December 28, 2015

The Future of Tracfone in 2016

What to Expect in 2016 with Tracfone and a Look Back at 2015

tracfone 2016 smartphones
What does the Future hold for Tracfone in 2016?
2016 is upon us and its time to share our thoughts on what to expect from Tracfone in the new year. We will cover what direction we think Tracfone is moving, any changes to the products and services they offer, and some things we hope they will do in the next 12 months.

While TracfoneReviewer is not associated or affiliated with Tracfone in any way, we carefully follow and try to stay up to date on everything going on with Tracfone so that we can share it with our readers and followers on the blog. Below we will give some general opinions and thoughts on what to expect from Tracfone in 2016, but remember that these are just educated guesses based on our experiences. Please share your thoughts and expectations in the comments at the end of this post.

Before we jump into 2016, lets review what Tracfone did in 2015, as it has been a year full with new phones, progression and expansion in service from Tracfone, and various other changes.

Tracfone Year in Review - 2015

While plenty has happened with Tracfone in 2015 we want to highlight three particular changes that were greeted with excitement and enthusiasm from consumers. The Three changes were airtime cards for smartphones, expansion of the BYOP program, and new smartphones available from Tracfone.

Data-Only and Text-Only Airtime Cards for Smartphones
When smartphones came to Tracfone in 2013, the airtime added to these phones was changed to split into three categories - Talk, Text and Data. What this meant was that if you ran out of one category, like text messages, you would have to buy more airtime for all three, even if you only need more texts!

A lot of Tracfone users were annoyed that they had an abundance of one or two categories, but were always running low on another category. Thus, when Tracfone released Data-Only Airtime cards and eventually Text-Only cards, many users were very happy to see them.

You can take a look at our post on the Tracfone Data Cards and Text Cards to learn more about them, and if they are a good deal.

Tracfone also released smartphone-only airtime cards that give you specific amounts of Talk time, Texts and Data and do no triple. We Analyzed the New Tracfone Smartphone Airtime Cards and offered our opinion on what ones are the best deal.

4G LTE BYOP for both GSM and CDMA
4G LTE coverage with Tracfone BYOP was probably the most exciting advance Tracfone made in 2015. They opened the door to a host of much more advanced smartphones that could be used with their service and many users took advantage of this and upgraded. Now you can bring an iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S6 to use with either GSM or CDMA cell service through Tracfone's prepaid service.

LG Sunset with 4G LTE Service
For all of 2014 Tracfone only offered 3G CDMA smartphones for sale and many consumers who didn't have good CDMA coverage were frustrate that they couldn't upgrade to a smartphone. But in 2015 Tracfone released the LG Sunset, which was the second Android phone from Tracfone that uses GSM coverage, and the first with 4G LTE service.

We hope the Sunset will be the first of many more advanced 4G phones coming to Tracfone.

Now that we've looked back at the year, time to see what's in store with Tracfone for 2016!

What to Expect from Tracfone in 2016

We believe Tracfone will move in two primary directions for 2016; release more low-end smartphones and continue to promote the BYOP program.

Already we have seen significant advertising and promotions for bringing your own phone to Tracfone. They have done a lot to improve the process, including webpages dedicated to checking your phone's compatibility and activating the device. Tracfone has also released a number of smartphone-only airtime cards, that can be used with either BYOP devices or Tracfone smartphones.

It would appear that Tracfone has found a successful niche for themselves in providing pay-as-you-go service to consumers who don't want contracts or don't need unlimited service. The major carriers like Verizon and AT&T don't really compete with Tracfone because they target very different segments of the cell phone market (heavy users vs light users).

Tracfone has the opportunity to release their own smartphones and we hope they will continue to advance and catch up with the kind of phones you can use on the BYOP program. However, Tracfone will likely only offer devices in the $100-200 range that are a few years old. If consumers want a high-end phone to use with Tracfone, they will have to bring their own.

We do expect Tracfone to continue offering non-smartphones, but don't expect they will be offering any new or updated devices. They released very few, if any, non-android phones in 2015, and that Trend will probably continue. You can still buy plenty of 'dumb' phones from Tracfone, so don't worry about that disappearing anytime soon, it is a strong part of their profitability.

One of the weaknesses that Tracfone faces and needs to fix in 2016 is their somewhat complicated airtime structure. For new users, it can be confusing to know what which airtime is best for them to purchase, and exactly how it will be added to their phone. Right now, Tracfone offers both regular airtime cards that triple when added to a smartphone, and also smartphone-only cards that don't triple. There are airtime plans that give you minutes and 30 days of service every month, and there are auto-renewal options that automatically add a new 90 day airtime card to your phone every 3 months. We will have to wait and see if any changes come, but it is a small barrier for new customers.

Finally, we would recommend our readers continue in the direction that best suits them. So if you prefer the features and speed that a higher-end smartphone can give, then buy your own phone on Amazon, eBay or other retailers and bring it to use with Tracfone. You will have a great device and only be paying a small amount each month for service.

If you prefer a more simple device and less hassle in activating it, then go with a Tracfone branded phone. These won't be disappearing anytime soon.

We also suggest looking into some of the value plans Tracfone offers, or at buying the 1 Year/ 400 Minute Airtime card because these are some of the better deals offered by Tracfone and will help save you money if you're currently buying a 60 Minute Card every 3 months or so.

Tracfone looks like they are growing and pushing their BYOP program and we think they will continue in 2016 as the leaders of pay-as-you-go service.

We hope this post was help and gives you some perspective and ideas on where Tracfone may be heading in the coming months. Please leave a comment below with any questions or thoughts from this post.

If you are still looking for gift ideas, or have a gift card to spend, take a look at our Top 10 List of Tracfone Gift Ideas which includes many fun ideas for Tracfone users.

Thanks for vising and for another great year here at TracfoneReviewer. Happy New Year!

December 20, 2015

New Smartphone Airtime Cards from Tracfone - Are They A Good Deal?

UPDATE - Tracfone has made changes to their smartphone cards, and we've shared all the details, including much of the comparison info from below, in our new post, New Prices/Changes to Tracfone Smartphone Airtime Cards. Go take a look for the latest information.


Tracfone recently added several new options for buying airtime for your smartphone. These new cards are only for smartphone users on Tracfone, and add specific amounts of talk time, texts and data that does not triple when you top off your phone. Are these new cards a good deal? Are you better off buying the older cards? We are going to answer those questions right here for you!

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a prepaid wireless phone company that provides both cell phones, and service to use the phones on. Over the last few years Tracfone has offered many different Android powered smartphones to use with their service, as well as making it possible to bring your own smartphone device to use with their service (called the BYOP program).

All smartphones on Tracfone automatically split airtime cards into three separate categories - talk time, texts and data. All smartphones also automatically triple airtime you add to the phone, which is a nice bonus.

With these new airtime cards that can only be used with smartphones, the airtime is not tripled when you add it to your smartphone, and the cards come with specific amounts for talk time, texts and data.

For example, the new 2000 Minute Card comes with 2000 minutes talk time, 3000 text messages, and 1 GB data. Each of the new cards also comes with 90 service days.

So are these new airtime cards a good deal for Tracfone users? Let's take a look.

Comparison of Smartphone Airtime Cards Vs. Regular Airtime Cards

We are going to go through a couple of tables to analyze the different cards and try to determine which cards are a better value. We will do our best to explain each of the tables as we go through them. Please be sure to leave a comment if you don't understand how we came to our conclusions, or if you have a better way of explaining this.

Let's start with the first table that shows the two categories of airtime cards, how many minutes you get for each card, and what the price per minute is for each card. We also include text and data costs. Also note that we tripled each of the 'old' airtime cards, because they are automatically tripled when adding them to a smartphone.
smartphone cards tracfone
Tracfone Smartphone Cards vs Regular Airtime Cards - Which One is Better?
As you can see from the table above, with a 450 minute card you will get 1350 minutes for talking, 1350 texts, and 1350 MB of data (1.35 GB).

Notice the 3000 minute smartphone only card. With this card you get 3000 minutes for talking, 3000 texts, but only 1500 MB data (1.5 GB).

Then take a look at the 2000 minute smartphone card, you get 2000 minutes for talking but 3000 texts! And also 1000 MB data (1 GB).

So, as you can see, the new smartphone cards don't give even amounts of talk/text/data, but rather give a varying amount of each. The general trend for these smartphone only cards is that they give more talk time, a lot more texts, but less data than the regular airtime cards. This is generally very good, because many smartphone users go though their texts the fastest.

Now let's take a look at the second half of the table above, the part about price per minute, text and MB (data).

The general trend we can see is that the larger the airtime card, the better deal you get (you get more for your money when you buy more).

What we really want to take a look at is the cost (or price) per airtime amount. The smartphone only cards are cheaper for both talk time and texts, but a little more expensive for the data. The 'average' cost shows that the smartphone only cards are a little cheaper, mostly because they give you a lot more texts compared to the regular airtime cards.

Let's take a look at this next table which explains how many minutes you get per dollar.
are new airtime cards a good deal tracfone
Tracfone Smartphone Airtime Cards - Minutes per Dollar
The table above shows how many minutes you get for each dollar spent on an airtime card. So for the 450 Minute Card, you get just under 20 minutes talk time, 20 texts, and 20 MB for one dollar. You can see that this is the best deal for the 'old' cards.

Now look at the 2000 minute smartphone only card. For one dollar you get almost 27 talking minutes, 40 texts, and about 13 MB data. So, compared to the 450 Minute card, you get a better deal on talk time, twice as many texts, and a slightly worse deal on data.

How do the regular airtime cards compare to the new smartphone airtime cards?

The smartphone only cards are a better deal for talking, and MUCH better deal on texts, and a slightly worse deal on data.

So, if you use your smartphone primarily for texting, these new smartphone cards are a great value for you. You should especially consider the 2000 and 1000 minute cards, because both of these give you 40 texts per dollar, the best deal of any of the cards.

But if you use more data than anything else, you may want to stick with the old airtime cards, or just buy data only cards. You could also consider the 400 Minute/1 Year card, which we did not include in the table, but is a similar value to the 450 Minute Card.

For many, buying the 500 Minute Smartphone only card is a better value than the regular 200 Minute Airtime card because you get almost twice as many texts, with slightly less talk and data time.

Take a moment to consider your own needs, and which airtime card you usually buy, and see if there is a better option on the tables above.

We hope this analysis has been helpful, and understandable. Let us know in the comments what you thought, and which airtime card you will be choosing.

We have several other posts relating to buying airtime with Tracfone. Take a look at How to Buy Only Texts, How Data Works on Tracfone, and How Do Minutes work on Tracfone Smartphones?

Join our growing community on Facebook where we post news, updates and other information.

And see our TOP 10 Gift Ideas for Tracfone Users!

Thanks for visiting and Merry Christmas!

December 14, 2015

Top 10 Christmas Gift Ideas for Tracfone Users

Tracfone Gift Guide 2015 - 10 Ideas for Christmas Gifts

A collection of phones, accessories and other gift ideas for Tracfone users. We hope this gift guide helps with your holiday shopping and TracfoneReviewer wants to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

top 10 tracfone gifts
TracfoneReviewer's 2015 Tracfone Gift Guide
As the holidays quickly draw near, it can sometimes be a challenge to find gifts for every person on your list. We all can use some ideas and inspiration to help find a gift for that person that seems to have everything.

We're here to help! With our annual Christmas Gift Guide that collects and shares some of the latest phones and accessories to use with Tracfone, along with plenty of extra suggestions.

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a prepaid wireless cell phone company that offers both airtime, and cell phones, at very budget friendly prices. Consumers can also bring certain devices to use with Tracfone, including most top of the line smartphones available today.

Christmas is a great time to surprise someone with a new phone, or upgrade them to a smartphone. But there are plenty of other ideas beyond phones in our list, in fact, we've created a list of 10 different Christmas gift ideas, so let's take a look!

1. Find a New Phone, or Upgrade from an Old Device

Tracfone has a good number of options when choosing a cell phone, from non-android flip phones, to 5.5" touchscreen smartphones. We will share some different ideas for each of the options.

Tracfone's can make a great first phone for many kids/teenagers because it is relatively inexpensive, and helps them to keep track of their use of the phone, so they don't run out of minutes too quickly.

Tracfone devices are also handy for many other uses as well, including an emergency or backup phone.

If you, or the person your shopping for, isn't very familiar with Tracfone, take a look at our Beginners Guide to Tracfone to get started.

Now let's start with the some of the latest and greatest smartphones available from Tracfone at this time:

LG Sunset/LG Power/LG Destiny 
tracfone christmas gifts
LG Sunset
These phones are each almost exactly the same except that the Sunset (and Destiny) use GSM 4G LTE, and the LG Power has CDMA 3G service. These devices come with Android 5.0, and a 4.5" touchscreen.

You should choose which of these three  LG phone to get based on whether your area has better CDMA or GSM coverage. If you're unfamiliar with those terms, take a look at our GSM vs CDMA post and how to choose which is right for you.

The Sunset(link to our review) and Power(link to our review) are both widely available from online retailers like Amazon and eBay and usually cost around $100. We've only found the LG Destiny listed on the Tracfone website.

Find the LG Sunset on Amazon at $89

Also available on eBay for $89

We've found the LG Power on Amazon for $69

And available on eBay for $70

ZTE Quartz
If you're looking for screen size, the Quartz is your answer, with a huge 5.5" touchscreen that is the largest phone currently available from Tracfone. The Quartz runs on 3G CDMA network and uses Android 4.3.

Take a look at our review of the ZTE Quartz to learn more about this phone.

You can find the Quartz on many online retail websites and also on the Tracfone site for about $100-130.

View the ZTE Quartz on Amazon for $89 , on eBay for $69

LG Ultimate 2
While the Ultimate 2 has been available for over a year, it is still a good smartphone option and is now available at some nice prices, especially bundled with minutes.

When the Ultimate 2 came out it was very popular, and for good reason. It had a combination of features and specs, like the 4.5" touchscreen, Android 4.4 and 5 GB Internal Memory, that made for an enjoyable smartphone experience. Visit our review of the Ultimate 2 to see more info, and lots of comments from users.

The Ultimate 2 can be found many places online, and sometimes in stores, for $80-100 (but we have found some better deals)

View the Ultimate 2 on Amazon (view the 'New' phones for sale, best price is $69)

If you would like to view all the smartphone options from Tracfone, visit our Tracfone Android List.

If you're not interested in a smartphone, there are a few other options to choose from.

LG 441G Flip Phone
This simple yet tried and true device doesn't do anything fancy, but it does work great as a phone, especially if you're looking for a backup or in case of emergencies. The LG 441G is the slightly newer version of the LG 440G, which you can view our review of to learn more.

You can find the LG 441G in many stores, online and on the Tracfone website.

LG 306G/305C
The 306G is a popular non-android touchscreen device. The 306G uses GSM service, while the 305C uses CDMA, so you can choose which one will have the best service in your area.

These phones aren't the most fancy, but they are some of the most advanced from Tracfone that don't use Android OS. You can learn more about this phone on our Review of the LG 306G.

Find the LG 306G and 305C in stores, online and on the Tracfone website.

Now we will share some phone ideas that can be used with the BYOP program from Tracfone.

2. Bring Your Own Phone to Tracfone

Tracfone BYOP, where you bring your own smartphone to use with Tracfone, has continued to grow in popularity and accessibility for Tracfone customers. These days there are many different phones that can be used on the program, which is both GSM and CDMA compatible.

You can find a full list of phones, and resources for how to activate your phone with Tracfone on our Tracfone BYOP page. Below we will share some of the most popular and best value smartphones.

Some of the more popular BYOP phones are:

iPhone 6 and 6s
top 10 christmas gifts
iPhone 6s Plus - 128 GB
iPhone's have been a popular choice for smartphone users for many years because of their high quality, performance, operating system and plenty of other reasons. If you can afford it, the iPhone 6 and slightly newer, 6s, are some of the best and most advanced phones that can also be used with Tracfone BYOP.

This iPhone 6s 64GB unlocked phone from Amazon can be used on GSM 4G LTE networks, so it will work with Tracfone BYOP.

An iPhone 6, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5c are also good options if you're looking to save a little money by going with an older model.

If you know someone who already has an iPhone, perhaps they might be interested in some iPhone accessories to add to the functionality of their device.

Moto G
The Motorola Moto G is a phone that provides great value for the money and many Tracfone users have chosen to use it for this reason. It is widely available and retails for just $179 for the latest version. The Moto G is now in its 3rd generation, with each new generation bringing improvements and advances from the last, so be sure to pay attention to which generation you are buying, although they will all work with Tracfone BYOP.

Here is 3rd Generation Moto G with 8GB memory that uses GSM 4G LTE coverage for just $179 on Amazon.

If you interested in more information, check out our post on Using the Moto G with Tracfone BYOP.

LG G2/G3/G4
The LG G series (2, 3 and 4) smartphones are also popular on Tracfone BYOP for their great value. The G2 and G3 were released a few years ago, but still have great performance and can be found at prices under $200 on eBay.

Take a look at the LG G2 on Amazon for just $199, or the LG G4 for $420

Samsung Galaxy S3/S4/S5
Like the LG G series, the Samsung Galaxy S series of smartphones are high performing Android devices with many different options available online. If you're looking for good value for the money, the Samsung Galaxy S3 can be found for about $200. There are versions available for both CDMA and GSM, so choose the option that best suits your needs.

A handful of other ideas include the Nexus 5 and 6, Sony Xperia devices and Moto X. We have found eBay to be a great place to look for a smartphone if you're willing to search through and find exactly what you want.

Be sure to check the IMEI code (usually on the battery of the phone) on the Tracfone website to ensure it will be compatible, then pick up a sim kit from Tracfone, or you can also find it on Amazon.

3. Tracfone Prepaid Minutes

Everyone who uses Tracfone knows how nice it is to get some extra airtime to boost their minutes and service days.

An airtime card can be a nice way to help friends or family stay in contact and there are many options to choose from, ranging in cost from $20 to $100. Tracfone Prepaid Airtime cards can be purchased and easily given as a gift, and used at any time.

You can find Tracfone airtime cards in many stores like WalMart, Target, Dollar General, and most convenience stores as well as online.

Learn more about How Minutes Work on Android Tracfone Devices.

4. Gift Cards for Apps, Games, and Accessories

Smartphones open the door to a wide variety of applications and games that can be downloaded and installed on your smartphone device. Some of these apps charge a (small) fee for users to purchase the app. This generally allows the apps creators to offer a higher quality product that may even be ad free which is always nice.

holiday gift ideas list
Amazon Gift Card
Some games on Android phones also cost a few dollars to purchase, such as (list top games that cost money). These games can offer hours of fun, but require an initial purchase.

Check out our List of the Best Android Apps for more ideas on apps.

Google Play Store, which is where you can download apps and games for Android, has gift cards available to purchase that allows consumers to load their gift card amount, and spend it on whatever they choose. It is a handy way to buy that game or app someones been wanting, without requiring you to get on their device and enter your credit card details.

You can find Google Play gift cards on Amazon in various amounts.

Plenty of retail stores, both online and brick and mortar, offer gift cards that can be used to buy accessories, airtime ,or even phones.

Some other top retailer gift cards that also sell Tracfone items include:
-Walmart
-Target
-Amazon - Buy gift cards for almost any value, and have them delivered anywhere!
-eBay

5. External Battery Pack

For those who are on the go often, or forget to charge their phone, number 5 on our Christmas Gift Guide is the solution!

Know someone who seems to always be forgetting about charging their phone? Or perhaps they like to live out of the house 24/7? An external battery pack can really come in handy when you're phone dies away from a charger. You can simply plug the battery pack into your phone, and charge it through that!

There are many options for battery packs, and most are about the same size as a phone, but can hold several phones's worth of charge.

View some of the options currently available on Amazon, we particularly like the Anker batteries because they have good reliability and performance, plus lots of positive reviews.

External battery packs can also be found in many retail stores.

6. Phone Accessories for your Car

Many of us spend a fair amount of time in the car and sometimes it is convenient to be able to mount your phone, or charge it, while on the go.

Here are some popular on the go accessories:

Car Charger
Use a car charger to give your phone some juice while on the go. There are plenty of car chargers out there, just make sure you have the correct connection for the phone you want to charge.

View popular car chargers on Amazon.

Phone Mount for your Car
If you use your phone as a GPS, adding a mount to hold it is a must. It helps make it easy to follow it, and make changes if necessary. A car mount for your phone can also be helpful for lots of other tasks, such as watching movies (for the passengers) or just a secure place to keep the device.

View popular mounts on Amazon

Bluetooth headset for Hands-free Talking
Many states have made it illegal to chat on your phone while driving, so do the safe thing and use a simple Bluetooth headset!

Easy to set up, and lots of options available. Take a look at some of the options on Amazon.

7. Extra Phone Storage - Micro SD Card

tracfone gift ideas
32 GB Micro SD Card
One of the deficiencies of Tracfone smartphones is that they do not usually have a lot of internal memory for storing apps and other data. A 16 or 32 GB Micro SD card is a quick and easy solution for loading more pictures, music, videos or almost anything else, onto a device.

Almost all smartphones accept Micro SD cards up to 32 GB, so these might make a great stocking-stuffer gift.

You can find several options on Amazon and eBay, or visit any electronics store.

If you're not sure what to get, the SanDisk Ultra 32 GB card is a popular choice.

8. Phone Case or Cover

Every phone, and especially smartphones, should really have some kind of case or cover for it to protect it from everyday use, and the possibility of dropping it. Cases come in a wide range of options, from something that just protects the outside from scratches, to fully waterproof and shockproof.

You can also choose form many styles and colors, to find one that really suits that person you are shopping for. Some of the best places to find phone cases and covers are online retail stores like Amazon and eBay that offer plenty of different sellers.

To find a case or cover for a specific phone, simple visit Amazon or eBay and type into the search bar the name of the phone you have, followed by the kind of case or cover you're looking for. There are usually a plethora of options available.

For more on finding cases or covers for your phone, visit our list of smartphone covers an cases.

9. Headphones and Speakers

Headphones are great for minimizing noise from a device, while speakers are ready to maximize. Be sure you know which way you want to adjust the noise before shopping for these items!

Bluetooth speakers are very popular and convenient because they allows users to quickly sync whatever they are listening to on their smartphone, with the speaker, thus amplifying the sound for everyone to enjoy. Most speakers are very portable and some come with rechargeable batteries to allow you to bring it anywhere.

Shop for speakers at any electronics store, or also online at Amazon.

There are about as many different options for headphones as their are fish in the sea, but we have a couple of top picks to give you some ideas.

The Panasonic In-Ear headphones are surprisingly comfortable and snug, and the sound is fantastic. They are also the most popular ear buds on Amazon, and we recommend them. Plus they are unbeatable at their current price.

If you want over the ear comfort and style, Sennheiser makes a simple, but high quality headphone set that is very reasonably priced as well.

Visit any electronics store for plenty of other options as well.

10. The Selfie Stick

Last but not least (OK, maybe it is least...), is the selfie stick. These slightly hated tools let the users extend the hand-holding range of their phone to maximize their selfie photos.

There are plenty of varieties of selfie sticks on Amazon and eBay.

That's it! We hope you've enjoyed TracfoneReviewer's list of 10 Tracfone Gift Ideas! Drop a comment below with any additional ideas or questions.

Don't miss out on following us on Facebook where more than 1500 get a variety of updates and news related to Tracfone.

Visit our Tracfone Promo Codes page to find a code for free bonus minutes when adding airtime to your phone!

Thanks for visiting and Merry Christmas!

December 2, 2015

Tracfone Promo Codes for December 2015

Tracfone Promo Code List - December 2015

Below we share the newest promotional codes for Tracfone for you to use during the month of December. TracfoneReviewer strives to be the best source for reliable and updated Tracfone codes and we hope you enjoy the free minutes.

tracfone promo code coupon
Tracfone Promo Codes!
For those who might be unfamiliar with Tracfone, they are a low cost wireless cell phone company that offers prepaid phones and airtime. Consumers can either buy one of the phones Tracfone offers, or bring their own smartphone to use with Tracfone.

Airtime for Tracfone comes in various amounts ranging from a 60 minute card, up to a 450 minute card. Tracfone also offers many more airtime options including automatic monthly refills. Learn more about the basics of Tracfone by checking out our Beginners Guide to Tracfone.

The promo codes from Tracfone can be used every time you add an airtime card to your phone. However, promo codes will not work for smartphones or devices you bring to Tracfone through the BYOP program.

To use a promo code simply enter the PIN for your airtime card on the Tracfone website, on your phone, or by calling Tracfone. Following that there should be a place to enter a five digit promo code, which you can select from the codes below. These codes are for a certain airtime amount, but can also be used on cards of greater value as well. For example, a code for a 120 minute card will also work for the 200 and 450 minute cards. A promo code for the 400 Minute/1 Year card cannot be used with any other card amount.

We have a wider variety of codes on our main Tracfone Promo Code page if you're interested in more options.

Now let's get to these free airtime codes!

Tracfone Promo Code List for December 2015

These codes should all be valid for the entire month of December. let us know in the comments which code you used.

60 Minute Card use code 12745 for 60 bonus minutes (note - may not work for everyone)

120 Minute Card enter 89358 to get 30 free minutes

200 Minute Card add code 34014 and receive 40 additional minutes

450 Minute Card use coupon code 30266 and get 50 extra minutes

1 Year/400 Minute Card use promo code 31077 for 300 minutes OR code 51995 to get $15 off online purchase of this card

That's it for now, we hope you find a code that gets you some free minutes!

Don't forget to drop a comment below with how your code worked for you.

Join over 1500 other Tracfone customers on our Facebook page where we post the latest news and updates. Also be sure to also visit some of the other pages on our blog, like our Cell Phone Reviews page, to learn more about the options with Tracfone.

We recently shared our pick for the Worst Tracfone Cell Phone. You may want to take a look to avoid one of those phones!

Coming soon - our Tracfone Gift Guide for Christmas 2015!

Thanks for visiting!

November 18, 2015

Tracfone Black Friday/Cyber Monday Deals List 2015

The Best Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals on Tracfone in one List

Below you will find a collection of great deals and discounts for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Holiday season. We will continue to update as more deals are discovered and shared.

Tracfone deals and sales
Tracfone Black Friday Deals
Black Friday is the biggest day for discounts on all kinds of stuff including Tracfone devices and minutes. But it can always be challenging to figure out which stores have the best deals, or even what deals they may be offering.

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a prepaid wireless cell phone company that provides both airtime and cell phones. They are one of the cheapest cell phone options available, but you do pay for each minute, text or megabyte you use. Learn more about Tracfone by visiting our Beginners Guide to Tracfone.

Tracfone also allows users to bring their own device to Tracfone, opening the door to many of the top end smartphones some consumers desire. Visit our Tracfone BYOP page to learn more and view a growing list of phones to use with BYOP.

In this list of Black Friday deals we will include everything we can find, both reports of in-store deals and links to the deals on other websites. We want to include as many options to help you find the best deals on a new phone or minutes.

So let's get to the deals and savings!

Tracfone Cyber Monday Deals 2015

Tracfone.com - LG Ultimate 2 for $49.99 and LG Optimus Fuel FREE (with purchase of airtime) - Visit Tracfone Sales page

Amazon.com - Various daily deals leading up to Black Friday, Cyber Monday - View Amazon's Daily Deals



HSN.com - ZTE Quartz with 1200 minutes for $129 and the LG Ultimate 2 with 1200 minutes for $99

eBay.com - Variety of deals, including many phone options to use with Tracfone BYOP - View eBay  Phone Deals

Walmart - View Walmart's Cyber Monday Ad

Target - View Target's Cyber Monday Ad

Tracfone Black Friday Deals 2015

We will collect all the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and any other holiday deals below and continue to update, so check back often!

Kmart - $1 for the Alcatel A206G Big Easy Flip Phone - View Kmart's Black Friday Ad

Wal-Mart - no deals on Tracfone devices yet - View Walmart's Black Friday Ad

Target - Discounted Tracfone Airtime Cards! (and other airtime cards too) - View Target's Black Friday Ad

BestBuy - no deals on Tracfone devices yet - View BestBuy's Black Friday Ad

Dollar General - Alcatel Onetouch Pixi Glitz for $1 - View Dollar General's Ad

Family Dollar - LG 440G Flip Phone for $1 - View Family Dollar's Ad

RadioShack - LG 440G Flip Phone for $2.99 - View RadioShack's Ad


That concludes our list of Tracfone Black Friday deals, but we will continue to add to it throughout the shopping season.

We need your help! Share any deals you find and we'll include them here and post 'em on the Facebook page for everyone to see.

If you're looking for a new phone consider visiting our Cell Phone Reviews page where we have collected a number of reviews of different Tracfone devices. You can also compare and learn more about the Android devices offered by Tracfone on our Android Tracfone List.

We will be creating a Christmas Gift Guide soon so be on the lookout for that too!

Thanks for visiting and we hope this helped you locate some great deals for Black Friday and the Holidays!

November 11, 2015

Tracfone Match & Win - What Is It?

How to Play the Match & Win Contest from Tracfone

In this post by TracfoneReviewer we share information on a contest offered by Tracfone between October and November of 2015. We hope this information will be useful and help you win some prizes!

win prizes tracfone
Learn about the Tracfone Match and Win Contest here!
Towards the end of October I received a text to my Tracfone cell phone promoting a contest and sharing a link to click for more details.

I immediately thought it might be a scam and didn't click the link, and soon forgot about it. Then a few days ago I was on the Tracfone website and noticed a promotion for the Tracfone Match & Win contest there.

Following the steps I quickly learned that it was a legitimate contest from Tracfone offering the chance to win prizes for Tracfone users. The text I had received about the contest looked like something that followed the general scam pattern - 'Win something great, just click this link/give us your information'. I'm confident in confirming now that it is not a scam, and is a real contest form Tracfone, in case anyone was concerned about that.

But what is this contest, how does it work, and how long will it be available? We'll share our answers to these questions and more below!

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a low cost cell phone carrier that contracts with other major carriers like AT&T and Verizon to use their cell towers for providing prepaid coverage. Tracfone is great for consumers who would prefer to be charged based on how much they use their cell phone, rather than a flat fee.

Tracfone offers a variety of cell phones to use with their prepaid service, and you can visit our Cell Phone Reviews page to see many of them reviewed by us. You can also bring your own phone to Tracfone with their BYOP program. Follow the link to learn about which phones will work.

Now let's start sharing details on what this Tracfone contest is all about.

What is the Match & Win Contest from Tracfone

The Match & Win contest is a promotion sponsored by Tracfone that runs from October 8th, 2015 through November 25th, 2015.

This contest is put together by HelloWorld Inc, a company that specializes in social media and web marketing.

To be eligible to win prizes, contestants must be at least 18 years old, and live in the United States. You will also need to have a Tracfone account.

You can take a look at the full contest details in this PDF.

Prize List
There are quite a few prizes for this contest, although many of them are of lower value.

  • Grand Prize - 14 winners get a $100 gift card to retailers of winners choice, selected from a list of options
  • First Prize - 200 winners get a magazine subscription of winners choice, selected from a list of options 
  • Second Prize - 125 winners get a $25 gift card to retailers of winners choice, selected from a list of options
  • Third Prize - 313 winners get a $10 gift card to retailers of winners choice, selected form a list of options
  • Fourth Prize - 250 winners get a $5 gift card to retailers of winners choice, selected form a list of options

There's almost $15,000 worth of gift cards and magazine subscriptions available for contestants to win, but there is a limit of only once prize per person.

For those who are already Tracfone customers, it doesn't cost anything to play this contest once a day, and possibly win a gift card, even if it is only worth $5.

How to Enter the Match & Win Contest

To enter the contest simply visit the Match & Win website and start from there. You will be required to register the first time you play the contest, by entering your first and last name, the email address connected to your Tracfone account, and your Tracfone telephone number.

Each time you return and play (which you can do once every day) you will have to confirm your phone number.

So if you don't have an account with Tracfone already, you will need one for this Contest. Obviously, if you don't have a Tracfone phone number, you can't play.

No purchase is necessary for this contest, and you can return to the contest page everyday for a chance to win until the contest closes.

Once you are registered and logged in, you will be directed to a page with three options to click, and you get to choose one.

So far in our testing, if you have multiple phones under one account, you only get one play for the entire account.

Let us know if you win! We want to hear if anyone wins anything, and if so, what did you win. We've played three times, and won nothing so far.

Is the Match and Win Contest Rigged?

One user posted on the Tracfone forums their concern about the contest possibly being rigged.

tracfone coupon prizes
'rigged' contest' forum post - click to enlarge
Take a look at the forum post here, or see the image of the post on the right.

The user took a look at the source code for the contest page, and pointed out that it has already determined he hasn't won, before he selected anything.

This could suggest that, either no winners will be allowed at all and this contest is rigged, or that a winner is determined when the page loads, not when one of the three options is selected.

It would seem more likely to us that the second theory is correct, but we don't have any proof, nor are we experts in coding. What may occur is, every so often, the page loads a 'winning' page, giving contestants the chance to win, while the majority of the time it is just loading pages with no winners.

The interesting thing about this is, you can check before you select an option, whether any of the options are winners if you know what to look for in the source code. We're not suggesting you try this, or that it will work, it's just an observation.

We'd really love some input from those of you who might have experience with coding, and can confirm/explain what is going on here. Also, if we do start getting comments from people who are winning, that would confirm the contest is working properly, and assuage most concerns.

When the contest concludes, there is supposed to be a list of winners published.

Check back, as we will be updating this as we learn more.

If you're new to Tracfone, take a look at our Beginners Guide to Tracfone which will walk you through some of the basics of how Tracfone works, and what options you have for using them.

We share lots of information about Tracfone on this blog, so don't be afraid to browse the homepage, or use the search box on the right.

You can also join over 1400 followers on Facebook where we share news, promo codes, and each new post.

Thanks for visiting!

November 4, 2015

Tracfone Promo Codes for November 2015

List of Tracfone Promo Codes - November 2015

Each month TracfoneReviewer collects and shares the latest promotional codes from Tracfone. We work hard to find and post only the latest codes that are working for this month and hope you find a promo code that works for you!

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Tracfone Promo Codes Nov 2015!
Tracfone is a prepaid wireless phone company that provides both cell phones, and cell phone service by contracting with other major cell phone carriers to use their coverage.

With Tracfone, each time you add an airtime card to your phone you can also use a promo code to get additional minutes for free. Each code is for a specific airtime card amount, but can also be used with cards of greater value. For example, a code for a 60 minute card can also be used for the 120 or 200 minute cards and so on.

Tracfone does not allow promo codes with their newer Android Smartphone Selection, but these phones already offer a lot of great features. Phones that you bring to Tracfone through their BYOP program will also not accept promotional codes.

If you're looking for a new phone, visit our Cell Phone Reviews page, which includes a variety of different phones, both Android and non-Android.

The bonus coupon codes listed below are just the newest codes we have found for the month of November. You can view all the codes we've found on our main Tracfone Promo Code page.

Now let's take a look at the list of codes for this month.

Tracfone Promo Codes for November 2015

These codes are for use during the month of November. Some codes can be used multiple times, others only once. You can add codes on the Tracfone website, over the phone, or on your phone.

60 Minute Card use 12745 and get 60 free minutes

120 Minute Card try the code above, and we'll update when we find a new code!

200 Minute Card enter 42021 to get 40 free minutes (valid until Nov 16th)

450 Minute Card add promo code 35744 and receive 50 bonus minutes

1 Year/400 Minute Card use code 12543 for 250 bonus minutes (valid until Nov 16th)

Special Code - Get $15 off the 1 Year/200 Minute Card on the Tracfone website with code 51995

These are the latest Tracfone coupon codes for November 2015 and we hope you find a code that works! Leave a comment below with which code you tried, and how it worked (Or let us know of any new codes!).

You can keep up with the latest Tracfone news and information by checking back on the blog here, or simply follow us on Facebook!

We recently shared our picks for the Worst Tracfone Device Ever and are interested in what your experiences have been, so take a look and let us know.

If you're still new to Tracfone, you should really check out our Beginners Guide to Tracfone that covers a lot of the basic and general information regarding using Tracfone.

Thanks for visiting and we hope you enjoy the free minutes!

October 31, 2015

Tracfone Alcatel Sonic Review - Android 4G LTE

Review of the Alcatel Onetouch Sonic - 4G LTE Android Tracfone Smartphone

Below is TracfoneReviewer's review of the Alcatel Sonic. We will share a variety of features and details for the phone, and provide information on where to buy this phone. We hope you find this review helpful!

review of the alcatel sonic
Tracfone Alcatel Sonic Review
Tracfone is steadily releasing new smartphones and the latest release is only the second phone with 4G LTE coverage.

Tracfone Wireless is a prepaid service and cell phone provider with a variety of low cost devices and airtime options. They contract with other major cell phone carriers like Verizon and AT&T to provide coverage over their existing networks.

Tracfone is a smart choice for people who want a cell phone, but don't want to pay monthly contract prices.

Over the last few years Tracfone has released a number of Android powered smartphones to use with their service. This review will cover the Alcatel Onetouch Sonic, which is the latest phone available with Tracfone and comes with 4G LTE coverage.

If you're interested in the other Android phones from Tracfone, look no further than our Android Tracfone list which contains almost every smartphone available with Tracfone.

The Alcatel Onetouch Sonic is the second phone from Alcatel, following the Alcatel Onetouch Icon Pop. The Icon Pop had a large 5" screen, but the Sonic has a slightly smaller 4.6" screen.

We want to share our quick points about this phone, and then get into the full list of features.

Alcatel Onetouch Sonic A851L Quick Points:

The Good:
-4G LTE
-4.6" Touchscreen

The Not so Good:
-Only about 1.7 GB internal memory
-Android 4.1
-Overall, no specs or features that really stand out besides 4G LTE

There are a couple of things about the Sonic that make it desirable, but there are also several features that are similar, or even worse than other phones available from Tracfone.

Let's take a look at the full list of features and specifications for the Sonic.

Alcatel Sonic Features and Specs

Below are the features, followed by the technical specs.
  • Android 4.1
  • 4G LTE Connectivity
  • WiFi
  • GPS
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • 5 MP Rear Camera, VGA Front Camera
  • Hearing Aid Compatible and Handsfree Speaker
  • Access to over a Million Apps on Google Play
  • Triple Minutes for Life
  • MicroUSB Connection
  • Voicemail, Caller ID, etc.
Alcatel Sonic Specifications List
  • Size: 5.28" x 2.74" x 0.43"
  • 4.6" Touchscreen (480x854 resolution with 212 DPI)
  • 1.4 Ghz Dual Core Processor
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 4 GB Internal Memory (about 2 GB Usable, up to 32 GB External memory with MicroSD Card)
  • Battery: Talk Time 14 hrs, Standby 20 days
tracfone review alcatel sonic
Alcatel Onetouch Sonic front and back view
Several interesting features listed for the Sonic, particularly 4G LTE connectivity, but also the 4.6" touchscreen, and the 1.4 Ghz dual core processor.

The Alcatel Sonic has all the other features you would expect from an Android smartphone such as front and rear camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and speaker. It also has all the features you would expect from a Tracfone device like Triple Minutes for Life, Caller ID, Voicemail and more.

While there are some good features on the Sonic, there are also a few things we want to point out so that consumers are aware of them before purchasing this device. Let's get into our review of the Alcatel Onetouch Sonic with what we like, and don't like, about this device. If you want to see some phones we really don't like, take a look at our list of the Worst Tracfone Cell Phones.

Alcatel Onetouch Sonic Review - Likes and Dislikes

What We Like about the Sonic
The Alcatel Sonic is, overall, a pretty average Android phone except for one main feature - 4G LTE. This faster connectivity speed (4G really means 4th generation) allows you to download and surf the web much more quickly than 3G devices. And the nice thing is, you are paying the same for it with Tracfone.

We believe the Sonic will use GSM networks from AT&T, just like the LG Sunset. 

The 4.6" touchscreen is good, and similar to many of the other smartphones available with Tracfone.

Now let's take a look at some of the features that we weren't happy with.

What We Don't Like About the Sonic

alcatel sonic tracfone
Alcatel Sonic Internal Memory
There are several features this phone comes with that we don't like because they are similar or slightly worse than what we can get form other Tracfone devices.

The Sonic comes with Android 4.1, which is not the latest, or even almost the latest. There are several phones available from Tracfone that have Android 5.0, like the LG Sunset, or LG Power. While it isn't a big deal to use an older version of Android, it would be nice if it were updated.

Loading and storing apps, photos and other media on the Sonic may create a problem since the Sonic only comes with 4 GB of internal memory, with about half of that used up by the operating system. Again, several other Tracfone smartphones offer about double the internal memory as the Sonic. You will probably want more space if you're going to put more than a handful of apps on this device.

The camera on the Alcatel Sonic is also nothing impressive. It does the job, and has a front facing VGA camera for video chats, but doesn't stand apart from other devices.

We like that this phone has 4G LTE, but the rest of the features on this phone seem a little outdated. For those who don't plan to use their phone too much, this device will probably be just fine. But if you want to get more from your device, you probably want to go with something else, and maybe even consider the Tracfone BYOP program.

Overview and Where to Buy the Alcatel Sonic

As we said above, the Sonic is a pretty good phone, but there are other phones that are better for a similar price. The LG Ultimate 2, ZTE Quartz, LG Power and LG Sunset are each similar to the Sonic, but with improvements in various ways. This phone will probably perform just fine for the majority of users who purchase it, but if you want the most for your money, you may want to consider the LG Sunset, or the BYOP program.

Even the LG Ultimate 2, which was released over a year ago, has a number of features that are similar or better than the Sonic, most notably, more internal memory for storing apps, pictures and other things.

We're not saying the Sonic is a bad phone, but just that there are some other good phones out there as well. We'll let you make your own decision.

The Alcatel Sonic hasn't been found on the Tracfone website yet, but it is available through several other online retailers.

You can find the Sonic at the following websites:

Alcatel Onetouch Sonic for $99 on Amazon

Alcatel Onetouch Sonic for $99 on eBay

Alcatel Onetouch Sonic with 1 Year Service Card for $200 on eBay

Alcatel Onetouch Sonic with 1 Year Service Card for $130 on Evine

We expect that the Sonic will be available in stores and on the Tracfone website sometime in the near future. It is not uncommon for the phone to be available on eBay and Amazon before the Tracfone website.

Tracfone Android Resources - Helpful Information for Smartphone Users

Android phones work a little differently than non-smartphones with Tracfone. One of the biggest differences is that you get you minutes split up into talk, text and data pools that are each separate. You also get Triple Minutes for life on every Android phone.

For more information on using Android phones with Tracfone, take a look at the following resources we've published about Tracfone smartphones:

How Do Minutes Work on Tracfone Smartphones?

How to Check your Airtime on Android Devices

How to Buy Only Texts for your Smartphone

How Data Works on Android Tracfone Devices

and lastly, The Best Apps for Android

You can also take a look at the Alcatel Sonic Interactive Tutorial to help you learn how to use the phone.

That completes our review of the Alcatel Sonic. We hope you found it informative and useful. If you have questions or something to share, leave a comment below (we review every comment before posting, to keep out spam).

Visit our Cell Phone Reviews page to see all our reviews in one place, and you might find

Don't forget we also have Tracfone Promo Codes, although they won't work with smartphones.

And join more than 1300 followers on Facebook where we share our latest updates, news and posts!

Thanks for visiting!

October 22, 2015

Worst Tracfone Cell Phones

List of the Worst Devices from Tracfone

This post is created by TracfoneReviewer and shares some of the phones we wouldn't recommend for most Tracfone users. 

bad tracfone cell phones
Worst Tracfone Cell Phone - photo from PicJumbo.com
Tracfone is a prepaid wireless cell phone company that provides low cost phones and cell coverage. The phones they offer are usually a few years behind the latest technology, and sometimes have some serious drawbacks.

Here at TracfoneReviewer we provide lots of cell phone reviews, and are generally very excited about the new phones Tracfone releases, because we like the value (cost vs benefits) Tracfone provides and the new phones bring.

However, over the years there have been several phones released by Tracfone that have really been pretty poor, especially as we've had time to look at user reviews and compare them to other devices.

So which Tracfone cell phones are the worst? We're going to share our pick below!

Before we get to our pick, we want to clarify a few things first.

What Makes a Phone 'Bad'

We want to quickly clarify how we are defining a 'bad' phone. Basically any phone that either:

  • Has issues that the majority of users experience - thus not a case of one defective phone, but all phones being defective.
  • Or lacks proper features/specs to make the phone usable for the majority of people (and there are other phones available that do).

Both of these points are sometimes hard to recognize in a newly released phone because we either don't have enough input from user reviews, or we don't have other phones to compare the new device to.

Over time we are able to gain a better picture of whether a phone is 'good' or 'bad' based on how it is performing, and how it compares to other phones available.

This brings us to an important point:

'Bad' Phones can Still be 'Good' for Some People

Let's be clear, each person has different needs and expectations for a phone, and so some phones may not meet the needs/expectations of the majority of people, but for a few people it may perfectly meet their need.

Some Tracfone users prefer a smaller touchscreen and don't want the features that come with an Android powered smartphone.

So while we will be highlighting a few phones and designating them as 'bad' phones, they may still be a good choice for some people.

Drop a comment below if you want to add your thoughts on 'good' and 'bad' phones, or if we weren't clear in defining this.

Now, let's get to our picks for the worst Tracfone cell phones.

The Worst Tracfone Cell Phone

There are three phones that rise to the top of the list for worst cell phone from Tracfone. Number two and three are the ZTE Valet and the LG Optimus Dynamic. These two phones are basically tied for second worst phones from Tracfone.

The LG Optimus Dynamic, when it was released, had some of the best and most advanced features for a Tracfone device yet. It came with Android version 2.3 which allowed users access to thousands of apps on Google Play. Until the Optimus Dynamic, Tracfone users had not had access to a true smartphone.

When the LG Optimus Dynamic was only about $20, I picked one up and enjoyed using it for a while.

However, the Dynamic had a major flaw which brings it onto our list - very little internal memory for installing apps (the phone has 1 GB internal memory, but less than 200 MB that is actually usable)

One of the major strengths of a smartphone is the ability to install applications that can do many different things. So when the Optimus Dynamic could only hold a small handful of apps, it was defeating the purpose of being a smartphone. Some users were able to move apps to the external SD card, but not all users were interested in trying this, and were left with a phone that would often have 'memory full' messages pop up.

If you're looking for new apps, take a look at our List of the Best Apps for Android which may contain some new ideas for you!

The ZTE Valet came after the Optimus Dynamic, and improved on it in a few ways, such as a newer OS, Android 4.1. However the quality of the Valet was soon brought into question as many users noticed both poor sound quality when making phone calls, and poor WiFi reception in their home.

unimax maxpatriot worst cell phone
The Worst Tracfone is the Unimax MaxPatriot
These issues were prevalent for the majority of Valet users and caused many to look for a new phone soon after getting the Valet. The new and improved LG Optimus Dynamic II was a popular choice. Let's hope the issues with the ZTE Valet are cleared up for the more recently released ZTE Quartz.

And finally, the worst phone released by Tracfone is the Unimax MaxPatriot.

Unlike the ZTE Valet and LG Optimus Dynamic, the MaxPatriot was an inferior phone from the start. When it was released there were several other phones from Tracfone that were significantly better (specifically, the LG Ultimate 2). Plus, user comments and reviews quickly outlined a number of quality issues with the phone, and the phone manufacturer.

It is the only phone that we couldn't recommend for anyone, because there were phones that were both better and cheaper available at the same time. But some people still decided to try out the Unimax, and here are some of their comments:

bad tracfone reviews
Comment on the Unimax MaxPatriot
unimax MaxPatriot worst phone
Comment on the Unimax MaxPatriot


And finally this user was clearly unhappy with the Unimax phone:

worst tracfone cell phone
Comment on the Unimax MaxPatriot








Other comments were more restrained and merely read, "ditto on all the bad reviews."

To be fair, there were some comments from users who actually liked the phone, or at least weren't unhappy with it.

While there are other phones from Tracfone that do have their issues, none (as far as we know) were as bad as the Unimax MaxPatriot.

Let us know in the comments what your choice for the worst Tracfone would be, or if you have had a good experience with any of the phones in our list.

If you're looking for a new phone, we recommend taking a look at our Tracfone BYOP page where you can learn all about bringing your own phone to Tracfone. This includes a wide variety of GSM and CDMA phones, and even 4G LTE devices. You can find a list of compatible phones on that page as well.

We also recently reviewed the Call Detector App, which you can use on Android devices to block unwanted calls.

Stay up to date with the latest Tracfone news and information by following us on Facebook! As Black Friday and Christmas approach, Tracfone has traditionally released new phones or great deals, and we will share them both on the Facebook page, and here on the blog as we find them.

Thanks for visiting and we hope this post was useful and informative!

October 14, 2015

How to Block Unwanted Calls and Texts on Tracfone - The Call Detector App

Block Telemarketing Calls on your Smartphone with Call Detector App

Below we review and discuss an app available for Android users that can block unwanted calls. TracfoneReviewer is a blog dedicated to providing resources and information about Tracfone, and we share lots of different things from cell phone reviews to promotional codes. So have a look around if you want to learn more about Tracfone!

block phone number tracfone
How to Block Unwanted Phone Calls
Many Tracfone users find it even more annoying than the average person when they receive a telemarketing or other unwanted call because it costs airtime. Even if you answer, then then hang up moments later, it will still deduct minutes form your Tracfone account.


The only way to combat this for many users was to try and pay close attention to who was calling, and then simply try to avoid answering it. But this isn't always possible, and sometimes we answer the phone without thinking.

Unwanted texts are also another way we lose valuable minutes. And on Android phones, there isn't a way to choose which texts you open (and pay for) and which you don't. So any text you receive on an Android phone reduces your remaining text balance.

Well Tracfone must have noticed consumers dissatisfaction with this, because they recently started promoting a free App for Android phones that says it will, "block any unwanted phone calls as well as automatically block all known scam callers."

So does this app work and will it block those annoying telemarketers? We're here to test it and find out, and then share the results with you below.

For those who might not know, Tracfone is a prepaid wireless cell phone company. They offer both cell phones, and prepaid airtime that allows users to pay for only what they plan to use. You can learn more about Tracfone by reading our Beginners Guide to Tracfone.

What is the Call Detector App?

The Call Detector App makes it possible to select numbers from your contact list or recent callers and choose to block their number. This is really great if you tend to get a lot of unwanted calls form the same number.

Call Detector offers several more features as well:

  • Automatically block known scammers
  • Identify incoming telemarketing and debt collection calls
  • block all incoming private or blocked numbers
  • Easily report telemarketers/debt collectors through the app
  • Caller ID (only limited number of uses on free version of the app)
  • Reverse number lookup (only limited number of uses on free version of the app)

The app is free to download, but does offer a premium upgrade that removes ads, and allows users to have unlimited Caller ID and Reverse number lookup, among other bonuses.

The Call Detector App says it was specifically created for Tracfone and Tracfone's other companies like Straight Talk and Net10.

Now we want to share what we thought of the app in our review of the Call Detector app.

Call Detector App Review - Testing the App

how to block calls on tracfone
Call Detector App Homescreen
We tested the Call Detector app on an LG Ultimate 2 active with Tracfone service and had no trouble downloading the app from Google Play, and quickly loading it up onto our homescreen. (we also tried downloading it on a Moto G 1st Gen that isn't active on any network, and the app wouldn't connect.)

The app takes up about 9 MB of space on the internal memory, which isn't very much, and not a problem for the Ultimate 2 that comes with around 4 GB internal memory, but for some of the older Android phones you may not have much room to work with.

When loading up the app you will have to give Call Detector access to a number of different things on your phone, but this is what allows the app to automatically block calls, and select numbers to block from your list of received calls.

The home screen is simple, and we were able to quickly view either a list of our contacts, or recently received calls and choose from these lists any phone numbers we wanted to block. You can also choose to view the apps activity (what phone calls it has blocked), file a complaint through the app, look up a number, or purchase the full version.

We selected a few numbers to block, and then tested the app by using those numbers to call the phone. When a blocked number calls, you briefly see the call screen flash on the smartphone's screen, and then the call is disconnected. In the app's activity section, you get to see who called and what time they called.

We also tested blocking text messages, which we can't tell if this app is supposed to block. It does track both the number of calls blocked and texts, but in our test the text message was not blocked. We're going to continue testing this.

Looking up numbers is also a convenient feature on the Call Detector app and sometimes we would get the name of the caller, other times just the location of where they were calling from. With the free version of the app you only have a certain number of numbers you can look up.

We were not able to test the app's claim that it automatically blocks known scammers, or can automatically notify you if the caller is a telemarketer or debt collector - we just haven't received any calls like this yet. But if you test this out, let us know in the comments how the app functions for you.

Does the Call Detector App Work?

Well, yes, it does seem to work well at blocking numbers you choose for it to block. This is very handy if there are certain callers who keep bothering you. Will it block text messages or automatically block telemarketers? We couldn't quite determine this and will continue to investigate.

Overall we found this app was well designed, looked good and functioned as expected. On Google Play it is rated 4.2 stars out of 5, which is a good rating. It also has more than 100,000 downloads and will work on Android versions 2.3 or higher.

There are a variety of other call blocking apps available on Google Play, but none of them seemed any better than Call Detector.

If you're tired of getting sales calls, or just want to block a few numbers, Call Detector is a great app for doing that.

You can read more about Call Detector, and download it for yourself, on Google Play.

We hope this information is helpful for you! Leave a comment if you have any questions, or want to share your experience using this app.

If you're interested in what Android phones Tracfone has to offer, take a look at our recently updated List of Tracfone Android phones. You can see all the smartphones available from Tracfone, and quickly compare some of the key features from each phone.

You may also be interested in the Tracfone BYOP program, which allows consumers to bring their own smartphone to use with Tracfone, including both GSM and CDMA 4G LTE devices.

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