Naturally, the second you drive away from your child at Ole Miss, you are going to want to make sure they have reliable cellphone service that you can count on to work. Obviously, you’re trying not to be a helicopter parent, but it’s a valid concern. Consdier this another notch in your child becoming a little bit more independent of mom and dad. Let’s face it, your child probably chews thru phones faster than you. So, you’ll both want ot be aware of your solutions here in Oxford.
I somehow managed to go through six phones my freshman year of college and was on my own on figuring out how to fix it each time. There are several different cellphone providers and services to help each and every student with their phone needs during their time at Ole Miss.
We’ve been hearing your questions at our Empty Nester events about options for cell service here in Oxford. So we hope this information will help! A lot of students come to college with a cellphone that is still under their family plan under one provider. Smart right? Well maybe.
The providers available in Oxford are Verizon Wireless, AT&T, CSpire, and Cricket wireless. All have their pro’s and cons. Lets weight out each:
Verizon: Relatively new to the oxford scene, the verdict is definitely improving.
AT&T: While nationwide this service is great, on game weekend, the AT&T network gets overloaded and subscribers ont his network truly struggle for service.
CSpire: Started by an Ole Miss Alum, this service is by far the most reliable in state and offers the best pricing points. Also, you will have service on gameday with this network!
Cricket: Not widely known, but does have a storefront here in Oxford. Sorry, we can’t tell you how It works, because, well we don’t know!
If you have another provider such as Sprint, or T-Mobile, you may want to consider switching your student’s plan because their cell service around Oxford is reportedly just not good. Actually non-existent. Plus, not having a store within ten minutes to go solve their cell phone issues.
Insurance. You’ve probably well-known this by now, but in case you’ve overlooked, no matter what provider you have a plan under, it is worth to pay the extra $10-$15 dollars a month to have your child’s cellphone insured. The main reason I went through so many phones my freshman year was due to internal issues with my iPhone 6. Every time a technical difficulty occurred, I would just head to Verizon Wireless and have them check out my phone, and if the issue was covered under insurance, they would send me a new one within 24 hours.
Cracked screen repair? If your student is facing an external issue with their cellular device, such as a severely cracked screen or missing home button, they will have to go somewhere outside of your cellular provider to get this issue resolved. To get a new cellphone screen, Express Computer Service on Jackson Avenue is very fast and helpful with screen replacement for all different kinds of phones. Students can also get their screen fixed inside Walmart at Cellaris for a decent price. Phone screen replacements can cost anywhere between $120-$200, so if your child’s phone is due for an upgrade, it may be cheaper to purchase a new cell phone than spending the money to fix the old one.
No pun intended, its certainly your call, but we hope that this information gives you a heads up on whether to transfer service locally, or remain on your plan.
