1. Charging
the phone, and recording the "electronic serial number" to be provided
to Tracfone's website during activation.
2. Selecting
a 4 digit PIN number for my account
3. Going
online and start the activation process, starting with entering the zip
code and serial number. You'll have the phone turned on at this point.
4. You'll
then be asked to provide personal information and be asked to enter a
bunch of digits, 15-20 at a time, into the phone. If you've purchased
any phone cards, you'll also be able to program those into the phone with
the same process. After you finish entering the codes into the phone properly,
the phone is programmed for your area and the minutes are loaded into
the phone. Anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours later (only a few
minutes in my case) the phone is then connected whichever cellular service
Tracfone has subcontracted from in your area. You can use the cell phone
before this happens, but you'll be assessed double minutes for any calls
made, ie"roaming" charges. (You phone display notes when you are in an
area where roaming charges apply.) This is also how you can tell your
phone is set up properly, as the "roaming" warning disappears when your
account is completely set up. Though Tracfone prefers you activate your
phone online, and gives you 10 extra minutes for doing so, you can also
activate your phone via a telephone call.
