Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

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MildlyEccentric
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Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2014 9:28 am

Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by MildlyEccentric »

I’m trying to help my SIL find a new cell phone and provider after she received notification her 3G Sprint service is shutting down at the end of this year. SIL needs a very minimal low cost plan. She rarely uses her cell for voice calls and occasionally receives a text with appointment reminders, so almost any plan that includes voice and text will meet her needs. She does not use any data.

I'm thinking of a flip phone or candy bar style phone and going with Tello or RedPocket as the provider, but the phone choices seem very limited.
Last edited by MildlyEccentric on Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
student
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by student »

I am a bit confused. Is Tmobile shutting down Sprint's 4G service or ALL 4G service. My understanding is the former. So Tmobile's own 4G is unaffected. https://www.tmonews.com/2021/09/t-mobil ... own-dates/
"With this information, the new shutdown dates are:

T-Mobile 3G UMTS: July 1, 2022
T-Mobile 2G GSM: December 2022
Sprint 2G/3G CDMA: January 1, 2022
Sprint LTE/5G: June 30, 2022
"
I think tmobile and sprint have different setup.
Topic Author
MildlyEccentric
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by MildlyEccentric »

student wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:22 am I am a bit confused. Is Tmobile shutting down Sprint's 4G service or ALL 4G service. My understanding is the former. So Tmobile's own 4G is unaffected.
I think you are correct. When we met with T-Mobile, the rep indicated that the 4G network was shutting down, but in retrospect, he was probably talking about the Sprint 4G network as we walked in with a Sprint phone. I edited my original post to delete the reference to a T-Mobile 4G shutdown.
student
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by student »

MildlyEccentric wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:55 am
student wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:22 am I am a bit confused. Is Tmobile shutting down Sprint's 4G service or ALL 4G service. My understanding is the former. So Tmobile's own 4G is unaffected.
I think you are correct. When we met with T-Mobile, the rep indicated that the 4G network was shutting down, but in retrospect, he was probably talking about the Sprint 4G network as we walked in with a Sprint phone. I edited my original post to delete the reference to a T-Mobile 4G shutdown.
Then I think any 4G phone that works on T-mobile or ATT network is fine. So just get something like https://phones.mintmobile.com/Phones/Nokia-225-4G.html from Mint Mobile.
Lalamimi
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by Lalamimi »

Back Market (backmarket.com) for a phone, and Consumer Cellular for a $20 plan - they offer T Mobile and AT&T Sim cards.
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rh00p
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by rh00p »

OP check out places like Boost or Mint or Metro. You can score a deal on a mid level smart phone with activation. Especially with black Friday. I would avoid flip phones I can't imagine anyone nowadays would want to text via t9 or multi tap.
Preparing for the worst. Hoping for the best.
02nz
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by 02nz »

MildlyEccentric wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 10:55 am
student wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 9:22 am I am a bit confused. Is Tmobile shutting down Sprint's 4G service or ALL 4G service. My understanding is the former. So Tmobile's own 4G is unaffected.
I think you are correct. When we met with T-Mobile, the rep indicated that the 4G network was shutting down, but in retrospect, he was probably talking about the Sprint 4G network as we walked in with a Sprint phone. I edited my original post to delete the reference to a T-Mobile 4G shutdown.
T-Mobile's 4G LTE is definitely not being shut down any time soon. But T-Mobile also called its HSPA+ (3G+) coverage "4G." And that is indeed being shut down.
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BL
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by BL »

My spouse uses an Alcatel flip phone on Tracfone at very low cost. They sell them at Amazon and elsewhere. Good for the simple uses mentioned, and Tracfone service is low-cost. They required the switch from 3G earlier.
egrets
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by egrets »

I'm in the midst of going from 3G to 4G and here is what I learned so far.

(I'm a Consumer Cellular customer and as noted above they have AT&T or Tmobile service. I have three flip phones, one with me all the time in theory, one in my pocketbook so I can call AAA in case I forget the main one, and one in the bathroom because I'm ancient and might fall.)

CC currently sells only one 4G flip phone, the LInk, and it is terrible. Press one arrow key, good luck which key registers. However, I have a 4G Doro 7050 I bought from them a year or two ago.

My plan was to buy used Doro 7050s from ebay and put them on all three lines, but my Doro started randomly generating a repeat every several keys, and the used Doro was doing the same thing when it arrived, so i have them on two of the lines as "adequate" until I find a better phone.

I tried buying a flip phone from AT&T, but wasted two days with their terrible website, thought I had succeeded in placing an order, only to find it wouldn't be confirmed unless I did a real time scan of my drivers license from "my smart phone" which of course I don't have, so they cancelled the order.

I wound up buying a Go flip 4 from Tmobile. It arrives today, If it seems okay, my plan is to call CC and if they say it will work on their system, wait out Tmobile's 40 (45?) day waiting period for unlocking phones and then transfer it over. I will do that with a 2nd Go flip 4 also but you can only do two a year.
Jim Burnham
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by Jim Burnham »

If you would be OK with going to Verizon, there is a Kyocera Cadence 4G LTE flip phone that works on the Verizon network. My mother has one of those and she has been happy with it. I don't think anything has gone wrong with it in the couple of years we have had it.
Wabbit
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by Wabbit »

Maybe more than you're looking for, but I recently found out about the Nokia 2720 V Flip:

https://www.verizon.com/basic-phones/nokia-2720-v-flip/

Flip phone with some smarter features. The reviews are mixed but I'm not sure how much to believe online reviews these days.
stumin
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by stumin »

You could get a 4G device like this, which is unlocked, so that you can shop around for different carriers.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/nokia-6300 ... /6459346.p
egrets
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by egrets »

stumin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 12:29 am You could get a 4G device like this, which is unlocked, so that you can shop around for different carriers.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/nokia-6300 ... /6459346.p
Why is it that current flip phones all seem to have grey or black keys on grey or black backgrounds? Dark keys on a light background or vice versa seem much easier on the eyes to me.
jdoosey
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by jdoosey »

Tello cell service. Runs on T-Mobile network. Unlimited text, unlimited minutes, no data is $8/month.

https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans

For phone 'dumb' 4g phones are tough to find. I'd opt for cheap 'smart' phone like Motorola Moto E5 or E6 via eBay. Refurb phone cost s/b circa $45.

Hope above helps.
FandangoDave5010
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by FandangoDave5010 »

My wife and I just switch from Verizon Alcatel flip phones to Lively Alcatel Smartphone 3 to get the larger 5 3/4" x 2 3/4" screen and single tap keyboard. It does voice, text and data. The camera reads QR codes and Google Map is available. Currently the phone is half price at $75, which may be a Back Friday promotion at Best Buy, Amazon and the large drugstore chains. Lively formerly used Jitterbug phones and known as Great Call when owned by Verizon.

Our voice/text plan is $10/mo and data is $20/mo for each phone, same price as Verizon's senior plan. There are also monthly plans for emergencies services that seniors may want when they need help, including a personal operator. We did not subscribe to them. The Smart 3 is easy to use, therefore dumb, and looks just like an Apple iPhone SE. It is recommended (and advertised) by AARP.
Nyc10036
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by Nyc10036 »

MildlyEccentric wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 8:59 am I’m trying to help my SIL find a new cell phone and provider after she received notification her 3G Sprint service is shutting down at the end of this year. SIL needs a very minimal low cost plan. She rarely uses her cell for voice calls and occasionally receives a text with appointment reminders, so almost any plan that includes voice and text will meet her needs. She does not use any data.

I'm thinking of a flip phone or candy bar style phone and going with Tello or RedPocket as the provider, but the phone choices seem very limited.
I still think Tracfone offers the best bang for the value for someone like your SIL.
No flip phones though. Though they sell refurbished ones.
HSN (yes Home Shopping Network) sells Tracfone smartphones for $75-$80 and an additional $20 off if you are a new customer.
The smartphone comes with 365 days of service and 1500 minutes and 1500 texts and 1.5 GB data to use.
It will require patience to transfer service.

Tracfone's store on eBay will also have deals.
123
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by 123 »

egrets wrote: Mon Nov 22, 2021 12:50 pm ...I wound up buying a Go flip 4 from Tmobile..
+1 We got a Go Flip 4 from Tmobile for a relative a year ago who was reluctant to make the transition to a smart phone. It uses LTE and has worked out well for them.
The closest helping hand is at the end of your own arm.
stumin
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by stumin »

egrets wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 12:31 pm
stumin wrote: Tue Nov 23, 2021 12:29 am You could get a 4G device like this, which is unlocked, so that you can shop around for different carriers.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/nokia-6300 ... /6459346.p
Why is it that current flip phones all seem to have grey or black keys on grey or black backgrounds? Dark keys on a light background or vice versa seem much easier on the eyes to me.
The Blackberry 8700g is still my favorite cell phone of all time. Didn't need an Otterbox case for phones like this as they were already made with Schwarzenegger strength.

https://www.techradar.com/news/phone-an ... 0g-1299308
lgerla
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by lgerla »

In case it helps someone, I had to transition my 95-year-old relative to a smart phone because he hated the 4G Alcatel phone he just got from AT&T and he wanted to use the Walmart app for grocery pickup. Otherwise he uses no data.

I gave him an older LG 6 of mine, and installed the Elderlauncher app from the Google play store. Free, no ads, and his few apps and direct dial contacts are in two tabs on the home screen.
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JoMoney
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Re: Help selecting a 4G dumb phone

Post by JoMoney »

lgerla wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 6:11 am...
I gave him an older LG 6 of mine, and installed the Elderlauncher app from the Google play store. Free, no ads, and his few apps and direct dial contacts are in two tabs on the home screen.
This is helpful to me for a different situation. Thanks. I know someone that will very much appreciate a simple interface with LARGE icons and text.
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