A frustrating weekend with my Tracphone
As regular readers of this blog might recall, I resisted for years the desire to “plug in” my life with a cellphone. But several relatives wished I had a cellphone, so in August 2011, I bought an inexpensive Tracphone. Friends and relatives with much fancier gadgets, which include Internet access, suggested it would be only a matter of time before I shed my cellphone diapers and graduated to a bigger and better device.
That hasn’t happened, however. My Tracphone has come in handy from time to time to keep in touch with relatives and racquetball buddies regarding playing schedules. My son often texts me during or after key ball games. The Tracphone suits my needs, and a couple of months ago, I spent $100 on a new 12-month card with enough minutes to, I figured, get me through the next year.
I noticed the battery seemed to need recharging more frequently lately, and last week the battery died and wouldn’t take a charge. I called the store where I bought it and was told it would be easier and cost no more to buy a new Tracphone for $10 or $20 instead of a new battery. The sales guy said they could transfer my minutes/data onto my new phone for me. Fine, I figured. I went there Friday night, but they were out of the flip-phone designs I want to keep in my pocket. Frustration No. 1.
I tried a second store, and the helpful attendant spent almost a half hour calling Tracphone and helping me with the data transfer. I was thankful. Before I left, he told me it would be between two hours and two days before the data transfer was complete.
Sunday afternoon, the phone seemed operational; the remaining minutes now showed up on my new phone. But if the old messages (which I didn’t need) and two-dozen or so phone number contacts (which I desired) from my old phone were supposed to magically appear in my new phone, they hadn’t. Frustration No. 2. I called and asked for the guy who helped me Friday night. He was at lunch and would return my call. He didn’t, and I tried two more times to get through to a live person who wasn’t “helping other customers” before I reached him. He said because the old phone wasn’t operational, the data couldn’t transfer. Not that I understood that when we discussed the switch Friday night. Otherwise, I might have just opted for a new battery. Frustration No. 3.
Oh, well, I figured, and spent about a half hour finding and plugging names/numbers of friends and relatives into the contact list on my new phone. This phone is a bit larger and has a few more features that seem different. It also wouldn’t let me write text messages like the old one. When I typed using keypad numbers/letters, it would give odd letters or even whole words that I didn’t want. The instruction booklet offered no clue. Frustration No. 4.
My wife, Cheryl, suggested I return to the store and ask for advice. Not wanting to make another trip, especially in the rain, I called Tracphone’s 800 number and talked to a woman, probably from India, whom I could barely understand. It turns out that some numbers/letters coding in the screen's upper right--so tiny I could barely see them--needed changing. At first she told me to push the # key, but that didn’t change them as she figured. Then she had me hit the * key, and two of the letters disappeared. The textnote function then worked as on my old phone, and I thanked her.
I awoke about 12:30 this morning to a beeping sound from my cellphone, alerting me repeatedly to a text message I’d received. My old phone would do a faint little ring when one was received but didn’t continue to ring periodically until I checked it. Frustration No. 5. I got up and checked the message, which sounded in a computerized voice rather than just appearing as words on the screen. That woke my now frustrated wife.
It all makes me wonder just how much I need one of these gadgets--much less one more complicated.
Greg Peck can be reached at (608) 755-8278 or gpeck@gazettextra.com. Or follow him on Twitter or Facebook
Nov 13, 2012 at 3:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
We've had TracFone for years and it has served us well. When you buy the annual service, it comes out to less than $9 per month. Works great for low-minute users. I don't need (or want) all the bells and whistles. Just give me a plain phone that I can make and receive calls on.
...
Greg - If I had a battery issue, I would have located a new OEM replacement battery online. Especially if there was nothing wrong with your existing phone. As you found out, changing batteries is simple -- changing phones, not so much!
Nov 13, 2012 at 3:07 p.m.
Suggest removal
Wow, blaming your wife for not being able to afford a cell phone. Thats kinda low. Maybe you could get a job at Family Dollar and help other seniors learn how to deal with their wonderful Trafone.
Nov 13, 2012 at 2:33 p.m.
Suggest removal
should have gone with Us cellular..no contracts and free battery swap.awesome cust service and not bad pricing either...
Nov 13, 2012 at 2:17 p.m.
Suggest removal
I agree with Jvlhomeowner, if the battery costs more than the phone, buy the phone and just change batteries.
Nov 13, 2012 at 7:21 a.m.
Suggest removal
Thanks, theone, for your supportive comments. Shopierehuh, you might be well-intentioned, but you know nothing about my household budget, which has diminished greatly in recent years because of the economy and my wife's retirement. We buy the AT&T U-verse package, including a channel upgrade so I can get my fix of Badgers/Packers and Internet service and my wife can enjoy taping multiple shows at once, and that's a sizable monthly bite. Even spending another $10 or so a month on a Tracphone leaves me to question the value/need. The last thing I need is another expensive perpetual monthly bill for a service that I would use little. I'm sure many readers can identify with this sentiment. MY older sister and her tech geeky husband both use Tracphones and recommended them as suitable to their needs.
Greg Peck
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
And...anytime I did need to call customer service...it may have taken a little longer, but I was completely satisfied with the outcome.
One thing to remember, customer service can't fix cellphone illiteracy.
Nov 12, 2012 at 11:43 p.m.
Suggest removal
I dumped the overpriced cell carriers years ago. Tracfone has surpassed all expectations.
Any unused minutes carry over.
I have internet access above and beyond what many mainstream carriers offer as far as coverage goes.
Some of my friends have asked to use my Tracfone because their carrier was in a dead spot.
The only thing Tracfone is limited in is apps. But who needs them anyway?
Oh...and the price for more minutes than I'll ever use in a year averages out to about $9.00 a month.
Nov 12, 2012 at 8:53 p.m.
Suggest removal
Tracfone is fine until you need service. Then it truly sucks, because their operators are in the Phillipines and their computers never work (and/or they don't know what they're doing). You have to get a supervisor to get anywhere with them.
Nov 12, 2012 at 8:45 p.m.
Suggest removal
Oh yes, we haven't had a traditional land line in years. We had VOIP from Charter for years, but a few months ago we decided to keep Charter for internet, but saved money by buying a $40 VOIP device. Not Magicjack, but similar idea. No monthly land line charges.
Nov 12, 2012 at 8:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
I used a Tracphone maybe a dozen years ago. If I didn't use the minutes, I lost them. And adding minutes after they expired was a nuisance. They have a bad rep.
If someone needs a cellphone for an emergency, any will do (don't get us started on Obamaphones meme). All cellphones are supposed to be able to call 911. My cell phone gets replaced when we renew our contract, and the old ones get given to a charity for vets. http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
Anyways, I have an Android smartphone. If I'm waiting on an oil change or such, I read an ebook. (www.gutenberg.org). Or I check email or news. And if I'm stuck in traffic, it still works for calls. I don't even come close to using all it's options. The metal detector app is amusing lol.
You get what you pay for.
Nov 12, 2012 at 7:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
I would add that the only problem I ever had was the time that I ran over my phone and presumably chopped it up with a brush hog on a large tractor. I never found it, it was unable to answer my calls. Very sad, Greg. But the real phone company fixed me right with a new one, up and a couple or three years later, still running good with no problems.
Nov 12, 2012 at 7:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
Greg, I pre-apologize and hope you will understand what I have to say. There is no other way to say it. Here it is; Don't be so danged cheap. Get a real cell phone from a real company, sign a contract for a couple of years, you will get a good deal and a phone that always works and you don't have to screw around. You are as bad as my older sister, I am training her at this moment.
Nov 12, 2012 at 7:12 p.m.
Suggest removal
Really Greg a tracphone? I thought only drug dealers used those anymore.
Nov 12, 2012 at 5:37 p.m.
Suggest removal
Are Tracphones educated like my SII? It has a masters degree in making me look stupid. Not a day passes that I do not have to ask my Girlfriend how to do something on my phone. One day it started making a noise like a telephone ringing and I was amazed. I did not know what to do to correct that problem. Then I found out it works like a Tracphone too and I can say "Hello" when it makes that noise.
Nov 12, 2012 at 5:14 p.m.
Suggest removal
Im......, it looks just like the gadget that powers my pacemaker.
Nov 12, 2012 at 4:54 p.m.
Suggest removal
gazettefan - The Tracphone has moving parts. There's a little hamster running in a hamster wheel that's connected to a generator to provide power. Don't believe me? Here's the prototype:
http://youtu.be/7ywENxnuPqU
Nov 12, 2012 at 4:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
trac phone- I thought you said you got a cell phone? lol. Didnt know they were that fancy wit tex an all.
Nov 12, 2012 at 4:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
Isn't it more a gizmo rather than a gadget? Gadget suggests moving parts.
Nov 12, 2012 at 3:24 p.m.
Suggest removal
Yes Tracphone still exists and are sold almost everywhere. When my battery went I just sailed off to eBay and found another phone of the same model ( new btw) and bought it. My phone has a memory card where all the important information is stored, so changeover is a snap.
The beauty of Tracphone and it's sister Net10, is that they work with most cell phone companies - no roaming and very few "dead spots' - that said my living room is a dead spot- but my old Cellular phone had one that was blocks in size around my home until the tower went in at the fairground.
PLUS- I've never registered it in any name, so I'm truely "unlisted"
Nov 12, 2012 at 2:42 p.m.
Suggest removal
I think what you need Greg is a Port-O-Rotary phone. You can wear them on your belt, they say.
https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/96
Nov 12, 2012 at 2:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
Tracphones still exsist? Wow. (Passing out like an M&M who just seen Santa)
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.