No Contract Phone Suggestions

[Disney Princess]

Our contract with Verizon is finally up next month! We are seriously considering switching to a no-contract phone. We'd love to save a bit of money each month on the budget. I know I've read several opinions on here of different companies that people use. Please offer some suggestions based on our criteria below. Also, please be completely honest about the pros and cons.

1) We need unlimited talk and text. We live in Texas and our families live in Washington and Arkansas, so we need to be able to communicate easily and without limits. Also, we send lots of pictures via text of the kids to the grandparents, so we'd love to not be limited there either.

2) Good service. We live in the DFW metroplex, so I'm sure our coverage will be fine, but a company that has good coverage in other parts of the country while we travel would be nice.

3) Affordable phones. If would just use our current Verizon phones, that would be a huge plus, but if not, we'd need a company that has affordable phones. We don't need the latest and greatest or a new one each year, but something durable and affordable is needed.

4) Smart phones? We don't NEED smart phones, but we have them now. We do use the internet while out and about for things like GPS, so if we could keep that feature, it'd be great. Obviously, we don't need unlimited data, but a good data package rate would be great.

5) Keep our phone numbers. We'd love to not mess with changing our phone numbers, so if we could keep the ones we have and transfer them over, it'd be a huge plus.

Any suggestions and advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[kugelette]

I have always been a fan of Boost, but you'd have to see if it has good reception in your area (it's great in NYC, but I wouldn't vouch for more suburban areas or somewhere off the east coast).

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

PagePlus is a great choice.

They use the Verizon pre-paid network, so you can use your current Verizon phones (most likely). You can also port your number over to PagePlus. $40 a month for unlimited T&T and 1 gb of data. Really can't beat their deal. The only thing about specific smart phones is they do not support the 4g LTE yet. Have to have a 3G phone or "flash" your phone (which I do not even know exactly what this or how to do it, but many people do). 3G phones are for sale from PagePlus, or they can be found on eBay fairly cheap. DH got some kind of 3G smartphone for $30 and has been happy with it. Chances are if your contract is up w/Verizon the phone is more than 2 years old and the whole 4G LTE thing isn't even an issue.

http://www.kittyforums.net/
This site is good for discussions about PagePlus, how to do so etc... They can answer any questions or concerns you might have.

We have used PagePlus since about Sept of last year and have been really happy with it.

 

[Joyful3Heart]

If you already have Verizon phones, why not just go month to month with them on a new plan.
Just 2 weeks ago, they started a new promo that matches AT&T's new prices- $160 a month for 4 phones and 10gb data. Of course the best deal only comes when you order 10gb or more which makes your smartphone access $15.00/ month. Probably not a great deal if you only have a couple phones but better if you have 4 or more.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2014/04/more-everything-savings-coming.html
It worked well now that we are off contract. Often you can get a discount as well. I just switched to the new plan and with my discount through work 4 phones are $138 before tax. You do not need to participate with Verizon Edge for these discounts to work, only you must have a Verizon able phone. Just call the customer service number, though, I was unable to do it through the website.
Another option is T-Mobile. The lumia 521 is a nice entry level smartphone with a great camera (though windows based) that you should be able to pick up for $69. T-Mobile service is notoriously spotty, though, depending on how far you are from a metro area.
Good Luck

 

[Lewisc]

Straight talk uses all carriers, including verizon. You can check your phones serial number on STd website and see if your phone is compatable

 

[wishuponastar42]

Technically you are no-contract (i.e. month to month) once your contract is up & you don't do something like upgrade your phone at a subsidized price. Also, it would help if you tell us what you pay now & for how many lines; that would help us know which pre-paid carriers might save you money. Obviously one that uses Verizon's network would be the best options since you wouldn't be forced to buy new phones.

 

[My3Princez]

PagePlus is a great choice.

They use the Verizon pre-paid network, so you can use your current Verizon phones (most likely). You can also port your number over to PagePlus. $40 a month for unlimited T&T and 1 gb of data. Really can't beat their deal. The only thing about specific smart phones is they do not support the 4g LTE yet. Have to have a 3G phone or "flash" your phone (which I do not even know exactly what this or how to do it, but many people do). 3G phones are for sale from PagePlus, or they can be found on eBay fairly cheap. DH got some kind of 3G smartphone for $30 and has been happy with it. Chances are if your contract is up w/Verizon the phone is more than 2 years old and the whole 4G LTE thing isn't even an issue.

http://www.kittyforums.net/
This site is good for discussions about PagePlus, how to do so etc... They can answer any questions or concerns you might have.

We have used PagePlus since about Sept of last year and have been really happy with it.

This. I love pageplus.

 

[jeffbear]

Technically you are no-contract (i.e. month to month) once your contract is up & you don't do something like upgrade your phone at a subsidized price. Also, it would help if you tell us what you pay now & for how many lines; that would help us know which pre-paid carriers might save you money. Obviously one that uses Verizon's network would be the best options since you wouldn't be forced to buy new phones.

This. You can stay with Verizon on a month to month basis for pretty much as long as your current phones are supported by their system without being forced into a new contract. So if you're happy with their service and rates then you can stay with Verizon.

If you want to go to a cheaper provider and stay with smart phones, watch out for the costs on the data plans. Also note that several more traditional providers offer standard no contract accounts with the latest phones ... Virgin and T Mobile off the top of my head ... but you're going to struggle to get the per phone cost below $35 per month with anything like a normal data plan.

 

[teCh0010]

If sprint coverage works where you are look at republic wireless. They are a hybrid wireless carrier that uses VOIP over wifi when it is available (like your house) to keep the cost down. $25 unlimited talk, text, and 3G data. $40 for unlimited talk, text, and 4G data.

They also have a $10 plan with unlimited talk and text, no data. And a $5 plan that just works on wifi. These plans would be good for younger kids or people that don't use data.

They only have two phones, $150 or $300 to buy outright. Prices are inline with what they should cost, not inflated. Moto X or Moto G.

 

[Disney Princess]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. This gives us a lot to look into. We only have two phones in our family, and with a 20% discount for my husband's work, we're paying $150 + taxes/fees which we think is ridiculous. We were definitely looking into something cheaper.

We'll do some research and see what we can do.

 

[supersnoop]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. This gives us a lot to look into. We only have two phones in our family, and with a 20% discount for my husband's work, we're paying $150 + taxes/fees which we think is ridiculous. We were definitely looking into something cheaper.

We'll do some research and see what we can do.

One point, since you mentioned coverage for travelling ...

If you go with a prepaid plan, you'll be limited to that provider's own network. Most post-paid providers, have roaming agreements that greatly increase their coverage, but you lose that with a prepaid plan. Considering unlimited prepaid can be had in the $30-$45 range, it's not a bad trade-off, but it is something to be aware of.

 

[crazelion]

I am surprise no one has mention Tracfone smartphones which run off the Verizon networks. It has triple minutes for life. that means that 60 minute card and get 120 minutes a month. I bought all my kids tracfone smartphones. They get good coverage too.

 

[ebradley23]

I just switched from Verizon to T-Mobile on principle. Verizon has the most expensive service, because they claim to be the best. When my contract came up for renewal, they said my grandfathered unlimited data plan was not compatible with any phone. Even though I don't need unlimited data, they made me mad by forcing me out. I am now saving $40/month on my new plan which includes the price of my new phone. If you have an android device, you should be able to buy a SIM card and save even more. I had an iPhone 4s which was only compatible on Verizon's network though. I also was able to port my number easily. T-Mobile's customer service is excellent too. I get poor reception in my home, so they overnighted me a signal booster at no charge. Verizon would have told me to go stand on the porch.

 

[friend2Figment]

tracfone & net10 both allow you to port your current # with you. They both have bring your own unlocked phone, net10 requires gsm(at&t & t-mobile) tracfone uses cdma(verizon).We got my oldest DD a new android galaxy centura w/ tracfone and she really likes it. The only problem is she is a typical teen who thinks they need their phone in their hands at all times and some of her friends feel the need to message every 3 seconds. We are looking to switch her over to the Net10 unlimited talk, text & web you can get two phones for $90mo or if the high speed data is not so important you can get two phones with unlimited talk, text and less unlimited at the higher speed then it slows down but still unlimited for $70 or $75. I am still researching the net10 bring your own phone as if you read the fine print it states if you use the At&t sim you will be limited to 1.5GB of data and the t-mobile really gives you the unlimited.

 

[smokeyblue]

I have Net 10. I bought an AT&T GSM smart phone off of Ebay and purchased the Net 10 sim card. They have a few different plans. They have family plans $90 for two lines talk/text/data, a $50/mo unlimited talk/text w/1.5 gb of data and $40 unlimited talk/text with 500 mb of data. I found I wasn't using that much data and I now buy the $40 card. I figure if I have a trip where I may use more data that I will just get the $50 card for that month. I buy my cards at Target with the red card to get a few dollars off, plus they only charge state sales tax, they don't add on the extra communication surcharges they do on the Net 10 website.

The only difficulty I had was getting things set up. The packaging didn't come with the right information to set up data for my phone. They have foreign tech support. I had to call about 4 times before I got a knowledgeable person who wasn't just reading off the script. He was really really good. Other than that I have had no problems and am happy with the service and the price.

 

[mickeymousemom]

I have been using Straight Talk for the last few years and absolutely love it. The reception is great. Better than any carrier I've had so far(all the major ones) because it runs off of several carriers. I wouldn't change to anything else because I've been so happy with it. My daughter uses it as well and loves it too.

 

[havaneselover]

I love straight talk too. I've had it for almost 18 months. Never had an issue. I do have a smart phone (my sister gave me her AT&T iPhone 4).

 

[4 Ears]

Great thread! Our contract ends tomorrow with Verizon.
Only prob with our phones is that my phone wont charge, the battery will but have to put in hubbys to charge. Wondering if just change from contract and get an extra battery would be cheap for a while.
Sorry to hijack the thread.

For those that have responder to OP, thank you. Helpful info

 

[RitaE]

Republic Wireless works great for us but I agree that if you have Verizon phones that you can take with you you should probably check out the PagePlus deals first.

My Mom and I use the $10 plans and my two sons use the $25 plans with unlimited data, calls and text.

 

[Angrypenguin]

Why not check out TMobile and ATT? The big 4 all offer no contract plans now...and being in a major metro area, I would think coverage is pretty solid.