Looking for a no-contract carrier which supports wi-fi hotspot and wi-fi calling

[AC Question]

I've been using a cheap TracFone for years because I don't make many calls. Then someone gave me their old T-Mobile Galaxy S3. I got it unlocked and activated on TracFone. I've started to find some of the smartphone features to be quite useful, but still don't make many calls, so I want to stay with a no-contract provider.

TracFone's website says they have wi-fi calling, but when I tried to activate that feature it said my phone wasn't eligible. I know that feature was available on T-Mobile, and T-Mobile is one of TracFone's networks. Their less-than-helpful customer service couldn't tell me why this phone wasn't eligible for wi-fi calling. They also couldn't tell me if it WOULD be eligible if I switched from AT&T to T-Mobile as my TracFone carrier.

Looking further into the features of the Galaxy S3, I decided that activating its wi-fi hotspot feature would also be useful. When I try to turn that feature on, the control switch jumps back to OFF as soon as I take my finger off the button.

I've been looking at possibly switching from TracFone to either Consumer Cellular or BoostMobile, but neither of them has anything on their website about wi-fi calling or wi-fi hotspots.

I would like to know which (if any) no-contract carriers support these features on an unlocked T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3. Thanks!

 

[Marianna Prokopa]

Hi there,
I've been in a similar situation more due to being late on my phone bill and having it shut off (bad I know)
Something I've found helpful with the calling problem (can't help with hotspot sorry)
1. Google voice gives you a phone number you can use to make calls. It needs a valid number to be linked to (I used my mom's) to send confirmation code to. You can then turn off any linkage to that number and use the Google voice app to make WiFi calls and people can call you.
2. App called aznog you can make free calls outgoing and incoming over WiFi.

Just some options to get around stuff.

Hope it helps