Cell phone plan - Freedompop

[Texas Proud]

OK.... DD is really bugging me to get her a phone.... and DW is on her side...

So, I remember someone on this forum mention Freedompop since they are free... anybody have knowledge with this company?


Any other suggestions? This will be for a 13 YO... so there could be a LOT of texts... I want to keep it CHEAP... hence, the free option... just to let you know... I think $25 a month is expensive for this age... (even though all her friends have expensive phones and expensive plans)....

 

[zinger1457]

I have H2O wireless, they use AT&T's network. I pay the minimum of $10 every 90 days, phone calls are $.05/min, each text is $.05, data is $.10/MB. Unused $ carry over as long as you renew every 90 days, I always have $ left over. Works well for me but your typical 13yo would probably burn through that in a week.

 

[euro]

Depends on what you want to provide but if it is just texts and some emergency call capabilities you might want to explore gophone prepaid by AT&T. 10 cents a minute and text packages for 200, 1000, or unlimited texts per month for $6, 10, or 20, respectively. Plus you can buy a cheap phone from them ($20 and up), or bring your own. If you want her to have a data plan, then this is not a good options but at 13yo, I would tell her to make do with free WiFi

 

[ejman]

Republic Wireless has a $15/mo plan, unlimited talk & text. Catch is you have to either buy one of their phones or have a phone that can use one of their SIM cards such as some of the Motorola phones.

 

[ejman]

Another (free) option is to use google voice on a smart phone /tablet which works as long as one has access to wifi

 

[pb4uski]

Do you think she will need a lot of data?

We use Airvoice Wireless, an AT&T MVNO. They have plans with unlimited talk and text and 100MB of data or 1GB of data for $20/month and $30/month, respectively. You'll need to bring a phone... I love my Motorola Moto G4 Play... very good phone for $100 and SIM card for $10.

 

[Texas Proud]

Not sure if she will want data as she does not have anything to use right now... she does use her tablet (which she broke a couple of weeks ago).... but that is wifi...


She wants an Apple phone!!!!! She cannot afford a new one, but wants a refurb 5 or 6... I have gone to Tracfone and said 'pick out a phone that is less than $200'... and she does not want one... pure 'I want to be like all my friends'...

I also wish I knew how much she would text.... I want a plan that has a certain amount and if she goes over she pays... she needs to learn the value of money... none of her friends know anything about value of money.... and she is learning from THEM....

As a pet peeve... I took one of her friends out at Whataburger... we do not get drinks... but friend buys a full sized expensive burger, large fries and a big drink... literally eats only half the burger and fries...

 

[Texas Proud]

I have H2O wireless, they use AT&T's network. I pay the minimum of $10 every 90 days, phone calls are $.05/min, each text is $.05, data is $.10/MB. Unused $ carry over as long as you renew every 90 days, I always have $ left over. Works well for me but your typical 13yo would probably burn through that in a week.

She would run through that $10 in a week or less I would bet... she is on a soccer team that has some team text going on and there can be 50 to 100 texts in one day!!! Right now we have it going to my DW's phone as she has unlimited text....

To other posters.... I do NOT want to pay $20 to $30 per month.... that is too much money IMO for a 13 YO.... I know I am an old dinosaur in this thinking, and I am getting blasted by DW and DD.... but I have been holding my ground so far...

That is why I wanted to know about Freedompop.... give her a minimum amount free and let her pay for any overage.... I just do not know if this will meet the needs as I have read some bad reviews on their service... hoping to find someone who has it or knows about it...

 

[euro]

Not sure if she will want data as she does not have anything to use right now... she does use her tablet (which she broke a couple of weeks ago).... but that is wifi...


She wants an Apple phone!!!!! She cannot afford a new one, but wants a refurb 5 or 6... I have gone to Tracfone and said 'pick out a phone that is less than $200'... and she does not want one... pure 'I want to be like all my friends'...

I also wish I knew how much she would text.... I want a plan that has a certain amount and if she goes over she pays... she needs to learn the value of money... none of her friends know anything about value of money.... and she is learning from THEM....

As a pet peeve... I took one of her friends out at Whataburger... we do not get drinks... but friend buys a full sized expensive burger, large fries and a big drink... literally eats only half the burger and fries...

Oh, what a blast from the recent past! This is the identical scenario to the Euro-household 10 years ago. Mr E vs. DD, DS, DW....

I commend your resolve and I do think setting limitations eventually will lead to more money conscious kids, but boy is it a tough road to hoe. It's you against the world here. Realistically, you'll have to compromise to some degree. I stuck to my guns on the phone (I only paid for the cheapest option - back then, the dreaded flip-phone) and provided a prepaid plan with low minutes and texts (data was not at issue back then). They had to pay for use that exceeded the monthly maximum. They were NOT happy about it but funny thing happened: they almost always managed to stay within the prepaid max.
I did buy them brand new smartphones when they started college, but they spent many years positively being the "ONLY people on earth still using flip phones" (and being embarrassed about it ).

I don't think they sustained any permanent damage.
Good luck to you, Texas Proud!

 

[poorcarver]

We issued phones to ours when they started HS, as much for our convenience as their desire. As was everything else in our home, good things follow superior behavior and academic excellence. You show me proper deportment and all A's and we hand out goodies, if not, then well your choice. It worked in my case, however at the time I was seen as the meanest man on earth. Fast forward some years and I get "Thank you". I was not there to be their friend.

 

[Texas Proud]

Oh, what a blast from the recent past! This is the identical scenario to the Euro-household 10 years ago. Mr E vs. DD, DS, DW....

I commend your resolve and I do think setting limitations eventually will lead to more money conscious kids, but boy is it a tough road to hoe. It's you against the world here. Realistically, you'll have to compromise to some degree. I stuck to my guns on the phone (I only paid for the cheapest option - back then, the dreaded flip-phone) and provided a prepaid plan with low minutes and texts (data was not at issue back then). They had to pay for use that exceeded the monthly maximum. They were NOT happy about it but funny thing happened: they almost always managed to stay within the prepaid max.
I did buy them brand new smartphones when they started college, but they spent many years positively being the "ONLY people on earth still using flip phones" (and being embarrassed about it ).

I don't think they sustained any permanent damage.
Good luck to you, Texas Proud!

I hear you.... I have pointed out that Jerry Jones (owner of the Dallas Cowboys) has a flip phone... if it is good enough for a billionaire it is good enough for YOU.... I have lost this fight


But, she would rather not have a phone than a 'bad' phone... so be it... I will keep fighting... at some time she will want any smart phone than no phone...

And yes, the tracfone plans have separate minutes/text/data.... so she can use up all her texts and we can still call!!

 

[Texas Proud]

We issued phones to ours when they started HS, as much for our convenience as their desire. As was everything else in our home, good things follow superior behavior and academic excellence. You show me proper deportment and all A's and we hand out goodies, if not, then well your choice. It worked in my case, however at the time I was seen as the meanest man on earth. Fast forward some years and I get "Thank you". I was not there to be their friend.

She is a great kid... straight As... on the school basketball team... on a select soccer team... going out for track in a month or two... so I am very proud of her...

Still, I am cheap and she has to live with that.... so far it has not affected her popularity with anybody... she is a very popular girl....

 

[tinlizzy]

I got my first cell phone for Christmas, a tracfone. I'm no expert by any means but after reading up on thehowardforums I think the Tracfone prepaid bundles with one year of service are a great deal. Either HSN or QVC. http://www.hsn.com/shop/cell-phones-tracfone/ec0373-10962

They come with 1350/1350/1350 talk, text, data, that triples if you reload with an airtime card. But if your 13yo only needs more texts in the year then she can buy a card with 1000 texts at Walmart for $5 with her allowance whenever she needs them.

 

[rbmrtn]

RingPlus is another free MNVO, https://ringplus.net/ . I looked at both last year about this time. At the time most were saying RP had better voice quality and they had better plans. I was able to get a cheap boost mobile phone from bestbuy and activate it free. IIRC at the time FP had their own pricier phones you had to pick from. I use it as a backup and a throw away phone number but it seems to work ok.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

RingPlus is another free MNVO, https://ringplus.net/ . I looked at both last year about this time. At the time most were saying RP had better voice quality and they had better plans. I was able to get a cheap boost mobile phone from bestbuy and activate it free. IIRC at the time FP had their own pricier phones you had to pick from. I use it as a backup and a throw away phone number but it seems to work ok.

I tried Ringplus last year, and it turned out pretty bad. After I ported my number and used Ringplus free for a month, I tried to buy a plan. Unfortunately, they would not allow me to buy a plan, because my home (billing) address is "out of their service area." Fine, so I tried to port my number to a different carrier. Nope, Ringplus would not release my phone's MSID. Despite weeks of multiple service requests and emails, they just gave me the runaround. They would just close the tickets. And there's no way to contact them by phone for help. Now I am unable to use the phone with a CDMA carrier. So I switched to a GSM carrier. Sometimes cheap is not worth the price. Maybe someone here knows how to solve this, but I couldn't figure it out.

 

[Sunset]

What is so special about a flip phone, is this an ego power trip ?
Would you pay more for a flip phone than a smart phone ?

Naturally depends upon your provider, but I bought DW and I smart phones. Lumina smart phones and they are far more useful including camera than a flip phone, and they only cost $29 each.
It was a sale at Best buy.

 

[Texas Proud]

What is so special about a flip phone, is this an ego power trip ?
Would you pay more for a flip phone than a smart phone ?

Naturally depends upon your provider, but I bought DW and I smart phones. Lumina smart phones and they are far more useful including camera than a flip phone, and they only cost $29 each.
It was a sale at Best buy.

Nothing special about flip phone... but it shows that DD is not looking for a phone...

I have offered her many smart phones... there are many options at Tracfone that are less than $100.... but she wants to buy an Iphone.... she says 'it is my money and I should be able to buy what I want'.... I say 'well, no'.... the Iphone she wants is a 6 refurb, but still is $250.... I have thought about letting her get the 5 for $150ish....

 

[pb4uski]

Perhaps a better approach would be, rather than a dollars per month framework, that you think through what you would be willing to pay for in terms of monthly minutes, texts, and data... then look at the cost of plans that fit your criteria.

I think that you will find that most sensible plans cost $20-30/month..

Another alternative might be ting.com .... you can give her an $x per month allowance and if she exceeds it then she reimburses you for the excess.

Good luck.

 

[tinlizzy]

Nothing special about flip phone... but it shows that DD is not looking for a phone...

I have offered her many smart phones... there are many options at Tracfone that are less than $100.... but she wants to buy an Iphone.... she says 'it is my money and I should be able to buy what I want'.... I say 'well, no'.... the Iphone she wants is a 6 refurb, but still is $250.... I have thought about letting her get the 5 for $150ish....

I was thinking that maybe DD wants an iPhone because her group of friends uses iMessages instead of text. Can you use an iPhone in a bring your own (BYOP) prepaid plan?

 

[euro]

Perhaps a better approach would be, rather than a dollars per month framework, that you think through what you would be willing to pay for in terms of monthly minutes, texts, and data... then look at the cost of plans that fit your criteria.

I think that you will find that most sensible plans cost $20-30/month..

Another alternative might be ting.com .... you can give her an $x per month allowance and if she exceeds it then she reimburses you for the excess.

Good luck.

Yes, I was going to suggest Ting also - problem is that it does actually get expensive if you don't watch data use like a Hawk. Base fee only covers 100Mbytes a month - unless you are on WiFi 95% of the day, she'll burn through that in 1 day. Similar for texts. Only 100 texts in the base fee - enough for ME, but a teenager chomps that in 15 minutes.....

 

[greydog17]

Do not under any circumstances get a plan that charges by the text for a teenager! It could bankrupt you!

Get an unlimited texting plan, you will be amazed at how many texts a teenager will send and receive! A monthly total in the thousands or tens of thousands will not be unusual!

Trust me, I've seen the texting numbers firsthand...

 

[golfnut]

Do you have a plan with your dw? If so, see what it costs to add your dd. Might be $30 or 40 bucks. Not sure if your daughter can afford it, but is she insists on an iphone, find a plan where she pay for it on a monthly basis.

IMO, you need to get an unlimited text plan (at the very least).

Check out TMobile. We have a family plan with them and it offers unlimited calls/texts and a good data plan. There are no costs if you exceed data. The $150 includes the monthly costs for 3 smartphones (we do not have iphones). Our son pays us 1/3 of the cost but he is a 23 y/o.

While I agree with your stance on this subject, you are fighting a losing battle.

 

[broadway]

OK.... DD is really bugging me to get her a phone.... and DW is on her side...

So, I remember someone on this forum mention Freedompop since they are free... anybody have knowledge with this company?


Any other suggestions? This will be for a 13 YO... so there could be a LOT of texts... I want to keep it CHEAP... hence, the free option... just to let you know... I think $25 a month is expensive for this age... (even though all her friends have expensive phones and expensive plans)....

FreedomPop is on the Sprint network.
You'll want to see how the coverage is where you live.

You may want to look into RingPlus.net
They have an unlimited talk/text + 1 GB data plan for $9.99 a month.
Also, on Sprint network.

 

[sengsational]

Over cell, the voice on FreedomPop is so very, very poor as to be unusable. But the texting works. And the data works for the Google maps driving app, but it's a struggle to get anything at all done on a web browser over cell. When you're on a wifi, you can call, text and browse without too much trouble.

You can buy a FreedomPop phone on eBay for really cheap. I don't think you'll find a cheaper solution, but it's probably not going to please the 13 year old.

 

[W2R]

Over cell, the voice on FreedomPop is so very, very poor as to be unusable. But the texting works. And the data works for the Google maps driving app, but it's a struggle to get anything at all done on a web browser over cell. When you're on a wifi, you can call, text and browse without too much trouble.

You can buy a FreedomPop phone on eBay for really cheap. I don't think you'll find a cheaper solution, but it's probably not going to please the 13 year old.

What good is a cell phone for a 13-year-old girl if you can't understand what she is saying?

"Hi Mom? Dad? I'm stranded and need a ride home!"
"Hello? Hello?"

I'd suggest loosening the purse strings enough to get her a functional phone. Well, unless you can respond to texted emergencies right away.