We know that deciding on a prepaid cell phone provider is only the first step. Once you choose a provider and a phone, you'll need to activate that phone. The prepaid cellular companies do their best to make activations easy, but sometimes a little help might be needed. So we bought phones from our top prepaid wireless providers, had one of our editors activate them and document the process in case you need someone to walk you through the steps.

If you've had a problem activating your phone, we want to hear about it so we can add it to the activation guides in case others experience the same problem.



 

AT&T GoPhone - Motorola C168i
Click here for the AT&T prepaid activation guide


AT&T makes it really, really easy to activate their prepaid phones. The hardest part, actually, is installing the SIM, which says a lot about the ease of the process. That is, unless you run into any issues when using the online or phone activation. I did not, but that's not to say that no one will.

Click here to read the full AT&T prepaid activation guide
Click here to visit the AT&T GoPhone website
Click here to read reviews of AT&T prepaid service




Boost Mobile - Motorola i415
Click here for the Boost Mobile activation guide

 
We did this activation online, and we have to say that we're thoroughly impressed. There were a few extra steps mixed in the middle, and they asked for some information that other providers don't ask for, but everything was simple and explained to us. When we were asked to enter our SIM card number, they even told us where to look and what the number would start with. It's as if Boost went out of their way to ensure a simple activation process. We like that.

Click here to read the full Boost Mobile activation guide
Click here to visit the Boost Mobile website
Click here to read reviews of Boost Mobile prepaid service




Cingular Go Phone - Motorola C139
Click here for the Cingular prepaid activation guide

 
This was a pretty standard activation. We do recommend that you write down all relevant numbers (SIM, IMEI, serial). There were no hidden steps to speak of. This is also the step where you pick your plan, so make sure you're familiar with what you want before you begin activation.

Click here to read the full Cingular prepaid activation guide
Click here to visit the Cingular Go Phone website
Click here to read reviews of Cingular prepaid service




Net10 - Motorola C139
Click here for the Net10 prepaid activation guide

 
Of all the web-based activations, Net10 took the least amount of time from beginning to placing calls. It's a stripped-down version of Tracfone, and they even stripped down the activation process.

Click here to read the full Net10 prepaid activation guide
Click here to visit the Net10 website
Click here to read reviews of Net10 prepaid service




T-Mobile To Go - Nokia 6030
Click here for the T-Mobile prepaid activation guide

 
We expected T-Mobile to have web activation. After all, they are a Big Four. However, we were surprised -- even dismayed -- to find that we had to call from a landline to go through the process. We thought it was a bit longer than the other processes, but that might just be because of our disappointment. Really, though, it's no more difficult than the others. And you start off with a $10 balance, so that helped.

Click here to read the full T-Mobile prepaid activation guide
Click here to visit the T-Mobile To Go website
Click here to read reviews of T-Mobile prepaid service




TracFone - Motorola C139
Click here for the TracFone activation guide

 
Tracfone really gets it. Instead of having you look through your box for the relevant activation numbers (IMEI, serial, SIM if applicable), Tracfone has them listed right inside the phone. So you just click through the website and your phone, and voila! The only external element you need during activation is the airtime card.

Click here to read the full TracFone prepaid activation guide
Click here to visit the TracFone website
Click here to read reviews of TracFone prepaid service




Verizon Wireless prepaid - Nokia 2366i
Click here for the Verizon prepaid activation guide

 
They may be the No. 2 service provider in the country, but they definitely have the No. 1 activation process in terms of simplicity. All you do is dial a number right from the phone you are activating. They ask you a few questions, and there you are. It didn't take more than three minutes to activate once we were connected. Take that, AT&T.

Click here to read the full Verizon prepaid activation guide
Click here to visit the Verizon prepaid wireless website
Click here to read reviews of Verizon prepaid service




Virgin Mobile - Kyocera
Click here for the Virgin Mobile activation guide

 
We're sure that the website activation normally works. However, when we gave it a try, we kept getting stuck on one screen. Knowing that it was probably a temporary error, we left it for an hour and came back. Still, we had no luck. So we called the activation number, and found it simple and short. The website setup seemed easy, but since it didn't work, we can't say for sure. But it was very easy over the phone.

Click here to read the full Virgin Mobile activation guide
Click here to visit the Virgin Mobile website
Click here to read reviews of Virgin Mobile prepaid service