Saying goodbye to my smartphone and plan...

P

peppergomez

2[H]4U
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Sep 15, 2011
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and I'd like any suggestions you folks might have for a good carrier and plan for a basic talk/texting phone. Looking to keep the monthly fee below $40, hopefully around $30. I don't talk or text that much.

Would prefer a plan where unused minutes roll over, and where there is no multi-year contract. Month to month preferrable, though I'd sign up for a year at most.

I'm wasting like $40 a month on features I don't use with my Samsung S3, and have determined that 24/7 connectivity to the Internet is kind of annoying.

Thanks.
 
With low minutes/text a pay as you go plan is probably your best bet. Airvoice for ATT towers or Lycamobile for T-Mobile towers are good starting points.
 
I think there are some useful threads on this that I can't find right now. Basically you can go with a number of MVNO's that have prepaid phones and minutes that rollover as well as discounts for buying packs of minutes.
 
AIO has a $25 plan for unlimited minutes/text. You won't get MMS since that uses their data plan to send.
 
att mvnos

aio wireless
https://www.aiowireless.com/shop.html
The $40, 50, and 60 plans are $5 less if you sign up for autopay. The $40 talk, text and 500mb data plan for $35 is pretty good. Or get the basic $25 plan (talk, text).

h2o wireless
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainControl.php?page=planMonth

For tmobile

lycamobile has the cheapest pay-as-you go plans (2c/min)
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/national-plans

Or platinumtel https://www.ptel.com/
ultramobile http://ultra.me/

FYI,
you can still use a smartphone on most of the talk and text plans just turn data off on the smartphone. You can probably use whatever smartphone you have now and just transfer the service over to one of these. What provider is your s3 from?
 
I like my Moto X on Republic Wireless. Uses Sprint for cell so if your cell coverage for sprint sux your out of luck, but ours is ok for cell, data is another issue though. I pay $10 plus tax /month. Originally, found this for my daughter, but played with the phone a few days and it worked great. Got them for wife and I and instead of paying $150/mo for 2 phones and data plan, I'm paying $30+tax for 3 phones, and no data. Wifi is workable though, and if you are cheap like me you can get an unlimited data hotspot off ebay for 3g(Verizon). I was very pleasantly surprised about the MotoX. Better reception, and feels a lot faster than my Samsung S3 was. I liked my S3, but it was buggy and locked up about 1-2 times a week, needed to remove battery etc... MotoX just works :/
 
I wish I could ditch mine, but I have the unlimited data plan, but If they ever do away with that, which they are not suppose too. I will ditch mine all together.
 
you can get tmobile's prepaid $30 plan - 100 minutes and 5gb data at 4G speed. I've been using it for 15 months and only went over 100 minutes once. You can make calls via wifi or 3g/4g using apps like vonage.
 
You can probably use whatever smartphone you have now and just transfer the service over to one of these.
Click to expand...

+1

The way I went was the 1500 minutes/text T-Mobile plan, for $30 / month (this plan may be grandfathered now), with a $60 Nokia 521. Great phone for basic GPS / navigation (free maps), run tracking, and so on. And it has all been working fine without a data plan.

Ting is another low-cost provider to check out. Though they're on Sprint network.
 
Why say good bye? Republic wireless has a text, calling and 3g data plan for $25/ month. Get a motoX and you have cheap cell service.

Otherwise if your usage really is extremely low you can get a pay as you go plan as other stated.
 
Damn, your cellphone plans are expensive in the USA!
I got 600min calling, unlimited texting and 2 gb of 4G internet for 18$ equivalent... Also 15min international calling.
For 50 $ we can get unlimited calling and texting nationally and 10gb of internet. With 500mb internationally and 100min/texts.
 
hordak said:
you can get tmobile's prepaid $30 plan - 100 minutes and 5gb data at 4G speed. I've been using it for 15 months and only went over 100 minutes once. You can make calls via wifi or 3g/4g using apps like vonage.
Click to expand...

? If you use "non-wifi" to place your through Vonage you are still going to be using up yourT-mobile minutes for the Vonage access connection time.
 
Supersnake said:
? If you use "non-wifi" to place your through Vonage you are still going to be using up yourT-mobile minutes for the Vonage access connection time.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't go through tmobile network so it wouldn't use minutes
 
If you have Boost Mobile in your area that may be your best bet. $30-40 a month for unlimited talk, text, and so so data.
 
Personally I would go with TMo prepaid-

$100 buys you 1000 minutes and grants you instant "gold rewards" status- this means that any subsequent purchase (like $10 for 30min) will rescue any remaining minutes for another year.... so if you're an infrequent talker, $110 could buy you two years of cell service.
 
marshac said:
Personally I would go with TMo prepaid-

$100 buys you 1000 minutes and grants you instant "gold rewards" status- this means that any subsequent purchase (like $10 for 30min) will rescue any remaining minutes for another year.... so if you're an infrequent talker, $110 could buy you two years of cell service.
Click to expand...

thats what i have. its 10c a minute if you spend $100, and you'd have to spend $100 if you wanted that rate again. if you got gold rewards status but then only wanted to add $30 worth of minutes you would be spending 16c a minute.

I have a question for you guys. is 10c a mb of data usage that does not round up better or worse than 6c a mb that rounds up to a mb.
 
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