ISO AT&T compatible phone

[luvmyfam444]

can you suggest a decent one -kinda basic but would like a QWERTY keyboard

and where to buy it WITHOUT a contract? I'm assuming ebay is the best place but just curious as to what y'all say

 

[Mandychelle79]

when I washed my phone I was told I could go and get one of their prepaid wireless phones from walmart ( go phone, no contract) and put my sim card in it. Well they werent supposed to tell me that but I asked.

 

[luvmyfam444]

AHh that's pretty cool. I'd do that - but I already have service with AT&T - so that wouldn't work would it? Don't you have to activate the pre paid phone to get it to work?

 

[luvmyfam444]

bumping for any more info

 

[Mandychelle79]

AHh that's pretty cool. I'd do that - but I already have service with AT&T - so that wouldn't work would it? Don't you have to activate the pre paid phone to get it to work?

Nope you dont have to activate it. Just buy the phone, take it out of the box, take out the SIM card that is in it and put your SIM card in it. Very easy. Just like if you had an old phone and ruined yours by washing it so you put the SIM card in the old, non activated phone ( not that I had to do that recently or anything )

 

[luvmyfam444]

Ok thanks! So the service it tied into the SIM card, not into the phone itself. HMMM...great to know!

 

[luvmyfam444]

Well, I tried it with my dd's TracFone & it didn't read the card - said it was invaild & then asked for a password.

 

[luvmyfam444]

I'm surprised you can't buy phones nowadays in stores without a contract - I figured after all these years it'd be possible

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

You can buy a phone with no contract at any AT&T Retail store or by calling their Sales Department, but it would be at full retail price.

The reason the SIM card didn't work in the Tracphone is because it's Tracphone, not AT&T. You would have to have an AT&T phone for the SIM card to work inside of it. Just like only Tracphone SIM cards will work in a Tracphone.

 

[luvmyfam444]

AHH thanks - I don't even know where an AT&T store is - don't think I've ever seen one before - lol I just figured store like WM would carry them after all these years

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

You actually can also call Customer Care (the number will be on the website) to "upgrade" your phone at no-commitment pricing which would be full retail. You wouldn't have a contract extension this way either.

Another option would be to log into your AT&T Wireless Online Account by clicking the My Account link on http://wireless.att.com and click "Check Upgrade Options" in the Account Overview. You can replace your phone by "upgrading" it at no commitment.

Can you tell I do this a lot?

 

[powellrj]

Just go to any store that sells AT&T Go Phones. Target, Wal Mart and most drug stores sell them. You just take out your sims card and put it in the new phone. I have a plan I love and don't want to sign a new contract, so I do this every couple of years. If you know someone that has AT&T with an old phone they aren't using, just ask if you can buy theirs. I have done this too. What surprised me was that when you log on to the AT&T website, it will recognize the phone you are using right now, not the phone you registered with.

 

[luvmyfam444]

Thanks so much! I'll check into the GO phones. I had a fear of getting one that I can't return if it didn't work - ya know?

 

[torinsmom]

AT&T told me that they do need to know about what kind of phone you are using for some reason. I was having trouble with my account and called about it. I had bought a phone off ebay which worked fine, but weird things were going on with my service area, etc. They got the model number of the phone and fixed me right up.

Marsha