Review of the Android Powered Centura from Tracfone
This review by TracfoneReviewer will cover the Samsung Galaxy Centura, one of Tracfones first Android smartphones. There are several newer and better phones available, and you can see them in our Cell Phone Reviews page in the menu above.
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| Samsung Galaxy Centura Front |
Tracfone is a prepaid wireless cell phone service provide that offers low cost phones and service. They only recently began selling Android smartphones, and the Samsung Galaxy Centura is one of the first available.
The ZTE Valet, Huawei Glory and LG Optimus Dynamic and Dynamic II are the other Android phones also available. Follow the links to read our reviews of each phone.
If you're looking for more phone options with Tracfone, be sure to visit our Tracfone BYOP page where we give all the details on bringing your own smartphone to use with Tracfone.
Visit our Android Tracfone List, which contains all the Android phones available form Tracfone, including several newer and better phones than the Samsung Galaxy Centura. At this time, the Centura is fairly out of date, and you are probably better off going with one of the newer options, like the LG Ultimate 2 or Moto E.
Now let's get to the full review of the Samsung Galaxy Centura.
Review of the Samsung Galaxy Centura Smartphone
The Samsung Galaxy Centura is a touchscreen smartphone running on Android 4.0 operating system. It can be used exclusively with Tracfone prepaid wireless service, meaning you can't buy the phone and then try to use it with other service providers. The Centura uses the CDMA network, running on Verizon towers.You can read more about the difference between GSM and CDMA, and how to determine which is right for you, in our recent post on that topic.
Before we get to far, let's take a look at the features and specifications for the Centura.
Samsung Galaxy Centura Features and Specs
- Android 4.0 OS
- 3 MP Camera and Video Recorder
- 3G speeds
- WiFi connectivity
- Bluetooth Wireless
- Mobile Web
- MP3 Player
- Instant Messaging
- GPS Capabilities
- Gravity and Tilt sensors
- Hearing Aid Compatible
- Hands free speaker
- Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Waiting
- Comes with Battery and Charger
Samsung Galaxy Centura Dimensions and Specs
- 3.5" Touchscreen
- Dimensions: 4.4 x 2.4 x 0,4 inches
- 4.4 ounces
- 800Mhz Processor
- Internal Memory: 4GB NAND
- 512MB RAM
- Compatible with up to 32GB external MicroSD Card
- Battery Standby 10 days
- Battery Talk time 7 hours
To give a balance of the pros' and cons' for the Samsung Galaxy Centura, let's take a look at TracfoneReviewer's short list of Likes and Dislikes about this new touchscreen smartphone. While we don't cover every good or bad thing about this phone, we do strive to highlight enough information to allow you to make a more informed decision when buying this phone.
So let's get to the review.
Samsung Galaxy Centura Review - Likes and Dislikes
We will begin by taking a look at some of the things we really like about the Centura, and then move to some features we didn't like, or thought should have been included.Likes for the Samsung Galaxy Centura:
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| Samsung Galaxy Centura Back |
We like that the Centura comes with WiFi connectivity, 3G speeds, Triple Minutes for Life and a 3MP camera.
WiFi access on the Samsung makes it possible to surf the internet for free when connected to wireless internet. 3G speeds means that when you aren't on free WiFi, you can still be online at decent speeds using the phone's data.
The 3 mega pixel camera will take both pictures and video recording at fair quality, especially compared to the 1MP camera's on many other Tracfone devices.
Triple Minutes for Life is the best deal offered by Tracfone. (Some of their older phones have only double minutes for life.) What this means is that for every minute you add to the phone, you get 2 more for free. So if you add a 60 minute prepaid card, you will get 180 total minutes!
The biggest like about the Samsung Galaxy Centura is the Android operating system which allows users to have access to over 700,000 apps from Google's Play store. Many apps are free, or a just a few dollars and provide huge features and functionality. You can use Google Maps, play thousands of games, or find time saving apps that make your life easier. Visit the Google Play store to learn more about the apps they have to offer.
There are a few things we are not such huge fans about for the Centura, which we will now cover.
Dislikes for the Samsung Galaxy Centura:
The first thing we are not huge fans about is the new system for splitting up calling minutes/texting minutes/data into three separate pots or pools. What this means is that when you add a 60 minute prepaid card, you will get it tripled into 180 calling minutes, 180 texts, and 180 mb of data.
For many, this will work just fine, and is even a better deal than the previous system where you would just get 180 total minutes for calling/texting/web browsing.
But for those who are heavy text users, this reduces the number of texts you get form a 60 minute card from 600 to just 180. That is a significant reduction. So if you tend to do way more texting than other activities, you may want to stick with older models. For the rest of us, this is simply a new system we must get accustomed to.
Another small dislike about this phone, and all the new Android phones from Tracfone, is that Tracfone Promo Codes won't work on them. You can no longer get extra minutes for free when adding a new prepaid card.
We also dislike that there is no Airtime display on the home screen, but you can quickly and easily find your minutes balance, which we will explain a little further below.
Finally, the Samsung Galaxy Centura is on the expensive side compared to other Tracfone mobile devices. It typically retails for $130 in stores and on the Tracfone website. We will cover more on where to buy this phone, and how to get it for less, at the end of this review.
That covers the main likes and dislikes we found with the Centura, check out the comments, or leave your own, with more thoughts on the pros' and cons' of this phone.
We have received a number of comments from consumers reporting problems with the Samsung Galaxy Centura including the phone freezing and malfunctioning in other ways. These problems don't exist for every one, but if you are experiencing issues with your phone we recommend contacting Tracfone and working towards getting a replacement, or go with something better like the LG Ultimate 2, Moto E or Alcatel Onetouch Icon Pop.
How to Check Your Airtime Balance on the Samsung Galaxy Centura
This is a question/problem we have been seeing a lot, so we want to cover it here for your convenience. As we mentioned above, these is no display on the home screen, but checking your Tracfone balance is very easy.The first option is to use the new Tracfone app, that will give you your balance. We haven't tested this very much, but you can go directly to the app on Google Play to learn more, and download it.
The other option is to follow this simple process:
To find out the number of minutes/text/data left, you'll need to log on to your Tracfone account and submit a balance request, OR set up a bookmark in your browser (on your computer or phone) to go to "https://www.tracfone.com/direct/CheckBalance?input_phone=1234567890" (replace 1234567890 with your phone number). You'll get a free text message on your phone with your balances. The service end date is not in the text message. It's only shown on the browser screen.
Overall Review of the Samsung Galaxy Centura
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| View on Amazon |
For those who prefer a more simple device, check out some of the other phones we have reviewed at our Cell Phone Reviews page.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Centura is a great value and provides massive improvements over past Tracfone cell phones. It is one of the first true smartphones offered by Tracfone. The ability to surf the web for free via WiFi and use apps for entertainment, work or social make this a phone with multiple uses and functionality.
For those comparing it to the ZTE Valet, we suggest checking out our post showing the features and specs for both the Valet and Centura.
The Samsung Galaxy Centura typically retails for $129.99 in stores and online. We found the Centura on Amazon at a discount. And you can also read several informative customer reviews there as well.
You may also want to check out eBay and HSN.com for phone/minutes bundles that can be a good deal.
We would suggest you look into getting a case and/or screen protector to help keep your phone in good shape. There are lots of cases and screen protectors for the Centura on Amazon.
This concludes our review of the Samsung Galaxy Centura. We hope you found this useful. Be sure to share this with others who might like it, and leave a comment with any questions, thoughts or corrections.
You might enjoy reading some of our other recent posts such as Where to Find Tracfone Prepaid Cards or perhaps the Summer Sales and Discounts on Tracfone Cell Phones (2014)
Thanks for Visiting!
Resources:
Interactive Tutorial
Samsung Galaxy Centura User Guide (pdf)
135 comments :
The Samsung Galaxy Centura for Tracfone cannot be added to their FAMILY VALUE PLAN
Hmm, that's good to know.
They told me maybe in the near future! But the card that came in the original package shows you can enroll in the family value plan ???
Bought the centura as soon as hsn introed it and I am so OVER it.Full of glitches. Wish I could return it but 30 days are up. Save $30 and buy the
You can return until end of january 2014
I got my Samsung Galaxy Centura Tracfone about 3 weeks ago and started with 1650 min for call & text and 1650 mb of data. I seldom check the time/data status as the app I downloaded for this purpose has not been working on my phone. When I checked the status of minutes/data the other day I was unpleasantly surprised that I have only 690mb of data, although I did not make any 3G internet usage, I only used Wi-Fi. Not sure if, in order to not use any 3G even if I use Wi-Fi, do I have to disable 3G, and if so, can I still receive and send my phone calls when 3G is disabled? Thanks! «
That would be disappointing. I think there should be a way to turn off the data, somewhere in the settings.
the Centura has run out of text messages, but have talk and data. Can I just add text minutes? If not what can I do as far as getting more text minutes?
I think your only option is to buy a refill card for the phone. No way to just get text messages that I know of yet.
Sooooo when your on the WiFi the Galaxy is drawing free....when your not on WiFi or in a WiFi area Its drawing from 3g.....sooo help me with simple thinking......accuweather is on my home page constantly runnnnnning..so all running apps are chewing my data??? And can I turn the days on/off ???? Simple but confusinggggggg...
Can I transfer minutes (along with the phone number of course) from an older tracfone to one of the Android phones the same as with non-Androids? Any limit to this?
Does this phone have text-to-talk? Have a hard of hearing hubby who is a little technology challenged with big fingers. Thought it would be a good Christmas present for him.
Everything transfers regular trac to android, no problem. Turn data OFF AT ALL TIMES unless you need it, leave wifi on.
I set my Centura up on the family plan no problem. Just had to do it 3 days beofre or after the plan renews.
Just wondering now about minute bundles. Dont seem to be able to take advantage of that option. Bummer
They need to fix their balance problems. I cannot check my account balance.
I was able to enroll in the family value plan. Just wait until 3 days before or 3 days after your normal day of payment and you will not have a problem.
So where's the review? How reliable are the voice & WiFi connections? How reliable is the clock? an you save the phone book via the SD card?
Bought this phone on HSN in September. Wanted to be comfortable with it before an upcoming trip. (Have had very good experiences with Tracfone & their reception everywhere I have been in the past.) When I got to my destination, I had nothing; no phone, text, internet -- nothing. I have spoken with HSN, & with Tracfone 4 times. The best they can do is tell me that I can't have reception in THAT zipcode because it was purchased in another zipcode. I pointed out that in 2013, people TRAVEL. She said there was no service in my destination zip. I pointed out that my hubby' s ancient phone was purchased at home & was working fine. She then told me I could buy a phone in the destination zip & it would work fine -- this was AFTER she told me there was no service there. Upshot of this mess is that I have a new $130 phone that is only usable if I basically stay in my own county. After all, I have plenty of minutes that I brought in anticipation of my trip. If I need to travel, I can use my mom's ancient $29 phone; I just won't be able to text, email or use the internet.
I just purchased two of these phones (one for wife). Voice calling and the GPS navigation does not work on both phones. Voice calls result in completely different name from the one called. GPS simply states "searching for GPS" and never finds it. Phone are nothing more than a marketing tool for Google. I am returning both and buying a phone that works.
You can turn off your 3G network and still use your phone for calls and texting. They recommend this if you are using Wifi since any updates the phone wants to make will automatically use 3G unless it's turned off.
There is a Tracfone app that you can download to easily check your balance.
I transfered my previous Tracfone number to my new android thinking the balance of 4815 minutes would also transfer. Tracfone would only give me 2701 of the minutes back, even after a lengthy call with customer service. Thy said that not all of the minutes were valid, though they were showing on the screen of my old phone.
My Ventura has no service bars at all and won't go to 3G it just keeps on the 1x service and won't keep a call I've driven all over looking for a spot where I could get service to no avail I live in the city so its not like its because of no towers. The phone is one week old and is useless away from WiFi , I have this tablet for the WiFi , I wonder what I can do or what could be done to get it running 3g , my other phone is the zte merit and I've had no problems at all with it running 3G so I know I'm in a good service area plz help
I received a mms text message, but when I press the download button it says, "cannot download at this time try again later", but later never happens. What can I do to receive picture messages on my Samsung Galaxy Centura?
how do i use my browser without internet? also my thing wont send pics
I have the same problem with my phone. I can take pictures but not receive them.
Same problems here .Looks Tracfone has given up on the customers that they have had for years. I think it is time for us loyal cousumers to give up on them and go somewhere else . How about it let show them we dont like what they are doing.
Try using 3G instead of WiFi. That worked for me.
You need to make clear that this site does not work unless using IE.
If overseas and in USA, and Wi-Fi is available I use Skype on an iPad. In the USA without Wi-Fi I use Tracfone.
My bluetooth on/off switch no longer works. It is a dull gray rather that two toned. When I press the button to go to bluetooth screen the screen says "turning on...." but it never turns on. How can I get my bluetooth back?
I just got the phone on Friday (1/17/14), and I was able to transfer phone number and minutes to the new android. I did have 1370 minutes, and 'somehow' after the transfer they only recognized 1100. I had to call and get my service end date updated also as it wanted to say 1/21...
I've only had the Galaxy for a week but am liking it a lot! It's similar to my Galaxy tablet, so there was less of a learning curve for me. I upgraded from a very basic and old standby Trac fone. My minutes transferred just fine but the two blue tooth's wouldn't communicate so I had to manually enter all of my contacts. Still worth the upgrade!
It will eventually pick up. It took mine a couple minutes but it works!
When trying to send a short 10 sec voice recording or video, I get a screen message that
says "message size limit reached" and below that it reads " You cant add this video to your message". Even with some pictures I tried to send, I get this message...Nowhere
have I read anything re size limit. When I called tracfone tech service, I was told the phone would have to be reset to factory settings and that I would lose all internal data; contacts, photos etc.Okay...but where do they tell you about limits on size of message or video? Even a 5 sec video got the same...I have plenty of min..texts..data..The little book sent with phone talks about sending videos, recordings etc...but it wont work. This all happened when the phone was (is) new...not acceptable. It is a feature that is written in the manual..but when followed, it does not work. It is not even explained or advised about in this area of the manual.I really like this phone...I wish the techs would attempt to explain this problem...
Well, I just picked up this phone from walmart (called straighttalk). It's still handled by tracphone, but only costs $99. It uses an unlimited data/talk/text prepaid plan for $45/month.
The unlimited aspect of the plan eliminates all the negatives listed above. Y'all need to check this out.
Just Bought a new 2014 Chevy Malibu and there are major problems with Bluetooth according to article in local newspaper regarding same . Salesman and Electronic Tech both had terrible problems accessing Phone Book . Phone did not understand Comments after many attempts. I think it may be a vast mistake for me to invest in a new android . I have an old LG mon Android. Do you agree?
more... I rarely us a cell phone . Use it only for calling home if I'm delayed or shopping a long time or some other non-essential reasons . I am intrigued because of the easy access from the steering wheel. Has anyone else experienced Blue Tooth in a new vehicle ?
You can copy your data (i.e., photos, contact info, etc) to an MicroSC memory card, remove the SC card and then switch back to factory settings, then put the memory card back in and copy back. Instructions are in the online manual. I haven't actually done this, but it might work.
I fixed this by popping out the battery and putting it back in. I now have Bluetooth but also an annoying reminder every 3 minutes that my Audio Player is connected. I tried setting the reminder for 1 hour so now it reminds me every 4 minutes. It makes me jump when driving. Not a good thing.
I have an older C261 gsm motorola. I am looking to upgrade to this droid. It sounds from what I'm reading here that I can transfer my minutes to the new phone--correct? Also, if I purchased this phone cheaper elsewhere, would Tracfone accept it??
Have entered the Tracfone app to check account: however unable to check minutes remaining. Rather useless at this point.
I have a centura, works great. My girlfriend has a centura, won't stream video without stopping every fifteen seconds. Reset her phone and, no help. Hers isn't the only one either. Samsung, Tracfone how do we get this fixed?
I would recommend checking out the reviews on Amazon for this phone if you are considering buying it. Amazon has great reviews (for the most part) on this phone. HSN.com has a great bundle on this phone at the moment (I've never used their site, but checked it out on the advice of another review). I haven't purchased yet....but, have been reading up on it and thought I'd pass that along. Enjoy!
I have a centura and it has a few glitches. The worst would have to be the red end button disappearing before I even end my call. Therefore the phone call is never ended unless the person on the other line presses end. Any suggestions on how I could end the call another way?
Same bad time-wasting glitches as the aforementioned -- and they get worse over time. My Centura is six months old. Fortunately, I bought this Samsung 'dumbie' at Radio Shack and I purchased the extra insurance. How did this smartphone get through quality control at Samsung? Shame on them! Such a turnoff.
Widespread consumer issues with the Samsung Galaxy Centura.
I have had my Samsung centura for about 6-8 months I would say. Overall a very good phone for around $80. Camera is average, call quality is pretty good, battery life is very reasonable as long as GPS and Wi-Fi are off, easy to use format and design. Mine has gotten wet and dropped multiple times, once off the roof of my car and it still works fine. My only major complaint is there's about a 20% chance it will not show my message as I'm typing it making me exit and reopen texting to see what im typing. Sometimes it runs a hair laggy.
I tried to buy one of these at Radio Shack this morning but was told that I had to accept a $50.00/month "unlimited airtime" plan. So much for paying for what I use as I need it!
I thought that was what TracFone was all about?
@#$!
The Radio Shack guy was giving you bad information, Tracfone doesn't have a $50 a month unlimited plan. I don't know what you were trying to get. Tracfone uses prepaid phone cards, or they have prepaid monthly enrollment that costs $10-25.
Does this phone have the ability to take a picture of the person holding it? A selfie
Bought this from HSN. EXTREMELY disappointed in the fact it can't be depended upon to ha e service IF YOU ARE TRAVELING OUTSIDE THE ZIP CODE OF WHERE YOU PURCHASED IT! When I discovered this, I was in another state in the midst of a life/death situation & had no working phone.
Yes your minutes will transfer, but make sure you get them all. It seems if you have more than 1500 their is sometimes a problem. Just call them and tell them how many minutes you should have. And it doesn't matter where you buy the phone, as long as it is labeled Tracfone.
This phone works on Verizon, so if there is no Verizon service in a particular area it does not work. At least that's true of the 3G service. Not sure about voice phone service. It should be able to roam on other CDMA based cell services such as U.S. Cellular.
Can't seem to find app to add mins to phone. Any suggestions other than going to computer
on my phone to get gps to work tap on google maps app. go to the search bar at the top tap on the arrow that looks like a y and type in destination.
just got my galaxy and I'm confused -- but i blame that more on me than on the phone! just not tech savvy! all my contacts form gmail synched over but i use only about 20 of them -- how do I delete the contacts from my cell phone but still keep them on my gmail desktop??? also, how the hell do I delete drafts on the cell phone? where is the delete key????
To turn off data: settings>data usage> mobile data slide to off. If out driving and you need maps, then turn data back on.
Samsung centura only has cell service in major cities in. Indiana with not cell service outside of theses cities. TracFone says that they only promise service for the zip code that it was sold for. So much for nationwide cell service.
I wish these reviews actually had more to do about the functionality of the phones instead of complaining about texting minutes and promo codes.
I got my centura from QVC it was meant as a present got it in Dec did not activate until Feb as it was a Birthday gift. freakin thing keeps freezing up, Vibrate function does not vibrate, time ramdomly changes, Snooze on alrm never rings again so you permently snooze. Trac Fone says they can't help, QVC says it has no other phones to trade me, So just send it back for refund but then we are left with no phone until money comes in to buy a replacement. I did purchase a plan in case of damage or what not but they said it's a factory defect so they can't helpme. We've had tracfones for years I was so stoked to get this one but constant glitches. means I have to remove the backing pull out the battery to reset. Even answering can be an issue. So disappointed in Tracfone I really expected great things.
To end the call using the Power button, go to System Settings > Accessibility. Put a check mark in the check box next to Power Button Ends Calls.
I'm disappointed with the phone, too. Got mine in December and then activated in January. The clock never kept the correct time from the gitgo. I've scoured the Net and apparently there is no fix, other than to return the phone.
Other than the clock, the phone worked OK for a couple of months. Then it began freezing up, mostly when visiting non-mobile websites. Most mobile websites were fine. It also crashed regularly when running TuneIn.
I purchased an LG Optimus Dynamic II a week ago, and so far, it's working great. Got the same apps I had on the Centura. Not a single freeze up and the clock is stable! I'll report on it after I've used it for a month or so.
Yes, you have to go into settings and shut off the 3g data. I keep mine off at all times. I only switch in on for a few minutes to refresh email while away from wifi. I have had zero issues with Tracfone deducting ANY data inappropriately. I have one of the cheapest, most basic Androids they offer: the LG Dynamic. I have had zero issues, but I'm a seasoned Android user. Lots of complaints about the Dynamic phone (for example) are due to inexperience on the part of the user. These are pocket computers in m opinion. Once you get the hang of using these phones you may find that the value they provide is astonishing for the tiny amount of $ Tracfone requires to keep them up and running. Cheers.
To the person who ran out of text messages: download "textfree" app from the playstore and set it up. With wifi off and 3g on you can use your remaining data to send free texts. You can also send free texts over wifi with this app. SHhhhh! ;) I know its awesome isn't it? It should work with ALL the tracfone Androids - I've installed it on MANY phones that are not even activated. Cheers.
The Tracfone app works perfectly, so far every time, over both wifi and 3g. Om 3g it used onr tenth of one mb of data to update (basically nothing) its a very quick and reliable widget. Ignore the icon that pops up when you install and throw it in the trash bin. The actual widget needs to be accessed - you can put it on one of your homescreens. Then when you want to know your balance just tap the update balance "button." You will also get a free text from Tracfone as a receipt.
Check and make sure you have switched 3g on to receive pictures-actually all types of mms messages. Keep your 3g off until you want to send or receive mms. switch it on to get these types of messages. Leaving 3g on all day for the random incoming pic here and there is only advisable on those unlimited data plans by other carriers. If this is a very important feature for you - I recommend Virgin Mobile. $35 a month unlimited texts and data and 300 minutes, no rollover. The ZTE Awe on Amazon for $40 by Virgin Mobile right now is an amazing phone with a dual core processor and with ff camera can even Skype. Cheers
Turn on 3g for both issues. Turn it off when you are done browsing or sending pics or else you will use up all of your data.
To anyone who is fed up - I bought the Tracfone LG Dynamic Android both for my self and a friend from Amazon in April for less than $20 each. There wasn't even any tax. I have experienced zero issues - no glitches -very solid, reliable phone. You have to move apps to internal memory to free up space as you install them but that takes 10 seconds. Its a very, very basic Android that runs Gingerbread but I plan to use these until Tracfone gets some better Androids in- I don't want to waste my money on a phone that can't hang on to a wifi signal!
Does anyone know on what's the deal with some pictures that i take, i cant see them in my gallery because it has no thumbnail and other pictures have a huge grey wide line through it. Also, i have my settings set in which when i take a pic, its saved to the sd card instead of the phone memory itself cause it was getting a little full.any tips?
Switching from 800 to the LG Optimus Dynmaic 2 tracfone was so simple. $89.00 using amazon get the back cover and cover shield for the screen because it will scratch easy. Everything switched over perfect. Watch out for data usage you can turn it off. I have cable in my home for a desktop. I called cable company to see how much it cost to have wifi I was told $19.99 a month extra. I went to wally-world got a $28.00 wifi router and installed it. Now I can surf using wifi on my phone for free without any data charges this is great. PS Dead2Me is a great app at the store for blocking numbers and text messages.
The main things I want to know, your review didn't even cover. RAM? I have a 2011 Galaxy Precedent Sraighttalk smartphone. It constantly slows down and force closes while online. It can't handle running something like Slacker radio and Facebook at the same time. Also, it can't handle loading more than one or two apps onto it. What's the use of having all those.Google Play apps available, when this phone can't even store them? I spent $159 plus tax on this phone when it first became available in 2011. It's rediculous and annoying. Before I invest in replacing it, I need to know that I'm not going to get yet another one that totally sucks in computing power.
If it works anything like the Smarttalk galaxy precedent smartphone I have, when on the Internet, it's a piece of junk.
how do I delete a contact from my s/t galaxy centura? and can you delete a lot of texts at one time from the same contact?
Can anyone tell me if & how I can reclaim memory space on my Samsung Galaxy Century's internal memory as it approaches max capacity? Also, I have inserted an 8GB microSD card. ie: Can I transfer data form the internal memory to the SD card? I know I can reformat the SD card at any time to erase data but the factory installed memory has me stumped. Quest. #2 - how can I send photos/vids to the SD card?
(This question may already have been posted; if not, here it is): Is there such a thing as a voicemail log on the Galaxy Centura? That would make it possible for you to determine (a). who called (b). what was the phone number their call came in on and (c) what's the voicemail message's date and time.
I know there's a log for calls that come in to your cell phone number, but what about incoming voicemail calls?
Thanks.
I've had my galaxy centura for maybe 10 months & let me tell you its a piece of junk. it turns off randomly when it has 90% & when i turn it back on it says 0% . it freezes all of the time & i wish i wouldnt have chosen this phone
Can the Centura be connected to the Hands Free Bluetooth system in my 2013 Toyota Corolla?
for the person wanting to know how to delete a draft on text messaging, go to the draft, press and hold it down until a blue box comes up around the draft, a drop down menu will come up with an option to delete. hope that helps. i have this phone and its been fine so far :)
for the person saying they couldnt receive or send pictures, i had the same problem. i went to my settings, turned off auto retrieve, powered off the phone. problem solved although now it works with auto retrieve on or off.
Where in the settings is the auto retrieve?
Why on earth would you buy so many minutes? I never have a balance of minutes higher than 400! Do you get a huge discount if you get thousands of minutes?
The icon that shows you have new voice messages shows on my phone that I have 2 new messages but when I call voicemail there are "no new messages" . I'd lke to get the message icon to disappear--could this be shown because I have some "saved messages" somewhere. If so, how do I clear this...I can't figure out where to go.
This phone is a piece of junk . I purchased it from HSN in NOV 2013 and it was fine for about 4 months and the it became no best buy. It freezes and I have to constantly remove the battery.. The touch screen works only about have that time and when I went traveling the GPS locks up. When I try and go to contacts AGAIN it freezes and the voice system no longer works . Please don't waste you money shame on Samsung and HSN.
I like the phone. It is light and sturdy and i mainly use it for phone and text so the data is not a problem. can the phone be used for selfies or only traditional behind the camera shots
thanks
did it split (talk/text/data) the transferred minutes up on the new phone? was wondering how or IF it would split up the transferred minutes.?
I bought the phone from Amazon. After used for four month, touch screen was frozen and didn't respond. I tried to do anything what I could, but it still doesn't work? Does anybody know how to fix this problem? Thanks!
I had the same problem with my wifes phone. Her old flip phone had 1800+ minutes and only 660 transferred. I think it's because their system only goes back and recognizes minutes added in the last three years. Hers went back much further. The last two years, we only got 30 minute cards at the end of the service year, and then added a year of service for $50 to the purchase at checkout. Anyway, I did finally get them to give me most of the minutes after a long phone conversation. Fortunately, the old phone still had the points in the bucket even though it was inactive, so they walked me through entering and retrieving codes from it to prove it.
Peter, I have a prepaid monthly enrollment for $45.00 a month, unlimited. I live in PA. maybe its different in other areas.
There is not a forward facing camera. If you want to take a selfie pic, you would turn the phone around.
there is no auto retrieve on my phone in the settings
I bought a galaxy centra. can't open pictures from text message nor send a picture in a text. I have both wi fi and data on. someone said to turn auto retrieve off in the settings. no where can I find that in settings. thanks.
found auto retrieve. open text message but don't hit download. then go to settings and auto retrieve is there. uncheck and try again to download. . it worked for me .
I agree...I HATE this phone...It freezes all the time...then I tap and tap and nothing happens...have to turn it off and on in order to proceed. Cannot see the screen when outside in the light...Only my own face! My children are urging me to get an iphone---but I wish the iphone had a "buy minutes" option.
I agree with others who say this phone is a piece of junk. I have had it for two months and suddenly the battery drains like crazy even when the phone is sitting there doing nothing. I'm going to see if I can buy a new battery. If that one fails too, then I just might leave Tracfone forever. All of their phones have been disappointments.
The worst phone I have ever had. Freezes and drains the battery. Can't move many apps to the SD card (tried 4 apps to move to SD card no luck) They are sending me a new phone from Tracfone but I don't think that will help. I have to re-install all my apps mabe able to get my contacts back, I exported a file. I won't hold my breath.
This phone is a total piece of crap. As long as you just talk and text, it's all good. As soon as you start trying to use an app, for example Twitter, it freezes up. I have to turn it off and back on in order to get it to respond, the clock goes back to 5 hours in the past....I hate this phone. I will be getting a new phone as soon as I can. I am so glad I only paid 29.99 for it. I would be upset if I had paid more for this hunk of junk.
This phone is the worst piece of shit I have ever bought. I don't have many apps on it. I just use it to talk, text, and I go on twitter and instagram. Every time I go on twitter, this piece of shit phone freezes up. 9 times out of 10, I have to restart the thing and then the time goes back 5 hours. It is also slow when trying to dial out. Just because we have a prepaid plan, doesn't mean we should be offered such crappy phones. Now I understand why people go with those outrageous contracts. You get better phones!!
I won't waste our time with the last few hours at TF/CS; that said at the end of the 2nd email tonight I stated "Though you are worth a Billion usd, money can roll to you, and away from you...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. I am using Firefox
How do I save the pics from my phone to an SD card?
I have one of these junk phones did factory reset and still freezes up have to constantly remove battery to get it to reactivate and also it has mind of own as far as time it always showing wrong time until battery pulled and put back in wish i could put up where sun don't shine but that ain't going to happen
where's auto retrieve,,please I can't figure this out
I swear to god, the 3G turns itself on. I HATE THIS! I didn't know it and it used up all the time.
Now I'm constantly checking for that damn 3.
I bought this phone yesterday and it is stuck on emergency call screen. I have turned it on and off many times and even took out the battery and it still goes back to emergency call screen. I keep pushing the home button and nothing happens, help!
I've been using this phone for a little over a year now. It has a glitch where sometimes the clock will reset itself, which was a big problem when I used the alarm clock function. Lately this phone has been freezing up or reboots itself. I've had to power it off and back on either with the power button or when that doesn't work, by taking out the battery. It was ok for the first Tracfone smartphone but now I'm going to upgrade to LG Ultimate 2.
At last someone has a phone just like mine
We have this Samsung Centura Phone. We have found out that we cannot clealy get Text Mesages from those family members that have Apple I-phones. Is there a problem with Tracfone in handling texts from an Apple IPHONE??
Is there a fix for not being able to see other replies on group messages that I receive? I get a message that they have replied but the message is blank.
The Samsung Galaxy Centura for Tracfone is nothing but worthless and useless just like the rest of Tracfones phones. The phone constantly freezes, just as how most consumers of this device said, and it is very irritating to use when it comes to situations such as "customizing" this. After a few months of using this phone, it suddenly froze so I hard to reset it. After it reset, it turned on and 5 seconds later, it froze once again. I reset the phone for 5 more times. I "Googled" for solutions which there was probably nothing. I was left to no choice but to Factory Reset the phone. And now, I am typing this from anger and disappointment because 5 minutes from now, I will have to factory reset the phone once again for the same reason that happened 3 months ago. I have a house full of Samsung products that work perfectly fine except this trashy device. This is the first Samsung equipment I bought that disappointed me very much. If you see someone buying any type of Tracfone, please take the time to stop them in any consequences for this company has been doing nothing to its customers but angering them
all my pictures kept disappearing until I downloaded the es file manager app from the google's play store. I use it to make copies of pictures and store on the external sd card. I am currently looking for another phone because of the many glitches, freezes, factory resets and self imposed activations this centura likes to do. It even calls unsuspecting folks (lol), without my permission of course... it can be very naughty at times. So I am considering the LG Ultimate 2... and boy are my fingers crossed! I'm also considering the LG Optimus Fuel.
the es file manager from the apps store can help you with this. There is a great video on youtube on how to use it. It really helped me.
Galaxy Centura is lousy. Tracfone replaces a new, but defective android phone with a refurbished one. New phone had to be replaced after only 6weeks because it wouodn't recognize my sd card & then damaged brand new sd card. The first refurbished replacement had a bad battery that I had to replace. The secind refurbished phone kept freezing & the only way to unfreeze it is to open the back & remove & re-insert the battery. Then, it wouldn't allow me to send picture messages. The 3rd refurbished replacement wouldn't do anything but allow me to make & receive calls, wouldnt connect to internet, wouldn't receive msgs. Tracfone finally sent me a NEW replacement phone, but after only a few weeks, the constant freezing started. The Samsung Galaxy Centura is just not a good phone. Add to that, Tracfone's policy for androud phobes is that u have to wait for them to sebd a prepaid airbill, send the defective phone back, and wait for a replacement. In the meantime u r without a phone. Switched to the LG 34C. A million times better! So far, so good.
Centura after so long can not keep time, apps don't help it. So randomly it'll go back 6hrs you have to manually change to correct time. Sometime it will do it multiply times a day, it can go weeks w/o or it can change every day.. Kind of annoying but reliable phone, that's the worst problem I have.
most horrible phone my husband and I have had
I agree. This phone is CRAP! The first one lasted two weeks before lost all sound. I had to wait 3 weeks before it was replaced because they must receive the defective one first. After a week and a half I called to ask if my replacement was sent out yet and they said no. No reason why. I finally got it another week later and it does nothing but freeze. Every day. I had to factory reset it once and it still keeps locking up. RUN from this thing.
Mine is doing that also, it goes back 6 hrs almost daily. I use this phone for alarm so that worries me. Want to get a new phone but just not sure what is a good one now. Any suggestions on new phone?
My wife bought two Samsung Galaxy Centura tracfones. We only registered mine so I could attempt to learn how to work it!!!! What a headache. I am somewhat savy with electronics but to say the least I had so much trouble trying to read all the manual which I downloaded from the internet that I became very discouraged. The directions for the most part did not make sense. My sister and brother-law have a smart phone and they tried to help me with various parts of the directions and they finally stated "Throw the dam phone away!" NOTE: THE WORST THING ABOUT THIS PHONE IS THAT THE SPACE FOR TYPING IN LETTERS & NUMBERS ETC. IS TOO DARN SMALL. YOUR FINGERS ARE TOO LARGE FOR THE SMALL SQUARES THAT HAVE 3 LETTERS.. IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ANYTHING DONE. SMARTPONES HAVE 3X THE SPACE SO SOMEONE CAN EASILY TYPE IN THE CORRECT LETTERS ETC. ALSO, WHEN WE TRIED TO ENTER MY EMAIL FROM MY COMPUTER, THE PHONE WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE EMAIL ADDRESS NOR MY PASSWORD. I EVEN CALLED VERIZON FOR THE CODES AND IT STILL DIDN'T WORK. PLUS THE PHONE FREEZES UP AT TIMES. IT IS A VERY FRUSTRATING PHONE. DO NOT BUY THIS PIECE OF JUNK. BUY SOMETHING WITH BETTER QUALITY CONTROL. WE WASTED OVER $252.00 FOR NOTHING AND MANY DAYS OF FRUSTRATION ENSUED TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THIS PHONE.
Bought the Samsung Galaxy Centura as a result of HSN promos. The phone is a piece of crap. It freezes constantly and in order to get it functional I have to open it and take out the battery and then insert it again. As others have pointed out, it loses time as well. Many features just do not work and the texting is a joke as the above person has just pointed out. HSN does not stand by this product as I found out, after several frustrating calls. Shame on them is right. Tracfone could care less. As others have pointed out, once you finally get this lousy company to take back the phone and reset it, you are without a phone for the duration so that taught me a lesson as well. I gave up my land line for this piece of crap.
JUNK JUNK JUNK
1) Constantly freezing. Every day I have to reset this thing numerous times.
2) Won't keep correct time. Don't know how many times I've woke it from sleep to find it several hours behind. Have to manually set the correct time. Good thing I don't rely on this as my sole alarm clock.
3) Calls people on its own after refusing to let me make a call. Hubby had to turn HIS phone off one afternoon because mine wouldn't stop calling his. This was after I tried to call him and the phone wouldn't let me make the call so I gave up put it to sleep and put it away.
4) Sometimes it won't let me access certain messaging conversations. I'll tap the contact I intend to message but it just flashes back to home screen. Only when I start a new conversation and enter the contact will it let me finally access and message that contact.
5) Enters words I DID NOT TYPE into messages. I've lost count how many times I've used the back space button to remove words the phone enters. Supposed to be suggestions but it just puts them in and you have to take them out before proceeding. My husband used my phone to text someone one day and became completely enraged at this feature.
And while on the topic of suggested words. While it clearly enters words it thinks you will use it will not correct misspelled words. So it will suggest completely random words but use a word with ONE letter out of place and it will not even suggest the correct spelling of that word. Don't know how many times I've tried to use the word I'll, but enters ill EVERY time and won't even suggest I'll. I have to manually enter the '. But it will suggest I've without it.
6) I keep my data turned off 99% of the time since I use wifi as much as possible. But if/when I do turn my data on I ALWAYS have a 2 gig warning. Why am I receiving a warning that my gigs are almost used up when a) its supposed to be unlimited & b) I've barely used it!
If I've never had buyers remorse about anything I've ever purchased in my life, I definitely have it with this piece of garbage.
Bad phone. After 6 months or so it can't keep time, will randomly go back 6 hours... Now it will randomly go from full battery (in seconds, did it on both new & old battery) to 0% remaining, no warning and turn off even while charging..My flip phone worked better than this. Don't waste your money.
Had the same problems 1-5.. The autocorrect is terrible, whenever I want to put Austin ie Austin, Texas it changes it to anus... I don't use that word...
First, it seems many items here are definitely true, freeze on screen, and I keep get calls dropped. Also, the article notes that load up minutes are getting parceled into three separate areas of text,talk,internet, but it's the opposite! Before you could load minutes and it would apply to everything, but there's more money in parceling the minutes you buy, so now if you use a data card, it only goes to data/text, talk only goes to talk!! I've not been exuberant with any Samsung phone I've used, & hopefully this one will be the very last; LG is a much better phone, even if it's the cheapest one they make, their cameras a great!
This phone is plaqued with issues; however for 19.95 it is only moderately overpriced. TracFone and Centura was chosen for cheap on steroids. Only use the phone about 30 minutes a week and for GPS.
Time does not work - nor is their any documented fix. GPS is a bit tardy but I think because the memory is off the shelf without upgrade. A couple other problems that I can live with.
I would recommend for someone that needs GPS on demand, has very moderate talk usage and does not want a 200 or 300 phone.
When I spent 400 on a Samsung III 2 years ago with Cricket I thought the phone would be good for several years. Cricket forces the hardward upgrade. So buyer beware.
Yep, Mine too
This phone is a piece of junk!!! Both myself and my wife have the same phone and it constantly freezes up. Save your money and buy something better.
Same condition here!! Obviously, there is a pattern.
Doesnt connect with bluetooth to keep the phonebook, wont connect to text or gps in my new 2016 ford. The only reasons i bought the "smart"phone was for the hands free. Took 4 weeks to receive, multiple wasted hours on the phone. 32 hours to activate and transfer my remaining minutes and days remaining in contract. Refused to return 180 minutes when returnig to previous flip phone
how do you add minutes, with a tracfone card?
I just got one of these Centura's for $10 with free shipping and 60 minute card. I transferred my old tracfone feature phone, for this android! I only had 6 days of service left, and now I have 20! I had 23 minutes left, and now I have 23 minutes of phone, 23 texts and 23 mb of data! That is a good deal!
The only bummer about this app is that is uses up system resources (ram), so it makes the crappy Centura run slower than it already does. Now that I have received text receipts showing my balances, I just reply to those texts with the letters: BAL and send, and it sends me another text with my balance! Works well, and I was able to shut off the app.
Phones and other devices don't automatically connect to each other's bluetooth! You have to pair them together. When you go to settings, click on the word Bluetooth, and NOT the slider button. This lets you see if your phone is visible to other devices. If not, just click it to change its visibility. I make it say visible to all, until I have paired with whatever, and then I switch it to only be visible to paired devices. Sometimes you need a code to pair devices together. I have an automotive OBDII scanner that works through bluetooth and my phone. I had to enter the code 1234 to get them to pair! Once done, I don't have to do it again.
Turn the phone sideways, so it is in landscape mode, and the keyboard's keys are bigger! Helps a lot! Once done typing whatever, just turn phone back to upright, and all is well!
I just ordered one of these phones and I would love to hear if you have experienced many of the problems that others have had. I am a little nervous about that, but for $10 I figured I'd chance it.
we have 2 of these crappy phones. clock switches time zones so that the alarm will not work properly. wifi switches itself on constantly. the tracfone "help desk" makes me want to shoot myself in the head.
I've got TWO of these Samsung Galaxy Centura phones here - stone cold dead - and TracFone wouldn't do anything to make it right.
And they now sell this $80 phone for $10. Is there something they know that I didn't know?
Robert Rowen
It is actually auto restore in the backup reset setting it worked for me too. Tracfone no help
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