Thanks for this info SeanW !!
I looked at the deal page.
It will be helpful to know what carrier this is for, if anyone knows ??
T-Mobile
20 character
Thanks Redrotors !!
No Tmob here in town - but this thread reminded me that I already HAVE this service on an older phone !!
Had to leave town earlier & took it along to test minus wifi & it was a no-go.
I do have a wifi-only desk phone that uses the TN app & I do pay the $5/year to keep that number active - that works fine.
When I installed the SIM before it had me log in & picked up the same number right away.
When 1st set up it was fine using the phone app to make calls, but no more.
(Most likely related to it being a dust collector for some time...)
It show the BOSS network for calls & SMSs - but inactive.
I logged in at their site and dug around to find 'my wireless' which shows=>
My Plan Free Unlimited Talk & Text
Query, please:
If my SIM has gone stale, would I need to buy another SIM to make that device work cellularly again ??
Any help greatly appreciated !!
Thanks.
I'm really not sure, maybe someone here has experience but I doubt the SIM would go stale if you are current on the annual $5 payment.
I haven't seen anything mentioned like that since they transitioned away from Sprint CDMA necessitating new SIM.
My first guess would be that the app needs to be updated, maybe uninstall & reinstall the app? Might be better to try that in a spot with a TMo signal if possible?
$1 gamble, not high stakes but still a waste if you don't actually need it.
I got the 99c SIM before, used it for a while then got tired of making calls/texts every 30(?) days to keep it alive, lost my number. LOL
They'll give you a new number if you want, right?
Or pay $5 /yr. to keep the # & have verification texts get through vs. random luck on free plan.
Don't know, the SIM is inactivated but the app still works. Just signed on and got a new temp #... will probably get expired again in 30 days. LOL
I'm just using Freedompop as my extra line for now.
As One mentioned he has done, you can pay $5/yr. to retain the # w/o having to make a call every few weeks. This is supposed to also make 2FA and OTP work reliability with the #.
Just went through the latest shenanigans with FP (& posted about it) so in my view none of them are terribly reliable.
Thanks for all the responses here Folks !!
I enjoy checking out cheapie/freebie things - so the 99 cent cost fits OK, but=>
Since I actually use the phone(s) so little, things like this are mere curiosities - or toys if you prefer.
The $5/year I pay willingly to keep that number is well worth having for all the reasons Redrotors has mentioned.
(My wifi only desk phone DOES get regular usage.)
My main concern for this query regards the 'BOSS' network being inactive & thus cellular call attempts bring 'invalid number' responses.
I see no way to make it search for any more networks - and removing + reinstalling the app on that phone seems like a shot in the dark to me.
Maybe during their m-f 'support' hours I'll try that & see if I can get a reasonably quick response that may work - else it is no big deal to just leave it as it is & chalk up the 99 cent loss as a test that failed.
Yeah, before uninstalling the app maybe try to update it? If no more updates make sure the current newest app is compatible with your phone / android version before uninstalling. Unfortunately they don't list a set version of android "varies by device" in play store but it seems that android 8 is the bare minimum. Moto e6 should be on android 9 if that is what you have it on.
Thanks Again Redrotors !!
I'll fiddle around with it some more & see if there is an update.
It is a freebie/spare Moto which has V11 (I think).
When it was possible to get those freebies I made sure to get a couple as my dear partner excels at wrecking tech gear in 'mysterious' ways, so having a spare is important.
Some time ago, TextNow was offering free map data as a test. Did that not become a standard feature? I could see that feature making TextNow worthy of regular usage.
I never heard of map data feature. Some reported having a small general use data bucket added to their free plan. No rhyme or reason that I'm aware of for an account getting it.
If there were some other limited data use experiments for TextNow free accounts I'd be curious to hear about it.
Most report being able to do a Google search on TextNow free so you can get a location/address but you can't open any links/go any further.
I have it - it is called "Free Essential Data" - email, map and rideshare apps are zero rated. Looks like the have removed all reference to this on their website, but it used to be mentioned on their website.
Thanks for that.
Is it in addition to a free small amount of data to use on anything or just a standalone on your free line?
This was at least all the details I got.
I am almost certain that usage of those apps do not count towards allotment
You no longer can get the $5 / year, at least when I checked for number parking. But it gets regular use now every month so its not a big deal for me.
I still have it, and its nice. I didn't get the free 250mb though.
... but still cannot sign up on this plan, right?
I just noticed this on The TextNow web page:
After doing some research I found out that the $4.99 unlimited data for one day is "the first 10GBs at high speed and then throttled there after"
So, the high speed data comes in at 50 cents a Gig....could be a quick, temporary inexpensive emergency back up fix ( if there's a disruption with your main carrier) that costs you nothing up front.