to date. Prior to a five month stint with Straight Talk, I had been with Metro for about 3 years. My biggest gripe with Metro (at the time) was their lack of high end phones, which we know now has changed. I live in Northern California and travel a few times a year (typically to major US cities). I've never really had an issue with phone coverage for voice calls or voice call quality but it would be a good idea to put a few bucks on your Metro account to cover Travel Talk (roaming) for .19 cents per minute. It doesn't happen often for me, but I've definitely had to use it for remote or pocket areas that you may not have anticipated. Between their home coverage, extended coverage, and travel talk area (see the Metro PCS coverage map for clarification), coverage for voice and text in the US (and in a few parts of Canada, so their coverage map says) is PRETTY WELL COVERED or at least as good if not better than the BIG 4 (for overall US coverage). Now, it is annoying when I find myself out of the internet coverage area so depending on your specific travels, you may want to take that into consideration or be ready to head to Starbucks for free WiFi use when necessary :). The slower internet speeds in the extended coverage areas do not bother me and still allow for adequate internet browsing and email sync. I have never done a speed test in the extended coverage areas but they feel like super slow 3G. I THINK THE MAIN POINT HERE (FOR ME) IS "VALUE". The savings that you'll see is well documented (over contract carriers) and NOW the same premium phone is available. The Metro PCS and T Mobile merger doesn't concern me at this point since everything I read says that network changeover will happen over time with a completion target by the end of 2015. As much as I like this Samsung Galaxy S3, I doubt that I'll have it 3 years from now. Looking forward, I certainly hope that the Metro PCS tradition of offering ground breaking value is maintained. Does Metro PCS have the fastest 4G? NO, I get about 1.2M down and 2.2M up regularly in my area and I have seen it as high as 3M down 5M up on rare evenings or in the area 25 miles south of me (VERSUS 3.5M down and 1M up from Straight Talk). That said, I have no problems streaming video and audio such as the NBA League Pass, Netflix, YouTube, or listening to Pandora on this device (and GET THIS, streaming video and audio is actually allowed on the Metro PCS network, unlike some of the other carriers). It works great. The overall clincher for me really was twofold... the offering of this awesome new Samsung Galaxy S3 device (got it for two-ninety-nine, special Holiday price) and an unbeatable $55/month flat rate plan with *truly* unlimited data, no caps and no throttling. I had recently had the unfortunate experience of data being shut down (with calls in to carrier support, factory reset of device per carrier request), throttling (at about 200k - 300k down), and automated recorded phone calls (regarding my data use) with my previous carrier BUT when I never used more than 1.9GB of data in the billing cycle. I decided that I did not have time to deal with that or the subjectivity of these other so called unlimited plans, AND SO TO METROPCS I RETURNED with the hottest phone on the market and the best TRULY unlimited calling and data plan. The only reason why I didn't rate this phone 5 stars is because battery life out of the box for me was not great. I use the Easy Battery Saver app in Advanced mode and it now conistently lasts until bedtime. I would consider my use medium to heavy. Overall, I am very satisfied with this phone and the service delivered from Metro PCS. I hope my shared experience helps you guys make the right decision. Your mileage may vary... GOOD LUCK!
Update 1/08/13 -
I began to have an issue with the TouchWiz launcher where it would pause the device for about (or less than) 10 seconds and display an error regarding the application being stopped or unresponsive. My device would eventually reboot the launcher after a few seconds (as home screen icons and widgets would disappear and then re-appear). The issue happened a few times a week and up to this point was the only real annoyance with this phone. So, assuming it had all to do with TouchWiz, I changed to the Nova Launcher and have not experienced a launcher issue since. In my opinion, the Nova Launcher is a smooth running alternative to TouchWiz.
As for Metro 4G speeds, I stated that I was getting 1.2M down and 2.2M up in my "general" area but found out that it greatly depends on your immediate area (granularly). Literally just down the hill, I am getting 4.5M down and 5.5M up. Either way, and even though these speeds may not compare to what other carriers "advertise", I find these 4G speeds to be 100% satisfactory and plenty fast for my video/audio streaming, email synchronization, and web browsing needs. I did about 4GB in my first month and rather enjoyed not having to worry about soft cap throttling or worse, getting cut off.
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