Could my Tracfone get messed up by turning it on WHILE IN MID-OCEAN?

[jeph]

Like a few million other people, I use Tracfone-- in fact, it's the only cell service I've ever used. No monthly bills-- when I renew my service for another year, I get about a thousand more minutes of service, and that card costs a hundred bucks. (And the LG smartphone I got a couple of years back when an upgrade from 2g was needed ran me the lavish sum of 50 bucks.) Pretty much all I use it for, other than emergencies, is meeting up with friends or family when I'm away from home-- it's turned off about 99% of the time. Because I've never been one of those people who's constantly on their phone, the minutes just keep rolling over and adding up. So it serves my modest needs perfectly.

 

When it comes to foreign countries, however, Tracfone service has a "split personality". From here in the U.S., I can call friends in Europe or elsewhere and it costs me no more minutes than if I were calling across town...but it can't be used IN ANY FOREIGN COUNTRY, even Canada or Mexico. In fact, I've been told by the company's customer service personnel on more than one occasion that the phone SHOULDN'T EVEN BE TURNED ON when I'm outside U.S. territory, as that may well screw up the phone somehow.

 

So here's my question: I was thinking that if I wanted to turn the phone on while I was out at sea, (for some non-calling purpose, such as calculator, alarm clock, showing silly cat photos to tablemates, etc) that this would be okay, because the phone would receive no signal. Or WOULD it? I hear more and more ships and lines are responding to consumer demand by making cell phone use possible onboard, even when the vessel is far from land. Does anyone know what the situation is with HAL in general and the Rotterdam in particular? (My sailing is in early June; I'm aware the ship just had an extensive refurbishment in dry-dock in Oct or Nov.) If there's a signal available on board, would the fact that HAL is an American-owned company (under the Carnival umbrella) mean that such a signal would be "American", such as if I were in the U.S. Virgin Islands? Or would it be a "European" signal, of the kind I've been warned might mess up the phone? :confused:

 

Any help for this confused puppy is much appreciated...

[dogo88]

I don't have a Tracfone nor know anything about it so take what I say with that in mind. We have Verizon and if I do not want any contact/data charges I would need to set the phone to Airplane mode and Wi-Fi off when in the states in order not to incur and charges. I can attest that this is correct.

I do not if Tracfone does any other lower level contacting to signal towers when you are in this mode but since you have multiple customer service folks telling you:

"In fact, I've been told by the company's customer service personnel on more than one occasion that the phone SHOULDN'T EVEN BE TURNED ON when I'm outside U.S. territory, as that may well screw up the phone somehow."

 

I would be concerned that this could cause a problem.

 

Unless someone on these boards has exactly what you have and has done what you are asking I would be very cautious since whatever you do will only impact you.

 

Dan

[Hlitner]

You should certainly have another chat with the Tracfone folks, although it is possible that their phone staff would not have much clue. As to Europe, you must first have a multi-freq phone that operates on the European frequencies....and depending on the phone model you have that might be an issue. (you can look up the model phone (on line) and read the specs). I find it hard to imagine that turning on your phone would mess-up the phone settings....but it will not work if you do not have coverage. As to the Virgin Islands, we were just there last week and they seem to now have cell phone coverage (not sure if this will work with a Tracfone) but no data. There was a lot of damage to all the telecom infrastructure and we suspect that not ever function has been fully restored. On islander told me that he has been trying (since September) to reach his family on St Croix and calls do not even go through. When we missed an airline flight connection in ATL (due to the airlines) we were able to quickly rebook on the next flight (using our phone app) while others had to stand in long lines only to find seats sold out (because those of us with the right apps were able to quickly snag the available seats).

 

DW and I were also very slow to upgrade from our old ATT GoPhones (similar to Tracfone) but finally spent the big bucks because we do extensive world travel and wanted phones that worked all over the world and let us keep in touch with family at home. Now that we have iPhone's with all the services we do not know how we ever lived without the things :). The reality is that frequent travelers find smartphones a necessity in order to have airline and rental car apps as well as a GPS system in one's pocket. When I rent a car in Europe I no longer have to drag along my Garmin Nuvi...or rent a local GPS unit.

 

Hank

[CruiserBruce]

Won't get involved in the whole "HAL is an American owned company issue", but the ship is considered a foreign country as far as cell phones are concerned. It is not "American land".

 

I don't know what or how the phone will get "messed up", but I wouldn't turn my phone on onboard the ship.

[jeph]

Thanks for the quick replies!

 

In response to those...

 

Dogo 88: There's no such thing as a "roaming charge" with Tracfone, to my knowledge-- there's no bill as such. A minute of calling is a minute; a minute of internet use via wi-fi is a minute; a text message uses up 30 seconds.

 

Hlitner: While in Europe, I may use an iPhone borrowed from friends who'll be joining in on the trip...but in any case, I will have my tablet along for quick access to email and any other needed web info.

 

But there's still no clear answer as to whether there's any cell signal on board the ship when it's out at sea. I may just ring up HAL to see if they know about this.

[CruiserBruce]

Thanks for the quick replies!

 

In response to those...

 

Dogo 88: There's no such thing as a "roaming charge" with Tracfone, to my knowledge-- there's no bill as such. A minute of calling is a minute; a minute of internet use via wi-fi is a minute; a text message uses up 30 seconds.

 

Hlitner: While in Europe, I may use an iPhone borrowed from friends who'll be joining in on the trip...but in any case, I will have my tablet along for quick access to email and any other needed web info.

 

But there's still no clear answer as to whether there's any cell signal on board the ship when it's out at sea. I may just ring up HAL to see if they know about this.

 

There is definitely a signal...from the ship's cell tower. And there will be extra charges if you use the ship's tower.

[nw gardener]

My dh uses tracfone, when we cruise to AK, it will show no signal when passing BC and in areas of AK when we are too far from a cell tower. He accesses his photos etc, it won't keep the correct time if you change time zones, but no damage to his phone. Outside the U.S., it is a paperweight 🤗

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using Forums mobile app

[catl331]

I know I've turned on my Tracfone while out to sea on a HAL ship and IIRC it just said "no network" or "network not found" ... something like that. I think I've used it as an alarm clock in the Caribbean, but I'm not positive of that. In any case, just turning it on didn't cause any damage as far as I can tell.

[oofroggie]

I have a tracfone and installed the whats apt. Not used it but will be on the world cruise and set my phone to internet and pray for the best. Have tried it here but not out of the country. Wish me luck.

[jeph]

Again, thanks for the info! I can check further regarding signal reception when out at sea once we board, but as mentioned, I will have some means of communicating with my friends even if it's kept off the whole time, so I'm not too worried about that aspect.

 

Cheers! :champagne-toast:

[NoWhiners]

I have a tracfone (an LG smartphone) and have taken it out of the country several times. I turn airplane mode ON, and enable wifi, but only if I am trying to check email or use the internet when in a port.

 

It worked great for the internet when in ports at places that had free wifi. I bought a Mobal international phone to use to make calls. I only pay for the minutes I use and it works in all countries but Korea (I think). Like you, I paid about $70 for the phone but it ends up being a lot cheaper than US plans with roaming or international calls enabled.

 

Bottom line--I don't think there is any danger turning the phone on, but don't try and make any calls (they can track that), and just use alarm clock, camera, other accessories, etc. I would be sure to have wifi OFF and airplane mode ON if I used it onboard the ship.

 

Good luck

ML