MomtoCandJ Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 We need to get a cheap, basic prepaid cell phone to keep at home for sitters so they can call us for emergencies. What should we get? We don't need to have a lot of minutes (I'm thinking worse case, 60 minutes a month and that's if they call me twice and talk to me all the way back home). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Tracphone. The phones are very inexpensive. The refill cards are reasonably priced and there is no monthly fees. Plus they go on sale a lot. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I think TracFones are the best deal. Also, online you can get refills for $9.99, even cheaper than in the stores. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I have had Tracfone for years. Loved dropping my $35 Verizon (probably could never get that again) and now spending about $80 every 6 months to load my kinda-smart Tracfone that I got for $30. I get really good coverage--but that depends on your area-- B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cottonwood Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Do tracfones also text? What network do they use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 Do tracfones also text? What network do they use? My understanding is that Tracfone buys space on various networks. I believe mine uses AT&T's network around here-- I can text- I got a "triple minute" deal on my phone (I think all or most of the smartphones have that). Meaning, if I buy 400 "minutes", I get 400 units of data, 400 texts, and 400 minutes of phone time. The cheapest deals are on buying all three types. I can also add "just data" or "just text" minutes if i need to. I added the app "Google voice" on my Tracfone and I use that for texting when I can--when I have access to wifi, it texts for free, and it uses just a tiny bit of data to send texts if I don't have wifi--so that saves my texting minutes. I can also use Google Voice to make calls over wifi for free if I have internet access--quality may vary :) Problem is, Google Voice assigned me a weird city for my phone number, so I only use Google Voice to call or text people who are aware of my cheapskate workaround and know who is calling, or for calls to businesses. To casual friends, I tend to use my "real" cell phone number and phone minutes so they'll recognize it. I am NOT tech savvy; it's amazing that I got Google Voice set up, so please don't think I can answer a lot of questions about it :) It wasn't terribly hard though-- I have a ZTE phone from Tracfone--it was on sale for $29.99 when I bought it about a year ago-- B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted June 12, 2015 Author Share Posted June 12, 2015 Does tracfone also run on Verizon towers? Verizon is all that really works in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amsunshine Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Does tracfone also run on Verizon towers? Verizon is all that really works in my area. If you check the tracfone website, you can put in your zipcode and it will tell you if service is available in your area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Does tracfone also run on Verizon towers? Verizon is all that really works in my area. Verizon towers are all that we have, too. TracFone works great here. In fact, we have regular Verizon-plan phones and a couple of TracFones, and TracFones have always gotten just as good a connection as the Verizon ones. My kids have traveled a lot in the U.S. and they have always worked everywhere. They've even worked just north of the border into Canada where they weren't supposed to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 We use Republic Wireless. You buy their phone and can sign up for a month by month plan for about $15 a month unlimited talk and text. It runs off of a wifi network when it can and uses Sprint otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Start by asking your plan about the costs. For us it was only $10 a month to add a line with no data. And $1 for the dumb phone to go with it. That locked us into a two year contract, but that was okay with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yes to Tracfone. They run on a variety of networks. I live in a very rural area and the only thing that really works out here is Verizon. My old Tracfones did not really pick up out there. With a little research I learned how to identity the Tracfone models that are made to run on Verizon networks. They have a certain letter in the phone model #. So maybe you can google that info. Our current Tracfones are smartphones and they work great out here where we live. I made sure they run on Verizon before I bought them. They came from QVC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 We need to get a cheap, basic prepaid cell phone to keep at home for sitters so they can call us for emergencies. What should we get? We don't need to have a lot of minutes (I'm thinking worse case, 60 minutes a month and that's if they call me twice and talk to me all the way back home). I have a tracfone that cost $9.99 that I bought when my 5 year old $19.99 tracfone stopped working. I can text and make calls. I only buy minutes for calls, not data. A text uses .3 of a minute. You can buy 60 minutes for $20. Depending on the phone, the minutes either double or triple and last 90 days. So it is basically less than $7 a month for 120 minutes. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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