Help please with Tracfones!

[sandshal]

Our party of 9 are travelling to WDW from the UK in May this year, thinking of purchasing 2 reconditioned phones plus 60 minute cards for $19.99 from the tracfone website, but first a couple of questions about activation and coverage:-

If I order the phones, I will obviously need to get them activated, can I do this in the UK?, should I get them sent to my sister in Houston first so that she can activate them from there, then send them over, or can you do it on arrival without using the web?

If we choose the Houston option, will they work OK in Orlando and if service runs out before we get there (which I think it probably will) do they discontinue the number within 3-4 months or can we simply top up the phone with the 60 minute card when we get there?

Staying in Davenport in a Villa, any experience of reception around the Orlando area or at the parks?

Also, the refer a friend programme - any ideas of best way forward with 2 new phones?

Any help would really be appreciated.

Sharon

 

[salmoneous]

Sorry I can't actually answer your questions. Hopefully someone will. I just want to point out that there are a few folks in the Budget forum who know all the tricks and tips for Tracphones and maximizing referrals. If you don't get what you need to know here, you can post down there - or just do a search.

 

[pumba]

we used our tracfones last year for the second time and the reception was excellent from there to MAINE......we used them at Movies and also at Epcot.....hope you have a great time too

 

[kaytieeldr]

You can activate your Tracfones using any 'land' telephone. I'd just wait until you get here, then activate them. The 60 minutes itself won't expire, but unless it's a one-year card, the time will probably expire before you get here.
If you do want your sister to activate the phones, why not just have Tracfone ship them directly to her?

 

[powellrj]

We have several trac phones that our kids use so I can answer some of your questions. You can activate them over the phone using the 800# that will come with your phone, but you do get more minutes if you activate on the web. If you don't mind paying a little more, most Targets and Wal-marts sell trac phones that you can buy in the stores and activate once you buy them. We got our last 2 phones from Target. We have found the coverage is really good with them and have never had a problem. I don't remember how long the minutes are good for before you have to buy more, but I want to say 90 days (I could be wrong but I think thats right).

The best way to get a referal is get your first one from a current customer and then you can use your first phone to refer yourself and get the extra minutes that way.

The bad thing about buying them on-line is that you do pay postage and someone has to sign for them when they are shipped, so your Texas person will have to be home to sign for them if you send them there.

You pick the area code that you want to use the phone in, so sending them to Texas and using them in Orlando wouldn't be a problem. I bought my DS a phone in Indiana and signed up for a number in Missouri so he could use it at work.

Have a great trip!

 

[halld6479]

I got trac phone for my grandson at xmas to teach him about minutes and roaming beofre we put him on our plan, check on the roaming charges if you activate them in US or any where outside the area code you plan on using it in, and check to see the talk time will be charged roaming while in disney. might be better to activate them in orlando when you get there. I know if I had activated his here where we live when he took it with him after xmas back home he would have been roaming all the time because we are not in the same service area.

 

[Robo]

we used our tracfones last year for the second time and the reception was excellent from there to MAINE...

(Just a technical note for clarification.)

That's a common misconception about cell-phones.
A cell-phone at Disney would not "directly" communicate with Maine.
The PHONE COMPANY would make the Orlando-to-Maine connection and "patch it" to your local cell-phone signal.

If the cell-phone works LOCALLY then, long distance calls are no problem (you could easily call Autrailia on a cell-phone, if you could afford the cost.)

The MAIN consideration is, "can the cell-phone reach a LOCAL cell TOWER?"
Usually the tower must be within five or ten miles and you must not be located in a too-low or shielded area (valley, tunnel, steel building).

If it CAN reach the tower with your signal, you can call ANYWHERE.

But, if it can't reach a local tower, you could not even call a person (cell-phone or land-line) standing within arms-length of you.

A cell-phone MUST be able to communicate with a local cell TOWER before it will work.

 

[sandshal]

Thanks for all your help so far! - does anybody know how hard it is to activate by phone?

Also husband keeps talking walkie-talkies, which would be best tracfones or walkie-talkies?

 

[powellrj]

they aren't hard to activate by phone, and I was reading the newspaper and there was an ad for wal-mart that said trac phones were now $19.95 in store. We have never had much luck with walkie talkies.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

We activated our TracFones via the internet. Took a few minutes, but not bad at all. It's a good deal for people who don't use a cell phone constantly. We have had ours almost two years now. For some reason when we signed on via the internet we received two years plus the minutes we purchased for all our phones. Since we don't use them much the minutes are still pretty high but the two years are almost up. It's great not having another monthly bill come to the house!

 

[Straitlover]

Dont' know if it's the case now, but when I first got mine a few years ago, it took forever to activate by phone. However,I believe that's just when they were starting the online activation, so there were probably more people doing it by phone, which caused it to be slow. Now I do my renewals online, so I don;t know how long it takes on the phone now.

If you get the phone that has the national one rate, they can be activated w/ any US zipcode, and each minute costs one unit. If you get a phone that has roaming, then any calls outside your home area use 2 units per minute. In taht case, you definitely want to choose an Orlando, LBV or Kissimmee zip code as your home area. Also, unless you have the 1 year card, each card is only good for 60 days, so I would not activate until you're getting ready to leave for your trip.

 

[BraveMom3]

Sorry, but I'm a little technologically challenged I'm thinking of getting a tracfone for my oldest son to have for upcoming trip - just so I can communicate with him when/if he and his brother (9yo) go "exploring" around the resort, or when they go off to do a ride that DD won't do and we don't meet up as planned (this has never happened, but you know...) If I'm using my Sprint phone (based in Biloxi, MS), how do we call each other without roaming? Is this possible? Thanks!

 

[shamrock30]

Just want to warn you that last year, I tried to use my Tracfone and it wouldn't place my call. I couldn't understand why, as I had plenty of minutes left and was not near the expiration date. It turns out that is you don't use your phone at least once a month, they may "shut off" your service. I got my service back after a call to Tracfone, and have been careful to at least ring the phone from my home phone once a month. I don't know how often they actually do this to people, but I wouldn't let your phone sit completely idle for too long at your sister's house after it is activated.

 

[sandshal]

The National One Rate! Sorry to appear vague and possibly even stupid! but is this the same as the single call rate shown on www.tracfone.com and does this mean on the reconditioned Nokia 1100 that if I activate the phone in Houston it will cost the same to use the phone in Houston as in Orlando.

 

[maxiesmom]

I used my tracfone last may, and I could call on it fine. However, for some strange reason, I couldn't receive any messages. I don't know why. In fact my phone did not even say I had any voice mail until my plane landed at home. Then a whole bunch loaded. I am going to get a better cell phone before my next trip, just to be sure that doesn't happen again.

 

[BraveMom3]

Bumping to see if anyone has answers to my ?'s Thanks!

 

[liamandcaili]

Sorry, but I'm a little technologically challenged I'm thinking of getting a tracfone for my oldest son to have for upcoming trip - just so I can communicate with him when/if he and his brother (9yo) go "exploring" around the resort, or when they go off to do a ride that DD won't do and we don't meet up as planned (this has never happened, but you know...) If I'm using my Sprint phone (based in Biloxi, MS), how do we call each other without roaming? Is this possible? Thanks!

I don't know what kind of plan you have, but if you purchased your son a Tracfone that had the National One plan, or whatever they call it, then his phone would only charge you one unit per minute you talked. If you purchase him a plan that does have roaming charges, then his phone would charge you two units per minute you talked.

The thing with cellphones is that both phones are charged minutes unless you have a family-talk-free plan with one company. So if you have a Sprint phone, you will be charged for the minutes you talk and if your plan has roaming fees, you will be charged those as well. Your son will also be charged the minutes you talk at either a one unit per minute, or two unit per minute rate.

That is why many people who call each other regularly opt to have a plan where only one phone is charged the minutes. If you are only using the phone for vacation though, you are probably better off getting the Tracfone, which only requires the one-time payment, whereas signing up for a family plan would require a certain number of months commitment and a regular monthly payment.

 

[Hugpug]

I got a trackfone for Christmas and activated over the internet Had no problems at all. The min will go if you don't use them in 60 days. But if you purchase the year package you don't lose anything as long as you renew before the expiration date. 1 year wa 89.00 for 150 min. at Christmas time. Plus a bonus of 100 min. You cannot use it outside of the US so you are better off having them sent to your sister in Houston but don't activate them till you get there.Reular calls in your calling area are 1 unit per min. Outside your calling area is roaming and that uses 2 units per Min. Go to there web site it is all explained very clearly. I have min for emegncy purpose. Very happy with it. Hope this helps.

 

[CRCrazy]

We've used two different Tracfones at WDW, with VERY different success levels.

When you purchase a Tracfone - depending on where you activate it, Tracfone "buys" service with a particular carrier.

I live in a remote area in the NH mountains, and we have VERY spotty cell coverage - provided only by US Cellular (I think). It's not worth it to purchase a regular cell plan up here, since most places have NO signal at all. I did buy my daughter a Tracfone for emergencies, and to call me when she needs a ride, etc., and it's worked well for her, so she bought the extended 1 year plan and LOTS of minutes. When we took the phone to Florida last September - she was QUITE sad to see that she got NO service ANYWHERE - roaming or not! She didn't get service again till we got to the airport in Manchester - where she did get a roaming signal. So much for her planned nightly calls to her boyfriend!!

When I went back in Dec. with my youngest - I purchased a $19.99 Nokia Tracfone at Walmart - and I activated it on the web when I checked in for my flight - you just had to call the number from a non-roaming location - which I did when I landed at the Orlando airport. It worked like a dream! I had great coverage everywhere I tried! I am using up the rest of the minutes here at home as roaming minutes.

So be careful where you activate it - make sure that it qualifies for Nationwide service!

 

[sandshal]

Thanks everyone for all your help - Ive ordered 2 reconditioned Nokia 1100s to be sent to Houston, which will be activated there so that hopefully they will work when we get to the states in May (and I'll know they work, within the refund time). Hopefully, I can arrange for a couple of referrals for added minutes, so even if Im charged roaming rates I shouldnt lose our to much on a 16 day vacation - if they don't work when we get to Orlando, I may need to reregister the phones in Orlando - worst scenario $40 lost (a snip in the Ocean to the cost of a holiday in Florida!)

Thanks for all your help everyone - couldn't have done it without you and again if anyone can see any problems with my plans, let me know - your advice will be much appreciated.

Sharon (UK)