Question for cell phone afficiandos...

I'm looking to get a cell phone but am hoping to just bypass the whole contract thing. From what I understand, I can just buy a phone off of eBay and then activate that phone thus avoiding having to sign a contract (or I could just buy a phone from the dealer without a contract at egregious prices).

So say I want to sign up for a service plan (without a contract) with US Cellular using a phone I bought off of eBay (new or used, not sure yet). How would I do this, then? Would I take it to a US Cellular store or would I just call US Cellular?

Thanks.

The only way I know of to use a phone without having to sign a contract is getting yourself one of those pre-paid or pay-as-you-go services. You buy yourself a SIM card and pop it into your unlocked phone (or buy one from the service provider) and then not worry about being tied to a plan.

Admittedly, this is a lot easier to do outside of the US since it's a more widely available service

I can't answer for the US, but here you would go to a store that sells cell phones and ask for a phone that's unlocked/for use with so and so provider.

Just make sure it will work with the pre-paid service you decide to go with. AT&T has their GoPhone service, but I don't think just any AT&T phone will work with it.

Kash said:

The only way I know of to use a phone without having to sign a contract is getting yourself one of those pre-paid or pay-as-you-go services. You buy yourself a SIM card and pop it into your unlocked phone (or buy one from the service provider) and then not worry about being tied to a plan.

Admittedly, this is a lot easier to do outside of the US since it's a more widely available service

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Not true. At least not with the Alltel person I talked to. He said that if I brought in my own phone (an Alltel phone), I could sign up for any service plan without a contract, but that I'd still be subject to a credit check. I've since decided to go with US Cellular, and I can't imagine that they are any different.