Can someone explain cell phone contracts to me?

psy44

Banned
May 20, 2002
513
0
0
Ok, I really want a cell phone. So If I sign up for one year and get my phone, I've got my contract setup. When the contract expires, can I use another company's plan? I've also heard of prepaid stuff, after my contract is up can I use a prepaid service even if I don't have the same model phone as the prepaid ones(say I buy a Motorola T70 but the prepaid service uses a nokia 3360, but their regular service plans use the T70)? Can I just use phone cards instead of signing up with the prepaid service? Also When people sell phones on Ebay, do I have to use their provider?If they haven't finished their contract, Do I have to finish it if I buy the phone? It would be a great help if anyone could answer these questions for me.
 

brtspears2

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2000
8,659
1
81
When contract expires, usually you can go month to month with same provider or quit from your provider without penality.

Prepaid will usually work, just gotta pay for activation again and the provider must have prepaid.

When phones are sold on ebay, they are either new or deactivated. You are not obligated to take a contract to buy their phone. But most phones are locked to use only one provider, so you have to use the provider that it was made for. If you want one that can be used with various providers, look for an unlocked phone.