I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.

Several months ago, the browser just began rejecting most websites, even
weather.com. All I get are error messages. Bu I know it still works for
some stuff, for example I can still access Google. I believe the phone
needs a browser upgrade. I called Tracfone but their customer service it
terrible. I got some foreign person who could barely speak english, and
did not understand my problem. After wasting close to an hour, nothing
was solved. But Tracfone is affordable, so I stick with it. I have a
landline anyhow, but when I'm away from home, I need a cell.

I cant find anything about upgrading it using google. Maybe one of you
knows a place to get upgrades. If not, I either have to live with it
as-is, or buy a newer phone. These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.

Thanks in advance.

On Thu, 01 Oct 2015 23:29:36 -0500, wrote:

I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.


These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.

Thanks in advance.

I know that ATT and Verizon offices can transfer your contacts list,
so, there is probably some way to do it with your phone. Try doing
some searching on that as you may be able to save them to your
computer and upload to the new phone.

On 10/01/2015 09:29 PM, wrote:
I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.

Several months ago, the browser just began rejecting most websites, even
weather.com. All I get are error messages. Bu I know it still works for
some stuff, for example I can still access Google. I believe the phone
needs a browser upgrade. I called Tracfone but their customer service it
terrible. I got some foreign person who could barely speak english, and
did not understand my problem. After wasting close to an hour, nothing
was solved. But Tracfone is affordable, so I stick with it. I have a
landline anyhow, but when I'm away from home, I need a cell.

I cant find anything about upgrading it using google. Maybe one of you
knows a place to get upgrades. If not, I either have to live with it
as-is, or buy a newer phone. These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.


You might be able to save you contacts to your sim card, then put that
sim card in the new phone. Alternately, if you phone has bluetooth, you
might be able to transfer your contacts to your computer (assuming your
computer has a bluetooth card/dongle), then from there put them on the
new phone.

Jon

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Thu, 01 Oct 2015 23:29:36 -0500, wrote:

I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built
in. I dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the
browser to get weather reports and a few other basic online things.


These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.

Thanks in advance.

I know that ATT and Verizon offices can transfer your contacts list,
so, there is probably some way to do it with your phone. Try doing
some searching on that as you may be able to save them to your
computer and upload to the new phone.

In the past I was able to save the contact list to the SIM card , move
that to the new phone , then save to the internal memory on the new unit .
Swap the new card back in and save to it ... but the last phone I tried that
with didn't work out so well . You might see if that will work in your
case - get one of the g-kids to help , l'il buggers are a lot more
computer-savvy than we usually realize .

--
Snag

On Friday, October 2, 2015 at 8:27:13 AM UTC-4, Jon Danniken wrote:
On 10/01/2015 09:29 PM, wrote:
I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.

Several months ago, the browser just began rejecting most websites, even
weather.com. All I get are error messages. Bu I know it still works for
some stuff, for example I can still access Google. I believe the phone
needs a browser upgrade. I called Tracfone but their customer service it
terrible. I got some foreign person who could barely speak english, and
did not understand my problem. After wasting close to an hour, nothing
was solved. But Tracfone is affordable, so I stick with it. I have a
landline anyhow, but when I'm away from home, I need a cell.

I cant find anything about upgrading it using google. Maybe one of you
knows a place to get upgrades. If not, I either have to live with it
as-is, or buy a newer phone. These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.


You might be able to save you contacts to your sim card, then put that
sim card in the new phone. Alternately, if you phone has bluetooth, you
might be able to transfer your contacts to your computer (assuming your
computer has a bluetooth card/dongle), then from there put them on the
new phone.

Jon

I would agree, it's probably more likely googling for how to move
contacts on a Tracphone is going to be successful than how to
upgrade the browser. On android smartphone upgrading is easy because
it's an open system and designed to be used that way. Tracphone, IDK.
I guess it's also a crap shoot if a newer Tracphone solves the
browser problem he's having or not too.

Ting may be worth looking at as an alternative. You can bring
your own phone, so you can buy a compatible phone, including
used ones, on Ebay.

On Fri, 02 Oct 2015 05:27:08 -0700, Jon Danniken
wrote:

On 10/01/2015 09:29 PM, wrote:
I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.

Several months ago, the browser just began rejecting most websites, even
weather.com. All I get are error messages. Bu I know it still works for
some stuff, for example I can still access Google. I believe the phone
needs a browser upgrade. I called Tracfone but their customer service it
terrible. I got some foreign person who could barely speak english, and
did not understand my problem. After wasting close to an hour, nothing
was solved. But Tracfone is affordable, so I stick with it. I have a
landline anyhow, but when I'm away from home, I need a cell.

I cant find anything about upgrading it using google. Maybe one of you
knows a place to get upgrades. If not, I either have to live with it
as-is, or buy a newer phone. These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.


You might be able to save you contacts to your sim card, then put that
sim card in the new phone. Alternately, if you phone has bluetooth, you
might be able to transfer your contacts to your computer (assuming your
computer has a bluetooth card/dongle), then from there put them on the
new phone.

Jon

Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable. But
I know it has bluetooth, which is something I never used on it. But I
can get a dongle and give it a try.

On 10/02/2015 06:46 AM, wrote:

Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable.

You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that isn't).
Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):

http://tracfone.deviceanywhere.com/s...3&deviceId=686

Jon

On 10/1/2015 9:29 PM, wrote:
I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.

Several months ago, the browser just began rejecting most websites, even
weather.com. All I get are error messages. Bu I know it still works for
some stuff, for example I can still access Google. I believe the phone
needs a browser upgrade. I called Tracfone but their customer service it
terrible. I got some foreign person who could barely speak english, and
did not understand my problem. After wasting close to an hour, nothing
was solved. But Tracfone is affordable, so I stick with it. I have a
landline anyhow, but when I'm away from home, I need a cell.

I cant find anything about upgrading it using google. Maybe one of you
knows a place to get upgrades. If not, I either have to live with it
as-is, or buy a newer phone. These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.

Thanks in advance.

Time to move into the 21st century.

Tracfone BYOP (bring your own phone) can be even cheaper than Tracfone
with Tracfone phones. Junky smart phones can be had for $40, and decent
ones for $80.

$100 for 1200 minutes, 1200 texts, and 1.2GB of data, good for a year.
That's $8.33 per month.

$200 for 4500 minutes, 4500 texts, and 4.5GB of data, good for a year.
That's $16.67 per month.

Everything rolls over when you extend your service, so if you have too
much left over at the end of 365 days you buy a smaller refill (or just
pay to extend your service with no extra minutes, texts, or data).

If I were advising someone on a low-cost smart-phone phone and service
I'd tell them to buy an $80 Moto E LTE and use it on Tracfone's AT&T
service. Just avoid Sprint and T-Mobile at all costs.

While Tracfone's $20/90 day refill ($6.67/month) is the least expensive
option on Tracfone, it's actually a terrible deal for low-use prepaid
compared to Page Plus Cellular (Verizon), which is as low as $2.50 per
month ($10 every 120 days).

On 10/2/2015 9:46 AM, wrote:


Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable. But
I know it has bluetooth, which is something I never used on it. But I
can get a dongle and give it a try.


My last two had them. ATT uses them, don't know about others.

On 10/2/2015 8:57 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 10/2/2015 9:46 AM, wrote:


Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable. But
I know it has bluetooth, which is something I never used on it. But I
can get a dongle and give it a try.


My last two had them. ATT uses them, don't know about others.

I have several flip phones with removable SIM cards. Two from AT&T, one
from Pac Bell Mobile which was later Cingular. Useful when traveling if
your primary carrier is Verizon. Just buy a foreign prepaid SIM card.

On 10/2/2015 12:29 AM, wrote:
I have a LG flip phone using prepaid Tracfone. It's NOT a smartphone,
just a basic phone for calls, texts, and has a basic browser built in. I
dont really want or need a smartphone. But I used to use the browser to
get weather reports and a few other basic online things.

Several months ago, the browser just began rejecting most websites, even
weather.com. All I get are error messages. Bu I know it still works for
some stuff, for example I can still access Google. I believe the phone
needs a browser upgrade. I called Tracfone but their customer service it
terrible. I got some foreign person who could barely speak english, and
did not understand my problem. After wasting close to an hour, nothing
was solved. But Tracfone is affordable, so I stick with it. I have a
landline anyhow, but when I'm away from home, I need a cell.

I cant find anything about upgrading it using google. Maybe one of you
knows a place to get upgrades. If not, I either have to live with it
as-is, or buy a newer phone. These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.

Thanks in advance.


I've probably got the same phone but find browser practically useless.

See from other's post and checked mine and there is a sim card. Did not
try to remove it but previously had got a cable to connect to the
computer to try to get pictures off but it was not accessible.

When my flip phone finally bites the dust, as its predecessor did, I may
upgrade to a smarter one.

On 10/02/2015 09:14 AM, Jon Danniken wrote:
On 10/02/2015 06:46 AM, wrote:

Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable.

You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that isn't).
Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):


A phone had a SIM card if it uses certain technology. AT&T and T-mobile
phones use SIM cards. A few phones allow either (GSM with SIM, and CDMA
without SIM). AFAIK, all phones with 4G LTE use SIM cards. A Verizon or
Sprint phone without LTE doesn't.

I currently have both Verizon and Sprint flip-phones. Neither has a SIM
card. A friend has an AT&T flipphone. It does have a SIM card.

http://tracfone.deviceanywhere.com/s...3&deviceId=686

Jon

--
84 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Sex education classes are like in-home sales parties for abortions."
[Phyllis Schlafly]

On 10/01/2015 11:29 PM, wrote:

[snip]

These phones are only $25 to $40, but
retyping my whole addressbook is something I prefer to avoid, when I
have around 200 names in it.

If both phones support Bluetooth, you should be able to use it to
transfer your address book. Pair them and look for an option to "send
address book via Bluetooth" or something like that.

BTW, I used that to send the AB from my Verizon phone to the new Sprint
phone (both flip-phones, I like the way the buttons are covered so my
pocket can't make calls).

Thanks in advance.



--
84 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Sex education classes are like in-home sales parties for abortions."
[Phyllis Schlafly]

On 10/02/2015 11:44 AM, Frank wrote:

[snip]

I've probably got the same phone but find browser practically useless.

Usually true for those browsers. Some don't even support cookies.
Anyway, I don't really like browsing on a tiny screen.

See from other's post and checked mine and there is a sim card. Did not
try to remove it but previously had got a cable to connect to the
computer to try to get pictures off but it was not accessible.

You may be able to transfer pictures and contacts with Bluetooth.

BTW, I've had more success with Linux than with Windows.

When my flip phone finally bites the dust, as its predecessor did, I may
upgrade to a smarter one.

--
84 days until the winter celebration (Friday December 25, 2015 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Sex education classes are like in-home sales parties for abortions."
[Phyllis Schlafly]

Jon Danniken wrote:
On 10/02/2015 06:46 AM, wrote:

Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable.

You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that
isn't). Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):

http://tracfone.deviceanywhere.com/s...3&deviceId=686

Jon

Gotta disagree Jon . The Mrs. sells these things at WM , and some of the new
ones do not have a SIM card .

--
Snag

On 2015-10-02, Terry Coombs wrote:

Jon Danniken wrote:

You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that
isn't). Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):

Gotta disagree Jon . The Mrs. sells these things at WM , and some of the new
ones do not have a SIM card .

Yep. My last two tracfones either didn't have SIM cards or they were
not removable. Either way, I never saw 'em.

nb

On 10/2/2015 1:12 PM, notbob wrote:
On 2015-10-02, Terry Coombs wrote:

Jon Danniken wrote:

You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that
isn't). Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):

Gotta disagree Jon . The Mrs. sells these things at WM , and some of the new
ones do not have a SIM card .

Yep. My last two tracfones either didn't have SIM cards or they were
not removable. Either way, I never saw 'em.

If it's on Verizon or Sprint, a non-LTE phone would have no SIM card.
And the proprietary Tracfone phones for AT&T and T-Mobile don't need an
accessible SIM card, it can be built-in and non-removable and unseen.

The big deal with Tracfone these days is their "Bring Your Own Phone"
program since you can bring an AT&T smart phone over to Tracfone and the
monthly cost is very low for those that don't use a lot of data. For
those that will mostly use Wi-Fi, but that want a smart phone, it's one
of the best deals in prepaid. Decent smart phones are very cheap these
days. You can get a Moto E LTE for $80.

On 2015-10-02, sms wrote:

The big deal with Tracfone these days is their "Bring Your Own Phone"
program since you can bring an AT&T smart phone over to Tracfone and the
monthly cost is very low for those that don't use a lot of data. For
those that will mostly use Wi-Fi, but that want a smart phone, it's one
of the best deals in prepaid. Decent smart phones are very cheap these
days. You can get a Moto E LTE for $80.

I'm looking for a NFR capable Tracfone.

I do know the phones available to Tracfone users are dependent on
where you live. This is due to the dominant service (tmobil, verizon,
etc) towers in any given area, as Tracfone uses all providers. If I
want the fuller featured Android phones, I gotta buy a Denver area
code phone. If I want this area code, I have to settle for less
featured phones.

nb

On 10/02/2015 09:50 AM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 10/02/2015 09:14 AM, Jon Danniken wrote:
On 10/02/2015 06:46 AM, wrote:

Flip phones dont have SIM Cards, at least nothing that is removable.

You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that isn't).
Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):


A phone had a SIM card if it uses certain technology. AT&T and T-mobile
phones use SIM cards. A few phones allow either (GSM with SIM, and CDMA
without SIM). AFAIK, all phones with 4G LTE use SIM cards. A Verizon or
Sprint phone without LTE doesn't.

I currently have both Verizon and Sprint flip-phones. Neither has a SIM
card. A friend has an AT&T flipphone. It does have a SIM card.

Thanks Mark, I stand corrected.

Jon

On 10/2/2015 2:19 PM, notbob wrote:

I do know the phones available to Tracfone users are dependent on
where you live. This is due to the dominant service (tmobil, verizon,
etc) towers in any given area, as Tracfone uses all providers. If I
want the fuller featured Android phones, I gotta buy a Denver area
code phone. If I want this area code, I have to settle for less
featured phones.

That was the case with Tracfone's own proprietary phones. It's not the
case with BYOP.

It will work on AT&T or Verizon phones (or unlocked GSM phones for AT&T
service). You choose. Well they won't sell you service in areas where
AT&T or Verizon doesn't have coverage but those areas are fairly small.

The question that is unanswered is if Tracfone is including off-network
roaming like they do for their own phones. But with Verizon and AT&T the
amount of off-network roaming that you would need is not huge, nothing
like Sprint or T-Mobile.

"sms" wrote in message
...
The big deal with Tracfone these days is their "Bring Your Own Phone"
program since you can bring an AT&T smart phone over to Tracfone and the
monthly cost is very low for those that don't use a lot of data. For those
that will mostly use Wi-Fi, but that want a smart phone, it's one of the
best deals in prepaid. Decent smart phones are very cheap these days. You
can get a Moto E LTE for $80.


Another good deal is the Republic phone for those that don't often have a
need for the data. If you are around a wifi system you can use all the data
you want on the $ 10 per month plan and have unlimiated calling and text. If
away from wifi and really need data, you can punch in a few keys and just
use the data plan for that month. I think it sa about $ 20, but I have
never needed it. One distraction is that you have to use one of thier
phones. They are made by Motorola and the less expensive one is just over $
100.. Thy do not show one like I bought a few years ago,but it was about $
175 at the time.

On 10/2/2015 2:49 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"sms" wrote in message
...
The big deal with Tracfone these days is their "Bring Your Own Phone"
program since you can bring an AT&T smart phone over to Tracfone and the
monthly cost is very low for those that don't use a lot of data. For those
that will mostly use Wi-Fi, but that want a smart phone, it's one of the
best deals in prepaid. Decent smart phones are very cheap these days. You
can get a Moto E LTE for $80.


Another good deal is the Republic phone for those that don't often have a
need for the data. If you are around a wifi system you can use all the data
you want on the $ 10 per month plan and have unlimiated calling and text. If
away from wifi and really need data, you can punch in a few keys and just
use the data plan for that month. I think it sa about $ 20, but I have
never needed it. One distraction is that you have to use one of thier
phones. They are made by Motorola and the less expensive one is just over $
100.. Thy do not show one like I bought a few years ago,but it was about $
175 at the time.

The big issue with Republic is that they are on Sprint's native network
which is pretty dismal.

Unless you never leave metro areas it's best to avoid Sprint MVNOs since
they have no roaming, as well as avoiding T-Mobile. Certainly in the
western U.S. you would not want to rely on Sprint native coverage since
they have huge gaps. On Sprint itself you get off-network roaming.

On 10/2/2015 2:19 PM, notbob wrote:
On 2015-10-02, sms wrote:

The big deal with Tracfone these days is their "Bring Your Own Phone"
program since you can bring an AT&T smart phone over to Tracfone and the
monthly cost is very low for those that don't use a lot of data. For
those that will mostly use Wi-Fi, but that want a smart phone, it's one
of the best deals in prepaid. Decent smart phones are very cheap these
days. You can get a Moto E LTE for $80.

I'm looking for a NFR capable Tracfone.

What is NFR? Do you mean NFC?

Unfortunately the lower-cost Android phones lack NFC, you're looking at
around $125 minimum for NFC
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1139432-REG/samsung_j100m_blk_galaxy_j1_j100m_unlockd.html.

On 10/02/2015 08:14 AM, Jon Danniken wrote:
You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that isn't).
Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):

Wrong. All GSM phones have SIM cards. CDMA phones typically did not. My
TracFone is CDMA since I live in Verizon territory and does not have a
SIM. My Verizon MiFi does have a SIM but that is because of the 4G LTE,
not the CDMA.

On 10/2/2015 8:03 PM, rbowman wrote:
On 10/02/2015 08:14 AM, Jon Danniken wrote:
You are incorrect; all phones have a SIM card. You are also incorrect
about all of them being non-removable (I've never seen one that isn't).
Here is one example (from the tracfone lg420g):

Wrong. All GSM phones have SIM cards. CDMA phones typically did not. My
TracFone is CDMA since I live in Verizon territory and does not have a
SIM. My Verizon MiFi does have a SIM but that is because of the 4G LTE,
not the CDMA.

Sprint had a habit of soldering in GSM SIM cards in their "world" phones
(CDMA/GSM) so you had to roam in Europe through Sprint at high prices
rather than inserting a prepaid SIM purchased in the country you were
visiting.

Tracfone's BYOP SIM card is actually two SIM cards, one for Verizon, one
for AT&T. You choose the one that is for the phone you are bringing with
you and discard the other one.