3G To 5G Transfer?

[CHuDWah]

Since the telecomm giants are forcing me to change from 3G to 5G, I’m trying to transfer service from my beloved Alcatel A205G to a new Orbic Journey V. The old phone currently has 442.22 minutes, 276 service days, and DMFL (Double Minutes For Life). Of course, I expect all that to be transferred. As instructed, I texted ONESTEP to 611611 from the old phone, but no joy. Apparently online chat is no longer available. I refuse to waste hours waiting on hold for phone support or trying to text on tiny little buttons with my big clumsy fingers. So how are you guys going to fix this?

[TracFone - Maria]

Hi CHuDWah. I'm TracFone Maria. We understand where you're coming from. Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience we have caused you. We'll do our best to help you. To further assist, you may check your Forum inbox for a private message. Thank you.

[EarlSeaforth]

Hello,
I am in the same predicament except I lost almost 5000 minutes. Was this issue resolved for you.

Thanks

[Jude]

Hi EarlSeaforth. My name is TracFone Jude. We apologize for the trouble this has caused you. To further assist you, please check your forum inbox for a message. Click on "New Messages" beside User Control Panel to view your forum inbox. You may also text the key word HELP to 611611 to view our self-service menu with a list of help key words with valuable information. Thank you.

[EarlSeaforth]

I have been trying to contact tracfone by chat, phone but keep getting a message that the transfer is in progress then I get disconnected.
What all started this is that i was told my 3g phone will no longer work and I need to upgrade to a smart phone or a flip phone with voLTE capability. I did so and found out that I needed to activate the phone on Verizon, which I did. Now I am with Verizon with a $39 per month charge and lost the 4885 minutes and 408 days that I had on my old LG phone. All I want now it to go back to my old phone and have the minutes and days returned. This phone actually belongs to my 83 yr old mother who was a loyal customer for over 15 years now I have to tell her that my actions caused her to loose all her existing service. Tracfone has not been very forthcoming with information about the acquisition by Verizon and how it will affect it's 21 million customers. Tracfone has been a decent wireless provider in the past but seems to be dropping the ball lately.

[jimr451]

Hi,

Same problem here - old phone has "No service", so texting doesn't work. Tried from new phone, but that's not working either. How do I get the number ported to the new phone?

[jimr451]

Update on this - I had success with the 'chat' function on tracfone's site.

I had to verify the account via email, since the old phone didn't work anymore, but otherwise, was able to get the new phone activated eventually.

-Jim

[TracFone - Maria]

Hi jimr451. I'm TracFone Maria. We apologize for the trouble that you'vr encountered. On the other hand, we're glad to hear that your phone has been activated. Should you need assistance, you may check your Foum inbox for a message. Thank you.

[TracFone - Maria]

Hi EarlSeaforth. I'm TracFone Maria. Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience that you have experienced. Let's go over all the details and options together and see what we can do to resolve this issue. Please check your Forum inbox for a message. Click on "New Messages" beside User Control Panel to view your Forum inbox. You can use our self-service menu by simply texting the word HELP to 611611. Thank you.

[CHuDWah]

Hello,
I am in the same predicament except I lost almost 5000 minutes. Was this issue resolved for you.

Thanks

Well, after three days, six PMs, two call-backs, four different service reps, and spending three hours today (mostly on hold and/or waiting for the transfer to process), I finally have a working phone...I think! I can make and receive calls and my account says my minutes and service days got transferred. I haven't bought any new minutes so I don't know if I got my Double Minutes For Life back. The new phone's reliability, battery life, etc remains to be seen but it definitely takes longer to boot-up and to connect a call.

I keep the phone in my vehicle and use it only for things like calling Walmart for curb grocery pickup and potential emergencies. My 3G was fine for that but it was not to be. I don't need or want all the smartphone bells and whistles, which is why I got a 4G flip-phone. Setting up such a simple device should not have been the ordeal it was. I have been a TracFone customer for years. Customer service has always been mediocre but I usually had success with chat and didn't have to waste much time doing so. Since the Verizon takeover, service has gone to hell and I can find no way to even connect with chat. So I had to do this setup by phone with reps for whom English is a second language. No, I'm not xenophobic but I know only one language and I'm a little hard-of-hearing. So I have trouble understanding non-native speakers, especially over a less than perfect phone connection. Heck, I sometimes even have trouble with regional US dialects. Bottom line, if I didn't already have hundreds of minutes and service days, I would have chucked this POS and gotten a Jitterbug.