Basic phone advice
titanjeff
Enthusiast - Level 2

I currently have a KIN2 which has been hit and miss the last two years. It's now time for us to upgrade so am looking for a basic phone which is good for texting (which we do more than talk).

I'm not seeing a lot of good ratings for Verizon's offerings. I don't care about camera, music or browsing. It's all about texting/voice for us.

Thanks for any advice in advanced.

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Re: Basic phone advice
tikibar1
Community Leader
Community Leader

There were a couple of threads on this forum within the past few months talking about the basic phone offerings and pros/cons of several of them if you want to do a search.  Several of the ones mentioned are older Verizon phones that you would have to get off ebay or the like, such as the LG env3 and the Samsung Reality.

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Re: Basic phone advice
SydneyK
Master - Level 3

As tikibar1 said, poke around and see what you find for threads.

The basic phone I remember reading a lot of positive reviews on is the LG Octane (flip QWERTY), which you'd have to buy off contract elsewhere. Otherwise, in addition to those mentioned above, I'd look at the Samsung Intensity II (which is also slightly more rugged), LG Cosmos 2 or the discontinued Cosmos Touch (slide-out QWERTY).

I'm sure there are others I'm missing, but that's a start. I hope you both find something you like.

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Re: Basic phone advice
titanjeff
Enthusiast - Level 2

Thanks for the replies.

I ran a search and didn't see any reviews but I'll check again.

I was unaware the Verizon would activate a phone which is not offered through them. If I can go out and find my own, they can activate it for me?

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Re: Basic phone advice
tikibar1
Community Leader
Community Leader

Unless it's a really old phone and not compatible with current plans, you can activate any Verizon branded phone with a clean ESN.

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Re: Basic phone advice
tikibar1
Community Leader
Community Leader

Forgot to mention that you can activate the phone yourself by dialing *228 (as long as it's a basic or 3G phone; a 4G phone would require a new SIM card) or via your on-line MyVerizon account.

Re: Basic phone advice
titanjeff
Enthusiast - Level 2

Nice.

And I don't have to renew my plan to activate a phone I purchase elsewhere?

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Re: Basic phone advice
rcschnoor
Legend

titanjeff wrote:

Nice.

And I don't have to renew my plan to activate a phone I purchase elsewhere?

It depends on what you mean by "purchase it elsewhere". If you purchase it at Best Buy, Amazon or some similar retailer at a reduced rate subsidized by Verizon, then yes you would have to renew your plan.

If you get it from ebay, swappa.com or similar website, then no you would not have to renew your plan.

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Re: Basic phone advice
tikibar1
Community Leader
Community Leader
Re: Basic phone advice
titanjeff
Enthusiast - Level 2

I've found some through Amazon but it's a third-party, no contract, refurbished phone.

Just so I am clear. I can buy this phone and call Verizon to activate (and replace my current phone) and they won't stick me with activation fees, extend my contract or do anything else which impacts my current plan?

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