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General discussion

Phone and cell service recommendations.

May 13, 2015 5:43AM PDT

PHONE SERVICE: I need a cell phone service for talk only (If I can get) with a company that is honest, at least NOT like TracPhone, I want nothing to do with them ever again!
I would like unlimited talk or at least 700 minutes a month or so. Preferably with a note in the phone service that tells me how many minutes I have left.

CELL PHONE: Absolutely must be a flip phone.

Other than that I don't know much about phones, so don't really know what to say other then reliability is a plus.
Don't need music, Internet, or any of the things I have at home, just plain old talk as cheaply as I can get it.

I would really appreciate any help you guys can give as I currently only have "Blocked" LG 440G I bought from TracPhone. The phone was fine, Track Phone was a bunch of crooks. Anyone wants to know the particulars just ask, would be glad to end that company!

Discussion is locked

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Never found that.
May 13, 2015 5:53AM PDT

Then you added more restrictions on the phone.

I'm going to ignore the flip phone comment. I replaced my mom's phone with a 20 buck BLU TANK II unlocked from amazon. She adapted in 60 seconds and she's 80. She's digging the 30 day battery.

I use Ting on mine and she has consumer cellular.
Bob

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PS. Tested this one on the following GSM networks.
May 13, 2015 6:01AM PDT

Ting, Tmobile, ATT, Consumer Cellular. I'm sure there are others.

Tracfone has both GSM and CDMA so I can't guess your area's carrier coverage.

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Sorry to hear that, but...
May 14, 2015 6:16AM PDT

...in order to recommend new service, it would help to know which providers you already know work where you live/work/actually need service. If you don't know this off hand, providing a zip code & major cross intersection nearby could be helpful to quickly consult with the coverage maps online.

Finding a basic flip phone is the really trivial part Wink

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Forget the cell phone service part of discussion.
May 23, 2015 4:24AM PDT

I have taken the last few days to read about flip phones.

However I can't find what I want still. Aside from the usual things like a camera, it's the little things I can't find in a great flip phone .
I'm only interested in a "flip phone" that will fit in the "watch pocket" (would be ideal) of Wrangler jeans. If it is a little to big for that I can have jeans modified by a seamstress.
The LG 420 was a perfect fit at 3.6 x 1.7 x .6 inches but had other draw backs, a little larger would not be a problem.

Apart from size, I want a minute tracking feature for time used, large easy to read font, long battery talk time and on hold life, very clear/loud speech for low access signal areas.
Anything else would be a plus, I guess.

If you guys can come up with some ideas I would be very appreciative.

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I have yet to find such a phone.
May 23, 2015 4:32AM PDT

The killer was the low access signal areas. Since the move away from analog cellular (AMPS for example) if the signal is dropping, it's just bad no matter which phone.

BTW, Mom loves the new 30 day battery Blu. 20 bucks, big screen, etc.
Bob

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Hopefully you do realize that...
May 26, 2015 3:00PM PDT

...flip phones starting going out of style about 6-7+ yrs ago, hence the lack of selection currently.

Also, you *will* need to know which carrier you are using if you are looking at phones since they all aren't compatible with the various services. In other words (IOW), another LG 440G locked to TracFone (available now via Amazon for $11) won't work as an ATT GoPhone, nor will it work on a Verizon CDMA or US Cellular CDMA network. Ditto for some of the other cheap flips such as the Net10s, etc.

The other issue you will have is with some of these flips, you won't find much in the way of features (minutes counter, like you want). And adding them as javascript apps (etc.) can be tricky or impossible depending on the firmware, etc. Are you willing to pay $100+ for a 5 yr old ATT branded flip simply because it can add a minute counter? Or does it make more sense to stick with TracFone given the low price/easy availability of the burner phones they sell?

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I have a GO Phone from AT&T
May 22, 2015 7:21PM PDT

It's a very simple to use flip phone that I got to replace my smart phone that I couldn't use because it was smarter than I was. All it has is talk which I can use nationwide and text which I hardly ever use but comes in handy occasionally. It also takes pictures but I don't bother with that. The only thing it doesn't have that I'd like is an alarm, but I can do without that, and it would just be another thing to learn how to use. (I'm 75 and I've learned all I want to about "gadgets!") It also comes with a user guide in the form of a small book so I don't have to go looking for it online!!!!!