I found a good use for the 1000 free minute plan if you are looking to use it as a landline replacement or maybe for an elderly individual who prefers a landline phone.
I purchased an LG-AF300 device from ebay (around $18) and checked the IMEI with the device checker on the FreeUP website which indicated that it was ready to acitvate.
Once it arrived, I simply inserted the sim card (need to use converter to convert it to full size SIM) and voila...it works without having to do anything more.
I know people may be using obihai device or a Voip plan but the great thing about this is that it does not require internet service as it works through cellular
I would just caution you that if you are telling people about this or helping someone set this up that you make it clear to them that such services like FreeUP are not guaranteed and may go away at anytime -- so there are no surprises and that it may be risky to port your actual landline phone number. Most of the regulars on this site are aware of this as we have seen with such services ending or being disrupted (ringplus, cellnuvo outage, etc). I did have quite a few people irritated at me when ringplus ended, so "buyer (or user) BEWARE"
@LouP----That's a nice method, and nice to know that it works with a FU sim. I wonder if it would also work with other AT&T MNVO sims. The $10 unlimited t&t FU plan would be nice on the device, too. And at about $18 it's a great deal. Did yours come unlocked, or does it have to be unlocked in order to use it as you have done.
I do not know if it is unlocked as the person selling it did not indicate that it was unlocked but just indicated he was using it with AT&T. I just checked it on the FreeUP website device checker and it passed, so I decided to chance it...i had read at some other site (don't remember which one) that the device does not have to be unlocked if using it on an AT&T network but I cannot absolutely vouch for this fact.
I am very happy with the setup and the sound quality is excellent.....let's see how long it will last.
I had a similar idea with Beast Mobile $4/month plan and Sprint Phone Connect device, which can be had on ebay for ~$20-50 (depending on version). A few ebay listings showed MEID which I checked and apparently eligible for activation on Beast. Downside is relying solely on Sprint CDMA.
Does anyone know, if one had a wireless home phone device that supported VoLte, if a cordless or corded phone connected to it is itself capable of using or benefiting from the VoLTE device. In other words, is the the VoLTE from the device in any way enhancing the voice quality on the cordless/corded phone?
This is a good question. If the "landline" phone (corded/cordless) supports PCM/G.711, the audio codec used during the call should meet or exceed PCM/G.711 to provide "landline-quality" audio for the corded/cordless phone. Any codec that does not meet or exceed PCM/G.711 should provide inferior audio quality.
st3fx writes: "AFAICT, no AT&T MVNOs (except Cricket and recently AT&T prepaid) support VoLTE (yet)."
Good point. An LTE model might provide some future-proofing, but only useful at this point on most MVNOs if it also supports 3G, and falls back cleanly.
st3fx writes: "Downside is relying solely on Sprint CDMA."
My first thought is why would Sprint's inferior coverage matter, as long as you had decent coverage in the one spot that matters? (Your home.)
Then I realized one of the nice things about this concept might be the ability to take your 'landline' with you, perhaps while traveling or working remotely. But... doing so would negate any features like an answering machine while between destinations.
I have my dad on the Sprint Phone Connect device/ Tello, but I can tell you that the voice quality seems much better on the LG-AF300 device with AT&T service with the added benefit that you are getting 1000minute free with the FreeUp plan which is more than enough for me. However, I would not chance switching my dad to this plan as he uses it for his landline and needs it and Tello is very reliable and has great customer service.
VoLTE is cellular voice. AT&T VoLTE supports wideband codec for "HD Voice" quality. Note: T-Mobile supports wideband over UMTS (or better), but that is not the case with AT&T (AFAICT).
I also mentioned VoLTE support for wideband audio codec. Whether this will always result in improved call quality depends on a number of factors. Certainly, if the call is between parties/devices and service provider(s) all supporting wideband, with appropriate intercarrier peering arrangements, if applicable, then yes absolutely the call quality is much better. Note: Wideband codecs (in this context, AMR-WB) can be configured at different bitrates.
