Monthly Archives: August 2009

TracFone Support Follow-up

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Last week I wrote a post about getting on the fast track to customer support by calling a special direct number to get straight to the most empowered support people. As I wrote that post, I recalled a helpful comment from a TracFone employee on a previous post of this blog.

The TracFone employee, Elston, graciously offered his assistance with any technical or other support problems from readers of this blog. Further, he provided a direct extension that will ring straight to his desk – no waiting through voice prompts or hold music!

I was about to include his info in my original post last week, but then paused and thought that maybe he didn’t want that information floating out on the web for the whole world to see – his phone might never stop ringing. So I contacted him first and asked permission to post his info publicly. Thankfully, he agreed. Here’s what he had to say:

“…my name is Elston and I am a Tracfone employee and I am here to assist anyone that is having a problem with their phones. You can contact me  by email – elombillo[at] tracfone [dot] com [editor's note 9/3/09: per Elston's request, I have removed his phone number as he indicated email is more efficient for him in solving our support problems]… I would be more than happy to assist any and all TracFone, Net10, StraightTalk and SafeLink customers that need my assistance.” He then went on to add that if he is unavailable, the number I gave out last week (1-800-876-5753) will reach the Executive Resolution Department, which is open Monday – Friday from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM EST.

I hope this info is helpful to you in the future. I’d also like to ask you, if you do work with Elston, to thank him for being so generous with his time. I’m sure it’s not in his job description to reach out to people like us, especially putting himself directly “in the line of fire” by offering to deal with people that are having problems with their phones. In this day and age, that’s a refreshing ethic from the employee of a big corporation.

Without having worked with him on a support issue yet, I think it’s safe to say that Elston is an excellent representative of the American Movil family of brands, and I thank him for that.

Bad Email Feed

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I’d like to apologize to those of you that receive my news posts by email. It sems that the my last post was very ugly in the emails. I’m not sure why it happened, but I’ll look into it. For now, the easiest way that I know to correct it is to simply send another link back to the original article.

Here it is: TracFone Quick Tips

For future reference, any email with a blog post in it should have a link to the original article, which is posted on my wordpress blog. For example, at the top of this email (for those of you reading it in your email inbox), the title of the post is “Bad Email Feed.” If you click on that title, it should open up this same article, on my blog page. This is the same link you can use to read and/or post comments on each post.

Again, I apologize for the unreadable email last time around. I hope it was a one-time glitch in the system, but I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Thanks for understanding, and have a great weekend!

A series of Quick Tips

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A series of TracFone Quick Tips:
Need Support? Deal with the best tech support.
TracFone has their regular 800 number that we all know – 800-867-7183. Call this number with anything other than the most basic of requests and you’ll get the usual “Please hold while I speak with my supervisor.”
However, they also have a special department called “Executive Resolutions” that you can call to cut through the underlings and get straight to the people that have have the power to help you quickly. The next time you need tech support, try this number:__________________________________________________________________________
Please, though, don’t abuse this line. As far as I know, it’s still a relatively well-kept secret, and I fear if it receives high call volume that TracFone will simply route it in with the main support line.
Problems on TracFone or Net10 website? Try a different browser.
I recently completed a transfer of one of my favorite personal phone numbers from a damaged phone to the LG 600g I got in the bundle deal a few weeks ago. The first several times I attempted the transfer, I received error messages. I quickly became frustrated before I remembered an old tip.
It seems that sometimes, for reasons I don’t fully understand, certain operations on TracFone’s site will work in some browsers but not others. In my case, I was having trouble in my Firefox browser. When I closed Firefox and tried Internet Explorer, the transfer went through on the first attempt. I also noted another comment on this blog where a Mac user had trouble with his Safari browser, but was able to use the TracFone site just fine using Firefox.
It appears that there are different combinations of operating systems/browser that might work, so the bottom line is this: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again (using a different browser).
Also, on a somewhat related note, if you’ve never tried some of the alternative browsers like Firefox or Google’s Chrome, give them a look. They’re both free and many people like them better than Microsoft’s products. It’s beyond the scope of this blog, but if you’ve never tried anything other than your system’s default browser, do a quick internet search for alternatives. You just might find on that works better for you.
Checking voice mail from a landline.
This is another tip from the “oldy but goody” category. All TracFone lines that have voice mail set up also allow users the ability to check voice mail via a different phone line, for example a landline. To get your voice mail, call your own TracFone number from the line with free calls. If your TracFone is switched on, just press the red “end” key to reject the call. Now, on your free line, you will hear your own voice mail greeting. At this point, you will need to press a key to end the greeting and get to the “gate” of the voice mail system. This key varies based on the carrier you are working with. If you have an AT&T-based TracFone, it is the * key. For Verizon, you’ll need to press the # key. For any other carriers, you’ll need to experiment to find out which key works, but “#” and “*” are a good place to start.
Once you’ve pressed the right key to get to the “gate,” you’ll need to enter your 4-digit pin code that was set up at the same time you intially set up your voice mail. From there, everything works the same as if you were calling from your TracFone, except it won’t cost you your TracFone minutes.

For this post, I decided to assemble some old tips that I may have shared before in the comments section, but I don’t think I”ve ever actually included them in a post. I’m doing so now, to make sure that everyone gets the benefit of this info, regardless of whether you read the comments. Here goes:

Need someone to talk to? Deal with the best tech support.

TracFone has their regular 800 number that we all know – 800-867-7183. Call this number with anything other than the most basic of requests and you’ll get the usual “Please hold while I speak with my supervisor.”

However, they also have a special department called “Executive Resolutions” that you can call to cut through the underlings and get straight to the people that have have the power to help you quickly. The next time you need tech support, try this number: 1-800-876-5753. This is a regular line that SHOULD go straight to a real, live person.

Please, though, don’t abuse this line. As far as I know, it’s still a relatively well-kept secret, and I fear if it receives high call volume that TracFone will simply route it in with the main support line.

Also, I should point out that I don’t know whether this will work for Net10 users, but it’s worth a try.

Problems on TracFone or Net10 website? Try a different browser.

I recently completed a transfer of one of my favorite personal phone numbers from a damaged phone to the LG 600g I got in the bundle deal a few weeks ago. The first several times I attempted the transfer, I received error messages. I quickly became frustrated before I remembered an old tip.

It seems that sometimes, for reasons I don’t fully understand, certain operations on TracFone’s or Net10′s site will work in some browsers but not others. In my case, I was having trouble in my Firefox browser. When I closed Firefox and tried Internet Explorer, the transfer went through on the first attempt. I also noted another comment on this blog where a Mac user had trouble with his Safari browser, but was able to use the TracFone site just fine using Firefox.

It appears that there are different combinations of operating systems/browser that might work, so the bottom line is this: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again (using a different browser).

Also, on a somewhat related note, if you’ve never tried some of the alternative browsers like Firefox or Google’s Chrome, give them a look. They’re both free and many people like them better than Microsoft’s products. It’s beyond the scope of this blog, but if you’ve never tried anything other than your system’s default browser, do a quick internet search for alternatives. You just might find one that works better for you.

Checking voice mail from a landline

This is another tip from the “oldy but goody” category. All TracFone and Net10 lines that have voice mail set up also allow users the ability to check voice mail via a different phone line, for example a landline. To get your voice mail, call your own TracFone number from the line with free calls. If your TracFone is switched on, just press the red “end” key to reject the call. Now, on your free line, you will hear your own voice mail greeting. At this point, you will need to press a key to end the greeting and get to the “gate” of the voice mail system. This key varies based on the carrier you are working with. If you have an AT&T-based TracFone, it is the * key. For Verizon, you’ll need to press the # key. For any other carriers, you’ll need to experiment to find out which key works, but “#” and “*” are a good place to start.

Once you’ve pressed the right key to get to the “gate,” you’ll need to enter your 4-digit pin code that was set up at the same time you intially set up your voice mail. From there, everything works the same as if you were calling from your TracFone, except it won’t cost you your TracFone minutes.

More TracFone and Net10 SIM Card Info

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[Note: This info is a follow-up to my previous post about SIM cards. As with the previous article, this information applies equally to TracFone and Net10 users. However, to make for easier reading, I'll be referring only to "TracFone." If you're a Net10 user, just replace the word "TracFone" with "Net10."]


What type of SIM card is in your phone?

If you have a TracFone with a SIM card, you might want to know what type of SIM card it is. I think I’ve posted this before in the comments section, but I don’t believe I’ve ever made it part of an actual post. There are two ways to determine the type of SIM in your phone. The easier way for most people is to go to your phone’s “Prepaid” menu, and scroll down to “SIM Number” or “SIM Serial Number,” and select “OK.” You should see a 20-digit number starting with the numbers “890.” This is your SIM Serial Number.

Alternatively, you could also turn off your phone, remove the battery to access the SIM card, and read the SIM serial number off the card itself. Either way, you’ll be interested in the first six digits of the number. All TracFone and Net10 phones have SIM cards beginning with 890. The next three digits determine your carrier. If you have 890141, then you have an AT&T SIM card. If you see 890126, then it’s T-Mobile.

If you have a T-Mobile SIM Card and haven’t had any problems, don’t worry about it. If, however, you’ve had problems with data services, or had trouble getting a signal where you knew AT&T users had good service, you might want to consider switching to an AT&T SIM.

Replacing your current TracFone or Net10 SIM

Switching SIMs is something that TracFone or Net10 can do for you easily (and at no charge to you), though they would prefer not to if they can help it. I’d also like to reiterate that if your phone works to your satisfaction at the moment, there is no need to switch SIMs. It can be a nuisance to complete the switch, as you’ll see below.

To get the process started, you’ll need to call customer service and select the options that allow you to report a technical difficulty. When you are able to speak with a representative, tell them that your phone coverage is unacceptable, and your friend with an AT&T-based TracFone has much better coverage than you. Tell them that you would like to be switched to an AT&T SIM. At this point, they may resist, but you’ll need to be insistent that your current coverage is unacceptable. If all else fails, you could threaten to leave TracFone.

Once they agree to send you a new SIM card, the process has begun in TracFone’s system. AT this point, it would be wise to request a “ticket number” from them so that when you receive the replacement, their system will know what to do with your phone. TracFone will send you a new SIM card in just a few days. Once you receive the replacement SIM, you’ll have to call customer service again and have them walk you through the steps to activate the new SIM. Keep in mind that before you switch SIMs, you will want to make sure that any phone book entries that had been saved to your old SIM are switched to your phone’s internal memory.

Getting your preferred SIM card in a new TracFone or Net10 phone

As I said, switching SIM cards after you’ve activated a phone can be a big nuisance. To save this trouble, you can make sure before buying a new phone that you’ll get the SIM card you prefer. You might even prefer to replace your phone altogether rather than just getting a new SIM. Here’s how to do that:

If you order online from TracFone’s site, they will ask you to enter the ZIP code where you will use the phone the most. Try it now for yourself: Click on one of the links below to get to the order page:
TracFone’s phone order page
Net10′s phone order page

Enter your own ZIP, confirm it, and wait for the next page to load. Now, here’s the critical part. Look in your browser’s address bar for a string of text that looks like this: “action=view&market=” The string of characters that follows the “market=” determines the type of phone TracFone wants to sell in your area, as follows:
“CO” is for CDMA coverage, provided by VErizon
“GSM4″ or “COGSM4″ – Any GSM phones offered in this area will include an AT&T SIM Card
“GSM5″ or “COGSM5″ – Any GSM phones offered in this area will include a T-Mobile SIM Card
“GSM5AT” – GSM phones could be AT&T or T-Mobile, but probably T-Mobile

The above codes explain what type of SIM card to expect from TracFone. If you know what type of SIM you want to receive, but your own ZIP gives you the wrong kind, you can also trick the system by using a different ZIP code. Use 24874 or 65046 to get an AT&T SIM, 82001 to get a T-Mobile SIM, or 57401 to get CDMA-only offerings. If you do this, you will need to enter the “trick” zip on the first page, and then when you are ready to check out you will need to make sure you shipping ZIP gets changed to your actual home ZIP code, and confirm that you understand you have used two different ZIPs in the ordering process.

That explains how to get your preferred SIM card type from TracFone’s website. If you are buying from another site or store, your experience may vary. As far as I know, all phones currently sold on Walmart’s web site are GSM phones and include At&t sim cards. I think that Amazon uses TracFone’s own system to determine SIM type. And if you buy from eBay, you should confirm the SIM type with the seller.

If you are buying in a store, the process is more straightforward, but could lead to more frustration. The SIM card included in these packages will depend upon the area in which they are sold, and will usually correspond to TracFone’s site offerings for that ZIP code. To figure it out in the store, look on the bottom of the phone package for the model number surrounded by a few other characters. For example, the LG600g would look something like this: TF600GP4. The last two digits are what we’re interested in. If they’re “P4,” the package contains an AT&T SIM card. If it’s “P5,” you’re looking at a T-Mobile-based phone.

I hope this info helps save some frustration for TracFone and Net10 customers in the future. As usual, if you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear them. Please reply in the comments section. Thanks!

TracFone and Net10 SIM Card Info

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Lately Ive been receiving a lot of questions and comments on the issue of AT&T vs. T-Mobile SIM cards. So I decided to write up a little info on this issue to hopefully help clear things up a little.

[Note: This information applies equally to TracFone and Net10 users. However, to make for easier reading, I'll be referring only to "TracFone." If you're a Net10 user, just replace the word "TracFone" with "Net10."]

For those of you who don’t know, TracFone don’t own any networks – they just contract with the network owners, or “carriers,” to use the networks. There are three main carriers that TracFone works with: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon (who now also owns the former Alltel network). The former two carriers operate “GSM” networks, while Verizon’s network uses the “CDMA” standard. For more information on these two technologies, check out my old TracFone CDMA vs. GSM article here.

Here’s a simplified view of how the GSM phones work on TracFone: The GSM carriers require that each phone use a “SIM Card.” In the case of TracFone GSM phones, you will get a SIM card that is native to either the AT&T or the T-Mobile network. The type of SIM card determines which network your particular phone will give preference too, in case both networks are available.

For example, if you have a T-Mobile SIM in your phone and you’re in an area where both AT&T and T-Mobile networks are available, your phone will use the T-Mobile network. If you travel into an area with only AT&T coverage, you should be able to use the AT&T network. However, this is where things get a little murky for TracFone users.

Throughout the comments on this blog and on other forums around the web, TracFone users with T-Mobile sim cards in their phones have reported subpar or even unacceptable roaming ability. As far as I can tell, these problems seem to arise when a phone with a T-Mobile SIM is in an area with a strong AT&T signal, but weak T-Mobile coverage. Since the T-Mobile SIM tells the phone to give preference to the T-Mobile network, that’s the network you’ll be forced to use – even though the AT&T signal is stronger.

This issue is compounded by the problem that AT&T has a more comprehensive network, so it’s a fairly common problem to use an inferior T-Mobile signal when AT&T would be a better option. Further, users with T-Mobile SIM cards have also reported problems with the data capabilities of their phones, having trouble sending MMS messages and using the mobile web.

Add all these factors together, and the result is that for many (but not all) TracFone users with T-Mobile SIM cards, an AT&T SIM would actually provide better service. On Friday I’ll follow up with another article on this topic, discussing how to tell what type of SIM card is in your phone, whether you should replace your SIM card, and how to make sure you get the SIM card you want when buying a new phone.

TracFone Promotional Codes Updated Today

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For the current database, click on this TracFone Promotional Codes link.

I updated the list of codes on August 13, and made a few changes. There were some codes that I had to remove from the list, and I added several others, as follows:

  • 79570 for 30 bonus minutes on a 60-minute card
  • 88063 for 30 bonus minutes on a 60-minute card
  • 71066 for 30 bonus minutes on a 60-minute card
  • 28625 for 40 bonus minutes on a 120-minute card
  • 41158 for 50 bonus minutes on a 200-minute card
  • 72275 for 50 bonus minutes on a 450-minute card
  • 85661 for 50 bonus minutes on a 450-minute card
  • 66298 for 250 bonus minutes on a 400-minute, one-year card

All of these codes are now in the database, in bold to indicate that they are recent additions.

Additionally, I’ve seen a couple reports around the web of people getting 350, not 250, bonus minutes when using code 84023 on a 400-minute, one-year card. If you’re adding a one-year card soon, you may want to try that code before any others to see if you’re lucky as well.

Finally, I hope you’ll forgive me as the bonus code list has gotten a little cluttered again with expired codes mixed in with the valid ones. I’ll do my best to get it cleaned up soon, but it won’t be for at least a few days. So, please bear with me.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Another Phone Deal – Samsung T301g

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I just heard of yet another TracFone handset deal. It seems Amazon is listing the T301g at $14.99 – a GREAT deal compared to the $49.99 regular price. There is a caveat, though – it is listed as shipping in 1-2 months. If you want to take a chance on it, though, here’s a link to the item on Amazon’s site.

If you click on that link, you’ll notice right away that the price shows up as $49.99. But if you look to the right side of the screen you’ll see the price as $14.99 with a button to “select this phone.” Click on that button and add it to your cart.

[Edit 8/12/2009 - this item now appears to be unavailable from Amazon, although you may want to check again periodically to see if it comes back in stock at that price. I sincerely apologize to those of you who receive updates via email - this info likely has not reached you soon enough due to an error on my part in the scheduling of the email updates for yesterday. The one-day delay in the email caused by my error may have caused you to miss out on the deal. I hope I can make it up to you by posting future deals.]

Just a couple of notes here:

  1. I have not ordered this phone myself.
  2. All T301g phones have DMFL, so don’t worry about that, even if the description doesn’t say so.
  3. The site states that it will ship in 1-2 months. I have a friend who told me that line disappears if you keep refreshing or begin the order process, but I don’t know for sure. On the other hand, if you wanted this as a Christmas gift for someone, you’d have some time to wait anyway, so in that case you wouldn’t mind if it didn’t ship out for a while.
  4. This phone, at this price, will be in high demand. I don’t know if Amazon will be able to fulfill all these orders. So if you want to grab one, jump on it fast.
  5. On all their TracFone item pages, Amazon states something about “only with a new service plan” and “only with a compatible service plan.” Don’t worry about this – as you know, TracFone doesn’t have any “plans,” and Amazon just puts that language on ALL phones pages because they offer lower prices for most post-paid phones when the customer signs up for a new plan. But for us prepaid users, that language doesn’t apply.

Well, I hope this is helpful to you. Before I go, here’s a screen shot of the item page, with the $14.99 price highlighted on the right:

T301g from Amazon
T301g from Amazon

I just heard of yet another TracFone handset deal. It seems Amazon is listing the T301g at $14.99 – a GREAT deal compared to the $49.99 regular price. There is a caveat, though – it is listed as shipping in 1-2 months. If you want to take a chance on it, though, here’s a link to the item on Amazon’s site.

If you click on that link, you’ll notice right away that the price shows up as $49.99. But if you look to the right side of the screen you’ll see the price as $14.99 with a button to “select this phone.” Click on that button and add it to your cart.

Just a couple of dislaimers here:
1. I have not ordered this phone myself.
2. The site states that it will ship in 1-2 months. I have a friend who told me that line disappears if you keep refreshing or begin the order process, but I don’t know for sure. On the other hand, if you wanted this as a Christmas gift for someone, you’d have some time to wait anyway, so in that case you wouldn’t mind if it didn’t ship out for a while.
3. This phone, at this price, will be in high demand. I don’t know if Amazon will be able to fulfill all these orders. So if you want to grab one, jump on it fast.
4. On all their TracFone item pages, Amazon states something about “only with a new service plan” and “only with a compatible service plan.” Don’t worry about this – as you know, TracFone doesn’t have any “plans,” and Amazon just puts that language on ALL phones pages because they offer lower prices for most post-paid phones when the customer signs up for a new plan. But for us prepaid users, that language doesn’t apply.

Well, I hope that’s helpful to you. Before I go, here’s a screen shot of the item page, with the $14.99 price highlighted on the right:

LG 3280, Motorola w376g now free with 60-minute Cards

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On Friday I posted about the free LG 600g when you buy a 60-minute card, and a lot of people responded to that. That deal appears to be sold out, at least temporarily.

However, two more deals were added to the mix over the weekend, and you can still use promotion code 23444 at checkout to get a $3 discount. These phones might make nice gifts for someone starting out with TracFone, a nice upgrade to your current phone, or good backup phones to have on hand.

The Motorola w376g is once again back on the site in many zip codes as a free refurbished phone with a 60-minute card. It also includes Double Minutes for Life, making it especially valuable. To find it, click here to get to TracFone’s phone order page, enter your zip code and look for the following picture:

Motorola w376g package deal

Motorola w376g package deal

If you activate the w376g via the web, you’ll get 20 free minutes. Then add the 60-minute card to the w376g, which has Double Minutes for Life, and use Promotional Code 14938 when you add the minutes, you’ll get 200 minutes total for just over $17 (when you figure in sales tax).

The LG 3280 is also back as a freebie with a 60-minute card, but this bundle is offered in fewer ZIP codes. It is a good upgrade to older models like the Nokia 5180, Nokia 1221, or Kyocera k126c, so it is a fairly desirable model. If you are looking for it but can’t find it in your zip code, you could also try zip 54747. That will bring up the phone so you can add it to your cart, then just select “ok” later in the ordering process when it asks if you really want to override the zip code for shipping purposes. Once again, click here to get to TracFone’s phone order page, enter your zip code and look for the following picture:

LG 3280 Package Deal
LG 3280 Package Deal

Finally, I have had a few questions about the free shipping. I ordered a 600g phone myself, and received the free shipping despite also using the $3 promotion code. The shipping discount shows up on the second-to-last page of the order process, after you’ve submitted your billing info but before you click the final “submit order” button.

I’ve also had a few questions about the promo code itself. On the shopping cart page, there’s a small box in the middle left portion of the screen. Enter the code and don’t forget to click “submit” after entering the code, or the discount won’t be applied.

Hope that clears up any confusion, and I wish you happy online shopping!

TracFone LG 600g now free with 60-minute card

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It’s been a while since we’ve seen an appealing bundle deal show up on TracFone’s site, but they just recently put up a new package offering the LG 600g (refurbished) for free when you buy a 60-minute card at regular price. And, bonus code 23444 is still working for $3 off any order, bringing your total to $16.99. Further, you can still get free FedEx three-day shipping on this order. So the total will be $16.99 plus tax, and it will be shipped to your door.

Click here to see if it’s available in your area.

Here’s the image you’ll be looking for:

LG 600g Bundle ListingLG 600g Bundle Listing

A little refresher on the features of the 600g: it includes Double Minutes for Life, and has FULL bluetooth (meaning you can transfer files such as pictures and ringtones to a computer or other bluetooth device), a VGA camera,  hands-free speaker phone, T9 predictive text, voice recorder, and external display including a clock, among other features.

In my LG 600g review, I noted that the sound quality was good, but not great, falling a little short of the w376g in that area. However, this LG model also does an excellent job of picking up weak signals, in my experience, so that’s a big positive as well.

Overall, if you are looking to upgrade your current phone to one that has bluetooth or DMFL, this is a solid option. And really, at this price, you can’t go wrong.

On the other hand, I’ve also been speculating for a while now that TracFone will be offering yet another brand new model sometime this fall. Perhaps the price reduction on the 600g is another sign that such a development is in the works. If you’re looking for the latest and greatest, you’ll probably want to wait a little longer – or buy this bundle and use the 600g temporarily until the next model is released.

Also, I know last time I disappointed a few people when I posted about the w376g going back up on the site as a freebie in a bundle, only to have that bundle disappear before most people even got to read the post. So this time, I encourage you to act fast if you are interested in this deal. I have no way of knowing how long it will be available.

Finally, many thanks again to my knowledgeable friend Jim, who alerted me to a new deal on TracFone’s site. Thanks Jim!

Save Minutes by Skipping Voice Mail Greetings

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Here’s a quick minute-saving tip I picked up from a podcast called Get it done guy. The host, Stever Robbins, pointed out that sometimes valuable time can be lost as you wait for a voice mail greeting to play all the way through before leaving a message.

He also went on to explain that for each carrier, there are certain keys that callers can use to bypass the greeting and get straight to the “beep” that allows the caller to leave a message. I thought that this would be especially helpful to minute-conscious prepaid customers, so I thought I’d pass along the info.

Most of these shortcuts should work as soon as the voice mail announcement begins playing. In some cases, it will be the generic announcement from the carrier, such as “You’ve reached the Sprint voice mail box of Jane Smith.” Other times, it will be a personalized message from the owner of the number. Either way, you should be able to press the shortcut key early on in the message, cutting short the greeting and skipping straight to the part where you can leave your message.

Here are the shortcut codes for a few of the major carriers:

AT&T: 7

Verizon: *

T-Mobile: #

Sprint: 1

It’s also worth mentioning that these shortcuts should also work for prepaid accounts that use these major networks. For instance, most TracFone and Net10 users will be using AT&T or Verizon’s network, while some others will be on T-Mobile. Try out the shortcut that applies to the underlying carrier, and you’ll likely be able to skip the greeting for prepaid users as well.

If you are trying everything you can to save your minutes, or if you’re just impatient (like me!), these tips might help you cut to the chase and take care of business more quickly and save your minutes. If you try out some of these shortcuts yourself, or if you know of any other tips like this, please share them in the comments section. Thanks!