TracFone Wireless user reviews

0.5 stars

"DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!" on July 22, 2008 by morgankd

Pros: There are none

Cons: too many to say

Summary: TracFone has the worst customer service I've ever seen in my life. Don't waste your money! I've tried for the last 18 days to start up my service. I've had no luck. The company has given me 4 different numbers, in the wrong area codes. They have sent me another SIM card, that is not compatible in my area. They said that they would send me a second SIM card, LAST WEEK, I called today and I was told that the SIM card was canceled. I am absolutely aggravated and I feel extremely ripped off! I gave them money, so that I could have a cell phone. They did not come through with service. They love to give you the run around and put you on hold, repeatedly, for 2-3 minutes at a time. They love to say, I need to update my supervisor. They also love to tell you that they will call you back in 24-48 hours and (not) surprisingly the don't call you back. When they ask me what I want, I tell them get the service to work or give me back my money. They say we are not allowed to give back your money. So, you can see how I would feel RIPPED OFF! They also like to put you on hold, forever, and then wonder why you are so upset. PLEASE be warned, this is the absolute worst customer service that I've ever run in to in my life.


BUYER BEWARE!!!!

4.5 stars

"Net10 from TracFone is best prepaid plan" on April 30, 2008 by netmer0

Pros: No per-day charges, works anywhere, supports text msg

Cons: Must change out SIM card whenever you move to new area

Summary: I've had a Net10 phone for years. Its easy, its cheap to use and it has great national coverage. I bought one for my son in college and it saved us a tremendous amount of money. Text messaging is enabled by default at 5 cents/message. More than I can say for my wife's ATT contract which requires $10/month for text messages. Net10 is an easy "Yes" buy for anyone but those who have had their cell phone surgically attached to their jaws because they use them so much.

5.0 stars

"GREAT PHONE FOR THE OCCASIONAL USER, Costs under $8/mth" on March 16, 2009 by cruising-photographer

Pros: My recepiton is great and I'm paying only about $8.00 mth for service. With "double minutes" and promo codes, I'm getting 1000 minutes/year for $100.00 If the phone is lost, I'm out $30, not $200 for a replacement phone! BEST DEAL FOR THE $$$.

Cons: Tracfone isn't for someone (like my wife) who spends hours on the phone every day chatting (for her, I have AT&T for $40/mth). Photos from the camera phone must be sent in text messages to web sites to print, no USB into the computer.

Summary: I have owned a Tracfone for 3 years and just purchased one for my elderly mother who wanted a basic cell phone for when she's out. If you don't spend a lot of time on your phone, Tracfone will be less expensive for you than most standard network plans. Most of my calls are short calls (1-5 minutes) and I rarely use more than 60 minutes a month. I don't need to surf the web, watch TV, etc...from my phone, just quick calls or short text messages to friends and co-workers. In my area, Tracfone connects through the AT&T network, so the quality of the signal is great. I've also taken my Tracfone to New York, Las Vegas and even Alaska and had no problems. (If you travel outside the US though, it won't work.) I also love the fact that I can call relatives in Italy for the same cost per minute as calls to friends in the U.S. This is much cheaper than using either my home phone line or my wife's AT&T cell phone. If you have relatives overseas, check if you can call to that country using Tracfone's long distance service. To call an international number, you call a Tracfone 800 number, then enter the international phone number.
Buying a Phone: When you buy a new Tracfone, be sure to buy one with "Double minutes" included. This means that, when you buy 400 minutes, you'll get 800 minutes, if you buy 60 minutes, you'll get 120 minutes. My "Double Minutes" Motorola w-376 was only $29.95 for a new phone. A "Double Minutes" card cost $50, so I'm already ahead $20.00 and have a "free" phone. Also, because Tracfone buys their service from the major wireless carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobal, etc...) be sure to buy your phone from a local store or from their website to insure compatability with your local network. BUYER BEWARE IF YOU BUY ON E-BAY!!!
Buying Minutes: I buy my minutes through the Tracfone website. This way, I can usally see if there's any problem before I make the final purchase. Also, I always check if there's some promo for additional free minutes. After purchasing the minutes online, the minutes are transfered to my phone, usually withing 30 seconds. In spite of all the customer service issues I've read about, I believe that, if you're careful when entering the regestration information, you won't have any problem activating the phone.
I want to point out that Tracfone has a pattented "remaining airtime" display on their phones that show you how many minutes you have left on the phone and the expiration date you must renew by every time you turn on the phone. Also, if you renew before the expiration date, any unused minutes are "rolled over" to the new expiration date. Minutes can be transfered to a new phone if you need to do that as well.

The Motorola w-376 phone i purchased also has a camera phone (low res.) and basic internet connection (Tracfone's web site only for news, weather, sports, misc). I later purchased Tracfone's Motorola w-260 for my mother without these extrafeatures. Love both phones!!! Don't expect high tech phones, just good basic phones that work (I personally have avoided the cheap $10.00 phones).
There's lots of complaints about customer service. I have only had to call them once. Tthe service is outsourced overseas (who's isn't), so it can be hard to communicate. But we worked patiently together and solved the problem of transfering minutes from an old Tracfone phone that was stolen onto the new phone.

In sumary: For people who don't spend hours on the phone, Tracfone is a grat value and the phones work great. Buy the "double minutes" includes phones and watch for promos and your cost can be about $.10/minute, $8.00 month. VALUE FOR THE DOLLAR, YOU CAN'T BEAT TRACFONE.

Updated on Mar 16, 2009

Where did you buy the phone? Did you get it from a local store or online? Since Tracfone uses different networks in different areas, not all Tracfones work everywhere. If you buy from a local store, you're pretty sure it will work on the local network Tracfone uses in your area.

4.5 stars

"Very Good Phone" on July 29, 2009 by Normnunn

Pros: The phone is designed to do what a phone should do, receive and send calls. All the bells, birds and whistles are left to he big guys. This is simplicity.

Cons: Nothing to complain about and I have been using the TracFone for over a year.

Summary: I bought the phone at its basics, that is, three months and 60 minutes. I renew the time three months at a time staying with the basic service plan. If the phone poops out I am only losing a few bucks. So far no problems. After close to fifteen years of paying huge prices and long contracts for cell service I went with TracFone and couldn't be more delighted. I rarely use a cell phone, but it works well in every application I have tried. Sometimes a little noisy, but the expensive ones were no better. Once again, it is a basic phone, send calls and receive calls what else do you need?