Ah, good. That's just not the picture you get from the outside.

Post #440,819 by CRConrad 2/4/22 4:04:40 AM 2/4/22 4:04:40 AM Reply	Ah, good. That's just not the picture you get from the outside. Not living (or ever having been to) the US, I only see it from the outside, via the Internet. The impression I got was that buying a phone "off-contract" (is that what it's called?) and then getting a contract for it was nigh-impossible, if not technically then because they make "no-device" contracts so expensive that it's economically ultra-irrational. If it ain't so, then that's good. (Though I still suspect the big providers are ddoing their best to push things in that direction?) -- Christian R. Conrad The Man Who Apparently Still Knows Fucking Everything Mail: Same username as at the top left of this post, at iki.fi
Post #440,824 by InThane 2/4/22 11:31:23 AM 2/4/22 11:31:23 AM Reply	I buy my own device, then get service from somebody else. Much cheaper that way IMO, and gives me flexibility to leave when I want. Currently using Mint Mobile (https://www.mintmobile.com/) which works pretty well for me and is cheap to boot. Ceterum autem censeo pars Republican esse delendam.
Post #440,827 by CRConrad 2/4/22 5:14:51 PM 2/4/22 5:14:51 PM Reply	A guy who worked at one of the biggest phone and Internet providers in Finland (actually... ...actually my erstwhile phone and current Internet provider) -- they were our customer at my previous job, and he was our liasion for DW stuff -- once told me that of course he was subscribed to his employer's phone network, but whenever he needed a new device for himself or his family, he went to the competitors' websites and bought it from one of them. AIUI, so there would be no possibility of getting cught in a "bundle" deal. (Then he went and died -- he was just a few years older than me, and this was just a few years ago, so at pretty much the age I am now, I think -- and a while later I stopped working there. So, yeah... And yes, "a few years ago", so not from Covid-19.) I knew (or assumed) you could do stuff like that in the US too, but I'd got the impression it was much harder and rarer there than it seems from you guys. -- Christian R. Conrad The Man Who Apparently Still Knows Fucking Everything Mail: Same username as at the top left of this post, at iki.fi
Post #440,837 by crazy 2/5/22 2:25:56 AM 2/5/22 2:25:56 AM Reply	This would be a reasonable opinion a few years back. In the early days the cell companies would lock a phone to their network. And they would cause major hassles to people when they wanted to move networks because a person would have to get a new phone and a new phone number. Then it became law that they had to provide portable phone numbers so you take your phone number with you no matter where you go. All the sudden there were companies saying come to us and bring your phone. So we have decent competition in that arena since we just carry our number with us wherever we go and the phone companies now fight for us. They don't care if you bring sure own phone. The signals were standardized years ago.
Post #440,842 by scoenye 2/5/22 10:25:31 AM 2/5/22 10:25:31 AM Reply	Not quite there yet If Verizon handed you a phone that only does CDMA, you still can't take it to ATT. And the other way around with a GSM only device. The upper end models can handle both systems these days, but the low end phones may not. It may work better with the secondary carriers if they have contracts with Verizon and ATT/T-Mobile.
Post #440,845 by crazy 2/5/22 12:55:46 PM 2/5/22 12:55:46 PM Reply	I stopped thinking about that years ago There is a certain entry level phone that is simply a requirement to play the game. If someone wants to buy a disposable phone that's their decision. Sure they still sell locked in flip phones or entry-level second-tier devices. But the next tier up is only $100.

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