$25 mo. Unlimited Mobile Phones

imoldernu

imoldernu

Gone but not forgotten
Joined
Jul 18, 2012
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5 Dirt Cheap Unlimited Prepaid Mobile Plans Under $25

I don't do smartphones, so it doesn't mean anything to me. Is this a coming thing?

We talk a lot here about stuff that the big four – Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint – get up to. But the thing is, even with T-Mobile’s un-carrier, anti-contract slant and the new installment payment plans for buying new devices, they can all end up being way past what your budget will allow. Fortunately, there are no shortage of unsung heroes in the telecommunications industry, stocked with budget phones and budget plans. And, hey, in the end, you’re still getting talk, text, and data on your smartphone, just like anyone else running with one of the big four. At less than $25 per month, these plans make cutting-edge look downright overrated.
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We have been happy with AirvoiceWireless. Our plan coast $10/month/phone.

AT&T network. Voice is 4 cents a minute, texts are 2 cents each and data is 6 cents per mb. We are not heavy users so we don't come close to running out of money, but if we did we could just pop another $10 on the phone. Unused $ carryover.
 
Or you can get by on $0.83 per month like I do, after spending $8.33 per month the first year. T-Mobile pre-pay Gold Plan.

And if you need data or more talk/text - just sign up by the day for $2-$3 per day for unlimited talk/text or unlimited talk/text/data.

I just moved the SIM from our 'starter' phones to an Android 'smart phone' for DW. She does most of her stuff at home on our wi-fi, so no data charges. We have yet to turn on the day-by-day plans, but they are there if we need them (switch back/forth from the phone).

-ERD50
 
ERD50 said:
Or you can get by on $0.83 per month like I do, after spending $8.33 per month the first year. T-Mobile pre-pay Gold Plan.

And if you need data or more talk/text - just sign up by the day for $2-$3 per day for unlimited talk/text or unlimited talk/text/data.

I just moved the SIM from our 'starter' phones to an Android 'smart phone' for DW. She does most of her stuff at home on our wi-fi, so no data charges. We have yet to turn on the day-by-day plans, but they are there if we need them (switch back/forth from the phone).

-ERD50
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Sounds like a good possibility for us... Am not up to speed on smart phones. Does one have to start off with a $200+ phone or is there another way to do this...
I looked at the Gold Plan Website, and the fine print... kinda scary...
Prepaid Plans | Pay As You Go Pricing | Prepaid Cost per Minute | T-Mobile

Been using Net 10 which pocket dials 200 minutes at a time.... this for a phone used only for emergenices... Now have nearly 3000 minutes and tired of fighting with the "techs".
 
We bought a simple Samsung android smartphone that runs on the AT&T go-phone network for DW for$50 at Wal-Mart. She likes it and it serves her needs.
 
I'm just a little concerned with the signal strength in rural areas these other providers can provide. Does anyone have any experience with this?
 
imoldernu said:
Sounds like a good possibility for us... Am not up to speed on smart phones. Does one have to start off with a $200+ phone or is there another way to do this...
I looked at the Gold Plan Website, and the fine print... kinda scary...
Prepaid Plans | Pay As You Go Pricing | Prepaid Cost per Minute | T-Mobile

Been using Net 10 which pocket dials 200 minutes at a time.... this for a phone used only for emergenices... Now have nearly 3000 minutes and tired of fighting with the "techs".
Click to expand...

Not sure what is 'scary' about the Gold Plan. Yes, per minute charges are higher than many, this only makes sense for low minute users (for occasional, somewhat planned high use just switch to the $2-$3/day plan).

You don't need a smart phone for Gold Plan, but DW wanted one for occasional texting (full on-screen keyboard), and there are several apps she uses while on our home wi-fi. I got her a ~ $200 Samsung T679 @ Walmart, there may be better options now, but it's pretty good.

David1961 said:
I'm just a little concerned with the signal strength in rural areas these other providers can provide. Does anyone have any experience with this?
Click to expand...

Mostly these other guys just buy time from one of the major carriers. Coverage is very specific to the area. You need to check their coverage maps for the areas you plan to use it.

-ERD50
 
We have three used Motorola Droid smart phones on PagePlus (Verizon towers) for two years now. I use mine all over the U.S. and offshore!

Phones: (eBay) $60 each (used)

Plans: (PagePlus) - the 1200 (1200 minutes, 3000 texts, 500 MB data). No one has run out on this plan in our house - plans are $29.95/month each - no taxes, etc.

For years we had AT&T and Verizon 2 year contracts @ $100/month each. They are long gone.
 
I also use PagePlus, but just for voice, with a flipphone. Costs me about $72/year for 2000 minutes. Nice coverage with the Verizon network running it all.

-gauss
 
gauss said:
I also use PagePlus, but just for voice, with a flipphone. Costs me about $72/year for 2000 minutes. Nice coverage with the Verizon network running it all.

-gauss
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If I wasn't still w*rking and didn't need to get e-mail on my phone, I would have that plan too!
 
AIO Wireless offers a $25 plan with unlimited talk and text, but no data (though if you have a smartphone you can use wifi). H2O Wireless offers a $30 plan ($27 on autopay) which gives that plus 500 MB of data per month.

Both of them operate on the AT&T network.

Those are near the $25 mark and have unlimited talk and text, but if you only occasionally use the phone and you have a "dumb" phone mostly for emergencies you can easily pay $10 a month or less.
 
aja8888 said:
If I wasn't still w*rking and didn't need to get e-mail on my phone, I would have that plan too!
Click to expand...

Check out Ting. I use them for data only. Costs about $10/month which includes 100 MB of data. I was also considering switching to RingPlus which would give me the same thing for about $4/month.

I like having separate phones for voice and data. Helps out with things like battery management, ease of use for voice and I am able to shop for voice separately from data.

-gauss
 
gauss said:
Check out Ting. I use them for data only. Costs about $10/month which includes 100 MB of data. I was also considering switching to RingPlus which would give me the same thing for about $4/month.

I like having separate phones for voice and data. Helps out with things like battery management, ease of use for voice and I am able to shop for voice separately from data.

-gauss
Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea of separate phones until I fully retire. I have an older Droid Pro sitting in my desk which is perfectly capable of being just a talk phone. I had it on PP once but it was slow with data and the screen is pretty small. Maybe I'll re-activate it with the $80/year plan and just use it for talk. I don't have that many family or friends calling me and can easily give them a new number.

Then the Droid 3 I have can be a work only device. :)
 
ERD50 said:
Not sure what is 'scary' about the Gold Plan. Yes, per minute charges are higher than many, this only makes sense for low minute users (for occasional, somewhat planned high use just switch to the $2-$3/day plan).

...
-ERD50
Click to expand...
Took a quick look at the Gold Plan. What about data, is the Gold Plan good for this?
 
Lsbcal said:
Took a quick look at the Gold Plan. What about data, is the Gold Plan good for this?
Click to expand...

The Gold plan itself does not include data, BUT... it is very easy to switch to a pay-by-the-day plan for $2-$3 per day for unlimited text/talk/data, and switch back at the end of the day(s) you need data. You can switch from your phone.

So if you need data more than a few (~10x?) times per month on average, this probably won't work for you. But we figured we are often in wifi range, and might just turn data on for a w/e away somewhere.

So far, we have never used the data, but it's there if we need it.

We have a handheld GPS, but I've played with the OSMand app, which lets you download maps and has turn-by-turn navigation w/o a data connection, just to play with. It's maybe a little rough around the edges, but is free and gets the job done.

We have VOIP at home, so we don't rack up cell minutes. DW texts the kids and others enough now that I need to refill hers above the $10/year level, but I'm good for many years (they rollover). I need to encourage her to use messaging instead I think, that goes over wifi. It seems to text over wifi requires a separate 'account', and that gets confusing. They use 'snapchat' for some communication, so that is all wifi when we are at home.

-ERD50
 
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Thanks ERD50, this looks like a good approach. I imagine if I'm in a city and suddenly need to find a restaurant by reading on-line reviews, I could be a big spender and turn on the data plan while sitting in my car. A good way to impress DW.

I'm thinking that sometimes on vacation I might just turn on the data plan continuously if we are in city areas.

Our next trip is to the Utah national parks areas and probably much of the coverage will be spotty. In hotels where we stay there is usually wifi, but not out on hikes (I imagine).
 
aja8888 said:
We have three used Motorola Droid smart phones on PagePlus (Verizon towers) for two years now. I use mine all over the U.S. and offshore!

Phones: (eBay) $60 each (used)

Plans: (PagePlus) - the 1200 (1200 minutes, 3000 texts, 500 MB data). No one has run out on this plan in our house - plans are $29.95/month each - no taxes, etc.

For years we had AT&T and Verizon 2 year contracts @ $100/month each. They are long gone.
Click to expand...

Will they port your phone number over?
 
We switched to republic wireless about three months ago and I am very pleased. Bought three Moto X phones, nice phones. $25 a month unlimited everything. They use WiFi when it is available then sprint network and then Verizon if no sprint network available. We live in rural eastern Connecticut and I find the service is just as good as when we were on Verizon. There are a few quirks that we have found but for a $125 month savings I'm not complaining. The biggest issue we have found is that we can't send pictures via text message. But they are aware of the problem and hopefully someday it will get resolved. I did try the $15 a month unlimited call and text package but missed my data too much.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
I am seriously considering the Republic Wireless plan. I really need to get out from under a $165/mo Verizon bill for 3 phones on their family plan. Question for those who use Republic Wireless/ Does DATA include messaging and internet access?
 
SteveNU said:
We switched to republic wireless about three months ago and I am very pleased. Bought three Moto X phones, nice phones. $25 a month unlimited everything. They use WiFi when it is available then sprint network and then Verizon if no sprint network available. We live in rural eastern Connecticut and I find the service is just as good as when we were on Verizon. There are a few quirks that we have found but for a $125 month savings I'm not complaining. The biggest issue we have found is that we can't send pictures via text message. But they are aware of the problem and hopefully someday it will get resolved. I did try the $15 a month unlimited call and text package but missed my data too much.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

How do you find out what network they use (and the info you have here about in what "order" they access the networks) ?

Kindest regards
 
I believe that Republic Wireless forces you to buy one of their phones (ie a generic Sprint phone will not activate) unless this has changed recently.

If you don't object to having to buy a phone from the carrier, then you should also checkout FreedomPop. I think they have plans for either $3.99/month or free. I know several people using their service. The downside to FreedomPop is that their website is lousy and they are always trying to up-sell you.

-gauss
 
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