topic Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone. in Electronics

I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Stargazer77 — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 23:50:03 GMT

My service time is up in early May and I think I'm finally ready to bite the bullet and get rid of my beloved LG Ultimate 2 with light up home button. <sigh> I still love the phone, but it's kind of slow and it's running KitKat; I would like something more updated.

I also have a backup phone, which is the LG Sunset running Lollipop. My issue with this phone is that I don't have enough space. It's 8gb, like my Ultimate 2. I have microSD cards in both phones and the apps are identical. I don't take pictures on my LG Sunset, it's simply a backup phone. I've moved everything I can to the microSD card, yet I still get a low memory warning all the time. This doesn't happen with my Ultimate 2, perhaps because of the different operating system?? I'm not really sure.

If anyone has a recommendation for a new Tracfone I would love to hear it. LG or Samsung only. I've only ever had LG and I love them. I think I'm looking for a 16gb phone only. And CDMA (Verizon).

My uncle had the LG Premier and I really liked it a lot, but it's only 8gb.

Right now I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy Sky. Does anyone have that phone? If so, how do you like it?

Also, does anyone know if/when new phones are being released? I don't have an issue with getting some 20 dollar airtime cards to buy some time if something better is coming from Tracfone.

Thanks for reading this!

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Big Sister — Mon, 17 Apr 2017 01:09:48 GMT

My current Tracfone, Samsung, is also 8G and I finally went to Best Buy to buy a 16 G chip and now it's fine. If I were to buy another one (mine will end in Sept.), I would be sure to buy one that is at least 16G. There are some out there for a good price.

I see QVC has a special right now. Check them out and also HSN.

The special price right now at Q is Lollipop 5.l, I think, but it also has only 8G. If I were to get that one I would buy and insert a 16G chip. It has some updated features.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

hckynut — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 02:49:20 GMT

@Stargazer77

I know you are partial to LG, but I'll throw this out here for you. There is a 16g Samsung/Marshmallow 6.0/1350 in buckets/quadcore/5" Super AMOLED Screen, with all the do dads as usual. Under hundred bucks, might want to check out another network. It is a Tracfone.

hckynut(john)

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Venezia — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:12:14 GMT

@Stargazer77 - I guess I can't help. I have the LG Premier and I love it. I installed a 32Gb micro card when I got it and I haven't had any issues. I have a ton of photos and some videos on it.

I had just noticed tonight that they're offering it on QVC2 for $79.96 which is $50 less than I paid for mine about six months ago. I love the size of the screen on the Premier and the faster 4G speed.

Best of luck finding your new phone. Let us know what you end up with! My next phone will likely be a 16Gb, but it won't be for quite a while.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Stargazer77 — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:13:01 GMT

Hi @hckynut! Yes, that's the Galaxy Sky I was talking about. After going through all the options and their specs, the Sky was the only one left standing, so that might be my next phone. I'll do some Googling to see if there will be any new phones released soon and if not, that will be that.

I saw that deal on the other network and noticed it was on sale. It's tempting me.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Stargazer77 — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:16:20 GMT

Hi @Venezia! I'm so glad you're enjoying the Premier! As I said, my uncle had it and I set it up for him, so I got quite a bit of playing time with it. I loved the size. My mom had a 5.5" Alcatel a while back and it was just too big. She returned it. I didn't care for it either. 5" seems to be the sweet spot. I know the Premier is a tad bigger, but it was still really nice.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Stargazer77 — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:20:15 GMT

Hey @hckynut, have you ever had an LG smartphone before? The reason I love LG so much is because I love their pulldown menu from the top of the screen. I like the quick menu that slides on the top. My mom had an Alcatel at one point and I hated the pulldown menu; I found it user-unfriendly. I guess I'm just curious what Samsung's is like and how it's different from the LG pulldown menu and if I would like it and adjust to it.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

CinNC — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 03:56:28 GMT

My BF and I both have the Galaxy Sky from HSN and love it! I bought it especially because of the 16g memory. I take a few photos, but mostly use it for texting and the occasional phone call. He gets all his emails thru his.

The other thing I like about it is the replaceable battery.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

gardenman — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 12:08:19 GMT

I just ordered the LG Premiere. At that price it was too good of a deal to pass up. I'm paying $20 every three months to keep my LG Ultimate 2 active, so for $85+ (after taxes) I get a year's service, plus a newer, better phone. I'm paying $80 a year now. Now I've got to get a new armored case for it like I have for my Ultimate 2 so it'll survive the drops I'll be giving it. It's just too good of a deal to pass up. Amazon is selling just the phones for $120 or the phone and a 120 minute card for $120. Here you get the phone and a year of service for $80 (before taxes.) The reviews on the phone are generally very, very good.

Now if I can get Tracfone to add on the time and minutes on my existing phone I'll be set for about 14 months.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

shellbeach — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 14:51:59 GMT

I have been looking for a new Tracfone as well. I really like the LG phones and decided to get the Premier that is the Q2 deal today. I thought it was a great value for the price. I am not a heavy cell phone user, so this will be fine for me.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

x Hedge — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 19:08:38 GMT

@Stargazer77

My first TracFone is an LG and I doubt I'll buy another. I'm partial to Samsung. If I were looking to buy right now I'd go with the TracFone Galaxy Sky.

It really stands out among TracFones recently offered, has good Tech reviews, and has been available long enough to have compiled substantially positive reviews bases on user's experience.

My recommendation is also based on chats on this forum with Sky owners.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Venezia — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 22:48:55 GMT

@gardenman - As long as you keep the same phone number, your existing minutes and days of service should just roll over to your new phone. Make a note of them before you transfer, just in case though.

As I've said, my DH and I have this phone and we both love it. I hope you do, too! You got a great price on it.

I ordered a case for mine on Amazon, but it wasn't a brand-name armored case. It does the job though and came with a tempered glass screen protector that was super easy to install.

The "case" that comes with the bundle from QVC (and HSN) is really lightweight and pretty much a throwaway.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

gardenman — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 23:28:21 GMT

@Venezia wrote:
@gardenman - As long as you keep the same phone number, your existing minutes and days of service should just roll over to your new phone. Make a note of them before you transfer, just in case though.

As I've said, my DH and I have this phone and we both love it. I hope you do, too! You got a great price on it.

I ordered a case for mine on Amazon, but it wasn't a brand-name armored case. It does the job though and came with a tempered glass screen protector that was super easy to install.

The "case" that comes with the bundle from QVC (and HSN) is really lightweight and pretty much a throwaway.

@Venezia I bought a generic case from Amazon for my LG Ultimate 2 and it's saved the phone a ton of times. I bought a similar one for the Premiere. It makes the phone a bit bulkier, but it saves it when you drop it. My LG Ultimate still looks brand new. The case looks like it's been through a war, but the phone is like new.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

gardenman — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 12:09:53 GMT

My new phone is now scheudled to arrive on Thursday, which is five days earlier than originally forecast. I like it when things come sooner than projected.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Stargazer77 — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 23:36:51 GMT

@gardenman That is very exciting! I ended up ordering the Samsung Galaxy Sky over the weekend and it should also be here on Thursday. I think you're going to love the Premier. I also have a backup Tracfone (the Sunset) that is GSM (AT&T) and my time is also up on that in early May. If the Premier were GSM I would have replaced the Sunset with that. Enjoy your new phone! Post back with your review.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

gardenman — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 01:15:43 GMT

@Stargazer77 wrote:
@gardenman That is very exciting! I ended up ordering the Samsung Galaxy Sky over the weekend and it should also be here on Thursday. I think you're going to love the Premier. I also have a backup Tracfone (the Sunset) that is GSM (AT&T) and my time is also up on that in early May. If the Premier were GSM I would have replaced the Sunset with that. Enjoy your new phone! Post back with your review.

The phone's here and it's very nice! I haven't gotten my service transferred over quite yet, but the apps and data all transferred fine when I used my Google password and the Tracfone Transfer Wizard app. That app's pretty neat actually. You install it on both phones and then launch it on each phone and the sending phone puts up a Q code that the receiving phone reads. It moved all of my photos, music and more to the new phone with no trouble.

I had to call to get the number transferred as there was an error trying to do it via the computer, but the automated system seems to think it worked, so we'll find out wthin 24 hours. I wrote down how many minutes I had on the old phone along with the texts and data left over, so I'll see if they migrate over too.

The phone itself is very nice. A big, sharp, clear display. I'm listening to Eva Cassidy on it now and the sound is pretty decent even from that tiny little speaker. It's a pretty fast little phone. I haven't tried out the camera yet, but I'll give it a shot tomorrow. The new case for it is a bit less bulky than my old one, but hopefully it'll be nice and protective. I'm pleased with it. Essentially I bought the phone for $5.46, so I can't complain. I pay about $80 a year to keep my service active (4-$20 cards each good for 90 days) so since this phone with tax cost $85.46 the phone just cost me $5.46. (Actually a bit less since I'd need another five days of service from the four 90 day cards to get to 365 days.)

I'm very pleased right now. I can't say anything about the phone quality as the service hasn't crossed over just yet, but with any luck that'll happen sometime tonight and be ready tomorrow. I'm not disappointed in the least. It's a pretty neat little phone. (Not so little even.)

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

Stargazer77 — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 02:45:30 GMT

Hi @gardenman! How did your switch over end up? I just did my switch over and then after I put in all the info I realized I didn't write down my remaining text, data, etc. I told myself that was really dumb and then I tried to go back in to see the info from my old phone, but it was too late. It had already switched over! One of the fastest switchovers I've ever had. I hope yours went OK and you didn't have further problems. All my buckets were what they should be, so that's a relief. I made a test call and it worked fine. Now to see how much I will like it!

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

gardenman — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 10:07:36 GMT

@Stargazer77 wrote:
Hi @gardenman! How did your switch over end up? I just did my switch over and then after I put in all the info I realized I didn't write down my remaining text, data, etc. I told myself that was really dumb and then I tried to go back in to see the info from my old phone, but it was too late. It had already switched over! One of the fastest switchovers I've ever had. I hope yours went OK and you didn't have further problems. All my buckets were what they should be, so that's a relief. I made a test call and it worked fine. Now to see how much I will like it!

@Stargazer77

My switch over still hasn't taken, so I've got to get back on the phone with them this morning to make that happen. It's been over 24 hours now and the new phone still isn't working as a phone. I tried to do it online initially and got an error and a message saying to call a number to finish the operation. I did that and followed the prompts and their automated system said it would be up and running in 24 hours, but not yet. I'll be checking out the FAQ's on their site first, then likely back on the phone with them again.

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

apple1964 — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 12:59:58 GMT

Enjoy your new phone!

Re: I'm looking for a new Tracfone.

gardenman — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 13:02:25 GMT

And I just got done a chat with Tracfone and they have a system error on my account which is why the phone isn't activating. They've created a trouble ticket and I'm now to call them back in 24 hours when everything should be fixed. The good news is my old phone still works like a champ, so I'm not without a phone. We'll see what happens tomorrow.