One of Verizon’s subsidiaries, TracFone offers more affordable mobile service under no-contract plans. Being an MVNO, which means a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, makes TracFone one of the best carriers in terms of coverage area.
The use of Verizon’s equipment to deliver its service makes TracFone a solid option in the telecommunications business.
Apart from that, TracFone users enjoy quite a great deal of signal strength and stability due to its extensive presence throughout the national territory. That, however, doesn’t mean that TracFone users should get coverage no matter where they go.
What Should I Do If My TracFone Is Out Of Service?
Most recently, TracFone subscribers have been experiencing a problem with the service. According to the complaints filed by a number of users, their mobiles simply display messages saying “No Service”, “SIM Card Registration Failed”, or “Unregistered SIM” as the coverage dies out.
Coverage issues seem to be out of the question here since TracFone operates through Verizon’s equipment to deliver its service, and most of the other possibilities involve problems with the mobile system features.
As TracFone representatives stated, in more than half of the reported cases, the cause of the problem was related to a corruption during the SIM card activation procedure.
As users tried troubleshooting the issue in order to reach a satisfactory solution for the problem only to find a series of mismatched or incorrect information, their disappointment only grew stronger. If you are also among these users, stay with us.
How To Get Rid Of The SIM Card Activation Problem With TracFone
First things first, the cause of the problem may be something as simple as the Airplane Mode feature. As we know, the Airplane Mode deactivates a few of the main functions in mobiles, such as calling, internet connection, messaging, and any other function that involves network service.
Having Airplane Mode activated on your mobile will definitely cause the SIM card activation process to encounter obstacles it simply cannot overcome. So, before attempting any of the solutions below, make sure the feature is not activated.
1. Give Your TracFone A Reboot
Reboots, disregarding them being simple procedures, can help mobiles tackle a series of issues. Overfilled memories gain free space with the cleansing of the cache, and the whole system gets checked for minor errors. These errors are normally related to configuration or compatibility aspects and they are usually fixed during the rebooting process.
In the end, after the whole procedure is successful, the mobile is able to resume its operation from a fresh and error-free starting point.
This also means that the connection with TracFone servers will be redone from scratch and the odds any problem that may have occurred in that sense will get fixed are pretty high. So, go ahead and give your mobile some time to breathe while it tackles the problem that is preventing the activation of the SIM card on your device.
A minute or so between switching off and on should do the trick, so get to it and fix the problem before it turns into a hassle.
2. Switch On The Airplane Mode
Another quick way to force a connection between your mobile and TracFone servers to be re-established is to simply activate Airplane Mode and then turn it off after a few seconds. Even though that won’t be as effective as the re-establishment of connection done during the rebooting procedure, it’s still worth it due to its higher practicality.
3. Switch The Mobile Data Function Off And On
Thirdly, and as easy as the Airplane Mode fix, a simple toggling off and on of the mobile data function should also cause the connection with the server to be re-established. Again, this may not be as effective as rebooting, but being a faster potential solution, it is worth trying.
So, slide your mobile screen up or down, depending on the kind of operating system you run in it, and click on the mobile data button to deactivate the function. Then, give it a few seconds and turn it on again.
4. Make Sure The Software Is Updated
Manufacturers can never tell the kinds of problems their devices will encounter after being launched. What they can, and actually do, is release repairs for the problems that are reported along the way by users. Sometimes the issues are related to the development of new technologies, which renders the device unable to run the new functionalities.
Other times, it is a simple error that started occurring with certain mobile features due to a configuration issue.
No matter what kind of problem we are talking about, for almost all of them developers are able to design and release a fix. These fixes come in the form of system updates.
This is why it is so important to keep our mobiles updated at all times. Most of them nowadays inform users upon the release of new firmware versions, so they can choose when to download and install them.
Most of the time it is indeed better to perform updates when using wi-fi networks, due to the size of the file or even for the higher stability if compared to a mobile data connection. So, make sure your mobile has the latest version of its software to ensure it is working at peak performance levels and not hindering the SIM card activation process.
5. Remove And Insert The SIM Card Again
Considering that the failure of the SIM card activation process may also occur due to a connection problem between the SIM card and the tray or the connector, it will be a good idea to redo this step. It’s not so rare that SIM trays or connectors experience problems or that SIM cards come from the factory with malfunctions.
Any way it goes, simply reinstall the SIM card as that should force the activation procedure to be redone from scratch.
6. Give The Mobile A Factory Reset
A more extreme, though equally efficient alternative is to reset the mobile settings to their factory state. Without a doubt, you will lose all the saved data, settings, and preferences, or at least most of them, but that is definitely worth it for the sake of having a fully functional mobile.
So, go to the settings and find the factory reset option through the system tab. Make sure to back up all the sensitive data before performing the procedure and have a like-new mobile afterward.
After that, the odds the SIM card activation procedure will be successful are higher and other possible problems the device might be facing should also be tackled.
7. Contact Customer Support
If none of the solutions in this list works for you, the last resort will be to contact TracFone’s customer support department and get some professional help. So, don’t be shy and let their highly trained technicians give you a hand and get the SIM card activation issue out of the way once and for all.
My phone still says not registered. I have wifi but won’t let me call out or receive calls or texts what can I do
wifi is internet it has nothing to do with phone service.
Did you put in the password for the WiFi router? Some phone’s like tablets need the password to connect to the WiFi router try that
I think I have not done this take out my SIM card and possibly clean it I don’t know I’m gonna try that but I have no idea what is wrong and I’m sorry I missed type I do talk to text originally my 1st message was I’m connected to safe link and tracfhone
Barbara, I started having the problem last week and spoke with Tracfone today. Of course they had to put me through to a higher power but I had to provide another telephone number so they can call me. I tried everything and nothing works
I’ve tried all the basic trouble shooting steps countless times & still no texting services for over a week. That part IS a huge problem but what’s more maddening are the POS customer service reps & the fact that they pretend to be surprised +/- oblivious to issues I’ve seen in numerous threads. Once I’ve called + followed the prompts + waited + been transferred + waited longer + gotten the option for a callback only to wait indefinitely when they don’t call or I’m put on hold immediately upon answering and then disconnected. I’ve bought unlimited talk + text refills so many times I shouldn’t have any talk/text interruptions for 6 months but that doesn’t protect me the bandits either
mobile network not available soooo frustrating I cannot get any assistance on phone with support
I have safelink thru tracfone and it says my phone is registed but I can’t make any calls
same here, customer help support is not helpful, cannot connect with cellular network – this problem just started 2 weeks ago.
I have NOT had cell service from Tracphone for over two weeks. People have told me face to face they have tried to call me and were told restriction on that phone number.
I had Walmart try to find out what the problem is and repeatedly was asked what kind of call it was and were told by the Walmart representative it was a SERVICE CALL, NO RESPONSE, Then asked again what call it was and she said it is a service call.” AGAIN no help!!! This went on for about 15 minutes. She finally said, “I can’t do anything about it.”
No one told us what the problem was. When I call I get this statement , you need to talk to a representative. I am sick of this mess!!!!! Tell me what is the problem!!!!!!!!
I have had my Tracfone For several years without any problems. Then I got a message to upgrade with a free phone. The phone came without a sim card. Every time I called the support line it would tell me they were sending a sim card. It never came and in the meantime I continued to use my old Tracfone without any trouble until yesterday when I got a “no service” message. After over an hour on my land line talking with a rep she sent me to tech service where I was on hold for several minutes. I finally gave up and hung up on the call. I have followed the trouble shooting steps, still with no luck.