We have a phone from TextNow that uses their free wifi deal after trying their 'premium' & finding that it was a stinker.
So, it gets used for some calls & texts to keep it alive - which is why I was looking at it tonight.
There was a line in their app that I've not seen before, offering free cellular services - so I opened it & got a page telling me very little, just to dial ##72786# & let the phone restart to get whatever this deal is - which would of course cause a reset - which I didn't want or trust - so I cancelled it.
Then I checked their site and surprise, surprise, surprise - no mention of any free thing besides what we already have - else they now offer unlimited T&T for 9.99/month.
Since the time I tried their services was so long ago I vaguely remember their cellular services as being Sprint based, hence non-existent around here - which is why that test was a bust even though their coverage map showed service around here.
So now I wonder if anyone else here has seen this and/or maybe knows more about what sorts of tricks they are up to right now ??
The message you received about free "cellular" service may be from the past since you hadn't used your TextNow app for some time--see link below about free service ad from 2018. On their site, the only free plan I see is the wireless calling. The paid plans that use a combination of wifi+cellular for calling, texting, and data. Interestingly, TextNow seems to offer both CDMA & GSM options. From their FAQs:
Hi Isamorph and Thanks for this interesting theory !!
I should have also mentioned that since the start of the Pi Network, a bunch of months ago - that phone has been powered up 24/7 with the Pi app running.
So, even though it is quite possible that it was a very old message - many others have arrived in the last bunch of months (lots of SMS spam & calls/VM warranty offers for our 20+ year old cars !!).
Maybe they are doing a clone of FreeUp as a last gasp to keep the lights on & maybe somehow related with the recent merger approval ??
I guess we should have learned by now to skedaddle whenever free cellphone service is mentioned. Free is just another word for short-lived when it comes to cell phone service.
