Posted January 12, 2018 (edited) Well, the old hobby phone just wasn't cutting it any more - it was so old I had to keep my texts under 160 characters (remember that?), but worse, recently it kept chopping off the text messages from the ladies after just a few characters, which eventually led to quite a few awkward issues. It also wasn't a smart phone, so I couldn't look at TOB, P411, Gmail, etc. Decided that I had gotten my $19.95 worth of use out of it over the past six years, so I went to King Soopers and got me a new $29.95 TracPhone hobby smart phone, you can get the same one at Safeway, WalMart, etc. It appears to be the main TracPhone these days. This review of that phone is for those guys who are wondering how to keep their communications discrete. Newbies read on, vets may want to stop now. Now that I think about it, this would work just as well for the ladies too. I have to tell you - it works great! I got a $25 card that gives me 60 days, 300 minutes of talk, 1000 texts, and one GIG of data - $12.50 per month - such a deal! You can get TracPhone cards just about anywhere to renew your subscription. If you pay cash for the phone and the cards, there is no way to connect the phone to you. You do not need to provide any personal data or a credit card and no contract is required. It runs Android Marshmallow (6.1) and is a bit slow, but not bad - about the same speed as my now-slowed iPhone 6. The learning curve if you don't know the Android system is a bit of a challenge for this analog guy trapped in a digital age, but I picked it up pretty easy. If you already know Android, you will be off to the races instantly. The texts come through just fine - no chopping, emails look swell (I can even attach photos), and I even uploaded my portfolio of the pictures I have taken of the ladies over the years - it has a display as big and as good as my iPhone 6, and is about the same size. A few tips for newbies that apply to all burner phones - Never, and I mean never, let real life communicate with this phone (i.e., never call a real life number from this phone, never call this phone from a real life number - remember, records of phone calls are preserved by the carriers and subject to search warrants). You can activate it online, so go to the public library and activate it there. It will give you a new phone number, or you can move your old number over to the new phone (and any unused minutes will follow). Set up a unique e-mail account that you can check right there on the phone, and you can put in all the apps, widgets, etc., your little pea-pickin' heart desires. I am as happy as a puppy with two peckers! This little phone does it all - I'm moving my "Romantic Interlude Playlist" into the "Music" app, so that if a young lady has no tunes, I can set the mood (heavy on Billie Holiday, Sade, and, right about 35 minutes in - some pretty hard-driving rock) - the sound isn't bad, and it bluetooths nicely into a speaker if she has one. It has a pretty good camera (5mp), and a pretty good video system built in, so maybe I will finally get to film that porno video starring BadBoy I have been wanting to make, but have not been willing to carry around on the real world phone (with consent of the lady, of course). Coverage is good in town, it connects to WiFi to preserve your GIG of data, and I'm absolutely amazed at what you get for $29.95. Downsides (this is a review after all): Battery life is average, better than my iPhone, but not great. Not a lot of built-in memory (8 GIGS), but it takes a microSD card, so I added another 32 GIGS for $19.00 and can now upload photos, tunes and movies to my heart's content. FYI, it is a ZTE "MAJESTY PRO." Yep, it is from that well know manufacturer, ZTE (sarcasm font on), but seems really well built. That's it, that's all I know, don't PM for any additional information. Hope someone finds this helpful. Edited January 12, 2018 by BadBoy 26 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2018 For a burner phone, the 8GB storage and 1GB data should be plenty. My real phone, since wifi is everywhere these days, I went through 1.3GB data last month, on pace for less this month. So working on assumption only using for hobby, not downloading tons of stuff on cellular network. And since hobby phone, don't want to download Facebook, LinkedIn, etc that will track you and tie things together for you, don't need the main storage for apps, family photos, lots of music. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) Ha, ha, ha, you guys crack me up. How you gonna explain to your wife your second phone? Edited January 13, 2018 by 2Big 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 19, 2018 Well, 2B, that was funny. It is also the reason that the hobby phone is banned from the house - never goes inside, not in a pocket, not in a briefcase, not in a gymbag, never - this is an iron-clad rule. It lives in its hidey-hole in my office until needed, then it comes out just long enough to be of use, and goes back to the hidey hole. The only other place it is permitted to be is in my pocket on the way to an appointment or while booking an appointment (not at home!!!) Also, the ringer is always set to silence, even in it's hidey hole or in my pocket on the way to the appointment. Firm rule (see video above). BTW, a couple of weeks later the little wonder is doing great - wish I had gotten a smart hobby phone sooner. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2018 Burner phones can be traced back to a Wi-Fi connection so be very selective about who's Wi-Fi you use. I don't use Wi-Fi at all with mine. Do not be tempted to buy minutes/refills with anything other than cash. Buy a pack of gum, get cash back, then use the cash to get the refill. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 31, 2018 Excellent review and tips, BadBoy! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 3, 2018 Thanks Badboy! Hobbying tips like this are always important. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 15, 2018 On 1/11/2018 at 6:10 PM, BadBoy said: FYI, it is a ZTE "MAJESTY PRO." Yep, it is from that well know manufacturer, ZTE (sarcasm font on), but seems really well built. Sorry to rain on your parade, but I just read this today: http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/14/technology/huawei-intelligence-chiefs/ tl/dr: ZTE phones are not secure. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 1, 2018 Great info and review, thanks for the tips! 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 22, 2018 On 2/14/2018 at 10:46 PM, Kaos said: Sorry to rain on your parade, but I just read this today: http://money.cnn.com/2018/02/14/technology/huawei-intelligence-chiefs/ tl/dr: ZTE phones are not secure. So VPNs are or are not effective for this particular burner? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted March 22, 2018 (edited) 28 minutes ago, sweetkarizmatic said: So VPNs are or are not effective for this particular burner? Unknown, imo. The gist of the Huawei/ZTE thing is that they are believed to have deep ties with the Chinese government, and therefore are susceptible to getting trojans, spyware, backdoors, etc. put in place to allow the Chinese government to spy on people. Noone (from what I've seen) has come out publicly to announce that they have found malware on these devices, so, right now, it's a precaution against what could happen. And a bit of USA spy agencies not being able to exploit these products for our snooping. And a bit of trade-war going on as well. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-03-22/why-america-is-so-scared-of-china-s-biggest-tech-company VPNs, with these devices, in theory maybe a man-in-the-middle exploit could be put into place. But again, noone has said there is. VPNs in general are iffy, imo. Some of these offerings are not configured correctly and can leak information. Plenty of stories out there where LE tracks down people who were using VPNs by using the leakage. Not saying VPNs are a waste of time (will make it difficult for common crooks to snoop, or even LE), but if one is a big enough target, might not be as secure as one thinks. Edited March 22, 2018 by NoCoGeezer 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 9, 2018 Don't you have to show ID and address when you buy the phone in the store? I could've sworn I was asked to do that the last time I tried to get a burner at Best Buy. So then I ended up buying a used phone from someone off Craigslist. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 25, 2018 On 4/9/2018 at 0:49 PM, Fluffhead1977 said: Don't you have to show ID and address when you buy the phone in the store? I could've sworn I was asked to do that the last time I tried to get a burner at Best Buy. So then I ended up buying a used phone from someone off Craigslist. I don't know about best buy but Wal-Mart only needs your cash. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 25, 2018 I have bought three trac-phones and always used cash, once at WalMart, once at Safeway and once at King Soopers. Never had any trouble. The trick is activating them. Two of them I activated over the phone by going into a hotel and using the lobby phone, and one online at the public library on one of their computers. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 29, 2018 I now have a Iphone and can't stand it. I have always had android in the past. I did use a ZTE when I first started in the biz again three years back. Then I decided it would be more practical just to pay one bill on both of my phones. So, I have both phones on the same plan, my real name is not associated with my 'work" line. . That's about all I can say. If someone has the time to track me down? God bless them. Honestly, I am just so sick of being paranoid. I believe there is a reason to be cautious...However, I am not going to go off the deep end with all my information. I work two jobs and nobody their gives a damn what i do off hours. Accountants are just a bunch busy nerds I guess? I keep my worlds very separate mind you. Just nobody really cares at my office world. Who knows? They might all know...LOL kind of funny i think! NObody dares to say a word to me!!! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 14, 2018 I think it's funny that people worry about ZTE's ties to China. China isn't the government that wants to throw you in jail for your hobby. You think the American government isn't working closely with domestic manufacturers? And of course the carriers are even worse! Be safe! -1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 14, 2018 Whoa dude, let's keep things in perspective. There's a huge difference between what will get you thrown in jail here and what will get you thrown in jail in China, and the freedom to say whatever you want about the government is a big one. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 14, 2018 And none of this has anything to do with the Chinese phones sold in the US. It's the Android operating system, working on the Trac Fone network. Lighten up, everything is made in China, doesn't mean that the Chinese secret service is going to show up at your door because you made an appointment with a provider. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 13, 2018 On 5/14/2018 at 3:09 PM, BadBoy said: And none of this has anything to do with the Chinese phones sold in the US. It's the Android operating system, working on the Trac Fone network. Lighten up, everything is made in China, doesn't mean that the Chinese secret service is going to show up at your door because you made an appointment with a provider. Private information is still relatively private. At least I believe so? As long as you don’t disturb the people that live around the area all is relatively cool. Even with China! They only assemble the phone. To track calls would fall under conspiracy thinking. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) To be fair, ZTE has been called out by the US intelligence community as a potential security risk. My guess is that if ZTE is involved in any sort of spying, they are looking to get things like government or trade secrets. Personally, I would pass on a ZTE phone, but unless you are a C-level employee at a fortune 500 or a high ranking government official, its probably not anything to be too worried about. P.S. this is my first post on the forums. Hi everybody! Edited July 19, 2018 by 0079 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 19, 2018 Apparently I need to read more carefully. My link was totally unneeded, lol. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 19, 2018 Update: Still going good, in fact, I have finally figured out how to get all of the neat stuff onto the phone, so it is my hobby go-to device (it remembers the P411 sign in info, the TOB sign in info, the Suicide Girls sign in info, Switter login info, Instagram log ins, etc. As I learn it, I really like the Android operating system, it has a lot of advantages. I really like this phone a lot, the longer I have it, the more I like it. I.e., when I got No Showed recently (but with a really good reason - no hard feelings), sitting there in the parking lot, I was able to find an "available now" on P411 in seconds (no sign in delay), check the reviews on TOB (same), and fire out a P411 request, all in about 2 minutes total. When she called back, I just saved the number to the contacts, put in her photo and some notes on her contact and fired up Google Maps to guide me to her door, all on the same $29.95 device, and all in less than five minutes. Plus it is pretty thin, so I can carry it in my pocket and it doesn't show. Maybe I'm easily impressed. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 4, 2018 I’m glad you had a choice of something and discreet. Seems like Apple and Samsung has dominated the field so much with their advertising there’s really no anonymity Or personal protection . Thanks you info. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted October 7, 2018 Just get the burner app, best $3 I've ever spent. -1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 18, 2019 (edited) I have an old-style flip phone that I got through Tracfone that I use as my hobby phone. Only good for phone and text. I buy a refill card at Walmart every 90 days that gives me 60 minutes of use for $20. More than enough minutes. It recently stopped working. As it is difficult to text with those old phones, I thinking of upgrading to a more modern smart phone through Tracfone, I want to stay with them to keep the same number. I'm finding out that switching my account from a basic flip phone to a smart phone might be tricky, considering I still just want to use it for phone and text. The person working at Walmart was not help. I don't think I can keep just buying the card for $20 every 90 days and getting my 60 minutes. I might have to upgrade to a smart phone plan and pay for data that I have no use for. I want to get the smart phone-type phone because texting is so much easier on there, but want to keep the same account and just buy minutes that I can use for talk and text. Has anyone come across and dealt with this problem? Any advice would help. Edited February 19, 2019 by Kaduk Thread has been merged 2/8/19 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 18, 2019 8 hours ago, Mustang87 said: I have an old-style flip phone that I got through Tracfone that I use as my hobby phone. Only good for phone and text. I buy a refill card at Walmart every 90 days that gives me 60 minutes of use for $20. More than enough minutes. It recently stopped working. As it is difficult to text with those old phones, I thinking of upgrading to a more modern smart phone through Tracfone, I want to stay with them to keep the same number. I'm finding out that switching my account from a basic flip phone to a smart phone might be tricky, considering I still just want to use it for phone and text. The person working at Walmart was not help. I don't think I can keep just buying the card for $20 every 90 days and getting my 60 minutes. I might have to upgrade to a smart phone plan and pay for data that I have no use for. I want to get the smart phone-type phone because texting is so much easier on there, but want to keep the same account and just buy minutes that I can use for talk and text. Has anyone come across and dealt with this problem? Any advice would help. Definitely spring for the smart phone - it is great being able to access P411 and TOB while you are sitting in the parking lot after being stood up. It's only $9 more for 60 days to get virtually unlimited data. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 18, 2019 I guess my concern was will the current minute plan that I've been buying and using just for talk and text still work on a smart phone that uses data? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted February 18, 2019 https://www.tracfone.com/shop/plans Looks as if they have a $20 plan for smartphones as well 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites