Ok, the financial advisor guy on Oprah the other day (Ric Edelman) mentioned that you can keep an unactivated cell phone around (in your car, etc) for emergencies and you can still call 911 on it as long as it has batteries/is charged up.
After searching for a few hours online (and on the board) I was able to determine that this is true, but I also came up with a bunch of extra info that made me even more confused.
One site said it has to be an analog, not digital phone. Another site said it was a bad idea because if 911 needed to call you back, there wouldn’t be a number to call. Another site said not only can you call 911, you can also call 800 numbers, and another claimed you could receive incoming calls from other people.
I’ve used other people’s cell phones on exactly 3 occasions so know nothing about them; any info is appreciated. The reason I ask is one of the thrift stores I frequent has a bin of cell phones priced at a few bucks each. Does a cell phone have a dial tone without activation? Do they take regular batteries? If I buy one from the thrift, is there any way to tell if it’s actually broken, and not just merely out of style/low-tech. One site mentioned that the previous number would still be programmed in the phone; is this true, how do I figure it out, will people be able to call me? Even if I can only dial 911 it’d be worth it for a couple bucks, I just don’t know if an inactive phone differs in any way from a broken phone. I’d hate to be lugging some old analog phone on a hike for safety and then find out it doesn’t work in an emergency.
Here’s how I heard it (IL, USA): any functional cell phone has to be able to call out to 911. It used to be that cheaper phones were analog and expensive ones were digital, but now regular cell phones are both, and there’s cheap ones that are analog only and other cheap ones that are digital only… -but the rule still applies: they all have to be able to call out to 911, even if they are not activated. To my knowledge, an unactivated cell phone will not accept incoming calls from anybody. - DougC
Analog lines are still available but the problem is, they aren’t as widely available anymore. If you are out in the wilderness, chances are you can’t even pick up a digital signal, depends on your provider and your location.
In my opinion, it’s worth it to get a full fledged phone, I pay more than I should but it’s worth it. My phone is a dual mode phone, I can pick up signals in areas that aren’t covered by digital signal yet but I am still limited by the placement of their phone towers.
If you are in the middle of BFE, the best way to go is a satellite phone but those are way expensive.
As for the “emergency” phones, I have seen them and I am not impressed. It’s usually only calls to 911 and if you are stranded in the middle of nowhere, they aren’t going to be too keen on you calling for a tow truck. Again, I think the full fledged phone is the best way to go.
My particular phone is automatically transferred to my home phone and when I turn it on it automatically forwards my land line calls there. You can get plans as low as $20 a month in our area. Plus, in my plan, all long distance within all the 50 states is included so I actually save money by having it as my long distance phone as I have 1000 minutes each month on the weekends. Also, I got a “reconditioned” phone and never have had any problems with it, cost me about half of a brand new phone.
I have an old cell phone you can have if you’d like. It is an analog phone, just email me with your address and I will shoot if off next week.
Not sure if that helped you but those are my opinions, rather than the straight dope on it.
You can’t make free 911 calls in the US with a deactivated GSM phone. No SIM card, and you get an error message when you turn on your phone. Same thing if the phone’s been deactivated – “INVALID SIM”.
Universal emergency phone number, always available in any GSM phone within the range of any GSM network regardless of the country or the operator. All phones allow the access to this number even without the SIM card and even with the keyboard locked."
most US networks don’t run on GSM, but GSM networks across europe use the emergency number 112. you don’t need an activated phone to make this call.
hey, and look what i found, a phone meant just for emergencies :
We have found that some cellular carriers block 911 calls from these unactivated cellular phones…
Also, old unactivated cell phones (sold prior to February 2000) do not include a separate capability for processing 911 calls as mandated by the FCC. More information below"
“The FCC rulings mandate that cellular phones without a monthly service contract be able to make free 911 calls, place credit card calls or collect calls any where in the US.”
The problem of silent 999 calls is pretty serious in the UK now, for instance Strathclyde Police say that:
I think the figure I heard was 80,000 silent calls a year in Greater London, these are placing a strain on the network and I don’t think it’s coincidence that when the keypad on my new phone is locked you cannot call 112 or 999.
As for the OP, I say “get a mobile if possible”. Reassuring when travelling alone, very useful (if annoying to others when used inconsiderately) when not.
Just want to point out that you can also call 611 (in US) which will connect you to the cell phone service department. If you really need to you can make a call by dialing 611, using a CC but this is the most expensive way to make a call and would not be surprised if you were charged over $10 for a 1 minute local call.
911 works - i’ve used it on a deactivated cell phone. that’s assuming that the phone has all it’s parts including the sim card if your phopne uses it.
IMHO if you don’t need a cell phone but would like to be able to get emergency service it is alot better then nothing. If money is tight but would like a cellphone maybe disco your landline phone and only use the cell - this depends a lot on the package offered.
“The reason I ask is one of the thrift stores I frequent has a bin of cell phones priced at a few bucks each.”
You been in one of my stores? yes, but remember that often those phones won’t call because they don’t have a code to turn them on, see? Some that I have looked at require a card, some a code.
I would not suggest calling 911 to test your phone. I haven’t come up with a way to test them officially (has anyone?)but I would probably just visit the police dept & ask them to test it for me. That’s not just cause I can’t hear on the phone like most people but because in some areas I believe it’s against the law to call 911 unless you seriously need to, right?
Another option if all you want is a cell for emergencies is to get the pre-paid option. You get the phone, and you buy time, similar to a regular phone card. I’ve done this, and it seems to work well. It definitely beats a bill for something you don’t use often.
I think this clears it up the best for me. In other words if you have a breakdown or other non-911 emergency you can use a phone card to call your towing service, but it has to be a phone made in the last couple of years for you to be 100% sure. (I didn’t understand that bit about GSM/SIM cards at all – how would you know? And like Handy was saying, how do you test them in general?)
I agree with MsRobyn - prepaid is the way to go. I’m currently on Rogers/ATT pay-as-you-go, and they have the best plan available (Hamilton, Ontario). You can get 10, 20 or 50$ cards and they last you a fair while. I’m using the 50$ plan - you get 150 minutes for 180 days. Now, If you can’t use 2.5 hours of phone time in 6 months, then you need to find more people to call :-).
And although its a bit expensive per minute (33 cents), and it;s rounded to the minute, not second, the advantage is that it’s the same price local or long-distance, all day, every day. I can call my SO, in the same area code, my friends in the neighbouring one, or call my parents in a different province, and it’s the same price. Pretty convenient for my needs. I use my cell mostly for quick, convenient calls to let people know where I’m going to be and when. And since I have a 45min commute to school, I feel a lot safer on the road than I would without. I even had to use it recently to let the SO know I would be home late cuz the weather was so bad. I find I do use up the airtime, and I’ll likely use it up before 180 days is up. If that happens to a significant extent, I might reevaluate my phone plan, but for what you seem to want one for, I say this is a good plan type to go with.
yes, but remember that often those phones won’t call because they don’t have a code to turn them on, see? Some that I have looked at require a card, some a code.