What's the latest on inexpensive cell phone plans?

[Nightcap]

I hope you like the service and the savings. The only gotcha we've encountered so far is if we go over the plan limits one month, like when we are traveling and using more data or talk minutes, the plan automatically adjust upwards but not downwards the next month. So then I have to login online and reset our plan back to the lowest data usage plan every time it adjust upwards.

The latest news from the mobile phone front: The Consumer Cellular SIM cards arrived today, and I plugged mine in. Nada. Turns out I fat-fingered the phone number when I first registered. (D'oh!) Quick call to CC on the remaining phone and a very cheerful and helpful support person got it straightened out.

Then I discovered that they don't support WiFi Calling. We live in a marginal area for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Since our mobile phones are our only phones, we rely on WiFi Calling to make and receive calls in the house.

I called Consumer Cellular tech support again, and the very polite and helpful tech did some checking. While the AT&T SIM they sent does not support that feature (doubtless due to their agreement with AT&T), T-Mobile does support it. Around here, T-Mobile shares towers with AT&T, so it's all the same to us. He's sending out new T-Mobile SIMs; they should be here in a few days.

I've never had tech support as prompt and helpful as this. I'll reserve final judgement until the new SIMs arrive and I can test them out, but this far, it's all good.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

[/B]

I checked to see if the Moto G 5 plus I just bought from Costco would work and the site said it would not. I can go back to Costco and get it set up for Verizon. So much for a cheap provider on the Verizon network...

Sorry about that.
If the the phone is CDMA/Verizon capable, another Verizon network MVNO to try would be PagePlus.

https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/

 

[Hermit]

Yes, but evidently DW is not. She went down to the store ( I did my "shopping" on the Verizon website) and the guy was all like "what the heck do you have this plan for?" and she walked out of there with $104/ month for both phones which is not as low as what I'm reading many of you have, but I can live it. For now.

I did the same thing about a year ago after I kicked the kids off the family plan. Called Verizon and now I have a just under $30 plan that I don't use data on.

 

[Hermit]

Sorry about that.
If the the phone is CDMA/Verizon capable, another Verizon network MVNO to try would be PagePlus.

https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/

I'm looking a Red Pocket. I am going to call Verizon and ask them about their pre-pay. I can get 3GB data for $40 probably plus tax, etc. Red Pocket has 3 GB for $45 but probably includes taxes, etc. Unlimited text & calls on both. Red Pocket also has 1GB data and 500 minutes, 500 texts for $25 which is probably all I really need with my limited access to cell phone coverage.

 

[Nightcap]

Happy Endings

The latest news from the mobile phone front: The Consumer Cellular SIM cards arrived today, and I plugged mine in. Nada. Turns out I fat-fingered the phone number when I first registered. (D'oh!) Quick call to CC on the remaining phone and a very cheerful and helpful support person got it straightened out.

Then I discovered that they don't support WiFi Calling. We live in a marginal area for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Since our mobile phones are our only phones, we rely on WiFi Calling to make and receive calls in the house.

I called Consumer Cellular tech support again, and the very polite and helpful tech did some checking. While the AT&T SIM they sent does not support that feature (doubtless due to their agreement with AT&T), T-Mobile does support it. Around here, T-Mobile shares towers with AT&T, so it's all the same to us. He's sending out new T-Mobile SIMs; they should be here in a few days.

I've never had tech support as prompt and helpful as this. I'll reserve final judgement until the new SIMs arrive and I can test them out, but this far, it's all good.

The T-Mobile SIM cards from Consumer Cellular arrived on Monday morning. Glitch #1: My iPhone was locked. AT&T had to unlock it. AT&T has an ED-209 (Robocop reference) voicemail system that exists to keep you from speaking to anyone. It referred me to a web site. I entered my data and the website told me that I wasn't a customer, go away.

So back to ED-209. At every question, I told it to connect me to a human. Finally, and with rather poor grace, it did so. Wrong human, of course, but he connected me to the right one. In India. Who had another website I needed to use.

Long story short, finally got my phone unlocked. Called Consumer Cellular back to activate it, then back again to provision Wifi Calling.

Now I had to deal with DW's phone. AT&T's website recognized her as one of their own, took my request, and told me they'd consider it. For up to two days. This afternoon, they sent an email back that landed straight in my junk mail filter telling me that my request was denied - they didn't know me. I'd only been a customer since the original iPhone 10 years ago. I'm also a shareholder, but that doesn't cut any ice.

DW called ED-209, sweet-talked the computer (apparently it works better if you say "Please connect me to a service representative" rather than howling "HUMAN! I WANNA TALK TO A HUMAN!" in my best Sam Kinnison impersonation.) She then had a lovely chat with an AT&T rep, and handed me back her newly unlocked phone.

I inserted the T-Mobile SIM, called Consumer Cellular, and we're golden. From $80 per month to $42.75 per month. Throughout, every single Consumer Cellular rep was fantastically helpful. These guys deserve the accolades they're getting.

Thank you again for the great tip!

 

[REWahoo]

Here is a new very inexpensive offer from Sprint: one year unlimited voice, text and data for free (almost). Offer ends June 30.

Bring your eligible phone to Sprint and get FREE Unlimited data, talk and text for one year. There's no annual contract and you can keep your phone, number, accessories, photos, apps and music.

Must bring your own phone and only certain unlocked phones are eligible. See link below for list of phones.
Must be a Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile customer bringing new lines to Sprint.
No activation fee, no contract. No requirement to continue with Sprint after the end of the free offer.
A monthly standard $1.99 admin fee, $0.40 regulatory fee and other taxes and fees apply.
Sim card purchase required ($2.99 plus $10 shipping & handling + tax).

https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/offers/free-unlimited.html?ECID=vanity:1yearfree

 

[Hermit]

Here is a new very inexpensive offer from Sprint: one year unlimited voice, text and data for free (almost). Offer ends June 30.



Must bring your own phone and only certain unlocked phones are eligible. See link below for list of phones.
Must be a Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile customer bringing new lines to Sprint.
No activation fee, no contract. No requirement to continue with Sprint after the end of the free offer.
A monthly standard $1.99 admin fee, $0.40 regulatory fee and other taxes and fees apply.
Sim card purchase required ($2.99 plus $10 shipping & handling + tax).

https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/offers/free-unlimited.html?ECID=vanity:1yearfree

I spent an hour trying to set up this plan. Bottom line was that their automated system needed my sim card shipping address to match my credit card address. My credit cards have my PO Box on them because US Mail will not deliver to my home. Sprint would not allow a PO Box for shipping the Sim card. Now I have to go to a Sprint store and provide two forms of ID. Then I have to call the 800 number back to complete the setup. Trouble is the nearest Sprint store is about a 4 hour round trip drive.

 

[REWahoo]

What a PITA!

Why not call that Sprint store, tell them your story, offer to email copies of your ID, and beg for their help? What have you got to loose?

 

[Rustic23]

I have a couple of Iphone 4s phones, no go.

From another site:

Only some phones are eligible for the upgrade. You can check Sprint’s promo page for a full list, but it boils down to every iPhone since the iPhone 5C, recent Google Nexus and Pixel phones, a few Moto phones, and “special edition” Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S8 phones.

 

[Hermit]

What a PITA!

Why not call that Sprint store, tell them your story, offer to email copies of your ID, and beg for their help? What have you got to loose?

I have a couple of Iphone 4s phones, no go.

From another site:

Only some phones are eligible for the upgrade. You can check Sprint’s promo page for a full list, but it boils down to every iPhone since the iPhone 5C, recent Google Nexus and Pixel phones, a few Moto phones, and “special edition” Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S8 phones.

I thought changing carriers was required to be PITA! I will be down in Colorado Springs on Sunday and I can go into the Sprint store then so it won't cost me a special drive in to town.

I just bought an unlocked Moto G 5 plus from Costco. I checked it and it is good to go.

BTW, this is my first smart phone so I am having lots of fun trying to figure out how to do everything. If it all works like I think it will, I will be able to clear out my camera, GPS, Verizon phone, and all the various chargers and cables from my backpack. I plan to leave the new tablet I bought along with the cell phone at least for a while. The tablet gives me a much bigger screen while I am stuck waiting for my car to get fixed, etc. If I can get by with just the cell phone, I will have a much lighter backpack to haul around or maybe no backpack at all!

 

[Fedup]

Bring this thread back up. My kids told us at dinner tonight that they are thinking of getting off our cell phone plan. If they do and pay for their own cell plan. I might switch to a different carrier. So I need to read this thread again. The bottom line here is that more money is going to be available for husband and I to spend. Reduced expense. Dance smiley here.

 

[Nightcap]

Re-opening this old thread...

Consumer Cellular did not work out. We could usually call out via WiFi calling, but incoming calls were hit-or-miss. Sometime callers would get the message that the number was not in service.

So last week, I switched to T-Mobile's One Unlimited 55+ plan. I ordered two new iPhones that support Extended Range LTE (Band 12). Our iPhone 6 phones did not support this low-frequency band, which meant that the very best we could get standing outside our home was one bar of 2G service. Low frequencies travel further and go through walls more easily, so I have hope our overall coverage will improve. The new phones arrive tomorrow.

T-Mobile is also sending us a booster, a mini cell tower for your home, free for nothing. (We do have to return it should be change service providers.) This will give us full bars at home. On Consumer Cellular's support page there have been repeated requests for boosters over the past three years, each one answered with the boilerplate "We do not support at this time..."

Cost: $10 more per month than CC. At this point, it's a bargain, and it's still well under what we were paying AT&T.

And it happens that a fellow chorister just got a job at the new T-Mobile store in the next town over, so we were able to throw some business (and commissions) her way.

 

[jetpack]

I'm currently checking out the XfinityMobile plans. They start at $0 + tax/ month for unlimited talk and text. Taxes is < $5/month. $12/gig for data.

Only catch is you have to have xfinity cable or intenet at home, and buy a new phone through them.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

And it happens that a fellow chorister just got a job .......

So you would think from the body of the word I would have gotten it. Nope, I had to google Chorister.. I must have been in the Principals office during English class a lot.


Im going to give myself a pass on this one, I only sing Happy Birthday.

 

[Nightcap]

So you would think from the body of the word I would have gotten it. Nope, I had to google Chorister.. I must have been in the Principals office during English class a lot.


Im going to give myself a pass on this one, I only sing Happy Birthday.

Sorry, I was an English major, and I love the heck out of words. When I was in the service, Richard Hooker's M*A*S*H novels were making the rounds, and I ran across the term "terpsichorean ecdysiast." Hooker stole it from H.L. Mencken; it means "stripper." (Terpsichore was the ancient Greek muse of dance, an ecdysiast is a creature that sheds, like a snake.) I still laugh whenever I find it.

As James Nicoll wrote, "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary."

You gotta love a language that encourages play.

 

[Bamaman]

Makes me glad to have no hassles, no cellphone, no expenses.

After spending most of every working day on the telephone for 36 1/2 years, I seldom even talk on the phone in ER.

I am like a bird out of a cage.

 

[Rianne]

The latest news from the mobile phone front: The Consumer Cellular SIM cards arrived today, and I plugged mine in. Nada. Turns out I fat-fingered the phone number when I first registered. (D'oh!) Quick call to CC on the remaining phone and a very cheerful and helpful support person got it straightened out.

Then I discovered that they don't support WiFi Calling. We live in a marginal area for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Since our mobile phones are our only phones, we rely on WiFi Calling to make and receive calls in the house.

I called Consumer Cellular tech support again, and the very polite and helpful tech did some checking. While the AT&T SIM they sent does not support that feature (doubtless due to their agreement with AT&T), T-Mobile does support it. Around here, T-Mobile shares towers with AT&T, so it's all the same to us. He's sending out new T-Mobile SIMs; they should be here in a few days.

I've never had tech support as prompt and helpful as this. I'll reserve final judgement until the new SIMs arrive and I can test them out, but this far, it's all good.

We have CC, spend $48/month, 2 phones and use the ATT wifi most of the time. I record podcasts all the time and listen to great shows without using data. I mostly text everyone I know, so very few phone calls. We have iPhone 5's that work great, we got them new from CC for $100/each. CC tech support is awesome.

 

[youbet]

Makes me glad to have no hassles, no cellphone, no expenses.

After spending most of every working day on the telephone for 36 1/2 years, I seldom even talk on the phone in ER.

I am like a bird out of a cage.

Are you still making the mistake of having telephone, Internet or TV/radio signals allowed into your home? They're such a hassle and getting rid of them would truly make you free!

 

[kgtest]

I like how these cell providers only usually offer the bundle discount. Get five family members on one plan...and risk getting them all disconnected when jr doesn't pony up. They know dad will eventually foot the bill to prevent service interruption. Hook, line and sinker!

 

[Senator]

I use Verizon. If you travel, you need the best coverage, if you want to stay in touch with the world.

Verizon, with two phones, my cost is ~$108 a month, with a veterans discount. No other provider has the coverage that Verizon has.

 

[audreyh1]

Re-opening this old thread...

Consumer Cellular did not work out. We could usually call out via WiFi calling, but incoming calls were hit-or-miss. Sometime callers would get the message that the number was not in service.

So last week, I switched to T-Mobile's One Unlimited 55+ plan. I ordered two new iPhones that support Extended Range LTE (Band 12). Our iPhone 6 phones did not support this low-frequency band, which meant that the very best we could get standing outside our home was one bar of 2G service. Low frequencies travel further and go through walls more easily, so I have hope our overall coverage will improve. The new phones arrive tomorrow.

T-Mobile is also sending us a booster, a mini cell tower for your home, free for nothing. (We do have to return it should be change service providers.) This will give us full bars at home. On Consumer Cellular's support page there have been repeated requests for boosters over the past three years, each one answered with the boilerplate "We do not support at this time..."

Cost: $10 more per month than CC. At this point, it's a bargain, and it's still well under what we were paying AT&T.

And it happens that a fellow chorister just got a job at the new T-Mobile store in the next town over, so we were able to throw some business (and commissions) her way.

Wifi calling works great for us with incoming calls with our T-mobile iPhones. Wondering why you had trouble.

 

[Marita40]

I've been very happy with Ting--fabulous customer service and low prices. But I don't use much data.

 

[foxcreek9]

Tracfone. We have 2 iPhones and use about 100 min, 100 texts, and about 500 MB data per month each. Total cost is $12 each per month.

 

[Nightcap]

Wifi calling works great for us with incoming calls with our T-mobile iPhones. Wondering why you had trouble.

Damned if I know. We weren't on T-Mobile, we were on Consumer Cellular. I would repeatedly find my phone attached to no network at all, then after a bit, it would resolve to CC-Wi-Fi.

 

[audreyh1]

Damned if I know. We weren't on T-Mobile, we were on Consumer Cellular. I would repeatedly find my phone attached to no network at all, then after a bit, it would resolve to CC-Wi-Fi.

Well that was probably the issue. T-Mobile wifi calling works extremely well with the iPhones that have the built-in wifi calling capability.

I was shocked in Amsterdam - my doctor's office called about an appointment, and it sounded just like they were calling me at home, not across the Atlantic. Also my experience with calling United US based customer service. No latency. International calling - massive difference between wifi calling and through cell towers. I tried to make sure I was on wifi if I had to talk a US number. At first it was because I would not be charged for minutes. But then I realized the quality was so much better too.