No Contract Phone

[Scraper]

Hi.

Looking for your overwhelmingly vast knowledge on cell phone coverage please.

 

I searched the forums but had difficulties pinpointing what I am looking for.

 

I have a iphone 4s on Straight Talk that I plan on keeping when we hit the road full timing next year.

 

We are looking to add a basic flip phone, no texting or data, at a low price ( max $20 a month ), with roll over minutes. Would prefer a CDMA phone, but not necessary.

 

Can you please tell me what pre paid plans you use, how much you pay, and how the coverage is in your area. ( please let me know where you have used it with good results, and bad )

 

Thank you so much for your time

 

Cheryl

[LFDR3116]

We have an AT&T GO phone and chose the $2 day plan. We only pay IF we use the phone. If we use the phone, we can then dial or text as many times as we want until midnight at no additional charge. With tax it costs us $26.88 for 90 days coverage. We don't use the phone much so seldom use up the time we have paid for. We refill 4X per year, so a little over $100 per year. We have traveled between Michigan and the gulf coast and had coverage everywhere except in central Alabama at a forest campground. Verizon had no coverage there either. We had to go out to the main road to get a signal. So far we are happy with it and it suits our purpose of having a phone for emergencies. We communicate more thru the computer that by phone.

[theeyres]

I have a Trac Phone from Walmart and buy a year's worth of minutes at a time. Works out to $10 a month. I don't use the phone often and usually only for a few minutes--maybe once a week. It's on the Verizon network and has roaming that includes Canada and Mexico so you can't beat the coverage. Works when my wife's Straight Talk doesn't because hers doesn't have roaming.

[rhianna]

We have a little Tracphone. We have had it for 3 years. It is on ATT and our smart phone with Straight Talk is on Verizon. So we usually have coverage where ever we go. Don't use it much except for when DH is looking for me in the store or I am flying off somewhere. The phone cost around $20 and the service is around $22 every 3 months. It is mostly the time we are concerned with and not the minutes. I think they are having some sales on triple minutes right now.

[Yarome]

I have a Trac Phone from Walmart and buy a year's worth of minutes at a time. Works out to $10 a month. I don't use the phone often and usually only for a few minutes--maybe once a week. It's on the Verizon network and has roaming that includes Canada and Mexico so you can't beat the coverage. Works when my wife's Straight Talk doesn't because hers doesn't have roaming.

 

X2 Been using Tracfone for 7 years or so. All is good. By way of suggestion... you can generally get better deals on the phones via their website. Well.. not so much a better deal per particular phone.. more the phone features.. ie. the one I have now was the same price as the one at wally world, but is programmed for lifetime triple minutes. I can purchase the single minute yearly plan and get triple minutes. It works out to about $6.70 a month. Or basically... $0.05 a minute (including most international calls) during the 1 year contract.. and the mintues roll over from year to year. No fees of any kind monthly or otherwise.. just a straight nickel a minute.. whenever..

[kathydavidb]

We have Verizon for our main phone. To add a second phone to the account was more expensive than just getting a Trac-Phone. We pay $19.99 for 3 mos & 120 minutes. My minutes keep adding up each time I renew the Trac-Phone. Right now I'm at 264 min. with 54 days left. I never seem to use the minutes up but that is a good problem to have. The Trac=Phone is natiowide with free long distance so it fits our needs well. We realized we needed a second phone for when we are seperate and this works well to call each other. Dave.

[Ray,IN]

FWIW, Straightalk is part of Trac-phone, or so says the advertising in WalMart.

[AquaDawg]

Cheryl,
- We have the following CDMA prepaid cell services:

Straight talk IPhone5 that was on Straight talk 3G/CDMA (Verizon), ST stopped allowing roaming on US Cellular, so the phone is now active on Selectel Wireless (Verizon with roaming) unlimited with 2G data for $55 month. 1 plus years with this service.

- CDMA/1X bag phone on Selectel for $75 per year with 2000 calling minutes. This is a emergency phone for us for getting a hold of the road side service company when we are in the middle of no where and need a tow truck. 1 plus years with this service.

- I just activated a 4G/CDMA Droid RAZR M on Page Plus Cellular (verizon with paid roaming) a couple of weeks ago. So far so good. 4G plans start at $39 a month,

Hope this helps...

-David

[Dutch_12078]

FWIW, Straightalk is part of Trac-phone, or so says the advertising in WalMart.

 

Tracfone, Straight Talk, Net 10, Page Plus, SafeLink, Simple Mobile, and Telcel América are all brands belonging to Tracfone Wireless, a subsidiary of América Móvil, owned by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, the second richest man in the world.

[theeyres]

 

Tracfone, Straight Talk, Net 10, Page Plus, SafeLink, Simple Mobile, and Telcel América are all brands belonging to Tracfone Wireless, a subsidiary of América Móvil, owned by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, the second richest man in the world.

IMHO Tracfone has the better coverage because of roaming, but you can't use a real Smart Phone. Straight Talk uses the smart phone so much broader useage but no roaming. Don't know about the others

[Dutch_12078]

IMHO Tracfone has the better coverage because of roaming, but you can't use a real Smart Phone. Straight Talk uses the smart phone so much broader useage but no roaming. Don't know about the others

 

You mean my Tracfone LG L34C "Fuel" running Android 4.4 "KitKat" isn't a "real Smart Phone"? Had me fooled!

[RV_]

Dutch,

We use only Straight Talk (ST) and we need Verizon Towers here but AT&T is being forced on me if I want to to use my Windows Phone on ST. We just bought my wife a new ST Samsung Galaxy Style phone using Verizon. Just ask at Walmart which are Verizon and which AT&T. They also have some CDMA phones using Sprint so be sure to ask. I believe if the US coverage map on the phone box is Red it is Verizon Towers, Blue AT&T.

 

Dutch if you had read the Post your Black Friday deals here thread on the SKP Computer forum, which I am still updating until next week, I posted about this phone when it was on sale: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-Samsung-Prepaid-Galaxy-Ace-Smartphone/36202742 They dropped it from the originally $149.99 to a three day sale price of $29.99 each, and I bought the 2 year accidental damage coverage for 6 bucks each.

 

At that price I ordered two in case I can't stand the Lousy AT&T coverage I have to use, as much as I do not want to go back to an Android phone. Or a spare. If I needed Internet regularly not just in town I would have to switch back to this phone and Verizon towers. I order our refills online for about 33 bucks a month when I order six months at a time. Very reliable outside refill service I've used for two years.

 

I cannot vouch for any roaming or not. But I do know that my first Sprint phone had virtually no coverage. Questions?

[Dutch_12078]

The "Bring your own phone" rules for any of the Tracfone Wireless brands that offer it are a bit strange I think, Derek. Be glad they're not forcing you to use T-Mobile for your Windows phone! Tracfone models ending in 'C' are on Verizon, and 'G' models are either AT&T or T-Mobile depending where it's sold. I think ST phone models follow the same pattern, but I'm not sure of that. My LG Android on Verizon is a native Tracfone model though, so I don't have any of the "BYOP" issues. I typically buy 400 minute 1-year cards from an eBay vendor for $82, and the 400 minutes triples to 1200 minutes, 1200 texts, and 1200MB of data on my phone. Since I can also talk, text, and surf via WiFi using available apps, my chargeable usage stays pretty low. I expect to have about 3800 minutes, 4000 texts, and 4GB of data going into next year, with a January 2016 expiration date if I don't add another card. If my typical usage holds up, my cost per month next year will be zero.

[theeyres]

 

You mean my Tracfone LG L34C "Fuel" running Android 4.4 "KitKat" isn't a "real Smart Phone"? Had me fooled!

You got me there. I didn't think you could use a smart phone on Tracfone. I'll have to check into that.

[RV_]

Dutch,

I have this Lumia 822 which is a dual band GSM and CDMA phone that was a Verizon exclusive. http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-Unlocked-Verizon-Windows/dp/B00H4F9WDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418714844&sr=8-2&keywords=nokia+lumia+822

 

Here i a good features list scroll down to it: http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-822-Verizon-Wireless/dp/B00A7F57EM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418714844&sr=8-3&keywords=nokia+lumia+822

 

Only the GSM is unlocked. It has an SD card slot, a micro SD card slot and a great camera. New $90.00 when I bought it. I bought the phone and nice case for under $100.00. The ST SIM card was six bucks.

 

So I have a partially unlocked Verizon exclusive phone, running on ST, using AT&T towers!

[Dutch_12078]

Dutch,

I have this Lumia 822 which is a dual band GSM and CDMA phone that was a Verizon exclusive. http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-Unlocked-Verizon-Windows/dp/B00H4F9WDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418714844&sr=8-2&keywords=nokia+lumia+822

 

Here i a good features list scroll down to it: http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-822-Verizon-Wireless/dp/B00A7F57EM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418714844&sr=8-3&keywords=nokia+lumia+822

 

Only the GSM is unlocked. It has an SD card slot, a micro SD card slot and a great camera. New $90.00 when I bought it. I bought the phone and nice case for under $100.00. The ST SIM card was six bucks.

 

So I have a partially unlocked Verizon exclusive phone, running on ST, using AT&T towers!

 

Heh! Now that's a cool combination, Derek! I hope AT&T works well for you. I think I'll stick with my $49 LG smart phone on Verizon towers though.

[Dutch_12078]

You got me there. I didn't think you could use a smart phone on Tracfone. I'll have to check into that.

 

Tracfone offers a number of Android smart phones. There are better deals from other sources though.

 

http://sale.tracfone.com/holiday?utm_source=IMM&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=DR&utm_content=holiday&utm_term={keyword}

 

http://shopcelldeals.com/collections/tracfone

[D&J]

I just bought a LG Android Smart Phone off Amazonhttp://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Android-Prepaid-Minutes-Tracfone/dp/B00Q3F074K/ref=pd_cp_cps_0

 

After you subtract the cost of the air card the phone ends up costing $34.99, and it's a great phone.

 

Denny

[rynosback]

Any updates on what is a good buy? What phone gets the best coverage and sound and voice are good and clear. This would be a second phone.

Thanks

[Dutch_12078]

Verizon is still the leader in overall coverage, with AT&T a close second. If your primary phone uses one of them, I'd suggest selecting a second phone that uses the other one to insure the best chances of having a signal nearly everywhere you go. All Tracfone Android smart phones currently use the Verizon network. They do have some good deals available, including free phones from time to time, usually tied to an air time purchase.

[AquaDawg]

Any updates on what is a good buy? What phone gets the best coverage and sound and voice are good and clear. This would be a second phone.

Thanks

 

If your looking for service, Walmart has a new exclusive service out on Verizon's network that is going to be a game changer. $35 a month for unlimited talk/text with 2.5 G of data on the VZW network! It has rollover data too!

 

It's currently only 3G data, but my understanding is that the remaining VZW MVNO'S are all going to have a major announcement in 2 months for 4G service. VZW want's to start shutting down the 3G radios off their towers this year, so they need everyone to start changing over to 4G to accomplish that.

 

The new brand is called Total Wireless:

 

http://www.totalwireless.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans

 

 

As to phones, I picked up a brand new Droid Razr M off ebay 6 months ago, and I can tell you that it gets better reception than both an iPhone 4s and 5.

 

Hope that helps....

 

-David

 

 

[rynosback]

Verizon is still the leader in overall coverage, with AT&T a close second. If your primary phone uses one of them, I'd suggest selecting a second phone that uses the other one to insure the best chances of having a signal nearly everywhere you go. All Tracfone Android smart phones currently use the Verizon network. They do have some good deals available, including free phones from time to time, usually tied to an air time purchase.

My plan is to have one phone with Verizon with 10-15 Gig of data and use this phone in case the main one does not work. Or if the wife goes off to the store with out me and needs to call me. By looking at Tracfones map, it looks like it have better coverage. I even heard stories of people being in the middle of NO WHERE and no ones phone works but the Tracfone did. Plus it looks like I can get a plan from $8 a month vs the $40 with Verizon.

[rynosback]

If your looking for service, Walmart has a new exclusive service out on Verizon's network that is going to be a game changer. $35 a month for unlimited talk/text with 2.5 G of data on the VZW network! It has rollover data too!

 

It's currently only 3G data, but my understanding is that the remaining VZW MVNO'S are all going to have a major announcement in 2 months for 4G service. VZW want's to start shutting down the 3G radios off their towers this year, so they need everyone to start changing over to 4G to accomplish that.

 

The new brand is called Total Wireless:

 

http://www.totalwireless.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans

 

 

As to phones, I picked up a brand new Droid Razr M off ebay 6 months ago, and I can tell you that it gets better reception than both an iPhone 4s and 5.

 

Hope that helps....

 

-David

 

 

Thanks for the thought. But I have read that 3G is WAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY SLOWER then 4G lte. I was looking at option for a second phone as one on a Verizon contract would be the main phone.

[Bellona Mars]

If your looking for service, Walmart has a new exclusive service out on Verizon's network that is going to be a game changer. $35 a month for unlimited talk/text with 2.5 G of data on the VZW network! It has rollover data too!

 

It's currently only 3G data, but my understanding is that the remaining VZW MVNO'S are all going to have a major announcement in 2 months for 4G service. VZW want's to start shutting down the 3G radios off their towers this year, so they need everyone to start changing over to 4G to accomplish that.

 

The new brand is called Total Wireless:

 

http://www.totalwireless.com/wps/portal/home/shop/serviceplans

 

 

As to phones, I picked up a brand new Droid Razr M off ebay 6 months ago, and I can tell you that it gets better reception than both an iPhone 4s and 5.

 

Hope that helps....

 

-David

 

 

David, I have an even better deal than that Walmart one. This is for smart phone service that utilizes the Verizon towers. In other words, same quality of coverage/reception as Verizon, but with a prepaid phone price. I currently use the 4G service via a Verizon Samsung Galaxy s3 phone. And I agree that Verizon is the overall best when it comes to cell service.

 

https://www.pageplusdirect.com/

 

This site is a retailer of the https://www.pagepluscellular.com/ service. I use the Talk n Text 1200 plan for $26.95/mo. I'm a moderate user of the phone and don't come even close to the plan's usage limits.

[AquaDawg]

Bellona,

Yes the page plus plan you mentioned is cheaper, but to be fair and have a apples to apples comparison, page plus charges $55 for a unlimited talk/text plan that has at least 2.5G of data, versus $35 from Total Wireless. My Droid Razr M is also currently on the page plus talk n text 1200 plan, although I use https://www.prepayrefill.com/ to get the $26.95 rate. As soon as total wireless gets 4G, I am going to switch over to them though.

If your just looking for the cheapest plan to make low usage calls, nobody can compete with selectel's $75 a year plan. We keep our emergency bag phone in the motorhome on that plan: