# Talk to me about burner phones -- need answer fast **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2021, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654 "2021-08-14T11:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/21 "2021-08-14T18:38:41Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Where can I find these cheap Tracfones in person? I still want to get one today. All I can say is shop around. They are like other items that go on sale at different stores at different times, and are even advertised in sales papers. CVS, Family Dollar, Fred’s, Dollar General, all those stores (and similar stores) have them. IIRC the last time I bought a burner in a store was at Fred’s and they had a $10 4.5-inch phone but I splurged on a $20 5-inch one. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/22 "2021-08-14T18:43:33Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > What do you mean “+$25 card”? The services are sold on little cardboard cards like gift cards. You can buy a month, 3 months, a year, extra data, extra minutes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/23 "2021-08-14T18:51:57Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The services are sold on little cardboard cards like gift cards. You can buy a month, 3 months, a year, extra data, extra minutes, etc. You can do that, but you don’t have to go to the store or anything. I usually buy mine on line, and you can buy them through your phone—though I’m not sure that’s available on all units. I order, keep my phone on, it updates after a few minutes, and no trees were killed. A potentially cheaper way to go is to get a “plan” where for $20. But there’s no contract, so cancel it at the end of the month. > **[Shop No-Contract Plans For Basic & Smartphones - Tracfone](https://www.tracfone.com/phone-service-plans)** > > Shop our prepaid plans to pair with your basic or smartphone! Get unlimited talk & text, data plans with no contracts on America's most reliable 5G network. It also says you can auto refill. > Automatically refill your service. \*Save $5/month for the first 2 months, then regular price will apply. Your credit or debit card will be charged on the service end date of your Tracfone Unlimited plan, and thereafter on the last day of the service plan cycle. > **[Shop No-Contract Plans For Basic & Smartphones - Tracfone](https://www.tracfone.com/phone-service-plans)** > > Shop our prepaid plans to pair with your basic or smartphone! Get unlimited talk & text, data plans with no contracts on America's most reliable 5G network. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/24 "2021-08-14T18:56:07Z")
@ThelmaLou, find a kid to help you, if you can. Trade them a meal at their favorite fast food place. Barring that, try a Target, WalMart, BestBuy. It will still be a kid helping you. I’ve always found the sales help better at BB or Tarjay. Wish I had more to offer. I think I get it. You want a cheapest possible phone to have in your apron pocket (while your favored phone is being restored/repaired) in case you fall down and can’t get back up. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/25 "2021-08-14T19:11:01Z")
Pretty much every Tracphone or equivalent I’ve seen comes with the phone and minutes in single package. The cheapest phones usually cost about the same as it would just to buy the included minutes. I also note that any phone that can get a signal (which would be 3G or higher, I believe) should be set up where you can use it to call 911 in the case of an emergency, even if you have no minutes or plan. Before I put a sim card in my phone, it said “Emergency Use Only,” and the settings confirmed I could have called 911 if I needed to. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/26 "2021-08-14T21:06:40Z")
UPDATE. Thanks, all. Good info all around. I wound up back at Best Buy to get the $30 Tracfone + one month of usage for $20. Haha! Turns out that phone was on sale for $10-- and it’s a fully-equipped smartphone, almost as fancy as my Key2 (though not as fast). Still setting up and configuring everything. But at least I can now make a phone call. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/27 "2021-08-14T21:39:54Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > UPDATE: My current carrier is AT&T. I’ve been to the AT&T store and to Best Buy. According to Google there is a dedicated “Tracfone store” in San Antonio, but I drove around and couldn’t find it. > > The upshot is that my previous phone is a BlackBerry Classic, but it used the now-obsolete (but much beloved and missed) BlackBerry Operating System. The guys at both the AT&T store and Best Buy determined that a new SIM card wouldn’t work in my BlackBerry Classic (old phone). My current phone is a BlackBerry Key2 and uses Android. But that phone is no longer relevant to my burner phone shopping process. > > As I see it, I’m going to need to buy a virgin phone with none of my contacts/data in it and at least a month’s worth of calling plan. I don’t care which carrier. I also don’t care about keeping my phone number temporarily at this point. > > AT&T had prepaid phones but the cheapest was ~$70 and that was before any calling plan. > > Best Buy had a Tracfone smartphone for $30. > > [https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tracfone-lg-journey-aurora-black/6373971.p?skuId=6373971](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tracfone-lg-journey-aurora-black/6373971.p?skuId=6373971) > > I said I really don’t need a smartphone; all I want to be able to do is call and text. The basic flip phone that could call and do texting was $20, only $10 cheaper than the smartphone. The one-month calling plan for each was $20. I know I said I was willing to pay $50 for the whole works, but do I really need to spend that much? > > > [@Wolf333](#): > > > > I was going to recommend Tracphone. I just bought an LG Rebel + $25 card for just under $40 (including tax) at Best Buy. > > > > [Total Wireless LG K31 Rebel Prepaid TWLGL355DC3PWP - Best Buy](https://www.bestbuy.com/site/total-wireless-lg-k31-rebel-prepaid/6444063.p?skuId=6444063) > > The phone you linked to shows a price of $40. What do you mean “+$25 card”? Does that mean you spent a total of $65? > > > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > > Extremely reasonable. For example, $15 for phone and $15 for month of (very data-poor) service. > > Where can I find these cheap Tracfones in person? I still want to get one today. They have a deal if you buy phone plus the card (scroll down the page). I bought mine in person at a Best Buy. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/28 "2021-08-14T22:18:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Pretty much every Tracphone or equivalent I’ve seen comes with the phone and minutes in single package. Then you haven’t been paying much attention to the phones, because that is _far_ from universal. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/29 "2021-08-14T22:46:14Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Years ago, when I got my first one, the word was that Tracfone didn’t own any cell towers. Rather, they rented from existing companies and that basically meant you had coverage just about everywhere. Pretty much all the prepaid (Tracphone and Straighttalk esp) lease bandwidth from specific carriers. In fact, sometimes the Straighttalk phones as an example will have an ‘off brand name’ like TalkMobile to give you an idea of which carrier it’s on. But they’re generally locked to that carriers network, rather than all roam, all the time. For most carrier these days, within the US you can roam for free if you are in an area with no carrier specific coverage (in another thread I was giving the example where lots of rural areas are on their own, very local tower network), but that is on a per company and per plan basis. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/30 "2021-08-14T22:57:39Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > They have a deal if you buy phone plus the card (scroll down the page). I bought mine in person at a Best Buy. Check out post #26 right above this one of yours that I’m quoting from. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/31 "2021-08-14T23:55:38Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Pretty much all the prepaid (Tracphone and Straighttalk esp) lease bandwidth from specific carriers. In fact, sometimes the Straighttalk phones as an example will have an ‘off brand name’ like TalkMobile to give you an idea of which carrier it’s on. But they’re generally locked to that carriers network, rather than all roam, all the time. Actually Verizon is in the process of buying Tracfone and the deal is supposed to close before the end of the year: > **[Verizon bent on TracFone buy even as prepaid brand loses subs](https://www.fiercewireless.com/operators/why-verizon-so-bent-buying-tracfone-which-losing-subs)** > > Verizon remains adamant that its nearly $7 billion acquisition of TracFone will close before the end of the year, yet lawmakers and consumer groups continue to push for c | Verizon remains adamant that its nearly $7 billion acquisition of TracFone... ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654/32 "2021-08-15T00:39:28Z")
And T-Mobile owned Boost before it was sold to Dish as part of the Sprint/TM merger. Virgin was previously owned by Sprint, but is theoretically going it’s own way again after the above. So yes, a lot of the big pre-paid ‘brands’ were owned in whole or part by the big 3/4 carriers anyway. What was freaky for me when I worked for TM was that I’d have people call for help with a ‘locked’ phone only to find out it was a Boost or Tracphone using the TM network. We still couldn’t unlock it, and the prepaid carriers were notoriously bad about unlocking those phones since the ‘burner’ level phones were often sold at/near a loss. It’s not that they _wouldn’t_ do it, but the hours those customers spent on hold trying to get through to someone who COULD do it was apparently insanely painful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talk-to-me-about-burner-phones-need-answer-fast/948654.md?page=1)