We've had it with h2o!

[booch221]

I set up h2o phone service for a friend of mine who is a senior citizen and not at all tech savvy. We had him on the $10 for three months of service plan with autopay. This was plenty since he seldom makes any calls and when he does, most of them are wifi calling which doesn't use any of his air time minutes.

Last year he kept running out of minutes shortly after we recharged the account. I contacted customer service and they said it was mobile data use that zeroed out his balance. He NEVER uses any data.

I thought maybe some app running in the background might be hogging his data so we depleted the APN settings on his phone. In addition we asked h2o to turn off data on their end.

Yesterday he called me and said he was out of minutes again, so I tried to top up his account online. It wouldn't let me because we have autopay. I tired doing it over the phone, but the number they provided (1-800-643-4926) didn't work. I kept getting a message that said "your call can't be completed at this time, please try again later." I tried chatting with customer service online, but got tired of waiting in the queue. Finally, I deleted autopay and was able to add minutes online.

But this still doesn't solve the mystery of the disappearing balance on the account or the crappy customer service, so we will be switching to Red Pocket $60/year plan that gives you 100 minutes, 100 texts, and 500 MB of data a month.

[kaZZoo]

If phone and area is compatible on T-Mobile,
Might want to look at the 30.00 plan,
More bang for the buck.

[zapjb]

Wifi calling using the H2O number do use minutes. That's what happened probably.

[booch221]

If phone and area is compatible on T-Mobile,
Might want to look at the 30.00 plan,
More bang for the buck.

Unfortunately, T-Mobile is not available in Alaska.

[booch221]

Wifi calling using the H2O number do use minutes. That's what happened probably.

Oh, good to know!
We're still switching to Red Pocket, however.

[Jairzinho]

Wifi calling using the H2O number do use minutes. That's what happened probably.

This.
All providers I have used count wi-fi calling as using minutes. Same for SMS while wi-fi calling is activated. They count as regular texts, even if they were sent thru wi-fi. I don't know of any provider that doesn't.(If there is one I'd be surprised).

The only way around this would be like using WhatsApp for calling (both parties have to have the app), Facetime (iOS) or another 3rd party app to communicate. But those will use data if the device is not connected to wi-fi.

[dfriz]

Use Google Voice app. Uses your WiFi data, doesn't touch carrier minutes UNLESS you have Cellular Data turned on. It will also forward calls to your cell phone.

Textnow works good, it's free, but have to watch an ad after the call. Since you have a phone that works on T mobile, get TN SIM for 99c, and use voice and text over cellular on Tmobile.

I have my GV forwarding to a Textnow number and don't have to worry about TN changing the phone number* for non use.You have to use the TN # once a week or lose it. (Canr pay to keep it.)

Red Pocket's $30/yr deal on Ebay sounds like a good deal (Not available on RP's website). I haven't used RP. RP uses AT&T network if your phone is unlocked from T-mo.

* With GV you can change phone providers and not have to worry about porting. (For $20 you can port your # to GV)