Consumer Advice

BigmanPigman

(52,357 posts) Wed Feb 5, 2020, 04:50 PM Feb 2020

My 2012 Verizon 4G cell phone died. What is a good cell phone to get?

I do not take it with me unless I think I might need it. I basically use it for emergencies (if the electricity goes out, etc) and to call long distance, no texting, no extra fancy stuff. What should I get....

1. A new phone for a few hundred $$$ and get a cell phone service separately through Verizon, Sprint, T Mobile, ...?
2. A phone that comes with a plan and is $0 bit costs $10 a month for 18 months?

Also, cam the people at the cell phone store switch my photos and contacts to a new phone if the old one is dead?

2 replies

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My 2012 Verizon 4G cell phone died. What is a good cell phone to get? (Original Post) BigmanPigman Feb 2020 OP

get a used samsung for verizon Kali Feb 2020 #1

Getting stuff off depends on just how dead it is ... mr_lebowski Feb 2020 #2

Kali

(55,876 posts)

1. get a used samsung for verizon

Reply to BigmanPigman (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2020, 05:02 PM

Feb 2020

lots of places to get them, I often use cellular country.com, but there are others even Amazon. don't know how up to date you want to be, but the Galaxy 5s have good functionality and cameras. I think the 7s are the ones that were catching on fire? or maybe it was the 6s and the 7s you can't replace battery? I don't remember now but there are even newer ones, that you can spend all kinds of $ on. I would never buy a new phone.

https://www.cellularcountry.com/

verizon has best coverage as far as I know, full no limit data, calls, text, and Mexico too for about 45/mo.

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)

2. Getting stuff off depends on just how dead it is ...

Reply to BigmanPigman (Original post)

Wed Feb 5, 2020, 05:14 PM

Feb 2020

'Dead' can mean a variety of things.

Did you ever put an SD memory card in it? If so maybe your pics & stuff are on that, in which case you're golden, just pop it out and move it to the next phone.

If you ever plugged it into your PC via USB you may've backed them up at some point also. A lot of phones have an automated process to do so when plugged into a PC.

Check the Motorola phones, they have a few decent, inexpensive phones and if you buy one like on Amazon TTBOMK they are 'unlocked' and can be hooked up to your choice of carriers including Verizon. SOME phones on Amazon say 'unlocked' but have limited carriers, when this is the case, IIRC typically they'll work on AT&T and T-Mobile (these ones are unlocked but GSM networks only) but not Verizon (CDMA network).

Not sure WRT unlocked phones working on Sprint, but Sprint kinda sucks IMHO ...

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