Cricket Wireless is an American wireless service provider, founded in 1999 by Leap Wireless. However, AT&T purchased the company in 2014. Since being bought, the company more than doubled its subscriber base from 4.5 million subscribers to just over 10 million. Though the company was founded in Chicago, the company’s first market was Chattanooga, TN. Even though it does not have a large subscriber base, if you are using a Cricket phone, you have some very good reasons to connect to a VPN. We’ll discuss more about that in a few moments. First, though, we ask that you take a look at our list of the best VPNs for Cricket Wireless.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
| 4 |  | 9.0 | 110 | |
| 5 |  | 8.8 | 73 | |
Cricket Wireless provides a discount mobile service. They have several different plans including the 2GB of data for $30 a month, 10GB for $40 a month, unlimited data for $55 a month, and unlimited + 15 GB of mobile hotspot for $60 a month. The last option offers 5G coverage and several other benefits.
Why Use a VPN with Cricket Wireless?
Though this discount carrier is part of AT&T now, it does not have the best reputation in the community. The company got in trouble for selling CDMA phones while knowing the phones would not work once the merger with AT&T took effect. Since Cricket had a policy of not unlocking phones, they became useless. Not only is that is a dishonest practice, it shows that Cricket may not have the users in its mind.
However, Cricket and AT&T came under fire for intercepting and modifying the customers’ email traffic so they could downgrade and prevent data encryption and metadata. If you use Cricket Wireless as your primary source of internet, you are vulnerable to prying eyes. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) condemned the service because they interfere with your internet traffic. By connecting to a VPN, you can help encrypt your traffic through Cricket. Although they may not be engaging in that practice now, that is something you should be aware of.
If you are traveling overseas with a Cricket Phone, there is something you may not have considered. That is they have HBO Max as part of the streaming service. Watching it on your phone is easy enough to do, but nearly impossible if you are not in the states. For this case, you can connect to a VPN in the US. That way, you can get past the restrictions you’ll run into if you try to view HBO Max or any other US-based service.
What’s the Best VPN to Use with Cricket Wireless?
Here are some of the factors we need to look at while answering this question.
- Does the provider have solid encryption? – As we mentioned, this one is important, especially when you consider Cricket’s de-encryptions of the past. Whether they continue that practice or not, they clearly are not afraid to downgrade communications to prevent encryption.
- Does the provider keep logs on you? – If you are trying to protect your privacy, the last thing you need is for more information to be available on you. That is why you need to look for a no-logs VPN.
- Do they use high-speed servers? – This one has two different reasons. If you are calling internationally via the internet and want to encrypt your phone conversation, you’ll want a service that offers you good speeds so you won’t have to worry about buffering when you are talking or streaming videos.
Now let’s take a closer look at some of the best VPNs to use with Cricket Wireless.
1. Best VPN for Cricket Wireless: ExpressVPN
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Of course, you can find sports fans all over the world. Because different events interest different people, you can expect strong regional support where the event takes place. What you can not always expect, however, is to be able to watch it if you are outside the area. The idea is to connect to a VPN server from ExpressVPN. As long as you connect to one in the area of the sporting event, you will be able to watch the local broadcast. Just make sure you have an account for one of the streaming options for the event.
Some games are significant and depending on where you are in the world; you can gain early access to them. However, we do not feel that you should have to wait. When you connect to a VPN server with ExpressVPN, though, you can do that. All you have to do is choose the location where the game comes out first. Most of the time it is Australia given the time difference. That will make the game server believe that you are in the allowable region. Therefore, you will gain early access to the game.
ExpressVPN launched in 2009 and has grown into a premier VPN service. Whether you want to protect your privacy online, enjoy your favorite streaming services while traveling, or watch live sports, ExpressVPN is a great choice. You can rely on their network for fast, stable connections. This is true for VPN users and those who rely on their MediaStreamer feature to extend functionality to game consoles and more. We suggest signing up for our ExpressVPN deal which includes 3 months free when you subscribe for 12 months. The savings, along with a 30-day money-back guarantee make ExpressVPN an excellent choice.
2. Best VPN for Cricket Wireless: NordVPN
It should come as no surprise that some sports have significant followings in various parts of the world. While some of them have international audiences, others only have support in the home country. For those that like specific events, you can often find coverage wherever the sport is popular. If you are outside an area that has coverage, you will want to connect to a VPN server from NordVPN. Simply locate a country that has the coverage you want to see and connect to a server there.
As the world has changed in recent times, a large number of people have ventured to internet streaming for their entertainment needs. The issue is that sometimes, you may want to see a different library of content. That is one of the reasons you would want to connect to a NordVPN server. Whether that library comes from the same source as with international streaming companies like Netflix, or region-specific options like iPlayer from the BBC, you will be able to access those and more by connecting to a VPN.
3. Best VPN for Cricket Wireless: PIA
If you are a big sports fan, you may find yourself watching sports you would have never thought of watching previously. While that may not be true for all, many have discovered that to be the case. For everyone that has developed a fondness for other sports than the normal, connecting to a VPN server from Private Internet Access is a good idea. By doing so, you don’t have to miss out on some of your new favorite sports and can cheer on the participants.
Private Internet Access hosts approximately 3300 servers located in more than 48 countries, and they make additions to that network, frequently. Even though they may not offer as many countries as some of its competitors, the multiple numbers of servers mean that the service is fast. In terms of the number of servers, they have one of the more extensive networks in the community. You can expect them to perform well and offer some excellent speeds, no matter which country or location you choose.
4. Best VPN for Cricket Wireless: CyberGhost
If you play older games that move to browsers or games that you would natively play in one, you should consider connecting to a CyberGhost VPN server. Unfortunately, some games can take a while to load. Of course, that depends on the browser you choose. Often, that is because of ads or processes that are running in the background when loading the page. By connecting to a VPN, you will be able to block all of the things that could slow you down when playing your favorite browser games.
As the world moves more towards mobile phones and computing, some mobile carriers allow their users to watch sports on their favorite devices without it counting against their data usage. If you plan on taking an overseas trip, however, connecting to a VPN server from CyberGhost is a good idea. Unfortunately, media companies often limit sports viewing to specific areas. By making a connection to your home region, the blocking software will think you are there. Then, you should be able to enjoy everything as usual.
5. Best VPN for Cricket Wireless: IPVanish
If you are worried about protecting your online activities, IPVanish has you covered. Despite being located in the United States, the company has a no-logs policy. That means they do not keep logs or records of activity history. By not doing so, they do not have data to share when requests for that information come in. If you, too, believe that the internet should be open and free of censorship or prying eyes of governments, you can’t go wrong by choosing IPVanish as your VPN provider.
No matter where you are from, you probably know that the US has some excellent streaming services. Whether it is an stand alone service like HBO Now, a package of channels like Sling TV, or others, you will miss out on them unless you connect to a VPN server. Luckily, IPVanish makes it easy. All you have to do is pick a server from the US if that is the region you wish to use. Then, log in with your credentials and you are all set.
