I got over my reluctance and decided to try calling Life Wireless' support just ONE more time to see if it could be any better (my 1st try was a total waste).
This time I got an agent who spoke clearly, seemed to grasp my query quite well & he told me how I could proceed, so I tried it.
The best way I can describe all that came next was 'painless' because it went so smoothly & easily.
Turns out that if one has applied for Lifeline before as I did with safelink - BUT has not claimed their services, one can simply re-apply at Life Wireless as a new user, and it somehow re-uses the prior approval.
I did go for their free phone deal even though they demand a $4.99 shipping fee & frankly as of right now I'm very glad that I did.
The package from them arrived via Fedex Express service in less than 48 hours from the time of ordering.
Contrary to that listing the phone I got has Android v13 - and what looks like the company's site says this about it:
The Social Mobile Rhino Pace A1 is a low-cost LTE smartphone designed for high-volume deployments. The PACE A1 was designed to address enterprise needs through its powerful functionality and affordability.
( Social Mobile RHINO-PACE-A1 - Barcodesinc.com )
I did fully charge it & may activate it later tonight after I rest for a bit.
Finally all the efforts I put into investigating the Lifeline options have paid off.
Today I did the activation which was quick & painless.
Test calling completed fine too.
Given that my partner's backup/Redpocket GSMA service expires soon, I'll also try the SIM from this in that phone to see if she can keep using that rather than the Rhino, or I may just give her the FP free service to use;
Either way is a win so long as she can call home from where ever she may go.
My only point of advice regarding Lifeline for GSMA:
Beware of applying at some other site to avoid the confusions I went through.
I would think Life Wireless allows using your own phone considering purchasing a phone from them is not a requirement. They should allow porting in an old number as well.
The Rhino phone uses the old style removal battery which means it might not last very long compared to more modern devices. It would not hurt to roughly compare the Rhino battery life to your other devices currently used for phone purposes.
Anyway, thanks for the update and the photos as I like reading about people's experiences trying out new cell services. Hope everything works out for you.
I did not 'purchase' a phone from them & no such 'requirement' was seen there;
Of course they offered porting - but I did not want that.
And...it seems likely that I can just move that SIM into another GSMA device should I desire to do so.
Thanks for the giggles here !!:
OLD STYLE ?!?
Looks like you are saying that you prefer devices which become e-waste when their battery gets weak ?!?
I seek ALL things with replaceable batteries - though seldom have any needed one for my uses.
Thank You:
Given that all they took from me was the 4.99 shipping charge which amazingly had this perfectly good & usable device arrive quickly via express shipping AND that I now have good GSMA services @$0/month vs. a minimum of $60 for 360 days with limitations - I see ONLY things to be pleased about within this result !!
