is there a true 'emergency' cell phone out there?

[luckydriver]

and i do mean more than 911, the full ability to call anyone is what i'm looking for for someone.

 

i know ATT, verizon have 25 dollar cards that expire in 90 days and you can do 10 cents a min or 2 bucks per day. tracfone has 90 day cards for 20 bucks so thats 80 a year...tmobile has 10 x 4 is 40 a year which is about the best i guess but you still need to recharge it 90 days...or can you just buy 4 cards then all add them and it goes out a year?

 

but i'm looking for NO usage but the ability to have the phone available even at a few bucks a day/minute. the key here is the ability to forget about the thing until you need it.

 

my guess is there is no such product?

Edited July 9, 2012 by luckydriver

[donuteric]

I think the pay-as-you-go Tmobile prepaid plan allows the minutes to go up for 1 year before it needs to be topped up again? You'd have to pay $100 for 1000 mins though.

[mk_378]

My current favorite for that kind of use is the Tru SIM. They don't sell phones, you need any old unlocked GSM phone. Works both AT&T and T-Mobile, as well as in many foreign countries. You need to call or text at least once every 90 days. If you do that, the balance does not expire.

[luckydriver]

the person wont call every 90 days lol. thats the problem

 

i'm guessing tmobile 4 10 dollar cards a year is the absolute cheapest but only if they cards can all be added 'today' to give the one year. i know with tracfone everytime you add a card it extends the date

[mk_378]

As far as I know, Tracfone is the only one that "stacks" the time like that. All the others you get so many days after adding a card, and any previous remaining time is lost. Most of them though you could register the account online and check it yourself and add money if necessary so the other person doesn't have to care about it.

[ICANHASMUNY?]

and i do mean more than 911, the full ability to call anyone is what i'm looking for for someone.

 

i know ATT, verizon have 25 dollar cards that expire in 90 days and you can do 10 cents a min or 2 bucks per day. tracfone has 90 day cards for 20 bucks so thats 80 a year...tmobile has 10 x 4 is 40 a year which is about the best i guess but you still need to recharge it 90 days...or can you just buy 4 cards then all add them and it goes out a year?

 

but i'm looking for NO usage but the ability to have the phone available even at a few bucks a day/minute. the key here is the ability to forget about the thing until you need it.

 

my guess is there is no such product?

 

 

why not just get a dumb phone like mine?

 

 

AT&T - $ 63/ month - unlimited long distance - no Internet, no media, no camera.it's just a phone.

[mk_378]

$63 / month is a lot of money for the amount of service the OP needs. They're talking about an "emergency" phone that might go for months without making a single call, but it needs to stay active in case it does need to be used.

[ICANHASMUNY?]

http://www.greatcall.com/jitterbug

 

jitterbug? $15/ month.

[luckydriver]

As far as I know, Tracfone is the only one that "stacks" the time like that. All the others you get so many days after adding a card, and any previous remaining time is lost. Most of them though you could register the account online and check it yourself and add money if necessary so the other person doesn't have to care about it.

 

that is unfortunate, i guess i need to do more research. i could get the money from them and add minutes myself every quarter though. 40 for a year of service really is a steal.

 

do you know what network tmobile uses. i love that my tracfone uses ATT so never have any issues

[Pam]

As far as I know, Tracfone is the only one that "stacks" the time like that. All the others you get so many days after adding a card, and any previous remaining time is lost. Most of them though you could register the account online and check it yourself and add money if necessary so the other person doesn't have to care about it.

 

that is unfortunate, i guess i need to do more research. i could get the money from them and add minutes myself every quarter though. 40 for a year of service really is a steal.

 

do you know what network tmobile uses. i love that my tracfone uses ATT so never have any issues

 

StraightTalk lets you stack time. It's called StraightTalk Reserve.

 

But their cheapest plan is $30/mo because all their plans have data.

[Tigz]

[ArchonInitiative]

As far as I know, Tracfone is the only one that "stacks" the time like that. All the others you get so many days after adding a card, and any previous remaining time is lost. Most of them though you could register the account online and check it yourself and add money if necessary so the other person doesn't have to care about it.

 

that is unfortunate, i guess i need to do more research. i could get the money from them and add minutes myself every quarter though. 40 for a year of service really is a steal.

 

do you know what network tmobile uses. i love that my tracfone uses ATT so never have any issues

 

StraightTalk lets you stack time. It's called StraightTalk Reserve.

 

But their cheapest plan is $30/mo because all their plans have data.

 

I have a friend/client who sets up phones for StraightTalk as one of his side businesses. He swears by them.

[tazytiggy]

T-Mobile used to stack time, if you spent X amount it would be good for a year. We keep an old tmobile in the car for this purpose, once a year we buy a card to keep a balance on it. Sometimes it's the only phone that has reception, even if your right next to the stupid tower! My employer rents space to Sprint for a cell tower,so when I say right next to it I mean reach out and touch it.

Edited July 14, 2012 by tazytiggy

[luckydriver]

dont touch the tower too long, will fry the brain