August 17, 2016

Tracfone iPhone 5S Now Available for $199

Apple iPhone 5S for Tracfone Available from Target

Below we share details on  the Tracfone Apple iPhone 5S. TracfoneReviewer is a blog dedicated to sharing news, info and reviews about Tracfone Wireless and we hope the information here is useful for you! 

UPDATE: The iPhone 5S is now available from the Tracfone website as well as Target retail stores.

Additionally, Tracfone now also offers the iPhone SE, 6, 6S and 7 on their website.

The Apple iPhone 5S is now available for Tracfone at both Target retail stores and the Tracfone website.

Tracfone iPhone
Apple iPhone 5S for Tracfone
We've known about Apple iPhones coming to Tracfone for several months now, but the 5S at Target is the first sighting of what will likely be a full lineup of Apple devices available to Tracfone users.

The iPhone 5S features 16 GB memory, a stunning 8 MP camera and a somewhat small 4" touchscreen. You also get access to the Apple App Store and iOS, the Apple operating system.

Many Tracfone users know that Apple phones have been available to use on Tracfone's prepaid network for more than a year, but only through the BYOP program, where there's no guarantee of compatibility. So this is a deal for those who want an iPhone through Tracfone.

What might be more surprising than the iPhone 5S coming to Tracfone is the price. Target has the Tracfone iPhone 5S for $199 (on sale for $149 briefly), which is a very reasonable price for this phone. On the Tracfone website, the iPhone 5S is listed for just $149.

Below we are going to share some of the features and specs for the iPhone 5S followed by where to you can buy the phone. We'll be working on a full review of the Tracfone iPhone 5S soon.

Tracfone iPhone 5S Features and Specs

What you get with the Tracfone 5S:
  • Apple iOS with access to the Apple App Store
  • 4G LTE using CDMA service (Verizon cell towers)
  • Micro USB Charger included
  • Headphones included
  • 16 GB Internal Memory
  • 1 GB RAM
  • Dual Core 1.3 Ghz processor
  • 4" Touchscreen (640x1136)
  • 8 MP Camera with 1080p HD video recording and front facing camera
  • Talk time 10 hrs, Standby 240 hrs
  • First Released Sept 2013
Apple devices have always been a bit weak when it comes to specs, but performance-wise they hold up just fine. Some of the highlights for this phone include the 16 GB internal memory for storing apps, photos and other things, and the 8 MP rear camera which can record great images or HD video.

The camera on iPhone's have long been a selling point, and even though the iPhone 5S is a few years old, the camera is still well beyond most other devices available from Tracfone.

For more detailed specs, visit GSMArena

Where to Buy the Tracfone iPhone 5S

Tracfone apple iphone 5s
Apple iPhone 5S at Target
The iPhone 5S is available directly from Tracfone.com. Simply navigate to 'Shop for Phones' and follow the tromps to view phones available in your area. The Tracfone iPhone 5S is for CDMA networks, but some users are reporting that it shows up even when they enter a GSM zipcode.

As we've already mentioned, the iPhone 5S is currently available at Target retail stores. We've found it in stock at 1 out of 3 local Targets, so it might not be available in every one.

You can also find the Tracfone iPhone 5S on the Target Website. We will update if it becomes available elsewhere.

This phone is retailing for just $199 at Target or $149 at Tracfone.com, which even at $199 is a great value for the device as it is hard to find an unlocked iPhone 5S for under $200. Many unlocked iPhone 5S devices are going for closer to $300.

We are looking forward to gathering more information about this iPhone and the availability. Please leave a comment with your thoughts, opinions or questions!

Keep up with the latest news and articles by following us on Facebook. It's a great place to interact with our more than 2000 other followers, and get your questions answered.

We recently updated our Comparison of Tracfone Smartphone Cards vs Regular Airtime Cards and found some interesting results. Go take a look if you want to discover what phone card is the best deal, and which is right for you.

Also check out our newest list of Tracfone Deals, Discounts and Sales! 

Thanks for visiting!

40 comments :

bob said...

You can get it for $149.00 right now at Target with the purchase of a 200 minutes card $39.00 ..............THATS CHEAP !

Andrew said...

I can confirm that Target in the Philadelphia, PA metro area and surrounding suburbs have the iphone in stock in physical stores.

Sheila Schumacher said...

I tried many Targets but were sold out. I hope I can get one soon!

Anonymous said...

good luck trying to find one. I was at Target 2 x's this week. There wasn't any when I went for the phone. When I went home I checked on line and they are out of stock at practically all USA stores. Not taking on line orders either. Went back to store again and asked clerk if they had any to double check. She told me the store at the mall had 2 and that she sent someone there. So I called that store and they said they didnt have any but another did. So you can't believe anything on Target website cause they don't update correctly and who is going to run around the city to each store to check stock.

Anonymous said...

Good Luck with that and if I already have 3000 minutes why would I want to spend another 40.00. if I didn't have to.

John Rice said...

I picked one up at Target in the Arden area of Sacramento. Of the 20 stores in the wide Sacramento area (Elk Grove to Yuba City), only 5 of them have them in stock as of today 08/20/2016. The phone comes in a standard white Apple iPhone box. There is a small envelope attached to bottom of package indicating it's for Net 10 and Tracfone only. Inside the envelope is an SIM card and easy instructions for activating the phone via phone or web.

I activated via phone but following a menu only, didn't talk to a live body which may have been just as well remembering a couple of unpleasant past experiences I had with Tracfone customer service people. Old minutes (9600+) were carried over fine, now I have that many EACH for talk, text and data. The 200 minute card I had to buy to get the $50 off gave me 600 more units of each so now I have over 10,200 of each! As a Mac guy I've always wanted an iPhone but as a very light phone user could never justify the high prices. This is just what I've been looking for! Thanks for the heads up on this!

John said...

how do you get this deal?

Unknown said...

My question is if the operating system can be upgraded. I understand that the Android phones offered by Tracfone can't be upgraded, and this could be the deal breaker for me as I worry about security holes. I currently have a BYOP for that very reason (and because Tracfone phones are typically fairly weak). Each time, however, I plan to leave Tracfone, they introduce something that makes me want to stay, and this iPhone offering could keep me.

Anonymous said...

Just purchased an unlocked iPhone 6s plus at the apple store on Saturday. Bought the BYOP Activation Kit from Best Buy for $1.00 and placed it in the phone slot. Took about 5 minutes online to activate and purchase the service time and units. No problems at all. Phone was ready to use immediately. Very happy that Tracfone is allowing iPhones with their service. Highly recommend the BYOP program!

Anonymous said...

A question for John Rice. It seems by your post that the Tracfone iPhone 5s comes with triple minutes. Is that correct? Does it say this on the box? Thanks!

John Rice said...

It doesn't say so on the box but there was a large card you had to bring from the Tracfone display to the cash register to get the actual phone that stated triple minutes. I did get them on the 200 minute card that I had to purchase with the phone to get the $50 discount. That gave me an additional 600 minutes. I read somewhere else (possibly on Tracfone website) that ALL Tracfone smartphones get triple minutes. Hope this helps.

John Rice said...

Be aware that even if you find a Target with Tracfone 5s's still in stock (like the 3 stores in my location, the greater Sacramento area) the $50 off deal if you purchase the phone and the 200 minute card expired on August 20. That was a special featured in their August 14 circular in the Sunday papers and posted in the stores. The ad also stated "limited quantities, no rain checks". So the current price at Target is $199.00 for the phone, no 200 minute card purchase necessary.

There may be future specials on the iPhone 5s from Target and/or other retailers and web sellers but I wonder how many discontinued 5s's are left in the pipeline. I can't see the current model replacement for the i5s, the 6SE which sells now for $399 becoming available this cheap until well after it is replaced by the next budget iPhone . Of course I could also be wrong on this speculation, only time will tell!

As for me I continue to be very happy with my iPhone 5s purchase. A bigger screen like on the 6 and 6 plus as well as more than 16 GB of storage would be nice I suppose but as a light phone user who rarely even texts I can easily live with this one. It definitely beats my previous Tracfone the LG 840G although even that one wasn't too bad.

Anonymous said...

It does! Thank you very much!

Unknown said...

I really appreciate your input as I have been seriously wavering on getting one until I can get the answer on whether the iOS can be upgraded to the most recent one, and I don't trust a teenage Target employee to really know this. I have read that Apple is still supporting the 5s, and should do so for at least iOS 10, but I don't want to get one if this particular iPhone won't be (rather, I'll do another BYOP like I did with my Moto G ... the best Android supported by TracFone when I got it a couple of years ago). I know the TracFone-issued Androids in the past haven't been updating, leaving potential security holes, and I'm fearing the same could happen to a TracFone-issued iPhone. However, the fact that it's issued a SIM card makes me think otherwise. I regret that I didn't partake on the special $149 deal, but I wanted to be safe than sorry.

And, sorry, I should have just asked the question: What operating system is your iPhone and are you/were you able to upgrade to the most recent iOS? Thanks!

John Rice said...

No problem updating this phone to the latest iOS right now Sandra but it's a legitimate concern to wonder how many future versions of iOS will be available to us. That's a concern with any 3 year old phone. I too am expecting that iOS 10 and interim versions (10-11) will work just fine, maybe even an iOS 11 too but how much beyond that remains to be seen. Sometimes you can do the most recent updates but not all of the new features of the new iOS work with old phones or other problems are created within the system and you're sorry you did the update. That happened with my wife's old 4s. Of course many old phones (computers too!) continue to work just fine without the latest iOS if you don't insist on having all the latest bells and whistles!

I am currently running the latest iOS 9 release 9.3.5. That's the second update since I bought the phone a week ago. The first one (9.3.4) was made available to me the first time I turned on the phone after activating it, the second in the last couple of days. Both versions updated and installed just fine.

Good luck on making your decision! Maybe that $50 discount or something better might reappear.

Unknown said...

And ... never mind. Broke down and bought one.

bob said...

I have a....iphone
4s
5s
6

All on Tracfone, Apple controls the updates not TF all three phones are up to date with 9.3.5

bob said...

From Wiki

Apple Inc. provides updates to the iOS operating system for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch through iTunes, and since iOS 5.0, over-the-air software updates. With the announcement of iOS 5.0, on June 6, 2011, a USB connection to iTunes was no longer needed to activate iOS devices; data synchronizing can happen automatically and wirelessly through Apple's iCloud service. The most recent update, iOS 9.3.5, was released on August 25, 2016, featuring security fixes

Unknown said...

John, Thank you! I kind of figured it out after I realized that a SIM card was offered. I think it's only phones specifically made BY Tracfone that don't update i.e. all of its Androids. At least, they used to not. For $200, if it's supported for only a couple of years, I'm happy. Right now, I've been buying a phone a year (first the miserable ZTE Valet) and then I went BYOP with the Moto G (reliable phone, horrible camera only 8 gigs), both cost around $100. My husband and family are all on iPhone, so I'm happy now I can, at least, "facetime" with them instead of demanding they download Skype.

Will activate mine this weekend when I have time. Can't wait! Thanks for all of your posts and information. It really helped me in making an informed decision.

Anonymous said...

You stated "Old minutes were carried over" what plan and phone did you have? I'm going from BYOP iphone 4s to Tracfone iphone 5s and not sure of the procedure. Any help would be great...Thank you!

Anonymous said...

I'm going from Tracfone BYOP iphone 4s to Tracfone iphone 5s and not sure of the procedure. Any help would be great...Thank you!

Unknown said...

Any info on roaming with this phone? I got lucky and found one at Target. Problem is, I had no text or voice today about an hour away from home. Roaming was enabled and phone indicated TFW LTE but only internet worked.

Unknown said...

Any roaming info on this phone? I traveled an hour from home today and had TFW LTE displayed, no roaming indicator although roaming was enabled. While I was at my destination I had no text or voice ability, only data worked. I had 3-4 bars consistently. Tracfone tech support was essentially worthless.

Anonymous said...

Just today almost every Target store within a 60 mile radius of where I live (the SF Bay Area) now shows the iPhone 5s back in stock. This just changed overnight. Even stores that hadn't stocked it for the last sale two weeks ago now have it in stock according to the website. It might be that Target will be offering the sale price again in its Labor Day ad. If you are interested, check the website and the upcoming ad. Just FYI for anyone who is still interested!

Anonymous said...

Target website now allowing online orders of iPhone 5s at regular price of $199.99.

Paul said...

Some things to remember about ALL smartphones for Tracfone use:
- they are all CDMA and use the Verizon network
- Verizon does not allow "pay as you go" to use all their towers (mostly rural fringes) nor to roam to partner networks
- Therefore no Tracfone smart phone will roam and even if your phone shows full sets of bars, if it isn't a "main" Verizon tower (i.e. if it's one of their rural towers, or a partner's tower) you will not be able to get a connection.

Yeah, I know it's not Tracfone's fault, it's a Verizon policy that even affects their pay-as-you-go service and phones, but still, in today's market this is a terrible lack for consumers.

TracfoneReviewer Team said...

Good points about the raoming. However, Tracfone does offer a number of GSM 4G LTE devices, and you can bring almost any unlocked GSM device to the BYOP program.

Two recent GSM 4G LTE phones are the LG Treasure and LG Stylo 2.

For their GSM phones, Tracfone users ATT and sometimes TMobile

Unknown said...

Thanks, that is useful info. I still have time to return to Target.

Anonymous said...

how does the iPhone show minutes. Do I have to get the app from Tracfone showing minutes/data/text left on the phone?

Anonymous said...

Just saw that the iPhone 5S is now available thru the Tracfone website for GSM. When I opened the link for the phone, it says it is both GSM and CDMA compatible. I really want to make sure I get the GSM version - is there a way to verify I get that? Or will they know that is the one I want as long as I use a GSM zip code? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Tracfone website now has iPhone 6 and 6S available.

Anonymous said...

They have Iphone 6 and 6S on the website now....Did not see the 5S, I think I am in a CDMA area as that is what my current phone uses

Anonymous said...

Nope, I'm not seeing the iPhone 5S on the tracfone.com website either! I even tried 3 different zip codes down the east coast. Did they stop selling them?

Unknown said...

I just bought one at Target in Austin.

Paul W said...

I just did that with a 5S from Target. BTW, sales person said they cannot keep them in stock - there is a waiting list; phones sold as they arrive. The Target tech offered to connect it for me; she had a direct-line number to Tracfone. The porting of the number went fine. However, there was glitch for those of us with an iCloud account using double security. The phone wants access your iCloud account to be totally active. I have the added security feature in which Apple sends a four-digit code to a pre-approved device. As the iPhone 4S was no longer active, I couldn't receive it. I finished the iCloud process at home. If you don't have this security feature, no problem. If you do, either finish the job at home or bring a second approved device with which to receive the number. Otherwise, it's great: fast, LTE, added features (love the voice mail). A case was recommended. The 5S cases are more robust, really protect the phone, but plan on another $50 expense.

koko said...

Can this phone be unlocked and activated on my Verizon account? It says 2year agreement on the target.com website but I'm assuming that's boiler plate for all the phones they sell.

Anonymous said...

Does the free iphone to iphone texts over wifi feature still work?

Unknown said...

"The iPhone 5S is now available from the Tracfone website"

is this still true? i can't seem to find the iphone 5s on the tracfone website.

Unknown said...

I ordered an iPhone 5s from Tracfone and love the camera! My LG was just ok, but, I was able to leave the data off and use my homes wifi. Unfortunately now that I transferred over I am finding that you can't send picture texts without the data turned on! I have young kids and love to send and get pictures! Does anyone know a way around this to avoid spending lots of money on data cards?

Also, does anyone know if the Samsung Galaxy's are the same? At this point I'm thinking I need to replace it.

oniry said...

So expensive but worthed a lot.