Tracfone and internet question

bargainsgirl · ‎01-13-2012

I have a Motorola tracfone. Works great for the most part. On occasion, I cannot connect to internet when I am in my car or in a store, or other places with public WIFI. It seems to "just happen". I check my settings and they are all good. Can someone help with this? Very frustrating!

Zhills · ‎11-15-2011

Everybody I know has this problem!

Too big to explain!

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@bargainsgirl @Zhills - I started a thread about this a while back in this forum. I had the exact same problem with my new Moto G Stylus 5 G phone and this was the solution.

Here's a link to the other thread, where I explained how to solve it. Mine has worked perfectly ever since.

https://community.qvc.com/t5/Electronics/Tracfone-Moto-G-Stylus-5G-quot-No-internet-quot-Solution/m-...

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

bargainsgirl · ‎01-13-2012

Thank you!!! That was sooo easy! I will test it out later!!

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@bargainsgirl - You're very welcome. I know how frustrating it was for me, until I solved it.

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

grandma r · ‎10-26-2010

@bargainsgirl. Mine is a Samsung and I have the same problem. In fact, when I was in hospital for nearly 2 wks, I could only make or receive calls; nothing else worked on my phone. Several nurses tried to get service for me and one finally called the hospital's tech support. The tech said it's a problem with all Tracphones. Even when I go back for testing and appts the service only works for calls. I hate this phone!!! Unfortunately, the fancy cell phones and services are just too darn expensive.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@grandma r - It's not a problem with all Tracfones. We've had nothing but Tracfones for over 20 years and this has only occurred with our newest one (since Verizon bought Tracfone), which can be unlocked.

If you take a minute to click on the link I provided, you can fix the issue.

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

gadgetgal613 · ‎07-07-2021

@bargainsgirl wrote:
I have a Motorola tracfone. Works great for the most part. On occasion, I cannot connect to internet when I am in my car or in a store, or other places with public WIFI. It seems to "just happen". I check my settings and they are all good. Can someone help with this? Very frustrating!

It's an easy answer. Coverage is not equal in all areas. Signals can be too weak for your phone to connect. One way to improve your access when out and about is to turn off WiFi. The phone will stop searching for a WiFi signal and auto connect to cellular data. I'm not sre why you would want to connect to an unsecure public WiFi anyway. Hackers are everywhere.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@gadgetgal613 - In this instance, turning off the wi-fi (which is what had been suggested many times) did not work. It didn't make the phone revert to cellular data. The message was simply "No Internet Service" and the suggested fixes (including switching wi-fi off) made no difference.

As I tried to explain before: the new phones can often be unlocked (since the Verizon takeover). So you need to "select" the assigned Tracfone Internet service (APN).

That seems to have been set to off on many new phones. My previous Moto G Stylus phone (couldn't be unlocked) had this setting permanently "on". The new Moto G Stylus 5G (can be unlocked) allows this to be "on" or "off".

Yes, it is an easy answer. But only if you know what the problem is!

"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope

gadgetgal613 · ‎07-07-2021

@Venezia wrote:
@gadgetgal613 - In this instance, turning off the wi-fi (which is what had been suggested many times) did not work. It didn't make the phone revert to cellular data. The message was simply "No Internet Service" and the suggested fixes (including switching wi-fi off) made no difference.

As I tried to explain before: the new phones can often be unlocked (since the Verizon takeover). So you need to "select" the assigned Tracfone Internet service (APN).

That seems to have been set to off on many new phones. My previous Moto G Stylus phone (couldn't be unlocked) had this setting permanently "on". The new Moto G Stylus 5G (can be unlocked) allows this to be "on" or "off".

Yes, it is an easy answer. But only if you know what the problem is!

I have an iPhone and no problems. If I want it to not search for a nearby Wifi signal, I turn it off. If your phone doesn't work that way, maybe you need a better phone.