After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
Our 2 phones aren't even anywhere near new -- both are 2 generations behind - and we don't need the newest, shiny phone out there. My Galaxy S6 Active is just fine. So the idea we continue to shell out almost $200 a month for cell service is ridiculous.
Dmxrob wrote to All <=-
to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been
curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set
as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money
to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been
curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set
as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
Our 2 phones aren't even anywhere near new -- both are 2 generations behind - and we don't need the newest, shiny phone out there. My
Galaxy S6 Active is just fine. So the idea we continue to shell out almost $200 a month for cell service is ridiculous.
Thoughts?
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
Dmxrob wrote to All <=-
to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
They claim they use the same towers, as they basically buy minutes in bulk from Sprint, AT&T, et al. What they do not tell you is that prepaid does not include roaming towers, so the coverage will be superior with maintsream carriers for that reason. The notable exception is Boost, which uses the Sprint Network, and provides a limited amount of roaming minutes.
maintsream carriers for that reason. The notable exception is Boost, which uses the Sprint Network, and provides a limited amount of roaming minutes.
MRO wrote to Chai <=-
i travel across the country atleast once a year and havent had a
problem with service and i'm using a prepay service.
Nightfox wrote to Chai <=-
I've heard Virgin Mobile also uses the Sprint network. I'm not sure
about their roaming minutes though.
I've heard Virgin Mobile also uses the Sprint network. I'm not sure
about their roaming minutes though.
Yes they do, and I enjoyed my service with them. I had to drop them when I moved into my apartment, as I'm in about a 1/4 mile dead spot between two tower areas. I had issues making calls from my apartment, as I did not have roaming. The only towers that tend to make it inside my apartment are AT&T based and roaming towers.
On 11-16-18 12:49, Al wrote to Dmxrob <=-
Here in BC I use an outfit called Fido (not to be confused with the
net). I pay $50 a month for unlimited texting, unlimited nationwide calling and 5GB data.
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
Our 2 phones aren't even anywhere near new -- both are 2 generations behind - and we don't need the newest, shiny phone out there. My Galaxy S6 Active is just fine. So the idea we continue to shell out almost $200 a month for cell service is ridiculous.
Thoughts?
maintsream carriers for that reason. The notable exception is Boost, which uses the Sprint Network, and provides a limited amount of roaming minutes.
I've heard Virgin Mobile also uses the Sprint network. I'm not sure
about their roaming minutes though.
Mobile. People would claim you take the Sprint version of the phone, load it up with the Virgin Mobile modifications and it would work with Virgin Mobile. I highly doubt that because I've heard that Virgin Mobile kept strict inventory of the phones and block phines that wasn't part of their inventory.
I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. The coverage isn't quite as good, but the customer service and pricing plans are much better (than AT&T). Check 'em out.
Here in BC I use an outfit called Fido (not to be confused with the
net). I pay $50 a month for unlimited texting, unlimited nationwide
calling and 5GB data.
That sounds not unlike my plan here in .au, except I only pay $20 for unlimited national calls and text, with 4GB data/month. :)
Dmxrob wrote to All <=-
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money
to AT&T for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been
curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set
as post-paid? It seems to me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considerably cheaper for identical services.
Nightfox wrote to Chai <=-
I wish Virgin Mobile had femtocells and similar devices. My reception
is spotty where I work, and if they had femtocells, I'd be tempted to
buy one to set up at work to provide a good signal for me.
On 11-17-18 12:36, Al wrote to Vk3jed <=-
That sounds not unlike my plan here in .au, except I only pay $20 for unlimited national calls and text, with 4GB data/month. :)
I'd sign up for that! My home phone is also on Fido. Unlimited calling
to Canada and the US. No texting or data on that one but it's $20
month.
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money to AT for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as post-paid? It seems me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considera cheaper for identical services.
Our 2 phones aren't even anywhere near new -- both are 2 generations behind and we don't need the newest, shiny phone out there. My Galaxy S6 Active is just fine. So the idea we continue to shell out almost $200 a month for cel service is ridiculous.
Thoughts?
Hi Rob. I pay about $20 for 90 days of service with Tracfone and have no desire to go with any of the bigger services. The phone I have sucks, but it was one of the cheaper ones at Best Buy some years ago.
Re: Cell Phones - Post vs. Pre Paid
By: Dmxrob to All on Fri Nov 16 2018 12:18 pm
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money to AT for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as post-paid? It seems me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered via research, are considera cheaper for identical services.
Our 2 phones aren't even anywhere near new -- both are 2 generations behind and we don't need the newest, shiny phone out there. My Galaxy S6 Active is just fine. So the idea we continue to shell out almost $200 a month for cel service is ridiculous.
Thoughts?
Hi Rob. I pay about $20 for 90 days of service with Tracfone and have no desire to go with any of the bigger services. The phone I have sucks, but it was one of the cheaper ones at Best Buy some years ago. There are nicer phones you can use with the service. I've been thinking about upgrading the phone, but I'm not rushing since I only use it to make phone calls. I rarely text and don't use many apps (since the phone itself can't handle much).
All that being said, I can't say how good the data plans are for what you might need since I just don't use much data. But the phones they have listed for sale on the TracFone web site look decent enough. I recommend at least checking it out if you are trying to break the cycle of the bigger carriers.
I'm on Cricket Wireless, we have 3 phones with "unlimited" data (22 GB, then throttled) for $90. I've been happy with their service, and a locked AT&T phone works fine since they're a MVNO.
looks like that's 100 bucks now and the max speed is 3Mbps.
for 4g lte data it's 60/month
it also says they throttle.
Re: Cell Phones - Post vs. Pre Paid
By: MRO to poindexter FORTRAN on Fri Dec 28 2018 01:32 pm
looks like that's 100 bucks now and the max speed is 3Mbps.
for 4g lte data it's 60/month
it also says they throttle.
3mbps is fine for most of what I need, and I haven't hit the 22 gig throttling cap. Most people would be fine with the service, and it's significantly cheaper.
The Wifi calling is nice -- I've got marginal coverage from all carriers.
The Wifi calling is nice -- I've got marginal coverage from all carriers.
The Wifi calling is nice -- I've got marginal coverage from all carriers.
From what I could tell, it seems like my cell carrier doesn't offer wifi calling as a feature on their phones. I wish they did (and it would be nice to have wifi texting too, if such a thing exists) so I could get coverage where I have a wifi connection if my cell connection isn't so good.
Nightfox
Yeah, but it's not 4g lte.
you're paying a lot for 3Mbps
The Wifi calling is nice -- I've got marginal coverage from all
carriers.
What do you mean by that? it depends on if you have a wifi connection.
are you saying your provider has hotspots around your city?
From what I could tell, it seems like my cell carrier doesn't offer
wifi calling as a feature on their phones. I wish they did (and it
would be nice to have wifi texting too, if such a thing exists) so I
could get coverage where I have a wifi connection if my cell
connection isn't so good.
just use an app. there's tons
just use an app. there's tons
It's not really that easy. Voice chat apps don't normally let you call regular phone numbers, unless you pay them a fee (I've seen that with Skype, for instance). Talking to other people free with those types of apps is only
After many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of money
to AT for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been curious
if anyone knows if pre-paid plans are the same in feature set as
post-paid? It seems me the pre-paid plans, from what I have gathered
via research, are considera cheaper for identical services.
just use an app. there's tons
It's not really that easy. Voice chat apps don't normally let you call regular phone numbers, unless you pay them a fee (I've seen that with Skype, for instance). Talking to other people free with those types of apps is only
google voice added it i'm pretty sure.
Jagossel wrote to MRO <=-
I'm pretty sure that Google Voice doesn't do Wi-Fi calling. I do know
that there their Hangouts Dialer, but I'm not sure what that does, exactly, other than use your Google Voice number.
I'm pretty sure that Google Voice doesn't do Wi-Fi calling. I do know that there their Hangouts Dialer, but I'm not sure what that does, exactly, other than use your Google Voice number.
just use an app. there's tons
It's not really that easy. Voice chat apps don't normally let you
call regular phone numbers, unless you pay them a fee (I've seen that
with Skype, for instance). Talking to other people free with those
types of apps is only
google voice added it i'm pretty sure.
Nightfox wrote to MRO <=-
Google Voice might be able to, but then if anyone calls me or texts me,
it will go straight to my cell phone rather than through the app.
From what I could tell, it seems like my cell carrier doesn't offer
wifi calling as a feature on their phones. I wish they did (and it
just use an app. there's tons
It's not really that easy. Voice chat apps don't normally let you call regular phone numbers, unless you pay them a fee (I've seen that with
I pay $62 a month for 2 phones with walmarts family mobile, I get 3 gigsAfter many years of paying what I feel is a ridiculous amount of
money to AT for cell service (2 lines, about $180 a month) I've been
... I either want less corruption, or more chance to participate in it.
It's designed to use both the Google Hangouts app and the Hangouts Dialer app. Any SMS messages sent to your Google Voice number will appear anywhere you are logged into Hangouts (if you enable the feature under settings at https://voice.google.com). This includes the Hangouts app on your phone, as well as any open web sessions to https://hangouts.google.com
Your Google SMS messages appear in a different app (Hangouts) than your phone's SMS messages. It's like having two phones in one, with web messaging to boot.
Any voice calls made to your Google Voice number go through the hangouts app via WiFi/LTE. This is also kept separate from the dialer that answers any direct calls to your phone.
The only time a call to your Google Voice number would ring your dedicated mobile number is if you have forwarding turned on. A simple setting
will keep Google Voice from forwarding to your mobile number. Otherwise, the Google Voice calls would only ring you via the Hangouts app, which I believe you can turn on and off via the "Incoming Phone Calls" option in Hangouts if you wanted to be unavailable to your GV number at any given time.
I use wifi calling all the time. Like Mro said. There's tons of Apps. The one I use is free with free calls but it has a lot of ads. It's tolerable cause I don't use it that often. I have it just it case I can't get a cell phone signal.
@TZ: 41a4t-mobile is the best
I use wifi calling all the time. Like Mro said. There's tons of Apps. The one >I use is free with free calls but it has a lot of ads. It's tolerable cause
I don't use it that often. I have it just it case I can't get a cell phone >signal.
Which app do you use? Other than Google Voice, I'm not sure what other apps let you make and receive phone calls to/from regular phones over wifi.
I've seen plans for $40.00 per month. Anything over 100 bucks per month is "insane" to me. Then again if you have it why not spend it? I've just never been the guy that's "had it". LOLI have a grandfathered plan of 2 lines for 90 bucks. the 2nd line has a
Dumas Walker wrote to HUSTLER <=-
I use wifi calling all the time. Like Mro said. There's tons of Apps. The one
I use is free with free calls but it has a lot of ads. It's tolerable cause
I don't use it that often. I have it just it case I can't get a cell phone
signal.
I guess that'd work for outbound calls but, if I am trying to call you, how do I know to use the wifi # (because you don't have a signal) vs. trying to call your cell #? Or do both work with the same #?
With GV, forwarding can also be turned on/off with a simple toggle via a browser.
With GV, forwarding can also be turned on/off with a simple toggle via a browser.
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how it would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your calls at the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
With GV, forwarding can also be turned on/off with a simple toggle via a browser.
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how it would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your calls at the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
google voice doesnt really work entirely outside the usa
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how it would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your calls at the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how it would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your calls at the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
google voice doesnt really work entirely outside the usa
That, and you'll need to add some credit to your Google Voice account.
I've wondered how phonees with sim cards work (legit question). The only cell service I've had with smartphones is Virgin Mobile, and typically their phones don't use sim cards (they're hard-wired for Virgin Mobile). My current Virgin Mobile phone has a sim card though, but the phone has a Virgin Mobile branded Android OS on it, and I've heard that I still couldn't use a different sim card in it to use it on a different cell carrier.. So I'm a little confused on that.
MRO, to Dumas Walker...
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how it >> would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your calls atThat, and you'll need to add some credit to your Google Voice account.
the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
google voice doesnt really work entirely outside the usa
all phones have sim cards. branded phones wont work with any other card than whats in the phone.
Dumas Walker wrote to CHAI <=-
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how
it would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your
calls at the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
Chai wrote to Dumas Walker <=-
Dumas Walker wrote to CHAI <=-
The calls actually will come to you via the Hangouts app when you configure GV to forward to Hangouts. You have to install both Hangouts Dialer, and Hangouts (messaging) for the process to work. Your calls
to your GV number will ring your phone via Hangouts Dialer, whereas SMS messages sent to your GV number come through as a message in the
Hangouts app. Even though it's two separate apps, it integrates into
one tabbed interface/app. You never actually have to juggle two apps. It's simple, and it seems to work well.
Reference: https://goo.gl/jtGQFJ
I've wondered how phonees with sim cards work (legit question). The only cell >service I've had with smartphones is Virgin Mobile, and typically their phones >don't use sim cards (they're hard-wired for Virgin Mobile). My current Virgin >Mobile phone has a sim card though, but the phone has a Virgin Mobile branded >Android OS on it, and I've heard that I still couldn't use a different sim card
in it to use it on a different cell carrier.. So I'm a little confused on >that.
On 01-09-19 10:27, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Chai <=-
Good to know; I'm in an area with spotty cell coverage at best and have been looking for inbound IP calling. Now, when I'm working from home I call forward my cell phone to my land line. Low tech, but it works...
Re: Cell Phones - Post vs. Pr
By: MRO to Nightfox on Tue Jan 08 2019 03:55 pm
all phones have sim cards. branded phones wont work with any other card than whats in the phone.
The previous phones I had with Virgin Mobile didn't have sim ca
The previous phones I had with Virgin Mobile didn't have sim ca
it was there.
MRO, to Dumas Walker...
I might have to check that out. Since it works over WiFi, I wonder how it >> would do in foreign countries? I am guessing you could get your calls atThat, and you'll need to add some credit to your Google Voice account.
the same number while only needing the foreign calling sim for emergencies.
google voice doesnt really work entirely outside the usa
Even if it is over WiFi?? :?
That, and you'll need to add some credit to your Google Voice account.Even if it is over WiFi?? :?
to call another country
Which app do you use? Other than Google Voice, I'm not sure what other apps let you make and receive phone calls to/from regular phones over wifi.
Freetone, TextNow TextFree wifi calling app
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