What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

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sunny_socal
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What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

I have an existing unlocked phone that was on T-Mobile before. I have since upgraded and the phone has been my son's toy for computer games. The phone is GSM based but also has LTE, it's an HTC One M7.

How he's going on a trip and I want him to be able to call home. I went into T-Mobile and was hoping to get a pre-paid SIM card (Buy one for $20, get $20 worth of service, then stop using it.) It turns out that these cards all have some kind of 'monthly' feature in them where a $3/m fee is charged whether you use it or not. That $20 would eventually go down to zero even if I didn't use it.

Went to Walmart and their options seemed even worse. It seems pre-paid just means that the monthly fee is charged up front rather than after the month is over :?

Are there any plans/phone that function like a pre-paid Visa card? I just want to buy it and burn off the value through usage and have no monthly surcharge or commitment whatsoever.

Thanks.
dcb
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by dcb »

The t-mobile $3 plan may be as inexpensive as any you will find. I recently did the same thing with an old phone my wife occasionally uses. They are currently running an online special where you can purchase the starter sim kit for $3.99 and when activated gives you 30 min of call time and/or 30 messages and good for 30 days. ( https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go ) . You can refill your account with as little as $10 if you wish to keep service for a few more months.
dcb
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

Perfect, thanks! :D
jfave33
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jfave33 »

Get a truphone.com sim - they use the tmobile network. No monthly fee and no min top up every x days. Free incoming calls too which is rare.
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

jjface wrote:Get a truphone.com sim - they use the tmobile network. No monthly fee and no min top up every x days. Free incoming calls too which is rare.
That's even better for my situation. The trip isn't coming up immediately but I must provide a contact phone number for the traveler. They give a $15 promotional credit for ordering the SIM:
(today anyway...)
https://www.truphone.com/us/consumer/sim/

I selected 'No Autofill' so once my son runs out the card, no more calls! :mrgreen: (The initial $45 credit provides for plenty of calls & texts but only about 1GB of data so he won't be able to play games or watch youtube videos :wink: ) A nice touch: the system asks for your US State so you get a 'local' area code with the SIM. The number is provided immediately upon ordering online.
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jimb_fromATL
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jimb_fromATL »

Are there any plans/phone that function like a pre-paid Visa card? I just want to buy it and burn off the value through usage and have no monthly surcharge or commitment whatsoever.

Thanks.
Just for keeping in touch it may not be worth the hassle to port an existing phone.

Earlier this year I bought a $5 flip-phone at Target and paid $20 for one month up to 400 minutes of talk time on VirginMobile for a situation somewhat similar to yours. This was for an older adult for whom a smartphone would not have been convenient because of the learning curve.

In my area you can buy inexpensive android smartphones like the LG L39C and others for as little as $10, or flip-phones for $5 for Tracfone and other prepaid services at places like WalMart and Target and the cellphone kiosks in some grocery stores chains.

It's easily worth that as a spare terminal for internet access using local wifi networks, and MP3 player, camera, calculator, alarm clock, calendar and organizer and other android off-line apps plus a spare USB wall charger and cable even if it's never activated -- and it can be used for emergency calls, at least in my area. I download Google off-line maps via wifi and have a spare GPS map system with a phone that is not even activated. Plus it's just right for use as a paperweight.

For $20 you can have up 90 days service coverage with a Tracfone. They have a somewhat gimmicky "triple the minutes" plan for the face amount of their prepaid plans for smartphones, which makes the cost per minute cheaper than their "double minutes" for flip-phones.

For example the "60 minute" 90-day prepaid plan gives180 minutes talk time, plus 180MB of 3G internet access, plus 180 text messages. The unused time carries over if you renew the plan. So you can have a spare phone with a fair amount of talk time plus internet access and email for less than $7 per month.

You can add time talk time or internet access time in pre-paid increments during the 90 day period if needed, but that wouldn't be necessary just to "call home", and to text a bunch of "I'm OK, this is where I am" messages, as well as using some Google maps and light web surfing, and sending and receiving emails. Just be aware that it cannot be used for downloading or watching video, youtube, etc, unless you're using local wifi because those will eat up the 180MB direct call internet time very quickly. But he'll still have the talk time.

Incidentally with their smartphones, not flip-phones, checking voicemail does not use up any of the available talk-time minutes on Tracfone.

jimb
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

I considered Tracphone but my brother has one and I've seen enough to know I'd hate it. The fact that their system is incompatible with everything else keeps me away, not to mention the little reminders of how much my text or phone call 'cost' me. :|

The Truphone seems ideal, I'll be able to pop the SIM into any one of our existing phones. When the kids are old enough I will add them to our regular Cricket plan but right now they would waste the resource (and possibly get themselves into trouble online :shock: )
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Tozmo
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by Tozmo »

My wife has simple mobile, which is an mvno of T-Mobile. We pay $30 or so for everything she would need. Comparable on Verizon would be double the cost. Not sure how it would compare to T-Mobile directly
SRenaeP
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by SRenaeP »

sunny_socal wrote:I have an existing unlocked phone that was on T-Mobile before. I have since upgraded and the phone has been my son's toy for computer games. The phone is GSM based but also has LTE, it's an HTC One M7.

How he's going on a trip and I want him to be able to call home. I went into T-Mobile and was hoping to get a pre-paid SIM card (Buy one for $20, get $20 worth of service, then stop using it.) It turns out that these cards all have some kind of 'monthly' feature in them where a $3/m fee is charged whether you use it or not. That $20 would eventually go down to zero even if I didn't use it.

Went to Walmart and their options seemed even worse. It seems pre-paid just means that the monthly fee is charged up front rather than after the month is over :?

Are there any plans/phone that function like a pre-paid Visa card? I just want to buy it and burn off the value through usage and have no monthly surcharge or commitment whatsoever.

Thanks.
If he will have reliable access to wifi, consider not using a SIM at all. He could use Skype, Whatsapp or similar.

-Steph
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epicahab
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by epicahab »

I assume this is for Pokemon Go? :D

Virgin Mobile is a really good choice, but make sure you purchase a phone specifically for "Virgin Mobile" - try Amazon. You can't just use any cracked phone.
michaeljc70
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by michaeljc70 »

I use Cricket. 2.5GB data, unlimited talk and text for $35 (on autopay). That includes all taxes. Where I live the taxes are substantial.

They are very liberal with plan changes mid-month. So if I am going to go over on data, I can switch to the next plan and they pro-rate the price but not the data. For example, if I paid for the 1st-30th and use all my data by the 20th, I can switch to the 5GB plan. That is $10 more, but pro-rated to $3.33. I get 5GB of data since it is not prorated.

They also have Mexico, Canada calling/roaming on the $45/mo plan.
Matt48Ritchie
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by Matt48Ritchie »

I use a pay-as-you-go plan from page plus cellular. Comes out to about $3/month. No contract or anything but minimum pin/credit/plan is $10 plus taxes and fees. I think ptel.com offers similar plans.
an_asker
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by an_asker »

sunny_socal wrote:
jjface wrote:Get a truphone.com sim - they use the tmobile network. No monthly fee and no min top up every x days. Free incoming calls too which is rare.
That's even better for my situation. The trip isn't coming up immediately but I must provide a contact phone number for the traveler. They give a $15 promotional credit for ordering the SIM:
(today anyway...)
https://www.truphone.com/us/consumer/sim/

I selected 'No Autofill' so once my son runs out the card, no more calls! :mrgreen: (The initial $45 credit provides for plenty of calls & texts but only about 1GB of data so he won't be able to play games or watch youtube videos :wink: ) A nice touch: the system asks for your US State so you get a 'local' area code with the SIM. The number is provided immediately upon ordering online.
jjface/sunny_socal:

This sounds promising. Couple of questions:

- I am assuming that you paid the $29.99 to purchase the SIM

- how can I check that the SIM is compatible with my phone? Or, better put, before ordering the SIM, how can I verify that my phone is unlocked and ready for the SIM implantation?

I am asking this second question because of the hassles we had during our recent trip to Australia trying to get our phones (yes, multiple phones) to work with a local SIM. Through Airbnb, we had received some literature about getting an Optus SIM card. My teenager (local smartphone guru) checked out the links provided, entered some information on a website or two, and announced that a couple of our phones were compatible. But once we landed there, we tried to use Optus, then Vodafone, on all these supposedly compatible phones. None worked. Finally, we gave up and proceeded without a working phone.

We currently have RingPlus accounts on the phones that we assumed were compatible with Australian SIMs. I assumed that being on RingPlus, these phones are unlocked. Am I missing a step? Do we need to still get them unlocked? I thought no phones would work with RingPlus unless they were out-of-box unlocked.
jfave33
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jfave33 »

an_asker wrote:
sunny_socal wrote:
jjface wrote:Get a truphone.com sim - they use the tmobile network. No monthly fee and no min top up every x days. Free incoming calls too which is rare.
That's even better for my situation. The trip isn't coming up immediately but I must provide a contact phone number for the traveler. They give a $15 promotional credit for ordering the SIM:
(today anyway...)
https://www.truphone.com/us/consumer/sim/

I selected 'No Autofill' so once my son runs out the card, no more calls! :mrgreen: (The initial $45 credit provides for plenty of calls & texts but only about 1GB of data so he won't be able to play games or watch youtube videos :wink: ) A nice touch: the system asks for your US State so you get a 'local' area code with the SIM. The number is provided immediately upon ordering online.
jjface/sunny_socal:

This sounds promising. Couple of questions:

- I am assuming that you paid the $29.99 to purchase the SIM

- how can I check that the SIM is compatible with my phone? Or, better put, before ordering the SIM, how can I verify that my phone is unlocked and ready for the SIM implantation?

I am asking this second question because of the hassles we had during our recent trip to Australia trying to get our phones (yes, multiple phones) to work with a local SIM. Through Airbnb, we had received some literature about getting an Optus SIM card. My teenager (local smartphone guru) checked out the links provided, entered some information on a website or two, and announced that a couple of our phones were compatible. But once we landed there, we tried to use Optus, then Vodafone, on all these supposedly compatible phones. None worked. Finally, we gave up and proceeded without a working phone.

We currently have RingPlus accounts on the phones that we assumed were compatible with Australian SIMs. I assumed that being on RingPlus, these phones are unlocked. Am I missing a step? Do we need to still get them unlocked? I thought no phones would work with RingPlus unless they were out-of-box unlocked.

It is hard to tell if a phone is unlocked (if you do not already know) without actually just trying a SIM card from another provider. Sometimes t-mobile gives sims away for free or you can pick one up for a few bucks and just try it out on all your phones.

Ringplus works on the sprint network and typically sprint phones are not unlocked for use on other networks. When they are they are typically newer devices that have been sold unlocked like the latest nexus 5x/6P and motorola G4 for instance. You would probably know if you bought one of these that was sold as unlocked. The other way is to buy it from someone that had it unlocked by Sprint or if you had sprint unlock it - again typically newer phones only and you'd know if it was unlocked. Sprint are pretty strict with unlocking.

So I imagine your phones are not unlocked and you would need new ones. If you need help with this let us know what you are looking for and I'm sure myself or someone else can point you to something suitable.

You can also use phones that are locked to t-mobile with truphone but that won't be useful when traveling.

Yes you will have to pay $29.99 for the truphone sim. They had (not sure if they still do) a policy where you had to make a call every 90 days or something to keep the line active but I have not made calls for periods as long as a year and it still worked.
rs899
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by rs899 »

If you only want voice or text you can use Lycamobile pay go for five cents a minute . The phone needs to be unlocked, but Luca uses tmo towers. The minimum charge is $10, but you can keep the us used balance indefinitely as long as you make a call every 90 days I think)
an_asker
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by an_asker »

jjface wrote:
an_asker wrote:[...]
jjface/sunny_socal:

This sounds promising. Couple of questions:

- I am assuming that you paid the $29.99 to purchase the SIM

- how can I check that the SIM is compatible with my phone? Or, better put, before ordering the SIM, how can I verify that my phone is unlocked and ready for the SIM implantation?

I am asking this second question because of the hassles we had during our recent trip to Australia trying to get our phones (yes, multiple phones) to work with a local SIM. Through Airbnb, we had received some literature about getting an Optus SIM card. My teenager (local smartphone guru) checked out the links provided, entered some information on a website or two, and announced that a couple of our phones were compatible. But once we landed there, we tried to use Optus, then Vodafone, on all these supposedly compatible phones. None worked. Finally, we gave up and proceeded without a working phone.

We currently have RingPlus accounts on the phones that we assumed were compatible with Australian SIMs. I assumed that being on RingPlus, these phones are unlocked. Am I missing a step? Do we need to still get them unlocked? I thought no phones would work with RingPlus unless they were out-of-box unlocked.

It is hard to tell if a phone is unlocked (if you do not already know) without actually just trying a SIM card from another provider. Sometimes t-mobile gives sims away for free or you can pick one up for a few bucks and just try it out on all your phones.

Ringplus works on the sprint network and typically sprint phones are not unlocked for use on other networks. When they are they are typically newer devices that have been sold unlocked like the latest nexus 5x/6P and motorola G4 for instance. You would probably know if you bought one of these that was sold as unlocked. The other way is to buy it from someone that had it unlocked by Sprint or if you had sprint unlock it - again typically newer phones only and you'd know if it was unlocked. Sprint are pretty strict with unlocking.

So I imagine your phones are not unlocked and you would need new ones. If you need help with this let us know what you are looking for and I'm sure myself or someone else can point you to something suitable.

You can also use phones that are locked to t-mobile with truphone but that won't be useful when traveling.

Yes you will have to pay $29.99 for the truphone sim. They had (not sure if they still do) a policy where you had to make a call every 90 days or something to keep the line active but I have not made calls for periods as long as a year and it still worked.
Ideally, I would love it to have just one single phone that I can use on an as-needed basis anywhere in the world (i.e., by buying a local SIM card or whatever). Does such a "compatible everywhere" phone exist? My friend said that one could take one's own phone anywhere and set it to roaming and be charged whatever one's phone company back home charges. But how do I use that with RingPlus?

I meant to do full disclosure of the various smartphones in the family, but don't have them laid out in front of me right now (other than my two):

- LG Optimus Exceed 2 (use it primarily for WiFi internet and WhatsApp - never used it as a phone; probably locked)
- Moto E (2nd Generation) with 4G LTE (use it primarily for RingPlus and for WiFi internet; probably locked, based on Australia experience) - I forget if this is Sprint or Boost (if mine's Sprint, then son's is Boost or vice versa and neither worked in Australia)

From what I understand as things currently stand, neither truphone sim nor tmobile will work with either of these phones.

Thanks!!
jfave33
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jfave33 »

an_asker wrote: Ideally, I would love it to have just one single phone that I can use on an as-needed basis anywhere in the world (i.e., by buying a local SIM card or whatever). Does such a "compatible everywhere" phone exist? My friend said that one could take one's own phone anywhere and set it to roaming and be charged whatever one's phone company back home charges. But how do I use that with RingPlus?

I meant to do full disclosure of the various smartphones in the family, but don't have them laid out in front of me right now (other than my two):

- LG Optimus Exceed 2 (use it primarily for WiFi internet and WhatsApp - never used it as a phone; probably locked)
- Moto E (2nd Generation) with 4G LTE (use it primarily for RingPlus and for WiFi internet; probably locked, based on Australia experience) - I forget if this is Sprint or Boost (if mine's Sprint, then son's is Boost or vice versa and neither worked in Australia)

From what I understand as things currently stand, neither truphone sim nor tmobile will work with either of these phones.

Thanks!!
I believe you are correct that your phones will only work on sprint or sprint related services like ringplus.

But yes there are such compatible everywhere phones. If you want to keep your ringplus service (who wouldn't!) and assuming you do not want to spend a lot so you could go with

a) motorola G4 ($150 with amazon special offers or $199 otherwise)
b) Nexus 5x ($200-300)

you'll need to swap sims rather than roam on your own provider network as that is typically expensive and reserved for people with expensive monthly plans. I do not think ringplus can roam internationally anyway. But you can get a Moto G4 and sign up with ringplus for your us network. You can then swap out the sim and use it with your truphone sim or australian sim or whatever and use that as and when you need it.

A truphone sim can be used anywhere in the world with the same call rate I believe so if you do not use your phone much you could just have that.
Last edited by jfave33 on Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
an_asker
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by an_asker »

jjface wrote:
I believe you are correct that your phones will only work on sprint or sprint related services like ringplus.

But yes there are such compatible everywhere phones. I assume you do not want to spend a lot so you could go with

a) motorola G4 ($150 with amazon special offers or $199 otherwise)
b) Nexus 5x ($200-300)

you'll want to swap sims rather than roam on your own provider network as that is typically expensive and reserved for people with expensive monthly plans. I do not think ringplus can roam internationally. But you can get a Moto G4 and sign up with ringplus for your us network. You can then swap out the sim and use it with your truphone sim or australian sim or whatever and use that as and when you need it.
Just curious - is that what most people do, or do most people have the expensive monthly plans and roam on their own provider network?

I am assuming that the motorola G4 is unlocked right out of the box.

Thanks a bunch!!
Faith20879
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by Faith20879 »

an_asker wrote:...just one single phone that I can use on an as-needed basis anywhere in the world (i.e., by buying a local SIM card or whatever).). Does such a "compatible everywhere" phone exist?
.
Not sure about the rest of the world, but I have used one unlocked GSM phone in several Asian countries with no problem. I could get a SIM from a airport kiosk, a 7/11, or some local flavor of convenient stores. They'll ask what services you want - voice only/text/data and etc, perfect for a short-term stay. Refilling is just as easy. It is usually very cheap compared to what we paid in the States. But you do have to show your passport so they make a photo copy of. I guess it is some kind of anti-terrorist thing.
.
jfave33
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jfave33 »

an_asker wrote:
jjface wrote:
I believe you are correct that your phones will only work on sprint or sprint related services like ringplus.

But yes there are such compatible everywhere phones. I assume you do not want to spend a lot so you could go with

a) motorola G4 ($150 with amazon special offers or $199 otherwise)
b) Nexus 5x ($200-300)

you'll want to swap sims rather than roam on your own provider network as that is typically expensive and reserved for people with expensive monthly plans. I do not think ringplus can roam internationally. But you can get a Moto G4 and sign up with ringplus for your us network. You can then swap out the sim and use it with your truphone sim or australian sim or whatever and use that as and when you need it.
Just curious - is that what most people do, or do most people have the expensive monthly plans and roam on their own provider network?

I am assuming that the motorola G4 is unlocked right out of the box.

Thanks a bunch!!
I cannot fathom why anyone would have an expensive monthly plan but it seems like lots do and I imagine some do roam on their own plans. I imagine most just get a local sim though.

The moto g4 is unlocked right out of the box. It should work with optus in Australia, ringplus and truphone. Awesome value really.
an_asker
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by an_asker »

jjface wrote:[...]I cannot fathom why anyone would have an expensive monthly plan but it seems like lots do and I imagine some do roam on their own plans. I imagine most just get a local sim though.

The moto g4 is unlocked right out of the box. It should work with optus in Australia, ringplus and truphone. Awesome value really.
Sounds great - I think folks planning international travel should get this phone then.

I vaguely recall there being issues with phones being incompatible by region. This is probably old news because all these are quad band (or whatever the correct term is) phones?
SRenaeP
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by SRenaeP »

an_asker wrote:
jjface wrote:
I believe you are correct that your phones will only work on sprint or sprint related services like ringplus.

But yes there are such compatible everywhere phones. I assume you do not want to spend a lot so you could go with

a) motorola G4 ($150 with amazon special offers or $199 otherwise)
b) Nexus 5x ($200-300)

you'll want to swap sims rather than roam on your own provider network as that is typically expensive and reserved for people with expensive monthly plans. I do not think ringplus can roam internationally. But you can get a Moto G4 and sign up with ringplus for your us network. You can then swap out the sim and use it with your truphone sim or australian sim or whatever and use that as and when you need it.
Just curious - is that what most people do, or do most people have the expensive monthly plans and roam on their own provider network?

I am assuming that the motorola G4 is unlocked right out of the box.

Thanks a bunch!!
It's a matter of personal preference. DH and I have AT&T service. He has an iPhone and I had an S3 until recently. He doesn't like the 'hassle' of international SIM cards so he just opts to use the expensive AT&T international plan for a month while we're traveling. On the other hand, I unlocked my phone and buy local SIMs.

-Steph
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

Comments on several questions:
- The phone is GSM based so I imagine it would work worldwide. The truphone SIM should also work seamlessly per their website. (This isn't my use case however)
- It's not for pokemon go. I also can't rely just on Wifi, my son is going on a week long 'field trip' and will be walking around a lot and not stuck at a starbucks or a hotel.
- I did indeed buy the truphone SIM for $30, came with $15 credit (I thought it would then be $30+15=45, but it's only 15.) I later added another $30.
- We're already on Cricket with a couple lines. I don't want the kids surfing naughty pages or watching youtube so I'm not ready to sign them up for a 'real' data plan :wink:


Anyway, it turns out my phone was NOT unlocked! I could have sworn it was... but it was still on T-mobile. I looked on the T-mobile website and they only unlock phones that are associated with accounts in good standing. I quit T-mobile about a year ago so I don't expect any help from them. However I've had good luck unlocking phones via the various ebay offers so I tried one of those ($5 fee), expecting it to go smoothly this time as well.
Random Poster
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by Random Poster »

Not sure if this is what you are asking about, but...

My local Target sells AT&T GoPhones, often at a huge discount. I picked up a very simple, brand new flip-phone for $4, and then bought a $30 GoPhone prepaid card to go along with it. You charge the phone, activate it (either online or through the phone itself), load the prepaid card onto the phone, and I'm off and running. You can pick your plan and phone call costs when you activate the phone (I went for a 25 cents a minute plan). The $30 lasts 90 days, I believe, at which time you either load more money onto the phone or your balance disappears.

For what I needed (a very simple phone for a few months while I'm away from home, with no (direct) monthly use fee, but good for emergencies and occasional calls while on the road), it works great.

If I really needed to use the phone often, I'd probably just get a $10 prepaid card and load it as needed (as that card has a time-expiry of 1 month, I think). But all I needed was a phone to last me for 3 months, and it has. For $34 and some tax, I have no complaints and there are certainly no commitment obligations.
jfave33
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jfave33 »

sunny_socal wrote:Comments on several questions:
- The phone is GSM based so I imagine it would work worldwide. The truphone SIM should also work seamlessly per their website. (This isn't my use case however)
- It's not for pokemon go. I also can't rely just on Wifi, my son is going on a week long 'field trip' and will be walking around a lot and not stuck at a starbucks or a hotel.
- I did indeed buy the truphone SIM for $30, came with $15 credit (I thought it would then be $30+15=45, but it's only 15.) I later added another $30.
- We're already on Cricket with a couple lines. I don't want the kids surfing naughty pages or watching youtube so I'm not ready to sign them up for a 'real' data plan :wink:


Anyway, it turns out my phone was NOT unlocked! I could have sworn it was... but it was still on T-mobile. I looked on the T-mobile website and they only unlock phones that are associated with accounts in good standing. I quit T-mobile about a year ago so I don't expect any help from them. However I've had good luck unlocking phones via the various ebay offers so I tried one of those ($5 fee), expecting it to go smoothly this time as well.
A truphone sim should work on a tmobile locked phone since it runs off the tmobile service primarily. You won't get the benefit of free att roaming outside of tmobile areas though.
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

Random Poster wrote: My local Target sells AT&T GoPhones, often at a huge discount. I picked up a very simple, brand new flip-phone for $4, and then bought a $30 GoPhone prepaid card to go along with it. You charge the phone, activate it (either online or through the phone itself), load the prepaid card onto the phone, and I'm off and running. You can pick your plan and phone call costs when you activate the phone (I went for a 25 cents a minute plan). The $30 lasts 90 days, I believe, at which time you either load more money onto the phone or your balance disappears.
I don't want that, I don't want to pay for something that disappears by design (other than a car :P )
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

jjface wrote:
A truphone sim should work on a tmobile locked phone since it runs off the tmobile service primarily. You won't get the benefit of free att roaming outside of tmobile areas though.
Truphone told me they work on the ATT network. But still, I don't think it's a network issue but rather a SIM issue. The T-mobile network knows the SIM isn't registered to them since it's through truphone.
ft2010
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by ft2010 »

Random Poster wrote:Not sure if this is what you are asking about, but...

My local Target sells AT&T GoPhones, often at a huge discount. I picked up a very simple, brand new flip-phone for $4, and then bought a $30 GoPhone prepaid card to go along with it. You charge the phone, activate it (either online or through the phone itself), load the prepaid card onto the phone, and I'm off and running. You can pick your plan and phone call costs when you activate the phone (I went for a 25 cents a minute plan). The $30 lasts 90 days, I believe, at which time you either load more money onto the phone or your balance disappears.

For what I needed (a very simple phone for a few months while I'm away from home, with no (direct) monthly use fee, but good for emergencies and occasional calls while on the road), it works great.

If I really needed to use the phone often, I'd probably just get a $10 prepaid card and load it as needed (as that card has a time-expiry of 1 month, I think). But all I needed was a phone to last me for 3 months, and it has. For $34 and some tax, I have no complaints and there are certainly no commitment obligations.
Next time, get a sim from H2O, it runs on att network. You could use it with an att phone or any unlocked GSM phone. The per minute rate from H2O is 5 cents, and a refill of $10 is valid for 90 days. You can add another $10 to extend another 90 days from your current expiration date, and those stack. Therefore you could refill 4 of $10 PINs to get close to 1-year of service, and you can do these refills on the same day.

I myself am a light mobile user and my pattern can vary drastically. I use H2O for voice/text, and combine it with att gophone for PAYG internet ($1 per 100 mb per day; and on days when I occasionally need make long calls I use the att gophone for $2 a day; they don't charge unless you use it).
ft2010
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by ft2010 »

sunny_socal wrote:
I don't want that, I don't want to pay for something that disappears by design (other than a car :P )
Some don't disappear but require you add $ before certain period in order to extend the expiration date. You can balance initial $ outlay and anticipated usage pattern to judge which ones are more suitable for your specific needs.
mikep
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by mikep »

michaeljc70 wrote:I use Cricket. 2.5GB data, unlimited talk and text for $35 (on autopay). That includes all taxes. Where I live the taxes are substantial.

They are very liberal with plan changes mid-month. So if I am going to go over on data, I can switch to the next plan and they pro-rate the price but not the data. For example, if I paid for the 1st-30th and use all my data by the 20th, I can switch to the 5GB plan. That is $10 more, but pro-rated to $3.33. I get 5GB of data since it is not prorated.

They also have Mexico, Canada calling/roaming on the $45/mo plan.
This on a 5 line $100 group plan for me ($20 mo). I get the annual $250 in referral credits which makes it free for me. I'm a light user but its free anyway. Add in the rewards program and they pay me which is hard to find anywhere.
jfave33
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by jfave33 »

sunny_socal wrote:
jjface wrote:
A truphone sim should work on a tmobile locked phone since it runs off the tmobile service primarily. You won't get the benefit of free att roaming outside of tmobile areas though.
Truphone told me they work on the ATT network. But still, I don't think it's a network issue but rather a SIM issue. The T-mobile network knows the SIM isn't registered to them since it's through truphone.
My mistake! I see they changed to be just ATT on 27th June 2016. Looks like I didn't get the memo!

They used to be a tmobile mvno which means they ran off the tmobile network so a locked tmobile phone would work. Since they moved to att you are out of luck with your locked phone. You could use a locked att phone.
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sunny_socal
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Re: What pre-paid cell phone or plan?

Post by sunny_socal »

Got my truphone SIM to work on my T-mobile phone by buying an unlock code from ebay. Then had to update the APN settings per this website:
https://support.truphone.com/s/article/ ... r-Handsets

:mrgreen:
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