Cheap No Contract phone wanted... Sick of it.

[JGmazda]

Are you sick of the new iPhone commercials yet? Shoot- ANY phone... Whatever happened to the days where a phone was "just" a phone? Honestly, life was so much simpler (And cheaper) thirty years ago! My head hurts from the constant barrage of "buy the new ________!!!" commercials.

I don't need it to land a 747 with step-by-step instructions. I don't need it to surf the web on a 3.5" screen. I don't need it to launch a dozen applications and play music through my car stereo. I don't play Candy Crush or need to inform every friend that I'm purchasing a coffee at Starbucks and ran into my Boss's wife while waiting in line.

I just want it to be a "phone"...

Can anyone recommend a no-contract provider with a decent phone plan? A friend om mine uses Virgin Mobile and loves it.

$40 per month seems like it will buy "something".

Any suggestions?

 

[AKhan87]

to each their own but I can do everything on my iPhone 5, pay all my bills, read lecture notes.

Short of taking my exams online and doing my taxes, I can do everything on my phone faster, voice recognition is a faster way to convey a message.

My wife in fact, writes her essays by using the voice recognition and then edits it later on Microsoft word...

Phone line without contract, depends what you want, do you need internet? texting?

aren't walmart's phone plans pretty cheap?

 

[3800Series]

What you need is a good flip phone. I don't recommend non contract phones tho. Unless you go threw a major provider your signal will not be excellent. My wife use to have sprint I had Verizon and she made a game as we went from Mississippi to Iowa to check my phone to see who had the better signal.

I won that one.

But phones are ment to make yourlife easier. There is a phone for every lifestyle. Although the higher end phones are marketed to business class and middle class family's its imply meant to simplify things.

I don't own a iPhone, I don't own a smart phone. Don't need them. What I need I a good cheap phone with good reception and excellent battery life.

Although I do have a tablet. I love the thing I hate bringing out the labtop and booting it up every time I want to check something I simply grab it and its there always on and waiting. Same idea with smart phones.

 

[michaelluscher]

.....You can pry my Droid Maxx from my cold, oil soaked, dead hands!

If your waiting for your "labtop" and tablet to "boot up", It may be time for a new one; or some spring cleaning and or upgrading.

Get on over to Rootmetrics and Sensorly, see what carrier does the best in your locale.

With the way they're giving away last years model, a S3 or S4, iPhone 5C or 5S should be free-$100 on a new line. T-Mobile usually competes best on price, and while there network is ever improving, outside big metro areas can leave a lot to be desired. Don't forget about MVNO's, they're a way to save money if you can acquire the phone you want, cheaply.

 

[kneesahn]

Been with virgin for a year now after 11 yrs with sprint. Customer service sucks but really for a cheap phone, cheap no contract plan, that you will likely never run into problems with. I haven't found any others better. And I did weeks of research before deciding to dump sprint after a decade.

 

[mattwithcats]

If your only using it a little, a Tracfone is the way to go...

I paid $2.49 for the phone, then $100 for a year of service and around 700-900 minutes of talk time.

It becomes expensive if you use up the minutes that come with the year card, but I never do, and they roll over.

Got 7,000 minutes and 450 days on my current phone...

 

[Nukeman7]

Check out PagePlus through their premier dealer, Kitty Wireless. Kitty Wireless offers geat customer service and PagePlus is on the Verizon network so you will get excellant coverage in the U.S. You can use your own phone if it is Verizon labeled (and some other CDMA units) and it is $80 for 2000 minutes good for a year. If you reload within a year, any unused balance carries forwatd for another year! That works out to 4 cents /minute or 4 cents per text message. I have had a dumb flip phone on the plan for 4 years and would never go back to a Verizon contract plan. PagePlus/KW also offers a myriad of other plans, including monthly plans with data.

Kitty Wireless

 

[Nayov]

Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
If your only using it a little, a Tracfone is the way to go...

I paid $2.49 for the phone, then $100 for a year of service and around 700-900 minutes of talk time.

It becomes expensive if you use up the minutes that come with the year card, but I never do, and they roll over.

Got 7,000 minutes and 450 days on my current phone...


What he said. Thread can now be closed.

 

[mikefxu]

Originally Posted By: Nayov
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
If your only using it a little, a Tracfone is the way to go...

I paid $2.49 for the phone, then $100 for a year of service and around 700-900 minutes of talk time.

It becomes expensive if you use up the minutes that come with the year card, but I never do, and they roll over.

Got 7,000 minutes and 450 days on my current phone...


What he said. Thread can now be closed.

Can't get any cheaper than Page Plus (Verizon) $10 every 120 days. My wife's parents rolled over so much it was cheaper to stitch out of TracFone to Page Plus. They only use it while travelling.

You only have to deal with dealers on the $80 a year plan, anything less and you can deal with Page Plus directly.

For someone that needs more the the minimum I would recommend Cricket Wireless (AT&T) its $35 a month with auto pay after all taxes in fees for unlimited everything, the data is 1gb of high speed then throttled after that to 128k which is still usable even for Pandora. If you need a smartphone too the Moto G is a great phone.

If you put multiple people on a plan they will reduce the overall cost by up to a $100 when you get to 5 users. This is off the non auto pay plan price which is $5 higher, so the 1gb plan non auto pay plan is $40 and it becomes $20 with the full discount.

We have two 1gb plans, two 3gb plans and 1 10gb plans for a total of $140 a month after all taxes and fees.

 

[mikefxu]

Ran out of edit time...continued...

I had Virgin Mobile for awhile and I had the Motorola Triumph since it kept us on the $25 grandfathered plan. Most the refills I bought near $20 for the $25 plan through deals. Virgin Mobile is the worst service ever, I dealt with it because the price was right. You get unlimited data but it is the worst service ever. I get so much more from Cricket for the same price and also can buy any unlocked phone I want. We have Nexus 4 which we bought used for $200. They were selling factory refurb Nexus 4 this week for $150. Its a great phone but would recommend the Moto G for most people.

A lot of prepaid carriers are online only/mostly. Cricket has physical stores.

 

[eljefino]

Virgin Mobile user. Have a flip phone (they call it a feature phone). They are usually/ always out of the feature phones to goad you into getting a data phone even if you're only going to use it for voice, "for now."

Am in a rural-ish area and the phone works half the time. Rings in my home office but I have to run to my back porch to answer.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

We've used Consumer Cellular for the last couple years. Two phones, $30/month, no contract. The phones do exactly what we want-make and receive calls. They can also text, but neither of us text.

A single phone was (if I remember correctly) $20/month. For us it was an extra $10 for the additional phone.

In our rural area we've always had good signal and never had a problem with the phones.

 

[Lapham3]

I've got a simple old Nokia analog with Tracphone. I've had better reception in remote areas and battery life than pals with the expensive'do everything' digital.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I have Virgin Mobile at 35$ plus tax. It works fine in the Metro area. But if you are vacationing in small rural areas or deer hunting up-north, that signal you are trying to reach in your deer blind may not be there. Here in Detroit Metro, they are Sprint, which lags behind AT-T and Verizon airways.

That's been my experiences after three years with them.

 

[spasm3]

I think virgin or tracfone is the way to go as most major providers are moving away from flip phones. I don't use a smart phone, as it is to inconvenient. I am on call a lot, and a large phone with poor battery life does not cut it . Currently i am on verizon with a gusto flip phone. At some point i may have to go to trac or virgin.

 

[javacontour]

Some of the no contract outfits let you bring your own phone. My oldest has an android and tracphone lets you bring a device. You just buy the SIM card. So if you are worried about the devices offered, you may be able to buy an unlocked phone on ebay or Craigslist and see if you can get a SIM. I know thismis possible for smart phones. You would have to check if you can bring your own standard phone for this sort of deal.

 

[Donald]

Look at Consumer Cellular. They have top rated customer service. And use AT&T cell service. I have had them for a year and no issues. You buy what you need as far as minutes or text or data. No contract.

They have several inexpensive phones you can buy outright or over 2 years. From basic phones to smart phones. If you leave before the phone is paid off, you just pay what you owe for the phone and its then yours.

I purchased a Nexus 5 from Google and got a SIMM card from Consumer Cellular and it works great.

I think T-Mobile is also worth considering but they do not have cell service in the country where I live.

 

[saginawmale50]

Tracphone triple minutes phone, usually on tmobile or att and they roam freely on the other network. Cheap, easy, and good deals on ebay.

 

[ronbo]

AT&T prepaid flip phone. $25 card every 3 months to keep it active.

 

[Jim K]

Another vote for Page PLus and Kitty Wireless online dealer . I started with the $80 year pin but switched over to the $12 a month plan. That gets you a 250 minutes 250 texts and small data per month. I set it up on auto-pay with Kitty Wireless. This plan works great for me and I`ve never run out of minutes. A heavier phone user has other price options.If you just want a good calling phone I`ve had a Samsung Gusto 2 phone that works great and they are available on Ebay for around $25 brand new.I currently have a LG Optimus Fuel that is working great and while it is a smart phone I mainly talk and text and turn on and off data on the phone as needed as in sending pictures.