Cheapest way to replace a broken cell phone and not extend a contract?

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
I loathe AT&T. I have my reasons. This thread is not about that.

My dad has a busted phone and he needs to replace it with a working phone. The replacement doesn't need to be fancy, but it shouldn't be bottom of the barrel, either.

He can get a "free" phone from AT&T if he extends the contract, but I'm trying to come up with every possible way to avoid that course of action as my wife and I intend to drop AT&T like a steaming bag of bricks the day our contract ends. (Again, I have my reasons. This thread is not about that.)

So what are the options for replacing my dad's phone?

I had read about AT&T users buying GoPhones to replace broken phones and not extend contracts, but that was a while back. It seems like AT&T would have done something between then and now to prevent that sort of thing.

I also have an old Nokia phone that supports Bluetooth (my dad has a Bluetooth headset) that I may send him if it comes to that, but I was hoping to keep that on hand as my "insurance" in case my phone breaks in the next year or so.

Suggestions?
 
I think my dad would like to keep the cost under $100 for 2 phones if at all possible.

I understand it may not be possible without renewing the contract, but I had to do everything in my power to keep my parents from giving AT&T more money than they already have.
 
Go to craigslist and buy someone's old ATT phone and pop in his sim card.

That will work.
 
Odale said:
Go to craigslist and buy someone's old ATT phone and pop in his sim card.

That will work.
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ive done that for people tons of times and sold unlocked nokias on ebay and craigslist, works just the same if you pop your sim card in.

The gophone trick should still work though too.
 
The prepaid ATT phones they have at Walmart work. That's what I'm using right now since mine was damaged.
 
Annath said:
The prepaid ATT phones they have at Walmart work. That's what I'm using right now since mine was damaged.
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A Sam's Club employee told my father that the GoPhones work off a different network and the coverage they receive is not as good.

Could someone confirm or deny this?
 
lower frequencies have better coverage...what i have seen companies do is turn down towers to reduce coverage..but lower freqs travel better.
 
The biggest problem with the GoPhone is finding one in stock that has Bluetooth support.
 
Motorola Razr's had Bluetooth. Look on Craigslist for one of those.

Also, in the past this website has been recommended to me. I never actually used them, but they guy who recommended them was a good friend.
 
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Odale said:
Motorola Razr's had Bluetooth. Look on Craigslist for one of those.
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I have some e-mails out to people who posted craigslist ads for cell phones, including ads for used Razr phones. Here's hoping one of them turns out to be what I'm looking for.

Odale said:
Also, in the past this website has been recommended to me. I never actually used them, but they guy who recommended them was a good friend.
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Checking it out now, but finding very few phones that are under the $50 mark and in stock. And I haven't yet checked if those phones that meet those criteria have Bluetooth support.

EDIT: I only found two phones that claim Bluetooth support for under $60: A pink Motorola L6 for $49 and a LG CU405 for $55. I'm not sure if either would work on the AT&T network.

I think I'll have to continue the search elsewhere. But thanks for the link nevertheless. :)
 
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The LG definitely would, as the details list the carrier as "AT&T" the Motorola, I'm going to say a hesitant yes, as it is a GSM phone and I'm fairly certain AT&T is a GSM carrier.
 
You should do some research on AT&T's network too - just to be sure you are getting the correct phone... no matter where its coming from.
 
Can't you just buy a used AT&T phone at a pawn shop and have the number switched over? That is what is what I hear is usually done up here in Canukistan....you know, when you wash your phone or your kid loses their phone or you run it over with the car.
 
Kidan said:
The LG definitely would, as the details list the carrier as "AT&T" the Motorola, I'm going to say a hesitant yes, as it is a GSM phone and I'm fairly certain AT&T is a GSM carrier.
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att and t-mobile are theo nly gsm carriers in the US.
 
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