I do wish to make that test - but since the freebie Visible phone is likely using the same network there as the FP thing has & that doesn't have any signal - nor during ~85% of the trip home (until reaching our town)... it is my guess that the FP will be just the same.
Sadly, my last time of having the car was exactly during when that SIM got dropped off here & now that I have it working I may not be able to use her car again 'till after the RP service expires.
I wonder, based upon your suggestion if there is some super-cheap AT&T based TF deal I could grab quickly 100% online to put into another, older device just to keep her feeling safe for a while...?
As I was activating my sim, I was offered a choice of an upgrade (I skipped it), but the first isn't bad:
$9.98 / mo for unl t/t/d (1.5GB high speed data)
Just curious...
Et_Z (or anyone else with a SIM handy) is the SIM # 8901260 , or 8901240 ?
(The latter is the newer T-Mobile designation that's cropping up with nearly all former Sprint MVNOs and still has some issues with iPhones. The 260 SIMs use T-Mobile's iPhone carrier bundle, and seem to have better results with iPhones. I'm guessing Red Pocket probably uses the xxxx260 SIM.)
(EDIT: meant to say 'seem to have better results', and screwed it up: corrected now.)
Thank you E_Z for trying out the new sim and reporting the results here. Looks like I am going to order and give Freedompop another chance. Couple questions from me to anybody who knows:
If I need a new phone for Freedompop, what should I be aware of before purchasing? Is the requirement a certain technology and/or being on their approved list of phones?
Anybody know of deal for a new and cheap phone that would work for this service? Only requirement is the ability to make and receive calls.
Based on your previous experience with the Freedompop Freemium sim, are they flexible with the days allowed to renew their free plan? Can you renew a few days early? How about a day or so late? I assume Freedompop will not warn users that a month is up. It would have been nice if they gave notice through text or email saying it was time to renew.
kathie, thanks for calling our attention to this FreedomPop plan!
Since I'm not a user, I can only comment on the first 2 questions.
Any phone that is acceptable on the T-Mobile network should work. Basically, this means unlocked GSM phones, or (still locked) T-Mobile branded phones. with VoLTE & band 12 at a minimum, T-Mobile has the least restrictive compatibility requirements of the 3 networks, and there isn't a model 'whitelist'. You'll get better results if the phone also has T-Mobile's newer band 71, which is the band T-Mobile is going to be using heavily for expansion in previously underserved areas.
If you already have an unlocked GSM phone (or T-Mobile branded phone), the Mint Mobile IMEI test page is very good. Enter your IMEI, and if it's accepted, click on the small question mark next to the phone drawing to see details about what T-Mobile bands the phone has. https://www.mintmobile.com/byop/
re: cheap phones: unfortunately, T-Mobile does not aggressively market their branded prepaid phones like AT&T does, so it's harder to find really inexpensive new phones that will work on T-Mobile MVNOs.
For new Factory Unlocked GSM phones, the Motorola Moto E, Moto E6 (if you can still find this model), and the TCL A30 all go on sale at around $115- $130.
If you're OK with a used phone, and live in an area that has had good T-Mobile coverage for the last 3-5 years (and therefore not dependent on Band 71), there should be a wide selection of phones for $50 and up. (For example, I'm using an older Moto E4 on Tello's T-Mobile service with no problem: no band 71 on that phone, but I don't really need band 71 until I get 50 miles outside the city & off interstate highways.)
I have an unused AT&T Prepaid Moto E5 Play from a deal a couple years ago. Sites are asking $20-$30 for codes to unlock the device. While the price they are charging seems excessive to me, my question to you or anybody else is whether this unlocked AT&T variant would even activate and work on T-Mobile?
I'd suggest entering the IMEI on the Mint Mobile test site I linked above. Test sites can't tell you the locked status of the phone, but that particular test is very informative about the phone's capabilities once unlocked. My guess is that the AT&T Prepaid Moto E5 Play would work fine, but might be missing some bands including 66 & 71. (Not a big problem unless you're in a rural area.)
$20-$30 isn't horrible for unlocking, but look at the site descriptions carefully: some sellers are only really promising to check eligibility for unlocking, and to unlock the phone if it meets the requirements. In other words, charging you $20 to do what you can do yourself for free by visiting Unlock Your Phone or Device - AT&T Device Unlock
You're better off buying a cheap number from Ting, Tello, or FreedomPop for less than $5, then using that number to sign up for a Moto G Pure swap from Visible while using a referral. Total cost to get the unlocked Moto G Pure would be less than $10 + the useless E5 you send back to Visible. The only possible drawback is that Visible's Moto G Pure doesn't have LTE band 71, but you'd probably also have that same problem with an unlocked E5 .
Regarding this amazing FP/Tmobile deal=>
I remain amazed at how we somehow now have coverage for this around here !!
Earlier today I tested it in what is pretty much a dead zone for both VZ & AT&T coverage.
Much to my delight I was able to make a call with 3 bars of signal & very good audio quality.
Very shortly today I must head to an area in the opposite direction which has very spotty coverages & I'll be testing this new arrival as possible to see how well it reaches that area too.
My only disappointment -IF- this has turned out better than I imagined will be that getting a 2nd SIM from the big W has only the shipping to home option now, and having to pay almost double for this tiny thing is offensive to me.
I may (once again) try out Tello instead because if this new service is THAT good, then their T&T only offering for $8/month even beats Twigby's pricing AND since VZ barely (if at all) reaches my partner's workplace - this new coverage may be better for us.
I'll post more later when I've got more data from my testing...
Et_Z, just a quick reminder about Tello: Tello applies tax differently than most providers. In many tax jurisdictions, you might save money (after tax) by adding 500MB of data to that Tello T/T only line.
The reason: Tello's 'bucket' pricing allows them to recalculate taxes based on the the T/T portion of the line, which is what most jurisdictions actually tax. The portion of the monthly cost they can attribute to 'data' is usually not taxable, and in this instance would reduce the T/T (taxable) portion from $8 to $4 ($9 total plan - $5 cost attributed towards data.) I believe that providers that don't offer an option to de-bundle T/T from data either can't, or won't go to the trouble, of reducing the taxable amount this way.
Order 4, return 2 or 3 in store. I believe you have 90 days but may want to confirm (& take screenshot).
As an alternative, if you have the storage space, TP / detergent etc. doesn't spoil
Don't know if it is region dependent but this is what I see for FP SIM kit.
Thanks Redrotors.
What big W is doing reminds me of the old saying 'don't cut off your nose to spite your face'.
They are so intent upon bamboozling folks into the 'free trial' of W+ that it is no doubt costing them a great many orders.
Buy 4 & return 3 seems to me like way too much baloney to attain this small goal - and to get the 1st SIM I already literally got the ONLY thing we needed which was reasonably priced there.
I even tried using their chat to ask about their deal on BRM potato starch vs. the deal at the big A & they thumbed their nose at me.
Big W is like the family dollar stores in that lots of their stuff has stooopid high pricing.
I drove right by the entrance to their stuporcenter today - TWICE & could easily have made the pickup -IF- they hadn't killed off the ship to store option with zero shipping added.
Back to the incredible cellular changes that all this illustrates around here=>
Further testing today brought amazingly good results - so good in fact that I may instead give Tello a spin after our $5 Visible time expires rather than hassling with big W at all.
Glad to have a bit of a grace period before having to add this to the to-do list !!
OK - I've totally given up on any thought of getting a 2nd SIM from big W.
Also:
Found the best thing we can do with our handy new Visible phone is to port that number right on back to Twigby.
Their current offer is 25% for any new line +25% more off when ported in - for 6 months.
So even at the full $16 for unlimited T&T + only 200MB data & overage protection it is better for our limited budget than Visible @$25 - but with the 50% off (~$8/mo.) will be superb as we recover from the zero income situation we are struggling through presently.
Truthfully if we could have kept on with Twigby without needing new phones for the new, improved (??) VZ services, we'd have just stayed as we were & I'll forever miss having my trusty LG Volt !!
In addition to all the greatness Twigby offers presently is their referral program, whereby each participant gets a $15 credit - but since they do not use referral codes I cannot post a code for it here - it operates via username & email - the only meh thing about that provider IMO.
If you already have the Blackberry, the easiest route is to check the IMEI on these 2 sites: https://www.t-mobile.com/resources/bring-your-own-phone (Since the FP plan runs on the T-Mobile network, T-Mobile's rules about what phones are compatible are likely enforced.)
and https://www.mintmobile.com/byop/ (On this one, if the phone is passes with a 'Foxtastic!" result, click on the small question mark next to the phone graphic, to see details about what T-Mobile bands your phone supports, and to confirm that it will have working VoLTE.)
The second link is far more informative, and is my preference.
