Unfortunately, it’s time for Uncle Joel to get a new phone.
I’ve been carrying this one for about five years…
…and it has worked out fine, mostly. It’s the only camera phone I ever had and that feature doesn’t work so well because mostly the signal out here won’t support the kind of bandwidth needed for that much data, plus for the first year or so I carried it in my pocket and the lens got all scratched up. But as a phone, it has worked just fine. Plus it was a gift from Claire, and has sentimental value.
But the battery’s going south and the casing is getting loose, and so it’s time for another.
Unfortunately this will open me to another wonderful Tracfone Experience. But that’s life. I looked on their horrid website to see if I could find the procedure for transferring my present number to another phone, and it seems it can’t be done without a whole new level of Tracfone Experience I just don’t choose to endure. So I’ll get another phone, and activate it with another number. I can only think of maybe half a dozen people who need to be clued in to this fact: I mostly use it for area comms. Almost entirely, in fact.
As a matter of fact my area comms will drive the choice of new phone, since a sizable percentage of friends and neighbors prefer to communicate by text. Fine with me, but I’m sick of sending messages by way of the 12-key pad so I’m thinking of getting one of those phones with the itsy-bitsy QWERTY pad. Anybody have experience with those?
And it occurred to me this morning that the biggest technical issue a new phone number will entail, aside from the aforementioned Tracfone Experience and the fact that it’ll take a month or two to convince somebody else’s creditors that Mr./Ms. Deadbeat are no longer at this number, is that Ghost and LB will need new tags. And if that’s the biggest worry you have, you have no problems worth the bother of worry! 🙂
Hey, I have that phone! I hear you on the Tracfone experience. I’ve been Tracfoned good and hard the two times when I had to port my number to a new phone. Apparently if you get irate and give a long-winded speech about how they’re about to lose a loyal customer, they can do magic. Otherwise, please call back in three days.
It has proven impossible to schedule my septic tank instal using just e mail. Seems anyone involved with moving dirt or concrete or pipe cannot use a computer.
Anyway, went to Wallyworld and for 60 or 70 dollars they give you a prepaid plan for 5 months, 150 min. or so and a new phone that does most things. Took a pic of my foot trying to work the buttons so there must be a camera in it.
Aw, you can do better than that at any dollar store. The low cost and lack of a monthly obligation are the reasons I put up with Tracfone.
The Evil Overlord that is Google offers its Voice service for free, except that they like to skim all your pertinent info. Its pretty much a forwarding service, but it does allow one to keep using one phone number, it just forwards all calls to whatever number you want to use.
I’ve had the same Virgin Mobile phone number for almost 6 years and I still get calls from creditors looking for the previous users of my number. I suspect they are still giving out my number because the calls come in waves.
I like my tiny QWERTY keypad. Because I much prefer to text rather than talk.
+1 on Google Voice. Sure they are evil, but face it, every freaking call on every phone in the Americas is being recorded and stored in that big Utah data center, and probably other places.
Another advantage of Google voice; when you get that second call seeking Mr./Ms. Deadbeat, you can BLOCK that number from ever calling you again. Very handy.
My experience on Tracfone is to escalate hard and fast. Throw a hissy fit early and they’ll find a way to transfer your number and your minutes to the new phone. Worked for me.
The last time I needed to change trac phones, I just had the nice young man a Walmart handle it for me. I don’t know what he did, but I left with a working phone.
My double minutes for the life of the PHONE died with the old phone, but the minutes I had did transfer over after a lengthy phone conversation with the Indian-accented girl.
TracFone is great – I only pay about $100 per year, since I don’t use it much.
As far as Tracfone’s website, it is pretty crummy. However, I may be mistaken but I thought that when I added my husband’s new phone to my account, I was asked if I wanted to roll my phone number over to the new phone.
I like the folding phones because they stand up better to living in my back pocket. The hundred bucks a year for the phone service has worked well for me for several years now.
The way that Les Kloo transferred phones works most of the time. Go to Wallmart, bring your old phone, pick out a new one, hand both to the salesperson and tell them to do the transfer.
I have a LG Tracfone with (QWERTY, but it is on screen) it is very easy to send text messages especially if you use a dull lead pencil rather than your finger. I have had Tracfones for at least 6 years…if I have a problem with the phone, rather than calling Tracfone… I just get a new phone.