# Need a different cell phone. Prefer tracfone flip type



## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Because I had to upgrade my old 3 g tracfone flip to the 
now 4 g flip phone, I have been struggling with it. Since February.
I like tracfone, it fits my budget. I need a phone on me 
in case I need it. My main issue now is the 4 g does not 
like my metal buildings and I have very poor reception 
when I am out doing my chores. Two rooms I have NO 
reception, so this is not good. 
I never had problems with my 3 g phone. 
I do have a open face smart phone, tracfone. It is just a 
pita, because of the swipe to unlock it to use it. I may have 
to start using it as a phone more often. Sigh. 

Lots of dropped calls lately and been told I was called like 
3 times in 1 day and nothing shows on this flip. Not a missed 
call , nothing. And it sometimes don't even work in the house. 
Right now I am asking it for my balance through messages, 
and sitting right next to the wifi and it won't go through. 
Won't send my pictures either. 
I got to do something .


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Problem could be you need to upgrade your Wi-Fi router.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Check to see which frequency your router and phone operate on. It could be that your phone requires 5 GHz but your router only transmits on 2.4 GHz. If that's the case then you might need to buy a dual band wireless router. Dual band routers have been around for a long time so you don't need to spend a lot of money to get one. Here's an example.









NETGEAR N600 Dual Band Wi-Fi Router (WNDR3400v2) | eBay


Dual Band, 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz frequencies.



www.ebay.com


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Okay. Just experimented.
Used hubby's phone, same as my flip.
First metal room outside, .....says emergency calls only.
second room says....unavailable service
Repeated it with my smart phone, tracfone.
Same messages both rooms. Sigh.

All 3 cell phones are 4 g now. 
both the flips and the smart phone.

My old 3 g phone worked with no wi fi. Over 10 years.
I had great reception. No problems.

My wifi belongs to spectrum for my bundle package.
Maybe I should call them and ask what they can suggest.
I can't afford to spend any more on this package. It is over $ 200
now, for his tv, the house phone, my internet, and the wi fi.
Will be 3 years in September.

Spectrum offers a mobile line for 29.99 each, times 2 phones .bundle. So $ 60. month.
I can't afford that either. And if I did go that route, it would only go
higher in the future. Never fails.

I like the pricing at tracfone. I can get 1 year for $ 48 just for time.
When I need minutes, I can get 300 minutes for $ 10.00 plus tax.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Call them.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

ladytoysdream said:


> Right now I am asking it for my balance through messages,
> and sitting right next to the wifi and it won't go through.


If it's not working when it has a good wifi signal, it probably doesn't have wifi calling turned on. It's not automatic, it's a separate setting that has to be turned on before it'll work. Not all phones and not all carriers support it; you have to make sure your phone and carrier do, then find the setting and turn it on.

Once you're sure wifi calling is working, then your phones will work well anywhere you have wifi coverage. If you don't have good coverage where you need the phone to work, you can either move your router to a better place, or get inexpensive ($30) wifi extenders. I usually use TP-Link brand; avoid the ones with weird Chinglish names.

I just switched cell carriers because my old carrier no longer has coverage here. I went with USMobile.com because they're very cheap and get very good reviews. We'll be paying $22/month, including taxes I think, for 2 phones with unlimited talk & text and a little data. They work anywhere Verizon works, and wifi calling works well. They sell one flip phone that has wifi calling.

edit: @ladytoysdream , it looks like you may have missed this post. Tagging you so you'll see it.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

It's Tracfone...did you get a CDMA phone or a GSM phone? That's where your problem likely is.

Tracfone doesn't require a router or wifi...you can USE one on wifi, but that's just to save on costs. I don't allow my tracfone to connect to my wireless network, so have it turned off.

Mon


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Just got off phone with spectrum. And not much help. Told to call tracfone.
And yes my connection is on to the wifi. Been on . Its hooked to the 2 g
I cannot get it hooked up to the 5 g in the settings.

CDMA phone or a GSM ....

from a google search ....

How do I know if my phone is a GSM or CDMA?
In the About (iOS) or Status (Android) page, scroll down and check for a MEID, ESN, or IMEI number. *If your phone has a MEID or ESN number, it uses CDMA, and if it has IMEI, it uses GSM*. If you see both, that means your phone supports both GSM and CDMA networks.

so........
"f you see both, that means your phone supports both GSM and CDMA networks."
WHICH MINE does
a MEID number, a ESN number and a IMEI number 
this info is for the flip and I just checked the smart phone, and it also has the 3 numbers.
which means both phones support both networks.

so now what ?

I need this flip for phone calls. Rarely text on it. Don't use it for data like
a online search. Just calls.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Tracfone is now owned by Verizon, so you can't expect much in the way of help from them. Waits for "Customer service" can exceed an hour (ask me how I know!)...so if you call their number they will ask you to leave a callback number...do so, it will save you a LOT of time listening to horrible music.

Try their chat feature if you can connect to anyone, it's faster, if they're not busy.

You could try a wifi extender/booster, you could put your router up on your second or third floor.

Curiosity...what happens if you turn OFF wifi on your phone?

Mon


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## robin416 (Dec 29, 2019)

I don't understand all this talk about wifi and connectivity. I don't use wifi and have no issues with calls or connecting to the internet.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Then you don't have the issue. Be glad.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Okay, never had wi fi till I got this spectrum package.

I don't need wifi to talk on my cell phone. 
And yes it gives me the same message out in the building if I have the 
wifi shut off. Only emergency calls or service not available.

But I was trying to use it to connect because my now 4g cell phone 
has no reception in the 2 rooms attached to the garage. And I need 
to be able to make a call out in case I fell. . Hopefully the hubby 
would come out of the house and save me. 
Only one spot in the garage if I stand still that I can call out on it. 
All these roofs and walls are metal. Hence the problem now with the 4g.
Did NOT have problems with the 3g till tracfone forced us to upgrade. 
End of February was my upgrade. I had no choice. 

Wi fi is part of our TV package. I do use it with my smart phone cell 
in the house.so I can read online. Hubby don't share the TV well. 
But he sure knows how to fuss when his fingers hit the wrong buttons 
on the remote and he flips the smart TV into TV mode and I have 
to take the remote, push buttons to make it go back to spectrum cable for him. 
Or he has no TV to watch till I take care of it. He does it so often I have it all 
wrote down just in case for backup plan. 

I think it was mentioned about a 2 story building . Our house is one level. No second level. 
Like for a outside antenna use. We do live on a hill and used to get great reception till the 
radio tower was built. We had to get a antenna. Then eventually had to go to cable when 
they laid that for our road.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

@ladytoysdream , it seems like you may have missed my post above.

Wifi calling will solve your probem if both your phone and your carrier support it. If not, you need to switch to a carrier and/or phone that do support it.

Again, it's called "*Wifi Calling*". It's a feature of 4G LTE. Both your phone and your carrier need to support it. Then, you have to find the Wifi Calling setting on your phone, and turn it on.

It *will* solve your problem anywhere that you have a good wifi connection.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Well, only thing I can think of, is have a BBQ, invite friends over and see how THEIR phones do in your location. If one of theirs works well, buy one of those phones (or two). If NONE of their phones work well, it means that with the upgrade to 4G, you're now in a poor service area (different towers?). Maybe get walkie talkies?

Mon


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

backwoodsman7 said:


> @ladytoysdream , it seems like you may have missed my post above.
> Wifi calling will solve your probem if both your phone and your carrier support it. If not, you need to switch to a carrier and/or phone that do support it.
> Again, it's called "*Wifi Calling*". It's a feature of 4G LTE. Both your phone and your carrier need to support it. Then, you have to find the Wifi Calling setting on your phone, and turn it on.
> It *will* solve your problem anywhere that you have a good wifi connection.


Hi. I did see your post. Thank you. 
I do have the wi fi settings turned on in both of my cell phones. 
If wifi calling is something else, then I am not sure where that is located in the phone. 

I think my tracfone smart phone is a 4 G LTE. That phone is not the problem
And I do know where in the smart phone, to get to the hot spot icon. 

It's the 4 g flip tracfone that is dropping calls. And no reception in my metal building.

My carrier currently is Spectrum for the house , and the cells are tracfone. 
I really don't want to switch because of costs. This is a small budget here 
I may have to make some changes but am trying frugal ways first. 

I probably will call tracfone tomorrow and see what they can suggest. 
Spectrum said I had a good connection today when I talked to the tech 
and he thought tracfone should answer my questions about the phone.


I do this typing on my computer. I don't access it with the cell phone. 
I can read it ,but have to turn the computer back on to respond.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

ladytoysdream said:


> I do have the wi fi settings turned on in both of my cell phones.
> If wifi calling is something else, then I am not sure where that is located in the phone.


Yes, Wifi Calling is something else. The setting won't show up unless both the phone and the carrier support it. On an Android phone, it'll be somewhere in Network Settings. If your flip phone is pretty new and runs Android, it would be in a similar place. It's probably easiest to start by calling Tracfone and asking them if your phone supports wifi calling.

Looks like Tracfone does support it. Here's their blog page on wifi calling:








Tracfone Blog: Expand Your Options With Convenient Wi-Fi Calling


What can you do when you need to make calls but get a weak signal? Wi-Fi calling to the rescue. Tracfone offers UNBEATABLE NATIONWIDE COVERAGE™, making it easy to make and receive calls just abou




blog.tracfone.com







> It's the 4 g flip tracfone that is dropping calls. And no reception in my metal building.


Do you have a good wifi signal in the metal building? If not, you'll need a wifi extender as I suggested above.



> I really don't want to switch because of costs. This is a small budget here
> I may have to make some changes but am trying frugal ways first.


Switching might be more frugal than you think. USMobile is $8/month for unlimited talk & text with no data. You might have to buy a new phone, but you'd never have to buy minutes. And if you had unlimited talk on both your phones, you might be able to save some money by disconnecting your home phone, like a lot of folks do these days.

It would be nice if this stuff stayed the same forever once we got it working. But it seems progress marches on whether it's really an improvement or not.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

I think some confusion about wifi calling. Its alternative way to make calls from cell phone over internet rather than cell tower. Some people in cities that get by with only wifi calling. Calls made via wifi wont count against your cell minutes or data. And since your router is inside the building, the metal walls are not a factor. Oh to set it up you will have to go into setting, let it find your router and enter password. It wont do that automagically cause it has no idea what your router password is. The hotspot setting on your phone is for you to create a hotspot to share your phone data to computers or gadgets needing a connection and able to connect to wifi.

Now for me, I am dependent on tethering my computer to my cell phone for internet. I have choice of dialup, cell or satellite. No DSL or cable. 

I guess my phone is capable of making wifi calls, it can connect to wifi network. The native Android hotspot and tethering options are locked by default as its an ex-ATT phone with ATT software and they wanted extra money from their customers to tether. Recently been playing with using either samba server or FTP server to move photos off my phone. To setup a wifi server you need a wifi network. I set up a local adhoc wifi network on my computer without internet access. Connected to that with phone. Then started the server and client and yea it works. Its probably overkill for no more pics than I take or download. More just interesting puzzle for me. See if I could make it work. My phone hides MTP setting and by default turns it off after short time. Plus some MTP computer apps can see the pics over usb cable, but cant download them, some permissions issue I guess. Though one on Puppy linux called PupMTP didnt seem to care if MTP option was chosen on phone or not, it saw the pics, it downloaded the pics. Good doggie. The wifi server setups have no problem either. Can also use adb to pull directory of photos off phone.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Tracphone is just someone who sells phones, They are neither a network carrier or a phone maker. The fact that your old phone works and a new phone doesn't would lead me to believe your on a different now that may not have as good of signal in your area. Tracphone uses AT&T, Verizon and t-mobile but a giver user is only going to be able to use one. Call tracphone and find out what carrier your one. That one may not be as strong as our last phone carrier. 
As for wifi calling, not sure many low end flip phones will have that available. Under the covers its all ip phone but that doesnt means its wifi calling. Call tracphone and ask them ask them for help. Only they can answer these questions and help you. 

I would advise you to look at other carriers. Depending on your usage you may find that other carriers have as good as if not better deals.. Check out Ting and Mint mobile for some low cost plans. If your over 55 might even check out t-mobile/verizon for there senior plans.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I just looked at one of the senior plans. Way too much money.
The one plan was 40 a month.

My tracfone plan is $ 48 for a year's time, so 4 a month.
And $ 10 for 300 minutes. Added on when I need it. About a month's time.
Works out with tax, etc to about $ 16 a month.

Phone is acting a bit better the last few days for reception. Still a problem in the metal building.Which is the problem. Rest of time, things are fine.

Had a message when I turned phone on this morning. Software has 
been upgraded. Hopefully for the better.

Going to look into a free phone/plan, through the government program for low income.
Just need to figure out which company to go through. I think we qualify.

If I am still confusing a few people, please go back to my first post. 
Right there in a nutshell. 

I don't need a different phone, or a different carrier. 
I just need this 4 g to work like my 3 g used to. 
It's really simple


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## Peterson (10 mo ago)

I don't know about you guys, but I feel satisfied only from buying an iPhone. For me, the iPhone is really the best phone that works without interruptions. I switched to the iPhone a long time ago and I'm so happy I took this decision. As for the phone carrier, I had a Verizon phone number, but sometimes experienced lags. Now I have mightycall phone number, this one.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Well can consider other options, I guess. 
Just better be on the cheap side. 

Just got kitchen stove fixed today, about 3 weeks ago, it was the hot 
water heater. And a couple of other things. The budget is shot.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Just got off phone with tracfone. 

My carrier is still the same. 

Wi fit calling is not on this phone. 
I can connect to wifi and use it to connect to the internet if I want to. 
But not for making or receiving phone calls. 

Whatever he did on his end, I am not sure of. 
I had to shut phone down. Reboot when I got out to the garage. 
And then he called me on cell phone. It worked okay but I still could not 
get in the other 2 rooms and maintain a connection 
Then we got disconnected. So not sure where I am now. 
But doubting it is fixed. Maybe try again Monday.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

ladytoysdream said:


> First metal room outside, .....says emergency calls only.


I didn't catch this before. What it's telling you is that the phone can't connect to the tower it wants to, but there's another company's tower that it can still connect to, but you can only make emergency calls on that tower. Wifi calling is still the only solution that will really fix it, but if you don't want to go that way, you'd have to find out what company that tower belongs to, and do whatever it takes to get service on it. I don't know where it would be on your phone, but somewhere it should tell you what tower it's connected to, probably somewhere in Settings.

Alternatively, if you PM me your exact location, I may be able to find what tower has the best coverage using one of the online cell tower location websites.

I think Tracfone uses multiple networks, so once you know what that other tower is, they may be able to switch you over to it. Again, that won't solve your problem, but it looks like it'll improve it a little.



ladytoysdream said:


> My tracfone plan is $ 48 for a year's time, so 4 a month.
> And $ 10 for 300 minutes. Added on when I need it. About a month's time.
> Works out with tax, etc to about $ 16 a month.


That's not really that great a deal. USMobile (the carrier I just switched to) would be around $12, all in, for unlimited talk & text, with wifi calling, even less if you don't need text. We're paying $22/month incl. taxes for 2 phones with unlimited talk/text and a little data. Downside is, you'd have to buy a phone to get wifi calling; they have a flip phone that does wifi calling for $79, and your husband's smart phone would most likely work with it.

I don't think you've said yet whether you get a good wifi signal in the rooms where your phone doesn't work. You'd need that for wifi calling to work. But it can be fixed cheaply if necessary.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Does USMobile (really) work everywhere?


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

A tower is close. 

The smart phone is mine.

My flip is locked, the way it came.

I have a wifi connection on phone, out in the garage. 
See if I can check for how good a signal later.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Does USMobile (really) work everywhere?


Nothing works everywhere, but they use either Verizon or TMobile towers (you have to choose one or the other) so coverage is about as good as any.

edit: In this very mountainous area, the majority of the little carriers that piggyback on Verizon don't work in the valley where the town is, but USMobile does. So apparently they have a better contract with Verizon than some others.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

ladytoysdream said:


> The smart phone is mine.
> 
> My flip is locked, the way it came.


Oh, I misunderstood. So when you said wifi calling isn't an option on your phone, were you referring to the flip phone or the smart phone?


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Take a look at Red Pocket. They sell on own website and on ebay. Depending on the plan you get choice of the three networks. I can only get good signal on ATT network. I buy a 360 day plan from them off ebay when they have their annual sale around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Cheapest way to get cell data I have seen. But they have month plans and three month plans and renews every month plans. I wouldnt get hung up on buying minutes. Lot time the month to month plans can be cheaper, there are some less than $5 a month without much data and limited minutes. Liberty Wireless (Tmobile network) had one with unlimited voice and text for $60 PER YEAR. No data of course. Now think last I looked they had jacked up the price, it was an ebay only thing not offered at their website. Ok, Liberty Wireless plan not on ebay right now and I went to their website and they wont show plans there either. So they maybe having problems.

Yes you can buy a phone from Red Pocket, but frankly new phones they offer seem kinda pricey. But they are first and foremost a bring your own phone MVNO (reseller of retail account on major networks they buy wholesale access from). Be aware you need a phone that works on the network you pick. I got a used ex-ATT phone that was on ATT whitelist. Works fine. $25 off ebay and it does do wifi connection.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

my 4g flip ( the phone I always have on me ), my main concern. 
tracfone said it does not have wifi calling feature. 
guy had a accent. 
I will try Monday to get someone else on the phone.

my smart phone also has bad reception in the metal building.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

4g doesn't work like 3g. This explains it better than I can.

"With any mobile phone network, signal comes from the frequencies used. In general, low frequencies are most reliable and capable of penetrating obstructions like buildings, which is why 3G will often work in more places than 4G. Higher frequencies are more direct but are also more easily scattered by objects. Mobile carriers that want to provide the more reliable services will aim to use lower frequencies, however those that want their customers to have access to faster download speeds will also aim to offer higher frequencies. As 5G will use higher frequencies, which have a more limited range, more 5G towers will need to be installed to support the reliability of the network. However, as these are smaller and don’t require a tower they can be placed on buildings and lampposts, for example."









What’s the difference in network coverage between 3G, 4G, 5G?


With 5G finally becoming a reality we look at what the key differences are between 5G and the generations before it.




justaskthales.com




.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

THANK YOU 
"With any mobile phone network, signal comes from the frequencies used. In general, low frequencies are most reliable and capable of penetrating obstructions like buildings, which is why 3G will often work in more places than 4G"

Which I would not have this problem, if tracfone would have left me alone with my 3 g flip. 
But oh no, they forced people to upgrade by shutting down their old phones.

So my options, 
put up with no reception for maybe 2 hrs per day for the flip while in building. 
or figure out a booster / antenna for the room with the problem 
or get a free government phone with free minutes. ( this looks promising, and 
would be my emergency phone ) 

No sense replacing phones that are only a few months old that work 
for most of the time. . I have plenty of minutes on them.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Hubby got rid of Tracphone when they messed up his triple minute phone. They sent an upgrade through which basically shut down the phone. Pop let him add his phone to the family Verizon plan but it costs $25 a month. Hubby uses the phone for work and needs the unlimited minutes and limited internet.

Look carefully at the govt phone agreement. You basically give the govt and the phone company total access to your medical information.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

I lost my triple minute plan in this forced upgrade also. 

I knew about the 4 g not working right, in a metal building from talking to a 
Spectrum tech a bit ago. Just hard to explain sometimes without a page to 
link back to.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

For rural areas, 2G actually actually had best coverage with fewest towers. Course 2G data sucked (slower than dialup speed), but was great for voice calls. I hated seeing 2G go, even Sprint worked in rural areas on 2G. I doubt you see 5G grow rapidly in very rural places, too much cost for the extra towers needed for good coverage considering low population density. 5G really only makes sense in high density areas.

I still scratching my head on people spending $25 or $30 a month for basically voice and text and like 2GB of data. My Red Pocket plan works out to unlimited voice, unlimited text, and 20GB data every 30 days for $25. Actually its not their best plan. Their top plan now unlimited voice and text and 100GB data for equivalent of $37.50 a month. These are prepaid 360 day plans, basically twelve 30day plans daisy chained together into a package, so automatic renews every 30 days. Anyway 100GB is a LOT of data unless you are pure couch potato. Be like 3hr streaming video per day. But then cell is my only internet so I think in terms of data. If you have DSL or cable, and dont use much phone data, then it doesnt matter. 

But look around, not that hard find plan with usable amount voice and text $10 a month. If you just need emergency phone, then $5 a month. That Liberty Wireless with unlimited voice and text and no data was a great thing for $5 a month, assuming you got Tmobile signal. Oh I have done the minute thing in past. Had a StraightTalk hotspot gizmo for internet and PureTalk for phone. PureTalk used to do the minute thing like Tracfone. I had few thousand reserve minutes by time they went to monthly way billing (I just make darn few voice calls so minutes just rolled over) and I moved on to Red Pocket for phone and internet since they dont care that I tether computer and didnt lose anything since I got unlimited voice calls per month as part of the plan. The minutes thing was a gimick aimed at those used to per minute long distance charges on landline.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

[QUOTE="

I don't need a different phone, or a different carrier.
I just need this 4 g to work like my 3 g used to.
It's really simple 
[/QUOTE]

You have a different phone and may have a different carrier as tracphone uses all 3 carriers. Also keep in mind g3 vs 4g have nothing to do with how well your voice or messages work, that data speed that your not using. 3G is being shutdown so you have to move to a 4g network. Frequenecies are about the same so range should not matter with either. . As I noted call tracphone and find out what carrier your on then look at where those carrier tower are located near you. You may need to move to another tracphone carrier for better service.

As for the gov payed phones, thats good if you qualify but may not fix any of the issues you have except free up a few $ from your wallet. the Carrier thats best in your area will be the one your what regardless of who provides the phone and pays the bill.


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## ladytoysdream (Dec 13, 2008)

Let's start all over.........................................

my 4g flip ( the phone I always have on me ), my MAIN concern. 
tracfone said it does NOT have wifi calling feature.in the phone. 
it however can connect to the internet by wifi, so I can go online 
and search web sites for example or read on them. 
I don't have the capability of a making a phone call using the wifi feature.

I am concentrating on the flip 4 g 
FORGET ABOUT THE SMART PHONE for this conversation. 
Just confusing people.

Just for this flip, is $ 4 a month for time, and what ever minutes I use 
So LESS than $ 12 a month for the minutes. part. Cheap enough to make me happy.

We have used tracfone for a LONG time. Only phone brand and carrier 
since we started. I live rural. Have a tower REAL close. 
Why should I change carrier ? I know what I have is working. 

ONLY issue is my metal building and when I am in it. 
So can research the free phone route and if that will work, then 
have the phone on me, and. if I need to make a emergency call for help.
Just try to figure out what carrier they use before I get one 
and make sure not to give them too much information. Or won't 
use that route.

I KNOW the problem is because it is a 4 g and 4 g does NOT like metal.

Other option is maybe antenna or booster or some other gadget to 
help me get reception. Will check into that option.

Heck, maybe get a bull horn, and use that to scream for help if I need it...............................

.


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## backwoodsman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

ladytoysdream said:


> Have a tower REAL close.
> Why should I change carrier ? I know what I have is working.


...except it's not.



> I KNOW the problem is because it is a 4 g and 4 g does NOT like metal.


Actually it's probably because your old 3g phone had better antennas than the 4g phone. Metal blocks all radio signals, and makes them sneak through whatever gaps there are in door/window frames, etc. where there's no metal. As @Gary in ohio explained, the difference in frequencies 3g vs. 4g doesn't account for the difference in performance you're seeing.

We already know your flip phone is connecting to a tower that's not the one that gets the best signal in your metal building, and that even that tower won't get you a signal in the back(?) metal room with that phone.

So, starting over, here are your options:

1. Find out what company's tower is the one that gets you a signal inside the metal room. Then, either have Tracfone change you to that network, or change to a carrier that uses it. But you still won't get a signal in that back room with that phone. The free govt. phone, or any other phone from any carrier, won't help unless it connects to that better tower, and it still won't get into the back room unless it happens to have better antennas, which you can't find out until you have it in hand.

2. A cell phone booster. $200 or so for a really cheap one, and they go way up from there. Most of the folks I've known who got them, they didn't really work, possibly because they probably hadn't set them up correctly. But if you get one that works, and set it up correctly, it'll solve your problem.

3. Wifi Calling, but only if you have a good wifi signal in that back room, or want to add a wifi extender ($30) to get a good signal. And, of course, you'd need to buy a new phone that can do Wifi Calling ($80 & up).

Those are your options. There are no other options that involve a flip phone. With a smart phone there would be a couple other options.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Tracphone sucks. They offer that triple minute deal to sucker you in, then end it when you least expect it.

Does Tracphone have a different flip or is it the only one they have? Not all flip phones are equal. Some have better reception than others.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Some of booster systems have antenna outside, run inside via coax cable and then repeater thing inside that your phone connects to. 

By way as long as phone can connect to wifi internet, you CAN set up a SIP account online and call through that. One with a phone number can be had for like $10 a year. You dont need the cell phone companies to do this can use phone without a SIM as long as it has ability to connect to wifi and internet.

Look there just arent flip phones anymore, maybe one or two really cheapo ones. nearly all are open face candybar whether smart or not. There is one I know about, Sonim sells their XP3. I think current version is XP3plus. Anyway its a true flip phone though probably larger than the little 3G flip phones you are used to. Its EXPENSIVE but is very high quality. Both XP3 and XP3plus are whitelisted by ATT. 

https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/071mdsm8ysq0EF5V3NBBM19-3.fit_scale.size_1028x578.v1631046551.jpg]/img]

https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/sonim-xp3plus

Be aware UNLESS you have a bring your own phone SIM from Tracfone, most of their phones have the SIM married to the phone. The SIM wont work in any other phone. You want another phone that works on their system, you have to buy it from them. The days of just swapping SIM from one phone to another seems to be ending. Though I can still do it with my Red Pocket account. No need to call them and waste couple hours, their system just automatically sees it and depending on phone automatically sets up new APN. Some phones you do have to manually set up new compatible APN for that carrier.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Wont let me edit to correct link so make it ugly and post again.


















Sonim XP3plus Review


Sonim sets the bar for premium voice phones with the XP3plus, a flip you can rely on for years.




www.pcmag.com


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Alice In TX/MO said:


> Does USMobile (really) work everywhere?


USmobile is NOT a cellular network, They are just a reseller of services. They use t-mobile or verizon to provide phone service.


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