AboutDebiN Expertise I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM (AT&T (formerly Cingular) and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel (iDEN)). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.
Experience Over 15 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500)
Education/Credentials Master's in Telecommunications
Question Hi! Was just given my first cellular phone by a friend who hardly ever used it. (No contract-it's the kind you pre-pay with the cards). It's a Motorola "phone-only" (Model:TFC139B). It shows 47 unused min. on the display...BUT...it also indicates that the unused minutes "expired" 4 months ago. There's a "TRACFONE" logo on the back.
I checked a few stores and found that TRACFONE minutes are about twice as expensive as most other cards.
QUESTION: Can I use another (cheaper) service with this phone? (ie. another brand of card).
QUESTION: If the 47 min. have indeed been "lost" (due to not using them within the specified 60 or 90 days), do ALL of the pre-pay companies work that way? (In which case I have no more use for the phone than the person who gave it to me). TIA. --Jeffry
Answer You can't use any other service with this phone. It is SIM locked to Tracfone. If you were to pay someone to SIM unlock it, you may be able to use it with another company's prepaid service, but you wouldn't get any status information (like unused minutes, etc.) with it because that would require it to be configured for that service which you won't be able to do.
The 47 minutes are lost. Once they expire, they cannot be retrieved.
If I were you, I would just get a new phone and service from another carrier because it will cost you more to try to mess with what you have and it's not worth it, in my opinion. As an FYI, prepaid is always more expensive than post-paid (contract). Hope this helps. Thanks. Debin
