Phone plans for the monosyllabic.
April 6, 2014 8:27 PM   Subscribe

Your secret weapon: cell phone plans edition! Rarely talk, text even more rarely. Best prepaid(?) plans for Los Angeles WeHo area, rollover minutes, cheapo?

Currently I have an ancient feature phone on a legacy plan with Verizon for like $40 a month total (including all taxes, fees etc.). I don't use it much. Seems a waste to spend $500 a year on something this meager.

However, since we dropped our landline, that phone number is associated with all the CC, banking and so forth. So we still need some kind of phone at home. For out and about, the wife has a smartphone from work on the verizon network, so what I'm looking for is more of an emergency type phone.

Bare-bone plan with a modest wish list - I've reviewed the previous askmes, but they're older, and this is a fast moving consumer space, so something that was once good, might not be so good anymore. I've looked online, but the options are so many that I've collapsed in a smoking heap.

My grand dream:

1)Don't want to be tied to some onerous plan - so I'd prefer some kind of pre-paid, rollover minutes, minimum hassle, throw in a drawer, and if I forget about it, it won't crawl out at one night to kill me with sudden fees.

1) It'll mostly be used at home for incoming calls, which means it should have decent coverage in my area (WeHo, Hollywood, MidWilshire), from previous experience the Verizon network works best, T-Mobile next, AT&T is bad, Sprint dunno.

2)Cheap. Don't want to pay more than like $250 a year at most for the plan.

3)Don't need many minutes a month, usually, I end up using something like 60-80 minutes a month, 15 texts a month. But should a super busy month come up, I'd like the option of buying more minutes for less than a bloodcurdling fee.

4)Don't need data, but if it's a cheap add-on, I don't mind.

5)I'd like roll-over minutes, because it seems to make economic sense with erratic amounts used month to month.

6)Don't need a fancy phone with camera and doodas. Feature phone is fine. I don't want to pay much more than a $100, used is totally fine. So wherever I end up, should allow for cheapo phones.

That's pretty much it. One additional wrinkle, hopefully non-issue, but I'll mention it for the sake of completeness. My wife's parents are coming to visit next month, and we'd like them to use this new phone. Once they're done with it (early June), we'd like to give up my Verizon phone and port my current Verizon number to the new phone+plan, and life goes on.
posted by VikingSword to Technology (18 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
This literally sounds like the ideal situation ting was made for. Personally, that sort of model would bone me. But i think they're pretty much in business to serve people like you.

It's pretty much a "you pay for what you use" service. There's no rollovers, but since you aren't paying for cruft it doesn't matter. Also, it seems like most sprint phones work. Including older and cheapo ones.

You could do what i did for my dad, which is buy a phone at a thrift store with a clean ESN(you can check on swappa), and put in a new battery. If you get one new enough to take a generic micro USB charger you're pretty much set then.

Everything you described seems like it would work with that service. Other people i've talked to who use their phones like this generally prepay something like straight talk for 6 months or a year, but that actually costs more since they're paying for "unlimited" or large amounts of minutes and such they never use. If you really plan to use it this little, it just doesn't make sense.
posted by emptythought at 8:38 PM on April 6, 2014 [4 favorites]


I was referred to Ting by another metafilter user and have been totally happy with it. (I can give you a referral for some $ credit if you PM me, but that is in NO WAY my motivation for recommending it.) The only catch is that it is Sprint, and not everyone loves Sprint's network.

It's nice because I know that if I go to a convention or something and suddenly text like mad, it's not going to cost that much.

I was able to port my AT&T number with no problems. I have no idea about replacing a new number with an old number, though. Their customer service is very responsive so you could probably ask them.
posted by wintersweet at 8:41 PM on April 6, 2014


nthing Ting. Ask around until you find a friend with Sprint service and then ask how the coverage is in your neighborhood.
posted by secretseasons at 8:55 PM on April 6, 2014


Switch to Page Plus, which resells Verizon's network. Keep your current crappy phone, pay either $12/month for 250 minutes/250 texts or pay as you go (as little as $10 for 120 days) for $0.10/minute $0.05/text.
posted by ChrisHartley at 9:04 PM on April 6, 2014


Also came in to recommend Ting. I've been using them about six months, and they're awesome. You'll have to buy a phone upfront, but they offer fairly cheap phones for sale, especially if you're not looking for a smart phone.
posted by jaguar at 9:16 PM on April 6, 2014


Ting in general is a great deal, but in your particular case, T-Mobile Pay As You Go actually makes the most sense, because you can pay (roughly) $100 for the entire year (after that, the minutes expire), whereas Ting ends up charging $12/month if you make any phone calls and any texts during the month. So, all in all, T-Mobile will likely be somewhat cheaper for you.
posted by saeculorum at 9:22 PM on April 6, 2014


I've been happy with Tracfone, which is a prepaid model. I got a triple minute phone, bought 300 minutes for $19.95 (which tripled to 900) and then added a year's service for $9.95. In more than 6 months, I haven't paid a penny for my cell service.

My kids are on kajeet, and their plans offer unlimited texting with 100 minutes of phone time for $14.95 month.

We get decent coverage everywhere in LA. I think Tracfone resells Verizon and kajeet resells Sprint.
posted by ohshenandoah at 9:30 PM on April 6, 2014


If you buy their phone, Republic Wireless offers a $5/month plan that only works over wifi, or a $10/month plan that works as a regular cell phone as well. Unlimited talk/text, not that that matters, but cheap enough to be worth mentioning. No contract, and you can change a plan 2x/month.
posted by aniola at 11:05 PM on April 6, 2014


If Ting uses Sprint's network, I would go with them. I have Sprint and it has the best coverage I have found in the LA area but also doublecheck with a friend that has Sprint. I don't spend a lot of time in the Hollywood but when I am, my phone gets good service.
posted by amapolaroja at 11:19 PM on April 6, 2014


Telna uses T-mobile's network. $19.00 per year, then 5 cents per minute incoming, 8 cents per minute outgoing. You need a phone that takes a SIM.
posted by rdr at 1:55 AM on April 7, 2014


Seconding PagePlus, which my wife and I have been using for years. If you don't use data then the cheapest way is to buy an $80 / 2000 minute card. PP doesn't offer the $80/2000 minute plan directly, but it's easy to find online resellers who do, like this one. Besides the low price per minute you get at this level, the $80 card takes a year to expire whereas the the smaller denomination cards expire after 4 months. You can use data with these cards, but it will suck your balance down at a ridiculous rate of 99 cents/MB.

Last year my wife and I finally knuckled under and got iPhones. PP doesn't officially support the iPhone, but older ones (4S and earlier) will work. This has us on a minimal monthly plan, but it's only $12/month for 250 minutes, 250 texts and 10MB of data.

As I think was said upthread, PagePlus uses the same network that Verizon uses so coverage is the same. That said, data is slower as PP is limited to 3G.
posted by jon1270 at 2:39 AM on April 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh, as a little comment on the "sprint sucks!" thing that's vaguely come up since ting uses sprints network... i had sprint(through qwest) for years. It was actually the first cell service i ever had.

Everyone who complains about sprint is generally using a smartphone. Their data service is depressing. As actual phone service though, it's perfectly fine. Make sure if you ask anyone about their experience with sprint/virgin mobile/etc that you specify that you don't care about data, and just calls.

As just a phone i sent an occasional text from, i didn't really have anything bad to say about sprints network. And i traveled all over the place with that phone, including into the middle of nowhere in the woods.
posted by emptythought at 4:28 AM on April 7, 2014


Ting also has free voice/text roaming on Verizon's network when you find yourself outside of Sprint's coverage area.
posted by gueneverey at 7:33 AM on April 7, 2014


For extremely inexpensive yet reliable phone service, it's hard to beat Lycamobile. (Wikipedia) They're headquartered in London, they're in markets all over Europe but now breaking into the US market. They use a GSM network (utilizing T-Mobile infrastructure), they use a "bring your own phone" model, meaning you need an unlocked phone that uses SIM cards. (You won't be able to use your Sprint phone; both Sprint and Verizon utilize CDSM networks, unlike most phone networks worldwide. And their phones are locked down tight, can be used only on their networks.)

So you want an inexpensive unlocked phone that utilizes SIM cards -- I got one for $20 (manufactured by BLU, up and coming cell phone maker out of Miami); a search on most any vendor (NewEgg, Amazon, Overstock, etc and etc) using "unlocked cell phone" BLU will bring a large selection of cheapie but absolutely bombproof phones.

Buy a Lycamobile SIM card for $0.01 shipped (again, Amazon, eBay, wherever; DON'T buy it from Lycamobile, it'll cost you ten bucks off their site, I prefer to pay a penny, don't you?). slap it into the phone, go to Lycamobile site (no glitz, tacky looking, primitive looking, perfectly reliable), activate the SIM in that phone, put $10 on it, pre-paid. And you're golden. $0.02 a minute for calls, $0.04 per text msg, and ridiculously inexpensive to call 'round the world; a kid I mentor recently moved to Paris, no one comes near their per-minute charge to either land-line or cell phone, and talking to him off the hike and bike trail here in Austin as he's walking the streets in Paris, it's as good as if he was down the block.

As far as I know, you need not use XX number of calls per month or texts to keep account active; other "pay as you go" outfits do this, because they suck. The minutes roll until you spend off your ten bucks worth, then you go back to their site and buy another $10 credit and you're off and running again. (I don't remember if you have to start off the SIM by buying a bit more $ like maybe $15; I don't think that's the case, I'm pretty sure I've started both of mine with ten bucks.)

I've got Lycamobile SIM cards in two phones, one that super-inexpensive (I paid $20 and could have got it for $10 if I were willing to play the rebate game; I'd prefer eye surgery with a dull butter knife over dealing with rebate jive) BLU phone, another an unlocked Huawei Valiant 4.1 Android smart phone (I bought it from MetroPCS for $29 bucks, bought unlock codes from some guy off eBay for like $2.50, it's sweet!), these two phones are my bike-bag phones, my "shove in my pocket and wrestle the dog in the mud" phones. (I have another Android phone, utilizing MetroPCS, it's my "Sunday" phone, my "going to meeting" phone, it's the phone that you'd see if we met at a meetup or whatever, it's slim and gorgeous and probably could fly me to Pluto if ever I could learn all of it's features. Jesus christ.)

This might look daunting, a long comment here. I promise -- it will take you less time to set up a Lycamobile phone than it's taken me to write this response here. And it pays off, in Spades. It's the best I've found to this point in time, and as you can perhaps see, I have looked.

~~~~

Oh, as a little comment on the "sprint sucks!" thing
posted by emptythought at 6:28 AM on April 7

I had great luck with Sprint for years, maybe 12 years. A great vendor. I mean, other than the part about all of their extra charges and fees, which was/is absolutely unrelenting, as was their unwillingness to cop to any of it until their bill hit, at which time you found all these extra pages of hogwash detailing why they were hosing you with this fee and that charge and oh yeah, this fee also, and that other charge, too. THAT was tiresome. And expensive. And then the huge drop-off in customer service and even more sales dishonesty beginning maybe 5 years ago. I finally bailed, switched to Virgin only to find they'd just climbed into bed with Sprint -- very bad news. Virgin is very bad news in every way, though -- I'd only *thought* that Sprint had bad customer service. At Virgin, it's an art form.

I've switched to MetroPCS and Lycamobile, real good luck with them, and never a hidden fee or charge or anything else, with MetroPCS you get a monthly contract for $40, or $50, or whatever, and that's *it* that's the whole cost, taxes included. Lycamobile has monthly contract and/or pay as you go; I use pay as you go. They both run on T-Mobile infrastructure, MetroPCS is in fact wedded to T-Mobile same-same as Sprint and Virgin, though it's a good marriage, both of them good vendors in my experience thus far.

Friends don't let friends go with Sprint or Virgin.
posted by dancestoblue at 12:19 PM on April 7, 2014 [2 favorites]


I was about to write about Platinum Tel, who has a great prepaid plan, but the Lycamobile one described above might be better for you. But it's a good alternative, if there's someting about Lycamobile that won't work for you. They both resell T-Mobile network, so you need an unlocked GSM phone and good T-Mobile reception, but prepaid is definitely the way to go if you don't use many minutes.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 3:35 PM on April 7, 2014


As far as I know, you need not use XX number of calls per month or texts to keep account active; other "pay as you go" outfits do this, because they suck. The minutes roll until you spend off your ten bucks worth ...
posted by dancestoblue at 2:19 PM on April 7 [+] [!]


Wrong. I was sure wrong, 90 days no use and you're gone gone gone; below is from Lycamobile FAQ page:
Q: I have not used my Lycamobile for a while and it has now stopped working. Why is this?
A: We automatically deactivate SIM cards if you do not use them to make a call or send a text for more than 90 days. Unfortunately these SIM cards cannot be reconnected and the cell number also stops being available for you to use after this time.

posted by dancestoblue at 12:10 AM on April 8, 2014


Airvoice Wireless. Their web site blows, and their phone selection sucks, but customer service (phone) is helpful.

You can use most phones that work on the AT&T network. Buy your own.

I bought an older Samsung Smartphone - the Galaxy Appeal i827, for $80. Or you can get an older used iPhone and use that.

Be prepared to call them a few times to get everything working. Once you do, they have a $10/30 days plan. Make sure to set it to autorenew, and keep track when your card expires. Within this plan, texts are 2 cents, voice is 4 cents/minute. Data plan separate, I don't have one, just use WiFi if I need to send a photo or something.

Works for me.
posted by 4midori at 2:01 PM on April 8, 2014


Response by poster: Thank you everybody for your amazing answers. I'm not going to pick "best" because each and every answer is valid depending on slight differences in personal circumstances, and I'd like to preserve this for anyone who might ask a similar question in the near timeframe.

Ultimately, I went with T-mobile, Nokia Lumia 521 phone for like $100 plus activation, and the no contract 1000 minutes for $100 per year (texting is extra, like 20c per or something). Total cost of about $221 which is under my $250 limit. There is a T-mobile store 10 min walk from where I live, so that was a small factor in my choice too for customer service just in case.
posted by VikingSword at 2:12 PM on April 13, 2014


« Older Australian almost/quasi/kinda self-managed super...   |   When to report mutual funds sold in late December Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.