cell phones...help me figure this out please

[kfeusse]

My husband and I both use tracfone...have for years.  We also have one tracfone that is used by the kids whenever they are away from us. 

Next fall (not this coming fall) my oldest will be going off to college and we need to get her a phone.  I have looked at tracfone for her too...but since that will be her main way to communicate with us, I didn't want to have to pay for each and every minute she called (and I didn't want her to feel like she couldn't call because each minute costed us), so I think it's time to look at other options. 

My husband isn't thrilled with the idea of big monthly payments.  He RARELY uses his phone as a phone....but rather as a mini-computer to look at email, news sources, that sort of thing...he calls with it when he is out of town, and rarely texts.  An unlimited data plan probably isn't a big deal to him because he usually uses his phone on wi-fi. 

I, on the other hand use my phone for everything. Calling, texting, emailing, web searching etc.  I would imagine our daughter will be the same. 

SInce I do not have any experience with "regular" cell phones and or plans, I am not even sure where to begin.  What to look for.  What features are important, which ones are a waste of money. I do know some phones (not sure which ones) have a GPS sort of thing so I could always know where my daughter is (assuming she is with her phone) and I like that since she will be away from us. 

So, where do I start?  What do I want?  I know everybody's needs/wants are different...but I am just your basic run of the mill phone user...and my hubby is less than that...and my daughter...well...we dont' really know yet...assuming she will use it like I do..

Oh, are iphones that much better for some reason...or are they just brand specific and very expensive for no real good reason.  We are working with a limited budget.

thanks.

[BlsdMama]

So, having NO idea what a tracfone might run - what would you say your monthly expenditure is currently for three phones?

[Katy]

First you need to look at where she will be going to school and what the coverage maps are there.

Verizon and T-Mobile have the best customer service.  I would go with whichever option has the best coverage in your location, her location, and all routes in between.

It might make sense for your DH to stay with his current phone, as long as DD calls YOU instead of Dad more often.

[Pen]

We currently have a prepaid family plan via Verizon after leaving tracfone. It can have each phone with its own data plan and plan can be changed each month as circumstances change. All have unlimited calling in USA. 

[regentrude]

We had tracfone for many years and eventually switched to ATT prepaid, so don't have to lock into a long term plan. We each have unlimited calls and texting, and you can choose the amount of data you want. PLans start at $30. There si a discount for setting up autopay.

https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans.html

[regentrude]

7 minutes ago, kand said:

Look at Ting. It runs us around $12 a month for one phone, and now about $20 with two phones on it. I’m going to move two more of us from T-Mobile to Ting because it’s been great for us a couple years now and I see no reason to keep paying T-Mobile prices. I think I might have a code that gives you a rebate when you sign up, so let me know if you’d like that. 

How old are your kids?

I just looked at their website https://ting.com/rates, and their selling point is pay for what you use.  I can see this adding up to substantial amounts for a college student who will use the phone as primary tool for communication. 

[Pen]

It sounds like your dh should probably stick with what he has. 

I had had an Alcatel smart phone with tracfone. I liked it fine. I recently upgraded to iPhone. The iPhone is way way better. Luckily I didn’t get messed up with upgrade issue so far as I know. 

 

 

[vonfirmath]

14 minutes ago, regentrude said:

We had tracfone for many years and eventually switched to ATT prepaid, so don't have to lock into a long term plan. We each have unlimited calls and texting, and you can choose the amount of data you want. PLans start at $30. There si a discount for setting up autopay.

https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans.html

 

This is what we have. I have ATT prepaid (on autopay) with a smartphone for $43 and change a month.

 

My husband has a flip phone and his ATT prepaid is the $30 plan.

\

They have no "Family plans" cheaper than this and we can decide on a month to month basis whether to keep going.

[teachermom2834]

All I have to offer is that we went with Verizon because it seems to consistently have the best coverage overall. With multiple kids going in various directions we just wanted to best chance of our kids having coverage wherever they ended up. (Before people correct me and say they get better coverage with other carriers I am just saying that in our experience Verizon has had the most reliable coverage in areas our family members tend to find themselves). 

Verizon has also been good to work with when we have had changes, upgrades, etc. 

They are not the cheapest. So sometimes we look around but always end up sticking with Verizon. 

[kfeusse]

21 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

So, having NO idea what a tracfone might run - what would you say your monthly expenditure is currently for three phones?

that is so hard to say.   But it breaks down like this.  You first have to buy airtime...and because buying talking minutes are attached to air time, they only way you can buy talking minutes is to buy airtime too...so right now all 3 phones have airtime into at least late 2019.  But you can buy texting and data on an as needed basis.  So, for 1000 texts (and that is sending and receiving...1 text "point" for sending one and one for every text received you pay $5.  Then for 1 GB of data you pay $10.  But then there are several plans for talk time...they go like this: 365 days of service, 1500 minutes of talk time, 1500 text and 1.5 GB for $125.  60 days of service, 750 minutes, 1000 texts, 1.0 GB for $35.  60 days, 500 talk, 1000 text, .5 GB for $25 and 30 days 200 talk, 500 text and .5 GB for $15. 

So I am not sure if that is good, bad or some place in between.

[Pen]

If you get an iPhone I think the top amount of storage is worthwhile. I  see it fill fast with just audio books. We have a 7plus and 8plus in our family and are happy with both. 

My son has been dictating school essays onto it which is helpful especially since he is dysgraphic  

My brother has a Samsung that looks a lot like the iPhone that he is happy with. But my aunt got one and still can’t figure out how to do much on it. 

[regentrude]

17 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

This is what we have. I have ATT prepaid (on autopay) with a smartphone for $43 and change a month. My husband has a flip phone and his ATT prepaid is the $30 plan. They have no "Family plans" cheaper than this and we can decide on a month to month basis whether to keep going.

They do offer a multi-line discount

[regentrude]

22 minutes ago, kand said:

   That does depend on having Wi-Fi access where we live. I’m not using cell phone data or minutes when I am at home  because I’m on Wi-Fi. I would think at college it would be the same.  Having done the calculations, I would pay less than half by moving to Ting.

How are you not using minutes? Do you use an internet based phone service for making actual calls?

My DD talked on the phone while she walked from her dorm to campus, 15-20 minutes one way. No wifi. Unlimited call minutes were a must. We also travel a lot and need data on go for that

[Pawz4me]

23 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

All I have to offer is that we went with Verizon because it seems to consistently have the best coverage overall. With multiple kids going in various directions we just wanted to best chance of our kids having coverage wherever they ended up. (Before people correct me and say they get better coverage with other carriers I am just saying that in our experience Verizon has had the most reliable coverage in areas our family members tend to find themselves). 

Verizon has also been good to work with when we have had changes, upgrades, etc. 

They are not the cheapest. So sometimes we look around but always end up sticking with Verizon. 

 

Same. Dependable coverage is worth a LOT to us.

[Janeway]

On a college campus, she will have wifi every where. Perhaps she can use that for calling when she is on campus. Like use video chat for free over the internet. That would reduce how many minutes get used on whatever you do buy.

[kfeusse]

49 minutes ago, Pen said:

It sounds like your dh should probably stick with what he has. 

I had had an Alcatel smart phone with tracfone. I liked it fine. I recently upgraded to iPhone. The iPhone is way way better. Luckily I didn’t get messed up with upgrade issue so far as I know. 

 

 

why is iPhone way way better???

[YaelAldrich]

I switched from Tracfone to Xfinity/Comcast Mobile.  You can only get it if you are already a Xfinity customer.  But if you are it's amazing for a "family" plan.  You can get up to five phones on the plan.  Either pay by the gig of data ($12 a gig for the entire set of phones or unlimited ($45).  Calls and texts are free. You can even go overseas with the phones but it is a LOT more expensive but doable for short trips.  You have to pick from phones they have - they have sales regularly though.  We got our phones for  $1 each.

ETA: So for some months we are under a gig of data total and so pay $12 for all of us.  Most months though it is $24 but for three phones (we have two more but only use them when travelling).

[kfeusse]

27 minutes ago, regentrude said:

How are you not using minutes? Do you use an internet based phone service for making actual calls?

My DD talked on the phone while she walked from her dorm to campus, 15-20 minutes one way. No wifi. Unlimited call minutes were a must. We also travel a lot and need data on go for that

we also have a land line...so I don't use my cell to call anybody when I am home...only when I am out and about.  However, that will be different for my daughter when she goes off to college.

[kfeusse]

22 minutes ago, kand said:

My phone has WiFi calling. I can’t remember who all offers that. T-Mobile does, and Verizon started more recently (my husband is on Verizon because he frequently recreates in remote locations and Verizon has the best coverage). It’s seamless, so it just automatically routes calls via WiFi if I’m connected.  I agree that if a student is primarily going to be making calls when they are not in Wi-Fi range, then unlimited calling would be preferable. 

 

Eta:  i’m glad you asked this, because I just looked into it, and Ting bills Wi-Fi calls against your minutes. I’m going to have to calculate it out with that in mind to see what our bill would be. I still think that for my college daughter and I it’s still going to work out cheaper for us. I can see that being different for people with different phone usage patterns than we have. 

I have never even heard of wi-fi calling...wish you could do that with a tracfone...then that would fix our problems.  

[kfeusse]

 

4 minutes ago, YaelAldrich said:

I switched from Tracfone to Xfinity/Comcast Mobile.  You can only get it if you are already a Xfinity customer.  But if you are it's amazing for a "family" plan.  You can get up to five phones on the plan.  Either pay by the gig of data ($12 a gig for the entire set of phones or unlimited ($45).  You can even go overseas with the phones but it is a LOT more expensive but doable for short trips.  You have to pick from phones they have - they have sales regularly though.

I don't fully understand...you switched from tracfone to xfinity...but you can only get a good deal if you are already an xfinity customer...so if you aren't, you pay more?  Why would that make me want to switch?

[YaelAldrich]

41 minutes ago, kfeusse said:

 

I don't fully understand...you switched from tracfone to xfinity...but you can only get a good deal if you are already an xfinity customer...so if you aren't, you pay more?  Why would that make me want to switch?

At this point you can go only go on their plan if you are an Xfinity customer (TV/Internet/Security).   My cost for three people (sometimes five) is much less than when we were on Tracfone and we have the luxury of making as many calls/texts as we like.

[solascriptura]

I would check out the pre-paid plans from Verizon.  I just recently bought a brand new iPhone 6 from their pre-paid phone options for $199.  The monthly (no contract) cost is $40 for 3 GB of data a month.  Since I have two phones on pre-paid I pay $70 plus about 5 dollars for tax.  

[gardenmom5]

my sons use ting.com.  they have a shared plan.  I think it operates on sprints network.  you have to buy the phone - but you can buy it wherever as long as it is compatible.    then it is a minimum $6 per month.  you're charged according to how many minutes, texts, data - and they are by the "bucket".

 

we're probably going to put dudeling on their plan.  that way he can call siblings as needed - and they can call him.  especially when we're gone. 

[cintinative]

3 hours ago, Pen said:

We currently have a prepaid family plan via Verizon after leaving tracfone. It can have each phone with its own data plan and plan can be changed each month as circumstances change. All have unlimited calling in USA. 

 Do you mind PM-ing me about this? I am curious about cost. We have T-mobile pre-paid.

[Lanny]

There are different ways to reduce the monthly expense. One is to get a "Cafeteria plan" from a virtual provider (they run on another companies network) and pay for the minutes, text messages, data, etc. that will be used. Usually that can be changed every month, if necessary.

We live overseas. Here, and in most of the world, there is an App called WhatsApp. It is owned by Facebook and wildly popular outside the USA. If your DD has access to good WiFi you can call and send text messages, Free, whenever you wish.  The quality is very good.

There is a Virtual operator I would suggest that you consider, but as I write this, I can't remember the name. They have a Cafeteria plan and I would like to use them the next time we go to the USA.  USMobile or something like that?  https://www.usmobile.com/

We are (normally) light users. We switched, years ago, from service where they sent us a bill each month and each year they increased the minutes we had that we did not use and increased the monthly cost.  We have been on "Prepaid" for years. God knows how much money that has saved us over the years. My guess is thousands of dollars.  

You need to see how much she is consuming. Voice, Text, Data. I believe it is a mistake not to have Data. 

The non plan that we have been on for almost 2 1/2 years with Virgin Mobile Colombia permits far more Voice calls and Data than we normally use, but only 10 or 11 SMS messages.  I like to send messages, so I send most of them via WhatsApp, which is free. 

I have not answered your questions directly but possibly something I mentioned above will be of interest to you. There are huge numbers of providers and plans and it is very confusing. Try to compare Apples to Apples.

[cintinative]

16 minutes ago, Lanny said:

 

You need to see how much she is consuming. Voice, Text, Data. I believe it is a mistake not to have Data. 

 

We have a prepaid plan without data. FYI--to the OP--this is the complication of that: we cannot receive group messages (they won't open), we cannot receive messages with photo attachments and we cannot receive messages with emojiis (html?).  Normally since I rarely use my cell this would not be an issue. I don't care that I can't do these things. The problem is that my friends always forget. So I will get some message and I can't open it, and have to text them and say "what is this? I can't open it", etc.  So from that point of view, it's a pain. 

We are currently exploring if there is a way to get a limited amount of data with our prepaid plan. Most of the time if I need to access the internet via my phone we would use wi-fi, but since dh and I are having such trouble with texts we can't open, we are considering it. 

Also, we don't use our phones for GPS, which is another reason we don't "need" data.  I know a lot of people use data for GPS/activity trackers.

Millions of years ago when I was working and traveling pretty extensively throughout the U.S. (including some very small towns), we had Verizon and it was excellent. Every provider we have tried since then has not measured up in terms of coverage and lack of dropped calls.  Currently we are with T-Mobile and the coverage is awful even in the suburbs of a major city. Sometimes we wonder if we are getting some sort of lesser service because we are prepaid now.

[solascriptura]

3 hours ago, kand said:

Wow! Thanks for sharing this. I’m going to have my husband on Verizon look into this option. I think he’s out from contract. 

Sure!  I just looked today on Verizon Wireless for another pre-paid Iphone 6 for my mother.  The $199 phone is still there.  

[gardenmom5]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

Verizon and it was excellent. Every provider we have tried since then has not measured up in terms of coverage and lack of dropped calls.  Currently we are with T-Mobile and the coverage is awful even in the suburbs of a major city. Sometimes we wonder if we are getting some sort of lesser service because we are prepaid now.

no - their coverage is that bad.  dh was complaining about how much verizon cost - so we switched to t-mobile (regular plan).  for all of a weekend. . .  .he had no reception in his home office.     he was cursing them because of how hard they made it to cancel the family plan when he was canceling it within the rescission period and because their service was so bad.

ds was on ting - and while they were using t-mobile towers, his coverage was bad.  now he's got it on sprint network.

 

and we live close the t-mobile's US headquarters . . . .

[LuvToRead]

We switched from Verizon to Total Wireless.  Total Wireless runs on Verizon towers, which is great for us because Verizon are the only towers in our area.  We have been happy with the switch.  $25/month for a basic plan.  We have 2 iPhones with  basic plans and I purchased 5 gigs of data for $10.  I have used less than one gig in 3 months.  Unlimited talk and text.  We have no problems with group message, photo message, emogies.  DH kept his old flip phone, and it was a bit of a pain to get changed over.  I got an iPhone and bought an iPhone for the girls.  I think their  data plans start at $35/month and they even have multiple phone plans.  

I know it's one more option, but if you must rely on Verizon towers, it may be worth a look.

[Pen]

5 hours ago, kfeusse said:

why is iPhone way way better???

Quality of sound for calls.

Ease of use (I’m using it now typing).

 I can also voice record and that’s what I’m doing now .  The Alcatel would also take voice recording but it got more wrong  to point of frustration 

 It can do text to speech although I’m still trying to understand how to do that with a Kindle book

I’m still doing speech to text right now and if it makes any mistakes I will leave some so you can see

For example you can probably see that it tends to be fast. At the end of some sentences.   OK that had an error I’ll see if I can correct it what I meant was it Leaves off periods  ... not perfect as your see but way easier for me than typing  

then connected to a regular computer Things like essays or other schoolwork that my son might be doing can  be revised  

 By way of comparison the Alcatel got almost every word I would try to speak to it  wrong 

This does a lot of what our laptop could do. Plus it can make phone calls and text and it’s very portable.Actually I just learned something if I say period. It puts a period.  

 

 There were a few things I liked about the Alcatel better than the iPhone. One was the price.  I can’t remember what the other one was.

[Pen]

3 hours ago, cintinative said:

 Do you mind PM-ing me about this? I am curious about cost. We have T-mobile pre-paid.

 

 

I’m not good yet on doing links. But you can Google Verizon prepaid plan.

The phone that is designated as the main phone gets a full price plan which I think right now range from 30 or $35  ( for 3GB ?) up to $75 a month for unlimited. The additional phones Get some amount off of the regular price such as $20 off for unlimited, and, I think,  $15 or $20 for the next couple down from that, but the very bottom plan I think stays full price still such that one might as well get one up from that unless deliberately not wanting children to have much data. 

[Pen]

5 hours ago, kfeusse said:

why is iPhone way way better???

 

 I’m wanting to add that this can depend on what is important to you or not.  (and I just learned that I can speak with saying things like, “COMMa” and “open parentheses” (and it does that). 

Clearly I still need some  improvement  on figuring out capital letters and how to get them where  I want and not where I don’t.  

For me I have a disability and speech to text and text to speech are very helpful and important.

I also find myself using the Clock and Notes And Pages features and a few others a great deal

Texting is also way easier on this iPhone then it was on the Alcatel that I had previously.Texting is also way easier on this iPhone then it was on the Alcatel that I had previously. It doubled my previous sentence. I don’t know why.

 I’m also wary of possible health effects  of electromagnetic spectrum and am glad that it is easy to turn off (& on) the various wireless aspects of the iPhone.

[Pen]

7 hours ago, YaelAldrich said:

I switched from Tracfone to Xfinity/Comcast Mobile.  You can only get it if you are already a Xfinity customer.  But if you are it's amazing for a "family" plan.  You can get up to five phones on the plan.  Either pay by the gig of data ($12 a gig for the entire set of phones or unlimited ($45).  Calls and texts are free. You can even go overseas with the phones but it is a LOT more expensive but doable for short trips.  You have to pick from phones they have - they have sales regularly though.  We got our phones for  $1 each.

ETA: So for some months we are under a gig of data total and so pay $12 for all of us.  Most months though it is $24 but for three phones (we have two more but only use them when travelling).

 

WOW!!!

[Um_2_4]

I use tracfone, DH uses USMobile (he uses more data).

For wifi calling, look at an app, like textnow. This is what DD has on her phone with no plan so if she is at home, she can call me when I am out.

I have 2 samsungs on tracfone and DH has a samsung on USMobile. He uses more data then us and has no wifi access at work. He gets 3gb/month, plus 100 texts, plus 100 minutes for like $27, but you can adjust that, like decrease that data if she has wifi on campus and increase the minutes/texts.

I have 90 days, 300 minutes, 300 texts and 300 MB for $17, then I add about 1 GB a month for $10. So final cost for me is about $16/month. But I am on wifi most of the time.

[Lanny]

10 hours ago, Um_2_4 said:

I use tracfone, DH uses USMobile (he uses more data).

For wifi calling, look at an app, like textnow. This is what DD has on her phone with no plan so if she is at home, she can call me when I am out.

I have 2 samsungs on tracfone and DH has a samsung on USMobile. He uses more data then us and has no wifi access at work. He gets 3gb/month, plus 100 texts, plus 100 minutes for like $27, but you can adjust that, like decrease that data if she has wifi on campus and increase the minutes/texts.

I have 90 days, 300 minutes, 300 texts and 300 MB for $17, then I add about 1 GB a month for $10. So final cost for me is about $16/month. But I am on wifi most of the time.

 

USMobile is the "Cafeteria plan" provider that I think one should look at.  You pay for what you think you will need to use. If you need more, you can add it.  Prepaid.

I mentioned the WhatsApp App above in this thread   If the OP and her DD have good WiFi service, that can save them A LOT of $ and the quality of the service is extremely good in our experience.  I don't know as much about WhatsApp as my wife and DD do, but I believe you can send videos, do video chats, and many other things, free.  Sometimes my wife is talking with her sister (in another city) on WhatsApp for a long time, because she is working on something for her on her computer. She can also talk with her free on our "Landline" phone (actually it is VOIP) but that's in the hall, so they talk more on WhatsApp.   I like the https://web.whatsapp.com/ because if I am at my Laptop,    I can login with my cell phone and type Text messages on my Laptop, which is much easier for me than doing that on my cell phone. WhatsApp is Free and it is incredibly popular outside the USA. I believe Facebook paid $20 Billion dollars for WhatsApp, some years ago.  You can use it worldwide.

[kfeusse]

that WhatsApp App is interesting.  Can one call from a cell phone with the app to a landline?  OR does it have to go from cell to cell.  I ask for 2 reasons 1) because I don't get great cell service INSIDE my house...and have to go to the front porch to assure that I won't drop a call...which is fine for a few months out of the year....but also 2) if my DD wants to talk to both her dad and I and she can call our landline we can both be on the phone at the same time and not have to do that weird speakerphone thing.   

I am totally interested in this option...then we can keep our tracfones and just get our daughter on tracfone too...hmmm

thanks.

[Tree Frog]

We have had such terrible customer service from Verizon that when our last 2 kids were no longer under contract, we took them off our plan. Our latest fiasco last week has convinced us that DH and I will also leave. (Word to the wise: Use only the chat function and have it sent to your email for proof of what you were told. If a Verizon customer service rep says something is true, call back and verify at least one more time with a different CS rep. We have consistently been told inaccurate info, only to find out when we needed to use the info that what we were told was wrong and Verizon can't do anything to fix the issue, including correcting billing issues.) Verizon doesn't offer wi fi only plans, which is initially why oldest dd stopped using Verizon.

The kids are now all on At&t prepaid. Oldest DD went all the way through college without data, using wi-fi only. It worked very well for her and saved her some money, but she isn't tied to her phone and had wi fi at her home. Wi-fi is so common now so she had no problems going without. My younger dd has chosen to have data. I think oldest's bill was around $30/month, unlimited talk/text. Younger dd is around $40-$45 monthly, but she really likes her data. DS also has a data plan. Our kids have to pay for their data if they want it. Otherwise, we put money in their checking accounts and they pay their bills themselves.

[Bambam]

Those of us who needed smart phones in our family switched to Republic Wireless. Their two carriers are T-Mobile and Sprint, I believe. Check coverage with people in the area. The coverage map for T-Mobile shows we are covered at home, but we are not. Since the phones connect to Wifi and use that for calls, it hasn't really been a problem. Usually they will allow you to switch to the other carrier after you provide three addresses where your coverage isn't working but you need to be, but, unfortunately for me, my phone will only work with the TMobile carrier, and it isn't enough of a problem for me to fix it. 

We pay $23.50/month for 1 GB of data including tax. Unlimited text and calls. Two of us don't use half of that, but one occasionally goes over. She buys an additional GB of data for $5.

We left Tracfone as it was extremely difficult to send pictures via text - it usually took 2-3 days. Their phone options also were not great.

We all have different Moto phones. Two were purchased from Republic Wireless, and one was purchased from Amazon (cheaper, but she has ads).  When we get another phone, we'll probably do Moto again. 

[Lanny]

2 hours ago, kfeusse said:

that WhatsApp App is interesting.  Can one call from a cell phone with the app to a landline?  OR does it have to go from cell to cell.  I ask for 2 reasons 1) because I don't get great cell service INSIDE my house...and have to go to the front porch to assure that I won't drop a call...which is fine for a few months out of the year....but also 2) if my DD wants to talk to both her dad and I and she can call our landline we can both be on the phone at the same time and not have to do that weird speakerphone thing.   

I am totally interested in this option...then we can keep our tracfones and just get our daughter on tracfone too...hmmm

thanks.

 

Both phones need to have the WhatsApp App installed on them.  It can also be for Group Chat. Our HOA has various WhatsApp chats for text messages.  I participate occasionally in the primary chat group for the HOA.  We have a group for our family (my wife and DD and me) and I frequently send them text messages. Also, sometimes I use it to call them when I'm out of the house, if there is very strong WiFi available or if I use Data.   I don't think you can call a regular phone from WhatsApp, BUT here is something that will work, for $10 USD per year!

We have a magicJack with a Landline phone number in the USA.  Sadly, I think after 4 or 5 years, it just died, so I need to check that out and if it is dead, buy another magicJack. 

Heads up...   There is a magicApp you can put on your phone. If you do not have a magicJack, I believe they charge $10 USD per year. (it is free, on one phone, if you use your regular magicJack phone number, which is what I did)  You get a regular phone number in the USA.  You can call regular phone numbers in the USA (and possibly in Canada and PR too) and they can call you.  I believe you can also call cell phone numbers with it. Like WhatsApp that requires one have good WiFi available.  High quality.  Note: You can also send/receive SMS text messages, free, with the magicApp on your phone.   Although I disconnected our magicJack, the magicApp is on my phone and late yesterday I received a call from someone in the USA on the magicApp. The quality was extremely good.

I am not sure about "conference" calls with WhatsApp, but that may be possible if one sets up a group, like we have for our famiy?  Check out whatsapp.com to see what it is capable of.

Sad that you do not have a good cell signal inside your house. We had that problem, around 2005, but a few years ago the provider whose network Virgin Mobile Colombia runs on (Movistar) installed a tower about one block from our house, so we have a great signal.

NOTE: The problem you have with the Signal Strength  for your Celll phones in your house may also have to do with phones that are poorly designed or have bad Quality Control. We had that problem with 2 Sony Ericcson W300i Walkman phones, around 2005.   Terrible Quality Control at Sony.  My wife and I could be at the Dining Room table. Both phones side by side. Mine had a signal and her phone did not have a signal.  So we have also had the experience of going outside the house to get a good signal.  We have a neighbor who is an Electronic Engineer for a major cell provider here. He buys mostly Motorola phones, but occasionally a Samsung. His current phone is a Motorola.  When I asked him which brands connect to their towers the best, he suggested Motorola or Samsung. 

 

 

 

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, Bambam said:

Those of us who needed smart phones in our family switched to Republic Wireless. Their two carriers are T-Mobile and Sprint, I believe. Check coverage with people in the area. The coverage map for T-Mobile shows we are covered at home, but we are not. Since the phones connect to Wifi and use that for calls, it hasn't really been a problem. Usually they will allow you to switch to the other carrier after you provide three addresses where your coverage isn't working but you need to be, but, unfortunately for me, my phone will only work with the TMobile carrier, and it isn't enough of a problem for me to fix it. 

We pay $23.50/month for 1 GB of data including tax. Unlimited text and calls. Two of us don't use half of that, but one occasionally goes over. She buys an additional GB of data for $5.

We left Tracfone as it was extremely difficult to send pictures via text - it usually took 2-3 days. Their phone options also were not great.

We all have different Moto phones. Two were purchased from Republic Wireless, and one was purchased from Amazon (cheaper, but she has ads).  When we get another phone, we'll probably do Moto again. 

 

If my memory is correct, T-Mobile uses GSM Technology and Sprint is using CDMA technology, so that's why your phone worked on T-Mobile but not on Sprint.

Except for my old (2014)  and very low-end Samsung phone, there are 3 Motorola phones in the house and 1 Lenovo phone (Lenovo owns Motorola Mobility). When the Samsung dies, I will go to Motorola. More "bang for the buck"  than a Samsung,  and a version of Android that is much closer to pure Android.  Easier to use than a Samsung, although now I think my Samsung is "normal"...

They phased out CDMA service here in Colombia years ago.   I would not want to be spending money on a CDMA phone in 2018, when one can buy an Unlocked and Unbranded GSM phone and use it just about anywhere in the world.

 

[dirty ethel rackham]

17 hours ago, Pen said:

 

 I’m wanting to add that this can depend on what is important to you or not.  (and I just learned that I can speak with saying things like, “COMMa” and “open parentheses” (and it does that). 

Clearly I still need some  improvement  on figuring out capital letters and how to get them where  I want and not where I don’t.  

For me I have a disability and speech to text and text to speech are very helpful and important.

I also find myself using the Clock and Notes And Pages features and a few others a great deal

Texting is also way easier on this iPhone then it was on the Alcatel that I had previously.Texting is also way easier on this iPhone then it was on the Alcatel that I had previously. It doubled my previous sentence. I don’t know why.

 I’m also wary of possible health effects  of electromagnetic spectrum and am glad that it is easy to turn off (& on) the various wireless aspects of the iPhone.

Comparing an alcatel phone with an iPhone is like comparing an economy car with a Lexus.  There are lots of smart phones with the capability you describe that aren't iPhone.  We prefer phones that have expandable storage via microSD cards.  

To the OP, you need to look at coverage maps to see what service will work best.  I would certainly want data for GPS navigation, good coverage for the areas the phone will be used (and in between), and unlimited talk/text, as well as easy use of wifi to conserve data (since that seems to be the most expensive part of having a phone.)  We have t-Mobile and they have been great for our area and most of the places we go.  However, when one of my kids went away to college, t-Mobile has spotty covereage in that area, so we ended up with Virgin Mobile prepaid ... it was $35 a month (when we brought in our own phone) for much more than we needed.  Check with your lower cost providers in your area and see what towers they use and what plans they offer.  

Moto makes some good budget smart phones.  Two in my family have the Moto 3.  I'm looking to upgrade my Samsung S5 ... I'm out of storage for apps (despite being very particular about what apps I include) and the camera is terrible. 

[Lanny]

17 minutes ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

Comparing an alcatel phone with an iPhone is like comparing an economy car with a Lexus.  There are lots of smart phones with the capability you describe that aren't iPhone.  We prefer phones that have expandable storage via microSD cards.  

To the OP, you need to look at coverage maps to see what service will work best.  I would certainly want data for GPS navigation, good coverage for the areas the phone will be used (and in between), and unlimited talk/text, as well as easy use of wifi to conserve data (since that seems to be the most expensive part of having a phone.)  We have t-Mobile and they have been great for our area and most of the places we go.  However, when one of my kids went away to college, t-Mobile has spotty covereage in that area, so we ended up with Virgin Mobile prepaid ... it was $35 a month (when we brought in our own phone) for much more than we needed.  Check with your lower cost providers in your area and see what towers they use and what plans they offer.  

Moto makes some good budget smart phones.  Two in my family have the Moto 3.  I'm looking to upgrade my Samsung S5 ... I'm out of storage for apps (despite being very particular about what apps I include) and the camera is terrible. 

 

With regard to installing a MicroSD memory into a phone. Different manufacturers, and different versions of Android, handle that differently.  Early this week (?) we received a carton from Miami with 3 pairs of eyeglasses from ZenniOptical and a 64 GB MicroSD card for the Moto G4 DD has.  My thought, not having researched this before, was that she could move some of her Apps to the MicroSD card, in addition to her photos, music, videos, etc.  Not so.

Motorola (in that version of Android) chose to have their Default be that the MicroSD card is installed as an External Memory.  I Googled and on the Lenovo web site and other places found how to get around that, by making the MicroSD Internal memory, however, that seems to have some drawbacks.  One drawback is that if it is configured as Internal, if you then hook the phone up to your computer via USB, you cannot see where the MicroSD is and where the phones internal memory is. It is all integrated.  Also, if you Format the MicroSD card as Internal, you cannot take it out of that phone and use it in another device.

I suggested to DD that it might be problematic and that she leave the MicroSD card as External.

Motorola makes some OUTSTANDING phones.  One of our neighbors is an Electronic Engineer for one of the major providers here. He usually buys Motorola (his current phone is a Motorola) but occasionally he will buy a Samsung. There is a lot more "bang for the buck" with a Motorola phone. He told me both Motorola and Samsung phones connect well to their towers. There are 3 Motorola phones and 1 Lenovo phone (Lenovo owns Motorola Mobility) and my old Samsung in this house. When my Samsung dies, I will move to Motorola.

With regard to Alcatel... I think they make some good phones, but the one I bought for my wife a few years ago, just before she went out of town, I handed it to her and about 2 minutes after she turned it on, part of the buttons on the dial pad stopped lighting up.  Other than that, I don't think there were any issues with it. That was a Dumb phone.   I was in the supermarket and she told me to buy her a phone because her phone had become problematic. That's the one I bought...

[kfeusse]

Verizon is the strongest tower around here and I have a Moto 5 phone which I love, except it doesn't sync with my fitbit...so I am not sure if I am going to fuss about that or not yet...but it is something in the equation I am considering. 

Thanks for all of the information and ideas...not sure what we will do yet...but I do have time to figure it out.

 

[Pen]

2 hours ago, dirty ethel rackham said:

Comparing an alcatel phone with an iPhone is like comparing an economy car with a Lexus.  There are lots of smart phones with the capability you describe that aren't iPhone.  We prefer phones that have expandable storage via microSD cards.  

 

 MicroSD card expandable storage was something the Alcatel has going for it that the iPhone doesn’t.  I still am using the Alcatel as an Audible player which it is excellent for since I already have a lot of books on it. 

It was also very durable—my son dropped one from high up in a tree several times before it finally got a crack in its screen.

And it had excellent GPS with an audible voice to give directions. 

The Alcatel also had radio available without an app or paid subscription—which the iPhone either does not have or I’ve not found it.

I think I would tend to use the analogy of the Alcatel as being like a not great (though also not terrible) PC, the iPhone as being like a good MacBook Pro, and my brother’s Android mobile phone as being like a higher end PC.

 

 

[Lanny]

1 hour ago, kfeusse said:

Verizon is the strongest tower around here and I have a Moto 5 phone which I love, except it doesn't sync with my fitbit...so I am not sure if I am going to fuss about that or not yet...but it is something in the equation I am considering. 

Thanks for all of the information and ideas...not sure what we will do yet...but I do have time to figure it out.

 

 

I believe the Moto G5 series phones are great.  When my faithful Samsung dies, possibly I can get one of those inexpensively.  DD has a Moto G4.

Question: Is there another App that you can get on Google Play that will make your FitBit and your phone play together the way you want  them to?

NOTE: This is the magicJack page for their magicApp.  I have the magicApp on my phone and it works very well. If you do not have a magicJack, I believe it costs about $9.95 a year. You have a regular Landline phone number in the USA, can send/receive SMS/Text messages, etc.  All you need is WiFi and about 10 dollars a year to use it. 

http://www.magicjack.com/magicApp.html

[Pen]

1 hour ago, kfeusse said:

Verizon is the strongest tower around here and I have a Moto 5 phone which I love, except it doesn't sync with my fitbit...so I am not sure if I am going to fuss about that or not yet...but it is something in the equation I am considering. 

Thanks for all of the information and ideas...not sure what we will do yet...but I do have time to figure it out.

 

 

Then you probably want Verizon. Our tracfone worked on Verizon tower, but the actual Verizon plan has better service. You might want to keep your same phone if it is one you love and just figure out what your dd should get for college use. I kept my tracfone for around two years after my ds had upgraded. 

[Um_2_4]

6 hours ago, kfeusse said:

that WhatsApp App is interesting.  Can one call from a cell phone with the app to a landline?  OR does it have to go from cell to cell.  I ask for 2 reasons 1) because I don't get great cell service INSIDE my house...and have to go to the front porch to assure that I won't drop a call...which is fine for a few months out of the year....but also 2) if my DD wants to talk to both her dad and I and she can call our landline we can both be on the phone at the same time and not have to do that weird speakerphone thing.   

I am totally interested in this option...then we can keep our tracfones and just get our daughter on tracfone too...hmmm

thanks.

Whatsapp requires both parties to have the app, so no calls to land lines. But the textnow app I mentioned, your dd could use wifi to call a landline.

[kfeusse]

6 minutes ago, Lanny said:

 

 

Question: Is there another App that you can get on Google Play that will make your FitBit and your phone play together the way you want  them to?

 

that is a good question.  How can I find out?  Fitbit just keeps telling me that they aren't compatible...although when I first got my phone they worked well together for quite a long time.  Then all of a sudden they didn't....and then they did again for a while...and now they won't anymore.  

If you know of something else I can try...I am all ears.  

[Lanny]

14 minutes ago, Pen said:

 MicroSD card expandable storage was something the Alcatel has going for it that the iPhone doesn’t.  I still am using the Alcatel as an Audible player which it is excellent for since I already have a lot of books on it. 

It was also very durable—my son dropped one from high up in a tree several times before it finally got a crack in its screen.

And it had excellent GPS with an audible voice to give directions. 

The Alcatel also had radio available without an app or paid subscription—which the iPhone either does not have or I’ve not found it.

I think I would tend to use the analogy of the Alcatel as being like a not great (though also not terrible) PC, the iPhone as being like a good MacBook Pro, and my brother’s Android mobile phone as being like a higher end PC.

 

 

 

I do not believe that iPhone is the only Smart phone that does not allow a MicroSD Memory. I bought a book, several years ago, "Android Phones for Dummies" and he wrote at that time, that they were phasing out that feature in many phones.  Like you, I consider the ability to install a MicroSD memory "a plus". 

I think I would rate the Alcatel cell phones a step down from LG phones which I believe are a step down from Motorola/Lenovo/Samsung phones.

With any brand one might get a "Lemon".  My Stepson got a "Lemon" LG phone (mid price range) about 6 (?) years ago from one of the providers here. I don't know how many times he took it back for service, before they agreed to replace it. They replaced it with another brand. 

[Um_2_4]

6 hours ago, kfeusse said:

that WhatsApp App is interesting.  Can one call from a cell phone with the app to a landline?  OR does it have to go from cell to cell.  I ask for 2 reasons 1) because I don't get great cell service INSIDE my house...and have to go to the front porch to assure that I won't drop a call...which is fine for a few months out of the year....but also 2) if my DD wants to talk to both her dad and I and she can call our landline we can both be on the phone at the same time and not have to do that weird speakerphone thing.   

I am totally interested in this option...then we can keep our tracfones and just get our daughter on tracfone too...hmmm

thanks.

Whatsapp requires both parties to have the app, so no calls to land lines. But the textnow app I mentioned, your dd could use wifi to call a landline.