Howdy Folks. Since the topic here is correct for it, I'm adding a new query at the end of this thread.
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Here's what I posted originally:
Tried using the TN chat today & their AI thing was useless - so I asked for an agent & after 45 minutes with no agent coming to it, I gave up.
I was hoping to get answers to the following queries & hope that someone here may be able to answer them for me, please:
What does their Lock In Number subscription now cost ??
Is TN still only tmobile ??
Of less importance=>
I have a TN SIM & it worked fine for a while, but then I would open TN & it only said 'there was an issue with your SIM activation tap here' - which did nothing.
I don't think TextNow has settled on a lock in number price. A lot of people are grandfathered in at $4.99/year. I use my TextNow # regularly, so I've never bothered to do that, but every time I check the cost, it seems like it's different. Currently, my TextNow app shows a ridiculous $1.99/week.
Yes, TextNow SIM cards are T-Mobile.
If you initiate a chat during their business hours, my experience has been pretty quick and competent support. Ymmv. The last I knew, the chat hours are: Daily 10am - 5:30pm Eastern
I have a TN line that I've had since Feb. 2024. What is the criteria for keeping a line w/o paying to lock it in? I haven't done anything special like making at least one call or sending a text each day and mine is still active.
Need to port a FreedomPop # out.
Undecided TN vs. Helium. The # gets reasonably regular use so may not be a big issue but don't want to lose the #.
TN more suitable to the users needs (vs. them having to learn to add GV to the mix with Helium).
I often see cited that if you port a # to TN that it won't be "lost" for lack of use.
Curious if people have experience with # ported to TN vs. # assigned by TN when creating account.
Textnow is a service that overseas users attempt to signup for as well as those who want a service where they can secretly perform bad or even illegal behavior.
In response, Textnow is overly aggressive in flagging user accounts in which they believe are violation of their Terms of Service. Stuff like VPN usage, spamming, and even group texting.
Do innocent Textnow users ever get their accounts wrongly taken away? Very likely.
The number I've had for several years @$4.99/year has been very useful for me.
Our main phone is via GV - and when I need to do one of those verification things, that number gets refused...my 100% cellular gov phone also gets refused - but the TN number has always worked for that.
I do wish I could get the SIM for it to work again somehow, but even without that I'm happy to throw the 4.99 at them to keep it going.
If anyone does go for their keep number deal - please share what they charged for it here ??
To the best of my knowledge, the requirement is to place a call or send a text at least once every 30 days. The last time I let mine recycle, the message didn't mention the timeframe, but the time before that it specifically said I hadn't used my account in 31 days.
If I haven't slipped up and let my phone put the app in deep sleep because of how rarely I use it, I believe I first get an app notification a little less than a week in advance reminding me to use it or lose it. This used to take the form of a message that looked like an ordinary text message, but the conversation says it's from support@enflick.com. I think they switched to the app notification after July 2023, but they still deliver "You didn't do the thing so we recycled your number" messages that way.
I don't use mine in such a way that having it reassigned every so often if I slip up is a problem, so I haven't considered porting a number in and can't offer any personal experience with what we've heard about that meaning they won't reassign it, nor have I set my own reminder to help make sure I keep it.
There was an error processing your customer info. Please try again, or contact us if you continue to have problems.
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So I tried their chat again, but like before, it just left me in queue & after 20 minutes I gave up.
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The phone screen says they are changing carriers, but of course doesn't say which carrier.
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Has anyone here gotten any better results with this or otherwise ??
. Thanks for reading !!
I use it as a backup, I mostly use US Mobile now and have no complaints at 8 per month (paid yearly)
Found this on their FAQ:
Will I lose anything?
You can expect to keep the same number, with more value and zero added hassle. Our Hour Pass will no longer be available, but we’ve introduced weekly billing to our Unlimited Plan and reduced the price of our Day Pass by 40%.
Upon activation, our legacy data plans (1GB, 2GB, 5GB, etc.) will no longer be available to you.
I ported in a # from Freedom Pop and it shows as locked #. It is used regularly enough that I'm not sure that will be tested.
Less than a few months in seems satisfactory for the person using it although some of the advertising took some time to get acclimated to.
Any more details on the new SIM? I did not read/see/realize that TN is switching networks when I saw the offer to order a new SIM.
ETA: Okay, after reading through all the FAQ I do see where they mention switching "network partners", everywhere else it talks about upgrading the service/network so I thought perhaps they were making substantial backend changes that they needed to be able to reprovision SIMs but only one place do they state "switch" in re to network.
I'm concerned about the FAQ that says Android 13 or newer. If true that will be a problem in this case. Current phone that TN is on is at Android 9. There are reports of people still using SIM service with Android 7 and older TN app version so I guess we'll just hold off and see what DPs accrue.
Me too. Guesses leaning towards AT&T but they are just that, guesses.
Keep an eye on this thread at HoFo. I'm sure it will be posted within a day or two, if not hours, of the first SIMs being received by TN subscribers or maybe sooner if reliable rumour/leak surfaces first. https://www.howardforums.com/threads/textnow-changing-carrier.1931448/
Hopefully they won't break it right away for users of older android. May need to avoid updating the app or be prepared to revert to an earlier version if an update borks it for you.
All things considered here - if TN goes with AT&T it would be a nicety compared with my free gov phone which ain't great to use.
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We've got 2 VZ lines for whenever we visit a VZ friendly town & 1 AT&T line, all on US Mobile & they serve us very well.
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If TN becomes too difficult it'll just be an inconvenience as that line gets used via wifi-only for some verifications & gets forwards from my GV 'home phone' as well.
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With as few calls as I make and/or get none of this is any sort of huge concern but is instead about preferences.
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I really miss the 'cellular revolution' time when there were so many free & cheap deals always floating around !!
I did receive the new network (AT&T based) SIM a few days ago.
Have not activated it yet. The current network (T-Mo) SIM is working ok for the person using it. It is their primary line.
I have received a few emails from TN encouraging me to activate the SIM to access their 'upgraded" network.
I'm not in a rush to be an early adopter in this case and await reports from those that go ahead, activate and actually use TN service via the AT&T SIM for a bit.