Unlocked 521 on Prepaid Card?

[Cyterio]

Can anyone tell me if I can use an unlocked Nokia 521 with the $100 At&t Prepaid card that's good for a year? I am looking at activate this phone for a family member who will only be using it for calls on rare occasions. I know a feature phone can easily be used but this is for an older family member who can easily see and use the larger tiles that windows phone offers.
I currently have an At&t 925 and T-Mobile unlocked 521 on a family share plan with At&t. I want to use the extra unlocked 521 as a prepaid phone, voice and text only but have heard At&t might initially allow it but come back and penalize you if they find out its a smartphone. Can anyone shed and light on this as to whether its true or not?

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[palandri]

A couple of things

They will want you to have a data plan if it's a smartphone, but you can probably get a minimal data plan, like 100mb

A $100 prepaid card doesn't expire for a year, but it doesn't give you a year of service. I think the minimum talk & text prepaid plan is $25 a month.

There's alternatives that use the AT&T network like:

Go Red Pocket | Unlimited cell phone plans | Prepaid wireless phones

https://www.h2owirelessnow.com/mainControl.php?page=index

Aio Wireless

 

[AndyCalling]

Wouldn't a pay as you go sim be a better deal? Then you have no obligations at all and you would only have to pay for the sim up front which, in the UK, would be ?5 to ?10.

 

[palandri]

Wouldn't a pay as you go sim be a better deal? Then you have no obligations at all and you would only have to pay for the sim up front which, in the UK, would be ?5 to ?10.

I am pretty sure that's what he's talking about. Prepaid cards in the states normally point towards pay as you go.

 

[AndyCalling]

Oh, right. It seemed different because in the UK the phone I use a PAYG sim on is my choice (unlocking aside) and it's not the business of the phone company to dictate what I connect or how I use it. Also, there is no monthly fee (such as the $25 monthly minimum mentioned here) which made this sound like a monthly contract deal to me. In the UK PAYG means exactly that. Is there really no-one who just sells a basic sim in the US which you charge up with, say, $10 whenever you need more credit?

 

[Cyterio]

Right, I was looking at a pay as you go type service. In the past, there was a plan that cost .10 a minute and .25 per text and I would buy a $100 refill card and be good for the year. This is basically an emergency phone that is kept in a vehicle so its really not going to get used regularly. All I want to have to do is buy a new card once a year to keep service on it. Didn't want to have to worry about data plans and monthly payments.

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[palandri]

Right, I was looking at a pay as you go type service. In the past, there was a plan that cost .10 a minute and .25 per text and I would buy a $100 refill card and be good for the year. This is basically an emergency phone that is kept in a vehicle so its really not going to get used regularly. All I want to have to do is buy a new card once a year to keep service on it. Didn't want to have to worry about data plans and monthly payments.

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Understood. I had a GoPhone account for a couple of years. i used the SIM card on my work phone. They've changed the plans around a few times, but that 10cents a minute plan may still be available. I am not sure.

 

[Cyterio]

Just wanted to update everyone:
I went to At&t and picked up a GoPhone sim card and put $10 on it, just to test it. I think it breaks down to .10 a minute, and .20 for texts sent/received. Popped the sim in the unlocked Lumia 521 and fired it up. Works perfect! I was able to make and receive calls and send and receive texts. I'm going to run the rest of this $10 card out then go with the $100 card that's good for the year. Thanks for all the help!

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[AndyCalling]

Make sure you turn all data use off in the phone settings. Otherwise your credit will leak away.

 

[Cyterio]

Yes I already unchecked that settings box to disable data. Thanks!

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