Looking for provider suggestions for iPhone 4s's on a family plan

[BZeto]

The wife and I are looking for new phones and a low priced family plan with data. We are thinking iPhone 4s because we don't need the latest and greatest and they are considered pretty rock solid, right?

I like the idea of the no-contract Straight Talk plan but unfortunately we can't afford the huge upfront cost of $400 per iPhone. Especially when my portion of the monthly bill is being covered by my employer. We don't use much data, well under 1GB between us per month.

Any suggestions or recent experience would be helpful.

 

[quest55720]

Unless sprint or T-Mobile has great coverage in your area just pick who ever has the best coverage between Verison and ATT&T. They both are pushing the same horribly over priced plans. If you take care of your phones do strait talk you will save a ton of money in the long run. Just get 2 nexus s phones they are like 350 new right now at google. Strait talk is perfect for people like you and I we use hardly any data. Just to give you an idea I think for a single smart phone with unlimited texting is like 80-100 dollars a month at the big 2. You can get 2 lines at strait talk for that price. My contract is up next may and I am switching over. Will save 50 dollars a month or more.

 

[pm]

If $800 ($400x2) is too much, then I personally would recommend dropping from the 4S to the 4 - which will knock the price roughly down to $300 per phone - and then going Straighttalk for $45/each. $600 upfront (ish) and then $90/month.

Look at:
https://static.ips.apple.com.edgekey.net/ipa_preauth/content/catalog/en_US/index.html

And then click the boxes. For unlimited texts and at least 1GB of data.

Sprint is going to be $50x2 for the phones (pre-owned) and then $150/month.
AT&T is going to be $100x2 for the phones and then $150/month or $120 if you can handle 700 minutes.
Verizon is going to be $100x2 for the phones and then $140/month for 2GB shared.

When you add this up over two years, the math is completely skewed towards straighttalk even with the upfront cost of the phones. Call it $2760 for Straighttalk vs. $3560 on Verizon... ignoring taxes, fees and the rest, but including the costs of the phones.

If not Straighttalk, then AT&T if you can handle 700 shared rolled-over minutes, or Verizon if AT&T's coverage isn't very good where you are or you need more minutes. Talk to neighbors and friends for coverage.

 

[Vdubchaos]

The wife and I are looking for new phones and a low priced family plan with data. We are thinking iPhone 4s because we don't need the latest and greatest and they are considered pretty rock solid, right?

Depends who you ask.

If you don't need latest and greatest you have TONS of options to pick from in the Android market.

Also freedom that comes with Android OS (unlike Apple) and hardware (Memory slots and removable Battery etc).

 

[s44]

If "your portion" is everything but the add-on cost of her line and data share, one of the crazy expensive plans might not be a bad deal. E.g. AT&T's data share plan currently has the additional line price lower as the total data in the bundle goes up. So if you can get work to spring for 10gb data, then her line is only $30 more (plus tax etc -- and note that tax/fees is a *lot* higher on contract plans than on prepaid). If 6, then hers is $35. Verizon's share plan puts her additional cost at $40/month no matter what.

I'd go with Android, too, or even WP8 if you can wait.

 

[quest55720]

If $800 ($400x2) is too much, then I personally would recommend dropping from the 4S to the 4 - which will knock the price roughly down to $300 per phone - and then going Straighttalk for $45/each. $600 upfront (ish) and then $90/month.

Look at:
https://static.ips.apple.com.edgekey.net/ipa_preauth/content/catalog/en_US/index.html

And then click the boxes. For unlimited texts and at least 1GB of data.

Sprint is going to be $50x2 for the phones (pre-owned) and then $150/month.
AT&T is going to be $100x2 for the phones and then $150/month or $120 if you can handle 700 minutes.
Verizon is going to be $100x2 for the phones and then $140/month for 2GB shared.

When you add this up over two years, the math is completely skewed towards straighttalk even with the upfront cost of the phones. Call it $2760 for Straighttalk vs. $3560 on Verizon... ignoring taxes, fees and the rest, but including the costs of the phones.

If not Straighttalk, then AT&T if you can handle 700 shared rolled-over minutes, or Verizon if AT&T's coverage isn't very good where you are or you need more minutes. Talk to neighbors and friends for coverage.

All those taxes and fees seem to add 10-15% to the bill so verison is closer to 3900. The OP could pay for the cost of 1 phone just in the savings of all the stupid fees and taxes. But great breakdown to show why strait talk is the way to go if you don't need a ton of data. The wife and I use less than 300 meg a month each but stuck with a 50 dollar data bill because there is no reasonable low usage plan on ATT&T.

 

[BZeto]

Thank you for the breakdown. Straight Talk is looking pretty good. Especially if I moved to a new company that didn't let me expense my bill, which is a good possibility.

What is the data limit on the $45 unlimited straight talk plan?
Also, could I use an old iPhone 3g temporarily?

 

[pm]

Thank you for the breakdown. Straight Talk is looking pretty good. Especially if I moved to a new company that didn't let me expense my bill, which is a good possibility.

What is the data limit on the $45 unlimited straight talk plan?
Also, could I use an old iPhone 3g temporarily?

The unofficial data limit that I've heard is 2GB/month.
Yes, a iPhone 3G would work fine. A 3G is even be easier since StraightTalk SIM cards are full sized and you need to trim them down to fit in an iPhone 4 or 4S (easier than it sounds, you just print out a template and use a pair of scissors. just need steady hands. ).

It should be noted that I'm not actually using StraightTalk. My wife and I are on an old grandfathered AT&T plan that works out to about $95/month (all taxes/fees included). But all the StraightTalk people that I work with are very pleased with the service.

 

[BZeto]

The unofficial data limit that I've heard is 2GB/month.
Yes, a iPhone 3G would work fine. A 3G is even be easier since StraightTalk SIM cards are full sized and you need to trim them down to fit in an iPhone 4 or 4S (easier than it sounds, you just print out a template and use a pair of scissors. just need steady hands. ).

I noticed on their website they have a SIM and micro SIM available. Would I still need to cut it down for an iPhone 4 if I ordered the micro SIM?

 

[JKing106]

I noticed on their website they have a SIM and micro SIM available. Would I still need to cut it down for an iPhone 4 if I ordered the micro SIM?

No, it will fit.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Verizon's 3G isn't that fast so keep that in mind as you shop too. Service might be better in your area though so it might be a catch 22.

 

[kaerflog]

Yeah, if you decided you want the 4 instead of the 4s, its much cheaper.
The 4 are closer to $200/$250 on craiglist if you know what you're doing.
Personally if I was a CL newbie and wanted to buy a phone, I would ask if I can pick up the phone at their place.
If there is fraud involve, you know where they live.

 

[Tom]

Yeah, if you decided you want the 4 instead of the 4s, its much cheaper.
The 4 are closer to $200/$250 on craiglist if you know what you're doing.
Personally if I was a CL newbie and wanted to buy a phone, I would ask if I can pick up the phone at their place.
If there is fraud involve, you know where they live.

only a moron would meet someone from Craigslist at their home.

 

[pm]

only a moron would meet someone from Craigslist at their home.

I'm not sure that I would phrase this quite that bluntly, but I do agree that I wouldn't normally want to meet someone in their home.

While it is a good way to know where they live, first off, most people will refuse to do that. And second, it's "their turf". They could pull a gun, they could have some friends there, and you might end up without your money and without a phone. And then you go the police and you have no proof of anything...

I like to meet in a public area and I only buy from people who can either provide the box, or a receipt. If they can't provide either one, then I'll move on.

On a bit of a tangent, I bought an iPhone 4 one time off of Craigslist and the guy that I bought it from wanted to meet me "in the parking lot behind the 7-11 on highway 287" and I remember thinking "ok, well that plan sounds like a great way to get mugged". I countered with "how about that [really crowded] Starbucks that's in the outdoor mall at highway 34 and I25?"

It turned out that the guy was totally legit. He brought the phone, all the accessories, he got me the original box and a photocopy of his receipt, and I called AT&T with my SIM in the phone while we were in Starbucks to confirm that the phone was off-contract as he had said. And everything checked out. And he said that the 7-11 was right next to where he lived so even that made sense. But I still remember this idea about meeting in a sketchy parking lot behind a sketchy 7-11 and it makes me smile... yeah, that's a great idea.

 

[cmdrdredd]

on the craigslist stuff, I have found that the best thing is to meet at the mall mid-day on a weekend. Lots of people around and such.

I'm licensed to carry a weapon and usually do anyway so that's not my concern. My concern is getting sucker punched and someone runs off with nobody to help give a description while I'm out whatever the item cost or the cash.

 

[BZeto]

Yeah, if you decided you want the 4 instead of the 4s, its much cheaper.
The 4 are closer to $200/$250 on craiglist if you know what you're doing.
Personally if I was a CL newbie and wanted to buy a phone, I would ask if I can pick up the phone at their place.
If there is fraud involve, you know where they live.

Besides making sure it's an AT&T/TMobile iPhone (because i'd like to go with Straight Talk), what do I need to make sure of before buying one off of craigslist?

For example here is an iPhone 4 for sale on craigslist:

"I have a white iPhone 4 for at&t it is in like new condition. 8gb and you can for 20 dollars factory unlock this phone for any sim carrier such as T-Mobile and simple mobile."

What do they mean by factory unlock for $20? With Straight Talk isn't it just a matter of putting the straight talk SIM in the phone and I'm good to go?

 

[kaerflog]

only a moron would meet someone from Craigslist at their home.

So I guess pretty much alot of people that buy sell stuff on Craigslist are morons then.
"Hey lets meet at the Starbuck and I'll give you that sofa"
There are tons of stuff on Craigslist that you have to meet at the person's home.
A cellphone is no different from other used stuff.
Maybe you should step back and think for a minute before using the word moron so freely cause it makes you look like one.

 

[s44]

Straight Talk can be run either on AT&T or on T-Mo. If you run it on AT&T, there's no unlock required. If you run it on T-Mo... well, iPhones don't do T-Mo 3G, so you don't want that anyway.

Straight Talk AT&T data limit is about 2gb/month and 100mb/day (don't break either); Straight Talk T-Mo is much less limited. (The network is obviously smaller, though.)

 

[kaerflog]

I reason why I brought it up is because ATT is starting to block IMEI numbers now.
Nothing stop a person from selling their phone and then report it stolen.
At least now you know where they live.