sbgrace Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 I'm looking at pre-paid type phone plans, but I'm so lost. I want an inexpensive monthy plan (under $30 max, prefer less) to do this for me: 1. I want the cell to number to be my current landline number (so I need to port the landline, not all companies will do that I've found). 2. I need unlimited domestic calls and texts. 3. I would like to be able to do group texts (group texts has been a problem with some companies I've looked into). 4. I do not want a VOIP service, or a phone that is using our WIFI. 5. We don't need data (unless needed for group texts I suppose). I do not need a fancy phone--just calls and texts. Does anyone have good reviews, or companies I may want to avoid? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 (edited) Ting is month to month - there is a base $10 fee, which is unlimited text and calls. 1ds and 2ds used them for several years before they joined us on an xfinity plan. Data can be turned off - so you only use it on wifi. or you can pay an extra $5 per gig of data. you have to buy the phones. (you can choose, and even older phones are supported. Dudeling has 1ds's old Note Edge.) dudeling's monthly bill is about $16. Edited March 1, 2021 by gardenmom5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgo95 Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 We use google fi. I think it meets all your criteria. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 You may want to check out republic wireless. Though I think their phones would use WiFi and are smart phones. You can get a SIM card to retrofit many phones though if you want a true dumb phone that may be possible. My kids started with no data plans. My kids get small data plans when they learn to drive. My 16 year old is still waiting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 @sbgrace You have some very interesting things in your list of requirements! I spent a lot of time reading about different MVNOs before my DD went to the USA (that was in August 2019) and decided to put her onto Red Pocket Mobile. Depending on the SIM one gets from them, one can run on any of the big 4 cell phone networks in the USA (now 3 since the T-Mobile/Sprint merger did happen). My DD is on the $99 for 360 days plan and her Android phone is running on the AT&T Network. As far as I know she has not had any issues. You are willing to spend a lot more than that which increases the possibility that you can find a provider who can do all of that for you. The first thing in your list that caught my eye was wanting to Port your current "Landline" or "POTS" phone number to your new cell phone provider. I know for example that Red Pocket Mobile can "Port" a phone number from another cell phone provider, but I don't think they can do that for a "POTS" phone number. You would need to contact Red Pocket Mobile Customer Service to ask about that. I know that is possible with a magicJack. One of my childhood friends in the USA bought a magicJack years ago and he had them "Port" his "POTS" phone number to his magicJack. At that time I believe he paid magicJack about $10 USD per year to maintain his old "POTS" phone number. When he travels he takes his magicJack with him and he has his home phone number working. DD has a magicJack but she only uses their magicApp on her cell phone. That's VOIP and if you don't want VOIP or don't have WiFi available that would be problematic. Actually, our "Landline" service now comes in with the Internet on the Fiber Optic line and that's really "VOIP" and not "POTS" service but I call it our "Landline" number. DD is home this semester to save money so her magicJack number is the only USA number she can use at this time since there is no "roaming" on her Red Pocket Mobile plan. One thing I don't think was on your list is the ability to use the phone as a "Hot Spot". DD had that need a few days ago, when our ISP went down because of vandalism. Someone cut the Fiber Optic service to where we live and it took them approximately 6 hours to restore service and she had classes from "Zoom U" that she was supposed to participate in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 4 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said: You may want to check out republic wireless. Though I think their phones would use WiFi and are smart phones. You can get a SIM card to retrofit many phones though if you want a true dumb phone that may be possible. My kids started with no data plans. My kids get small data plans when they learn to drive. My 16 year old is still waiting. I'll second the Republic Wireless suggestion. We've used them for years here. Our phones do use Wifi when we set that up (because it saves data costs), but you don't have to do that. There are several different plans available. The one I have with minimal data is less than your price limit. I know Tracfone is a cheap option, but I don't know if you can port your landline phone number. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 The reason we've kept the landline so long (at high cost), is that I spend a lot of time talking on the phone throughout the week. That makes me leery of plans like republic wireless and google fi...I think they would prioritize using wifi for calls. I'm not sure--but it looks like Ting might be using cellular only for calls and maybe the Red Pocket does that too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Well when you have unlimited WiFi, switching over to WiFi is not an issue. In fact we moved our landline to ooma which uses our internet for our.and line as well and it is like $6 a month. It uses our same number. Do you have very limited WiFi bandwidth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 4 minutes ago, FuzzyCatz said: Well when you have unlimited WiFi, switching over to WiFi is not an issue. In fact we moved our landline to ooma which uses our internet for our.and line as well and it is like $6 a month. It uses our same number. Do you have very limited WiFi bandwidth? We're rural. We got the fastest internet we could, but it's not fast. There is clear slow down for others when someone is doing something like a youtube video. So I'm nervous about using family wifi while I talk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 1 hour ago, sbgrace said: The reason we've kept the landline so long (at high cost), is that I spend a lot of time talking on the phone throughout the week. That makes me leery of plans like republic wireless and google fi...I think they would prioritize using wifi for calls. I'm not sure--but it looks like Ting might be using cellular only for calls and maybe the Red Pocket does that too. Occasionally I read the posts in the sub Reddit for Red Pocket Mobile. I do not think Red Pocket Mobile uses WiFi for calls although there may be some peop[e who do that. The services vary somewhat depending upon which Carrier one is running on. DD is running on the AT&T network, which in terms of Red Pocket Mobile SIMs and plans is called "GSMA". (I think T-Mobile is GSMT on Red Pocket Mobile) My belief is that they will be moving to VoLTE (HD Voice). Voice over LTE. 4G LTE. I believe that is available on some providers and that it may require a phone that is capable of VoLTE. Probably any recent Smartphone can do that. DD has an old Moto G4 and I think it can do VoLTE. The carriers in the USA will be eliminating 2G (if they haven't already) and eliminating 3G and will have 4G LTE as they add 5G. I have a low end (with a big battery) Moto C Plus. That model wasn't sold in the USA. I just checked in the Settings and it has "Enhanced 4G LTE Mode" enabled (a slider, so it is either on or off). I think we bought this phone about 2 1/2 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 We use Total Wireless and like it. It uses Verizon towers which is a must for us. We pay $100/month for 4 phones with data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plagefille Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 (edited) Maybe Tello would work for you? I don't think it uses Wifi. Free calls and texts. You can customize plans to fit your needs. Edited March 1, 2021 by Plagefille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgo95 Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 You can turn off calls over wifi with google fi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 It's been a quite a while since I researched so things could have changed but at one point the porting landline to cell wasn't that the cell phone companies wouldn't do it but that the landline companies wouldn't release the numbers which prevented the cell companies from doing it. So it might be worth verifying that the company that holds your landline number will allow it to be ported away from them. The other thing I'm not sure I understand is why you don't want it to use wifi at all. I can understand where you might not want ones where that is the only method of calling because when internet goes out you have no phone but many of them have a combo system where if there is no internet, it uses the cell towers. I'm not sure what the objection to that is. More and more companies are going to including the wifi calls because this is cheaper so you might have to work harder to find something without that. I use Tello for very cheap cell service and overall I've been very happy with it but I don't know if it meets all your criteria or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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