Resources for Technical Questions about Tracfone

Got a Difficult Question about your Prepaid Phone from Tracfone?

With many of Tracfone's newer phones coming with features such as WiFi, the opportunity for challenging technical questions arises. With that in mind then, I want to share some resources for getting answers to questions about Tracfone cell phones and service.

Resources for getting answers

By far, the best way might be to just call the Tracfone customer help line.

While some people complain about Tracfone's customer service, for the majority of users, it works just fine. It might take 20 minutes and you might be talking with a non native English speaker, but they are working hard to improve their customer service rating.

To get the contact information for Tracfone, simply visit their website, Tracfone.com.

And, if you don't want to talk on the phone, submitting a question or complaint through their website's form is easy to do, and results in a response within a few days.

Other Options for Getting Your Questions Answered

Obviously, another option for when you might have a question about Tracfone is to simply ask it here on TracfoneReviewer. Either our small administrative team will get to it, or sometimes other readers have the answer as well.

Finally, another really good resource are the many cell phone forums that usually have a section specifically for Tracfone or general prepaid cell phone questions. One such forum, called HowardForums, has a large base of users who tend to be very helpful and informative.

So if you have a question, use one of these methods to get an answer! 

Visit our Cell Phone Reviews page, if you have questions about specific phones form Tracfone.

Top 3 Reasons Why People Use Tracfone

3 Reasons Why People Like Using Tracfone

A lot of people use Tracfone for a lot of different reasons. But what are the top three reasons why consumers use Tracfone, making it one of the fastest growing cell phone companies in America?

Many tech-savvy gadget heavy Americans wonder why anyone would want a prepaid cell phone with basic features and limited minutes. But apparently, there are a lot of consumers who are looking for just that, because of several key reasons. Below are the top three, with the biggest reason at the end.

3. Ease of Use

While the phones from Tracfone are not always simple and intuitive to use, it is very simple to buy a Tracfone, activate it and add minutes. In just an hour or two anyone can have a mobile phone with no further monetary obligations.

Although contract phones don't take very long to set up either, they do require a bit more ink.

Thus many people are choosing a prepaid carrier such as Tracfone, simply because it is easy to deal with, and there are no strings attached as far as keeping up with payments or upgrades.

2. Convenience 

Along the same lines of ease of use, Tracfones and other prepaid mobile phones tend to be very convenient in that when you need them, you can add minutes and they are ready to use. If you don't need it for a few months, then no need to waste money on it, you can just not buy any minutes for it.

This convenience of choosing when you want to have a cell phone is another significant reason for consumers picking Tracfone. However, the biggest reason is next.

1. Cost

By a large margin, consumers choose no contract prepaid cell phones like the ones from Tracfone because of the low cost and no fees.

With Tracfone, a family of four can each have a cell phone with minutes and service, for $30 a month with the Tracfone Family Value Plan (read our review of it to learn more!). Yes, that is $30 total, per month, or less than $1 a day for 4 phones!

Along with low cost minutes and service bundles, Tracfone also keeps the cost of phones very low, typically under $60 for their best phones like the LG 840G or Samsung S390G

What about people who need to use their phone a lot for talking or texting? Plenty of prepaid cell phone companies (but not Tracfone) offer monthly unlimited plans for less than what the major contract companies offer.

In a time when economic conditions have made many people more money-conscious, the low cost of prepaid cell phones is getting noticed.

Many people choose Tracfone for a variety of other reasons as well, perhaps as a back up or emergency phone, or just for a short time while they look into other mobile phone options.

So why do you use Tracfone? Leave a comment with your top 3 reasons for using Tracfone.

Samsung S390G Review - Tracfone

Review of the Samsung S390G Prepaid Cell Phone from Tracfone

The Samsung 390G is a qwerty keyboard prepaid mobile phone from Tracfone with WiFi, 2MP Camera and Triple Minutes for Life.

This phone easily competes with Tracfone's other top-of-the-line phones, such as the LG 530G, providing a number of great features.

However, with Tracfone's release of new Android Smartphones, which you can see more about on our cell phone reviews page, the Samsung is now a little outpaced by these new smartphones.

This review of the Samsung S390G will cover the key features for the phone, our likes and dislikes about it, and finally the overall rating as well as a buying guide for getting a good deal.

To get a better idea of how this phone stacks up, take a look at the list of features below.

Samsung S390G Features and Specs

• Triple Minutes for Life
• Full Qwerty Keyboard
• Mobile Web
• WiFi Capability
• 2 Mega Pixel Camera and Video Recorder
• MP3 Player (Compatible with up to a 32GB microSD)
• Hands Free Speaker
• Voice Command
• 2,000 Entry Phonebook
• Bluetooth Wireless Technology
• Battery and Wall Charger
• And many other common features such as Voicemail, Caller ID, Airtime Balance display, Auto Redial, and no activation or hidden fees

The battery life for the S390G is also a key feature, lasting 12.5 days on standby. With average use, the battery will last 4 to 7 days, which is outstanding for nearly any cell phone and especially good when compared to most smartphones which need charging every 12 to 48 hours! 

Now, time to look at some of the Likes and Dislikes for this phone from Samsung.

Likes and Dislikes for the Samsung S390G from Tracfone

The S390g from Tracfone

It is easy to start with the likes for this phone, because it has plenty of them:

Triple Minutes for Life is now pretty much standard on all of Tracfone's newer cell phone offerings but it is still a wonderful feature. For those who might not know, Triple Minutes for Life means that if you add a 60 minute card, you will get 180 total minutes.

The MP3 player with compatibility for a 32 GB MicroSD card means that you can put, and play, enough music to last you quite a while. Older phones from Tracfone could only handle 8 or 16 GB cards (which is still plenty of space), so this is a nice improvement. 

The best way to get music onto the Samsung S390G is to either connect the phone to your computer with a cable (which can be purchased from amazon) or take the MicroSD card out of the phone, and put it into the slot on your computer. Then, simply convert any songs you want to MP3 format, and transfer to the card. This phone uses a standard 3.5mm headphone jack for easy listening.

It is important to note that this phone does not come with a MicroSD card, so that must be purchased separately.

Several other great features for the S390G worth mentioning in this review are the 2MP Camera, Voice Command, and the Qwerty keyboard. While the cemera is nothing to write home about, it is quite adequate for taking pictures when no other cameras are around. Voice Command allows the user to make calls to contacts by saying "call (contacts name)". And the Qwerty keyboard is easy to use and get accustomed to.

Finally, one of our biggest likes for the S390G is the WiFi Capability. While it is not perfect and sometimes gives users more grief than it might be worth, it is amazing to be able to surf the web on a prepaid phone from Tracfone.

To be clear, when using WiFi (not Mobile Web) on the Samsung S390G, it is free and will not deduct minutes from you!While using the WiFi on the phone you can watch YouTube videos, check email, and surf the web all for free. 

The WiFi can be a little challenging to figure out, but like most electronic devices, there are plenty of guides online and if all else fails, give it to a teenager to figure it out.

Now, there a few Dislikes for this phone.

One of the most common dislikes for the S390G is that the WiFi is a little hard to use and set up. But, as mentioned above, it is very possible and makes for free web surfing from your Tracfone.

Another dislike for the phone is that some users have had problems with error messages showing up, or even the phone mistakenly dialing 911. If this or other serious problems are showing up on your phone, simply contact Tracfone and have them send you a replacement.

Our last dislike about this phone is that it is a relatively basic phone when compared to smartphones. If you might be thinking this is a smartphone and switching from a major contract carrier, you  might be a little disappointed with the limitations of this phone. However, if you are using an older Tracfone, this phone is a really great value for the money, and priced significantly below many other cell phone options on the market.

Overview of the Samsung S390G from Tracfone

This phone is a really good option when considering buying a Tracfone prepaid mobile phone. Determining whether to get this phone or not depends on what you are looking for in a phone. If you want WiFi, but don't want a touchscreen phone, this is one of the best options. (the LG840G is a touchscreen phone with WiFi from Tracfone and also a great option)

Our minor dislikes about this phone are easily overshadowed by the WiFi Capabilities, Triple Minutes for Life, and great battery life of the S 390G. 

The Samsung S390G typically retails in most stores for around $50. But great deals can be found on Amazon for sometimes as low as $30. View the Samsung S390G on Amazon to see more buying options.

Learn how to save even more money with our Review of Tracfone's Family Value Plan.

How to Set Up the Tracfone Family Value Plan

The Tracfone Family Value Plan is A Great Deal

But how do you set it up, and how much does it really cost, and do you get double or triple minutes added as well? All these questions and more answered below!

How To Set Up the Tracfone Family Value Plan

To begin, if you don't already have an account on the Tracfone Website, then set that up for your phone. It is easy to do and just requires a few bits of information like phone number and email.

Next, add the other phones you want to put on the family value plan onto your online account on the Tracfone Website. If you don't have all the details on these phones, you can call up Tracfone and have them do it as long as you have the phone number for these phones.

Cell Phones By  Dru Bloomfield

Now that all the phones you want on the value plan show up on your account with Tracfone you can begin purchasing the family value plan.

The first phone added to the plan (located under Buy Minutes Online> Plans> Family Value Plan) will cost $9.99 and get 30 days of service and 50 minutes. All others added to the plan will get 30 days of service and 40 minutes for $5.99.

If your phone as double or triple minutes for life, you will get 100 or 150 respectively. Others on the plan will get 80 or 120 minutes, depending if the have double or triple minutes.

To choose which phone will get the 50 minutes per month, and cost 9.99, simple add it first and purchase the Family Value Plan. Proceed to checkout and complete your order.

Then do this process over again, but when you select the Family Value Plan, the website should recognize it is for 40 minutes at $5.99. Checkout and repeat this for each additional phone you wish to add.

 How Much Does it Really Cost?

You might be wondering, how much does this value plan really cost, it can't be this cheap for a prepaid cell phone plan can it?

Well, it really does only cost $10 for the first phone, and $6 for each additional phone. Of course, there are some taxes etc. which add a dollar to the final cost, but in the end you could have a family of four each with cell phone service for less than $30 a month. If that isn't incredible, I don't know what is.

$30 a month is half what most consumers pay for a single cell phone service plan.

So, how much could you save?

Read our Cell Phone Reviews to start looking at phones with Triple Minutes for Life!

Are There Any Drawbacks or Other Information?

The first drawback is that if you have people in your family (such as teenagers) who use their phone a lot, they may run out of minutes. But you can always purchase more minutes while on the Value Plan.

Perhaps this would be a good way to help younger people manage their resources, by giving them 40 minutes and 30 days of service each month, but anything over is up to them to pay.

For the Family Value Plan there are no hidden fees, no cancellation fees, and the payment is automatically charged to your account each month on the day you enrolled in the plan.

Cancelation is pretty easy, all you need to do is call the Tracfone customer service, or you can even change which phones are on the plan on the Tracfone website, in your account area.

Got any further questions about the Value Plan? Ask them in the comments section below and we will try to get back to you!

How Many Minutes Does Texting Cost for TracFone?

How Much Does Texting Cost for Tracfone?

This is a relatively common question many people have when looking at buying a Tracfone cell phone.

Fortunately, it has a very easy answer.

Cell Phone Closeup By seanmcmenemy

Texting, or SMS, costs 0.3 units (or minutes) each

Sending an MMS costs 0.5 unites, and pictures cost 1 unit.


Texting with Tracfone is very reasonable, although if you send thousands of texts per month, you may want to look for an unlimited plan.

Or, read Tracfone Reviewer's top 3 cell phones for texting from Tracfone.

There are several other costs that you should be familiar with.

Surfing the web browser costs 0.4 units per minute

on newer Tracfone Cell phones, such as the LG 840G, using the web browser costs differently based more on the amount of data used, instead of time online.Additionally, the LG 840G also has WiFi connectivity, which is free to use on the phone when in places with WiFi.

Using Tracfone prepaid cell phones is great for those who want an emergency phone, don't use their phone too often, or just need a phone in a hurry. And with many of the newer phones including Triple Minutes for Life, they have become even more economical for daily use.

To learn more, read our Overview of Tracfone or visit our Cell Phone Reviews page.

Giving TracFone as a Gift

Affordable and Easy, TracFones Make for Great Gifts

Do you know someone who doesn't own a cell phone? Maybe a son or daughter, niece or nephew, grandfather or grandmother, or other friends. If you are looking for a gift idea, a TracFone might be it! 

Nothing says 'I want to talk with you more often' than giving someone a cell phone. And prepaid phones make it easy to manage costs and avoid the hassle of contract phones.

How Easy is it to Give a Cell Phone?

It is actually quite easy. There are two general decisions to make when buying a TracFone. The first is which phone to buy, and the second is what airtime cards or plans to get.

We will cover both below, starting with cell phone buying options.

Buying a TracFone

TracFones are available in many locations and are easy to find. Retail stores such as Walmart and Target sell  a few varieties of the phones and you can also buy directly from TracFone.com. Amazon is another internet location where you can often find TracFones on sale for less.

What can be challenging is choosing which phone to get. So we will provide a few options below to help give you some ideas. If you want to view more phone options, just visit TracFone.com and browse their phone selection.

LG 500G

LG 500g - One of the least expensive but most dependable phones from TracFone, this cell phone has a full QWERTY keyboard which makes texting easy and simple. This is a great phone for people of all ages, especially younger people. The small keys may make it hard for older people to use, but it is easy to get accustomed to and there is no bothering with learning to use T-9 or something else.

Financially, this phone makes a lot of sense typically priced at $20, and sometimes even less from Amazon. 

LG 840G

LG 840g - This is one of TracFones top of the line options. It is a touchscreen with a sleek appearance and great functionality. It includes 2GB of memory, and is 3G/Wifi enabled. It also comes with Triple Minutes for life, making this a great choice for those who might use their phone more often. 

This phone is typically priced well under $100, and can be purchased through Amazon with minutes included for a good deal. This is another option that almost anyone can enjoy and use.

For more phones and reviews by us, visit our Cell Phone Reviews page!

Buying Minutes for your TracFone

Getting minutes for a TracFone is quite simple to do. There are two prepaid options: pay as you go minute cards or monthly installment plan.

Pay as you go means you buy minute cards and load them onto the phone, giving you anywhere between 60-800 minutes and 90-365 days of service, depending on which card you buy.

Monthly Installment plan means that you pay each month for 30 days of service, and a certain number of minutes to use that month.

The monthly installment plan offers simplicity, and is very financially enticing. Plans can be as low as $10 a month for 50 minutes.

1 Year and 400 Minutes

The pay as you go option simply means you buy airtime cards whenever you need them. Talking on the phone more this month than you usually do? Just buy an extra card and load the minutes on your phone.

Pay as you go is convenient because you can get a 1 year/400 minutes of service card for less than $100 and  not need to worry about the phone for the whole year! If at any time the phone starts to run low on minutes, you can just get more from many stores and even online.

What about Activation and other Quesitons?

Activating a new TracFone follows simple steps and can be completed in less than an hour! For those who might want to use an existing phone number, that can also usually be done at no extra cost.

For other questions, feel free to ask in the comments section.

Interested in more information? Visit our Overview of TracFone page for more info.

LG 840G Review - Tracfone

A Newer Phone From TracFone with 3G and WiFi

This review from TracfoneReviewer covers the LG 840G.

The LG 840G is a touchscreen phone from Tracfone that offers a smartphone feel and look but with a no-contract prepaid cell phone.

It is basically a much improved LG 800G with only a slightly higher price tag.

Many people agree that the LG840G is Tracfone's best offering yet (excluding the recent smartphones), with a handful of great features that give this phone a similar feel to other smartphones on the market. But be aware this phone does not compare with top of the line phones from other major contract companies.

Tracfone has recently released four actual Android powered Smartphones. Follow the links to read our review of each one:
LG Optimus Dynamic
Samsung Galaxy Centura
Huawei Glory
ZTE Valet

LG 840G Features and Specs

This phone has most of the standard Tracfone features, but also includes several useful features worth spending a little extra for.

White LG 840G

• Triple Minutes for Life
• Mobile Web
• Media Player
• 2.0 MP Camera/Video
• Hands Free Speaker
• Voice Recorder
• Wall Charger
• 3-4 day normal use battery life
• 3G and WiFi Connectivity
• 2GB MicroSD Card
• About the size of an iPod Touch or iPhone

Likes and Dislikes for the LG 840G from Tracfone

Let's begin with the Likes:

There are quite a few features for the LG 840G that make it a very worthwhile upgrade from other phones. 

Triple Minutes for Life means that if you add a 60 minute card, you would get 180 total minutes! (and don't forget to use a promo code!) 

The battery life is advertised to last 4hrs of constant talk time, or 13 days on standby. Users have determined that with normal use, the battery lasts an impressive 3-4 days.

Large view of LG 840G

Another big plus for this phone is the included 2GB MicroSD card. On previous phones such as the LG 500G or 530G, one would have to buy a MicroSD card separably in order to use the Media player or store more than a small amount of data on the phone. But the LG 840G delivers with it's included MicroSD card. 

Finally, one of the best features for the 840G is the 3G/WiFi. When connected to WiFi networks, such as in your home, at work, or other locations with free WiFi, browsing does not deduct from your prepaid minutes. This makes it possible to actually use the Mobile Web without draining your prepaid minutes in a hurry. 

Additionally, the previous standard minute rate for web browsing of .5 units per minute has been changed to a ratio of actual data used, instead of time spent online. This also makes web browsing more economical than in the past.

New - Check out our post on How to Install Google Maps on the LG840G

Dislikes for the LG 840G

This phone does a good job of correcting a lot of the Dislikes we had about previous Tracfones. The included SD card, WiFi connectivity and Triple Minutes for Life leaves only a small handful of possible dislikes, which we will quickly mention here.

The phone runs a java based proprietary operating system which allows the installation of .jar apps, and is not a smartphone. This means that android apps etc. won't work on this phone. But, with a little effort, apps such as Google Maps can be installed on the phone.

Another interesting dislike is the QWERTY keypad that appears when texting or entering a web address. The problem occurs when one navigates to a website that has open text areas for entering information (such as registering for a website). No keypad appears and so it is impossible to enter any information. Using a different browser such as Opera Mini, is one way to get around this problem. Hopefully this issue will be addressed in the near future.

Finally, it is important to mention again that this phone is a good phone, with some great features and a good price, but it doesn't run on a standard OS, like Android for example.

If you are interested in a great phone with a QWERTY keypad, consider the LG 530G.

Overall Opinion and Review of the LG 840G

The LG 840G is stylish, modern and faster than previous Tracfone mobile phones with the feel of an iPod touch or iPhone. It provides plenty of useful features such as the microSD card, WiFi, and Triple Minutes for Life.

This phone is a great upgrade from other Tracfones, but those who are thinking of switching from a contract smartphone to the LG 840G may be a little disappointed with some of the limitations.

You should really check out Tracfone's Android Smartphones if you are looking for features and the ability to use apps.

Tuff Silicon Cover for LG 840G

The cellphone retails for $59.99 most places, with occasional sales at various locations. However, it can sometimes be found for much less from Amazon (last check it was $40 w/ free shipping!)

With any touchscreen phone, covers and cases are very valuable in protecting the phone from scratches or other damage. Here is a link to LG 840G Covers on Amazon with lots of options to suit anyone's needs and preferences.

Looking for more info on other phones? Check out our other Tracfone Reviews

Leave a comment with your thoughts or questions, and be sure to browse all the comments below, as there are plenty of great tips and answers there!