The Noob guide to Tracfone/Net10/Straight Talk/America Movil

[arp734]

If i were the mod of this thread i would delete all posts after the Noob Guide as none of them pertain to the guide or the initial thoughts FOR the guide. As it's just members chatting back and forth.

ALSO please edit the guide RE: Net10 Unlimited. It's now $50/month. Taxes and fees are not included in the unlimited plan cost so they are additional. Also if you want Net10 Unlimited service you have to purchase a Net10 Unlimited phone from Target. It's a specially marked cell phone package. Also if you get the unlimited service, and don't want it, you'll be given 300 minutes with 60 days of service, and you can get Net10 Unlimited service again. But you won't get the 300 minutes with 60 days of service if you decide to cancel the unlimited service a second time. Unlimited service is not available on non-specially marked packaged Net10 phones. If you want to buy ringtones/wallpapers/services and you have the unliimted service, you'll have to either buy minute bundles, or go to net10.com via your computer and use your credit/debit card. At the time i'm writing this there are only 3 Net10 Unlimited cell phones available. The LG300G, Samsung T401G and the Motorola EM326g.

[billt2last]

Regarding non-ST phones on ST service... it is true that only ST serial numbers can be activated on ST, almost any CDMA phone has the capability to work on ST (Verizon). It is not the hardware that limits choices, but ST's policy. Now if your VZW VX8300 somehow had a currently active ST esn, that phone will work just fine on ST. Data/WAP/MMS settings are hard to find around these boards, but if anyone has a current ST phone, perhaps they could post their settings for those trying to get their non-ST phones working...

[Saille]

I STRONGLY recommend Topups only as a preventive measure of account/financial control over your ST account.

what are topups?

[One2gofst]

Top ups are adding a card to add more minutes/days to your plan. With regards to ST, the OP is referring to not automatically having the monthly service paid, but rather adding the card manually yourself.

[Saille]

thanx...i didn't choose that option. i don't like automatic stuff, unless its free money

[aegrotatio]

I have over 2000 minutes on my old NET10 phone but when I try to transfer it will only give me 1100 minutes. What is wrong with this?

[tracnet]

I have over 2000 minutes on my old NET10 phone but when I try to transfer it will only give me 1100 minutes. What is wrong with this?

The online transfer using the n10 web site limits you to 1100 mins. You will need to call CS to transfer anything larger.

[fonezfonz]

Net10 phones. All Net10 phones can be used on Net10 unlimited and the new 750 minute plan except for the Nokia 1600, 2600, 2100, Motorolas v170/171, C155, C139. It is assumed that Net10 Cdma phones are eligible too.
The previous version of Net10 unlimited that was available only at Target constricted the phone choices to "Net10 Unlimited phones only".

This amounts to the closest thing to byod you can get on a America Movil company (along with Safelink/Tracfone compatibility).

Don't know how hard it is to reactivate an old Net10 sitting around, but it's way easier to reactivate the sim, load up a N10 unlimited plan rather then trying to unlock or flash the damn thing.

Net10 may have only internal byod but unlike the other Att gsm mvnos which have a voice cap of 5000 minutes, N10U is capped at 50,000 outgunning them 10 to 1 and being the only Att/gsm mvno to offer truly unlimited talk plans, as well as roaming and unlimited data. Of course, the other Att mvnos have full gsm byod.

And even Verizon prepaid and Virgin Mobile practice their own phone segregation policies. VM does not (officially) allow Beyond Talk phones on their Paylo plans and Verizon definitely doesn't allow Androids, Berries and Web OS devices on their paygo/daily plans.

[Tirod]

They are GSM with cameras, MP3, and some web access. Java apps reputedly run on the 500G.

AS USUAL, porting the previous minutes and number takes CS, who promises a 72 hour timeline. Repeated calls may be necessary, and AS USUAL, minutes may be rounded off or lost.

Update further,my bad SIM card must be replaced.

TF chains the SIM to the phone to make reselling difficult. That also makes porting over a new number and existing time difficult, too. In this case, simply activating with a new number - as much as we don't like to do it - may actually be LESS hassle. This is not like unlocking other phones, or jailbreaking - it's much more complicated. At the cheap prices they sell the phones at, getting access with a new programmed SIM is easier by simply buying a newer model.

My old phone doesn't work, the new one doesn't work yet, and a new SIM will be another 3-5 days and another CS call. Decide for yourself is this is appropriate. Whether we continue to accept this as a political reality is something you and your representative should discuss. There are points in favor of both.

Be advised is mine. Make an informed decision.

[aly.nguyenusa]

im an exchange student from vietnam. i dont know if i can use my net 10 phone in vietnam. i got net 10 LG 900g and i tried to put ATT Sim card on. but it doesnt work. please reply me as soon as u can . thank u very much

[Cannonball-II]

im an exchange student from vietnam. i dont know if i can use my net 10 phone in vietnam. i got net 10 LG 900g and i tried to put ATT Sim card on. but it doesnt work. please reply me as soon as u can . thank u very much

You can save yourself a lot of headaches if you go to their website & READ the Terms & Conditions!
Also, read the Q&A section.

[Tirod]

TRacphone has their phones made to specifically interlink with their chosen carrier at the zip code originally activated. Swapping SIM cards later will not occur unless you know C++ programming codes to get around it. And if you do, then you know more than the average CS rep at Tracphone.

Although some think it's easy to get CS to help reprogram it, they will have to send a new SIM, and then work with you to actually input the codes into that phone. It's a deliberately obtuse system to protect them from resellers jailbreaking the phone and linking it to another carrier, a common technique with plan phones. TF sells their phones at a low price and anticipate profits from buying minutes.

Buying a phone and activating it locally is quick and easy, they cost less than $25 in most cases, and it will work in that region without CS being involved or manipulating the system with an alternate zip code. The strength of Tracphone/American Movil is cheap phones, exploit that and keep the minutes low, the savings over a plan amounts to hundreds of dollars annually.

American Movil leases everything in the US, has no physical assets in American, and seemingly only one actual CS location in Miami, the others are literally in another country. It's not a top tier service provider that operates on the principal "the customer is always right," they are a third world service provider and act like it. Just be aware of their limitations and things go much more smoothly.

[millept]

im an exchange student from vietnam. i dont know if i can use my net 10 phone in vietnam. i got net 10 LG 900g and i tried to put ATT Sim card on. but it doesnt work. please reply me as soon as u can . thank u very much

No, your Net10 phone will only work in the U.S. (including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico). It also will only work with the Net10 SIM card which comes with it. Net10 customer service will send you a new SIM for free if you are having trouble with the original SIM.

[Aaron/wv]

I know this is a older thread, But it may help some new people that come here, to know that the unlimited plan by Net 10 is now $50.00 a month with no rollover. Thanks for all the info and links Fonezfonz

[dragonchilde]

I just wanted to comment with my recent experience upgrading from an old flip camera phone to the new qwerty LG500G. This is my second upgrade; I've kept my number for years, and really haven't had a hard time with it. I know that the guide says to avoid it if possible, but I haven't found that to be true. My limited experiences with customer service have actually been pretty positive. As long as you don't wading through heavily accented tech support, they've been responsive and helpful. Both times I've upgraded (two separate occasions, both my husband's and my phone at the same time) it's been fairly quick.

Don't even try to do it online; it won't work. Hasn't yet for me. I called CS, and they did some code entry to deactivate the old phone, and transfer the number and minutes to the new one. I didn't lose any minutes (I rarely keep more than 400 at any given time, generally stays stable at 120 or so) and in fact, they rounded UP and gave me more! I had 140 on there, and they rounded up to 160.

The actual transfer was instantaneous for my husband, and took about an hour for me. I don't really rely on my phones for anything but back-and-forth texting with my husband, and emergencies, so the down time wasn't a problem.

I've had a few problems over the years, and while you do have to ask them to repeat themselves a lot (accent neutral they are not) they've always been very helpful to me.

Obviously, YMMV, but I thought I'd share my experience. I'm not fond of constantly changing phone numbers, so I'll gladly go through the hassles of keeping my old number.