PAYG phones- More anti geeky than geeky

[Doodlekitty]

Disclaimer: I have never bought a PAYG mobile, always had a contract phone, so I feel out of my depth here

My mam has a pay as you go phone which she has had for.... erm....about 8 years. It's pretty much dead, she has to have it plugged in to make a call. So I thought I'd get her a new phone at Christmas, BUT, she will not want to change her network or number. So, here is the question, if I buy a Tmobile PAYG phone can she just put her sim card in? Will the top up that it seems I HAVE to buy work for her number? Can anyone recommend a fairly simple phone with a camera at the lower end of the price scale?

8 years old, it must be a brick

Yes, if you buy a T-mobile PAYG phone can she just put her sim card in. Simple as that. Before you do so, just make sure that her contacts are all saved to her sim card and not just on the old phone itself. If you use the same sim card, it will have the same number and same credit.

AFAIK all phones these days have cameras, even the super-cheap ones. If it were my mum, I would get her a phone from the same manufacturer as the one she has now. (If she has a Nokia, get her a new Nokia, etc.) She might find it a bit easier to use that way.

Would it be simpler to buy a new battery on ebay?

You might want to check Asda and Tesco for a new phone. I looked online but the range from Asda were not that great - a couple around 30 quid (beware of a nasty cheap VGA camera which is not much cop) and next up was nearer 75 and a smartphone to boot, so no keyboard and texts or even phoning would need your Mam to get used to touch screen methods.

Asda don't force the top-up, at least didn't the other week when I bought a 15 quid Vodafone.

Have seen (on HotUKdeals.com) that if you buy at Tesco they will give you a 10 quid top-up VOUCHER so that could be used with the existing SIM.

Hope that helps a bit...

I have had all my phones (PAYG) from Tesco. The customer service is good when you ring with stupid questions like me and you can often double your clubcard points to use against buying one.