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Can anybody help me with some cell-phone questions?

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serious crayons:
I'm currently paying $5 a month insurance on each of my family's three phones, so $180 a year. The insurance has a $50 deductible -- in other words, it will replace a broken or lost phone, but it costs $50. My kids tend to lose or break their phones approximately once a year. My own phone, which is about two years old, has stopped working.

I see that you can get iPhones and other phones that are much nicer than my Razor on eBay for under $70. They say "unlocked" and say they work with AT&T. Obviously this makes more sense economically than paying $60 a year insurance plus $50 deductible for replacement phones.

My question: If I were to buy one of these eBay phones (or any AT&T phone from anywhere outside of an AT&T store), can I just put my SIM card in the new phone and have it work? Will that phone then have my phone's number? Are there any other issues I should consider before buying a phone off eBay?

This might seem like an elementary question to some, but keep in mind that I'm not very tech-literate.

Front-Ranger:
It depends. My phone supplier, Verizon, uses a proprietary technology, so I can't use the chip in non-Verizon phones. But you may be able to with other suppliers.

louisev:
The SIM card IS your phone number.  However, it has to be put into a compatible device.  If the Ebay phone says "AT&T phone" or something of that nature then you're good to go, except - pay through Paypal, that way you can get the Paypay insurance if you get stiffed on the item on "not as advertised."

serious crayons:
OK, thanks, F-R and Louise. I'm going to cancel the insurance, then.

Meanwhile, I got my phone working again, but my kids both still need new phones. I realized I probably shouldn't buy a new AT&T phone myself just now because I am going to try to get out of my contract when it expires in September. My kids will be stuck with that plan for much longer, though, because they have bought new phones along the way, and to do that AT&T made them re-up their contract. Which, I suspect, they will try to use to keep me from getting out of mine, because mine is the primary account.

I just hate AT&T.

Yesterday, I had some cable/internet issues, and had a Comcast repairman out. He told me someone had slashed a tire on his Comcast truck in his driveway the previous night. He said he didn't have any enemies, so we both agreed that it was probably somebody who hates Comcast. He was worried, though, because they just found out his wife is pregnant, and she lost the last baby due to stress. Now they have to lie in bed every night wondering if there are Comcast-hating vandals in their front yard.

Oddly enough, I like Comcast. They have started a campaign to win back customer good will, and it really shows. I've had nothing but good experiences with them. It's AT&T I hate. I've had nothing but BAD experiences with them. If I saw an AT&T truck, it would be all I could do to keep from slashing its tires.

brokeplex:

--- Quote from: serious crayons on August 16, 2009, 12:43:25 pm ---I'm currently paying $5 a month insurance on each of my family's three phones, so $180 a year. The insurance has a $50 deductible -- in other words, it will replace a broken or lost phone, but it costs $50. My kids tend to lose or break their phones approximately once a year. My own phone, which is about two years old, has stopped working.

I see that you can get iPhones and other phones that are much nicer than my Razor on eBay for under $70. They say "unlocked" and say they work with AT&T. Obviously this makes more sense economically than paying $60 a year insurance plus $50 deductible for replacement phones.

My question: If I were to buy one of these eBay phones (or any AT&T phone from anywhere outside of an AT&T store), can I just put my SIM card in the new phone and have it work? Will that phone then have my phone's number? Are there any other issues I should consider before buying a phone off eBay?

This might seem like an elementary question to some, but keep in mind that I'm not very tech-literate.



--- End quote ---
you may be wasting money on the insurance, a better alternative for the kids might be cheap disposable prepaid phones with no frills.

you can get them in kiosks in malls all over. if they lose them, no big deal, and when they run out of minutes, you have control over how many you wish them to use.

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