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I bought a 60 minute tracfone card this afternoon, and have tried about 25 times to add the minutes, but every time I do a box comes up saying "Card cannot be added. Go to www.tracfonephoneexchange.com..) then there's a toll-free number.
It appears that they're trying to force me to get another phone, for reasons known only to them(I can't get the website to come up).
Anyone with a tracfone have any idea what the hell is going on?
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Posted: |
Apr 13, 2016 - 10:07 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Here's what the website says:
2G Migration Eligibility
PHASING OUT 2G NETWORKS
In order to prepare for new cellular technologies, our network partners are beginning the process of phasing out their 2G coverage. Due to this, TracFone, SafeLink, Net10 and Straight Talk will no longer be able to provide coverage for customers using 2G phones. You may begin having service interruptions in the near future, particularly if you travel, as certain areas are being impacted earlier than others.
If you have a 2G phone, your phone will stop working entirely – and you will need to replace it. Do it now to avoid any service interruptions.
To verify if you have a 2G phone, and to see your offers, please enter your phone number and the last 4 digits of your Serial Number below. If you need assistance, please call 1-866-667-6437.
Phone Number:
AND Last Four of Serial Number:
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Thanks, Bob... can't get the website to come up, but this sounds like some kind of SCAM to me.
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Posted: |
Apr 13, 2016 - 11:10 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Thanks, Bob... can't get the website to come up, but this sounds like some kind of SCAM to me.
Well, there is this:
AT&T’s 2G Network Shutdown
Jason Knott · May 29, 2013
The transition to 3G/4G wireless from 2G cellular networks is beginning early at AT&T. The telecom giant has launched a new website to geographically track the migration, which will begin on January 1, 2017.
Other wireless networks have announced that they will not begin shutting down 2G until 2020, but AT&T says its early move is necessitated by the extreme amount of data clogging its network.
“Our data traffic has grown at a staggering rate—by 30,000 percent from 2007-2012 - and will continue to increase dramatically in the foreseeable future,” AT&T notes. “Migrating to faster, higher-capacity networks will help us ensure that we’re using our available bandwidth as efficiently as possible to serve all our customers.”
In cases where the AT&T owned and operated 2G network is being shut down earlier than the original 2020 date, AT&T says it will be communicating in advance with those given markets.
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And as for Verizon:
Verizon Quietly Shuttering 3G Network Band to Test LTE Service
By Quinten Plummer, Tech Times | December 4, 2014
Verizon is in the early stage of making the shift from 2G and 3G service to LTE and is testing LTE on bands that had been provisioned for PCS, or personal communications service.
Verizon consumers in Cleveland and Manhattan noticed the wireless carrier shut down its 1900 MHz band, which was used to carry 3G service. When the band was reactivated, it was carrying LTE signals.
A Verizon spokesperson confirmed the carrier was testing LTE on the band.
Consumers who have tested the LTE service on the 1900 MHz bands have encountered slow speeds, which illustrates Verizon is only in the early stages of phasing out its 3G network. Verizon had already revealed that it would begin downsizing its 3G network in 2015 to add more girth to its 4G offerings, but it appears the wireless carrier is getting an early start on the process.
Approximately 41 percent of the devices on Verizon's network are said to lack 4G capabilities, so it'll be a good while yet before 2G and 3G are completely phased out.
Verizon' 3G service is expected to be phased out much sooner than 2G. The 2G standard is primarily used for voice and will be remain until Verizon and other carriers make the transition to VoLTE, or Voice over LTE, which offers generally higher-quality voice and is an all-Internet Protocol technology.
The transition to VoLTE will enable Verizon to do away with 2G, but the top wireless carrier will need cooperation from rivals to help the world transition to the standard. For Verizon customers to call AT&T or Sprint subscribers via VoLTE, carriers on both ends of the conversation will need to support the new calling standard.
Back in early November of 2014, AT&T and Verizon revealed they were putting aside their rivalry to work on VoLTE interoperability. The pair hope to roll out VoLTE interoperabilty at some point in 2015.
"Interoperability among all VoLTE providers takes connectivity to the next level with HD-quality voice and additional features that customers want," said Tony Melone, chief technology officer at Verizon. "We're pleased to be working with AT&T as our first interoperating carrier, and we look forward to working with other operators as VoLTE continues to grow."
LTE stands for long-term evolution and is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. LTE is incompatible with 2G and 3G networks because it has to run on a separate wireless spectrum. The idea behind LTE is to increase the capacity and speed of wireless data networks using digital signal processing technology.
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Different Tracfones work on different carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint or Verizon), so yours may be affected by the early AT&T shutdown or may not be. I have a 3G Tracfone, but I don't know who my carrier is. It looks like Verizon is going to start shutting down 3G service even before shutting down their 2G service.
Tracfone may be jumping the gun on getting people to purchase new phones, but if they are going to refuse to allow minutes to be added to existing phones, customers will have no choice--get a new phone or change carriers to hang on to 2G/3G for a while longer.
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Final update on this....
Turns out you were right.... they've stopped "supporting" 2G, which is what my OLD phone was.... I bought another 5 dollar phone before heading up to DC for the Herrmann concert, which reminds me... is there anyway I can make a snippet from Obsession my ringtone? If so, how do I go about doing that?
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An update. I got a text message from Tracfone:
"The service is changing in your area. Call 1-866-667-6437 to get a new free phone."
I called the number and it appears to be from Tracfone. I am on a waiting list for them to call me back, so don't have all the details yet. But it sounds legit. Sadly I'm probably gonna lose the 400 minutes (double minutes actually) I just put on my phone!
Solium... you WON'T lose your minutes... or at least you SHOULDN'T lose your minutes... they're suppose to be transferable, just like your number and service days.
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I had a friend who had a Tracphone for a short while. It was difficult t orefil, refils didn't always work, cell service sucked, costumer service was sucked and often didn't see mto know what they were doing and even denied he had paid for refils. His smartest decision was trashing Tracphone and getting a better phone and going with a popular nation-wide carrier.
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just got the word.
nice of them to give me a free phone as my original is a piece o' shit and is falling apart!
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nice of them to give me a free phone as my original is a piece o' shit and is falling apart!
Why those $10 flip-phones can't hold up like a $500 iPhone is beyond me.
exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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