Outsmarting Yada Yada:

Getting a new phone & protecting your wallet

Reading time: 3 minutes

A man pointing and laughing while he talks on the phone.

Welcome to the first article in our series exposing wireless BS – or yada yada – with tips on how to see through it and avoid it.

IIt’s the holiday season, and smartphones are at the top of many gift lists. Some prepaid providers are trying to capitalize on that by luring customers in with jaw-dropping offers. Some are great. Some are … well … a load of crap, loaded with gotchas. Like Cricket’s $1 first payment phone offers.

Sound great, right? $1 to get your hands on the latest smartphone from a top brand? The plot twist is in the fine print —the yada yada — because that phone you think costs only a buck actually spirals into more than $1,800 by the time you’re done making a year’s worth of weekly payments. It’s shocking, and we’re here to expose it.

Adding up the Yada Yada of the $1 smartphone

The Yada: Cricket is promising one of the latest superphones for just $1. Sounds great, right?
The gotcha: Sure, it’s a $1 initial payment, but surprise! If you pay weekly, you’ll pay nearly $1,900 for that phone over the course of a year. 3x what it costs upfront! After that $1 payment, you’re on the hook for ~$150 per month.

When you join Metro, you can snag the same phone for $529.99 when you trade in an old phone worth at least $50 (check it here!), and you get to keep your existing number on any unlimited plan. You’ll save $1,100 over Cricket in the first year.

Or you can snag iPhone 12 5G for just $99.99 when you bring your number and ID and join on our most popular plan.

Or you can pick from over a dozen FREE smartphones … that are really free this holiday season. You pay the sales tax, and that’s it. And when you join Metro, there are no exploding bills, no contracts and no surprises. You can leave when you want and owe nothing. We earn your business every month. It’s wireless without the gotcha.

Defend your dollars

If you’re looking for a new phone this holiday season, follow these tips to help navigate your way through the yada yada:

Bring your number. Most phone deals get better when you bring your number to a new provider, so you can keep your same number, upgrade your phone AND potentially save money.
Read the fine print. Take time to dissect the terms and conditions of a phone deal that seems too good to be true … because it probably is. Look for hidden fees, lurking interest rates and the grand total you'll shell out over the entire financing period.
Compare total costs. Don't be dazzled by low upfront costs alone. Smart shopping is about seeing the big picture, so consider the monthly payments, plan requirements, contract duration and any additional fees.
Consider buying outright. Forget the monthly payment temptation — you can save major dollars by owning your phone outright.

At Metro, we’re all about transparency and putting you in control, which is why we’re dropping knowledge and exposing the "$1 smartphone" mirage. We keep it real, because we believe your smartphone journey should be filled with clarity and free of BS.