Simple prepaid phone that works on Verizon?

July 1, 2019 6:48 AM

We don't have a land line, but we want to have an emergency phone available at our house. It would theoretically be used if there was an emergency and our smartphones were dead, couldn't be found quickly, or if one of our children needed to make an emergency call. It might also be used if close family members needed to reach us in an emergency and we were not answering our regular phones. We live in a semi-rural area with poor cell coverage, but we have a Verizon range extender at our house (and are already Verizon customers), so it makes sense to get a phone that works on the Verizon network.

I anticipate that this phone will get almost no use, so I thought a prepaid phone would be best - I certainly don't want an expensive plan.

Can I buy a very simple phone, and a prepaid Verizon SIM card? Verizon's website seems to suggest that I can only do this with a smartphone, and even then, only for regular payment plans.

Verizon shows exactly one "dumb phone" with a prepaid plan, but it is not yet available.

There are a variety of simple phones marketed for emergencies on Amazon etc., but I am not certain whether any of them would work at our house and there is no reliable way to test them ahead of time as far as I am aware.

Am I missing something? This seems like it should be very doable but I can't seem to find a solution!

posted by Cygnet to Technology (15 answers total)

Straight Talk has a home phone option you can buy at Walmart. Device plugs into wall outlet and you plug a phone handset into it or use a cordless phone system. Uses Verizon’s cell network, unlimited calls in US, call forwarding and call waiting as well as voicemail for $15 per month plus tax. Set up auto pay on the website and it just works. Device has a backup battery that powers the unit for a few hours during a power outage.
posted by Gino on the Meta at 8:32 AM on July 1, 2019

Does it have to be a dumb phone for any particular reason, or is it just cost? As of recently you could still get an iPhone SE (just discontinued) for quite cheap. The SE definitely works on Verizon prepaid--that's my setup (although I do have a monthly plan, but there were time-based options).
posted by praemunire at 8:40 AM on July 1, 2019

Response by poster: A dumb phone would be ideal because, in order to make it as useful as possible as an emergency phone, it will always be on and it will not have a passcode. I don't want it to become a distraction device or de-facto toy, just an emergency phone.
posted by Cygnet at 8:47 AM on July 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

I believe the issue you are running into is Verizon is shutting down their CDMA service. So what you want is a pre-paid non-smartphone that works on Verizon's LTE bands, which is so hyper-niche I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it didn't exist.
posted by ToddBurson at 9:05 AM on July 1, 2019

How about ObiTalk, since you have a range extender, I assume your your internet is decent. All you'll need is an Obi200, a telephone, and a VOIP provider. Google Voice doesn't include 911 service, but there are several E911 providers you can use with Google Voice.
posted by zinon at 9:12 AM on July 1, 2019

Response by poster: ToddBurson, OK, maybe it actually IS impossible and I wasn't just missing something.

If it's impossible, I'd welcome other suggestions such as the Straight Talk and ObiTalk solutions mentioned above.
posted by Cygnet at 9:14 AM on July 1, 2019

What about a pager? No idea what the market is like in 2019 however emergency situations (firefighters, EMTs, etc) are their primary use now so it might be worth looking into.
posted by ToddBurson at 11:31 AM on July 1, 2019

I should add a disclaimer that I have zero knowledge of amateur radio stuff or if there's anything off-the-shelf you could buy that would suit your needs or you'd have to set something up yourself.
posted by ToddBurson at 11:49 AM on July 1, 2019

I have a Tracfone flip phone. Their web site has one for $20, or various smart phones at higher prices. I pay $100 plus tax for a year's service, which includes 800 minutes. i think the network they depends on where you live, but I'm pretty sure I am on Verizon's. The web site asks for your zipcode so they should be able to tell if you will have coverage.
posted by leaper at 12:15 PM on July 1, 2019

If you're looking at pay-as-you-go plans at all with the expectation that they'll be a set-it-and-forget it option, keep in mind that most (all?) plans expire the minutes on the phone after a certain period of time unless you top them up.
posted by Aleyn at 12:30 PM on July 1, 2019

I have used a prepaid flip phone with Verizon as recently as last October. I bought the phone and the prepaid card at Walmart.

The problem is that their prepaid service works (if they're still doing it) by basically subscribing you for a month to a Verizon plan. It's not $15 of credit until you use it up; it's $15 of credit for the next 30 days.

Therefore, it might be easier and just as cheap to buy a flip phone from Walmart and then add it to your currently-existing cell phone plan in the most barebone way as possible.
posted by colfax at 12:45 PM on July 1, 2019

Is cost the reason you're not looking at a traditional (ie: non-VOIP) landline phone? They do still exist and we have one for exactly this reason - to have an emergency, easy to use phone available. It is a hardwired phone via Fairpoint, using the existing legacy phone jack in our home. Even when the power goes out, it stays on, and of course we don't have to worry about charging it or it being misplaced. We pay about $17 per month for most basic of phone service.
posted by anastasiav at 1:07 PM on July 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: We live in a new house (which we built) and it doesn't have a phone line.
posted by Cygnet at 3:01 PM on July 1, 2019

If the neighborhood is wired, you can certainly still have a landline installed. It's possible, though quite unlikely that there is no service available from the local telco, even if it's delivered over fiber. (Which is fine for an emergency phone as long as you have backup power of some sort for their box)

I'm assuming you mean a new house in a subdivision, in which case the developer almost certainly installed whatever wire your local telco asks for. If it's your own house on your own lot, it would depend on how far you are from a nearby road or utility right of way where they have some wire, but it's worth calling and asking.

It can be harder to get an order placed these days, but in most states the telcos are still under universal service obligations and must install a certain number of feet of service drop for a nominal fee and are required to provide a quote for whatever construction charges would be necessary to serve your home, which you may or may not find worth the cost.

I once lived in a house that was about 300 feet from the road where the distribution cable ran and paid only the standard (at the time) $20 installation fee.

Nokia/HMD make several feature phones that might fit your needs, as well as a couple of smartphones that will last several days per charge with light use, either of which are reasonably inexpensive. I'd be more specific but I'm on my phone right now and can't remember which specific models have US versions.
posted by wierdo at 4:15 PM on July 1, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks - I'll look into it. Maybe a landline really is the best option. We are not in a subdivision and we do not have city utilities (we have a well and our own septic), but we do have cable and power 400 feet away, so maybe it's doable.
posted by Cygnet at 6:28 AM on July 2, 2019