Bring Your Smartphone to Tracfone
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| Tracfone 'Bring Your Own Phone' Program |
A year or so back Tracfone somewhat quietly launched their BYOP program, allowing access for consumers to a wide variety of new phones beyond the Tracfone branded devices.
A long standing complaint with Tracfone for many users was their typically outdated and limited phone options. Tracfone released five Android powered smartphones in 2013, but these phones didn't meet everyone's needs. The LG Optimus Dynamic II was the most popular, but still has certain drawbacks, and retails for close to $100.
But now with Tracfone BYOP, the game has changed. You can choose from a wide variety of Android and Apple smartphones and bring them to use with Tracfone service.
There are certain requirements for the BYOP program:
- Phone must use Verizon CDMA 3G network or 4G LTE (Tracfone recently added 4G LTE)
- Phone must be out of contract or unlocked
See the complete list of BYOP requirements to learn more.
What this does is make it possible to use phones like the Motorola Droid 3 and iPhone 4S with Tracfone 3G prepaid service and phones like the iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy S5, and LG G2 with Tracfone 4G LTE service.
Visit our BYOP Phone List for the full updated phone list.
Many of the phones that will work with the Tracfone BYOP program can be found on Amazon or eBay for around $100 new, or below $50 used (except the higher end 4G devices). Some people have already found really great deals on smartphones and successfully activated them with Tracfone.
It is important to note that the BYOP program might not be for everyone. It does require you to find and buy your own phone, and there is no guarantee that once you have a phone Tracfone will accept it. BYOP phones will have Triple Minutes, but they won't accept Tracfone Promo Codes.
You can test the serial number or MEID with Tracfone to check compatibility by visiting their BYOP page.
The system is still new, and some people report having a hard time activating their smartphone. Some have even had their minutes or phone number lost. So know that it might take a bit of patience to activate your smartphone.
We have a full blog post sharing more details about using a 4G LTE device with Tracfone BYOP, so go take a look.
We would appreciate any feedback from those who have successfully activated phones with BYOP. Let us know in the comments what phone you chose, and how the process went.
Visit our Tracfone BYOP page for the central resource on information, requirements, and phones that work with BYOP.
Thanks for visiting, and leave a comment if you have questions or thoughts.
9 comments :
Peter,
On December 21, you wrote an article about using any CDMA phone, and gave a link for Samsung Galaxy S3. Do you know if that phone is compatible or if it will be in the near future?
I really appreciate your keeping us updated on the latest Tracfone news and information. I know you don't update every day, but it seems like I check for an update first thing every morning.
Wayne
Hello Wayne,
Initially it seemed that Tracfone would let any Verizon phone work, but now we know that just 3G phones will work with the BYOP program. The Samsung Galaxy S3 runs on 4G, which Tracfone will hopefully allow in the future, but isn't allowing at this time. Don't know when this will change either.
Glad you have found the information useful! That is the goal. Cheers.
I bought 3 iPhone 4Ss back in April. 2 activated and 1 did not. The one that didn't turned out to be a new phone that had never been on contract. No problem returning. Got my them from Amazon Warehouse Deals- 32gb for only $172 back then. Now about 70 bucks more, but prices should come down when the iPhone 6 comes out. Anyway, they were listed as "used –good" and were almost flawless (few scratches around the bezel) & came in sealed boxes with all the accessories. Activated online & were working in less than 15 minutes. I lucked out. I have read that others weren't so lucky. All I can say is it's great to have an iPhone without a contract/data plan. I'm a happy camper!
Activated an iphone 4 over the weekend. Took 4 hours and 3 or 4 different representatives to get it done. Infuriating process. Decided it was worth it and tried to do the same for my husband. 3 hours into the process now and have hung up on 2 script readers. If only they had actual customer/technical support. Had to call Verizon and Apple to verify that the phone can be used despite what tracfone said. Now my husband is on with the 5th person and was told he has to call back in 24 hours. ha ha ha ha ha If you are gonna do this. Make sure you REALLY want it!
THE VERIZON PREPAID GALAXY S3 IS 3G ONLY. IT DOES NOT HAVE A SIM CARD. IT WILL WORK ON TRACFONE BYOP. IT HAS TO HAVE BEEN ON VERIZON PREPAID PLAN FOR SIX MONTHS BEFORE THEY WILL RELEASE THE ESN. IT WILL WORK. I HAVE ONE ON TRACFONE BYOP. IT WORKS GREAT.IT IS A GREAT PHONE,VERY FAST EVEN ON 3G. DANNY
works on my Verizon 4s.now will buy a data plan to try
Will the Blu android phone work with the BYOP plan? I already have Tracfone just wanted to update my phone and get one for my son and I like that phone.
I activated a 4s iPhone a couple of weeks ago. It's working well, but beware, I lost over 4500 minutes when I made the change. So far, Tracfone isn't listening.
I just activated a Motorola Moto X Pure Edition. It's the best phone I've ever had and it's around 300$. I got mine at Best Buy. Also, it comes with Marshmallow.
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