This site documents real customer experiences with TracFone and Walmart Family Mobile.
It exists to create a clear, factual public record of service failures, support breakdowns,
and the real-world consequences of losing essential phone access.
Why This Site Exists
My name is William Lodge. In November 2025, my TracFone / Walmart Family Mobile
service stopped working after my SIM was flagged as being in an “unauthorized device.”
Even after returning the SIM to the original approved phone, service was not restored.
What followed were hours of support calls, contradictory explanations, refused escalation,
and instructions that required phone or internet access to resolve a loss of phone
and internet access.
Over nine days without usable service
Approximately eight hours on support calls in a single day
Replacement SIMs repeatedly recommended but not actually available
An FCC complaint opened and later closed without the issue being resolved
Case Summary Timeline
Mid-November 2025: Service fails after SIM is briefly moved and returned.
Same day: Eight hours with support; told of a false “area outage.”
FCC complaint filed: Case #8214699 acknowledged.
Escalation ticket: NRB000011957748 opened; no fix provided.
Walmart SIM attempts: In-store and online attempts fail due to no stock.
Service expiration: Decision not to renew due to unresolved failure.
Why This Matters
A phone is not a luxury. It is infrastructure. Work coordination, housing access,
healthcare, benefits, safety, and emotional support all depend on reliable connectivity.
When service is cut off and restoration requires tools that depend on that same service,
people are placed in an impossible position.
Important: Loss of phone and internet access can cause isolation,
financial harm, and serious mental health consequences. If you are in immediate distress,
seek emergency assistance. In the U.S., call or text 988.
FCC Process Breakdown
An informal FCC complaint was filed and acknowledged. The case was later closed
administratively while I lacked reliable phone and internet access.
The FCC process often assumes continuous online access. When the complaint itself
concerns loss of connectivity, that assumption breaks down.
Closing a complaint does not necessarily mean the issue was resolved.
It may reflect a procedural timeout rather than a substantive fix.
Share Your Experience
If you have experienced service loss, SIM/device blocking, activation failures,
misleading support, or unresolved billing issues with TracFone or Walmart Family Mobile,
you may submit your experience below.
Submissions are reviewed before anything is published. Stories may be anonymized or
summarized to protect privacy. The purpose is documentation, pattern analysis,
and accountability.
Please do not include full account PINs, Social Security numbers, or highly sensitive data.
Phone numbers should be partially masked if included.
About This Project
This site is operated independently by a customer documenting real experiences.
It is not affiliated with TracFone, Walmart, Verizon, or any carrier.
The goal is simple: make failures visible, reduce harm to others, and create a
public record that cannot be quietly dismissed.