Dumb phone plan question

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Rikkitic

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#306364 16-Jul-2023 15:41

I have a really stupid question. I am an official old person. By choice I have never had a cell phone of any kind so I know nothing whatsoever about them. Now I have come to the decision that I need to have one for safety reasons. I have been looking at provider sites and talking to some helpbots (artificial and human) but I can’t seem to find the answers I need. I hope someone here can help me out.

1. I think I have found the phone I want. It is locked to One so I have been looking there at plans, but I have also checked Spark and 2 degrees. The 2 degrees site is the only one that makes sense to me but my location is remote and their coverage here is spotty.

2. I don’t usually use the phone much. I don’t like phones. I also don’t like Facebook, Twitter and so on. If I need to communicate, I use email. The people who communicate with me know that. The phone would mainly be for emergencies. It would also replace the current house phone for the rare occasions when I do need to make or receive a phone call.

3. The preceding means I need a minimum usage (prepay?) phone ‘plan’. Ideally, I want something that costs very little and lasts for a year. I don’t want something that requires constant attention or automatically makes charges. I just want to pay a moderate annual fee that keeps the phone active. If I actually use it for something, then of course I would pay extra for any calls I make.

4. I see plans that expire after 365 days (what I want) but ‘renew’ every 28 days. What does that mean? Do I have to pay for it again each month? What is it renewing if I don’t make any calls during that period? Are there other hidden charges? Do I have to top it up each month if I haven’t used it? How do I renew it when it expires after a year? I don’t want to lose the number. No-one I have talked to seems able to explain these things to me.

If anyone feels like helping me make sense of this, it would be much appreciated. Mucho thanks in advance.

Be kind. I am elderly.

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#3104793 16-Jul-2023 15:58

2degrees provides WiFi calling which works the same as your handset connected to the local cell-site but it works over Wi-Fi

Further to this 2degrees Prepay plans are true monthly plans not the 28 day rubbish

2degrees is the only carrier that also only allows true 12 month carryover of unused minutes / data

Handle9

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#3104794 16-Jul-2023 16:17

Most/all prepay providers allow an annual minimum topup to keep your connection alive.

I have an NZ number which I’ve had for more than 15 years and I pay $5 a year to keep it going. If I’m in NZ I’ll throw so credit on it for a plan but otherwise I’m just using casual rates. The $5 credit expires after a year but I don’t care, it gives me an NZ number for banking etc.

If you just want the phone for calling emergency services that’s what I’d do.

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#3104800 16-Jul-2023 16:40

@Rikkitic did you want a:

smartphone that you can do email on if needed, but will have to charge it every day (or charge it and switch it off) to keep its battery full for emergencies, or
a dumb phone with a 1-2 week battery life that you can use for calls and send short txt messages on?

An advantage of a modern mid-range smartphone is the WiFi Calling. If you are in a flakey signal area the phone will talk to the cell network via your home WiFi and internet. I live in suburban Auckland but down in a bit of a dip. Calls would frequently drop or be of low quality. When my provider switched on WiFi calling and I enabled it on my phone, my call quality and reliability improved significantly. For WiFi calling to work, the feature needs to be enabled on your smartphone, and your smartphone model needs to be officially supported by your cell provider of choice.

A dumb phone like this one Cat B40 - Catphones New Zealand makes calls and sends the occasional text message, and that's about it. While its technically possible to send email on it, you'd have to be filled with an inner hatred of yourself that is hotter than the sun to bother trying. Charge it. Give it a test. Switch it off and chuck it in a drawer. Have a note on your calendar to drag it out of the drawer once a month to make a quick call on it to ensure its still doing what its supposed to do. Switch it off and chuck it in the drawer again. Charge it with the change of the season. If I read above that you are going to retire the house phone and use this instead, then of course it can stay out of the drawer. This particular model should work on any NZ network and with any plan. It won't do WiFi calling so you would need good coverage from the network provider.

As for plans... which provider gives the best coverage at home?

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#3104816 16-Jul-2023 16:57

Make sure ANY phone you decide to buy supports voice over LTE. Most if not all sold via Spark, One or 2 Degrees should have voice over LTE support, but if you buy from parallel importers etc., your milage may vary.

Locked phones generally can be unlocked after a period of time or by paying $30. (https://one.nz/help/mobile-phones/unlock/#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20charge%20to,less%20than%209%20months%20ago.)

You may need to see if the other operators support that device too if you intend to use it with alternative carriers.

With 3G shutdowns not too far away, the last thing you want to have happen is to be restricted to data and text messaging only.

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WWHeisenberg

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#3104817 16-Jul-2023 16:58

I have elderly parents/in-laws which I help support in this type of situation on a regular basis.

The best advice I have for you is the following -

Understand which providers (2degrees, Spark etc) have the best coverage for you.

Find a phone which you are going to be able to use and one which you can receive the best support from family & friends. As when something happens to the phone which you don't understand (unfortunately this might happen more often than you think especially since this is all new to you) eg you accidentally press a button & you don't know what to do next because you have gone into an area of the phone you have never been before and you don't know how to get back to an area you do know/understand.

There are generally 3 different types of options on how to pay for usage of the phone (Plan types)-

-Casual (Very expensive for extended use) Generally speaking you pay/top up your account providing credit which you then use to pay for each phone call (Please note you get charged for BOTH receiving & sending calls). Once you have used up all the credit you will not be able to make/receive calls again until there is more credit on your account. Suggest you find out how best to monitor your credit balance. Also please ensure you know how to turn off your data as this will also use your credit (I can't stress that enough - sorry not meaning to scare you but it is a trap for early users of this technology).

-Prepaid is the next option. Again you start by having credit in your account for which you then use to purchase a "prepaid plan". You will want to find the cheapest plan that your provider has. The plan will provide you with a quantity of text messages/data/minutes (phone calls). This will cover you so long as you don't use up all the minutes for that period (either 28 days or a month - again depends on the provider). At the end of the 28 days/month - you lose all the data/text messages/minutes in that plan & have to purchase a new plan for the next month etc. The next level of prepaid plans (which are more expensive) you can keep/rollover any unused portion of that plan. But again only if you purchase another month of that same plan (or whatever minimum the telco states).

-Then there are open term plans - which are aimed at high users ie not you.

You will keep your account (phone number) valid so long as you top up your account once within the 365 period (which effectively would only be an issue if you use the casual rates option - as otherwise you would be regularly topping up your account in order to pay for a monthly prepaid option).

There is some helpful information if you google Moneyhub compare mobile plans.

There are also options for making phone calls using using wifi which can be helpful to help keep your expenses down but obviously this doesn't help you make phone calls when away from your property etc. Again this would need more help to set up etc.

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#3104861 16-Jul-2023 20:34

if it is replacing a house phone . . . then why not just get something like the skinny $9 every four week plan.
It's going to work out cheaper no matter which way you look at it.

Otherwise, as far as I am aware, all prepay operators do not require you to sign on to a fixed plan but let you pay casual rates - although the casual rates are usually very expensive (skinny = 40 cents per min, 20 cents per text)
You just need to ensure you top up at least every twelve months.

Rikkitic

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#3104891 17-Jul-2023 01:27

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am working my way through them. I still don’t have a clear picture of what would actually work best for me, but every bit helps.

A couple of points: First, I don’t think wi-fi calling would be useful for me. I live remotely and don’t have fibre. My Internet is a WISP. That is more likely to go down than any phone connection I might have. My current phone depends on the Internet and one reason I want a cell phone is to act as a backup for when the Internet isn’t working. Also, I’m not sure which provider has the best coverage of my address. A friend with 2 Degrees says her connection is intermittent when at my place. The coverage maps of One and Spark both show my location as marginal, though other people with phones (I don’t know their providers) don’t seem to have any problems. I do know 3G is being phased out and I am only looking for phones with 4G LTE technology.

I am still uncertain about the different pre-pay plans though I’m sure I don’t want anything more than that. The Moneyhub site and NZ Pocket Guide have helped clarify things a lot. I have a much better understanding of the options than I did before. Again, thanks for the tips.

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Handle9

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#3104893 17-Jul-2023 04:21

Given you’re rural it’s more likely than not that 2degrees won’t work be the best option.

Generally (but YMMV) Spark is the best option for rural areas. You could buy a One sim and a spark Sim and compare them. For a minimal cost you can get real world experience rather than rely on coverage maps. They are normally ok but you can’t beat testing what you have in the real world.

If you can try to write down how you’ll use the phone. Roughly how many minutes each month, how much data (if any) how many texts. That’ll help define your problem and then you can match it to a solution from a provider.

One nice thing, especially if you are on prepay, is that you can port your number between providers. This means if you start with Spark and at a later day want to move to One you can keep your number. It means you aren’t locked in if your initial estimate is off and you can get a better deal elsewhere.

Rikkitic

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#3104970 17-Jul-2023 10:59

Handle9: Most/all prepay providers allow an annual minimum topup to keep your connection alive.

I have an NZ number which I’ve had for more than 15 years and I pay $5 a year to keep it going. If I’m in NZ I’ll throw so credit on it for a plan but otherwise I’m just using casual rates. The $5 credit expires after a year but I don’t care, it gives me an NZ number for banking etc.

If you just want the phone for calling emergency services that’s what I’d do.

I literally almost never use the phone at all. My wild guess would be maybe four or five calls a year to an 0800 number or an official department. I don’t receive many more than that, mostly scammers and charities. Practically everything I do I do on-line. I just need the phone for emergencies, car trips into town, and to not be without any phone.

Can you tell me more about your $5 NZ number? Do you just get a plan and then let it expire? I assume everything stops working when it does expire and you also can’t receive calls. Ideally I would like something that remains active all the time, I just hate paying for something I don’t really use. A ‘casual’ account as explained by @WWHeisenberg might work for me but I’m not sure how to set that up. I also would not want to have to pay to receive calls. Voicemail is important to me. I use that as a scam filter.

Thanks again for any advice. Geekzone is terrific for this kind of thing.

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Eva888

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#3104973 17-Jul-2023 11:01

In your case don’t get tied to a locked phone and plan. Use prepay whichever company you choose.

As above, Skinny is the poor relative of Spark so coverage may be better than One. It will cost $2 to buy a Skinny Sim and most supermarkets have them. Try it out on your phone of choice to see how many bars of reception show. You can walk it around the property and check where you get the best reception as there may be pockets where it’s better to make calls.

With a Skinny sim you can add on a monthly plan of $9 which gives you 100 minutes free calls to Oz and NZ, unlimited texts and 250 MB of data ( which you can just ignore if you don’t need it but nice to have in an emergency).

If you don’t top up your sim with money (credit) at least once a year the Skinny sim lapses and you will need to get a new one and you lose the phone number.

What this means is that you could put in a sim loaded with say $10 and never use it for an entire year and it will receive calls until it’s one year birthday before which time you need to top it up with another $10 again or the number will be lost as it will have lapsed. Then you will need a new SIM card.

Actually you can keep the sim alive with only $5 per year but I say $10 to allow for a text or odd call. Pricing for per minute calls and texts when they are outside of a plan are a lot higher and will chew through your credit faster.

If you plan to make calls or texts and use the phone for more than just an emergency, then the $9 prepay rollover plan for 28 days will be more than sufficient. You can start with $50 top up and that will last you 5 months and it will just roll over every 28 days with any input from you. Then you will need to top up again.

Top ups can be purchased from many dairies and supermarkets or made online via your phone or computer. It’s really easy and you will learn fast when you try the phone out yourself.

I do hope you choose a phone that is a little bit smart and has the option to connect to the internet in an emergency. Anything new is confusing until you have hands on. Being older doesn’t always equate to inability. You manage to use IPTV and Kodi which many here don’t, so this is a walk in the park for you.

https://www.skinny.co.nz/pricing/plans/

Coverage map https://www.skinny.co.nz/coverage

Rikkitic

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#3104975 17-Jul-2023 11:12

farcus:

if it is replacing a house phone . . . then why not just get something like the skinny $9 every four week plan.
It's going to work out cheaper no matter which way you look at it.

Otherwise, as far as I am aware, all prepay operators do not require you to sign on to a fixed plan but let you pay casual rates - although the casual rates are usually very expensive (skinny = 40 cents per min, 20 cents per text)
You just need to ensure you top up at least every twelve months.

Thanks for the tip. I am looking at Skinny and may go with them, but haven't decided yet. I don't see any $9 plan though, just $17.

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Rikkitic

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#3104979 17-Jul-2023 11:19

Eva888: In your case don’t get tied to a locked phone and plan. Use prepay whichever company you choose.

As above, Skinny is the poor relative of Spark so coverage may be better than One. It will cost $2 to buy a Skinny Sim and most supermarkets have them. Try it out on your phone of choice to see how many bars of reception show. You can walk it around the property and check where you get the best reception as there may be pockets where it’s better to make calls.

With a Skinny sim you can add on a monthly plan of $9 which gives you 100 minutes free calls to Oz and NZ, unlimited texts and 250 MB of data ( which you can just ignore if you don’t need it but nice to have in an emergency).

If you don’t top up your sim with money (credit) at least once a year the Skinny sim lapses and you will need to get a new one and you lose the phone number.

What this means is that you could put in a sim loaded with say $10 and never use it for an entire year and it will receive calls until it’s one year birthday before which time you need to top it up with another $10 again or the number will be lost as it will have lapsed. Then you will need a new SIM card.

Actually you can keep the sim alive with only $5 per year but I say $10 to allow for a text or odd call. Pricing for per minute calls and texts when they are outside of a plan are a lot higher and will chew through your credit faster.

If you plan to make calls or texts and use the phone for more than just an emergency, then the $9 prepay rollover plan for 28 days will be more than sufficient. You can start with $50 top up and that will last you 5 months and it will just roll over every 28 days with any input from you. Then you will need to top up again.

Top ups can be purchased from many dairies and supermarkets or made online via your phone or computer. It’s really easy and you will learn fast when you try the phone out yourself.

I do hope you choose a phone that is a little bit smart and has the option to connect to the internet in an emergency. Anything new is confusing until you have hands on. Being older doesn’t always equate to inability. You manage to use IPTV and Kodi which many here don’t, so this is a walk in the park for you.

https://www.skinny.co.nz/pricing/plans/

Coverage map https://www.skinny.co.nz/coverage

This sounds like exactly what I want, except I cannot find any reference to a $9 plan. The cheapest thing on their site seems to be $17. Where does the $9 come from?

I don't see the value of an Internet-enabled phone. As I explained, my ISP is a WISP and in any emergency I would just dial 111.

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