Trac phone woes

[nswef]

Update- last night I used the chat feature of Tracfone and it was much less frustrating. I explained how we had a different zip than the one our phone is assigned and he asked for my actual home address....had me take the battery out while the phone was on, put it back in . He said he had reprogrammed it. so I had to wait until I was away from the house today to try it and it worked! I had bars and no searching for a mobile network. Before I trust it completely, I will try it in the other two areas where I generally travel, but I think he fixed it!!!!! I found the chat much less irritating because I could understand what was being said. So the next is to tackle the double phone dialing that is on my husband's phone. Thanks Steve for the ideas to try and ask about.

[Float On]

I was going to suggest the chat feature. Glad that worked for you. I've had good luck with that except one time I had a rep who kept typing "I can only take 7 minutes on this chat" and then disconnected himself. I complained about him.

[nswef]

I feel so sorry for those poor souls on the phone and chat. I am quite sure they have a quota and are rated on how quickly they get rid of a call. It has to be horrible, add in not being able to be understood easily and not speaking English well with people calling you who are angry and frustrated. I would never last.

[SteveinMN]

I'm glad that's working out for you, nswef!

[iris lilies]

Thanks for,the update, OP. I still have a Tracphone and so appreciate any news about it.

[nswef]

Bad news- the town where the trouble was first noticed...still a problem. No service, and my husband's phone ( the older trac that always worked in this town) no service either. So I am now thinking the problem was NOT solved. I just went to the right zip code. We're going to keep trying. I think when I chat I'll tell them the zip code where it is not working but the idea of having to figure out where I going has me NUTS. So, I'll keep posting as progress or no progress is made.

[SteveinMN]

nswef, I know TracFone goes by the ZIP code of the billing address, but if you tell them where you need to have service (the troublesome ZIP codes) they may be able to do something. I am hopeful that the "something" does not involve trading phones for a CDMA carrier (Verizon or Sprint) but if that’s what gets you service where you need it...

[nswef]

Well, I tried again last night, chat version. I must be in the non working zip code for them to be able to do. I was flummoxed about that but remembered THE LIBRARY! I can use their computer to troubleshoot via chat in the non working zip code. Yea for my brain kicking in. Now to get there and try it. I was also told to try dialing *22890 to reprogram. I will try that, too. What's odd is that my "source" zip is about 30 miles from our house because our address zip did not work at our house when we first got a digital from Tracfone. They also had to change it from a Motorola phone to a Nokia. She said my new phone does not have a sim card. And the foolish double dialing on my husband's Nokia phone is just the way it is....

[SteveinMN]

What's odd is that my "source" zip is about 30 miles from our house because our address zip did not work at our house when we first got a digital from Tracfone.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this. "Our address zip did not work at our house" -- does that mean when you started with TracFone they told you they could not provide service based on your home address? Or that your current house location does not have TracFone service?

They also had to change it from a Motorola phone to a Nokia. She said my new phone does not have a sim card. And the foolish double dialing on my husband's Nokia phone is just the way it is....

It is possible that they've already switched you to a CDMA carrier (the TracFone version of Verizon or Sprint). The vast majority of CDMA phones do not have SIM cards (though that is no longer a universal rule). And the "dial-to-reprogram" is a common CDMA activity. It helps map towers and which carrier is to be preferred for service. Definitely try the reprogram.

[nswef]

Thanks Steve, again. Yes, Tracfone did not have good service at our home address when they started, so they routed us through a different Zip. I'll try the reprogram tomorrow. thanks for your help.