Looking for a basic talk and text cell phone plan with a plain flip phone, anyone have any recommendations?
Basic prepaid talk & text only
- Thread starter diyjake
- Start date
Try Consumer Cellular. There basic plans are very affordable and their service is excellent in my experience.
I have been a satisfied Tracfone user for a couple of decades. I bought a Samsung Android phone that was last year's model for about $70 that works very well. I pay $20 a month for unlimited texts and calls including long distance. I don't use much data so no need to spend more on the monthly plan. The phone is sufficiently sophisticated that I can use apps like remote lock/unlock and remote start on my car, and use WAZE or stream Pandora to my cars. I don't need a big screen, a super high quality camera or ability to store thousands of photos or songs on the phone. Also, the plan is month to month so I'm not locked into any contract.
I've been on T-Mobile's prepaid service for almost two years after being postpaid for the previous twelve years. The plan is $15/month, unlimited talk/text and 2GB of data. After a year they increased it to 2.5GB. I use very little non-WiFi data so I didn't have any need to pay more to get data I wouldn't use.
I am also a satisfied Tracfone customer, but not sure I'd want a bottom-of-the-line phone from them or anyone else. Since you did not mention a price point, check what is available at Wally World or any large grocery store near you. If you choose to shop Tracfone, I'd concentrate on the lower cost Samsung or Moto phones and steer away from the LG phones.
Pick the flip phone you want, then see who is subsidizing it or allows BYOP and has the talk/text plan you need.
I'd been with Tracfone for years, but also have a landline and wifi I use at home (with it), along with Google Voice, so have very minimal needs. I've built up minutes/texts/data faster than I use them so just pay $50/year to extend the service., comes out to $4/mo. plus whatever the phone costs if not bundled. HSN often has the best bundled TF deals.
For the average smartphone and person wanting update support for apps and security reasons, I too would stay away from LG since they're leaving the biz and won't offer long term support for flip phones, and mid-term for their flagship phones, BUT in the case of someon e that just wants a flip phone for texts and voice (which I wouldn't do, a flip phone is terrible for texting), I don't see the support issue being relevant, only that it works out of the box.
Anyway, HSN has an LG flip phone bundle with a year of service and 1200min/texts/data for $50 so they're basically paying you to take the phone, except it's currently out of stock.
www.hsn.com
If it were me, for better texting and nothing more, I'd go with whatever their smallest current Samsung offering is, in a regular, non-flip phone. Texting is terrible on a flip phone, though if it supports voice to text it might be tolerable as long as the other end doesn't mind occasional translation errors where the text isn't quite what you said.
I'd been with Tracfone for years, but also have a landline and wifi I use at home (with it), along with Google Voice, so have very minimal needs. I've built up minutes/texts/data faster than I use them so just pay $50/year to extend the service., comes out to $4/mo. plus whatever the phone costs if not bundled. HSN often has the best bundled TF deals.
For the average smartphone and person wanting update support for apps and security reasons, I too would stay away from LG since they're leaving the biz and won't offer long term support for flip phones, and mid-term for their flagship phones, BUT in the case of someon e that just wants a flip phone for texts and voice (which I wouldn't do, a flip phone is terrible for texting), I don't see the support issue being relevant, only that it works out of the box.
Anyway, HSN has an LG flip phone bundle with a year of service and 1200min/texts/data for $50 so they're basically paying you to take the phone, except it's currently out of stock.
LG Classic Flip Phone Tracfone w/1200 Min/Texts/Data w/Wired Earbuds - 9705519 | HSN
Shop LG Classic Flip Phone Tracfone w/1200 Min/Texts/Data w/Wired Earbuds 9705519, read customer reviews and more at HSN.com.
If it were me, for better texting and nothing more, I'd go with whatever their smallest current Samsung offering is, in a regular, non-flip phone. Texting is terrible on a flip phone, though if it supports voice to text it might be tolerable as long as the other end doesn't mind occasional translation errors where the text isn't quite what you said.
for me a very lite user AirVoice @ $10 for 3 thats THREE months is great! its the pay as you go plan .10 a min for 100 min + data .0666 per MB, they walk you thru setup + easy to contact, other plans as well. your intended use will determine what you need + get at lowest cost, just search + decide + be sure your phone is compatible FIRST!!
It doesn't have to be bottom of the line just as long as it's a flip phone.
When you ask for ...basic talk and text cell phone plan with a plain flip phone...bottom-of-the-line is what I expect you'll find. Please feel free to educate me if you find I'm wrong. I'd certainly like to know.
I have a Tracfone flip phone for emergency use only (My wife has a smart phone that we share). The phone cost $20 and the prepaid service (auto refill) is $18.89 for 90 days or $6.30 per month. They use the towers of the majors, so I even have good service here in the mountains where only Verizon works. The plan only includes 60 minutes, but that is much more than I ever need.
The cheapest by far is Red Pocket. $60/year ($5/mo) for 100 min. talk, 100 texts, 500mb data for AT&T or T-Mobile GSM, or, 99/year ($8.25/mo) for 1000 min. talk, unlimited texts, 1gb data, and you get your choice of any of the 4 network carriers. You may not need the data now, but you will shortly when all of the networks finally drop 3g in favor of 4gLTE ONLY. If your current flip phone does not support 4gLTE you will need to replace it soon. A good inexpensive GSM 4gLTE flip phone is the Alcatel QUICKFLIP. This appears to be the flip phone that most of the carriers are offering.
satisfied with airvoice pay as you go + my $129 moto E. looked at RedPocket ATT on e-bay the best value but none left + reports of hard to get customer support was not good. not techy for sure but air voice took be thru the setup + was fairly quick to contact, lots of options depending on what you want or need IMO
The OP never said how many minutes and texts per month he wants, so it's hard to give much advice.
But for some of the other comments... for minimal users, Page Plus uses Verizon network, the paygo plan is FOUR months of service for $10. 6 cents a minute talk/text. Similar is RedPocket if buying from them on ebay, $30 for a year, and 200 minutes + 1000 texts + 500mb data that all reset every month. Both of those plans come out to $2.50 per month no extra fees. If you want to use Verizon or ATT on that RedPocket deal instead of T-mobile or Sprint, the price doubles.
T-mobile's coverage unfortunately can't compare to Verizon's around here when not near populated areas. On the other hand, Verizon is pickier with what BYOD phones they allow.
I think RP's support is fine. Recently helped someone sign up, and had some minor problems such as the yearly plan was set to expire after 30 days, but they fixed it after one day with an email. And the last two times I called Page Plus support, I was on hold for two minutes and then got helpful people. I called Verizon around that same time and was on hold for 50 minutes. I have more and better reasons than that for why I'd say Verizon is a slimy, trash company that I wish bankruptcy upon. Too bad Verizon is buying Tracfone which also owns Page Plus.
There's various other options in the $5-$10 a month range. And Tracfone is a solid deal, especially around Christmas when you can often get 1500 minutes/text (total for the year) + a pretty nice phone for $30-$60 on a good sale. And then the phone becomes unlocked after a year.
But for some of the other comments... for minimal users, Page Plus uses Verizon network, the paygo plan is FOUR months of service for $10. 6 cents a minute talk/text. Similar is RedPocket if buying from them on ebay, $30 for a year, and 200 minutes + 1000 texts + 500mb data that all reset every month. Both of those plans come out to $2.50 per month no extra fees. If you want to use Verizon or ATT on that RedPocket deal instead of T-mobile or Sprint, the price doubles.
T-mobile's coverage unfortunately can't compare to Verizon's around here when not near populated areas. On the other hand, Verizon is pickier with what BYOD phones they allow.
I think RP's support is fine. Recently helped someone sign up, and had some minor problems such as the yearly plan was set to expire after 30 days, but they fixed it after one day with an email. And the last two times I called Page Plus support, I was on hold for two minutes and then got helpful people. I called Verizon around that same time and was on hold for 50 minutes. I have more and better reasons than that for why I'd say Verizon is a slimy, trash company that I wish bankruptcy upon. Too bad Verizon is buying Tracfone which also owns Page Plus.
There's various other options in the $5-$10 a month range. And Tracfone is a solid deal, especially around Christmas when you can often get 1500 minutes/text (total for the year) + a pretty nice phone for $30-$60 on a good sale. And then the phone becomes unlocked after a year.
