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I knew the day was coming when our last-of-the-era flip phones would be phased out, and that date is now December 31st. Our carrier Sprint merged with T-Mobil and now they are attempting to "upgrade" customers to 5G-capable Smartphones, it seems. At least, that is the impression we get at the local store. Got a letter last month warning that after December, our reliable Kyoceras bandwidth will "no longer be supported." Offering to replace our old devices with 5G phones. For the reason that brought me to this website, I'd really like not to be forced to replace these phones with "new and improved" versions that seem to all include WiFi/Internet connectivity.

I'm not a tech gal, so being forced to shop for this mandatory switch is proving to be a challenge. From the little I've found online, we are looking at a Jitterbug senior phone, or ....? I know we cannot be alone in this situation, and hope some of you fellow travellers have ideas? TIA

You don't have to go all the way to 5g, but they will push that as those are more profitable to sell. They are retiring the CMDA(old voice), 3g, and sprint LTE over the next six months. 4g phones will be fine as long as it supports VoLTE and most do at this point. You're not really going to get a dumb flip phone though as they are moving to voice over LTE (voice over the data network) instead of having separate voice signaling. Verizon, who dropped their cmda a couple of years ago, has a kyocera duraxv extreme and kyocera cadence lte listed with their basic 4g phones. You're probably going to need to get an unlocked ones as it doesn't appear that t-mobile is selling Kyocera any longer.

I use my phone for voice and text. The screen on my pretty new Samsung S20 5G is great, but my eyes aren't. I occasionally use it for Internet stuff, but almost always that's on my home wi-fi network. One thing I hate about cell phone data is what seems like immense amounts of data being used just to update apps every month. Our car has a GPS, so I can live without Google maps....

I've use Ting for several years, and I used Fi for 4 months (to get a fantastic discount on a phone). I've been delighted with Ting, and I had no problems with Fi.

Our Ting bill for 2 smart phones used only for voice and text is under $25/month total for under 100 minutes of voice and under 100 texts/month. My phone is usually on T-Mobile's network and sometimes on Verizon's, but I pay Ting, and Ting pays the network operators.

On Fi, unlimited voice and text was $20 for one phone, $36 for 2, plus taxes and fees, of course, and data is extra.

Our son uses Mint Mobile and is very happy.

Ting, Mint Mobile, and, I think, Fi belong to the class called MVNOs - Mobile Virtual Network Operator. Consumer Cellular, which advertises a lot on the TV I watch, is yet another. My reco is to find out which MVNOs service the areas you need serviced and look at their reviews (when I last looked, for example, StraightTalk looked good but had scads of complaints). An MVNO may be a much better choice for you than Verizon or T-Mobile or ATT.

I'd get a 5G phone now, because I use phones for 4 years or more. IIRC, there are 2 5G bands. Some phones call themselves '5G' but only use one of the bands. I'd look for a full 5G phone.

Well, today I spent several tortuous hours going from the T-Mobile Store to the Verizon Store, and then to the AT&T Store, all in the same shopping center in a city I went to for a dental appointment. Oh yes, my dental hygienist had also switched from T-Mobil to XFinity, and she said they liked it, so I hit that store, too. All they have is Smart-type phones, Apples.

What a long, fruitless afternoon of Tech Talk, and I wish I was more informed, but all I am now is confused.

Sisoon, I appreciate the suggestion about looking into "Mobile Virtual Network Operator" providers, not sure if they serve this area. Will have to see, but want no "Smart" phones for this household.

Grubs, good comments about the phasing out of our phones, and all. Question I have about us getting our own "unlocked" 4G phones: I guess I can try to shop them on Amazon or Ebay or somewhere, then see if the carrier will let me import ones we buy, besides the ones they sell on their floor? I haven't begun to look into that, either. (OK, I just checked here now for the Kyocera Cadence 4G which the local Verizon didn't offer, and saw one on EBay, but it's equipped with Wifi, so I presume it is pre-loaded with a browser, which would be a problem. Some of the "basic" flip phones I looked at today, were like that.

Maybe Jitterbug phones with a camera??

Thanks again.

Any phone that works after the change is going to have to have a data network in order to do the voice over data. Since they have that browser and other internet type things are likely to be thrown in. In fact most common cell phone operating systems come with those apps built in. I had thought that the kyocera dura xv was a candidate as it was listed as not having internet on a page of phones without, but kyocera lists mobile web as a feature. The other phones on that list that I checked were 3g phones which won't help you.

Carriers usually have a lookup webpage to verify that a phone will work on their network. T-mobiles is on their Bring your own unlocked phone. You'll need the unique IMEI number of the phone though so it's kind of hard to do that pre-purchase.

I haven't purchased a phone from my carrier for over 10 years. I like to have my phones get updates outside of the 1st year and Verizon has a tendency to stop once they discontinue selling the model new. When I'm shopping for a new phone I also try to verify that a review or two mentions that it works on my carrier. I've purchased phones from Amazon(branded Motos), Motorola(moto G), and Google (pixels). They were all mid range smart phones though. I avoid Ebay as you have no idea whether the phone is truly unlocked or stolen. If stolen and reported a phone can be blocked from working by the IMEI #. Amazon is better but even then I try to ensure that it is Amazon doing the selling as new not a 3rd party.

[This message edited by grubs at 4:27 PM, Wednesday, November 10th]

Actually, Ting is selling a non-smart phone that will work on today's networks. If you text, though, a smart phone is way more convenient, albeit way more expensive.

Xfinity is an MVNO, so you've got at least one in your neighborhood.

Consumer Cellular also sells a flip phone, though they mostly sell smart phone. They probably cover your area, too.

Cell phone calls make use of the 'net, but calls don't count as 'data'. My plans with Fi and Ting include charges for all data, starting with the first bit. My calls may have been transmitted via the 'net, but I haven't been charged for any data.

Thank you both for helping with this search!

Last night I actually looked up the Jitterbug phones I've heard are designed for use by old folks (ahem...we're there) and was very surprised to see that they have a "dumb" flip phone with ALL the features we currently use, like text, sending/receiving photos, vibrate, caller ID, alarm settings, even a camera (8 mega pixels, possibly better than what we now have) and a bunch of other features. Although the JitterbugFlip2 is not "mil spec" like the Kyoceras we now use, it's not a flimsy looking, flat piece of plastic, either.

Best Buy sells these, and they're now called Lively. I actually read through all 18 pages of BestBuy's FAQs and learned much, mostly good. The network they "piggyback on" was said to be Verizon; I didn't verify today, but if so, his occasional international calls to family should be feasible, from what I read...even if they wouldn't be as cheap as T-Mobil ($10.00 a month for overseas calling, worldwide). But it's not like he calls his Mum every week.... If everything else is really as I saw it, well...these Jitterbugs may not be such a step down! (We are both getting to the stage in life where large-type, back-lit screens will be appreciated!)