1. Home
  2. Home Repair
  3. AT&T. 3G Shutdown
  4. Page 2

AT&T. 3G Shutdown

That is correct. Back twenty years ago the carriers did require that you have a data plan to be able to use it on wifi, which really was totally unreasonable.

Reply to
trader_4
Loading thread data ...

That was a thought that occurred to me after posting my comment. Maybe my phone would still work on wifi if I discontinued paying Tracfone, that is, would the phone number still exist for the phone? I know you can buy a phone without a provider and just use it on wifi but I do not know about calling.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

You can get a phone number with or port your number to one of the VOIP providers that have cell phone apps, eg Ooma, Google Voice.

Reply to
trader_4

My main cell phone is on Verizon. I got a new one in October 2019 since they said they would turn off 2G/3G at the end of that year. They've put that off several times and the old phone still gets a signal.

I do have a second one for emergencies, on Ting (a Sprint/T-Mobile MVNO) and have already got the replacement for that one too.

BTW, you can get a 4G flip phone. There's just not as many choices.

That would have been important for me if by the time I got a phone that could do WiFi (the one I mentioned above) it was on an unlimited plan.

Reply to
Mark Lloyd

I don't know if this answers your question but might be interesting reading.

formatting link

Reply to
Dean Hoffman

Interesting link for us luddites :-). Too bad they didn't put any date reference with the article - it does refer to 2005 and 2006 projections .. tech might have changed a bit since then ? John T.

Reply to
hubops

... and those are completely free ? and accessable to all the outside old school phones ? Or do you need to pay for an account and then only receive calls from others who are on a wifi network ? So many questions .. so little care .. :-) I just crawled out of the rabbit hole of trying to see if my google phone and/or cell service can do wifi calls ... time I'll never get back .. and I'm no closer to an answer .. Good luck to the OP on his journey .. John T.

Reply to
hubops

Ooma is ~$5 a month for home VOIP phone service. You do need the Ooma VOIP box that you buy for $50 - $100. They have a phone app that you then can use for no additional charge. Google Voice I think is free. Those and similar are like regular phone service. For free there are WhatsApp, Skype, etc that are free to other users on same.

and accessable to all the

see above

Most cell phone carriers here have wifi calling, it takes some load off their cell network.

Reply to
trader_4

On an iphone that is separately enabled/disabled so that with data left on for browsing etc it will never update using data, it will only update over wifi.

Reply to
Jacob Jones

Just playing around with my tablet and phone. Tablet has a phone ap but if I try to make a call it says I need an account. I turned on my phone and blue toothed it to the tablet but still cannot call from the tablet. I am reading that you can get a google phone number and do this.

Of course when in the car and blue toothed to the phone I can call from the car. You would think it would work from the tablet.

None of this is a big deal to me as I do not phone a lot and have VoIP with Comcast and over 9,000 roll over minutes with my Tracfone.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

If you get Google Voice(which is free), you get an assigned, unique phone number. Phone calls within the US are free and overseas calls are very reasonable compared to the cost of a traditional phone line plus the phone carrier's charge for the overseas call.

Reply to
Retirednoguilt

We would have gotten a flip phone but they were all sold out ...

We're still exploring options . The old phone was costing us around

25 bucks every 60 or 90 days (not sure which , that's the wife's AOR) , this one I'm not sure but it looks like 20 bucks a month for unlimited calls and IDK how much data . Still not that expensive but I hate to spend that much money on something that sees so little use . We're hoping the same minute card we used on the old will work with the new unit ...
Reply to
Snag

I upgraded a few months ago and was forced to buy a new nano-sized sim card to replace my olde large-sized one. It just cost me $ 10. and my 10 years of accumulated balance $ 300.+ was easily transferred to the new card. It's why I was experimenting with using some cellular data - - just to use-up some of that $ 300. before it mysteriously disappears some day .. John T.

Reply to
hubops

Go to Reddit and find the nocontract forum. There are a lot of people there that are up on what's available. Make a post with what phone, area of usage, how much data per month, etc and they can't point you in the right direction. Mint Mobile, which uses Tmobile, has a 4GB/month plan that's $15 per month if you buy a year at a time. It's $25 per month if you buy 3 months at a time. They have a trial kit you can buy at BestBuy, Target, Amazon for a couple bucks to try it out for a week. If you want to go with Mint, I can give you a link for a $15 credit. But if you have very limited needs, there may be lower cost options.

Reply to
trader_4

We transferred our number to the new phone , AFAIK all the minutes came over . It's still a Tracphone , but now the service provider is Verizon instead of AT&T . I need to sit down and read the user manual that came with this thing ... stuff like turning off the data feed (?) since we won't be doing any web surfing on this thing . That's what we have laptops (and desktop units) for .

Reply to
Snag

Sure, but now you're dealing with Google. If it's free YOU are the product.

Reply to
Roger Blake

Verizon now owns Tracfone:

formatting link
I was concerned myself when I knew that this was happening that it might impact our low costs but so far it has not happened.

When I replaced my antiquated flipper with a smart phone all minutes, as usual, rolled over and now I notice better reception in my house which previously was marginal.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

John, if you just had phone service and have accumulated $300 of "minutes" you don't have cell data. There are a frw "pay as you go" plans with Data in Canada - but VERY FEW from what I have seen.

And the answer to "do I get charged for data if I am on Wifi"? - Only if the wifi use puts you over your limit on your land-based date plan you are running your wifi on. My home data plan is unlimited - so my wifi use, whether on my phone, my wife's phone, my wife's tablet or her computer doesn't cost a penny more. I have shut the data on her phone off so she doesn't use our shared dataplaying around on facebook if the wifi goes down. If she is going to need fata away from home it is simple enough for me to turn it back on. I only use my mobile data plan when I am out on site and need information or to test a customer's internet problem by putting my wifi dongle in their computer and connecting to my phone as a mobile hotspot (which is thereason I first got a data plan). This allows me to also update customers' systems who do not have a wifi connection - and to download apps / drivers/ utilities required to iptimise their systems.

Reply to
Clare Snyder

I have been using PetroCanada pre-paid cell service for ~ 11 years - - $ 100. per year - just for phone & texts until recently when I upgraded to a smart-phone. Data is available but at 15 cents per mega-byte .. I'll be keeping it turned off unless really needed. I believe that the OP's original question was about possible _cellular data-usage_ - when using wifi _phone_ service < ? > which I can't answer ... and the thread drifted a bit .. John T.

Reply to
hubops

Looking back at original it was:

formatting link

A new report says this might turn some burglar alarms into junk. February 22.

Then it became:

We bought our very first smart phone today ... because our old flip phone will quit working next Tuesday . It will see the same duty as the old one , staying in the car console unless we take a trip or have an emergency . Speaking of cell phones , do I get charged for minutes if I'm connected through my wifi at home ? This is a pay-as you- go , not a contract unit .

Good discussion either way.

Minutes and data are separate but checking my Tracfone usage I see they divide out data, text minutes and phone minutes.

I have had my phone for about three months and used practically no data using home wifi, doctor's and hospitals wifi and even car dealers wifi.

Minutes I do not care about with the thousands I have roll over but there is that switch I have yet to turn on the phone that says wifi calling.

Reply to
invalid unparseable

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.