I just love your blog. I have the Samsung S390G. At the time I switched from the big box store; I did rethink the possibilities; saving me tons of money; but giving up my blackberry was very hard to do; but this little gem has been good to me except I can not get it set up for wifi! I have set up several devices so I know how to do it; but it just doesn't work! One thing is that my secure home network password is too long to fit in the available space & my spouse refuses to change our network password to accomodate and any other free hotspots it just will not work. No big deal other than using up my minutes I use my tablet for web browsing & such. Also all your codes work. I have 3 phones on the Tracfone Value Plans & 1 on their sister company Net10. Had to use Net10 because my daughters cell is an Iphone. I have found another company that will accomodate my old blackberry; but at this point why bother.
June 27, 2013 at 10:09 AM
Anonymous said...
From what I understand on ph models is the code "G" in the model number refers to ATT services, in my area ATT just is plain crappy, sometimes even 3 bars I get dropped calls, bad reception, or just plain no service even with 3 bars.
Do a top 1 or 3 or alternative such as model #'s with "C" in the name for Verizon as I have great coverage with Verizon in my area.
July 11, 2013 at 2:16 AM
Anonymous said...
I have the same question, same problem. I need a C phone, but i was told they were much more expensive, $400-500. I have an old Verizon that was my brother's (Obama phone) and it is deactivated. Can I get that activated with Tracfone or Net10? I have read on several forums that unless it is originally a Tracfone, you can't use an old CDMA phone with Tracfone, they are very proprietary. Even tried getting my LG unlocked, but cannot get an unlock key for it.
You can only use tracfone cell phones on tracfones network.
CDMA tracfone cell phones are not very expensive, less than $70 most places, you can read some of the other posts on this blog that cover information on CDMA tracfones.
I would just buy a new CDMA tracfone, and activate that.
August 5, 2013 at 5:19 PM
Anonymous said...
LG840g cannot connect to Ford SYNC. Bluetooth recognizes the phone, but will not connect. I have read at least 100 comments on this issue and no one seems to have an answer. Best concensus is that it is an issue with this particular phone. LG800g has no problem connecting.
August 24, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Anonymous said...
Would love to see you rate the Tracfone CDMA phones so all of us in the Verizon area could see which are the best tracfones for us. All the reviews so far are GSM phones. Thanks!
where do you find out if your in a CDMA area or GSM AREA?
September 17, 2013 at 8:45 AM
Anonymous said...
Here's a site where you can select Area and Carrier. What's nice is that you can select an area and then cycle through carriers to see which one best suits that area.
Hello. Just found your blog and it's very informative. I currently have a Tracfone T404G which I like very much. I'm considering an upgrade mainly because of the call quality, not so much the features. Does that matter from phone to phone or is that an issue with the signal? I don't want to buy a new phone if it's going to sound the same (sometimes warbles, echoes and sounds like I'm in a tunnel). Thanks for the advice.
March 15, 2014 at 9:57 AM
Anonymous said...
I agree, they should also break it down by carriers. No matter how good the phone is and many are "G" models, they don't work where I live, even 4 bars will drop calls or drop to 0 bars for no reason. I have to walk around my house looking for 4 bars to start a call and put it on speaker phone to make sure the bars remain at 4 by walking slowly around the house when it does start to drop, going outside it's the same although it takes longer for the calls to drop. Oh and I live in the Los Angeles Metro Area which shows great ATT Coverage so I don't know why it does this.
May 10, 2014 at 12:44 PM
Anonymous said...
I have had the LG Optimus Dynamic L 39C for a month. This is the best phone tracfone has ever offered. Comes with a 4GB sdcard. I put a 32GB in my phone with no troubles. Get the screen cover because it will scratch easy. This is by far the best phone in the tracfone fleet of cell phones.
June 16, 2014 at 7:48 PM
Anonymous said...
Tracfone now offering LG Ultimate II even better from the specs I see. (LG 41C)
October 30, 2014 at 10:34 AM
Anonymous said...
Is this LG 41C compatible with Ford Sync?
November 1, 2014 at 3:00 PM
What is the Best Value Tracfone Cell Phone?
It is a question many have asked, and many have pondered, so here at TracfoneReviewer, we will answer that question for you!
Tracfone offers low cost, budget cell phones and prepaid minutes so their phones tend to not have the most modern features and capabilities. But there are several phones from Tracfone that stand out, and are vying to get into our list.
We will be compiling this list based on several factors, including the cell phone's general popularity, useful features, and TracfoneReviewer's own special metrics.
This list contains the top 3 best value cell phones from Tracfone. You might also be interested in one of our previous posts, the Best Tracfone Cell Phones for Texting.
Please Note: This post covers the best value cell phones from Tracfone based on price and features. Tracfone recently released four new Android powered Smartphones that are pretty impressive with lots of great features. Visit our Cell Phone Reviews page to learn more about each of these phones.
Now, let's get into this list.
Top 3 Best Value Tracfone Cell Phones
This was a challenging list to compile, with several great options to choose from, and many features to compare. But in the end, we settled on the phones listed below, so let's begin with number three in the list:
#3 Best Value Tracfone Cell Phone - LG 530G
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LG 530G
Read our Review of the LG 530G
This phone comes in at #3 in our list for its great durability, long battery life, and other good features. A phone with full QWERTY keyboard, it makes for fast and easy texting. Add to that Triple Minutes for Life, MP3 player, 1.3mp camera and video recorder, and all the other common phone features, and you have a solid phone that will last.
The LG 530G typically retails for $50, but can be found on sale at various locations. We recently found this phone for less than $40 on Amazon[Image].
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Samsung S390G
The S390G reaches #2 in our top three list for some of the same reasons the LG 530G had, including a full QWERTY keyboard, good battery life and Triple Minutes for Life, but it is higher because of one great feature; WiFi capability. The Samsung S390G is capable of connecting to WiFi internet allowing the user to surf the web for free from the phone.
While this phone does come with lots of fantastic features, it is also important to note that a fair number of users have reported various quirks with this phone, including ghost calls to 911. So if you get a defective phone, be sure to return it for one in good working order.
The Samsung S390G goes for about $50 but again, it can usually be found for less. In fact, last we checked it was less than $25 on Amazon[Image]!
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White LG 840G
What gives the LG 840G the top spot in our list of the best Tracfone cell phones? Besides features like Triple Minutes for Life, WiFi capability and a 2MP Camera, this phone also comes with a 2GB MicroSD card, touchscreen, and 3G connectivity.
While touchscreens may not be for everyone, this phone is as close to a smartphone as you can get. The phone is relatively small and fits in your hand comfortably. It can connect to WiFi internet, or surf from the mobile browser at 3G speeds.
It is, by far, the most feature rich phone Tracfone offers, (besides the new Android powered smartphones) and the most popular, which is why it tops our list and is TracfoneReviewer's pick for the Best Value Tracfone Cell Phone.
You can find the LG 840G in most stores and online for around $60. But we found the phone for less than $40 on Amazon[Image]!
Honorable Mention - Samsung S425G
It is worth mentioning the Samsung S425G because it is also a great phone from Tracfone with lots of good features including 3G connectivity and a sliding QWERTY keyboard. The only reason this phone didn't crack our list is its lack of popularity and the fact that not everyone is interested in a slider style phone. You can learn more about this phone by reading our Full Review of the Samsung S425G.
We hope you found this list useful. Leave a comment with your questions, thoughts or top 3 picks!
Don't forget to check out our Tracfone Promo Codes page to find codes for free minutes the next time you add a prepaid card to your phone. And you can also read all our reviews by visiting our Cell Phone Reviews page.
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15 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formI just love your blog. I have the Samsung S390G. At the time I switched from the big box store; I did rethink the possibilities; saving me tons of money; but giving up my blackberry was very hard to do; but this little gem has been good to me except I can not get it set up for wifi! I have set up several devices so I know how to do it; but it just doesn't work! One thing is that my secure home network password is too long to fit in the available space & my spouse refuses to change our network password to accomodate and any other free hotspots it just will not work. No big deal other than using up my minutes I use my tablet for web browsing & such. Also all your codes work. I have 3 phones on the Tracfone Value Plans & 1 on their sister company Net10. Had to use Net10 because my daughters cell is an Iphone. I have found another company that will accomodate my old blackberry; but at this point why bother.
June 27, 2013 at 10:09 AM
From what I understand on ph models is the code "G" in the model number refers to ATT services, in my area ATT just is plain crappy, sometimes even 3 bars I get dropped calls, bad reception, or just plain no service even with 3 bars.
Do a top 1 or 3 or alternative such as model #'s with "C" in the name for Verizon as I have great coverage with Verizon in my area.
July 11, 2013 at 2:16 AM
I have the same question, same problem. I need a C phone, but i was told they were much more expensive, $400-500. I have an old Verizon that was my brother's (Obama phone) and it is deactivated. Can I get that activated with Tracfone or Net10? I have read on several forums that unless it is originally a Tracfone, you can't use an old CDMA phone with Tracfone, they are very proprietary. Even tried getting my LG unlocked, but cannot get an unlock key for it.
August 5, 2013 at 4:02 PM
models ending with 'C' use verizon.
August 5, 2013 at 5:17 PM
You can only use tracfone cell phones on tracfones network.
CDMA tracfone cell phones are not very expensive, less than $70 most places, you can read some of the other posts on this blog that cover information on CDMA tracfones.
I would just buy a new CDMA tracfone, and activate that.
August 5, 2013 at 5:19 PM
LG840g cannot connect to Ford SYNC. Bluetooth recognizes the phone, but will not connect. I have read at least 100 comments on this issue and no one seems to have an answer. Best concensus is that it is an issue with this particular phone. LG800g has no problem connecting.
August 24, 2013 at 9:25 PM
Would love to see you rate the Tracfone CDMA phones so all of us in the Verizon area could see which are the best tracfones for us. All the reviews so far are GSM phones. Thanks!
August 26, 2013 at 8:51 PM
Great Idea! Actually, we've done it! Here is the link:
http://tracfonereviewer.blogspot.com/2013/07/top-3-cdma-tracfone-cell-phones.html
And I've added it to the end of the article!
August 26, 2013 at 9:35 PM
where do you find out if your in a CDMA area or GSM AREA?
September 17, 2013 at 8:45 AM
Here's a site where you can select Area and Carrier. What's nice is that you can select an area and then cycle through carriers to see which one best suits that area.
http://www.sensorly.com/map/2G-3G/US/USA/Verizon/cdma_310verizon
October 20, 2013 at 3:12 PM
Hello. Just found your blog and it's very informative. I currently have a Tracfone T404G which I like very much. I'm considering an upgrade mainly because of the call quality, not so much the features. Does that matter from phone to phone or is that an issue with the signal? I don't want to buy a new phone if it's going to sound the same (sometimes warbles, echoes and sounds like I'm in a tunnel). Thanks for the advice.
March 15, 2014 at 9:57 AM
I agree, they should also break it down by carriers. No matter how good the phone is and many are "G" models, they don't work where I live, even 4 bars will drop calls or drop to 0 bars for no reason. I have to walk around my house looking for 4 bars to start a call and put it on speaker phone to make sure the bars remain at 4 by walking slowly around the house when it does start to drop, going outside it's the same although it takes longer for the calls to drop. Oh and I live in the Los Angeles Metro Area which shows great ATT Coverage so I don't know why it does this.
May 10, 2014 at 12:44 PM
I have had the LG Optimus Dynamic L 39C for a month. This is the best phone tracfone has ever offered. Comes with a 4GB sdcard. I put a 32GB in my phone with no troubles. Get the screen cover because it will scratch easy. This is by far the best phone in the tracfone fleet of cell phones.
June 16, 2014 at 7:48 PM
Tracfone now offering LG Ultimate II even better from the specs I see. (LG 41C)
October 30, 2014 at 10:34 AM
Is this LG 41C compatible with Ford Sync?
November 1, 2014 at 3:00 PM