Re: Tracfone Big Deal Question

SusieQ_2 · ‎03-27-2012

@BrandiDavis wrote:
I don't have a Tracfone, so I may be wrong on this, but let's say you buy one of these offers on the Q or HSN---where they offer the phone and the year of service (1500 mins, 1500 texts, 1.5GB of data) and it comes time to renew aren't you better off just purchasing another one of these types of bundles? B/c I've seen them as low as $60 on here/HSN which included everything I just stated (phone/mins/1 yr of service) and from what was posted here its $125 for the SAME thing on the Tracfone website....well, $118 if you do auto-refill, but essentially it's almost double!!

Plus, I would think you would be getting a newer/more updated phone each year too. Do any of you all do this or am I just way off? LOL (won't be the first time...haha)

@BrandiDavis , I'd say the answer is either yes or no depending on what you need and what phone you're already using. The deal for $125 on the Tracfone site isn't the best. You can piece meal that same deal and save $23.50 by buying everything separately. Some users might not need all four items and can just choose what they need.

1500 minutes of talk time - $30

1500 texts -$7.50

1.5 GB data -$15

1 year of service -$49

Total $101.50

As for getting a newer and better phone it would depend on what you're using. The phone being discussed in this thread is using the 9.0 operating system (capable of upgrading to 10) and has 32 GB of memory. You won't get that for $60. The best you could you hope for would be a phone using the 8.0 OS and 16 GB of memory. I'm not saying that's bad, in fact it's perfectly fine, I'm just saying you can't upgrade this particular phone for $60.

Something I have heard of people doing is to buy the cheaper phone, activate it, and then switch everything back over to their older, but better phone. And maybe it's not even a better phone, but maybe it's just a phone they prefer and want to keep using but need more service time, etc.

I hope I was of a little help in answering your question. We have people here who are much better informed about these kinds of things than me. Hopefully, if someone is reading this and has some additions they will chime in too.

SusieQ_2 · ‎03-27-2012

@mimomof4 , I can't really answer your question as to whether a smartphone might be too challenging for an elderly person to use. A lot would depend on the person and how easily they pick things up. I'm super non-techy but find these phones to be very intuitive.

As for not having wi-fi, it's not absolutely necessary, but if you want to do video chats I feel like that might use a lot of data. I don't really know because I have wifi. I just know when I'm out where there's no wi-fi connection I'm always surprised by how much data I use for Youtube or streaming.

I was going to say she might learn to text with you but I just noticed you said she hasn't touched a computer in 10 years.

Ugh, I'm sorry I'm no help. I hope one of our more tech savvy posters will come along and give you some advice. I think it's awesome that you're thinking about her and wanting to do something for her. You're a good DIL!

hookedonq · ‎06-10-2015

HUGE thanks for the info on how to renew service for a year when the time comes...exactly what I needed to know. Regarding her ability to use the phone, my mother has an iPad so she comfortable with the screen technology and getting to Apps, although she only really visits a few. I told her I will remove apps if it arrives loaded with a bunch she won't ever need. Regarding the other poster about the flip phone, we had the same thing happen at ATT store! When she originally lost her phone and went to ATT, the (super young) salesman said they don't sell flip phones and told her to go buy one online or at Target and bring it back to him for activation...but then he added he wasn't sure they carried SIM cards anymore for flip phones and didn't know how to activate it, and told her to call ATT for assistance while she was in the store!

Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

@mimomof4 wrote:
I was wondering if this would be a good phone for my MIL. She has been using a Flip phone for years and just got a new one over the holidays which she doesn't like. Funny story the guy activating the phone had no idea how to activate it and it took longer than normal.

MIL mentioned getting a "sqaure" phone but I told her if she goes through ATT her bill will go up a ton since she had a super cheap plan. She doesn't have WiFi in her home and hasn't even touched a computer in the last 10 years so I don't expect her to actually use any apps. There are many times when she calls us with a question that it would be nice if we could video chat to see what she is talking about. Of course I fear even attempting that may be too much for her.

If you have bought one of these for an elderly relative did they experience any issues trying to use the phone especially if they don't have WiFi?

@mimomof4

I am a tech person. This Tracfone would be nice for your MIL. She could make 1500 minutes worth a of calls doing the contract period.

She could not video chat or update her apps on a regular basis without wifi. The 1.5 GB of data can be used fast when streaming video.Tracfone charges about $10 per GB for data.

Most wireless companies have a tool on their sites to help customers select the best data plan. It will tell you the data used to stream music, video, and view email.

noodleann · ‎06-10-2015

@SusieQ_2 wrote:
@BrandiDavis wrote:
I don't have a Tracfone, so I may be wrong on this, but let's say you buy one of these offers on the Q or HSN---where they offer the phone and the year of service (1500 mins, 1500 texts, 1.5GB of data) and it comes time to renew aren't you better off just purchasing another one of these types of bundles? B/c I've seen them as low as $60 on here/HSN which included everything I just stated (phone/mins/1 yr of service) and from what was posted here its $125 for the SAME thing on the Tracfone website....well, $118 if you do auto-refill, but essentially it's almost double!!

Plus, I would think you would be getting a newer/more updated phone each year too. Do any of you all do this or am I just way off? LOL (won't be the first time...haha)

@BrandiDavis , I'd say the answer is either yes or no depending on what you need and what phone you're already using. The deal for $125 on the Tracfone site isn't the best. You can piece meal that same deal and save $23.50 by buying everything separately. Some users might not need all four items and can just choose what they need.

1500 minutes of talk time - $30
1500 texts -$7.50
1.5 GB data -$15
1 year of service -$49

Total $101.50

As for getting a newer and better phone it would depend on what you're using. The phone being discussed in this thread is using the 9.0 operating system (capable of upgrading to 10) and has 32 GB of memory. You won't get that for $60. The best you could you hope for would be a phone using the 8.0 OS and 16 GB of memory. I'm not saying that's bad, in fact it's perfectly fine, I'm just saying you can't upgrade this particular phone for $60.

Something I have heard of people doing is to buy the cheaper phone, activate it, and then switch everything back over to their older, but better phone. And maybe it's not even a better phone, but maybe it's just a phone they prefer and want to keep using but need more service time, etc.

I hope I was of a little help in answering your question. We have people here who are much better informed about these kinds of things than me. Hopefully, if someone is reading this and has some additions they will chime in too.

What I've read is that you cannot port over service or minutes on one of the specials sold via Q or HSN to an existing Tracfone. The question comes up periodically in the Q&As on the product pages, but it's probably wiser to speak to TracFone CS about it before buying and not rely on a Q/HSN rep's answer.

I know about this because I wanted to do the same thing, buy a new phone and port over the service. I have a TF from the Q that was a TSV years back when they sold phones that tripled, which are no longer sold by anyone, AFAIK, so I don't want to give it up. I wasn't expecting a ported-over phone's minutes and airtime to triple, but learned it couldn't be transferred to my phone regardless. I'll hang onto this one until they shut down whatever network it runs on.

BTW, flip phones are coming back into fashion. From what I've read, they're starting to make smartphones as flip phones.

Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

@BrandiDavis wrote:
I don't have a Tracfone, so I may be wrong on this, but let's say you buy one of these offers on the Q or HSN---where they offer the phone and the year of service (1500 mins, 1500 texts, 1.5GB of data) and it comes time to renew aren't you better off just purchasing another one of these types of bundles? B/c I've seen them as low as $60 on here/HSN which included everything I just stated (phone/mins/1 yr of service) and from what was posted here its $125 for the SAME thing on the Tracfone website....well, $118 if you do auto-refill, but essentially it's almost double!!

Plus, I would think you would be getting a newer/more updated phone each year too. Do any of you all do this or am I just way off? LOL (won't be the first time...haha)

@BrandiDavis

Like you, I have a smart phone with a traditional provider.

Tracfone is not a phone bundle, but a wireless cell phone company. It is based in South America and sells service in North America using Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T networks.

It depends where you live which network your phone uses or whether the service is available in your area.

Tracfone bundles can be a great value for a consumer, but disposing of a phone each year is tough on the planet.

These bundles do not get regular security updates, and will not receive a system update to the next version of Android.

A trending Smartphone is Samsung Galaxy A20. This is a nice 32GB phone introduced in April 2019. Many wireless companies give this phone free with a contract. Verizon charges $5 with a postpaid contract and more with a prepaid plan.

I am sure the A20 will come to Tracfone when a new similar phone comes to market.

SusieQ_2 · ‎03-27-2012

"What I've read is that you cannot port over service or minutes on one of the specials sold via Q or HSN to an existing Tracfone. The question comes up periodically in the Q&As on the product pages, but it's probably wiser to speak to TracFone CS about it before buying and not rely on a Q/HSN rep's answer." ~ @noodleann

@noodleann , Thanks for mentioning this. It's interesting because you say you've read one thing and I've read the opposite. Like I said in my post I had heard about this but what I really meant is I've read about it. I've never actually known anyone in person who has tried it.

I still wonder if it might be possible though. When I go to the My Tracfone app it lists the number of my previous phone but it's listed as Inactive. When I click on it there is the option to reactivate it and a choice of whether to use my current phone number or to get a new one. It seems, since texts, data, etc, are all transferable, I don't see why I couldn't reactivate my old phone and transfer everything from my new phone back to the old one. I haven't really researched it since it's not something I've ever wanted to do, and not knowing anyone personally who's done it, I would never suggest trying it without asking customer service first.

SusieQ_2 · ‎03-27-2012

"These bundles do not get regular security updates, and will not receive a system update to the next version of Android.

A trending Smartphone is Samsung Galaxy A20. This is a nice 32GB phone introduced in April 2019. Many wireless companies give this phone free with a contract. Verizon charges $5 with a postpaid contract and more with a prepaid plan.

I am sure the A20 will come to Tracfone when a new similar phone comes to market." ~ @Nuttmeg

The Samsung A10e comes with Android 9 but it can be upgraded to the most current OS--10--so it's totally updateable. Of course, not all the Tracfones being sold are like that. Some are being sold with older operating systems. Apps are updated according to how you manage your settings. I have mine set so I can see the update before I decide to install it or not.

The nice thing about having 32GB is not having to worry about the updates using too much memory. Personally, I wouldn't mind having even more--maybe 64GB--but I'm not holding my breath to see that soon being offered on a bundled Tracfone from either shopping channel.