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Cheapest Phone Sim Card?

trichcycler

By trichcycler
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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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without hard line service I now need a cellular dialer to alert me to power failures.

DTE app is handy, but it doesnt alert when my house looses power.

I can use a walmart phone, activated, as a live motion cam and at the same time to text me

in the event of a grow room power failure. When motion is detected the phone can record, be accessed with another smart phone too. I've never played with prepaid. But this seems to be my best option.

No or long expiry time is needed, even traded for expensive per text charges.

 

thanks to anyone who's used these pay as you go phones before.

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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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looks like the cheap phones wont work here, but the smarter ones will! .

the minutes look like they xpire in 90 days, so webby says reup minutes every 90 for 20$, not a bad deal at all. thaks tpain, almost done searching.

my carrier want near 20$ a month to add a device to my plan after taxes/fees.

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zachw Advanced Member

zachw

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I saw this, strange, free, but actually 19.99/month. seems scammy when you check availability. I'll red some reviews, thanks for the link!

aha, its an internet phone, using an app to make calls over broadband-I think.

 

No, not internet only. You do have to buy one of their phones but other than they havre a totally free plan with limits, with modest fee for overage.

 

http://www.reviews.com/4g-mobile-broadband/freedompop/

Edited by zachw
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mibrains Advanced Member

mibrains

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I have been using republic wireless for about 2 yeas now....

it's $10 a month for unlimited text and voice..unlimited Internet over wifi.

you have to buy one of their Motorola smart phones.

it uses WiFi when available but switches to cellular when WiFi isn't available.

 

https://republicwireless.com/plans/?gclid=CjwKEAjwgbG5BRDp3oW3qdPiuCwSJAAQmoSDZHUTqylfA5ktupd3fdKA3BifLl7EJ8sIxV_EW4ZfhhoCg6_w_wcB

 

 

It's great if you do not use a lot of data while your away from wifi.

I rarely use my phone for data..I use my tablet most of the time...or my laptop.

if you need lots of data while your away from wifi then you can add data...

IT shows a monthly breakdown and I use wifi 99% of the time.

works perfect for me....especially when you consider it's ten bucks a month...

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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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I have been using republic wireless for about 2 yeas now....

it's 10 a month for unlimited text and voice..unlimited Internet over wifi.

you have to buy one of their Motorola smart phones.

it uses WiFi when available but switches to cellular when WiFi isn't available.

 

https://republicwireless.com/plans/?gclid=CjwKEAjwgbG5BRDp3oW3qdPiuCwSJAAQmoSDZHUTqylfA5ktupd3fdKA3BifLl7EJ8sIxV_EW4ZfhhoCg6_w_wcB

checked that out...seems stand up.

Verizon network-check!

 

thing is I can add a device onto my existing verizon phone for 10$monthly, and its really looking like what I may have to do. all I need is text only, like 3 used per year, never a call, etc.  Verizon is OK, the only service that works for the areas we travel/live in.  I wanted to skip the 15 monthly charges....but in the end, looks like the most reliable for my needs. I guess a couple hundies a year to find out when I lose power is worth it.

 

thanks everyone for the help !

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semicaregiver Advanced Member

semicaregiver

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Somewhat off topic, but how does your system let you know about a loss of power? Does the monitoring website just let you know there is a loss of signal? i.e. I am guessing that your home modem and all the pieces connected to it are 110v and they will all go down with a loss of power. With a loss of power at home, all the monitoring system will see is no response when it pings your system.

 

I mention this as I have had one of the 3M wifi radio thermostats for several years now. My main reason for buying it was I liked that it would notify me of an over temp. event, i.e. A/C failed. Never thought about a complete power failure, but had a sort of ah ha moment when we had a power failure and realized that with the home internet system out, all you could get in the way of info was, "no info, system off line". A secondary ah ha was the system predated my purchase of a smart phone. The only access at that time was checking info online via a web browser. Pretty useless at times when there was a regional power failure. Now they have an app so no problem checking even if there is a power failure at the remote location you are personally located at.

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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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Somewhat off topic, but how does your system let you know about a loss of power? Does the monitoring website just let you know there is a loss of signal? i.e. I am guessing that your home modem and all the pieces connected to it are 110v and they will all go down with a loss of power. With a loss of power at home, all the monitoring system will see is no response when it pings your system.

 

I mention this as I have had one of the 3M wifi radio thermostats for several years now. My main reason for buying it was I liked that it would notify me of an over temp. event, i.e. A/C failed. Never thought about a complete power failure, but had a sort of ah ha moment when we had a power failure and realized that with the home internet system out, all you could get in the way of info was, "no info, system off line". A secondary ah ha was the system predated my purchase of a smart phone. The only access at that time was checking info online via a web browser. Pretty useless at times when there was a regional power failure. Now they have an app so no problem checking even if there is a power failure at the remote location you are personally located at.

couple options there.

wifi/components could be plugged into a reserve power supply, enough to send pics/messages for a few hours.

dte doesnt notify(?) or at least I dont know how to do that yet, but you can see the map and punch in your own address, helpful, but not complete for me.

 

i'll use my cell, with cell service, and a drone cell pugged into a socket, and download a google play app that sends a text when that power is cut.

for instance https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.sjbcomputerconsultants.powercut.free&hl=enbut others are suited well also.

need two phones with cell service.....hence the need for a cheap pay as you go card.....but verizon will be my answer in this one...

 

unless someone can teach me to program dte to remote alert me in case of power failure.....

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semicaregiver Advanced Member

semicaregiver

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Luckily I have not had a problem with A/C or power in over a year so I was a little rusty on what exactly my wifi thermostat does.   I just rechecked the website, radiothermostat.com and noticed that the web based system checks on the thermostat every five minutes and sends an email to me if the thermostat is offline.   While the reason for the thermostat being off line could be a number of issues, i.e. service provider (ATT) down, wifi modem down, other than a power failure, I found that this one simple alarm is ideal for me.

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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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Luckily I have not had a problem with A/C or power in over a year so I was a little rusty on what exactly my wifi thermostat does.   I just rechecked the website, radiothermostat.com and noticed that the web based system checks on the thermostat every five minutes and sends an email to me if the thermostat is offline.   While the reason for the thermostat being off line could be a number of issues, i.e. service provider (ATT) down, wifi modem down, other than a power failure, I found that this one simple alarm is ideal for me.

I wanted this wifi thermo to work for me. I dont have wifi in my grow room unfortunately.

i lose power several times a year, once for 10 days! 

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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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Couldnt you use an UPS system for your PC? Mine sends a message to my PC when it switches to the backup system....I bet there's some way to have that send a text?  HJ

man o man HJ......you may have solved my issue!   this is the most exciting info I've found so far with this endeavor. I wont even need a text....an email alert would suffice.

  wow, I owe you, for real!!  like a finders fee....next time you're driving and see cows, farms, amish buggies.......send me a pm........ :hair:

 

off to shpp for a ups system with email alert.........its gonna be a good day!!

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trichcycler Advanced Member

trichcycler

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Couldnt you use an UPS system for your PC? Mine sends a message to my PC when it switches to the backup system....I bet there's some way to have that send a text?  HJ

ok, so I found several ups that will do the job. one aspect I over looked was my isp. I dont have a hard phone line, or a cable provider. Most of the power losses here occur after some inclement weather. Bad weather makes my internet loses signal  often before my power is lost.

I still owe ya though, its an awesome idea find!

 

200 bucks(smart phone drone is cheaper) and requires a sim card......full circle for me.....

 

Battery_Backup_Power_Cellular_Text_SMS_N

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