tracfone smart phone with good parental control options

[maize]

I'd like to get my 13 year old a decent phone that A) will work with tracfone and B) I can set up parental controls on. I'm unclear about whether the phone needs good native controls or whether there are apps that can do the job well?

[Lanny]

Well, if you followed the recent threads from Nebraska, I recommended a Moto G5 Plus to her and she got it to work on TracFone, on the Verizon network, after getting the right SIM card. That model just came out and it is "a lot of bang for the buck".    Now, whether or not that phone, or any phone, comes with Parental Controls, I doubt that very much, but am open to the possibility that it is possible some models have that.  

 

If you buy one of those I suggested you purchase directly from the Motorola USA web site. The phone will be UNLOCKED and also UNBRANDED, like the phones we buy in the Superstore here in Colombia. This is the URL:    https://www.motorola.com/us/products/moto-g-plus

GL with whatever you decide to buy!

 

LOOK ON the Google Play Store for Parental Control Apps.  I always look for Apps that are Free, have at least 4 stars, and preferably lots of installations and that have recently been updated.  

 

ETA: You wrote decent phone.  That model is probably THE BEST low-end phone on the market today. Outstanding Specifications for the price. It is way more than decent.  My low-end 2014 Samsung is decent. That phone would be like comparing a VW to a BMW.

 

ETA #2: Refer to this very recent thread about Parental Controls for Androids. I posted there after doing some quick research into possible Apps that could be used.  http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/644243-parental-control-for-android-phone/

 

ETA #3: The lady in Nebraska is extremely rural and I suspect Verizon is the only provider, or the only reliable provider, where she lives.  Verizon is considered to be (overall in the USA) the best provider.  If we were in the USA I would probably try to be on their Network, unless I was going to use a LOT of Data, in which case I might prefer T-Mobile.    http://rootmetrics.com/en-US/rootscore/map

Edited May 1, 2017 by Lanny

[gardenmom5]

I gave dudeling someone's old phone and he's on ting.com. it uses sprints towers?  I can control how much he uses, so it's <$15 a month.   (and only because I added the minimum of data as it's better tracking.  I installed life360 to track him.)

[LuvToRead]

Zombie thread.  Spam reported.

[Lanny]

7 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

I gave dudeling someone's old phone and he's on ting.com. it uses sprints towers?  I can control how much he uses, so it's <$15 a month.   (and only because I added the minimum of data as it's better tracking.  I installed life360 to track him.)

 

I googled to see which carrier Ting uses. If he has a phone that uses CDMA technology, it says they run on the Sprint network. If he has a phone that uses the GSM technology it says they run on the T-Mobile network.

Note: Sprint and T-Mobile are trying to merge. If the U.S. Government doesn't approve the merger, Sprint has indicated they may not be able to continue.

I am looking at an MVNO (Virtual operator) called Red Pocket for my DD to try when she goes to university in the USA in August. They can provide services on Verizon or Sprint for CDMA and on AT&T or T-Mobile for GSM.  We have GSM phones. If we go with Red Pocket for her, they sell on eBay or on their web site. Possibly on Amazon also.  There's another MVNO called Mint Mobile that runs on T-Mobile that might be a good way to go.  My belief is that one will get more for less generally, with an MVNO that runs on T-Mobile than an MVNO that runs on  AT&T but that AT&T has a network that is somewhat superior to that of T-Mobile.  

[Guest]

IPhones work on Tracfone, and you can get used ones affordably. Tracfone uses AT&T or Verizon towers, so phones branded for those systems usually can be transferred. 

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Lanny said:

 

I googled to see which carrier Ting uses. If he has a phone that uses CDMA technology, it says they run on the Sprint network. If he has a phone that uses the GSM technology it says they run on the T-Mobile network.

Note: Sprint and T-Mobile are trying to merge. If the U.S. Government doesn't approve the merger, Sprint has indicated they may not be able to continue.

I 

I'm not impressed with T-Mobile either.  I'm not far from their US headquarters - and we had patchy service in our house.  dh and I had them for all of a weekend during one of his "I despise Verizon" moments.  we now have xfinity - which uses verizon's towers.  (caveat was - we had to buy new phones.  but we have two landlines and internet through them.)