TracPhone

[happily single]

Based on absolutely terrible service and connection with Sprint I am looking to change carriers. A recent thread here discussed TracPhone with favorable results.

I have had several Samsung Galaxy phones over the years with no luck (constantly turning off, overheating, not ringing, etc). I am looking to get away from Samsung and have to phones in mind.

Does anyone have any experience with a ZTE Valet or a LG L16C Lucky?

I will primarily use the phone for texting, photos and a small amount of checking emails and facebook.

Thanks!

 

[tnklvr]

I don't know about the phones your asking about but do know that tracphone works off of Sprint towers so if you have issues with Sprint you need to go to Verizon not the pay as you go companies because all the ones I know of use Sprint towers.

 

[ibob52]

AT&T GoPhone (pay as you go) uses the AT&T network.

 

[Dizlvr]

I don't know about the phones your asking about but do know that tracphone works off of Sprint towers so if you have issues with Sprint you need to go to Verizon not the pay as you go companies because all the ones I know of use Sprint towers.

In my area Tracfone uses Verizon towers for their smartphones.
OP, you would have to go to the Tracfone website and put in your zip and it will bring up phones and you can tell by the model # which carrier they use in your area. I can't remeber which is which but I'm sure you can google it.
My ds has a tracfone (on Verizon towers) and so does my dad. Never any problems with their service, my dad has had his for years, my ds just one year so far.

 

[happily single]

I read here (yesterday) that TracPhones with the letter C in there name use verizon. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[ceecee]

Not all Tracfones are Sprint towers, ours use Verizon. Depends on your zip, you can goggle it to see. We have had no issues with our Tracfone service in over 10 years. For $100 a year you can't beat the price.

 

[ceecee]

I read here (yesterday) that TracPhones with the letter C in there name use verizon. Can anyone confirm this?

Ours use Verizon.

 

[runwad]

There are two different families of Tracfones -- the ones with model numbers ending in "C" operate exclusively on the Verizon network.

All models with "G" in the number are normally on T-Mobile/AT&T networks.

My kids have the LG 41C Ultimate that i bought from QVC in May http://www.qvc.com/LG-Tracfone-Blac...1200-Minutes-Text-&-Data.product.E226810.html

So far so good. But the customer service does stink. I just figure if I have a problem with a phone I"m getting a new one and transferring all my time and info to the new one and skipping the CS route. At least the phones are cheap enough to do that and for me it's worth it not to mess with their CS department.

 

[bjscheel]

The above is correct regarding "C" and "G" models. I found out I really need to be on the Verizon towers, so I started to get C models. Take a look at all their phones- it sounds like you would want a C model. Then look on Amazon for the same phone- shopcelldeals is a legit seller who will have the same phone for probably the same price but include airtime so it's a better deal. Then go on tracfone.com to activate it. I'm not sure of the process involved in porting your phone number to Tracfone but the website should tell you.

You can also Bring Your Own Phone to Tracfone- my DDs and I now have used Verizon iPhones on Tracfone but I have to say it was a bit complicated to get set up. Some of that was just me not knowing what to do, and some of it was their CS messing up accounts. All good now.

I have been on Tracfone for many years and the customer service can be difficult. What I recommend is using their Live Chat feature if you have any trouble or if you just want them to walk you through something. You can go on their FB page or the support forum on their website and post that you have a problem and they will give you a Live Chat link to use. You can keep that link and use it anytime in the future.

If you have questions regarding a specific model, you might try the Tracfone board at howardforums.com.

You can now buy extra texts and extra data separately if you need them (you didn't mention using a lot of call time). For example, if you buy a year of service with 400 minutes, the smartphones would be triple minutes and put them in separate buckets, so you would get 1200 minutes talk, 1200 texts, and 1.2 GB data. Someone like my daughter who never talks but texts a lot can now add 1000 texts for $10.

 

[icicle]

I don't know if you are interested in other options but there are plenty of prepaid companies that don't use sprint. I'm actually looking to move away from Virgin mobile. I've found this page really helpful: http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/search/label/Ptel

If you scroll down on the right side of the page it lists tons of options and you can tell which towers they use by the letter in parentheses. I'm deliberating between Platinumtel and Page Plus.