I am looking to get a no contract cell phone and I am thoroughly confused. All I need is a simple phone with (ideally) unlimited voice service for X number of months, voice mail and good reception. I don’t want or need anything else.
Unfortunately the reviews are all over the map. The number and types of plans are bewildering.
I don’t know if this will just compound the situation but I would like to hear your advice and/or experiences concerning no contract phones and services.
We went from spending over a thousand dollars per year for T-Mobile’s cheapest/most limited monthly plan (for two phones) to paying between $200 and $400 per year for the same level of service.
Mrs. Devil and I work from home and typically do our errands together, so our cell usage is absurdly limited. A few years ago I noticed that we were paying over a grand a year and leaving bajillions of minutes unused. Because we’d never get around to using the minutes, a rollover plan was no help.
So we switched to T-Mobile’s pay-as-you-go plan. T-Mobile was our carrier already, so we knew we had good service in our house and all over the country. We put a $100 on each account whenever it’s time to refill, which means the minutes bought last for a year. The usage rate is .10 per minute, but by putting down the $100 refills we get a 15 percent ‘bonus’. Not the greatest rate compared to being on a regular plan, but due to lack of contract it saves us a ton of money. When we do want data access, it only costs us $1.50 for 24 hours of access. Again, not the greatest rate to pay on a daily basis, but for sporadic use it can’t be beat. Reception/call quality has never dropped off compared to when we were on a plan and though there’s a slight difference in customer service, nothing to complain about.
YMMV: I have no experience with T-Mobile signal in Hades.
After over a decade with Sprint, I became intrigued by ads for unlimited minutes and text for $40 a month with Metro PCS. I’ve had it since January and am happy overall with what I call my “ghetto phone” - I have the $60 unlimited everything plan with a Crackberry…I am on the phone a lot.
Cons: Can’t port your old number over. Also, compared to Sprint/Nextel, coverage is a little iffy outside of metro areas; lots of dropped calls.
Pros: Price. Also, while there’s no customer service number for problems, MetroPCS stores are ubiquitous and the staff is helpful.
Also I like the nifty “voicemail to text” option. It converts all my VMs to text messages, which are often amusingly garbled. “Hey Crane, I’m going to Russia for breakfast, your paint is in the, well yeah, and my cat is in your bathroom wearing red socks. Call me later.”
My husband and I both have basic Tracfones – I have no idea if there are any charges to text because we never use it. They roll over any previous unused minutes. The last time I paid-or-be-disconnected I received over 300 minutes total, which means I don’t have to plunk down any more $ until October or November. By then I’ll probably have close to 400 minutes, seeing as I seldom use it.
My only complaint about using it is that calls sometimes tend to drop off. My husband will call me from work, for instance, and the line sometimes goes dead after 10 minutes or so. If you’re the type who lives on a cell phone, I wouldn’t recommend it for this reason. To have for an emergency and/or short “I’ll be late for dinner” calls? It’s perfectly fine.