A big "thank you" to LiterallyUnlimited, who efficiently helped me work though a complicated issue migrating a couple of ex-FreedomPop lines to Ting!
If only the industry was full of folks who were as thoughtful and good at their jobs, we'd all be a happier bunch..
What is the website for Freedompop GSM users to switch/convert/migrate over to Red Pocket GSM????
We're finding a lot of complex issues largely stemming from the fact that FP didn't give us 100% of the story when migrating.
Two really big issues we're seeing:
-
FreedomPop assigned each MEID a phone number. Sometimes this was the preferred number. Sometimes it wasn't. The number they assigned was based on their metric of "most-used" number. So numbers that you might not even have known were yours were assigned, while the actual number chills at bandwidth.com, one of FP's logistics providers.
-
Because of Numbering Resources, some FP numbers just 100% aren't compatible with Sprint and thus cannot come over. These customers need to either port to a non-Sprint entity (including Ting GSM at regular Ting rates without promo) or another VOIP provider, and the emails they've received from both sides have been confusing until one of our CS reps can actually get a good look at the phone number(s) in question.
-
The volume. Because of these two issues, plus a payment processor one I laid out on /r/FreedomPop a few days ago, we're still at roughly 10 times our standard volume and about a week behind schedule when it comes to emails.
We're still working, and I hope I can get back here with you guys and shoot the breeze soon enough.
Well, it appears to be here:
which is the same page that allows FP CDMA customers to get a special offer to come back.
Note the new wording, as of yesterday, that specifies GSM, and a different rate than you'll see if you go thru the process with a CDMA line. ($4 for GSM, $3 for CDMA.)
The catch is that I can't get it to work. It verifies my account info, seems to accept my (existing FreedomPop) SIM card #, then asks for an IMEI and fails the process because the pair is not CDMA compatible. (duh.)
The possibility I haven't tried is that it's looking for a NEW Red Pocket SIM, rather than reusing the FreedomPop SIM. (Not sure I have a Red Pocket SIM here, and if I do it may be expired re: someone else's apparently unrelated attempt to use a SIM that had been stored for a while.)
The same page does work to create a new CDMA/Sprint account.
(EDIT: TO ADD)
Wording from the site above the login fields:
"If you have an existing Red Pocket Mobile or FreedomPop GSM account, login below:" That might imply the page is also accessible from an existing Red Pocket page?
(EDIT TO ADD, AGAIN)
See Fraiser1's reponse below. My interpretation of what the start page is set up to allow is apparently wrong, and this won't lead you to a special offer for a GSM line.
While I'm on the subject of how helpful LiterallyUnlimited is..... whoever was behind the Ting effort to create help pages for those migrating to Ting also did an excellent job. I think most of us here can get through the process of switching to using native voice/text without a primer, but Ting recognized that it might be confusing for a lot of folks, & was prepared for it with simple, easy to understand FAQs. Well done.
LU, could you pass along kudos to that team?
Just chatted with Red Pocket customer service about FreedomPop Switch. He said the 3.99 a month "special rate" was only for CDMA not GSM customers. He also said there are no "special rates" for GSM just the regular every day rates. I find this odd since Ting got the CDMA customers and Red Pocket got the ATT GSM customers you would think therefor that Red Pocket would have a "special rate" for GSM way before they offered anything for CDMA customers. Maybe they feel like allowing you to continue to use FreedomPop for free IS there special rate.
Thanks, Frasier1. That probably saves me a lot more useless and repetitive poking of keys.
The page is very poorly worded for that intent. But your CSR's answer seems to be at least partially correct-- I can enter the login credentials for a FP GSM account, and the ICCID & MEID for a CDMA phone, and see the offers. (So it seems available to those already on a GSM line, but not to end up on a GSM line......)
The offers are the same that I saw for starting with an old FP CDMA account login, $3 (200mb) or $9 (1GB). If one completed the offer, I have no idea whether you'll end up replacing your current GSM line, or whether you'll have an additional CDMA line on the same account.
I also have no idea what the $3.99 price listed on the start page now goes to, since I still can't make that one come up.
I do feel like being able to maintain the free line is a 'special' rate, and I'm happy to still have it. I thought that $4 for 200/500/200 might be doable as a special GSM rate, since it's not that far off of the Red Pocket 100/100/500 cost, but geared more towards talk/text users.
Wow, #metoo
Looks like another stage has been reached in the FP/CDMA-to-Ting transition. I got an email this morning with this new section:
"You have not taken action, therefore your phone service has been suspended.
If you choose not to try Ting or move your number to another carrier by August 27, 2019, you will not be able to recover your FreedomPop or Unreal phone number."
(Actually, my lines have all been handled already, but I waited until late trying to dovetail a couple of choices.)
So if you haven't done anything with the transition, your device has probably been put into a no-service state, but it looks like the number (and the device, by necessity) will be held for you for a while longer.
I didn't see any reason to wait and let this time out for eventual cancellation and device release. The Ting process is easy to go through, and the phones that were on the lines I cancelled or ported away were released (and eligible for reactivation on the Sprint network) within minutes.
The only reason I can think of to not follow up & cancel is if you're making plans that require porting a number elsewhere, but haven't quite got it organized yet. It's nice that Ting is giving us a grace period to finish that up.
Ive been out of the loop for a while, do the GSM Freedompop lines need to be converted to different plans on RP?
Not yet - they will remain the same for now until they contact you 
.
No action is required for our GSM lines at this time, we'll be sure to give everyone adequate notice should any action be required down the line. We plan to keep GSM users active on FreedomPop and will be announcing a new offer soon.
I tried a redpocket gsm-t sim and after I input the ICCID the page of plans was blank. So nothing special available. Hopefully freedompop will add tmobile sims to the "new offer" they just mentioned will be announced soon.
I contacted Red Pocket CS yesterday and asked if they have a 'special rate' for former GSM (ATT) customers like they offer for former FreedomPop Sprint customers. I was told "no they do not" and that I could either keep my free FreedomPop plan for the time being, or, sign up for a 'regular' plan on Red Pocket ATT.
Yeah, no new options for GSM users so far. They do have a 'special rate' for a Sprint-network plan for former or existing) GSM users, or non-former users of any network. You can sign up for the FreedomPop CDMA plan even if you didn't have a FreedomPop CDMA line.
I started the process with an email still attached to a gsm/LTE SIM, and there was no problem getting the Sprint plan offer. (I didn't complete it, because I didn't know if it would nerf my existing LTE SIM.) . I started and finished the process with an email address that FreedomPop didn't remember at all, and after registering it and starting over at the CDMA plan link, I got the CDMA plan with no problem.
I started the process with an account I already had at Red Pocket for an email address that was never associated with Freedompop but a Sprint device that was, and as far as I could tell, if I'd wanted to follow through with it, I could have gotten the special Sprint rate.
FreedomPop and Unreal Mobile GSM currently remains unchanged, but you can look forward to new plan offerings and other improvements in the near future! For those interested in signing up with Red Pocket, you can take advantage of their back-to-school special and get 50% off for your first month on GSMA with referral code: GSMABTS2019
This offer is valid for all customers including those using a new login.
@ FreedomPop Congratulations on that shiny new 'Verified' badge! (And thanks for the referral code!)
It's nice to have you here.
Thanks! We're happy to join all the Nth Circlers and look forward to keeping up with everyone here on a more regular basis.