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Thread: How can I conserve talk minutes on my phone?

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Okotoks AB
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    The quality with voice over LTE or WI-FI calling is pretty good these days. I suspect a lot of folks with limited voice minutes also have a flip phone which mostly don't do voice over LTE.

    Verizon was supposed to shutdown 3G/CDMA at the end of 2020, but they postponed it again and are not giving a new date. I wish they would just kill 3G so they can install more LTE and 5G. Verizon sells new flip phones with voice over LTE.
    What exactly is voice over LTE? I've heard of WiFi calling, but never used it. It makes sense that almost anything sounds better than old school phone quality.

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    Voice over LTE is how they do voice calls over a 4G/LTE cellular network. It is the way the majority of cell phones with 4G/LTE do voice calls these days if the phone has 4G/LTE service.

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    Yorktown, VA
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    Years ago when I got my first smart (late starter) I signed up for 2gb plan. Ran out and up it to 4gb plan. Ran out again and up it to 8 gb and ran out. Then made the jump to 32 gb and came close (31gb) to running out. Final fed up went with the unlimited 75gb at LTE and 3G after 75gb. It is funny but I surfed more, played tons more movies and still ended using less than 12gb on the unlimited plan and rarely went over that unless I was on vacation for a week in that month. It is some kind of game the companies do to get to upgrade to larger usage plans. So we have a flip phone for just talking and a smart phone for internet.

  4. #19
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    Jul 2007
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    Yorktown, VA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    The quality with voice over LTE or WI-FI calling is pretty good these days. I suspect a lot of folks with limited voice minutes also have a flip phone which mostly don't do voice over LTE.

    Verizon was supposed to shutdown 3G/CDMA at the end of 2020, but they postponed it again and are not giving a new date. I wish they would just kill 3G so they can install more LTE and 5G. Verizon sells new flip phones with voice over LTE.
    The reason they don't shutdown the 3G is because they have millions ADT alarm systems still using the wireless 3G for home/business alarm systems. I have one. This was according the ADT tech that stopped by.

  5. #20
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    Oct 2006
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    Minneapolis, MN
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Damon View Post
    The reason they don't shutdown the 3G is because they have millions ADT alarm systems still using the wireless 3G for home/business alarm systems. I have one. This was according the ADT tech that stopped by.
    The ADT contract must be worth a lot to Verizon for Verizon to keep postponing the 3G shutdown. I found some other articles that stated that Verizon has now set Dec 31, 2022 as the new date which is three years past when Verizon originally said 3G would shut down.

    I would assume Verizon is shutting down 3G to free up space for more 4G and 5G. You would think 4G and 5G would be pretty important to Verizon's future revenue.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    T
    I would assume Verizon is shutting down 3G to free up space for more 4G and 5G. You would think 4G and 5G would be pretty important to Verizon's future revenue.

    Yes, that is one of two reasons for finally killing off the 3G stuff...it frees spectrum (frequencies) for more current technologies, both to use and to trade, and also eliminates older gear that has to be maintained and takes up space. In many base station (tower) locations the "gear" takes up a lot of what is limited space, especially since a very large percentage of towers are shared with multiple carriers.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    Lake Gaston, Henrico, NC
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    We have unlimited, but I still have my phone set to only ring if the caller is in my Contacts list. People tell me that my Voicemail box is full. It is because I've never used it, and don't intend to. That, of course, won't work if you answer your phone regardless of who calls, and use voicemail. It does work wonderfully, for cutting down on unwanted calls though.

  8. #23
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Cambridge Vermont
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    2,271
    Voicemails can be funny. For about 2 months I was getting one from a collection agency saying that they were going to court to attach my wages if I didn't contact them. At first they were robocalls and then it was a live person. Not sure where they got my number from but it was still funny. Sometimes they would try to act all nice and use the woman's first name, like "Marie, just call us and we can work this out" and other times it was "Mrs Jones, you need to call us now. Once we file the paperwork in court it's too late". Amazing how many lawyers do this kind of work. I assumed it was because they weren't very good at their job. With unlimited minutes I didn't really care but back in the day when I had a plan that limited me I could see how having a lawyer calling the wrong number repeatedly would be an issue.

  9. #24
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Joiner View Post
    Wow, I feel like she's drilling holes with a gimlet, I'm happy with a crank drill, but you all have electric drills

    Thanks for the replies. Great info.
    Lasers, AJ. Mounted on safety glasses.

  10. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
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    6,528
    Go unlimited and no more worrying. Surely your carrier would be happy to switch you over. They don’t like the old minute plans I don’t think.

  11. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Medina Ohio
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Go unlimited and no more worrying. Surely your carrier would be happy to switch you over. They don’t like the old minute plans I don’t think.
    If he doesn't need that many minutes why go unlimited. Why pay for something you rarely need. That is like buying a race car to go 1/2 mile to the store.

  12. #27
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Dickinson, Texas
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    I have a phone, but seldom use it. It has a pedometer app I use when I make my morning walk.

    SWMBO pays for it so if I ever need help, I can call her.

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