Electronics

[MsLhasa]

What is the best new Tracfone to purchase that will work with 5g?  Many reviews of the phones on HSN, QVC, & Evine do not have good reviews & do not state they will work with 5g.  I have a Tracfone LG Premier L62VL that I purchased in 2017 & keep updating monthly to keep active.  I only use it when I am away from the house by myself or need to send a text to someone while I am at home, & husband is off with our Iphone.  We are retired so mostly are always together so don't need 2 Iphones.  I have received a message from Tracfone that soon my current phone will not work with the new system, that I could miss calls or messages.  I love my current phone & hate to switch, but looks like I am going to have to.

[Kachina624]

@MsLhasa.  I would call TracFone CS and ask them.  I don't know how the average consumer could answer your question.  I've heard 5g is not yet fully functional.

[Foxxee]

From what I could find, Tracfone does not make phones with 5G.  Speculation is it will be a few years.

There's word, Verizon has been interested in purchasing Tracfone.  If so, Tracfones with 5G would be available sooner.  

[Kachina624]

@Foxxee.  Verizon DID purchase TracFone, sometime before Christmas.  I don't know if we'll see improvements or higher prices.

[Nuttmeg]

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@Kachina624 wrote:

@Foxxee.  Verizon DID purchase TracFone, sometime before Christmas.  I don't know if we'll see improvements or higher prices.

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@Kachina624

The last I heard the sale was having some issues and was placed on a pause for a short time. 

[Venezia]

@MsLhasa - DH and I have the LG Premier Pro Plus (L455DL) and they work perfectly with the 5G network we have through Spectrum.  I can only speak for our experience, but we've had them since last September.  No problems with ours.

Prior to these phones we had the LG Premier Pro; same.  No problems.

(HSN has this phone for $79.99 with the case or $99.99 no case but a Clikr stand.  It says in the specifications that it's 4G  LTE but, as I've said, we have 5G with no issues at all.)

[gardenman]

You can buy an unlocked 5G phone from many manufacturers now and simply use the "BYOP" kit from Tracfone, but be advised, the 5G phones are currently a bit pricey. You're looking at around $300 at the minimum right now (The One Plus Nord N10 or the Motorola Moto G 5G) for an unlocked 5G phone right now. The prices are dropping like mad as a few months ago the bottom was $500, so things are trending in the right direction. You don't need a 5G phone right now though as 4G will be kept alive for a bit longer. Your old phone is likely a 3G version and the 3G network is what's being shut down. You can replace it with a 4G version for under $100 now and use that for several more years if need be.

I'm hoping that 5G phones compatible with Tracfone will be available for around $150 come September when it's time for me to renew my service or upgrade the phone. That's not unlikely given the way prices are dropping. Phone technology changes rapidly and what was high-end and very expensive a year or two ago becomes very inexpensive a bit later. An issue with 5G phones and a service like Tracfone is the speed with which a 5G phone can use up your data. The higher data transfer speeds that come with 5G means that your phone can use more data in less time and you can find yourself without data before you know it.

[ceekay]

@MsLhasa - I had that same LG Tracfone (and loved it) and about 2 years ago they said it would no longer work because it was for 3GL networks and everything was going to 4GL.  So after getting the messages for awhile, I bought another LG Premier Pro that was 4GL compatible.  Then "they" extended the date for moving to 4GL so I did not activate the new phone until about 10 months after I bought it (you have a year to activate).  The newer Premier Pro is slightly larger and a little heavier but still fits in most of my pockets.  So, you may want to see if a newer version of the Premier Pro is still available.  The one I got is below but no longer available. 

Tracfone Premier Pro 

[MW in Iowa]

5g has  a long way to go before it is readily available for most US citizens , i think it will be another year for most areas . That being said i did buy the new Iphone 12 max , because it was still the same price as last years model.But i wouldn't have bought it just because it had 5g.

[Mindy D]

I don't even want 5G. It's just more planned obsolescence.