TracFone Wireless
Reviews and Complaints

I have been a TracFone user for around 20 years now. Recently, in 2020 or 2021, I have noticed that they have become sneaky with the way they handle texting minutes. They have reduced the number of characters allowed in a text message from 145 to 140. It's important to note that using an emoji counts as multiple texts. What's even more frustrating is that they now break up incoming messages into multiple texts instead of one. Each of these texts deducts minutes from your balance, allowing them to use up more of your minutes. For instance, the first line of a message will come through as one text, followed by the next sentence as two texts, and so on. TracFone is suitable if you don't use your cell phone frequently, but if they continue with these deceptive practices, I will switch to a different plan.

The phone system itself has worked fine. However, customer service and refilling minutes the last several years has only got worse. I have an old phone. It does not update without having to call customer service to get my new service date expiration and my minutes to show on my phone. It was a pain to have to do it but the customer service was able to do the various steps to get it to happen. This past November 16, 2021 was the 1st real time the gal I talked with had no idea what she was doing or what needed to be done to get my phone updated. After an hour she passed me to someone higher up . I waited 15 minutes and no one came to the phone. Feb 14, 2022 is next expiration so I went on-line to extend 90 days. It took my money but no updates on my phone. Again I called. Had a 30 minute wait for callback. The gal called and sounded just like the gal I had in November. Again I told he the steps needed to get the updates and again she failed to be able to handle it. She said their system shows the update yet I can't see if on my phone nor on the website for my account. The text 611611 to see balance never works on my phone either. I should have about 775 units left and 90 days from 2/14 but she could not confirm this nor can I see the info anywhere. She hung up on me. Facebook says SIM cards have to be changed or new phones gotten by 2/22/22 but no one has ever contacted me about any of this. Will I lose my service on 2/22/22 even after paying for 90 days of service?

My wife and I received calls from Tracfone, instructing us to order a compatible SIM card and switch by July 22nd. We spent over 9 hours on the phone with representatives who lacked the necessary skills to help us. It wasn't until the next day, after many more hours on the phone, that we finally reached someone who could assist my wife and send us the correct SIM card. Now, I am attempting to switch my phone from Tracfone to a new network. However, after spending 9 hours on the phone with poorly trained individuals who have difficulty speaking English, I have lost my patience. It seems that these individuals, contracted by the new service provider, are trying to conceal the issues related to the acquisition of Tracfone.

I have been a Tracfone customer for over ten years and have always been satisfied with their service. As someone who lives alone and owns a smartphone, it is the most suitable option for me. I first learned about it through an advertisement in a magazine. The unlimited talk and text feature has made it even more appealing. Throughout all these years, I have not encountered any issues. However, about a month ago, my service stopped working unless I was connected to Wi-Fi. I contacted customer support three times and received various troubleshooting suggestions. I also tried different methods suggested by online forums. It felt as if something had suddenly disabled my Tracfone service. Today, I called again and spoke to a representative in customer support. He was very helpful and patient. After trying different solutions, he transferred me to a supervisor located in another department. The supervisor adjusted my APN settings, and now everything is working perfectly. I had actually suspected that the APN settings were the problem, but I didn't know how to fix them. My only complaint is regarding the female representatives in customer support. They seem to follow a scripted response and are not very helpful. I wasted a lot of time during my three calls to them. If you need assistance, I recommend asking to speak with a supervisor. I believe these women may be afraid of losing their jobs if they are unable to resolve your issue.

TracFone customer service is terrible! I've been trying to transfer a number for 48 hours now and after a major runaround have been put off for another 24 hours. I've been a TracFone customer for many years and will now be seeking another wireless company.

Every time I have had a problem - I have a techno phobic husband who thinks a flip phone is Star Trek level complicated - which is often ,they are patient and see me through. They stay with it no matter how many things they have to try. They are more patient than I am 9 times out of 10. They have humans to assist when you call which is almost unheard of these days.

February 2023, I ordered a new Pantech phone from TracFone. This because as I found out my current at the time would no longer work as t was no longer compatible with their system. There was no notice from Tracfone of my phone no longer working with their system. So I ordered a new phone directly from Tracfone. A Alcatel. When I received it came with a Nokia back which did not fit and it was a used phone. I had ordered new. When trying to return it Tracfone claimed no record of it, even when providing the serial number. I have a PayPal recorded of the transaction. Ate the cost. Ordered a second NEW phone when I removed the back I found out it was also used by the amount of dirt and lint that was in the phone. And now six months later it does not work due to Tracfone changing from AT&T to Verison. Ordered a new sim card and have spent four hours on the phone trying to get my phone to work. With no luck. In the past I have been double charged and had 4000 minutes taken from my phone. The customer service is horrible hours on the phone need nowhere.

I purchased a Tracfone Samsung Galaxy A13 5G on 5/14/23 received it on the 18th of May, the cost of phone was 150.00 it lasted until the second week in August I had it only 3 months & it stopped charging. I contacted Tracfone & was told it was still still under warranty they informed me to return the phone with all the equipment that came with it & within 3-5 business days I would receive a replacement phone when they received the defected one. They received my defective phone back on the 13th of September but as of today 10/17/23 all I have gotten from them is one untruth after another that is was being shipped the next day about (four times!) they have disconnected my calls when I was speaking with them about not receiving anything from them 3-5 business days or otherwise. So they get to keep my phone I paid for & no replacement for the one I turned in with all the equipment that came with it who is the winner here certainly not me. looks like they won they get to keep my phone I turned in which has probably been refurbished & sold again. In the meantime Iam stuck without a phone.

For over a month, I have been unable to get a "simple" answer to a question. The representatives, are not able to address the issue and "refuse" to allow me to speak with a manager or supervisor. I have been with Tracfone for many a years and service has diminished greatly. I am contemplating going to another service even if it's more costly. Get your company together, or other customers will vacate as well. Look forward to your response.

On 9-1-2022, I paid TracFone $165.46 for 1-year plan of service good through 12/22/2023 and an additional year of service to extend service days through 12/24/2024 (I have receipt). TracFone (Verizon) said my service date ended on 1/24/2024 and has disregarded the additional year of service. On 8/9/2023, I had to pay $88.78 to extend my service date to 4/23/2024. As a 20-year TracFone customer, this Verizon acquisition is bad for me, I'm getting the short end of the stick on "service days" and minutes. AND I'm mad as hell, enough to take Verizon (TracFone) to small claims court.

After 19 attempts to resolve an issue with a new phone, Tracfone has again declined to respond to my request for someone with authority to contact me about a new phone not working properly. I get automated responses to contact Customer Service. 18 times is enough. 3 times I have contacted the Executive Resolution Department, with NO response. Just like a lot of companies today, the Customer is Wrong. we are Right.

No, you are Wrong.

I just want somebody from Tracfone to contact me. They have the 4 different ways to contact me. It is NOT with the 800 customer service number.

My bet will be I will NEVER be contacted.

I purchased a tracfone sim card and service plan. The transfer of service to this company seemed a sure fire way to save on my monthly service plan, yet I was surprised. I installed sim card and added service plan. After, I was instructed to reboot my phone: which I did. Four days later and 20+ call to customer service (which I began recording after the 3rd call) I am unable to make any calls other than to the customer help center, during which I have repeatedly asked to speak with a supervisor and/or manager to which I have been denied. After several days of working with the phone I discovered that the service plan never properly loaded. I made a attempt to reload but the prompt stated that the card had been loaded previously. I again phoned the customer care center and explained my discovery and again I was taken through the same activities. I again asked to speak with a manager/supervisor and the agent hung up on me. I immediately called back to the service center and amazingly was connected with the sane agent who again denied my request to speak with a manager/supervisor and hung up on me again (which I have recorded). Day 5 and still no service.

I sent in my trac phone because it was broken you recieved it here is the tracking number i was told that i ewould recieve a new one 1z6980xx9075769429 i have been told and fed so my lies i am pretty irrrat in one night i was

hung up on 7 times

listen to an open line for 5 minutes

told i didnt exsist

told my mother has no maiden name

that the cell phone i was supposed to be getting didnt exsist

that the shipping number didnt exist

i have been put on he dont call us we will call you list

oh and you have cloaed out 3 ticket numbers

enough! i have the uups shipping tracking number above

AVOID! AVOID! AVOID! First thing, that I consider fraudulent (commercial fraud), is that they announce on their website, international call services that are included in their limited talk and text plans. (The phone plans that you pay per minute of talk and have a limited quantity of texts) I'm referring to Basic international service, International neighbors call service and their International frequent 800 number service. NONE OF WHICH WORK. i had all my Frequent international 800 numbers working for 12 years and now they do not work anymore. Their 611611 number to call for service and their CHAT box are automated /and without any positive outcome. If you like wasting your time trying to resolve your issues by communicating with a BOT or turning around in circle on their 800 service line, than this is the company for you. THIS IS NOT WHAT I CONSIDER QUALITY SERVICE. I wasted 7 hours, 13 calls, talking to 3 levels of management,...all of them useless and the line kept cutting off. So if you are interested by their long distance call services/programs that are supposed to be included ,...I will confirm that they fraudulently advertise them on their website but they do not work. There should be a class action suit about this fraudulent misleading practice.

1- Horrible service with clueless personnel answering you from the PHILIPINES.

2- Long distant Calls are fraudulently advertise on their web site but DON'T WORK. No one from customer service could fix the situation (even after 7 HOURS OF WASTE OF MY TIME, 13 calls made to the Tracfone agents). The calls kept hanging up. Then you call back and restart from square one. The automated system tells you that they found and resolved a problem with your phone and you must restart your phone,….this is a generic response to make you think that they are doing something but they are not! This was repeated to me all the 13 times or more. They basically don’t want to talk to you.

3- All agents tried selling me a international calling card for more money and didn't even know about all the included international long distance services offered to Tracfone client AT NO EXTRA COST.

4- Very hard to figure out how to talk to an agent in real life threw the phone. Once you manage to talk to a agent on the CHAT box, you quickly discover that they are first level service and CLUELESS! (I ‘m being nice! here).

5- They refer you to webpages hoping you will resolve you own issues.

AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!

I was out of data and my Service year was ending March 2024 and I would need to add another year anyway. I went online to Tracfone's site and shopped and selected for purchase 1 year of service, 1,000 minutes with a line drawn through and 3,000 minutes shown, 1,000 texts with a line drawn through and 3,000 texts shown, and 2.93 gb of data. Paid online a total of $177.75. Called back a little later on because my data still wasn't working. I was told it should be , just wait a little longer. Next day, it was working fine. After nearly a week, can't say which day for sure. Date wasn't working. Called for tech help today, Dec 10, 2023. After "research", "research", and more "research", I was told that the plan online for $159.99 only comes with a year of service & 1,000 minutes. I see that on the website, but, that IS NOT what I ordered on Dec 4, 2023. The rep couldn't answer, why I had data for almost a week before it was cut off and just kept repeating that that is what I ordered. I would like my 2.93 gb that I ordered and paid for. Yes, today for $159.99 you don't get what I ordered. Rep cannot explain why my minutes & texts were tripled & added to my account, nor why I had data after my purchase. PLease, please reinstate my 2.93 gb's of data ASAP!. Thank you.

At the end of September I spoke with an agent regarding the accident I had with my phone and it was no longer working. They formed ticket # for me and told me to wait for an email that would provide the label for me returning the phone. I then took it to UPS and mailed it back shortly after. Then on October 5th. I received a picture of the delivery person supposedly leaving the package via a sent email to me, my Blink camera records this person just briefly stopping but no indication he left the package. I then called track phone and they said it was returned to the wearhouse and no reason was given for that. After numerous attempts over at least 20 or more times everyone was basically saying wait for 3-5 business days.

My mother died in October and was on another city and again requested the phone to be sent there because of the longevity of time I would be there, th the address was given in completion. After the past 3-5 business days again numerous conversations I was told that the address was not completely given thus the reason it wasn't received. This is where the number of time above was given. So now we're in November and I'm returning home that address was given to another representative promising the same thing, phone never received time and time I was told the same thing in chat and phone and then I was told something completely different with my warranty that it expired that's now the new reason for not getting it. So many things are connected to that phone # and it has really reached havoc emotionally and physically on me dealing with this so I tried now to keep this number and move on to another company that I purchased a phone package from and things just kept getting worst I spoke to the port out department numerous times and was given the IMEI & pin # that the new company said was not working it appears that Tracfone was not allowing the port out so that the other company can establish my account so I had to cancel my new package and I'm still without my phone. I'm A disabled individual and the grief and suffering they've put me through needs to be addressed, I've wasted money traveling to the new place for a SIM card they couldn't find my number in the system. Please help!

TCLflip2 provided by Tracfone freezes up after calling another person who uses AT&T. I Contacted Tracfone many times and they said the phone was OK. They said it must be the other person's phone. I have many friends who use AT&T and every time I would phone them my Tracfone TCLflip2 would freeze up. The phone worked fine calling anyone who did not use AT&T. I even bought a second TCLflip2 from Tracfone and it did the same thing. During this issue with the Tracfone TCLflip2, Tracfone suddenly shut down my service with them. When they eventually restored the service 5,000 of my prepaid rollover minutes had disappeared from my account. Tracfone could not provide a reason for why this happened and they could not access how many prepaid minutes I had on my account prior to my service being shut down. I would like Tracfone to reimburse the $129.26 I spent on 9/7/2023 to roll over my minutes and add another 1500 minutes and the $21.19 I spent on the second TCLflip2 for a total of $150.45. I have since bought another flip phone from another company and it works fine.

l am writing to inform you that l have recently relocated from the United States to Africa and l am experiencing difficulties with my Tracfone network connectivity in my location. However since moving to Africa l have noticed a significant decline in network coverage and signal strength making it extremely challenging to use my Tracfone effectively.l understand l understand that Tracfone operates primarily within the United States and international coverage may be limited. Nevertheless l kindly request your assistance in resolving this issue or exploring potential solutions to ensure l can stay connected with my Tracfone service while residing in Africa. I would greatly appreciate any guidance or recommendations you can provide to improve my network connectivity in my current location. If there are any specific steps or settings adjustments l should make,please let me know. Additionally if there are any alternative options available that would allow me to continue using Tracfones services in Africa, l would be interested to explore them.

This is the second time to file a complaint. Have a NEW phone that does not work for receiving text messages. Absolutely NO help from Customer service. Please, get this fixed. Will NOT happen. Enough said.

P.S._ Tracfone is aware how to contact me.

This problem has gone on since 9/12/23. Talked to Customer Service 18 times. Same result; No resolution to this issue. Just want the problem resolved.

My phone couldn't complete a call. I kept getting a message that said my phone wasn't registered on a network and could only be used for emergency calls. (I had used the phone for four months with no problems.) I called TracFone customer service and talked to 12 people before it was decided that I should return my phone for a replacement. I received the UPS label, mailed the phone back (tracking number showed the phone was delivered). I waited 3-5 days, as instructed, no phone; I talked to 15 more people from October 11- November 3. On October 11, one person said the phone had been sent out but couldn't give me a tracking number--no phone received. On October 19, another person said the phone had been shipped but didn't know when--no phone. Another person said the phone had been shipped but it was on hold at the carrier--no phone. One person said the phone I had returned was no longer available, would I accept a comparable model. (Why didn't they call me and ask me? Why did I have to call them?) Yes, I told them I would accept a comparable model. I waited another 3-5 days: no phone! On October 29, I was told the phone had shipped but the rep couldn't say when or from where. On five of these calls, the call was "dropped" (I think I was deliberately cut off). I'm disgusted that I have been lied to and strung along for nearly a month. To date, I've talked to 28 different customer service representatives and I have gotten no where.

I'm stuck! I think at the very least I should be reimbursed for my phone. I still have a service plan that goes until June 2024. I don't know whether to try another service or just go buy another phone and use up my service plan and then change. I have had TracFones for years and been very pleased; however, this has been a terrible experience!

I called Tracfone on Sept. 29th to report a broken phone. I was sent a ups label to mail it in and told that it would be processed and sent out in 10 days. I followed up and was told that they had the phone (I have a printed copy of the delivery receipt) and were sending a replacement in 3-5 days. Over the course of a month I called 8 times and was treated with bureaucratic loops which terminated in "we will send it out in 3-5 days". They would not email me the code to switch my phone number to another phone.

Called on Sunday October 15th and told them our problem that there was not a clear voice on our headset they had us do some different things to try to correct the problem. Told them that we tried hooking the headset up to a different phone and it was clear as a bell.Then they finally said they would send us a new phone and when the new phone arrived we were to call. There would be instructions in the new phone box on where to send old phone, We asked more than once that they would send us a new phone and the customer rep said YES. We called on Friday October 20th to check on the ticket number and they told us that the phone was sent and we should receive it in 3-5 business days. On Thursday October 26th we called to Trac fone to ask if the phone had been shipped and they transfered us to the escalated Dept rep named Ricky said no that we had to send the old phone in and then they would send the new phone to us. We told them what the first customer service rep said that a new phone would be sent to us and we should send the old phone back. We went back and forth for many minutes and that was the way it was going to be. Where is the customer service in this company!

Ricky took MANY TIMES to get vital information correct that we gave him!

I asked if I could talk with someone higher up and he said no that I would be told the same thing. They need to retrain the original rep to tell customers the right information.

Purchased a new Orbic Magic 5G phone with unlimited plan from Tracfone on Sept 20,2023. After receiving the new phone, I transferred my information from my old Tracfone to the new phone. Tried to send a Text message to my wife. She received the message and responded. I received no text response. Sent testing texts the different people the next 3 days. All had the same outcome. All messages were received, I received none of the responses. Contacted Tracfone customer service on October 10 about this issue. They and I tried to reset the messaging app, restore the phone to factory settings, tried to receive text responses from the customer service department, all without success. Since Oct. 10, I have contacted the service department 11 times. Each time, I get assurances they will contact me within 15 minutes to resolve this issue. I have also contacted the Tracfone Executive Resolution Department 2 times. Have received no response.

Called 611 25 times through out the last week. No one seems to help. They hang up . They said they would call me back but have not on my land line .Another person said line was busy but it was not. My account is paid . payments being deducted from my credit card. I'm not able to text or make calls nor receive calls or text. I have turned off the phone off and several times.I even left it off overnight but still no service. Airplane mode is off

On or about 10/21/2023 my tracfone service was suspended. No reason was given, and when I contacted Customer Service, they asked for my Pin which they accepted. They then asked for the answer to my security question, which they said was incorrect. They then asked for two frequently called numbers which they again said did not work. I asked to be referred to a higher authority, they said that they were not permitted to do this and that there was nothing further they could do. I then decided that my only recourse was to seek another carrier. I wanted to keep my old number for obvious reasons, they would not give me a port out for my old number. This has been extremely frustrating to say the least. My name is John R Chewning, The phone number for which Tracfone service was suspended is [protected] my email is [protected]@charter.net , a working phone by which I can be reached is [protected]

The cell phone # [protected]. When I send a text message with a picture I get a message that reads as follows: "message not sent, service not activated on network". This has been a problem since 10-21-23. I can have full signal strength on the meter and the LTE displayed. I have called teck support several times and they cannot repair the problem. Can you help me?

Steve Van Dercook

2766 Bon Haven Lane

Annapolis MD. 21401

H-[protected]

I have purchased many trac phones thru HSN. These past two years have been awful. Last year the customer service man from another country lost all my minutes on my new Mojo phone that came with Internet, phone, texting, 1,500 minutes gone. Seemed like he was new and didn't know what he was doing, kept putting me on hold to ask his supervisor what to do, i asked to speak to his supervisor, because I was getting nowhere with him. Supervisor got on, he checked something and told me all 1,500 minutes were used up. I said I just got the phone and the customer service man was trying to transfer my phone number from another trac phone and deleted my free minutes to my new MOJO phone, he argued with me and told me I have to purchase minutes. The phone is useless. I'M NOT PAYING ANOTHER RED CENT TO THESE SCAM ARTIEST Two weeks later I ordered another phone, as I needed a phone, got a Galaxy trac phone, again told when I called about a problem said it was fixed for that time but the next day, the same problem, you get hung up on when they can't fix something. Called the woman from another country hung up on me. This phone you can receive phone calls and when you place a call it rings three times and cuts off. BEWARE THE YEARS BEFORE WERE OKAY NOW IT'S A SCAM.

Tracfone, messing with accounts, making me to go on a pay plan, every 90 days I add minutes to my TracFone, but they cut me off and say, you have to join a Monthly plan. I have over 21,834 minutes on my phone, Tracfone put my minutes into Texting, I don't Text, and they said they can't change it so every time I put minutes on my phone instead of Talk, a percent goes to TEXT.

I want returned to me Monitory what I have spent in Adding minutes to my phone to Call, not to Text. You keep applying the minutes to Text, I told agents before I do NOT Text, want the minutes applied to Calls ONLY.

Also, letting the BBB, in on this Scam, TracFone is providing to their customers

I have 21,834, total in minutes, at $19.99 for 60 minutes you owe me a lot, not received I will report this to ALL Social MEdia.

Spent two days, 3 reps and at least 4 hours . All we needed to do was upgrade to a newer, larger phone with more features. The last one just hung up on us. Three reps couldn't/would not walk us through the steps. This was nothing difficult.

After being a customer for over 10 years, time to walk away and spend more for a company where you can talk to someone face to face.

They would not even help me try to return, go to website and it is clear they will take long time to refund but will find an excuse not to.

If I could give a minus rating, I would.