Dumb phone questions

[Patty Hann]

You know... I read somewhere (can't recall exactly where) a discussion about changing/not changing how you do something.

The question asked was: What is the best reason for continuing to do something the way you've always done it?
Answer: Because it "works", meaning, the way you are currently doing it provides the results you want.

And the converse question: What is the best reason for changing the way you've always done something?
Answer: when the way you're doing it no longer "works", meaning what you are doing no longer gives you the results you want.

Now, as long as my phone both my dumb phone** and LL continue to "work" for me, why should I change anything?
Because to change how you do something merely for the sake of change is a very precarious slippery slope to start down.

And in my original post, the only thing I wanted to know was: How is it that my dumb phone from 7 years ago still works in a "5G world"?
I never said that I was dissatisfied with it.

**Obviously if T-Mobile scraps my phone plan, or the 5G incompatibility stops it dead, both those events are reasons for changing, but neither of those things has happened (yet).
And thanks to the half dozen folks who provided info on options I can plan for the eventual change.

[Patty Hann]

Hobbys are fun... until you get laid up with a broken foot bone like I am now. You are overlooking some good advice here, your phone and service is from the 1980's. Ditch the land line and get one of the offers suggested above with unlimited everything for like $30 per month.

How did people with broken feet manage 50 years ago without a smart phone, or even a cell phone? ...just askin'....

[Bill George]

How did people with broken feet manage 50 years ago without a smart phone, or even a cell phone? ...just askin'....

Try it sometime, people were home and not working. I grew up on a Iowa farm... with no phone, and running water or even electric for a couple of years until the power lines got ran down our road.

We held onto our LL for a long time but we had to pay for long distance fees, Federal taxes and etc fees which all added up to more than the actual phone per month fee. We have two phones unlimited everything including internet for with all taxes and etc included $140 for both. I could shop around and cut that in half but not motivated and we need coverage everywhere when we travel.

[Curt Harms]

The kicker is ... I pay $5 a month for what I need.
Pretty sure there isn't any service out there that's just $5 per month.
If anyone knows of such service, I'd appreciate a link/info whatever.
I'm thinking that the cheapest service is $50 per month... a 900% increase.
5x12 =$60....50 x 12 = $600 .....
That annual $540 can buy a lot woodworking gear ...juneau?....

Even better - airvoice wireless - $10 for 90 days. They did recently start charging $1/month use the phone or not. They use AT&T infrastructure. but did shut down 3G a few months ago.

https://www.airvoicewireless.com/plan/pay-as-you-go

If you can find a factory unlocked phone that fits your budget you can use that phone on most networks though not all. You don't really need 5G, 4G should be supported for 10 years or so.

[Jerome Stanek]

I buy my phones from HSN or QVC they are Tracfones and cost me about $60 a year and you get the phone with it. You get 1500 minutes of talk 1500 text and 1500 data with that plan and you can keep your number also they use Verizon for their carrier.

[Patty Hann]

Even better - airvoice wireless - $10 for 90 days. They did recently start charging $1/month use the phone or not. They use AT&T infrastructure. but did shut down 3G a few months ago.

https://www.airvoicewireless.com/plan/pay-as-you-go

If you can find a factory unlocked phone that fits your budget you can use that phone on most networks though not all. You don't really need 5G, 4G should be supported for 10 years or so.

This sounds a lot like what I have.
So here is the "Techy" question: what is a factory "unlocked" phone (as opposed to a factory "locked" phone?)
I see the T199 on ebay advertized as "factory Unlocked"
What does it mean and why do I want it "unlocked"?

Also, I forgot to mention... my first T199 died about 2 or 3 years ago, or maybe right at the beginning of Covid.
I found another T199 on ebay (brand new in box) and just transferred the SIM card, and it worked fine. I had to re-enter all my "Contacts" but that was it.
With my old SIM card in the new phone nothing else changed (which I guess is the point of transferring the SIM card).
Maybe the new one was set up for 4G and that is why it still works. But I do not know how to verify that.

[Patty Hann]

I buy my phones from HSN or QVC they are Tracfones and cost me about $60 a year and you get the phone with it. You get 1500 minutes of talk 1500 text and 1500 data with that plan and you can keep your number also they use Verizon for their carrier.

That might work .. it's just a little more than I'm paying now and there are more total minutes.

[roger wiegand]

Unlocked means that it is not tied to a specific phone company by its internal firmware, you can put any valid SIM into it and it will work. Most phones come unlocked these days. In olden times you needed the "jailbreak" your phone to switch from T Mobile to Verizon, for example. The phone companies asserted this was illegal (it wasn't), but it would void any warranty, and if done improperly could "brick" your phone (ie render it unusable). You want any new phone you get to be unlocked.

[Rich Engelhardt]

You say you use a LL (land line) at home?

What sort of internet connection to you have at home?

We replaced our land line 15 years or so ago with an Ooma device. It's an IP (internet) phone that you only pay the taxes on every month and not any of the phone company garbage.
Out phone bill at the time we replaced it ran us about $27 a month, not including long distance charges.
We bough the Ooma for $99, plugged it in and did the simple install.
From then on, we just had to pay something like $3.50 a month - with no long distance charges.

We slowly got rid of it and finally, last September when we moved into a new house, we disconnected it.

The thing is one of those - Kreg Pocket Hole jigs - something that just simply does exactly what it's supposed to do and it does it well.

[Thomas L Carpenter]

I had a 3G flip phone through AT@T for years. They kept threatening me that my phone won't work with 5G which of course I totally ignored. Eventually they sent me a 5G flip phone at no cost which I thought was nice of them. I eventually dumped them because they are nearly impossible to deal with. Went with XFinity a few months ago with an iPod 11 that my brother gave me when he upgraded. So far I'm happy although my phone needs are simple and the iPod is overkill for me.

[Greg Parrish]

Check to see if you qualify for one of their assistance programs. Don't know your situation, but based on your comments its worth looking into it. Other carriers may have similar programs.

https://www.t-mobile.com/news/offers...ro-by-t-mobile

[Jim Koepke]

Candy & I got rid of our cell phones years ago. We live in an area without cell service. People visiting can use our WiFi to use their cell phones. We have DSL that requires us to have a land line.

So for many folks a land line may seem antediluvian, it works for us. One of the things most hated about having a cell phone was turning it on and then as soon as we entered an area with service it would blast an alert and scare the heck out of me while driving. It always seemed to be a text message from our service provider telling us about some great new service they wanted us to pay extra to have.

Our most common use for a cell phone was when we were separated while shopping we could call each other to find out who was where.

Now if a cell phone is needed we just buy a prepaid and go with that for a couple of months.

jtk

[Patty Hann]

Unlocked means that it is not tied to a specific phone company by its internal firmware, you can put any valid SIM into it and it will work. Most phones come unlocked these days. In olden times you needed the "jailbreak" your phone to switch from T Mobile to Verizon, for example. The phone companies asserted this was illegal (it wasn't), but it would void any warranty, and if done improperly could "brick" your phone (ie render it unusable). You want any new phone you get to be unlocked.

OK...I remember that scenario when my friends would be really annoyed because, in order to get the phone they wanted, they had to sign up with a company they didn't like.
Good to know... all the ones I saw were unlocked.

[Patty Hann]

Candy & I got rid of our cell phones years ago. We live in an area without cell service. People visiting can use our WiFi to use their cell phones. We have DSL that requires us to have a land line.

So for many folks a land line may seem antediluvian, it works for us. One of the things most hated about having a cell phone was turning it on and then as soon as we entered an area with service it would blast an alert and scare the heck out of me while driving. It always seemed to be a text message from our service provider telling us about some great new service they wanted us to pay extra to have.

Our most common use for a cell phone was when we were separated while shopping we could call each other to find out who was where.

Now if a cell phone is needed we just buy a prepaid and go with that for a couple of months.jtk

Too funny.. not laughing that you were startled while driving (which can have dire consequences); only that I know what you mean about being startled by the phone alert.

DSL is available (nominally speaking) in my area courtesy of Century Link.
Years ago I let them talk me into signing up for it. Big mistake.
My aforementioned carrier pigeons can convey "data" faster than CL's DSL.
When I asked them to increase the speed beyond that of glacial movement the answer I got was:
"The infrastructure in your area is only designed for that speed"... which I believe was (and still is) 12Mbps....at 2AM.
When I asked if they were considering upgrading it I received a curt "No. We will not be upgrading any of the older neighborhoods."
I canceled it within a week.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I pay $19 every 3 months for my Tracfone. I would post an image but I can't find it.