I’ve had many people interested in what I did to get a fully featured android phone without the $80 a month contract. Obviously it requires more effort than going down to your local wireless store and buying a phone. It’s not too complicated, as all the phone hacking is done remotely by remotesquad.com.
The prepaid carrier I’m using is PagePlus. You can see PagePlus’ pricing and plans here. They offer both prepaid and monthly plans to choose from.
PagePlus is a reseller of Verizon’s service. You will have exactly the same coverage as Verizon subscribers. Voice, Text Messaging, and 3G Data are all available on the phone and is subtracted from your prepaid balance.
Please note that using the data connection is EXPENSIVE and is there mostly for the convenience rather than being practical for continuous use. I highly suggest keeping the mobile data connection disabled except when expressly needed. Your phone will work normally with WiFi. You can use WiFi as much as you want without incurring any fees. Mobile data is intended for use in the car or other areas where there are no available WiFi hotspots.
As of writing this post here is the list of phones available for use on PagePlus:
- Sprint HTC Hero
- HTC Incredible
- HTC Droid Eris
- HTC EVO
- HTC Thunderbolt
- Motorola Droid
- Motorola Droid PRO
- Motorola DROID 2
- Motorola DROID X
- Samsung Fascinate
- Samsung EPIC 4G
- Samsung Moment
- Samsung Intercept
- LG Optimus
Head here to see the current list of phones available: http://remotesquad.com/products-page/page-plus/
Choose a phone that has the features you want at a price you can afford. There are numerous variations. The older phones such as the HTC Hero, Motorola Droid, and HTC Droid Eris are ideal for those looking for a low cost solution. Phones such as the Samsung Fascinate, Motorola Droid X, and the Samsung EPIC 4G are higher end phones that are worth the money if you can afford them.
I’ve used both the Motorola Droid and the Samsung Fascinate with great results. If you’re interested in an iPhone equivalent that is fast, lightweight, and thin I suggest getting a Samsung Fascinate, also known as the Samsung Galaxy S.
You can buy a phone new from a wireless store (known as a no-contract phone). That can be a costly choice (~$500 or more). Most phones are available used from eBay for considerably less ($100~$200).
If you are purchasing a used phone, it is VERY IMPORTANT TO VERIFY THE ESN before bidding on a phone. The ESN is a serial number that is unique to every phone. Phones that have been stolen, lost, or defaulted on have usually had their ESN banned from Verizon’s network. Usually phones with bad ESNs are marked “BAD ESN” on eBay auctions. Sometimes they aren’t or the owner doesn’t know their ESN is bad.
You can verify a phone’s ESN number by requesting it from the seller. Once you have your ESN number, give Verizon a call and ask them to verify if your phone can be activated. If they give the phone a thumbs up then it will work with PagePlus with no problem.
Once you have purchased a phone, the software will have to be modified for it to work on PagePlus. This is where remotesquad.com comes in. Purchase the flashing service for your model of phone here. They will have you install a program called TeamViewer on your computer which will allow them to remotely program your phone over the internet. All you need to do is install the program and connect your phone via USB. They will take care of the rest. Once they are finished your phone will be working with PagePlus.
Enjoy your new smartphone!