Yes, crappy phones, this is mainly for service harvesting. For $50, you can get two years of Tracfone service, and you use the service on your favorite phone with a BYOP sim or esim.
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Yes, crappy phones, this is mainly for service harvesting. For $50, you can get two years of Tracfone service, and you use the service on your favorite phone with a BYOP sim or esim.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287505854589 - Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 w/ 1 year plan, maybe the best phone per dollar device they have on sale that comes with a future unlock date
For the phone itself, the A03 is not terribly useful as a daily driver. Maybe only for calls and texts. A phone of last resort. Apps will be laggy. Used one myself a few years back.
"Is the min/text/data package for the whole year or just a single month?"
That's all you get for the entire year! You've gotta make it last....or pony up exorbitant amounts of cash for add-ons. That's about four minutes of talk time per day. Talk fast!
Yes, it's a meager amount, unlike other countries with normally generous limits.
Some might argue that's fine, they're on WiFi most of the time -- but hey, I don't need a car since I have mass transit. I don't need to buy food if I'm under a meal plan. And so on. It's amazing what you don't need when someone else is providing it, like someone else's network for a MOBILE device.
Some argue these are great for a "spare/backup phone". I can't tell you a single time I had something go wrong with my primary device, in such that I needed an active spare sitting around - but you do you...! Some of us grew up in the era of "we have a single corded phone mounted to the wall, no such thing as an answering machine." We survived without a magic rectangle surgically attached to our hands, and so can you. I believe in you.
"When does it unlock?"
AFTER 12 full months of ACTIVE PAID SERVICE. On paid month 13, you can request the device to unlock. Yes, it used to be different. Electrons have consequences. I'd say file a complaint with the FCC, but you might be put on a list. And I might too for instigating pro-consumer action. In 2026, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease --> it gets replaced. (Just look up the Lattimer Mining Protest of 1897. And that was 129 years ago.)
Do you frequently buy locked phones, wait a year, then use the phone on another service? Sounds tedious. Why not just buy a phone for that service provider? Even if it's marginally more expensive, it can't be all that bad. You know what the kids say -- BUY ONCE CRY ONCE!
...until Planned Obsolescence makes you rebuy in 2-3 years! (Seriously, these things rarely last until month 36 of daily gentle use.) And this "I"-Phone was released in October of 2020. That's a six-year-old device. Hope it didn't degrade while in storage.
"Why don't they have a good referral bonus anymore?"
The referral bonus is a scheme for new customers. Like with all good things, too many people abused it. So, Track Phone cut the bonus to a negligible amount.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287505854589 - Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 w/ 1 year plan, maybe the best phone per dollar device they have on sale that comes with a future unlock date
For the phone itself, the A03 is not terribly useful as a daily driver. Maybe only for calls and texts. A phone of last resort. Apps will be laggy. Used one myself a few years back.
Thanks for finding the $60 plan! I thought that was gone for good! Repped!
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/287503823650 - $60 365 day plan. This is probably most useful for unlocking any TF phone after 1 year of activation.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287505854589 - Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 w/ 1 year plan, maybe the best phone per dollar device they have on sale that comes with a future unlock date
For the phone itself, the A03 is not terribly useful as a daily driver. Maybe only for calls and texts. A phone of last resort. Apps will be laggy. Used one myself a few years back.
---------------
"Is the min/text/data package for the whole year or just a single month?"
That's all you get for the entire year! You've gotta make it last....or pony up exorbitant amounts of cash for add-ons. That's about four minutes of talk time per day. Talk fast!
Yes, it's a meager amount, unlike other countries with normally generous limits.
Some might argue that's fine, they're on WiFi most of the time -- but hey, I don't need a car since I have mass transit. I don't need to buy food if I'm under a meal plan. And so on. It's amazing what you don't need when someone else is providing it, like someone else's network for a MOBILE device.
Some argue these are great for a "spare/backup phone". I can't tell you a single time I had something go wrong with my primary device, in such that I needed an active spare sitting around - but you do you...! Some of us grew up in the era of "we have a single corded phone mounted to the wall, no such thing as an answering machine." We survived without a magic rectangle surgically attached to our hands, and so can you. I believe in you.
"When does it unlock?"
AFTER 12 full months of ACTIVE PAID SERVICE. On paid month 13, you can request the device to unlock. Yes, it used to be different. Electrons have consequences. I'd say file a complaint with the FCC, but you might be put on a list. And I might too for instigating pro-consumer action. In 2026, the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease --> it gets replaced. (Just look up the Lattimer Mining Protest of 1897. And that was 129 years ago.)
Do you frequently buy locked phones, wait a year, then use the phone on another service? Sounds tedious. Why not just buy a phone for that service provider? Even if it's marginally more expensive, it can't be all that bad. You know what the kids say -- BUY ONCE CRY ONCE!
...until Planned Obsolescence makes you rebuy in 2-3 years! (Seriously, these things rarely last until month 36 of daily gentle use.) And this "I"-Phone was released in October of 2020. That's a six-year-old device. Hope it didn't degrade while in storage.
"Why don't they have a good referral bonus anymore?"
The referral bonus is a scheme for new customers. Like with all good things, too many people abused it. So, Track Phone cut the bonus to a negligible amount.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287503823650 - $60 365 day plan. This is probably most useful for unlocking any TF phone after 1 year of activation.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/287505854589 - Moto G Stylus 5G 2024 w/ 1 year plan, maybe the best phone per dollar device they have on sale that comes with a future unlock date
For the phone itself, the A03 is not terribly useful as a daily driver. Maybe only for calls and texts. A phone of last resort. Apps will be laggy. Used one myself a few years back.
Join The Conversation
Share your experience with the Slickdeals community
Share information with the community. Please follow our Community Guidelines and be kind!