Advice on new cell phone and carrier, PLEASE

[old bear]

I'm in need of a new cell phone and carrier. After 20+ years I'm fed up with my current carrier. It's also, well past, time to replace my Samsung rugby flip phone.
So any recommend for a BASIC "smart phone" and a reliable carrier would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks everyone,
Fred

 

[waffles]

Who is your current carrier? I use Verizon now, and its been about the best I've seen regarding coverage in remote areas.

 

[Sikiguya]

Get an iPhone and the book iPhone for seniors.

Ignore the coverage map from the carriers…it's like a fairy tale. There are dead spots for all carriers. I have had AT&T, Verizon, and T-mobile.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Onomea]

For a carrier, H2O. $19 a month. For a phone, an iPhone. Doesn't have to be the latest model.

 

[dirty & hairy]

H2O is good, used them for a year or so but now with PureTalk. Same kind plans but without the monthly nag about recharging autopay. I bought an unlocked motorola moto G7 phone on amazon, popped in the PureTalk sim and it's been great.

 

[bgrafsr]

We use Verizon. Wife has an iphone and I have a Samsung Galaxy S8 with 64 Gig chip. No problems with Verizon.

 

[Rustyt1953]

We are a happy Samsung/T-Mobile family.

 

[K-22]

T-Mobile

I'm in need of a new cell phone and carrier. After 20+ years I'm fed up with my current carrier. It's also, well past, time to replace my Samsung rugby flip phone.
So any recommend for a BASIC "smart phone" and a reliable carrier would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks everyone,
Fred

We switched from Verizon to T-Mobil about two years ago. Could not be happier.
Great service, no BS charges.
Best,
Gary

 

[Bugkiller99]

I've found carriers to be regional in their quality. I would ask around folks where you live who has the better coverage.
My sister says ATT is best in her neck of the woods, however I ditched them and got Verizon for better/faster coverage where I live.

 

[chuckie]

We switched from AT&T to T-Mobile a year ago and couldn't be happier. Coverage seems to be about the same in our area and the monthly fee is a little more than half of what we were paying AT&T. We both have Samsung S8+ phones.

 

[Onomea]

On iPhones, if cost is not much of a concern, buy the latest and greatest from Apple. It will serve you well for a long time, and their tech support is great.

If you are trying to save money, Back Market is an online retailer with refurbished phones, warranties and good prices. (I think the latest generation is now iPhone 13. Eighteen months ago I bought my wife, who could care less about the latest technical features, a refurbished iPhone 8 from Back Market which she has had zero problems with.)

 

[glenwolde]

There's only so many companies that own the networks. Everybody else uses one of them.

So Cricket is really AT&T.
Tracfone uses whatever is best in the area you buy it in. When I used it I was on the Verizon network.

I used to use Tracfone. It was great but data is limited and expensive to add. When I didn't need much data it was fine. At home with the WiFi we just didn't use a lot of data.

Right now we use Cricket. Works fine. $90 a month for two lines and "not really unlimited" data. Which is really 22gb with 15gb hotspot. I'm on my phone's hotspot right now.

We had traditional contract carries for years. Not any more.

 

[old bear]

Thanks all

Well, I'm hanging with AT&T FOR NOW. Just spent 20 PAINFUL minutes listening to a lady who does not speak anywhere the same version of English I do. After listening to her read their T&C's that are required to get my phone working and a new upgraded phone shipped to me, I then had to agree orally to the T&C's, at this point I'm not sure if I agreed to give her the Launch Codes, or what. For all I know I gave her the OK to snatch up the car but if she attempts I'll be asking for donations to my bail fund

Thanks to all for the suggestions..

 

[Grimjaws]

T-Mobile no contest

T-mobile for the win. Great coverage
They offer a great plan for veterans and first responders
Concur with iPhone - very easy to use
They offer a promo of free iPhone 12 when you switch

My advice grab a pay as you go SIM card maybe 35-40 bucks for 3 gigs of data. Put it in your current phone or borrow a newer one and test it where you normally go.

Perk is they pay for my Netflix
Plus all taxes and fees are built in so if it's 40 a line it's 40

All our phones are paid for and with 6 lines unlimited talk text data plus Netflix and veteran discount I pay $120 a month
To add another line 10 a month

My brother was paying over 200 for his Verizon account three phones
I told him it would cost $120 to join my plan per line
He said per month!
No per YEAR!!!!!

 

[Rpg]

Years ago, I bought an early version of the smart phone. It was awful.

When I could get rid of it, I did.

In researching a replacement, I came across an article in the NYT on the various smart phones. The Times described one as the best for "people who don't like to read instruction manuals": the IPhone.

I bought the then current version (iPhone 3s) and have stayed with the iPhone ever since.

My current phone is 4 or 5 years old (a 6s). Still works great. When I go to replace it, I'll stick with iPhones.

 

[7tenz]

All carriers are awful imo. But last year I got a white iphone mini 12. It's smaller than the 2020 SE and has a larger screen. I'm with Verizon. I don't like phones that are basically smaller tablets.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I get Verizon through Comcast, my internet, cable TV and home phone provider.
I pay $15 a month, unlimited Talk -Text, 1 Gig of Data.
Additional Data $12 a Gig.
I usually keep it turned off on my iPhone.
My Comcast bill? Let's don't go there!

 

[7tenz]

My current phone is 4 or 5 years old (a 6s). Still works great. When I go to replace it, I'll stick with iPhones.

I had the 2016 SE which is a 6s crammed into a 5 case. Great phone. I went to the 12 mini because of the screen size. The mini is only slightly larger overall.

 

[JET4]

I use Verizon. Where I live it seems to have the best coverage. I have the Google Pixel phone. Google updates there phones every month with security updates.

 

[9mmPatriot]

I bailed from Verizon 1.5 years ago and kept my Samsung S8.

Signed up with Google Fi and use less then 1g of data per month, so the combined bill for my wife and i is a whopping $58. She carries insurance on her new Samsung S21 that we bought through Google Fi and saved $300.


Check them out and hit me up for a referral code to save $20 of your bill....yes I'll get $20 knocked off mine as well.

Google Fi - A Phone Plan That Can