HOW TO AVOID BRICKING A TRACFONE!
You can see from previous post that I bricked my LG 500 Tracfone. I wanted to change the PIN, but ended up bricking it.
As used by Tracfone: A PIN always refers to the SIM Card Pin. And hey: there is no way to get that unless you call the carrier. It can not be displayed on the phone.
Security Code however, is what I wanted to change. The default is: “0000” – and I didn’t want that. So here’s how to change the Security Code on a Tracfone:
1. Hit the Menu button.
2. Select the Settings icon.
3. Select the Security icon.
4. Select the Change Codes icon.
W A R N I N G ! ! ! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! W A R N I N G ! ! !
NOTE: DO NOT SELECT THE PIN CODE. NOPE THAT IS FOR THE SIM CARD! WRONG!
5. Choose Security Code
6. Press ok (or the middle button) and it will ask for the Current Security Code. Mine defaulted to “0000” (yeah too easy to guess!) — I changed it to what I wanted. Confirmed it. It saved it.
7. To “Auto Lock the phone”
A. Hit the Menu button.
B. Select the Security Icon.
C. Select the Phone Lock icon.
D. Change from “OFF” to “ON”
You will be prompted for that Security Code we just changed. You are now all set!
Hope this avoids a call to Tracfone Customer Service to get a Puk (Personal Unlock Key) to unbrick your phone. But just in case, Tracfone’s Customer Service Number is: (800) 378-1874
and so it goes…;
Wayno
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7 users responded in this post
I just bought a LG500 tracfone 2 days ago. I wanted to change the security code when they asked for the current one I did not know what it was. So I called tracfone and they told me it is my last four digits of my phone number, while still having the person on I tried it and it would not accept it. Then she said try 0000 I did and that didn’t work, then she said try 9999 I did and that didn’t work. So her response was “you must have changed it and you are not telling me so oh well you can’t change it now and we don’t know what it is.” I hung up and went on tracfone website on FB and a lady helped me BUT she said if I go and put it on factory default I will loose my contacts (whatever…I have them written down) and every thing will go back to normal BUT NOT my security code.
Is there any way that I can get a security code to work on my phone. I have not changed it because I didn’t know how to do it in the first place. No one has used my phone.
The phone is not locked I can use it. I just wanted to know the security code to clean out my phone duration times etc.
Can any one help me???? Thanks.
@lynn
Remember Security Code and PIN Number are 2 different animals.
PIN ALWAYS refers to the SIM Card.
They were able to talk me through resetting my Security Code, over the phone. It ended up being 1111 after they talked me through resetting the . We never knew what the old one was. It is a number ONLY Tracfone or the carrier knows, you don’t know that, nor do you have access to that information (security code number) without first calling them.
Yes I went through much the same rigamarole you did. resetting to factory defaults does NOT reset the security code. They should be able to walk you through resetting that, but there is NO way for the user to get that Security Code, without calling Tracfone or the carrier. You can’t get it, they MUST give it to you.
Wayno
Thank you for the security code info.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on security
code. Regards
Thank you very much for this post.
in the terminal box. Alt+F2, then type in terminal, hit the down arrow, and select terminal emulator.
Wayno
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I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to correct this problem.
If you have any recommendations, please share. With thanks!