Hi guys! Just curious why the Pop Icon forum is empty and locked to new posts. We have two active phones in my house, and I keep one for a backup (which I'm compelled to use while I sort out my Note4 bootloop/EMMC issues).

There was work here and elsewhere on a rooting process, so it seems potentially worth discussing (though most discussions seem to lead to the conclusion that it's the world's most unrootable device). Aside from the horrible OS that accumulates junk data to the point of inoperability, this is one of the best phones TF has put out, and I really wish it could live up to its potential...

I bought a used Note 4 N910W8 (Canadian, or "international" version) a few months ago. All the Tracfone features work perfectly with it.

Well, to be honest, I usually jump right into forums and start contributing. But...I'm not a phone developer, by any stretch of the term, so I thought I'd put all my cards on the table in an introductory post, so to speak 

I'm in my early 30s and have had the inernet for about 24 years, but I feel like I'm the last person on earth to get a smartphone. I had various "dumb" tracfones up until last christmas, when prices finally made it possible for the purchase of an android.

I'd describe myself as a power user, in the sense that I like to explore the capabilities of my computers to the limits of my abilities. So I bought an Alcatel One Touch Pop Icon; no rooting, 2gb memory, insane kitkat memory limitation. Frankly, I was banking on the phone being rooted sometime within like 6 months. Needless to say I did not understand that obscure pay-as-you-go phones are not the hackers' priority.

So I still have my Alcatel. Not a terrible phone, but I have cycled through the available memory at least 4 times, and running Sygic with 4 large state maps means I frequently have to delete anything else I've loaded.

So! In a word, I'm ready for a new phone, and how. I really doubt I'll be buying one of the tracfone offerings, after reading the lackluster reviews for the best options like the Sunset.

My mother still has the Pop Icon, and I'd like to improve her experience if anyone here has a flash of brilliance, but frankly I'm almost certainly going for one of the (lately) top-of-the-line Samsungs available through the BYO program. I'd still like to get the best out of this without ruining my tracfone service, so I hope I'll be able to ask you knowledgeable folks about rooting, unlocking, ROMs, etc.

Anyway, I think this is a fantastic idea for a forum, and I'll be keeping a keen eye out for people who can outsmart these devices!