I had been using the same (Motorola) phone on TracFone for about 3 years when it had a sudden USB port failure (so no recharging it). So I went for a quick replacement at a local store. When I found one that actually still bad them, with TracFone you are supposed to only be able to buy a new phone when you also buy a contract card, but I told the checkout guy that I needed it to replace a phone that already had an account and he had no problem (conceptionally or practically) selling me the phone without a plan. I swapped the SIM between phones with no problem. Within days of getting the new phone, TracFone tects to point out that they are required to unlock their phones if you ask if you meet their minimum terms (I think one year of use). I think I just had to text “unlock” to that number and give my IMEI. They then texted back with two long code numbers. I then had to call (not text) a different automated number and enter those two codes. I think it was within minutes that the brand new phone was unlocked. Pretty smooth and simple, really. (A few month later I finally moved off TracFone for a better deal and bought a new new phone because the old new phone was profoundly awful, but I at least do still have it as an emergency backup.)