Tracfone Alcatel TCL A3 32GB Black Prepaid

This is the nicest phone I've had in a long time, and the best thing is that I own it and never have to pay a phone bill. I get 500 minutes, 1,000 texts, and 500MB of data for $17. I never use data because I have my own Wi-Fi. Tracfone works with all three major carriers, including T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T. (Sprint merged with T-mobile in 2020). So I get all of the benefits of a $900 phone without the costs, and I still get all of the functionality. The phone has a quick processor and a bright, crisp screen. Speaker has a good loudness. This phone performs all of the functions of my Samsung S model at a fraction of the cost. I agree with others that this is the cheapest Android phone that is largely usable and functional these days—the end of micro USB and 4LTE I get a lot of value, yet I have some reservations. In battery conservation mode, the phone stays charged for five days. After the recent RF band shutdowns, it continues to function, which many older phones are unable to do. Does a good job with the fundamentals. This isn't 5G. The screen is smaller.

I purchased the phone for my kid, who was in desperate need of one. Because the sim card was not properly placed when I received the phone, I had trouble transferring my existing number to it. I was finally able to activate the phone after a few hours of working with assistance. I added minutes or a plan to my phone two weeks later. My phone wouldn't make any calls or send any messages except to support after I added the plan. Because my phone was no longer functional, I contacted and connected with assistance several times over the course of 48 hours. I was put on hold, laughed at, told to wait almost 24 hours for the plane to arrive, and so on. I would not have bought it if I had known how much trouble it would be. I'm contemplating whether I should return it now or wait until next month when I try to add another plan. Is it going to be another 48 hours without a phone and countless hours spent dealing with a bad customer service team? I can't tell you how many times support told me they didn't have the tools they needed to fix my issue. Don't make any assumptions regarding the phone; ask them about every feature you use, no matter how simple or clear it may seem. If they knew that before ordering, I'm confident that most, if not all, would not get that phone.