Karma is a Sprint based MVNO, offering cellular data plans tied to their own proprietary hotspot devices - the Karma Go or the Karma Black.
Purchasing a proprietary Karma hotspot is required to be able to sign up for Karma's Sprint based data plans.
Karma has an interesting program where if you share your Wi-Fi via your device with new people nearby (even strangers) you earn 100MB of data/$1credit and they use their data, not yours. If you want to have control over who connects to your hotspot (Wi-Fi) then you have to add on a premium feature to your account for +$$/month.
Karma as a cellular data provider has a history - and it's not all good.
In this Guide
- Testing Status
- History
- Hotspot Devices
- Karma Black
- Karma Go
- Plans
- Thoughts & Analysis (Member Only)
- Purchase
Testing Status
We purchased a Karma Go device when the very promising "Neverstop" plan was announced in November 2015. We used it sporadically until the Neverstop plan was discontinued in February 2016.
History
Karma made headlines late in 2015 when it announced an unlimited data plan called 'Neverstop' for $50/month. Though speeds were capped at a modest 5Mbps, this plan generated a huge amount of interest from those desperate for a truly unlimited cellular data plan - and Karma sold a lot of hotspots.
It only took Karma a few weeks to discover that the usage demands of the Neverstop plan were higher than it could deliver, and in February 2016 Karma canceled the Neverstop plan entirely and introduced the Pulse plan instead.
Karma's original pay-as-you-go Refuel plan with non-expiring data was discontinued in late 2016 as well.
In late 2017, Karma changed its plans again, offering capped buckets of data on its plans - with purchased data lasting for three months before it expires.
Many of the customers who signed up for Neverstop sent their Karma Go's back for an "unconditional" refund. Unfortunately, even by the end of 2016 many of those refunds reportedly still had not been fulfilled, generating a whole lot of bad karma for Karma online.
Related Articles to this history:
- Karma Launches Neverstop, and Unlimited Hotspot Plan
- Karma Reverses Course on Neverstop
- Karma Cancels Neverstop
Devices
Karma Go
The Karma Go is Karma's proprietary “one button” mobile internet hotspot with LTE/3G/2G technology.
Specifications
- Battery Life: 6hrs (non-removable)
- # of Connected Devices: 8 - Wi-Fi Only, No USB Tethering
- Cellular Networks Supported:
LTE Bands: 25, 26, 41 (Sprint) - LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation:
- Cellular Antenna Ports: None
- Wi-Fi Technology / Frequencies: 802.11 b/g/n - 2.4GHz
- Dimensions: 2.9" x 2.9" x .47"
- SIM Card Type: 2FF / Mini SIM
- Retail Price: $199 (Frequently on sale for less)
Karma Black
In December of 2017, Karma began offering the Karma Black hotspot - a proprietary hotspot with a few interesting twists:
"Karma Black is a Personal Security Appliance (PSA) that will encrypt and anonymize your online activity, protecting your identity from invasive tracking, unknown surveillance and sale of your private internet habits."
In other words - it is a basic Karma Go hotspot painted black with a built in VPN service, and you can actually use it both over Karma's Sprint-powered cellular network or bridged through any public Wi-Fi network.
Use of the Black also requires a $19/mo security services fee on top of whatever Karma cellular data plan you choose.
Read more about Karma Black on the Karma blog.
Specifications
- Battery Life: 6hrs (non-removable)
- # of Connected Devices: 8 - Wi-Fi Only, No USB Tethering
- Cellular Networks Supported:
LTE Bands: 25, 26, 41 (Sprint) - LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation:
- Cellular Antenna Ports: None
- Wi-Fi Technology / Frequencies: 802.11 b/g/n - 2.4GHz
- Dimensions: 2.9" x 2.9" x .47"
- SIM Card Type: 2FF / Mini SIM
- Retail Price: $249 (Frequently on sale for less)
Plans
Karma based plans are only available for use on Karma proprietary devices. They offer capped data plans, with the purchased data lasting for three months before it expires, or Pay-As-You-Go plans, with a monthly maintenance fee of $3/month + $10/GB of data used.
Karma offers an app to monitor and navigate your data plans.
Currently Available Plans:
- "Drift" (Pay-As-You-Go): $3/month + $10/GB
- 5GB - $39.99
- 10GB - $79.99
- 20GB - $99.99
For Our Comparative Pricing Grid:
Guide to Cellular Data Plan Pricing
Policies & Perks
- Carrier Networks Used: Sprint
- Carrier Relation: MVNO
- Plan Types Available: Data Only
- Device Types Permitted: Karma Proprietary Hotspot Devices
- Device Purchase Required: Yes
- Mobile Hotspot Use: All
- Throttling: None
- Network Management: None
- International Roaming: Unknown
- Domestic Roaming: Unknown
- Plan Period: 30 Days
- Data Roll Over: Yes - for 3 months
- Overage Charges: +$19.99/ month for security features if using a Karma Black device.
- Streaming: No bundled services, no apparent speed caps.
- Unlimited: Not available.
- Lines permitted per account:
- Device Lock/Unlock Policy: No possible
- Extras:
- Must add 'Premium' feature (+$$) to control basic things like who's able to connect to your Karma device, names your network, and set data caps or speed limits.
- Service on the Karma Black device requires an additional $19.99/month fee for security subscription.
Related Articles:
The Rest of this Review is:
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