From whom should I buy a SIM card for an unlocked cell phone?

November 14, 2010 9:27 AM

I'm seeking a US-only, reliable SIM card that I can place in an unlocked quad-band cell phone.

I despise cell phones that are computer/camera/media centers with phone calls added as an afterthought. I'm going to buy myself a John's Phone, so I can go back to the glory days of my beloved Motorola StarTac. But I have no idea how to go about procuring a SIM card. There are a number of independent SIM card vendors online, but I can't distinguish between them or judge them on quality and reliability.

Pour some sugar on me.

posted by e.e. coli to Technology (13 answers total)

Do you live in the US? T-mobile has prepaid plans if you don't want to sign for a contract or get a monthly plan. I'm sure AT&T has something similar. If you do get a plan, you can always opt to just get a sim card rather than a phone.
posted by Geppp at 9:41 AM on November 14, 2010

Best answer: The SIM card comes from the carrier - take your pick between T-Mobile, AT&T or someone (a Mobile Network Virtual Operator - MNVO) who resells access to those two networks. Terms that might help you in your search are Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and SIM only plans. Since you won't be doing any texting you are just looking at cost per minute. I would suggest T-Mobile prepaid - I believe it is easier to Bring Your Own Device on their network. You can buy a T-Mobile prepaid SIM card with a few bucks airtime for $5 on eBay - once you spend $100 on re-fills the per minute charge drops to $0.10 and are valid for 1 year. Last I checked that was the best deal for GSM prepaid in the US. They also have a $30/month 1,500 minute plan but there will be extra taxes and service fees included that might drive that up to $40/month. How many minutes do you anticipate using per month?
posted by ChrisHartley at 9:46 AM on November 14, 2010

Best answer: Here is a recent thread on Howard Forums that provides a fairly detailed breakdown of your current options, including a lot of the esoteric small MNVOs. If you can afford the $100 refill card to reach the Gold Rewards level with T-Mobile right off the bat then they probably offer the best deal. If you can't afford the $100 up front then there may be better options.
posted by ChrisHartley at 9:54 AM on November 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Argh. John's Phone is not sold to USA customers. Good grief.
posted by e.e. coli at 10:16 AM on November 14, 2010

You should be able to use a package forwarding service to have it delivered to a EU address and then forwarded to you in the US - probably another $20-$30 on top of the $95 phone cost. You could also look at a used Nokia 1100b - basic, no frills old school phone with crazy battery life and a small form factor. They are available on eBay for about $10.
posted by ChrisHartley at 10:32 AM on November 14, 2010

As ChrisHartley said above, T-mobile has the cheapest pre-paid GSM plan. More convenient and quicker than eBay, you can go to any Target or Walmart and buy a T-mobile phone for $20, take the SIM card out of it and put it in your GSM phone of choice and be up and running in a few minutes. If all you want is voice, you might even find the simple $20 T-mobile phone sufficient.
posted by JackFlash at 12:22 PM on November 14, 2010

Response by poster: Sadly, I don't have any phone options at the moment. I literally cannot find a single phone that isn't horrible. I'll happily entertain suggestions here. I want (1) the ability to place and receive phone calls and (2) not a single other thing. No camera. No color screen. No GPS. Nothing. Just real, clicky buttons and some phone.
posted by e.e. coli at 1:02 PM on November 14, 2010

Here is a list of B&W Nokia phones that will work with T-Mobile (1900Mhz and 850Mhz are the bands T-Mobile uses in the US). These phones are all delightfully free of extraneous features, although the Nokia 1200 does include a flashlight. Someone is selling new 1200's on eBay for about $36 shipped now. Nokia 1100s and similar have a fantastic reputation in the developing world. You can also hammer yams with them if that becomes necessary.
posted by ChrisHartley at 1:25 PM on November 14, 2010

e.e. coli, look at the Motorola Motofone F3.
posted by Fizzgig at 2:58 PM on November 14, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks, but those Nokia phones all have games, SMS, and other cruft that make it harder to simply place phone calls.
posted by e.e. coli at 3:50 PM on November 14, 2010

Response by poster: That Motorola is on the right planet, though still on the wrong continent. It has a huge menu controller, as if it were an XBox 360.
posted by e.e. coli at 3:53 PM on November 14, 2010

Jitterbug? Still might be too fancy for your needs - I think you will need to go with John's phone.
posted by ChrisHartley at 4:12 PM on November 14, 2010

Response by poster: The Jitterbug is locked into their proprietary network; doesn't even have an accessible SIM card. The John's Phones aren't sold to US residents.
posted by e.e. coli at 4:13 PM on November 14, 2010