# Recommend me an Android Phone and a new prepaid carrier **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514 "2018-09-18T03:33:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/1 "2018-09-18T03:33:21Z")
I don’t want to hijack this thread. [https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=862247](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=862247) I like the pre-paid phone plans, the ones where you buy your own phone and then pay $25-40/month for the phone plan. I am currently on virgin mobile and have a samsung galaxy J7. However I don’t like the J7. The main reason is that it ‘only’ has 16GB of internal memory. I thought when I bought it ‘16GB, I’ll never run out of space’. My old phone had 8GB of internal memory. The one before that had 1GB of internal memory. But then when I got it I realized something like 6+GB is just the OS. Then there are tons of apps you can’t move to the microSD card. It adds up fast. So I’m hoping a 32GB internal memory phone will be enough for me. Hopefully. I’d rather not spend the money on a phone with 64GB of internal memory. Those seem closer to $600 for a phone. I’d like to keep the phone to under $200. I’d like it to be android, 32GB (or more if possible) internal memory plus a microSD slot. A 128GB microSD card is more than enough, I don’t need a slot that can handle a 256GB card. Also what is a good provider for a single individual (so I don’t have 3 other people I can all get together with to get the phone). Verizon? T-mobile? Sprint? Walmart? A big issue is that when I am in rural areas in Indiana, I don’t get coverage. In fact, I don’t even get coverage in Iowa city when I am visiting people. Iowa city should have coverage on modern cell phones, but doesn’t on virgin mobile. Also how do I transfer my phone number between providers? The Moto E4 Plus doesn’t sound bad. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/2 "2018-09-18T05:44:09Z")
Virgin Mobile is a subsidiary of Sprint. Probably Verizon is the best carrier for you. There are a number of MVNOs which sell Verizon. Look at: Total Wireless > **[Total Wireless is now Total By Verizon. Shop Prepaid Phones & Plans.](https://www.totalbyverizon.com)** > > Total Wireless becomes Total By Verizon. Get the best deals in wireless with prepaid phones and plans on America's most reliable 5G network. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/3 "2018-09-18T19:11:44Z")
I’m very pleased with Consumer Cellular. They use AT&T towers and coverage is very good. You can get a custom plan for under $40 a month. No contract to worry about. Even less if you don’t need much data. I have a Moto X Pure and Consumer Cellular sent me a SIM Card. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/4 "2018-09-20T18:38:40Z")
I’m on Puppy Wireless. They are a Verizon MVNO. $26 Unlimited Talk, Text, & 2GB Data. As far as a phone, the Moto phones are good, as are the Samsung Galaxy line. I’ve had a S4, S5 and a Note 4 and been very happy with all. I usually buy a used ~4 year old flagship phone on eBay for around $125. I search for something like: “galaxy s5 verizon excellent” and carefully read the description. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/5 "2018-09-20T18:54:13Z")
If you’ve put all your contacts and such under your Google account they will transfer when you change phones. Changing phone companies and keeping your number shouldn’t be a problem either as it’s a normal thing for them. I’ve known people who’ve switched carriers a few times in just a year or two to check them out and they’ve always kept their number. I don’t know who to suggest for another carrier, I’ve been with Virgin for 15 or so years. I thought when I first read your post that you wanted to switch because they were going Apple only, but they’ve gone back to offering Android phones again. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/6 "2018-09-21T00:32:42Z")
I’ve been with Google Fi for about 3 years. They have the moto g6 for $199 and the Android one moto x4 for $249. Both seem to fit your criteria. I currently have the moto g6, which is a great phone for the price. Their plan is $20/month for talk & text, plus $10 per GB of data. If you use a lot of data, it is probably not the best plan. I have wifi at home and work so my bill is rarely above $30. Plus, you only pay for the data you use. Fi runs largely on the Sprint network, I believe. Moving your phone number is easy - your new carrier will take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![zwede](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ac91a4/32.png) [@zwede](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwede)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/7 "2018-09-21T00:59:28Z")
I’m with Red Pocket wireless (prepaid). They send you SIMs for T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon and whatever one you use for activation is the network you’ll be on. I picked T-Mobile and it is working well. Since I’m a light user (almost always on WIFI) I went with the 500 minutes/500 SMS/500 MB plan. Buying it through Ebay I got it for $99/year or $8.25 a month. If you want the best odds of getting coverage in rural areas you want AT&T. ---
**Author:** ![SuperAbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@SuperAbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperAbe)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/8 "2018-09-21T01:55:38Z")
> [@Wednesday\_Evening](#): > > Fi runs largely on the Sprint network, I believe. The huge advantage Fi has - but also the reason why only a small handful of phones work well - is that they auto-switch between the T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular networks. T-Mobile is good-to-great in most large cities, Sprint is…okay…most places, and U.S. Cellular specializes in rural areas. In the past 3 years the only place I’ve ever had trouble getting a signal with Fi was in Eastern Montana…not even the guy with Verizon could get bars in some places there. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-an-android-phone-and-a-new-prepaid-carrier/821514/9 "2018-09-21T02:03:33Z")
> [@SuperAbe](#): > > In the past 3 years the only place I’ve ever had trouble getting a signal with Fi was in Eastern Montana…not even the guy with Verizon could get bars in some places there. Good luck trying to find a decent bar anywhere in Eastern Montana.