My grandmother had that problem. She bought a phone with so-and-so many minutes on it, and even after she had it properly activated, it still wouldn’t give her those minutes. I think she eventually had to buy another minutes card to get it working right.
I decided to get the Tracfone. I could not get the website to let me complete the order, and had to order it by phone. So I couldn’t get the 20 free minutes offered for internet orders, even though it wasn’t my choice - apparently they’re very rigid about procedures. But I did get 10 free minutes for the phone order, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Anyway, I received it last week, it works, I got all the minutes due me, and I expect I’ll be happy with it. Thanks all for your replies.
Yeah the website is cranky sometimes but I found it works if you persist. I usually run into trouble when I try to do more than one thing at a time. For example, instead of entering 2 PIN numbers at once for adding minutes, just do one transaction at a time.
If you can afford the $50, before you add any more minutes be sure to get one of those Double Minute cards, they’re a very good value. And remember to look for the bonus codes each time you add minutes, they’re good for up to 60 extra minutes for free. Most of the eBay minute card sellers seem to include codes with your order, or you can Google search for “tracfone codes”
I have a TracFone and am quite happy with it. Easy to recharge. Reasonably cheap (once I made the initial investment in a double minutes card). Nobody bugging me to upgrade to pointless features.
While each phone is set up differently, if there are no towers the phone has no signal and can’t make a call. Roaming typically refers to when the phone can get a signal, but that signal is not your providers cell tower. Sometimes this incurs a additional charge, or sometimes you can’t make a regular call, but you can dial 911 (emergency dispatch), or 411 (which will connect you to the towers service provider)
Some people with minimal cell phone usage will carry a cell phone without any plan. 911 will work, but if they have to make a call they will call 411 (cell service provider) and give them a credit card number to allow a single call.
I found good tracfone coverage when I went on a roadtrip. It worked, sort of, with persistence in some very remote areas. No guarantees but they are just handy.
Now, I actually have two tracfones, one that I let lapse. It uses an identical battery so I keep them both charged and swap out. But if I wanted to call “911” on a lapsed no-time phone, it was my understanding that “911” isn’t actually the number to call, but I can’t remember what it was - is 411 the emergency number then??
I have been reluctant to dial “911” on it for obvious reason. But a real emergency isn’t the time for experimenting…
I love my Tracfone, but/because I only use it a few times a month. Only one person, my husband, has the number, so if it rings I know who it is. It’s come in handy when we need to meet somewhere. The only problem I’ve ever had is forgetting to take it off the charger and taking it with me when I leave the house.
Several years ago I signed up with Wired Plastic to get a value-added credit card. I love it dearly because I can use it anywhere that takes Visa, but I can’t spend any more than is on the card, so we have no credit card debt. It’s a beautiful thing.
Anyway, I had noticed that they started a program that everytime you used the card, you’d get points that could be exchanged for cell phone minutes blah blah blah. I never paid attention to that because I didn’t have a cell phone. The points accumulated and never expired. When I got my Tracfone I went to my Wired Plastic account page and, just for the hell of it, looked at what plans you could use the points for. Imagine my delight when I found out that Tracfone was one of the plans! I had accumulated so many points that I could get hundreds of minutes for free, which I did. I don’t have to buy another Tracfone pre-paid card until May 2008, and by then I’ll probably have enough Wired Plastic points to get more airtime.
I finally entered the modern world (credit card, cell phone) and all it’s cost me is $3.95 a month for the credit card (well worth it to me), and the initial $30.00ish for the spiffy flip phone. I haven’t figured out text messaging on my phone yet though.