Need a basic flip-phone Tracfone for a 90 year old

[DayDreaming]

Background: my 90-yr old mother has a Tracfone which she doesn't really use, and only keeps for emergencies. It's and old LG flip-phone, she uses it for phone calls only - no text, no apps. But it was only 3G and recently stopped working.

As a replacement, I bought her this Alcatel MyFlip 2 which has some smart features but was the most basic Tracfone I could find. She HATES it! The old LG phone always displayed her remaining time and minutes, right on the screen when you open the phone. With this new phone, you have to send a text message to get your balance of time and minutes. I wrote down instructions for her, but she won't do it.

I've searched, but can't find a simple, basic, non-smart Tracfone for her. It would have to show remaining time and minutes on the screen without needing extra steps to do that. Does anyone know of a Tracfone flip-phone like this that works on 4G? Or maybe she'll need to switch to something other than Tracfone, but it would need to use pre-paid phone cards - she does not want to give her credit card number to anyone for automated billing.

 

[Venturer]

Step mom is 84 and her oldest son got her a Consumer Cellular flip that she loves. I haven't ask him but I know before he got it for her he was planning on buying it and paying for a year advance so she didn't have to worry about it. Talk only no data.

 

[OldShooter]

Have you tried Tracfone's tech support line? They should certainly know about compatible phones.

 

[razztazz]

Have you tried Tracfone's tech support line? They should certainly know about compatible phones.

My understanding is that available phones are contingent on where you live. Never could figure that out but that seems to be how it goes.

I am a LONG TIME Tracfone user. Just recently got their plainest non-smart flip phone. No minutes displayed! have to jump through hoops for basic information. I called tech support. They said that's the way they're doing it from now on. Another non-improvement improvement. Like "Windows."

Also, I noticed they do not the just-buy-you-minutes-and-go away thing anymore either. I had to buy "a plan." Just like every other phone company. The one thing that made tracfone different and better they tossed to become like everybody else.

 

[euro]

Step mom is 84 and her oldest son got her a Consumer Cellular flip that she loves. I haven't ask him but I know before he got it for her he was planning on buying it and paying for a year advance so she didn't have to worry about it. Talk only no data.

OP: I think that's your best option. Just pre-load a year's worth of minutes or sign her up for monthly auto deductions. Then, all you have to do is convince her that it doesn't matter (for her practical purposes) what the balance is. Just use the phone as much as she wants and "imagine" it's all "free". She may get the hang of it. I had to use these types of "tricks" with my DD (passed away a couple of years ago at age 90) to get him connected with some of the most basic new communication tools. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. Worth a shot.

 

[HarveyS]

Background: my 90-yr old mother has a Tracfone which she doesn't really use, and only keeps for emergencies. It's and old LG flip-phone, she uses it for phone calls only - no text, no apps.

Buy her a 365 day plan. Set it up so it charges your card if she needs more minutes - or you can watch it from an on-line account/app and add minutes as needed. Happy Mother's Day. Tell her it's all included. $100 or less and your done for the year.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Would she use a smart phone if you remove everything from the home screen except the phone dialer and the tracfone app so she can just tap to see her balance?

You could set it up with her contacts and favorites and turn all the app notifications so they don't drive her crazy.
HSN has a Tracfone bundle right now, a Samsung phone with 1 years service includes 1500min 1500gb and 1500 texts at a pretty decent price for a year and she doesn't need to use the data and texts.

https://slickdeals.net/f/15773170-s...ata-59-99-after-coupon-code-hsn-free-shipping

https://www.hsn.com/products/videos/20502929

 

[easysurfer]

Have you tried Tracfone's tech support line? They should certainly know about compatible phones.

Good luck with that. Tracfone tech support may lead a person to look for another carrier. I'm speaking from personal experience .

 

[FIYes]

If the only thing she hates about the phone is the lack of time and minutes display then I second the recommendations to buy a year’s worth of time. As a long time Tracfone user, I recommend that you DON’T call customer service if you can avoid it. Put a reminder on a calendar to purchase more service when the year is about up. Tracfone plans stack so you don’t need to wait until you are about to run out of time to add more.

 

[Walt34]

Good luck with that. Tracfone tech support may lead a person to look for another carrier. I'm speaking from personal experience .

Your experience parallels mine. When the current Tracfone dies I'll give up on Tracfone and go to another carrier. It's hard to think of a more useless "support" system.

 

[ivinsfan]

If Moms sharp enough to complain she should be able to understand this feature isn't available in newer phones, tell her she'll get used to texting for phone minutes eventually

 

[Deej]

Tracfone has an app (called Tracfone My Account) that can be downloaded to get the minutes, time left. Once downloaded, it's a matter of pressing the app (keep her logged in all the time so she doesn't have to log in each time), and it will show her what's left within seconds. Tracfone no longer has phones with the old feature showing minutes left when you open it, and if they do, they are 3G which isn't supported any longer, as you know. FYI: Verizon now owns Tracfone.

 

[euro]

If Moms sharp enough to complain she should be able to understand this feature isn't available in newer phones, tell her she'll get used to texting for phone minutes eventually

From personal experience, I can assure you that what you are proposing is MUCH easier said then done. Just because it is obvious to YOU, doesn’t mean it is to an average 90 year-old.

 

[easysurfer]

Your experience parallels mine. When the current Tracfone dies I'll give up on Tracfone and go to another carrier. It's hard to think of a more useless "support" system.

When my Tracfone stopped working, after going through hoops with the support person suggesting I do this or that, the person said he sent me a replacement phone. After waiting for 2-3 weeks and no phone, called them back and they said something like couldn't find the service request. Yeah, right.

I guess Tracfone is okay if you want a burner phone or know you won't be adding more minutes to keep the phone alive. Otherwise, that's pretty much the same as a recurring plan, but with horrible support.

I'm not venting too much .

Back on topic, if the OP has a carrier that allows adding a family line, perhaps that's a thought. They way the OP's 90 year old mom could just use a phone and not worry about minutes and renewing to keep the plan alive.

I set up a family line (extra flip phone) for a sibling in a nursing home. Phone was from Consumer Cellular. Shared my minutes and extra cost wasn't that much. Nice phone too. Unfortunately, the phone wasn't used but that was because sibling is one of those who if a phone isn't an old landline, then she's kind of lost .

 

[ivinsfan]

From personal experience, I can assure you that what you are proposing is MUCH easier said then done. Just because it is obvious to YOU, doesn’t mean it is to an average 90 year-old.

Well I know that but sometimes they have to do what they have to do.!!! I didn't say it was easy, I said if she HAS to check her minutes she is going to need to go with the flow.




By the way this "condition" can exist in people younger then 90..

 

[scrabbler1]

I had to upgrade to a newer Trac Fone 2 months ago after my old one finally stopped working. I called them and they sent me a new one at no charge (except for a few dollars in taxes). Then I had to call them again to finish the setup process which was a PITA.

I had to re=enter all my contacts although I used this time to trim it down some. Figuring out some of the new features for data entry was a minor nuisance.

I don't like how the service time end date and minutes left are no longer displayed. Texting to get the available time is a crummy option, because I have to burn up minutes to do that. I signed into my online account with them and it shows my service time end date. I thought the minutes shown there are what I have left, but it doesn't seem like it because it doesn't seem to change even after I used some minutes.

Overall, it's at best a wash, with the upside and downside of the new phone maybe even.

My dad, 90, has a Consumer Cellular plan with a low-end flip phone and a low-end plan. I set up automatic payment for him. He had a recent upgrade for his phone which had no problems, he told me. Once, about 5 years ago, when he was nearing his max minutes for the plan, he got a text warning him because they'd bump him up, something he didn't need. He is pretty happy with his service.

 

[Masquernom]

Background: my 90-yr old mother has a Tracfone which she doesn't really use, and only keeps for emergencies. It's and old LG flip-phone, she uses it for phone calls only - no text, no apps. But it was only 3G and recently stopped working.

As a replacement, I bought her this Alcatel MyFlip 2 which has some smart features but was the most basic Tracfone I could find. She HATES it! The old LG phone always displayed her remaining time and minutes, right on the screen when you open the phone. With this new phone, you have to send a text message to get your balance of time and minutes. I wrote down instructions for her, but she won't do it.

I've searched, but can't find a simple, basic, non-smart Tracfone for her. It would have to show remaining time and minutes on the screen without needing extra steps to do that. Does anyone know of a Tracfone flip-phone like this that works on 4G? Or maybe she'll need to switch to something other than Tracfone, but it would need to use pre-paid phone cards - she does not want to give her credit card number to anyone for automated billing.

I went through the exact same problem with my 84 year old aunt. She loved her old flip phone that showed her minutes. I tried everything to find her a 4G replacement. I even bought her a cheap smart phone. That was a disaster! We finally bought her a cheap flip phone. It doesn't show her minutes, but we discovered she has over 3,000 minutes. Turns out you have to pay a service fee every year with Tracfone. She was paying the service fee every year with a card that included a lot of minutes. She didn't realize they were accumulating. I convinced her I'd check her minutes once a year and let her know if they were running low.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Background: my 90-yr old mother has a Tracfone which she doesn't really use, and only keeps for emergencies. It's and old LG flip-phone, she uses it for phone calls only - no text, no apps. But it was only 3G and recently stopped working.

As a replacement, I bought her this Alcatel MyFlip 2 which has some smart features but was the most basic Tracfone I could find. She HATES it! The old LG phone always displayed her remaining time and minutes, right on the screen when you open the phone. With this new phone, you have to send a text message to get your balance of time and minutes. I wrote down instructions for her, but she won't do it.

I've searched, but can't find a simple, basic, non-smart Tracfone for her. It would have to show remaining time and minutes on the screen without needing extra steps to do that. Does anyone know of a Tracfone flip-phone like this that works on 4G? Or maybe she'll need to switch to something other than Tracfone, but it would need to use pre-paid phone cards - she does not want to give her credit card number to anyone for automated billing.

If she can make calls with the phone and all that she's upset about is not being able to see her balance, you could install the Tracfone app on your phone so you could keep an eye on the balance for her and let her know once a week or so by text or call.

 

[jim584672]

When 3G went away so did most flip phones. Now everything is cheap Android or iPhone.

 

[MdaPetralia]

Does anyone know of a Tracfone flip-phone like this that works on 4G? Or maybe she'll need to switch to something other than Tracfone, but it would need to use pre-paid phone cards - she does not want to give her credit card number to anyone for automated billing.

As an alternative to a Tracfone, see if this flip phone from TING meets your requirements. It works with 4G LTE. TING's cheapest (FLEX) plan is $10/month + taxes for unlimited minutes and text.

https://tingmobile.com/shop/tcl-flip_Midnight-Blue-4GB-new-multi-network

 

[DayDreaming]

Some more information on my mother: she doesn't like me paying for anything. Like if we go out to dinner, she gets mad if I try to pay, even though she knows my financial situation is far better than hers. But I have convinced her to let us alternate who pays. Anyway, I'll try to follow some of your suggestions, and maybe I can convince her to let me pay for her phone plan by considering it part of her Christmas present every year, or something like that.

Step mom is 84 and her oldest son got her a Consumer Cellular flip that she loves. I haven't ask him but I know before he got it for her he was planning on buying it and paying for a year advance so she didn't have to worry about it. Talk only no data.

They only have 1 flip phone to choose from but it does like simpler than the Alcatel phone that I already got her. Thanks, I will consider this.

Have you tried Tracfone's tech support line? They should certainly know about compatible phones.

I used their online chat support to ask about basic flip phones and they said that what I had purchased was the most basic one that they have.

OP: I think that's your best option. Just pre-load a year's worth of minutes or sign her up for monthly auto deductions. Then, all you have to do is convince her that it doesn't matter (for her practical purposes) what the balance is. Just use the phone as much as she wants and "imagine" it's all "free".

She won't use her credit card for any type of automatic payment, but maybe I can do this and convince her it's part of her Christmas present. I'd be happy to pay for it, I just have to convince her to let me, otherwise she'd feel bad for some reason.

Would she use a smart phone if you remove everything from the home screen except the phone dialer and the tracfone app so she can just tap to see her balance?

You could set it up with her contacts and favorites and turn all the app notifications so they don't drive her crazy...

Interesting idea. She is VERY frustrated with this flip phone that I got her, but I'm frustrated with it too. It has some 'smart' features, but without a touchscreen, you navigate with the keypad and the 4-direction button. It's really awkward and feels like a very crippled smartphone. I'll think about this and I have an old phone maybe I could let her play with for a while.

If Moms sharp enough to complain she should be able to understand this feature isn't available in newer phones, tell her she'll get used to texting for phone minutes eventually

She understands, but nope, she will never like texting, trust me.

Tracfone has an app (called Tracfone My Account) that can be downloaded to get the minutes, time left. Once downloaded, it's a matter of pressing the app (keep her logged in all the time so she doesn't have to log in each time), and it will show her what's left within seconds. Tracfone no longer has phones with the old feature showing minutes left when you open it...

I read about that Tracfone app, but the app store on this flip phone only shows a few games and basic utilities. Maybe because it's such as basic phone. I'm trying to install that app on my own phone so I can watch her account, but it's asking for some security pin# for her account, and I need to figure out where to find that.

if the OP has a carrier that allows adding a family line, perhaps that's a thought.

I use MintMobile which unfortunately doesn't have family plans.

As an alternative to a Tracfone, see if this flip phone from TING meets your requirements. It works with 4G LTE. TING's cheapest (FLEX) plan is $10/month + taxes for unlimited minutes and text.

https://tingmobile.com/shop/tcl-flip_Midnight-Blue-4GB-new-multi-network

She might like that one, thanks!

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

She (or you) probably set the pin up when she opened her account which is where she will need to go to reset it if needed and also if you were to move to another carrier.

 

[MichaelB]

Background: my 90-yr old mother has a Tracfone which she doesn't really use, and only keeps for emergencies. It's and old LG flip-phone, she uses it for phone calls only - no text, no apps. But it was only 3G and recently stopped working.

As a replacement, I bought her this Alcatel MyFlip 2 which has some smart features but was the most basic Tracfone I could find. She HATES it! The old LG phone always displayed her remaining time and minutes, right on the screen when you open the phone. With this new phone, you have to send a text message to get your balance of time and minutes. I wrote down instructions for her, but she won't do it.

I've searched, but can't find a simple, basic, non-smart Tracfone for her. It would have to show remaining time and minutes on the screen without needing extra steps to do that. Does anyone know of a Tracfone flip-phone like this that works on 4G? Or maybe she'll need to switch to something other than Tracfone, but it would need to use pre-paid phone cards - she does not want to give her credit card number to anyone for automated billing.

My DM kept losing her cell phones, and AT&T charged an outrageous price for her land line, so I got a Consumer Cellular Home Base (here) It’s really a ZTE Home Base with the Consumer Cellular logo. It looks like a router but it’s really a cell phone, and you plug in your traditional phone handset. She’s been using it for 6 months now without a hitch. The Consumer Cellular unlimited voice plan is $15 per month.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

If she needs another carrier Tello (T-Mobile MVNO) is cheap for low users, she could get 100 minutes for $5, 350 minutes for $6 a month, or $7 for 500 minutes + free unlimited texts if she ever decided to try texting. Any unused minutes can be rolled over if you manually renew the plan on the 29th day in the app. I would have her start the first month with 500 minutes and assuming she wouldn't use most of them if she's a low user, manually renew at the $5 100 minute plan the next month getting to keep all these unused minutes and as long as you continue to manually renew they keep rolling over.

https://tello.com/buy/custom_plans

 

[retiredunder50]

You could check her balance remotely via the tracfone web site and add additional service as necessary. They also sell unlimited text & minutes plans, but the annual one which also comes with 12 GB of data costs $199 and is too much for a low use phone. If you are going the unlimited minutes/text route with 1 GB per month, you would be better off, price-wise, with Tello at $10/month and you won't have to check until the year is over.