Mobile Phone help for a dummy

LindsayT

Currently I have a desktop computer and landline phone and I've seen much cheaper broadband deals without the phone.

So I'm thinking about doing away with the landline and getting a cheap mobile but need a lot of help as I really know nothing about them.

Thinking of buying one outright. What are people's thoughts on that?

I won't need it for internet as I use the computer.

So I only want to make calls, maybe a text but only if necessary.

Wouldn't mind getting the Lidl app LOL but not essential.

Can't think of anything else at the moment, so any help gratefully received.

Forgot to say, I don't make many calls. Don't know if that has any relevance.

flaneurs_lobster

First step, make sure that you have a decent mobile signal where you normally use your landline.

Easiest way is to get friends/family round, get them to check their phone signal and ask them which network they use.

Don't give much mind to the coverage maps that the networks publish, they can't know about your individual indoor conditions.

Then you can start thinking about handsets.

twopenny

A basic one that does calls and texts may be a good start if you've never used one.

That's quite easy when you are new to it and there is a choice now because they tried to get into the 'elderly' market recently.

You won't be able to get any apps for shopping though because it doesn't have internet but it will help you learn to find your way around it.

The smart phones, well I bought one recently that's driving me nuts because the texts thing is hidden. Been shown but now can't find it again 😬 and am about to ask on here. But you can get reasonably priced ones. You need to be able to see the screen of the one you buy because you need to know it suits you which may mean buying from a phone shop at a little more money but worth it for the service.

We have volunteer phone and computer workshops a few hours a week and they would set it up for you and give instructions. See if you have one near you.

You'd need a SIM card to practice. There are Sim firms like 1p Mobile, 1d mobile which do a month for £5. I've got 1p and their website is very easy and clear . They answer an email fairly promptly and are helpful. They don't push you to buy more or send unnecessary messages. You just pay by DD and they leave you alone 😉

elsien

Honestly I would go for a smartphone and data because however much you think carry on using your desktop, if you want to check something quickly doing it on the phone is so much easier than cranking up the desktop.

You can still buy the phone and the SIM separately.

Farway

2P You'd need a SIM card to practice. There are Sim firms like 1p Mobile, 1d mobile which do a month for £5. I've got 1p and their website is very easy and clear . They answer an email fairly promptly and are helpful.
They don't push you to buy more or send unnecessary messages. You just pay by DD and they leave you alone 😉

If you are wary of on line SIM with company you've not heard of, there is always Asda / Tesco, you can go in & buy a SIM card

As you have never had a mobile just fitting a SIM may be daunting for the first time, so consider 2Ps advice about buying from a mobile phone shop, but beware, they are sales people first & foremost, not kindly, helpful strangers. Many a tale of folk walking out with two year contracts on some super phone when all they really needed was a PAYG chap no frills phone

dnpark38

See martins info. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cheap-mobile-finder/

I got the Labara deal.

HonestJohn

I have broadband from Vodafone and a voip 'landline' is free

ScratchyCat

If you want to get lidl app then you obviously need a smartphone. You don't need to spend a fortune on a phone but I wouldn't go for the cheapest either as they tend to be low memory and ram and after a few app and security updates it will be full and therefore slow down.

I have a Samsung that I brought off amazon. Price was £169 and its lasted me 4 years already. I would go for one priced between £100 and £200

I recommend getting a payg sim. Most companies are doing away with payg but there are still some companies. 02 classic sim 321 for example. 1p mobile do low tariff. RWG.

As you are doing away with the phone and its charges you will save money there. So you could go for a monthly rolling sim paying about £5 a month. But as you say you don't make many calls you might be paying to much.

Frozen_up_north

Farway, regarding “If you are wary of on line SIM with company you've not heard of, there is always Asda / Tesco, you can go in & buy a SIM card”.

Plenty of us on here use 1p Mobile, they use the EE network and have great EU + Channel Is and Isle of Man roaming up to 14 GB per month (roaming).

There are no doubt some difficult to use smartphones, a relative has a low end (and now old) Samsung and it’s a pain to use. iPhones are expensive and straightforward to use, Apple Stores give instructions on using them with no pushy salespeople. Equally, I expect a Samsung from a high street phone shop should have someone able to show you the basics and set it up for you.

It is incredibly easy to conduct banking on a phone with facial recognition, and Apple Pay and Google Pay are very straightforward and don’t require you to put a card in a slot and enter a PIN… very quick at the supermarket checkout.

You will find a good smartphone with a reasonable amount of monthly data really useful. £10 (or less) per month on a “non contract” 30 day rolling payment basis, such as those offered by 1p Mobile, or GiffGaff (O2 network) have much better value than the 3 main networks, plus you can easily change networks while keeping your number, you are not stuck in a 12 month (or longer) contract.

finbaar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82016911#Comment_82016911

I have to make a comment on this post. No smartphone from any manufacturer is straightforward to use. None. We get used to a particular manufacturer/operating system and think that is intuitive and other phones are complicated. But that's just not true. I personally think the OP should just jet a simple basic phone and a very cheap SIM and see how they get on with that. They can always get something more advanced in the future.

pseudodox

I always found if I went in a phone shop, made it very clear I was "of mature years and not very techie" and stood my ground on that even the youngest staff treated my like their grandparent and were very helpful and did not try to sell me something I knew I did not want/need.

I just put my elderly cousin on his first smartphone and got him on an MSE Lebara deal - 30 day rolling contract for £1.38 for the first 6 months (3GB data, 300 minutes calls, unlimited texts). After which it rises to £4.40 or he can cancel and go elsewhere. Already beats his old PAYG dumbphone hands down as he has discovered the joys of unlimited texting and using WhatsApp to send me pictures of his dog and garden. Apart from picking up emails when away from home and searching for petrol stations or supermarkets when he is off with his caravan he is not really interested in much online surfing.