cellphones

Am about to drop Cingular and switch to Tracfone. Would like to know if anyone has experienced poor or no signal strength etc. problems with tracfone that should influence my decision? I am tired of paying roaming charges! One saleslady told me that they are no good in the woods.?

Any advice would be appreciated!

[2blueranger]

I had a tracfone for about 2 years. Never had a problem with it. After I retired, I started to use more minutes and switched to cingular. If you just want one for short calls or emergencies, they are great.

[Bill]

Roaming charges? What are they?

Seriously, we have a T-Mobile account that gives us 300 anytime minutes incoming or outgoing, no long distance or roaming charges, unlimited weekend minutes, for $30 a month. We've had it for years, and still have the original bare-bones phone. When the bill comes in, it is nice to know what it will be.

Cingular has a similar plan, except it has more minutes and is $40 a month. In the event you are 65, they have a $30 plan with fewer minutes. You could probably twist Cingular's arm for a better rate (or a new phone free) when you tell you them you are a current customer, and are about to leave them.

I suspect most carriers have a bottom-end plan like this. Of course, if you want fries with that (camera, text messaging, instant messaging, Internet connectivity, data port, push-to-talk, or anything else that you have to have if you are 16), it'll cost ya. Me, I just want to do what the phone in the picture does.

Bill

By the way. I think all carriers have big holes in their coverage, especially if you get off the Interstate. All the carriers have coverage maps. In my experience, they all lie. Trac-Phone included (I tried it, didn't like it.)

Interestingly, there are often plans that are not advertised at all. My dad got a $20/mo verizon plan that's not listed anywhere. It's probably a 100min plan. As bill pointed out maybe many carriers have this.

We have a verizon group plan for work. What's nice is I can tether my laptop to my phone and get DSL speed internet while boondocking. Typically I get 400-900 kbps on Verizon's EVDO network.

Shop the pay as you go plans carefully. There is a lot of fine print. You want what will work for you. They can be very convenient. Expiration of minutes. Mandatory refills. Minimum usage. Fall out of the requirements and you lose the tel num. Tracfone was pretty good as I recall when I was looking for a low usage phone for my wife. I ended up just adding her to the company plan for $10/mo.

Originally Posted by Bill

.
By the way. I think all carriers have big holes in their coverage, especially if you get off the Interstate.

I can tell you that Cingular/ATT has excellent coverage for backpackers on the PCT (Pacific Crest trail) for the first 20 miles due north from Donner Summit on I80 in the Sierras. There are places in San Jose that have worse coverage. Very unpredictable.

[B_and_D]

Both of my kids have Tracfones. This summer when we were at Lake Almanor in rural NW California we ended up using my daughter's Tracfone most of the time because we couldn't get a signal with Verizon. So far, we have found very good coverage with the Tracfone. What I like about them for the kids is that if they lose the phone (my son did this once ) all you lose is a $20 phone and whatever prepaid service you have left. They wouldn't transfer the minutes to a new phone. From what I recollect though, if you are out of your "service area" they charge 2 units of service for each 1 minute you are using the phone.

Neither of the kids spends very much time on the phone, so I've been getting service for my daughter, who so far hasn't lost a phone, for $100 a year. I switched to a shorter subscription period for my son, so it costs more, but then I have less to lose. With both of them we just keep rolling the minutes over when it's time to renew.

We have Verizon and for about 40 bucks a month we get 450 minutes and evenings and weekends are free. Never any roaming charges. Long distance is no extra charge. Also, it's free any time to another Verizon customer. Our DD and DS both have Verizon and so all calls to them are free. DD lives 450 miles away so it pays for us. We traveled all the way to the east coast and didn't have problems with coverage. Most of the coverage holes we've found are in places like the Columbia Gorge where you're below the coverage net. Our two year commitment is up in April and I figure we will renew and maybe even get two phones - his and hers. You get a free phone when you start and a free phone when you renew. (The "In Calling" is worth it to us. In calling is when you call another Verizon customer.) DW has a friend who moved to Michigan and she calls her for free and they talk for hours. She talks to her Dad and sister for hours, too - for free.

[Virginia Deacon]

We both started using Tracfone, this Fall, after several years with Verizon Wireless (They should name it "Verizon Couldn't Care Less."). We didn't use all of our Verizon minutes each month, but had pay for them anyhow - and sign a two-year contract to get the phones we needed.

With Tracfone, we have had excellent service and support. Have been able to use our Tracfones, nearly everywhere we've gone (including places Verizon wouldn't work). We like having NO contract, NO bills, being able to know how many minutes/units of service are left, and being able to quickly and easily buy more minutes/units when we need them. By buying a one-year, double-minutes package, our minutes automatically roll over each month. Tracfone has several on-line specials, so it's worthwhile to check there first. By the way, Target, Walgreens, and several other large retailers carry Tracfone phones and cards. I think Sam's Club just started carrying Tracfone stuff, too.

As you already know, there are several other cellular companies and plans out there - and they will tell you ANYTHING to get you to sign a contract. Tracfone may not be for you, but it's worth checking out. There are several other pay-as-you-go plans out there, too, but - if you read the fine print, you will find LOTS of extra fees with them. Tracfone's terms and conditions are clear and direct, with no surprises.

Happy Camping!

I have a Trac Phone and my wife has a Cingular one. The last two summers out West she has had better coverage than mine but not that much better. We are from Maryland.

John & Marion

Me, DW, DD, DS and my mother all have ATT/Cingular/ATT.

About two years ago I did some shopping around for coverage.

DS goes to a lot of mountain bike races. These are usually in ski areas, California, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Whistler, Vermont, New York.

DS never borrows anyone else's cell phone because his is not working. Many of his friends and fellow racers borrow his because their's is not working.

Sometimes we lose a signal, but then, as far as I can tell, so does everyone else.

Until this thread, I have never heard of TracPhone. If it has better coverage in random rural locations in the US and Canada than ATT then I might get interested.