TextNow Free 250mb/mo. Data

Anyone with a free TextNow "line" get this offer?
https://www.textnow.com/m-freedata-1a

Reportedly a limited beta test that you can't sign up for.

I got invited and ordered a sim. Says it takes a week before the free data is given but all appears to be as advertised. The sim was free too. Says the data is throttled after the 250mb so will be interesting to see at what speed and what can be done.

:+1:t2:
Curious to hear back re your experience.

I received the free data 2 days after installing and activating the sim. Added the custom textnow apn and got H+. Had to do some resets and eventually whilst messing with the apns I got LTE on the standard tmobile apn. Downloads were in the 100Mbps though pings were pretty high at 90ms (usually get about 30ms on tmobile or about 50ms on pwg lines). Blew through the data with 1 or 2 speedtests so I am on the slow data now.

Surprisingly I am getting more or less 1Mbps down and 10Mbps up. It is very usable. Pings at still in the 90ms. Well worth it if you get invited.

I finally got around to activating one of the TextNow SIM cards I had ordered for $0.99 back in February. What prompted me to finally do it was getting the 250MB/mo + unlimited throttled free data offer in the TextNow app, and via email, earlier this month.

I activated the SIM in an old Blu Vivo XI. Activation was pretty simple, but not perfect, and not instant. The Vivo XI automatically set up the APN as PWG. So I created a new APN with the required textnow.static, and deleted the original PWG APN. Even after that, it took a few times toggling airplane mode, and restarting, to get an LTE signal, and be able to use the TextNow app for phone calls.

But the 250 MB of free data wasn't working for regular web traffic and browsing, and nowhere in the process was it indicated that the 250 MB of data WOULDN'T work as soon as the SIM was active. So I chatted with TextNow, which was quick and easy, and the chat agent told me it could take up to a week for the 250 MB of data to become active, because a separate department is in charge of activating the free 250 MB of data.

So, now I wait...

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mmfacemm, I see that you said you used "the standard tmobile apn". Is that fast.t-mobile.com? I have an LTE connection using the textnow.static APN, but so far, data is only working for the TextNow app.

250mb data is not bad. Just ordered one for occasional use. :slight_smile:

I have not touched the Freeup phone at all as 100mb seems a bit too little. Oh well, it's free anyway and keeps renewing.

yes that is the one fast.t-mobile.com

It did take some toggling for me and some time to get the data. But a couple of hours rather than a week.

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Just to be clear, you'll need to wait until TextNow offers your account the free 250MB. It's a targeted offer, at least for now.

Also, none of the FreeUp grandfathered free lines includes any data now; just talk and text.

I clicked on the op's link and it says eligible so then I ordered the SIM. Hm... seems misleading. So what does the free plan provide? Just wifi calling?

The standard free service with a SIM is unlimited talk and text using the TextNow app using WiFi or the mobile data included with the TextNow SIM.

Some of us have received a targeted offer to also get 250 MB of LTE mobile data with the TextNow SIM, plus unlimited throttled, that can be used for anything.

In that case, ordering a new SIM now might mean I am on the beta test. Guess I'll find out in a week or two.

From the original link:

How do I know if I am an invited user?

Invited users are those who received communication directly from the TextNow team within the TextNow mobile app and/or via the email linked to your TextNow account. Anyone who was forwarded these messages, or had this webpage shared with them, is not an invited user and will be ineligible to receive free data.

If a friend sent me the link to this page, or I found it online, will I still receive free data if I order a SIM Card?

No. At this time, only invited users who received direct communication from TextNow are eligible.

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So does the SIM at least give me free talk & text or still only via wifi - which then what is the point of letting me order the SIM?!?

BTW, TextNow uses T-mobile (since Sprint merged), does that mean we get emergency satellite connection when in deadzones?

Yes. See my reply just above: "The standard free service with a SIM is unlimited talk and text using the TextNow app using WiFi or the mobile data included with the TextNow SIM."

Don't count on the latter. I'll be shocked if it even works as advertised for T-Mobile Postpaid, but we'll see...

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So I chatted with TextNow, which was quick and easy, and the chat agent told me it could take up to a week for the 250 MB of data to become active, because a separate department is in charge of activating the free 250 MB of data.

My free 250MB of LTE data is now active, less than 3 days, and less than 1 business day after activation.

I think that's acceptable, since it seems that, at least for the targeted test group, the free 250MB activation appears to be a manual process.

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Wow, that was fast, got my SIM! Hm... quite annoying with the ads, so they want $9.99/mo for unlimited talk and text w/no ads...

Edited:
Once the 250mb free become available, paying $1.99/mo Ad-lite makes it slightly comparable to my now canceled $5 Tello plan.

quite annoying with the ads, so they want 99c/mo for unlimited talk and text w/no ads

Wow! $0.99/mo for "unlimited talk and text w/no ads" is quite a deal!

My account shows that Ad-Free+ would cost $9.99/mo! Even Ad-Free Lite would be $1.99/mo for me.

Hm... seems to dial out, you need to add +1 in front... that is quite an inconvenience. :frowning:

That's another oddity. I don't need to put a 1 in front of any 10-digit North American phone # to get it to dial out in the TextNow app, either by direct input, or using contacts.