anyone complaining about speed
actually everyone should do this
TURN OFF RAM BOOST
Settings → Device care → Memory → RAM Plus
restart phone
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
opensource Shizuku + ShizukuTools + FreezeYou works on the A16 to debloat all the garbage
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expiredavalon posted Jun 25, 2026 1:36 PM
Renewed: Samsung Galaxy A16 5G Smartphone + 1-Yr Tracfone Svc (1500 Talk/Txt/Data)
$40
+ Free S&Hat Amazon
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I have not tried this yet but will later this week
there's an opensource app called Shizuku which can do root stuff on phones that are not rooted
it will allow you to see and disable apps that should not be running
https://github.com/RikkaApps/Shizuku
lots of open-source add ons for Shizuku too
https://github.com/timschneeb/awesome-shizuku
opensource disable/freeze app:
https://github.com/FreezeYou/FreezeYou
https://f-droid.org/packages/cf.p...freezeyo
there used to be a way to get root on Samsung devices up to OneUI 5.0 but unfortunately this phone is 6.1 so we have to wait until someone finds something new
https://github.com/BLuFeNiX/SMTShell (won't work on this phone yet)
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check daily, they seem to restock it every other day
it went sold-out yesterday but then 12 hours later it was in stock again
if you go way back in this thread I posted attachments showing what it does to your balance
it changes the plan from PAYGO to UNI
it will add a year to your tracfone service
mine now expires in July 2027
all the deals on amazon and ebay and qvc disappeared
target still has a tracfone clamshell for $35 but might as well spend the $5 more for emergency hotspot on this phone
but this phone is so fancy it must have some resell value once unlocked?
Verizon completed the Tracfone purchase in 2021 and 1 year plan + phone bundle deals for $25-$30 were readily online and instore within the past 3 months
QVC/HSN parent company filed for bankruptcy maybe that has something to do with them disappearing.
QVC/HSN parent company filed for bankruptcy maybe that has something to do with them disappearing.
but ebay listings disappeared too, the same account that had the double clamshell deals on ebay only renamed from "tracfonewireless" to "verizonvalue" this year
I think verizon just waited until all the old stock ran out and never restocked it because they are changing their prices strategy
only target has one clamshell left for tracfone with a year plan for $35
but at that price might as well get the A16 for $5 more
we'll see what happens black friday or just before but not holding my breath
Some of the new Motorola phones like the stylus 2026 aren't widely available like the previous models. Amazon only has one color and one storage option. Best buy has both colors but only 128gb. AT&T is the only carrier I've seen with the Moto Fold...online anyway.
ships with android 14
it might get a bump up at some point, the A16 is actively sold by Verizon
actually it seems like the A16 got android 16 this year
I blocked/disabled updates so it may auto-update
I keep it on old versions in case someone comes up with a root
Hoping nobody has this issue, but the initial setup screens failed to see an internet connection when I connected to the home wifi (other devices including the laptop I am scribbling this from of course worked fine and this laptop playing a yt vid in the background) and also when I created a hotspot through my current phone's at&t plan. Many of the amazon 1 star reviewers have an issue like this too. So I did a web search and it explained stuff on the network reset/etc, which gave me the confidence to continue the "setup" without wireless to get to the android home screen and thinking I would return this if necessary. Bizarrely without appearing to make any other changes to wifi/etc the network successfully connected to the internet after turning wifi back on. So as I write this I predictably am instructing the phone to download and install all updates to in case this was part of a bug. (But seriously this would drive serious returns on a recertified device that makes you figure it's defective hardware and the Amazon reviewers claimed tracfone's tech support means an hour of troubleshooting with no resolution that my own luck resolved it..)
Also worth mentioning mine arrived with the battery life at 0% and I turned mine on when it got to 15%. So plug in to charge ASAP! (Maybe I am just "old" if everybody else is unsurprised by 0%)
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but only 9 left
it's important to block any system updates to Android or Samsung ONE if you want any remote chance of rooting someday
bootloader unlock for TWRP would be an absolute miracle
that thread is TWRP which would need bootloader unlock, not possible on tracfone models
update: wow I have not been keeping up with the developments
apparently there is a rootless way now to install TWRP via ODIN
https://twrp.me/samsung/a16x.html
will have to try this next week when I have time, that would make this phone an amazing deal
1 Year of Unlimited service $200 total.. This Deal is still available!! 🙂
I lost one of my clamshells somehow a couple years ago but I had the other previous clamshell from the double pack deal and asked them to just transfer the service from the lost phone to the other clamshell
I can't remember how they did it now but even without an active phone they were able to "verify" me without sending an SMS in that case which was the problem I couldn't solve myself
so activate the new A16 with your current number so you get the year extension
then try to move the sim
if moving the sim doesn't work, then ask tracfone customer service for help
as long as you are moving it to a tracfone or unlocked phone they should allow it
remember you will probably lose the right to unlock this A16 in a year if you move the service off it, not sure about that but since it won't be active, makes sense?
1 Year of Unlimited service $200 total.. This Deal is still available!! 🙂
however if you are saying you can do the phone for $20 with just one month for $15 making the total $35 for an A17, now that is a great deal
however check back Sunday and Monday morning, I bet there will be a few more in stock
and once gone, check back in a month, they keep getting refurbs because the A16 is still actively sold/used by Verizon
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btw if I am understand this properly from reading a bunch of stuff many places
1. ODIN is needed to flash TWRP without root on Samsung phones
2. but you cannot flash anything on Samsung phones unless the OEM UNLOCK option is available in Developer Options
3. you cannot get the OEM unlock options on A16 unless it is also already carrier unlocked
OEM unlock is not the same as carrier unlocked of course but one is tied to the other
so that means first we need to get tracfone/verizon to carrier unlock these phones
a few people seem to have been successful in arguing with tracfone/verizon that since there is a prepaid YEAR on these phones, they should be eligible for carrier unlock immediately
so whomever gets tracfone to unlock these A16s first can help us out by looking under the hidden Developer Options menu in settings and see if OEM unlock appears in the options after that
otherwise we are stuck, no TWRP/root until carrier unlock, which is not typical but makes some sense
in the meanwhile I highly recommend Shizuku for a fake kinda root using ADB wireless, at least on these phones Shizuku can start without being connected to a host
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