pre paid

[XWrench3]

i want to replace my "smart"phone with something that is of better quality. i am because of budget, stuck with tracfone or net10, which are pretty much the same. so their are quite a few phones, but none of them are really exciting. so i have to try to pick the best of what they have to stay in the budget. one thing that bothered me last time, and is again, is they ask for the area where the phone will be used. which further limits my choices. but any phone will work here (a cousin from Florida has one that i can not get here that works fine) so i do not understand what the deal is. i actually USE my phone as a phone about 2 or 3 times a month. and i have only used data once in the 7 months i have had my phone (partly because of how little data i get per month, and partly because i seldom need data on a phone, and partly because 99% of any data i do use is on my home wifi). i really only even have a phone because i have kids, so i can be contacted, and for emergencies. i use their 300 minutes for $30.00 which comes with 30mb (i think) of data, and my phone has triple everything for life. this lasts me 90 days. so it is the super economy class of phones. and i ALWAYS have minutes and data left. which rolls over as long as i keep it current. so now that i have made a simple question a page long, why do they limit phones by area? they do not have ANY towers that i am aware of, so i would think that their cost would be the same from whom ever owns the particular tower that i would be calling from.

 

[carnageX]

If you go with Tracfone, Net10, Straight Talk, etc. they usually have an "activation kit" that just has a SIM card in it. You activate that on your account, and then you can get whatever phone you want that's for the carrier you're using with them.

For example, my wife is on Straight Talk using their AT&T service (they also provide Verizon service in my area). She got a used AT&T Note 4, and put the Straight Talk SIM in it, and then changed the APN on the device to what Straight Talk requires for data and voila - done.

So really...just see if the prepaid carrier you're with has a "self activation kit" that just has a SIM card in it. Then pick up whatever phone you want that is compatible with your carrier's backend service (AT&T, Verizon, etc.). Then just put the SIM in, configure the APN (the settings you need to use are usually on the prepaid site when activating your SIM), and you're done.

 

[Trotter]

If you go with Tracfone, Net10, Straight Talk, etc. they usually have an "activation kit" that just has a SIM card in it. You activate that on your account, and then you can get whatever phone you want that's for the carrier you're using with them.

For example, my wife is on Straight Talk using their AT&T service (they also provide Verizon service in my area). She got a used AT&T Note 4, and put the Straight Talk SIM in it, and then changed the APN on the device to what Straight Talk requires for data and voila - done.

So really...just see if the prepaid carrier you're with has a "self activation kit" that just has a SIM card in it. Then pick up whatever phone you want that is compatible with your carrier's backend service (AT&T, Verizon, etc.). Then just put the SIM in, configure the APN (the settings you need to use are usually on the prepaid site when activating your SIM), and you're done.

THIS. When I was on Straight Talk I ordered their AT&T SIM and got my own unlocked phones. I have since moved on to Cricket as all five of us have unlimited talk and text as well as 2.5GB of data for 20 bucks each (40 for the first line + 30 for the second line + 20 for the third line + 10 for the fourth line + 0 for the fifth). My MiL uses no data but it is still a deal for her. We all have unlocked phones (Zenfone 2 for me, a Moto G 2014 for my wife, a Blu Studio 6.0 for my sister in law, and Blu Dash 5.0's for my mom and MiL).

 

[XWrench3]

so do i have to have an unlocked phone for one of these kits? i like my sons old phone that is sitting around here. its an ATT Nokia Lumia 520, which is a windows phone (which i like because i am used to the op syst.) would that work? would i have to unlock it?

 

[carnageX]

so do i have to have an unlocked phone for one of these kits? i like my sons old phone that is sitting around here. its an ATT Nokia Lumia 520, which is a windows phone (which i like because i am used to the op syst.) would that work? would i have to unlock it?

Pretty much all 4G phones nowadays are unlocked. As long as the 520 takes a SIM card to get it's service you can pick up one of the activation kits for your carrier of choice (as long as they use AT&T as a back end service), then it should work.

 

[XWrench3]

well, that sounds good. i will pick up a kit, and "git-r-dun" as Larry would say. i will be doubly happy, 1) to not have to live with a phone that i want to put a 50 caliber hole thru, and 2) have a windows phone that i will not have to look up a tutorial every time i want to do something simple like edit a contact in the phone number list. and it will make my daughter happy, she will have a new toy to play with. my old phone. not sure what she will want to do with it, but she wants it bad. to me, its a target in limbo.

 

[XWrench3]

ok, i picked up one of their kits, and it was not exactly easy, but i got thru it, and the phone works, and so does text messaging. i am working on my gmail account. i want to synch that to this phone. but the only way i find to do that is to synch it with outlook express. which just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. twice the advertising potential, twice the chance of a security breach, and twice the chance of a system going down, and i will not be able to access my mail. i did manage to check my gmail on the phone by typing in gmail to cortana, which brought up my inbox. but it looks nothing like my computer inbox, and it seems like an entire different experience. i am not sure i could even find a way to write an email, let alone send it. and of course, i do not receive any notifications that i got mail. i was hoping to find an app for it in the windows store, but no such luck.

 

[krazyq]

If you have a paid off atnt phone you can unlock it for free here

Main steps

Submit device unlock request
To unlock your AT&T phone or tablet to work on another wireless carrier's network:
1 From your desktop or tablet, go to https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/?#/
2 Read and agree to the eligibility requirements to unlock your device.
3 Complete and submit the form.
4 You'll receive a confirmation email with your unlock request number.
5 Select the link in the email within 24 hours of receipt to confirm your unlock request.
6 AT&T will respond within two business days.
7 If your request is approved, AT&T emails the unlock code and instructions to unlock your device to you.
8 The unlock code is located near the top of the approval email.
9 Follow the instructions in the email to unlock your device.
10 iPhone doesn't use an unlock code. After receiving the email approving your unlock request, remove the AT&T SIM card and insert the new carrier SIM to begin set up.


Additional steps

Check unlock status or resend device unlock instructions
To determine the status of your request or resend the instructions to unlock your device:

1 Visit Check Your Unlock Status.
2 Enter the IMEI number (dial *#06# to get your device IMEI).
3 Enter the Request number.

 

[carnageX]

ok, i picked up one of their kits, and it was not exactly easy, but i got thru it, and the phone works, and so does text messaging. i am working on my gmail account. i want to synch that to this phone. but the only way i find to do that is to synch it with outlook express. which just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. twice the advertising potential, twice the chance of a security breach, and twice the chance of a system going down, and i will not be able to access my mail. i did manage to check my gmail on the phone by typing in gmail to cortana, which brought up my inbox. but it looks nothing like my computer inbox, and it seems like an entire different experience. i am not sure i could even find a way to write an email, let alone send it. and of course, i do not receive any notifications that i got mail. i was hoping to find an app for it in the windows store, but no such luck.

Is there no GMail app in the Windows store?

 

[XWrench3]

no, there is not. i am finding that there are a LOT of apps available in the store on my computer, that are NOT available on the phone. i even checked for updates in the store and windows on the phone. but it it says they are both up to date ( the phone upgraded itself to windows 10 from windows 8 at some point while no one was using it ) . i am going to try downloading the apps i want to my laptop, put the micro sd card from the phone into its adapter (to full size sd card) then reinstall that into the phone and see if they work. / i have read conflicting articles about being able to use android apps in a windows device. does anyone really know if there is a way (that is not terribly complicated) to make this work? i had several apps on the phone that i would like to keep and be able to use. i gave the android phone to my 12 year old daughter, ( as a trial to see if she can take care of a phone, if she can, i will buy her a [hopefully] better tracfone or net10 phone with a VERY limited plan) so i will not be using it anymore.