Advice on new cell phone and carrier, PLEASE

old bear

old bear

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I'm in need of a new cell phone and carrier. After 20+ years I'm fed up with my current carrier:mad:. 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
 
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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.


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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.
 
T-Mobile

old bear said:
I'm in need of a new cell phone and carrier. After 20+ years I'm fed up with my current carrier:mad:. 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
Click to expand...

We switched from Verizon to T-Mobil about two years ago. Could not be happier.
Great service, no BS charges.
Best,
Gary
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.)
 
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.
 
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:eek: but if she attempts I'll be asking for donations to my bail fund;)

Thanks to all for the suggestions..:D
 
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!!!!!
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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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!
 
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Rpg said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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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.
 
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
 
If you are transitioning from a flip phone, I assume you don't need a lot of data. We use consumer cellular. Unlimited talk, text, and some data for $25. Additional line $15. They use AT&T towers, great customer service. You can order phone from them or buy at Target.
 
Right now there are essentially three carriers. AT&T, Verizon, and T Mobile. T Mobile bought Sprint and now owns all of the Sprint cell sites. At some point, Sprint users will probably have to buy new phones as T Mobile updates the former Sprint sites.

Everyone of the discount companies, Metro, H2O, Cricket, Pure Talk, etc... buy air time from one of those three and then resell it along with mostly last generation phones.

In general, right now Verizon has the best overall coverage. Keep in mind that the paths along or near Interstates and other highways get priority for equipment upgrades since that's where most users are.

Note that my comment about Verizon reflects my area, your area may be different. Last I knew, my son had AT&T because his employer pays for his phone and they decide who the carrier is. He hates it. Sprint was worse, and Verizon was the best. Again, that's very often location based.

As to phones, I have a 5 year old Galaxy Note 5 because it's all I need. If I need to do heavy duty computing, I'll use my laptop if I'm on the road and desktop at home.
 
My MBH and I are on a "family" plan with our daughter. AT&T coverage, which is pretty good for our area, unlimited data and stuff. Well under 50 bucks per month for both of us. I am not a heavy user, I can't say the same for the MBH.

Have a blessed day,

Leon
 
I switched my son and I to T-Mobile's 55+ plan a few years ago. Two lines with unlimited everything for $60.month. It's since been increased to $70/month but some new features have been added, too. All taxes and fees are included in the price, You have to set up autopay to get that price.

As far as a smartphone, the Motorola G series is hard to beat for a relatively low cost but still powerful phone. I had a G Power for quite awhile, and it was a great phone until I dropped it and shattered the screen. Then I decided I wanted 5G, so I bought a Samsung A71 5G, It's a nice phone, and 5G is pretty fast compared to LTE, but I miss some of the things the Motorola did that the Sammy doesn't despite its much higher cost.

Another good phone at a good price is the One Plus Nord series. Relatively low priced and full featured. They have one that's LTE only and another one with 5G for a bit more money.

Neither the Motorola nor the OnePlus have the newest and fastest processors, but they work well and reliably, and they are fast enough for anything you will want to do with them.
 
I have no hate for iPhones but I think unless you also use Apple computers they don't mesh well with Windows/Chromebooks. They try, and it can work but it's a bit more trouble. My wife has a mixed platform environment and it's always something.

It also depends if you want a mobile hotspot. We originally got the mobile hotspot plan because we were living in our RV and it was the least expensive option by far for internet. We've just continued to use it. We each get 15gb of hotspot data a month and neither of us have ever run out. But it's not enough if you stream video on your TV. As far as web-surfing goes it's more than enough. I'm on quite a bit since I'm retired and it hasn't been an issue.

But if you don't get a phone with the hotspot feature and/or you just aren't going to use it the non-hotspot plans are cheaper. I find Cricket convenient since they have stores everywhere and I can go talk to somebody if I need to. I hate dealing with anybody's call center.

After having a few of the cheap phones, I find I prefer the down-market Samsung products. Something roughly in the $100 range. I had one of the low-end Tracfones and while it worked fine it didn't have enough memory for more than a few apps. You might find you use it more than you're expecting.
 
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I hate phones , period . I still have my flip phone that is over 15 yrs old . I had an iphone " ONCE " and hated it . It wasn't long before I turned it off and just used it as an ipod . One day while on the charging dock the battery exploded and that was the end of that . Anymore , I just leave my phone turned off , unless I need to use it . Got tired of all the stupid scammer calls . Regards Paul
 
I use Tracfone. You can get a Samsung smart phone on Amazon for $59 and unlimited calls, texts, and data plan for around $30 a month. They use all the major carriers, so you don't really know which one you will get. Just depends on what area you are in. But we have never had any problems with coverage.
 
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The company that mfg's a cell phone that only serves as a Phone could make a fortune off most of us older folks. I seldom text, use calendar, calculator and never any of the dumb apps. For crying out loud , its a phone. Im with T mobile now, have their MI- FI internet device and am kinda satisfied.
 
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