For several years I’ve been a Verizon Wireless customer, on a basic cell phone plan which costs me about $50 a month.
My old phone is crapping out, and before ordering another subsidized phone (and signing up for another 2 years) I’m wondering if there are better (cheaper) options for me.
While I like always having a cell phone available in case of emergencies etc., most of the actual talking I do on it is during the evenings and/or on weekends from home, where of course I have an internet connection…I rarely do any texting etc.
Is something like a prepaid phone (do you keep your #?) + voice calling over the internet (via Skype? I’ve never used it) a practicable solution that could save me enough money to be worth considering?
When my current phone craps out (it was a free incentive from Verizon back when there was the big switch from analog to digital), I’m going to try Consumer Cellular. No long-term commitment plans, discounts for AARP members, etc. according to the AARP propaganda I’ve gotten in the mail and online. Supposedly I can even get a refurbished iPhone (older model but good enough for my purposes).
Look into PagePlus Cellular.
They resell Verizon service, so you will still be phoning on the Verizon network. You can use any Verizon phone except phones that were originally sold as Verizon prepaid or 4G phones (though there are some workarounds for 4G phones).
Yes, you can keep your old phone number with almost any cell phone company, the process is called “porting.” But do not cancel your Verizon service until you finish porting your service to your new carrier or you will lose it.
PagePlus sells a small variety of “supported” phones. They also let you bring your own Verizon-capable phone. If you don’t buy a “supported” phone, they reserve the right not to help you with questions about how your phone works (or doesn’t work).
You can port your current phone (if it is not longer under contract) to PagePlus and then shop around for another phone and port your number to it later.
I have a tracphone LG800G ($50) pre-paid. It is “tripple minutes for life” so when I buy a 1500 minute / 1yr card ($200) it is loaded on the phone as 4500 minutes.
They provide porting right on their web site. The only problem I had was when I originally bought the phone on the web site (they didn’t sell it locally), I had to replaced the SIM card to work on AT&T towers instead of the Verizon SIM that was shipped with it.
I ported my landline number over to this phone and am very happy with the service. I’ve cut my annual phone costs in half (if not more). The only thing I’ve added was a free GoogleVoice account to actually take voicemail so that (a) I get an email for each call and (b) I don’t have to waist air time listening to voice mail.
If you have a Walmart near you, they offer a large selection of pre-paid phones and quite frankly the average user will save money going that route these days.
I’m using T-Mobile’s $30 month plan which gives 5 gigs of data, unlimited text, but only 100 minutes of call time. I always add an additional $5 to cover overages (they charge .10 per minute, once your 100 minutes are up), but I also use Skype when I am a home to reduce my minute usage. I rarely break $40 a month.
One of the good things about going off contract is that you can find a plan that suits your individual needs and reduce your cost. You need to do a little research and analyze your usage patterns, and then you will be golden.
Like Enkel, my cost are down by half and I can change carriers at any time, without worrying about EFT.
I concur that TracFone, with a triple-minutes phone (they have a pretty good one for about $35) and a one-year card (600 minutes, 1 year activation, $99) is the best light-use cell phone option.
ETA: Once you’ve paid for a year’s activation, you can buy cheaper minutes - 60 minutes, 30 days - and get 180 minutes good for the remainder of your year.
If you go with lesser minutes you can do a lot better than $99 a year on TracFone. Do a 3 month extension and they will offer a 1 year extension for not much.
For a home phone we do VoIP with voip.ms and a Linksys PAP2 phone adapter. I wired it into our home wiring (disconnecting the POTS), using a crossover cable NOTE. Very cheap for making few calls. Transferred our old number. We average less than $5 a month.
I don’t see why people are paying $30+ a month for a phone (only) if they don’t yak a lot.
I went to Radio Shack this month, and paid $20.00 for a Kyocera phone on a Virgin Mobile prepaid plan.
On top of that, $20.00 gets me 200 minutes of talking time. If at the end of 30 days I haven’t used it all, I can spend another $20.00 for another 200 minutes, which are added to the balance. If I’m not mistaken, I can accrue up to 1000 minutes.
Yes, TracFone offers a lot of ways to play, and tend to throw extra minutes and discounts at users almost continually. Buying one-year service (200 minutes) on a triple-minutes phone seems to be the best starting option.
That’s where the prepaid services get you, on the need to continually pay for activation regardless of your usage or remaining minutes. It does little good to pile up minutes you’ll never use if the activation has to be paid for every 30-60 days. If you need a lot of minutes, prepaid per-minute may not be the solution; if you want a phone that stays activated for a long time with modest minutes, what I’ve suggested is the best plan I found in searching for exactly that.
If what the OP (or anyone else) wants is a cell phone that never costs anything except for minutes, may the force be with you.
If you want a smartphone but don’t want to pay for a data plan, another vote for PagePlus. They use Verizon towers, but not the “partner” towers. Check their coverage map for your area: http://www.pagepluscellular.com/why-page-plus/coverage/
I pay $12 a month for 250 minutes and 250 texts, and use WiFi for data. In fact many of my calls are made using Google Voice/GrooveIP which doesn’t use any minutes at all. But I like to have the cell call service when I’m away from WiFi.
The phones PagePlus offers are craptacular. Generally you can use any sort of 3g Verizon phone with little or no problems. They won’t support a phone you bring yourself, but they allow it. Two good ones are a Motorola Droid X2 or HTC Droid Incredible 2, both of which can be found used for ~$120 in excellent condition on eBay.
Be aware that Tmobile has bought-out/merged (whatever) with Metro PCS and with the much better plans/coverage/speed/phones at Tmobile, they will soon begin coaxing Metro users to switch over.
Sometime around 2015 the last of the CDMA-based phones designed for MetroPCS will be cutoff completely. The combined networks of the two companies (in the limited areas where Metro PCS currently operates) will be used for some blazing fast LTE coverage that will knock the socks off anyone who currently uses MetroPCS’s data service. Tmobile customers with LTE capable phones in former MetroPCS markets will also see improvements with the combined spectrum and bandwidth, but since we’re already relatively spoiled with “4G”/HSPA+ it won’t always be quite as noticeable.
But to see those eventual data speed gains, current MetroPCS users will need a GSM phone, preferably one that’s LTE capable (though they’d see some gains just by switching to Tmobiles current network), and the right plan.
For those who want an unlimited plan, they’re calling their newly branded plans GoSmart Mobile.
-$30 Unlimited Talk/Text (no web)
-$35 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (Slow, “2g” Web)
-$45 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (unlimited 4g/HSPA/LTE HIGH-speed web for the first 5gb a month, then unlimited Slow, 2g web if you go over)
For those who don’t need unlimited everything, the regular Tmobile monthly/no-contract plans still have some attractive options.
Someone who wants a new smartphone, for a good price, that will function at optimal speeds now, and optimal speeds on the new combined “T-Metro” network, would be well advised to consider the Google’s Nexus4.
Something like the TracFone option of 4500 minutes for a year (375/month) for $200 would probably cover all my needs (including my night/weekend calling) for a lot less than the $600/year I’m paying now - I will be looking into it further.
Getting up to $200/yr you are close to $x/mo plans being better. You can get unlimited talk/text & data if you have wifi at home and are willing to pay for the phone unsubsidized at republic wireless http://www.republicwireless.com/ (sprint based, but you call via Wifi at home).
The total cost for the TracFone deal is about $35 for the phone - a pretty decent BlackBerryish one that supports WiFi for the applets - and $199 for 4500 minutes and 1 year of service. That’s about $235 for the year or under $20 a month - less for a second year at around $16.50 a month. Replacement phones are $15-35.
I don’t know of any flat-rate monthly services that aren’t at least 50% more, plus generally more expensive phones. The Republic deal is either $250 up front and $20 a month, or $100 up front and $30 a month. That’s $460 a year either way, twice as much.
I am also not thrilled with the Republic web site. I was trying to find the cost of replacement phones - vs TF’s prices - and the search and answer links took me in a circle without ever quite answering the question. I assume a replacement is the full $250 as one answer says “a phone a year will cost you about $20 a month.”
Not dissing Republic, but they’re not in the same price class and I don’t know any flat-rate service - including TracFone’s option - that is.
I use “Straight Talk”, it’s a Wal-Mart product that uses AT&T towers. I bought a non-contract Nexus 4 through Google, and I had to buy a micro SIM card through the Wal-Mart website. But now I have a prepaid non-contract phone with unlimited talk, text and data for $45.00 a month.
I believe I will break even with extra costs of switching in about 10 months and I have my first smartphone to boot.
At around $20/mo
Ting (depending on usage): sprint
Cheapest phone $76 or you can buy a used sprint phone from a set list. Great if you don’t use much as ting is strictly based on how much you use. 500 minutes/100 texts/no data would be $18/month, for example, and that is actual usage - if you use 100 min/0 texts you pay for that.
Airvoice wireless: at&t
$10/mo 250 minutes or 500 texts (I believe that means each text is .5 minutes). GSM based, buy a sim and buy any unlocked GSM phone (which can be nearly free for an old feature phone to $$$ depending on the phone) http://www.airvoicewireless.com/plans-2/10-plan/
Liberty Wireless: sprint
$20/mo + free feature phone - 500 minutes or texts (each text = 1 min)
Voyager Mobile: sprint http://www.voyagermobile.com/
$19/mo unlimited talk & text. Phones start at $30 for feature phone,
If you don’t really need so many minutes, T-mobile prepaid can be pretty cheap if your horizon is many years. Bring your own GSM unlocked phone, pay 100 for the first year for 1000 minutes/texts. Buy any amount of refill on day 364 and you get another year added on, so if you use say, 2 or 300 minutes a year you can spend $100 in year one and $10 to add minutes to cover year 2, 3 etc.
Edit to add, not that I don’t recognize that tracfone has some advantages since they are an MVNO for all carriers - if you choose your phone wisely you can get verizon towers, at&t towers, whatever actually works best for you, vs being stuck with sprint or sometimes at&t or t-mobile for the other cheapest options.
You can use an iPhone on Straight Talk, too. I let my contract with AT&T run out, bought a Straight Talk sim and activated it on the $45 monthly plan. You lose visual voicemail, but that’s no biggie. Hitting the voicemail icon automatically connects you with your voicemail number. I’ve been using it for the past month and really appreciate the savings over AT&T.
Are you sure it was Verizon? Verizon’s CDMA system is completely incompatible with the GSM system used by AT&T, and Verizon phones don’t use SIM cards.
Was it T-Mobile? They are compatible with AT&T towers.
