How to get minutes on your phone

Depending on your carrier, you could be able to buy mobile data through your Settings app on your phone. Your carrier sets the prices and choices. You use your regular payment method with your carrier.

Important: The "Mobile data plan" setting is not yet available in all regions or with all carriers.

Check your plan, buy data & control notifications

  1. Open your Settings app.
  2. Tap Google
    How to get minutes on your phone
     Mobile data plan.
    • To check your plan: At the top, see your current data plan status.
    • To buy more data: Under "Buy data," tap the offer you want. Then tap Buy.
    • To control notifications: Under "Notifications," turn the kinds of notifications on or off.

Tip: If you get a notification that you're low on data, tap Add more data. Your "Mobile data plan" setting will open.

Fix issues with buying mobile data

If you don't see the "Mobile data plan" setting

Your carrier likely doesn't work with this service. Contact your carrier for info.

If you can’t buy mobile data through your settings app

  • Check that you have an existing plan with your carrier.
  • Check that you have a valid payment method with your carrier.
  • If your payment method is a prepaid account balance with your carrier, check your balance amount.
  • If you use more than one SIM card, set the SIM card for which you want more data as your default.
  • Install any updates for your apps and services. .

What carrier info you can find on your phone

Your mobile carrier lets Google show plan info to you. Google doesn't store this data. If you buy mobile data through your Settings app, Google sends that purchase request to your carrier.

We all see the cell phone plan deals and minutes offered in advertisements. Whether it may be television, newspaper, magazines, or radio we all by now have seen the minutes offered with family plans and so forth.

The most popular of plans available at this current time is the 1,000 minute cellular plan. 1,000 minutes may seem like a lot and almost endless for your wireless calling consumption but in reality this may be far from a worry free calling plan.

A very important part of the decision process should be based on how many people are going to be using the calling plan. More importantly, who is going to be using your calling minutes. Are the users teenagers? How many of your children will be using the plan? Do you or your spouse frequently make calls? How long is the duration of most of these cell phone calls?

A somewhat simple way to calculate how many minutes you are going to need or may be lacking is to basically make some rough estimates of all possible user's monthly usage by rounding off into hours. Yes, hours not minutes.

In an Example:

Bob (Husband) 4 Hours

Sally (Wife) 3 Hours

Sue (17 years old) 5 Hours

Joe (15 years old) 4 Hours

FAMILY TOTAL: 16 Hours

Okay, so now you have put together the accumulated usage estimate. Simply dissect these hours into minutes. To do this is quite simple. All you have to do is multiply the hours by 60:

16 x 60 Minutes = 960 Minutes

The end result will be the amount of minutes you expect to spend on your cell phone plan each month. So with this family using 16 hours a month we have come up with 960 minutes.

In this scenario the family is just right for a 1,000 minute plan and that is lucky being you can expect to pay as much as .30 cents per minute after you go over your amount. In any case you should always use some math and fair estimates of how much cellular calling you really will be making.

In all cases the easiest way to pick a plan, especially for a single cell phone plan is to divide any plan by 60. Dividing by 60 you are dividing the minutes giving you an answer that equals in hours giving you a more realistic look at how much you will be able to call.

A prepaid mobile phone allows you to vary the amount of money you spend each month on your phone bill by buying minutes only as you need them. You don't have to worry about a contract or complicated terms; simply buy minutes when you run out. You can adding minutes to your prepaid phone by using a prepaid phone card or by calling your prepaid service provider.

Prepaid Phone Card

Purchase a prepaid phone card. You can buy prepaid phone cards at retail store checkouts or convenience stores.

Dial the toll-free 800 number on the back of the card. You will be prompted to enter the PIN code listed on the card.

Enter the PIN. Wait for confirmation that it has been received, then end the call. The minutes should be added to your phone balance shortly after making the call.

Adding Minutes Online

Log on to your service provider's website and into your account.

Click the "Add Airtime" or similar link.

Scroll through the choices offered. Most prepaid services offer a choice between several packages; usually a set number of minutes to be used within a certain timeframe. According to Wireless Guide, you should choose a bundle that offers longer airtime if you use your phone infrequently. If you use your phone frequently, choose a bundle that has a lower CPM--cost per minute.

On the next page, enter your debit or credit card number when prompted for a payment method.

Writer Bio

Michael Smathers studies history at the University of West Georgia. He has written freelance online for three years, and has been a Demand Studios writer since April 2009. Michael has written content on health, fitness, the physical sciences and martial arts. He has also written product reviews and help articles for video games on BrightHub, and martial arts-related articles on Associated Content.

What are minutes on a cell phone?

Learn about airtime minutes Airtime minutes refer to the minutes you have available to talk on the phone. Different types of airtime minutes depend on the day of the week, the time of day, and the person you're calling.

How do I track minutes on my Android phone?

Android OS users can find phone usage stats under the Digital Wellbeing section. Through it, users can access various daily and weekly phone usage stats as well as parental controls. Users can also see how much time is spent on apps and set timers and daily limits for individual websites.