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Post by lollapealooza on Sept 2, 2015 15:04:24 GMT
I'm getting ready to retire and I don't want the expense of a smart phone contract any longer. I bought a Tracfone which should come tomorrow...what can I expect??? Good and bad, please - it wasn't very expensive, so if I hate it it's OK...but I'd like a heads-up! Thanks, folks!!!
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,682
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Sept 2, 2015 15:20:13 GMT
I think if you're in the big city it's likely ok, but we live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere and never could get it to work. Even after calling and having them mail us a new SIM card. And of course support is outsourced to someone you can barely understand. Ended up returning it and adding DS to our plan.
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kate
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,524 
Location: The city that doesn't sleep
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 3:30:05 GMT
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Post by kate on Sept 2, 2015 16:07:47 GMT
I'm about to order one for my DS - I do live in a big city... Eager to hear the experience of others.
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Post by Scrapper100 on Sept 2, 2015 16:57:42 GMT
We live in s pretty big city and it seems to work fine here we didn't want to spend the $$ for DS knowing he doesn't talk and text much. We wanted it for emergencies and he enjoys playing games in it but we don't have data in it he has to use wifi.
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Post by Zee on Sept 2, 2015 17:03:59 GMT
My mom has had nothing but a tracfone for years. I bought her the first one and the second one, and she's been using that simple slider phone for years now.
She lives in a decent sized metro area, not large by any means but large enough, says she's never had any problems with it. She mainly uses it when traveling or when visitors like me and my sister are there, to keep up with us, but she doesn't use it on a day-to-day basis. Just calls and texts, no data.
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Sept 2, 2015 17:20:32 GMT
My younger kids (13yo boys) have had them for three years. They're great for them because all they want to do is talk and text. The camera is ok and they sometimes text pictures. The model they have looks like a regular smartphone.
The phones are a triple minutes phones I bought on Amazon. For example, when I buy the 90day/60minute cards and enter them on the phones, the kids get 90days/180minutes. There are places online to find codes to get more minutes. I can almost always find a 30 minute code and I believe they come out monthly. Not sure about that, but I use one every three months when I load the phones. The code minutes do not triple, and neither do the days of service.
I like that I don't have a lot invested in the phone or the service plan. I buy the 90d/60m plans (the lowest) because I don't want to have a lot invested in the phone if it disappears. (Cards with more days/minutes are available.) One kid has twice left his phone someplace and I think the reason it gets turned in is because it's a TracFone. hahaha
We haven't noticed a problem with non-service areas, but we live near big cities and that is undoubtedly a factor.
The negative is that the browser is crummy and add-on apps are limited. Frankly, I'm happy they don't like going online due to the clunky browser. The kids don't care since they're not into social media. The onboard apps are the usual basic productivity things like clock, calendar, calculator, etc. and they do the job.
Next year they go to high school and will get smartphones on my account. I pay $7/month to keep them in TracFones now. It'll cost several times that next year.
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scrappinmama
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,885
Jun 26, 2014 12:54:09 GMT
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Post by scrappinmama on Sept 2, 2015 18:09:15 GMT
I bought one for my sone last year. We're pretty happy with it. He doesn't like to chat on the phone, so we just bought it for emergencies or for him to call if he needs us.
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Sept 2, 2015 18:49:22 GMT
The "minutes" thing is actually more like points. A text is 1/3 of a "minute" and photos/vids cost 5 or more "minutes" to send. They don't cost anything to just take and store on the phone. It's easy to connect the phone to a computer and move photos over, too, to free up space on the phone. Talking is 1m/1m.
Minutes/Points roll over.
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Post by Sassy Sabrina SWZ on Sept 2, 2015 22:13:53 GMT
I'm another retiree who uses a TracFone mainly for emergencies (and semi-emergencies) and when traveling. At home, I just use my landline and computer for all my communication and social networking needs. I use the same plan (90 days/60 minutes), with double minutes, that TheOtherMeg described. The unused minutes roll over, and since I use the phone so rarely, I never even check my balance. I live in a city and rarely have reception problems. I've never had a need for technical support, so I can't comment on that. I never text (don't know how), don't have any apps, and don't use the camera because I prefer to use my digital camera (although I tested that feature once, and it worked fine). Adding airtime is very convenient; I've found it a bit cheaper to buy a card at the grocery store and then add airtime (i.e., activate the card) online. If I purchase airtime online, they add some taxes and fees. |
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Post by 5peanutsnana on Sept 2, 2015 22:59:20 GMT
My DH has had a TracFone for probably 4 years. I buy them at HSN and I think I paid about $100. They came with 1200 minutes. He has had no problems with reception on it and we are in a small town. You get triple minutes if you need to purchase more but he has never need to. I was encouraged by my carrier, Verizon, to go this route. It is the cheapest option if you don't use it a lot.
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Post by Leone on Sept 3, 2015 0:31:44 GMT
HSN and QVC are the best places to get them. Basically they throw in fairly nice phones for free with about 1400 minutes for about $89.95 when they are the TSV. we've had them for about 4 years and are very pleased. You can roll over the minutes. I typically get a new phone when they offer one.
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Post by chimom on Sept 3, 2015 16:44:29 GMT
Bought a couple of them from QVC and love them. (LG phone with 1200 minutes) We do still have a land line but it's rarely used.
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