I'm Technically Challenged and Need Help with Phone Question

On 8/18/2014 MJ FAN 4 EVER said:

I have the LG 840 TracPhone that was a TSV last year. My phone will stop Sept. 19 if I don't add on minutes. I am very technically challenged and am confused about a few things... Hope someone can enlighten me.

1. If I decide to keep the same phone, is it better to add minutes online, on the phone or at a retailer?

2. How do I make sure the unused minutes transfer (I have a lot of them) and my minutes are tripled?

3. If I get a new phone, do the pictures & videos I kept on the old phone get erased or become unviewable or can I still utilize the camera but not the calling or other data sources that require the minutes?

4. If I would lose my pictures/videos, how do they get transferred to another phone?

I only have a TracPhone for emergencies. I'm not one who uses the phone every minute of the day. It's just for safety and convenience but I'm not a cellphone junkie.

I appreciate any information you can provide. I know I'm not the only novice around, but this is all so new to me and very confusing and intimidating.

Thank you for your help!!!

I can't answer most of your questions but I can tell you this. If you are looking to buy minutes for a year it is much cheaper to buy a new phone. I've purchased all 8 or 9 of my phones(TracFone)from hsn. My present one was $30 cheaper than adding triple minutes and this phone(Samsung Galaxy Centura)came with 1400 minutes/1400 texts and 1400 data, along with the chargers etc.

As for the "unused minutes" and being tripled? Just look at how many minutes you have when the complete transfer has taken place. The phone will show your "expiration date and also the minutes remaining". With a new phone(at least the ones I got from hsn)comes all the instructions of how to add the minutes etc. that come with the new phone, but also how to get the remaining minutes transferred to your new phone. I've done this with at least 7 phones and it wasn't all that hard to do as I just followed the instructions that came with the phone.

Not only got an upgraded phone for $30 less but this also added data and texts, which I will probably never use, but never the less, they are there if I change my mine.

Don't quite understand why anyone takes pictures or video that they cannot get off their phone and onto a computer, that escapes me. I have taken a couple pictures with my phone, and video, just to see how good they look. I have no intention of keeping any of them so I am not concerned with what happens when I get another phone.

My last phone was the LG840G that was passed down to me when my wife decided to go with a $35 a month Virgin Mobile Plan when she bought her Samsung Galaxy SII from hsn. I didn't take any pictures with that phone because I did not particularly like it. The only reason I decided to go with it was because I had bought a Samsung model, that had a keypad, and the keys were so small I couldn't even dial a phone number without messing it up. Couldn't get rid of that one fast enough and transferred what I had left onto my Samsung Centura smart phone.

Maybe someone else can tell you if or how you can get photo's off of your 840g onto your computer, but I have no idea at all how you would get them onto another cell phone if they are not even on a computer/tablet or other similar type of drive.

Thanks for the information... appreciate it very much. I don't own a camera so the pictures I took were convenient at the time. I was moving from my old home and wanted some memories of where I was leaving. I'd love to know how to down load them onto my computer. If anyone can help me with that, I'd be so grateful.

I don't text and the 840 LG really didn't go on many websites since it always came back that the site was too big (even QVC). I could only go on select few sites if at all.

Thanks again for your input... it helps to learn all the experiences.

Wow... I thought more people would know this question... 190 some looked at my post and no one can assist. I guess I'll just throw my phone away.

Thanks.

Hi MJ Fan, just reading your questions. I had a TracFone with triple minutes for a couple years. I always bought extra minutes on line and it was easy and yes, I am extremely technically challenged, especially when it comes to cell phones for some reason! Before you go to the TracFone website to make your purchase, google "TracFone discount codes" and do some checking around to see if there is something you can use. At the TracFone website just look over the choices to purchase minutes/days carefully before you place your order. If you have lots of days left, then choose a package that offers more minutes and not so many days because that would be a better value for you. Before you place your order, be sure to add your coupon code if you have one.

The minutes automatically triple, I never had a problem with that. The minutes are added almost immediately, or at least within a minute or two. You will get a (free) text telling you they were added, and they were always added to my existing balance, so I never lost any by them not rolling over.

As for your photos transferring to your new phone, I don't think they will. What worked for me was I had an option to email the photos, and I sent them to my email, which I then transferred onto my computer hard drive. Also, once you transfer your phone number to another phone, I don't think your old phone will work as a camera. I don't think your old phone will work at all. I think you would just get a message saying something like "no service". I could be wrong on that though.

Like I said earlier, I'm about as technically challenged as they come. I'm just offering what I learned as a TracFone user. Hopefully some of it is helpful.

Don't you just love it when you take the time to answer someone's question and they don't respond? She must be having a busy week....

On 8/26/2014 bluegrassbaby said:

On 8/19/2014 MJ FAN 4 EVER said:

Wow... I thought more people would know this question... 190 some looked at my post and no one can assist. I guess I'll just throw my phone away.

Thanks.

I guess you threw it away because you never responded to our help...just a thought since it was Your Thread after all.

Call your service provider and as far as the photos the might be a sim card that they are on or a way to sync it with your computer