July 31, 2017

10 Tips for Improving Your Tracfone Cell Signal

How to Check and Boost your Tracfone Cell Signal

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Tracfone cell signal strength
10 Tips to Boost your Cell Signal
Don't you hate it when you lose signal while on the phone, or when you can't send a text because you are in a dead zone?

In this post we look at how cell signal strength is measured, how to check your signal, and tips for improving it. We often get questions relating to signal strength, and hopefully this will help clear some of those up.

Tracfone users several other cell phone networks, including Verizon and AT&T, and the coverage is usually pretty good in most cities and towns. However, there are plenty of places where the signal can be partially blocked, or has much further to travel.

The information provided here is to help you get the most from your cell phone, so let's get started.

How Cell Signal Works (And How to Check yours)

Cell signal is measured in dBm (Decibel milliwatts) where about -60 dBm is a very excellent signal, and -110 very poor. Ranging between -70 and -98 dBm will usually result in a very adequate signal. As we will see further on in our tips for boosting signal strength, little things like holding the phone in certain ways, can significantly affect the signal.

The signal strength bars at the top of your device don't have any standardized correlation to your actual signal strength, but are a general representation. Different phones may report a different number of signal strength bars even with a similar dBm number. So, for example, if two phones both have -93 dBm signal strength, one might show three bars and the other four.

But how can you know what the actual signal strength is on your phone if you can only see the service bars? Well fortunately there is an easy way to check, for both iPhones and Android devices.

How to Check your Cell Signal Strength

Knowing your cell signal strength is very handy for avoiding dropped calls, and checking if there are ways to improve it. Here is how to check your signal (measured in dBm) on an Android device and an iPhone:

Android:
On an Android device go to Settings > About Phone > Status (or Network Status) > Signal Strength (On some devices you may need to tap SIM Status)

iPhone:
Dial *3001#12345#* on your iPhone then press Call. The signal strength will be displayed in the top right corner.

Once you see the number, try moving around or covering your phone with your hand, you should see the signal strength change. In our testing with a Moto G4, placing a hand over the top of the phone resulted in a loss of about 5 dBm signal strength.

Below is the steps for checking your signal strength on an Android, but be aware it might be slightly different for you. Start by going to settings, and then scroll to the bottom, following the steps below.
Improve cell signal tracfone
How to Check your Cell Signal Strength on Android

Now that you know how to check your signal strength, here are ten tips for improving it.

10 Tips for Improving your Cell Signal

There are a number of different ways you can improve your cell signal and some of these may help more than others, depending on your situation.

1. Remove Obstructions
Anything that can block the radio waves reaching your phone could be reducing your signal strength. Things like a thick phone case, or leaving your phone in a purse or bag, could result in a worse signal, or even no signal. Test your phone case by checking your signal strength with it on, then off, and see if that makes a difference. Remember, closer to -60 is better, with anything between -70 to -100 still good, and beyond -110 very poor. If you notice your phone receives a lot of texts when you pull it out of your bag or purse, it could be getting blocked while in there.

2. Put your Phone in a Cup
This may sound a little odd, but it can actually helps amplify the reception in certain cases. If you get a poor signal, and are located in the lower levels of a building or the basement, try placing your phone in a cup to boost the reception. It might be hard to make any calls, but you will at least be able to check texts and voicemail. This also works well for improving the sound of your phone. You can also test with other objects that can catch and funnel the waves to your phone.

3. Check How you Hold your Phone
Cell phone manufactures put the antenna in a variety of different places, and sometimes the way you hold your phone could be reducing your signal. Check your signal strength with different ways you hold your phone and see if you might inadvertently be blocking the internal antenna.

4. Check your House for the Best Location
It can be helpful to walk around your house and check the signal strength in various parts. If you find a much stronger signal in certain areas, you can try and go there for making phone calls to help improve the signal.

5. Go Outside
Going outside, and away from buildings that might be blocking your cell signal, can make a huge difference in improving the connection. If you need to make an important call and find yourself with a low signal inside, make a quick trip outside and it will likely improve.

find tracfone cell tower
Using the Open Signal App to find the closest Cell Tower
6. Locate and get Closer to the Cell Tower
There are a number of free (and paid) apps that will show you where the nearest cell towers are, and which one you are currently using. This is very helpful if you need to get a better signal for an important call, or if you're just curious about where the cell towers are located.

Open Signal is available for free from the Google Play store and displays the nearby towers, and which one you are currently connected to.

Take a look at the screenshots from the app: on the left, it shows the dashboard which indicates which direction the cell tower you are currently connected to is located, and the map on the right side shows all nearby cell towers.

7. If in a car, open the window
Cars are basically large metal boxes and they do a pretty good job of reducing your signal strength. If it is not too noisy, try opening your window to improve your service. Obviously, you shouldn't be driving and talking on the phone, so maybe consider pulling over.

8. Create your own DIY Signal Booster
Using some everyday items you may be able to boost your signal with this DIY hack. There are lots of online guides and tips for creating and attaching signal boosters to your phone, but one we found was very simple, and made an improvement.

Simply attach the charging cord to your phone, and then wrap the other end around a metal object, such as a pen, and hold it up in the air. Try it for yourself and see what kind of an improvement it makes for you.

9. Keep your Battery Charged
Constantly sending and receiving signals does use a lot of battery power, especially when your phone has a weak signal, it has to send and resend several times. Keeping the battery charged will help your phone have plenty of juice to keep sending information even at low signal strength.

10. Use WiFi Calling
WiFi Calling works by using your home WiFi (or any WiFI) to transmit texts and calls for your device. You still have to pay for calls/texts, but at least you will be able to stay connected in locations with poor or no service.

We've just created a full Guide to WiFi Calling with Tracfone which includes more details about how it works, and how to check if your phone is compatible.

Bonus Tip! - Cell Phone Signal Booster
Cell phone signal boosters usually work by collecting the signal from outside your house, and sending it to another device that broadcasts it inside your house for a much stronger signal. They can be fairly expensive, sometimes several hundreds of dollars, but if you can't find another way to improve your poor signal inside, it may be an option worth looking into.

WeBoost (available form Amazon) is one such option that offers several different solutions. If you live in an area with a weak signal, this could dramatically improve your signal.

If you find that you still can't get a signal in places you commonly visit like your home or work, check with others to see if they have a better signal using a different network, and then consider switching. Tracfone uses several different networks, including Verizon and AT&T, so if you are using one service, you could consider switching to the other if you know that it has better service.

We hope this information about improving your cell signal helps boost yours! And let us know in the comments below if you have any thoughts or questions (and share your best signal boosting tips too!).

Keep up with the latest news and updates by joining us on Facebook with over 2500 followers.

Take a look at our Cell Phone Reviews list if you are considering a new phone, we've got lots of specs, details and where to buy the phones.

See the latest list of Tracfone Deals, Discounts and Sales for the lowest prices on both Tracfone smartphones and unlocked devices.

Thanks for visiting!

July 12, 2017

Tracfone Deals and Sales - July 2017

Best Deals on Tracfone Devices and Minutes - Summer 2017

cheap tracfone cell phone
Tracfone Deals and Sales - July 2017
Below are some of the best deals on Tracfone smartphones, regular phones, bundles and airtime. We know it can be a challenge to find the best price on a new cell phone, so we track, collect and share some of the best deals here for you.

Tracfone cell phones can be purchased not only from the Tracfone website, but also through many retailers like Walmart, Amazon, eBay and more.

Also included are some great prices for unlocked smartphones that can be used with Tracfone BYOP

The best deal on a Tracfone device is to purchase a bundle which also includes airtime. In some cases you can get a new phone for very cheap, or even free with the purchase of airtime.

Be sure to also share any big discounts you find in the comments below. Let's get started.

Tracfone Smartphone and Bundle Deals

Deals updated for July 2017

LG Rebel with 1200 Minutes/1 Year service - $79
While the LG Rebel is a fairly basic smartphone, with Android 5.1, 8 GB memory and a 5" touchscreen, this bundle is very good. The airtime, a 1 Year service plus 1350 talk, text and data is worth over $100,, plus you get the phone for free. Visit our Review of the LG Treasure to learn more about this phone.

View the deal for the LG Treasure on eBay for $79

Also check out the LG Rebel, with a smaller 4.5" screen, available for $49 with 1200 minutes/1 year service from HSN.com

Samsung Galaxy Luna J1 with 1200 Minutes/1 Year Service - $99
The Galaxy Luna is a popular phone choice for its overall performance. It has a 4.5" screen, Android 6.0, quad core processor and 8 GB memory. It is generally best for people who use a small handful of apps, but don't do much more than that. This is a very good deal, as the Airtime bundle is worth $99, making the phone ($80-100 value) free!. View our review of the Samsung Galaxy Luna to learn more.

View the Deal on eBay.

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime with 1200 Minutes/1 Year service - $69
The Galaxy Core Prime is about a year old, but still offers some good features including a 4.5" touchscreen, 8 GB Memory, Quad-core processor and Android 4.4. The airtime is worth $99, making this a great deal. Note, the airtime may come pre-installed on the phone, meaning you can't immediately use the airtime on another device. View our review of the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime for more information.

View the Deal on eBay

Unlocked Smartphones for BYOP

These are great phones at a low price and ready for the Tracfone BYOP program.

Moto G4 Plus 64GB - $229 ($70 off)
If you want lots of onboard memory, a large, beautiful HD screen and long battery life, the Moto G4 Plus is an excellent option. It comes with Android 6.0 (upgradable to 7.0), 5.5" screen, 64 GB memory and plenty of other great features. The retail price is $299, but this deal has it available for $239. Check out our review of the Moto G4 Plus including adding it to Tracfone BYOP.

moto g5 plus tracfone
The Moto G5 Plus Unlocked
View the Deal on BH Photo

For the same price, the Moto G5 Plus (32 GB) is also available on Amazon. It is the newer version with upgraded processor, but smaller screen size (5.1")

Share any deals you find in the comments below and we will add them to the list!

Take a look at our recent Comparison of Tracfone Airtime which includes details on the cheapest ways to add airtime, and the best value cards.

We also updated our list of the Best Apps for Android.

And don't forget to join us on Facebook where we have a growing community of helpful people who share info, ask questions and give answers.

Thanks for visiting!

July 3, 2017

Tracfone Promo Codes for July 2017

Tracfone Promo Code List - July 2017

Welcome to TracfoneReviewer, we share the latest news, information and reviews about Tracfone!

tracfone promo code
Tracfone Promo Codes - July 2017
New promotional codes are available for July and we have them below! Tracfone provides these codes for customers to use and get extra airtime for free. Most codes are for a certain airtime card, but may be used with cards of greater value.

Each month we collect and share the latest promo codes here with our readers. The codes are listed below, free to view and share, with nothing to click. You can also view our full list on our main Tracfone promo code page.

To use these codes, simply find a code that corresponds to your airtime card, and enter it when prompted either on your phone, or on the Tracfone website. Some codes can be used multiple times, while others are one time use.

Promo codes are working on most smartphones, such as the newly released Samsung Galaxy Sky Pro. Codes should also work on any BYOP devices.

Follow the links above to learn more about these phones and options.

Now let's get to the codes!

Tracfone Promo Codes - July 2017

Here are the latest codes, to ensure a code works, add your airtime over the phone.

60 Minute Card use code 22703 to get 60 minutes

120 Minute Card enter 27651 for 40 bonus minutes or 57330 for 30 minutes (valid until July 19th)

200 Minute Card add 81721 and receive 50 extra minutes

450 Minute Card use 27651 or 81721 to get 40 or 50 free minutes

$15 off 1 Year/400 Minute Card with code 62118 or 77803 (valid until July 19th) (only on Tracfone website)

$25 Smartphone Card enter 34313 for 100 MB extra data (valid until July 19th)
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These are the latest promo codes for July 2017, leave a comment below and let us know which code you used.

We also have a larger list of promo codes on our main Tracfone Promo Code page.

If you are still unfamiliar with how Tracfone works, take a look at our Beginners Guide to Tracfone which covers a number of the basics of Tracfone airtime, phones and service.

See the latest list of Deals and Sales on Tracfone cell phones which includes some great bundle deals for airtime!

Keep up with all the latest news, deals and posts by following us on Facebook with a helpful community of over 2500.

Thanks for visiting!