Cell phone confusion...

long story short, Ive been with sprint since 1998, and its the only carrier ive ever used, and ive been happy with them. But now , with my phone on its last leg, and wanting to consolidate some bills by adding the second phone to the same account, ive been looking around a bit.

between the two phones we use less than 400 minutes a month, plus some text and pictures sent from others (at the point where the frequency has increased so much that it it would be worth the $5 add on on my current non contracted plan.)

So i go to the sprint store, and they say I cant add a line without switching to a higher cost plan, and a two year contract, never mind i been paying them on time for near 12 years. I even called them direct, hoping their corporate offices would have some sort of customer loyalty plans not offered in their stores, no dice. then we go to their competitors, and the two phone plans are only slightly lower cost as we are paying now for two separate individual phone plans (about $40 a month each phone and $10+ in taxes and surcharges each, so $100.)

we dont need to surf the web, touch screens or any other gimmicks, we just need talk phones with no long distance fees, and the ability to read and answer occasional texts (less than 50 a month.) and I would like to be able to use the camera in the phone and down load it to my pc on occasion without paying a gazillion dollar fee and having to upload, download, and sideload to accomplish it...

each place we went too had "must sign up today to get this amazing deal" bullE36 M3 presentations...

so what do you experts think? should we go prepay? maybe theres some "secret" deals out there?

way back when , i had a friend who could clone phones, of course he got arrested eventually, and I laughed at him for being stupid. but that would be perfect for us, and its us that are paying for and using it. but i guess they wont do that...

the only trick that ever works for me is to threaten to cancel your service, but thats with my monthly local provider, their not nationwide like sprint or Verizon. They piggy back on the AT&T network. but I have cancelled my plan twice when the were being douches...

I have two phones and 400 minutes a month with rollover with AT&T. Had them when they were Cellular One, then Cingular. Our current plan costs us about $53/month total with taxes. To add unlimited texting would cost me another $5/month.

I would try going back to the local store, ask for the manager and explain your position again with the added info about their competition's rates.

Yes, you should go prepaid.
The prepaid companies discussed here are priced all inclusive. That means no additional taxes or fees on top of these price (other than regular sales tax, if aplicable)

A few options:

Boost Mobile:
$50 month: Unlimited talk, text, picturemail, web
Owned by Sprint/Nextel and can be done either on Sprint's towers or Nextel's Towers. Since you are used to Sprint, I recommend the Sprint side for you. Set to have pay deducted from Credit or Debit Card and get a one time $20 discount and $2 off each months service.

Page Plus:
$30 for 1000 minutes and 1000 text. Picture and web cost extra
$40 for unlimited talk and text. Picture and web cost extra.
Independent company that buys in bulk off Verizon and then resells it to you. All handsets are refurbushed (used.) Sold only at independent retailers.

Straight Talk at WalMart:
$35 for 1200 minutes and 1200 text. Picture and web cost extra
$45 for unlimited talk and text. Picture and web cost extra.
Only Sold at Walmart in a similar arraingment of buying in bulk off Verizon and reselling it.

Metro PCS:
$45 Unlimited talk, text, picture, web
Covers most major cities. Most rural areas only covered at extra charge.

Check the coverage maps for each and see which works best for you.
New handsets will cost about $50 for one that more than meets your needs (fancy phones will cost more.) The best deals of the year from the Prepaid companies will come from mid January to March as the companies try to attract new customers in the new year. Early in the year customers look best from an accounting point of view when estimating annual revenues.

Call Sprint Retentions dept. They can do things no other department or store can and WILL keep you happy.

866-207-7913

Let us know how that works.

ALL companies want a 2 year commitment....when they can get it. Your history with them doesn't cut all that much EXCEPT when you want to get their best plan's rates. It's the same with cable and satelite TV. (look at the teeny, tiny print in cable ads.)

If you decide to change carriers, be sure to check your contract's length, and the fees for early cancellation.

just buy a replacement phone on ebay for yourself. Get a second phone with whatever carrier is cheapest.

I side with jrw on this one. It seems like prepaid is starting to be the way to go.

Clark Howard has been hyping the StraightTalk plans lately, even saying that it's better than what you would get in a contract.

Bobzilla wrote: To add unlimited texting would cost me another $5/month.

Are you sure about that? I just split my phone off from the family plan I had with my 'rents, and AT&T's texting rates were $5 for 250, $15 for 1500, and $20 for unlimited. Frustrating to me, as I send about 400/month, and they used to offer a 500 message/month plan.

If your current phone has a SIM card, I would just pick up another carrier-appropriate phone and swap the card over. Of course, being CDMA (sprint/verizon), I'm not sure if those phones even use SIM cards.

Yes, buying a used phone off craigslist and changing nothing else in your current offer is an option.
On craiglist there is a section dedicated just to cell phones.
Buy something that is clearly stated to work with Sprint. The perfect situation is to meet the seller at a Sprint store so the store can verify the equipment.
Or, visit an independent phone retailer, typically one the represents more than one company, with one being Sprint. These retailers often have used equipment avialable that they take on trade.

In the US, the only networks that work on GSM SIM cards are AT&T and T-Mobile, along with their various resellers.
Nextel and Boost work on iDEN SIM cards (similar but not compatable with GSM SIMs)

93gsxturbo wrote: Call Sprint Retentions dept. They can do things no other department or store can and WILL keep you happy. 866-207-7913 Let us know how that works.

Good advice as well.

integraguy wrote: ALL companies want a 2 year commitment....when they can get it. Your history with them doesn't cut all that much EXCEPT when you want to get their best plan's rates. It's the same with cable and satelite TV. (look at the teeny, tiny print in cable ads.) If you decide to change carriers, be sure to check your contract's length, and the fees for early cancellation.

FREE is such an abused word.
With all contract services, the cell phone company (carrier) gives you either a FREE phone or significantly discounted phone (blackberry for $50.)
In exchange for this discount, the carrier wants to be sure they get there investment in you back so they want you to stay with them for 2 years. If you leave early, they want their money back. If they do not get thier money then collection calls and negative credit report.

The prepaid companies do not tie you to a contract. For that reason, you pay for the handset up front ($50 for entry models to $300 for blackberry.) Now that you own the handset, if you give the carrier money this month, the phone will work. Dont give them money, it will not work. Never a collection call, Never a negative credit rating.

I've used prepay off and on for a few years now... i've been very happy with net10... I also use it like a prepay "should" be used... i've had it for almost 6 months now and used maybe 300 min... going to trade it to my wife so she can burn though the rest of the min here soon

$0.10 a min and 0.05 for a text

best deal is to check them out online and look at their deals they've got... right now in my area they've got...

* Reconditioned
* Includes 300 Minutes and 60 Days of Service upon activation
* Compact Phone
* Color Screen
* Handsfree Speaker
* Includes Net10 300 Minute Airtime Card

so for $30 you've got a POS bar phone (i like mine honestly) a 300 min ($30 card) and 300 mins that come on the phone when you activate it...

in the past i would buy a few of these (they limit you to 3 untill you activate em then you can buy more) then use the phone till I killed the min, add the card till I kill those min, then goto the next phone... I used grand central (now google voice) and just gave out that number so changing my phone only required me updaing my contacts list.

when you're done you also have a nice toy for your kids to play with :)

Im going to try that secret number for sprint first, and ill report back...

At 400 minutes a month, you don't want a pre-paid plan. I personally use a pre-paid plan (tracfone), and have for years. At a number like that, pre-paid doesn't fit.

Caution!
Mega-Zombie thread brought back from the dead of Dec 2009 (4 years ago)

In reply to JohnRW1621:

But, bodies do not get time to booty a blow for a while!

Zombie thread again!
Move along, nothing to see here.

Canoe deleted.