Cell phones forum: Advice for low usage phones / proider from an newbie

In my experience, TMobile has the best prepaid service. Unless you need to use them out in the country where their service is thin, suggest you look there.

You probably don't have a Pamida around, but it's on sale for about $30 there. I saw it in store, and almost upgraded phones, but wanted to research first. Googling the words lg 290c review or something like that gets a few forum posts about it, it has limited bluetooth functionality as far as file transfer, tricky to get photos off, etc., but looks like the camera is decent, and seems to get decent reviews all around for a basic phone. They come with a little starter time and activation, so you can use them, maybe even return them, or ebay, and not be out much if you don't like it.

I have not been around other prepaid services, so can't comment. I like the about $9 per month with Tracfone for more minutes than I use, and the minutes roll over. You can look for promotional codes to add with the airtime cards. They are posted on various sites, with a year card, guessing you could find 150 plus free minutes (don't double, I think I got a bonus 200 last time). The last time I figured it out, just buying the year card and not cheaper "bulk" minutes, it was around 9 cents a minute (I think...).

Tracfone partners with the major cell carriers. This phone is a cdma phone, in my area that means Verizon (formerly Alltel), or US Cellular. Default activation in my area activates the phone on Verizon, I call in to "force" activate on US Cellular, as that tower is 18 miles closer to me. Their phone support..., stinks. I can barely understand them, but patience and persistence have gotten me through the very few times I've called. GSM phones are not available in my area, Viaero is the only other cell carrier, they are GSM and a roaming partner of AT&T I think. Tracfone GSM phones will roam here, so I think I could get a GSM phone, activate in a different zip/long distance, and it would work here. So if you have a choice of CDMA or GSM tracfones, you should be able to call in and activate them on a carrier that you want in the area. I don't know all of their partners, but you can look to them to determine the exact coverage.

Pageplus does look promising, using the Verizon towers the way it looks. Their coverage map shows me in roaming. And their map just shows wherever there is a signal of any kind, not necessarily where there is usable service (as in areas that have less than 1 bar with any phone, in rural areas with no obstructions/trees or anything, where I live). I may look into it myself, but if it uses Verizon towers, there is no usable service here. If it roams to US Cellular, maybe.

And T-mobile doesn't service this area.

Like I said OP, I can only comment on Tracfone. I've used them for roughly 8 years. I have had 0 problems with the actual service, the phones I've gone through have worked every time I needed. The only times I have contacted phone support were to transfer unused minutes to new phones, or do non-automatic activation so that it would work better in my area. Their activation system goes by zipcode, not by where a person lives in a zipcode. So when a zipcode is 20+ miles across, it can make a difference which tower is used, and their system can't figure that out. The biggest problem was understanding them, got what I needed done every time. I've also gotten every email I've sent answered. A fair amount of the complaints I see are with transferring numbers, minutes, etc., there are many others, but we are talking about a large company here. If I were to go into a store, and buy a phone, I could go online, activate it, and be set up without having to speak to them, and it would most likely work. Bottom line, if you are just getting new phones, I wouldn't worry about it. You can activate them and not buy any minutes to start. I think you get 20 or so, you could do a little checking to see if they worked, if they didn't, take them back. I would look into Pageplus though, but like I said, I can't comment on their service.

I'd use such JD Powers/Consumer Reports ratings with a grain of salt. Simply because a particular brand (in this case, Net10/Tracfone) saturates the market well with their sales strategy does not mean it's the best option or service.

...proves my point to a certain degree.

For the record, Tracfone spends more $$ on marketing than Page Plus but doesn't offer the same amount of coverage, especially in rural areas. A lot of folks who wander about Wally World or their local convenience stores making quick choices for pre-paid service may only end up seeing the prominently displayed offerings from Tracfone and/or net10 and never find out about other options. Even Straight Talk isn't what it's cracked up to be.

Page Plus only uses CDMA/EVDO, and uses Verizon's footprint for primary coverage, partners for roaming. Verizon is well known, especially in the western U.S., for having superior non-urban coverage. Providing service in some areas where GSM still isn't present at all. Of course this may not apply where you live. It really depends on what your individual needs are in both handset/technology, coverage and services. Some trial and error will no doubt be involved, along with basic due diligence for anyone trying it out. "30 miles to a stoplight/15 miles for groceries" is really only speaking in general terms. Whether or not it will *actually* work truly depends on other factors that require one to test it out personally. Physical impediments affecting reception of radio waves such as topography or cell sites being down always factor in, along with roaming agreement changes that aren't updated on their maps in any one location (or multiple). You get the idea .

Unfortunately, Tracfone does not let you bring in your own handset since their service requires special software pre-loaded on the phone. In this sense you cannot bring in an unlocked GSM phone even though you had a perfectly good one laying around. Page Plus is more flexible in this regard since you could pick up your friends used Verizon branded CDMA/EVDO windows smartphone and simply activate it on the network w/o any special software. You avoid the data plan this way too.

Activating on page plus shouldn't affect the phone data you already have stored. That said, it's always prudent to back up such info for emergencies. Especially if it's an extensive list that you would otherwise have to re-enter.

There should be motorola software that came with the phone (or is downloadable) for offline backup. Unless that is Verizon has restricted that capability with their carrier ROM.

Wow, did they take you to the cleaners(!)

Up until a couple years ago, they were still common around here. People got rid of them mainly because they shut off analog, and also because there were no deals on them when signing up for new plans. They had more power, and worked in more places. Those flip phones simply don't work very well in actual rural places (as in where I live and go, sparse population, and spotty cell towers only covering main driving routes and not the rural communities away from the roads). I stopped using mine because of tracfone, much cheaper, and my first one was a Nokia that I could plug an external antenna into. Didn't work as well, but ok. Still many areas with no service.

On a side note, I wrote Pageplus sales 48 hours ago, and have received no response of any kind. Tracfone has them beat in email service so far, never more than a day (for me).

I've "done my homework"!!! TracFone seems to be the best deal around.The phone costs between $10. USD and $25.USD, epending on how new and tech. avanced of a one tou buy---I have one which I purchased online from Wal-Mart at a discounted $9.05 + tax,with free s+h with Wallyworlds "Site to Store" online purchase policy. Bought it as I thought my battery was "kaput"---E-BAY,AMAZON, et.al.price for another battery ranged from $7.50 USD (USED) to a high of $45.USD new. Turns out it was the charger that was not properly functioning!!! DO NOT PURCHASE THE BIG DOLLAR "T-F" MINUTE CAED----BECAUSE AS YOU INDICATED,YOU HAVE A "LOW MONTHLY USAGE" PATTERN----INSTEAD, I URGE YOU TO CONSIDER PURCHASING THE ONE-TIME DOUBLE YOUR MINUTES "CAR AUTHORIZATION WAS PREVIOUSLY ( 2 YEARS AGO) ABOUT #50.US---BUT I THINK IT'S NOW ABOUT $29.USD---IT WILL LAST AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT ALLOW YOUR COVERAGE TO "LAPSE"!!!! YOU THEN, PURCHASE MINUTES EVERY 90 DAYS,AND ALL UNUSED MINUTES ( ACTUALLY "UNITS") "CARRY-OVER"---WITH A 60 MINUTE "T-F" CARD at #19.95 ( = $20.USD + change),YOU'LL HAVE IT DOUBLED TO 120 UNITS---BUYING THE ONE-TIME "DOUBLER" ,AND THE LOWEST BUYABLE 60 UNITS, USUALLY LEAVES ME WITH BETWEEN 140 and 299UNITS AFTER THE DOUBLING OF THE 60 UNITS----MUCH BETTER DEAL TO "BUY 'EM AS YOU USE 'EM " THAT TO BUY THEIR 3 MONTH PLAN WHICH THEY KEEP TRYING TO GRT ME TO GET----P.S.---THAT $10.USD COMPLETE "T-F' WALLYWORLD DEAL ALSO INCLUDED A NEW BATTERY, A NEW CHARGER, AND, AN EXACT REPLACEMENT FOR MY OLDER "V170" MODEL WHICH SUITS MY NEEDS VERY NICELY = A RARE SMS MESSAGE SENT ,OR RECEIVED, AND AWAY FROM HOME ( IN THE CAR) COMMUNICATIONS ---AFTER 3 YEARS, THE D one time charge for the DOUBLE YOU TIME UNITS HAS PAID FOR ITSELF nearly three times over----BY THE WAY, I STILL HAVE THE NEW COMPLETE "V-170" SITTING IN YHE BOX, MINUS THE BATTERY CHARGER----THE ONLY "DOWN SIDE" OF "T-F' IS THAT YOU CAN NOT TRANSFER DATA CONTENTS TO ANOTHER PHONE---BECAUSE IT IS "INTERNAL MEMORY" WITHOUT A "SIM CARD"---PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REFERENCE MY YAHOO! PROFILE UNDER THE HANDLE OF < LONG-JOHN > /S/ JOHN E. WHITE-III

Part of your response was, "INSTEAD, I URGE YOU TO CONSIDER PURCHASING THE ONE-TIME DOUBLE YOUR MINUTES "CAR AUTHORIZATION WAS PREVIOUSLY ( 2 YEARS AGO) ABOUT #50.US---BUT I THINK IT'S NOW ABOUT $29.USD---IT WILL LAST AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT ALLOW YOUR COVERAGE TO "LAPSE"!!!! YOU THEN, PURCHASE MINUTES EVERY 90 DAYS,AND ALL UNUSED MINUTES ( ACTUALLY "UNITS") "CARRY-OVER"---WITH A 60 MINUTE "T-F" CARD at #19.95 ( = $20.USD + change),YOU'LL HAVE IT DOUBLED TO 120 UNITS---BUYING THE ONE-TIME "DOUBLER" ,AND THE LOWEST BUYABLE 60 UNITS, USUALLY LEAVES ME WITH BETWEEN 140 and 299UNITS AFTER THE DOUBLING OF THE 60 UNITS"

Would I need to buy this card even though the phone comes with life time double minutes? I'm not clear on what allows you to carry over the minutes. Your plan sounds like it would be prefect for my wife, and now I just have to make sure I understand everything I know. LOL
(BTW, I had difficulty contacting you via Yahoo.)

Sorry I Did Not make myself clear( PS-MY "D" KEY STICKS ON MY PC KEYBOARD)--- The TracFone "Double Your Minutes" is a separate purchase (a one time purchase , if you do not allow your PURCHASED AMOUNT OF UNIT-service to "lapse" = "go beyond each its' 3-month expiration date") that goes WITH each the 60,or 120 units which you purchase,every 90 days ( NOT EVERY 3 MONTHS, but "every 90 DAYS")---those, 60,or 120 units, are doubled because of the "DOUBLER" ----BECAUSE I,LIKE YOU, AM NOT A "CHATTY CATHY",WITH MY CELL PHONE,AN AM A LOW USAGE USER------- THEY, "TF", DO TRY TO GET YOU TO BUY A 3 MONTH SERVICE FOR AROUND $30.USD FOR 90 DAYS----BUT, FOR ME,WHY WASTE / "BLOW" AWAY ANOTHER EXTRA $10.USD EVERY QUARTER (roughly = 4 times $10.USD---per year...INSTEAD, EVERY QUARTER, I ONLY PAY $20.USD for each 60 unit set for 90 day coverage --the 60 unit set are doubled to 120 units each time (every 90 days) that I must "renew/re-up"----THE 60,0r 120 UNIT PURCHASES "EXPIRE" AFTER 90 DAYS ,so my way equals: 4 x 20=$80.USD VERSUS 4 x $30.-------PS ---TWO PREVIOUS TYPOS---THE DOUBLER WAS OFFERED AT $29.95 AT WALMART .I MISTYPED A "0",INSTEAD of a "9",I paid $9.95 for the complete "V190" TF kit-----TWO REASONS THAT YOU MAY WISH TO PURCHASE THE SMALLER TIME UNITS,VERSUS THE LARGER UNIT AMOUNTS,OR "YEARLY" OPTION---IF YOU LOSE YOUR PHONE, IT BECOMES DAMAGED,,YOU DO NOT SUFFER A COMPLETE MUCH LARGER LOSS OF YOUR UNUSED TIME UNITS ----YOU WILL,HOWEVER, LOSE THE "DOUBLER" "SIDE PURCHASE" OPTION FOR ONCE BOUGHT, IT "BELONGS"="IS ASSIGNED", TO THAT PARTICULAR CELL,PHONE,AND WILL ONLY BE LOST IF YOU "LAPSE-OUT" YOUR COVERAGE FOR THAT PARTICULAR CELL PHONE BY EXPIRING YOU SERVICE COVERAGE DUE TO FAILURE TO PURCHASE MORE UNITS PRIOR TO THE CURRENT 90 DAY EXPIRATION DATE ( WHICH WILL HAPPEN IF YOU LOSE IT, OR, IT IS DAMAGED BEYOND USABILITY---YOU ,OF COURSE WOULD NOT BUT MORE UNITS FOR A PHONE WHICH DOES NOT FUNCTION,WOULD YOU???) !!!!---I ORIGINALLY PURCHASED THAT ORIGINAL TF ABOUT 4 1/2 YEARS AGO FOR MY NEPHEW BEFORE I WENT TO EUROPE TO LIVE FOR 3 1/2 YEARS---HIS G/F BOUGHT HIM A "FANCIER", MULTI-FUNTIONING ONE, I RETURNED, AND RE-ACTIVATED IT 3 1/2 YEARS AGO,AND AM STILL USING IT TODAY!!!!( BOUGHT A FULL "V190" KIT AT REDUCED $9.95, or $9.99??? from WALLYWORLD---BAD CHARGER,NOT BAD BATTERY !!!) ----FOR ME,THE "DOUBLER" WAS A SEPARATE PURCHASE,FROM EACH OF THE TIME SERVICE UNIT PURCHASES WHICH I MUST BUY EVERY 90 DAYS---- HOPE THAT "EXPANDED" RESPONSE CLARIFIES THE ISSUESFOR YOU---jewiii

I have T-Mobile Pay-As-You-Go Prepaid, and it is an excellent value.

I live in a city that has excellent T-Mobile coverage, and don't travel much.

Coverage in your cities of choice may be different.

What about non-cities??? People live there you know, if they didn't, city guys like you wouldn't have any food!

j/k (pet peeve of mine though the way some people ignore "us", as in most people, it seems)