Stuck in Tracfone hell
June 28, 2017 7:16 AM   Subscribe

I'm trying to re-activate an older-model Android phone that had been briefly lost (but subsequently found). I'm running into one stumbling block after another.

My father-in-law (FIL) is in his 80s and is definitely not a tech-savvy guy. For the past few years, he's had an LG 840G phone that he bought through a big-box retailer. Tracfone was the carrier. My FIL learned how to use it -- more or less, anyway. But then he lost the phone. After a couple of days of not finding it, he bought a newer model phone. The new phone is similar but is different enough that my FIL has found it completely baffling. He struggled with it for a few days, and then gave up. He can't even answer it when it rings. He is now completely phoneless. This is a dangerous situation.

In the meantime, we found the original phone. So all is good now, right? We can just re-activate the old phone, and get rid of the new phone, right? Heh, not so simple.

I contacted Tracfone. No problem, they said. We'll just send you a new SIM card. The first card they sent was the wrong model for his phone. So I had them send another card. The second card was the wrong one, as well. So I spoke with a supervisor. The supervisor assured me that she would send the correct card. The third card was wrong. I spoke with another supervisor, who assured me that she saw the problem and knew how to fix it so that the correct card would be sent. But the fourth card was wrong, as well. All four cards were the same model. The model number started with "TF128". The correct model is supposed to start with "TF64". For whatever reason, their ordering system seems incapable of sending the correct card. The Tracfone reps told me that there isn't any way to buy a SIM card from a local retailer -- the cards have to be sent by mail.

So i gave up on Tracphone and decided to switch carriers. I ordered a SIM card through Ting (the carrier that my wife uses for her phone). But after ordering the SIM card, I found out that I need to make sure that the phone is first unlocked through Tracfone. I contacted their customer service, but they told me that the phone was specifically made for use with Tracfone and cannot be unlocked for use with any other carrier.

So... what to do? I'm at the point where I'm tempted to simply order another phone of that same model (LG 840G). But Amazon has it listed for $130, which my FIL (who is not exactly wealthy) is reluctant to pay.

Are there any other options here?
posted by alex1965 to Technology (13 answers total)
 
Did you check what SIM card is in his newer model phone? If it's the same type of card, you can just put it in the old phone and it should work.
posted by muddgirl at 7:58 AM on June 28, 2017


Response by poster: Here is some more information, in case it's relevant: The original SIM card (the one that worked before we asked Tracfone to deactivate the lost phone) had a model number of TF64SIMC4 V2. The incorrect SIM cards that Tracfone kept sending me had model number TF128PSIMC4RM .

@muddgirl -- I can check later today, but it seems unlikely that it's the same model. The original phone is about four years old, I think. The new one was purchased a month ago.
posted by alex1965 at 7:59 AM on June 28, 2017


Are the new SIM cards too small to fit in the old phone, or are they the correct size but just don't work? If they're too small, you can buy an adapter to bulk it out to fit in the older, larger slot.
posted by jordemort at 8:02 AM on June 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: @jordemort: The new cards are too small to fit directly, but they come with an adapter that gives them the proper form factor.
posted by alex1965 at 8:05 AM on June 28, 2017


This thread on Howard Forum from last year reports a similar problem - they were able to get TF64 SIM cards from some retailers. I don't know why the telephone operator said you can't get SIM cards from stores - you probably can't get them for free, but you can pay for a SIM card kit.
posted by muddgirl at 8:06 AM on June 28, 2017


Maybe the underlying issue is that some Tracfone phones run on the AT&T network, while others run on the T-Mobile network (and it seems like others still might run on the Verizon network?) This old article seems to indicate that the TF64SIMC4 is for AT&T network phones. But it seems like the TF128PSIMC4RM might also be for the AT&T network as well, so maybe there is some other incompatibility happening. I don't see the TF64 anywhere on Amazon or eBay; as much as I hate to suggest it, I know Wal-Mart sells TracFone and is also known for leaving old inventory on the shelf for many years; maybe you can dig one up there?
posted by jordemort at 8:34 AM on June 28, 2017


Here is sort of a long rube goldberg like kluge, but maybe it will help. Keep the new phone. Unlock the bootloader and root it. Then flash an older version of Android to it so that it appears the same as the original lost/not lost phone. The issue as you described it is not a hardware issue, but a software one in that he needs to have the familiarity of the old software. So give it to him on the newer phone. I am sure on both the XDA forums and on YouTube you can find step by step instructions to unlock the bootloader and flash a new, or in this case, an older ROM.

Also, I know that they said a store will not have the correct SIM, but talking to a human face to face and showing them the actual issue might at least help them help you to ask via phone in a way the fools at Tracphone will understand.
posted by AugustWest at 9:06 AM on June 28, 2017


Best answer: You might try calling TracFone's executive resolutions department: 800-876-5753.

I've read that sometimes it will reroute to regular CS if the ER people aren't answering, so verify that it's ER when you call.

OP already knows this, but for others who want to answer: the problem with the LG 840g is that it's locked to TracFone's old proprietary OS and isn't a true smartphone. It's what they called a "feature phone" at the time (I had this model before I upgraded to my first Android phone). It has physical buttons on it that are essential to FIL being able to use it, which is why they're trying to reactivate it. Android TracFones don't typically need a new SIM to reactivate, but all of the older, non-smartphone models I used did. Just to reiterate: this phone is not an Android phone.
posted by i feel possessed at 2:37 PM on June 28, 2017 [1 favorite]


OP, you might also consider downgrading from a touchscreen phone altogether. TracFone still sells candy bar phones and flip phones and they have several flip models with larger number keys. They all have physical number pads as well as call answer and call end buttons.
posted by i feel possessed at 2:44 PM on June 28, 2017 [2 favorites]


Did you check to see if you could get the model you need on Ebay? Might be cheaper than directly through Tracfone.

My Dad has a Tracfone, so I know what you are going through with the customer service department.
posted by just asking at 4:06 PM on June 28, 2017


Response by poster: @just_asking: But if I order the phone through eBay, won't I still need to get a new SIM card through TracFone? Or isn't that how it works?
posted by alex1965 at 8:15 PM on June 28, 2017


I do not know for sure - I am not tech savy about cell phones and sim cards. Here is a link for one on ebay right now, you could email the seller and ask the question and they may know or maybe ask Tracfone?
posted by just asking at 4:13 PM on June 29, 2017


Best answer: An update: The old phone has been reactivated. I had to call TracFone support twice today, for a total of about 90 minutes -- but they finally got it done. It turns out that the fourth SIM card that they sent to me worked, even though the model number on the card was different from the model number they had previously told me that they would be sending. But, even though the SIM card worked and was recognized by the phone, the techs still had to struggle to register the SIM card and transfer the minutes from the other phone.

I really hope my father-in-law doesn't lose this phone again.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Oh, one more thing: The number that i_feel_possessed provided is not actually the number for executive resolutions. Every time I've called that number, my call just goes to regular tech support (they don't even know what "executive resolutions" means).
posted by alex1965 at 5:55 PM on June 29, 2017


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