cell phone question

[mom-from-missouri]

help. My kids have an AT&T cell that they share (their dad got it for them) and I have come to rely on it as much as they enjoy having it. Esp when I drop them off at an event, they can call me if they are done early and such. Anyway, the phone died, warrenty is up. At Dollar general there is a tracphone that looks just like it for $9.99.

Can we take the SIM card and put it in the trac phone and if so will it work as a regular phone??? I have been told yes and no, and att only wants to sell us a new one for over $100. DG didn't know.

[Broken Arrow]

Well, the short answer is no. The longer answer is "technically possible but not legal".

There are two main technical hurdles to overcome for cellphone interchangeability. The first technical issue is whether the phone itself is capable of the carrier bands that your cellphone service provides. Now, if you found the exact same model, then maybe this is not an issue here. However....

The second technical hurdle is whether or not said cellphone is operating in a "locked" mode. If a phone is locked, it can not accept any other SIM cards other than the one that it is paired with. You could buy an unlocked phone that will accept your SIM card, but they are typically pricey. My guess is that Tracfones are locked. (edit: I checked around the net. It appears that Tracfones are indeed firmware locked, and manually flashing the firmwares to unlock it is supposedly illegal.)

So, you basically have a few options. Either...

1. Go back to AT&T and get another cellphone there. Or...
2. Consider switching to a different provider such as the Tracfone. Or...
3. For only $9.99, you can also try it out yourself. Worst thing that will happen is nothing.

[JustDave]

The $20 AT&T prepaid ones from Walmart work -- it was actually suggested by an AT&T store employee because my wife didn't want to pay the full retail price for a phone after hers died.

You just pop out the SIM card and pop it into the other phone, it works like a charm. It has to be an AT&T brand though, and that might be a separate brand from Tracfone.

[donlat3]

You can find used phones for AT&T all over the internet and all you have to do is pop in the sim card.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by mom-from-missouri

att only wants to sell us a new one for over $100.

Why so much? We've never paid more than $20 for a phone and we usually pick whichever model is free after rebate. Go to AT&T's website and see what your options are. They have a lot more choices at the website than at the stores.

Another option, as mentioned, is getting a used phone. Do you have any friends or family who have AT&T? Ask around and see if any of them have an old phone they aren't using. Personally, there are 5 of us on our family plan. We have 2 or 3 spare phones around the house because of upgrades we've done over time. A while back, my wife's phone broke so we just stuck her SIMM into my daughter's old phone and she was good to go.

[kork13]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Why so much? We've never paid more than $20 for a phone and we usually pick whichever model is free after rebate. Go to AT&T's website and see what your options are. They have a lot more choices at the website than at the stores.

I believe these options are only available when you're starting/renewing a contract -- sign up to pay hundreds (thousands?) of dollars in contract fees, and sure, they'll throw in a new phone for cheap. However, to buy a phone outright (w/o the contract renewal), phones are pretty expensive, and $100 sounds about right.

I busted my phone 1.5 years ago, and AT&T told me the same as JustDave -- buy a $20 prepaid phone at walmart or something, then switch out the sim cards. Otherwise, buy a new full-priced phone for $150.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by kork13

I believe these options are only available when you're starting/renewing a contract -- sign up to pay hundreds (thousands?) of dollars in contract fees, and sure, they'll throw in a new phone for cheap.

True, we get the free phone when we renew our contract, but there are no contract fees. We just continue the same monthly service charge we've had all along. I have no intention of switching companies so I've got no problem being under contract. It sure beats paying $100 or more for a phone.

[irmanator]

we just went thru this with verizon because someone stole my daughters phone..... verizon won t let you switch it with a prepaid you HAVE to buy a brand new phone or get one used.... ticked me off .... the prepaid is exactly the same as the contract phone except the serial # will not work on a contract phone # ...... they offered to let her add 12 mo. to the contract and pay the 12 mo price ($161) ????? big woopee they got a scam going if on a different model phone sells at 20 at walmart as prepaid but online as 89 with 1 year agreement .....wtf

[mikesaver]

When my father in law needed a cell phone we got it through T Mobile To Go. They have a few phones for as little as $19 and the minutes are pretty cheap. Its perfect for people who want a cell phone but don't use it a lot.

[connor_zen]

This is good advice. I didn't know you could could put used SIM cards in pay-as-you-go phones.

Another quick tip: see if you can get an educational discount on your bill if you work for any type of education system (or if your kids have their own cell phone account). I get 15% off my Sprint bill each month because of this.

[Broken Arrow]

Originally Posted by connor_zen

This is good advice. I didn't know you could could put used SIM cards in pay-as-you-go phones.

That's not always true in many circumstances. But yes, it does seem that it will work for some.