I don't have much money, I'm married and I live in the middle of no where, my spouse has a phone and we only have one car so I don't have much use for a cell phone carrier. I saw some posts for using wifi to make calls, but I was kind of confused since I've never had a smart phone before.
Is it possible to get a prepaid T Mobile or Virgin Mobile phone that has wifi without paying either carrier for anything? I was looking at getting either the Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V or the T Mobile prepaid Samsung Dart.
For example, could I buy one of those prepaid phones and either not activate it with the carrier and still make calls and texts through wifi, or else activate it once and not pay for the plan the next month and still have the wifi work?
I wanted it to be an actual cell phone still and have the option of paying a carrier, if I had the money and couldn't rely on wifi for the month. So I would just use the phone for wifi free normally, but maybe a month or two a year I could pay a carrier to also get regular cell coverage for the month?
yes, you can get a phone that of course has WIFI capability and you can sign up for a Google voice#, then use a program like GrooveIP or others to make and receive calls via WIFI as well as txt messages.
you will be limited to using WIFI ONLY, but I beleive that is your plan as long as you do have WIFI available at your home, or places you might visit that have free WIFI.
signup for a gmail account first, then sign up for a google voice account, which is all free. you will receive your own phone # in which you can make calls with and receive calls. the audio quality is not grand, but its free and it works.
Yes, I want to be able to call and text by wifi only. I don't want to use a carrier at all for anything, is that possible with either the prepaid Samsung Dart from T Mobile or the LG Optimus V from Virgin Mobile? Or do they force you to have a plan with them for the phone to be able to access the wifi?
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^ Good idea. Buying prepaid, some phones will need to be activated before you can even use the phone. Check with the store and ask them first or check online. Otherwise, you can I guess. But why not get an Android media player, like the Samsung Galaxy Player?
I wanted an actual cell phone for occasional use like if I went on vacation, or the power goes out, or any random time that I need a phone and don't have wifi. That would only be a couple of times a year, so it would be a waste of money to pay for a plan all year to only have to use it maybe two months a year. Plus I wanted to get a smartphone because I have never had anything better than a flip phone and wanted Android apps.
I don't know how it works where you live, but here in Brazil we can get the carrier's SIM card at many places, pay R$15 (U$9) and start using any carrier we want.
You can "reload" your credits online, so you only pay when you use it.
phone are limited to ubar cheap pre pay, but for the kind of use your talking about.
I loved the virgin mobile $20 every 90days plan. yes it was 20cent a min when you did use it, but if you never use it like me, it was a nice safety anchor that was very cheap.
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If you're in the USA, here's what I'd suggest, Tiffany. Get the cheapest cell phone (prepaid maybe) to keep monthly costs as low as possible. Then get a Samsung Galaxy Player (4" or 5" model).
The SGP will do everything a smartphone can do, except making cell calls...it's WiFi only. You can use Google Voice, and GrooveIP, to make WiFi phone calls and do texting with the free Google phone number, all with no monthly fees at all. And of course, there's the Android and Samsung Markets.
I did this very thing and have been very happy with the setup. And saving the cost of a $30 a month data plan means the SGP will pay for itself in about 8 months.
Questions about Wifi only
