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Cheap cellphone service $3/mo. and alternative to dial-tone

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Joe Momma

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Location: near the Rubicon trail - U.S.A.

Post Sat Aug 20, 2016 7:02 pm

Cheap cellphone service $3/mo. and alternative to dial-tone

Most of us have dropped the old fashioned landline for mobile only

But sometimes a fixed telephone is needed to reach loved ones at home that don't have a mobile phone (kids, grandparents, etc..), Or don't always carry them.

I once paid over $25 a month with taxes etc. for that old landline and still have the plug in the jack phones....

Well with a old cellphone with charger and a Bluetooth to Telephone RJ-11 adapter the old house phones are alive for $3 a month :D




Here's the deal T-Mobile offers a plan if you look incredibly hard for that gives you 30 Minutes or 30 Texts for $3/Month and if you go over its 10 cents a minute if you prepay the minutes...

Since it will be an Emergency Phone only 30 minutes is plenty, most calls would be hey I can't reach you on your cell, Call me back on it....




For a BTTN (BlueTooth Telephone Network) I am using a Gigaset One easily found on e-bay for cheap.

I just unplugged the service line from the old landline box on side of house to disconnect there wires from my house wiring ( !! Very Important !! )

Then plugged in the Gigaset One anywhere there is a free phone jack in house that also get good cellular signal, and that is it Dial Tone for those old fashioned landline phones :D


With T-Mobiles new push to expand I get there service at my home now, just a few years ago the coverage sucked and now it rivals AT&T & Verizon
Last edited by Joe Momma on Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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MBI

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Location: Utah, USA

Post Wed Aug 24, 2016 1:05 pm

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

Wow, seriously?

You say "if you look incredibly hard," is there a plan name you can give us to help speed the process?

I might have to give this a shot.
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Joe Momma

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Post Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:45 pm

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

T-Mobile --> Plans ----> Prepaid -----> Pay as you go

Here I made it easier for you (since your the Site Owner) Hope links are OK.. ---> https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go

Order a SIM normally $20 ( but use code SIMDEAL and get for $3.99 + Shipping = less than $5 ) The SIM you receive comes preloaded with the $3/mo plan. SIM card link --> https://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/sim-card

Simply reload for monthly or additional minutes/texts if you use it up...
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MBI

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Post Thu Aug 25, 2016 2:00 pm

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

Excellent, thanks!
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Joe Momma

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Post Thu Sep 08, 2016 1:01 am

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

MBI wrote:Excellent, thanks!


Besides the Land Line substitute deal, just a good deal for cheap cellphone plan.... Maybe title should be changed? Feel Free to change it MBI :smile:


Helped an elderly couple on a fixed income get hooked up on this, they love the $avings!

Figured I would add this bit to it --> "Hangouts Dialer & Google voice"


A.K.A. The Cheapo Phone plan….

Get a used/new GSM Smartphone capable of working on T-Mobile (Unlocked AT&T etc..)

Get a T-Mobile SIM normally $20 but now with special code online their $3.99 plus shipping.

The SIM comes preloaded with the $3 month 30 Minutes or 30 Texts Plan, which you can keep and reload or pick another plan. But since this is an “On the Cheap” solution we will keep the $3 plan…

So now we have a cell phone with 30 minutes/ text for only $3 a month…
But Wait There is More!
Only use the 30 Minutes/Texts if necessary as this next solution allows free unlimited calls!!

Get a Google Voice number, which you will use on your smartphone with the Hangouts Dialer App to make and receive calls while you are connected to Wi-Fi Anywhere for FREE, use known hotspots, public FREE hotspots, etc. for your calls and data…
In Google Voice setup forward your calls to your actual Cellphone number on the $3 plan, but give out the Google voice number to those whom call you want to call you… So now you can be reached while off Wi-Fi when called and you choose to answer or not use your minutes and let go to voicemail…
You can call your cellphone number while on Wi-Fi with your Google Voice number using Hangouts dialer to get the voicemails and use no minutes… Then return calls, etc..

(If mobile Data is needed T-Mobile has $5 Data Daily pass of 500MB or $10 Data Weekly pass of 1GB)

So with some mental discipline one can have a $3 a month Smartphone plan via Wi-Fi if they wisely budget their 30 minutes/text…. No worries if more minutes/texts are needed add 30 more for $3
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jeffmoss26

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Post Thu Sep 08, 2016 6:15 am

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

I have worked on these devices for people over the years. One thing to note is if you have an older burglar alarm at home/work, it may not work with these services. For example - OOMA puts out what I would call a simulated dialtone, hard to explain but it's not the same sound/frequency as a POTS line. A customer of mine switched to OOMA and their alarm did not dial out, so they ended up putting a POTS line back in.
femurat: They're called restricted for a reason...
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Joe Momma

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Post Thu Sep 08, 2016 7:35 am

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

jeffmoss26 wrote:I have worked on these devices for people over the years. One thing to note is if you have an older burglar alarm at home/work, it may not work with these services. For example - OOMA puts out what I would call a simulated dialtone, hard to explain but it's not the same sound/frequency as a POTS line. A customer of mine switched to OOMA and their alarm did not dial out, so they ended up putting a POTS line back in.


Yes I am aware of that, Installed a 4GL GSM module in the Honeywell unit that is $10 month vs. POTS at ($25+ just for local calls)

Yes the Gigaset One is Ooma like too as it generates a dial tone, ring voltage. & Caller-ID etc...

They saved a weeks of groceries as she put it on the savings after changing cell plans and dropping POTS line :mrgreen:
if it was an older panel there are standalone GSM modules for those too...
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femurat

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Post Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:09 am

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

So you're at 3 + 10 instead of 25... you're saving 12 :-)
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Joe Momma

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Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:40 pm

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Post Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:51 pm

Re: $3 month dial tone, instead of traditional landline

femurat wrote:So you're at 3 + 10 instead of 25... you're saving 12 :-)


Actually an elderly couple I helped out is saving that $12 and what ever they paid for a pre-paid Trac phone they used (when they could afford it)

And savings from Long Distance they used to have to budget on the landline, Hangouts Dialer (Google Voice) is FREE so now they can call long distance more too...

So total saving is more but I don't know how much, didn't really ask them.

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