Cell phone without service?

Edwards Finance > Phones

Q. I remember reading a couple years back that if you had a cell phone without service, you could still make emergency calls for a high per-minute fee using something called "American Roamers" or some such. Can anyone direct me to a FAQ? I just picked up an old cellphone at a garage sale, and I don't think I want regular service....

A. From what I understand, you should be able to make a 911 or 611 call from your phone. You should also be able to make calls using a credit card from your phone by just dialing the number... as long as the ESN (Electronic Serial Number) is not listed as stolen... ....this brings up another question...how do I get a dial tone if I have no service. My apologies if this is basic stuff, but I am a real newbie. Would appreciate any pointers to FAQ's, etc. Actually there is no dial tone associated with a cellular phone. A cellular phone is not really a phone as we know it, it is a sophisticated radio. Although no cellular/PCS system provides a dial tone, some phone simulate this feature to make newbies more comfortable with the technology. On my Nokia 2190 for example, if the TALK button is pressed with nothing on the display, the phone generates a tone in the earpiece that is supposed to sound like dial tone (though I suspect the guy who designed it had never actually heard a North American dial tone in his life). You are then free to enter a number of the keypad, which will automatically be dialed after a certain number of seconds. You can also press the TALK button a second time to send the number immediately. I suspect that other phone manufacturers have done something similar in an attempt to make cellular/PCS phones more like land line phones. So long as these cute little features don't make the phone more of a pest to use for those of us who actually know how to use one, then I don't have any problem with them.

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