expiredphoinix | Staff posted Mar 29, 2026 04:13 PM
Item 1 of 3
Item 1 of 3
expiredphoinix | Staff posted Mar 29, 2026 04:13 PM
Renewed: Samsung Galaxy A16 5G Smartphone + 1-Yr Tracfone Svc (1500 Talk/Txt/Data)
+ Free S&H$40
Amazon
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'll see how this one month goes on the Moto.. IF it unlocks it or not. I would keep it as a wifi remote in that case. VZW prepaid gave me a bonus 3GB data but I'll just let the month lapse without refill.
So I'm a little rusty at phone tech so it was a bit much to activate two in one week. This Tracfone and 1yr plan is by far the better phone and deal.
New unlock policy (since mid January 2026) requires 12 months of active paid service on each phone - transfer of service no longer qualifies.
While service plan can be moved to another phone this phone would no longer qualify for unlocking since active service wasn't on phone for the required year.
Read current requirements for unlocking on TF website, applies to all the various TF, ST, TW etc brands.
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Its a headache and a hassle to get them to honor these phone+ plan deals.
Anyone else have these issues?
"The phone itself was fine. However, getting Tracfone to honor/install the "Promo" package (365 days service/1,500 min.. text, data.) was a nightmare. There was no PIN to utilize, got the phone activated, but none of the Promo was recognized. Spent an hour with Marco, Tracfone chat, & he said nothing could be done as Amazon was not an authorized Tracfone dealer. Spent 2 hrs. on telephone with a Tracfone Service Rep. who would not honor the Promo package that came with the phone."
"The phone itself was fine. However, getting Tracfone to honor/install the "Promo" package (365 days service/1,500 min.. text, data.) was a nightmare. There was no PIN to utilize, got the phone activated, but none of the Promo was recognized. Spent an hour with Marco, Tracfone chat, & he said nothing could be done as Amazon was not an authorized Tracfone dealer. Spent 2 hrs. on telephone with a Tracfone Service Rep. who would not honor the Promo package that came with the phone."
Sure, a while ago, there were some issues with SIM swapping, but things have improved significantly and these experts are still passing on old knowledge.
A couple of years ago I experimented several times to see if the old knowledge was still valid with throw away devices. After a while, I found that TracFone improved their system and after swapping SIM, my SIM is re-paired with the new device. I then tested it on my actual devices. Some devices that I keep are still working today. Many devices were sold after they were unlocked.
During my SIM swapping experiment, I found a loop hole that allowed the new phone to unlock even without a paid second month. The 60 days requirement is still valid, but the paid second month was bypassed. Keep in mind that at that time, transferring service does not count towards unlocking.
I reproduced it with a second phone. But after that, TracFone plugged the hole and I was not able to do it again. My service was still fine, no issues.
I have not played around with TracFone after the 02/11/26 update since there are many bugs to be fixed on TracFone side. So my knowledge ends 02/10/26.
Summary
SIM swapping is fine. I've been doing this for about 2 years with 20+ phones successfully unlocked with no service issues. Just don't do it too many times. My personal limit is 3 times. Recent update on 02/11/26 may affect your experience.
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