https://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2018/03/prepaid-phones-on-sale-this-week-mar-25.html
FreedomPop LTE SIM (AT&T) 99¢ (was $4.99)
FreedomPop 12 Month 1 GB/Month Plan with SIM (AT&T) $49.99)
Thanks PEW
Love getting these cheap from Best Buy, no hassle with downgrading!!! Easy to get freedompop friends and the extra 500mb!
Can any freedompop "pro's" share how they manage multiple SIM's? Are you using a separate email account for each SIM?
It's my understanding that you need separate email accounts to be able to get the "friends bonus" data, could be wrong though.
Any tips for a freedompop novice would be appreciated.
anyone try the 12/month plan. any downgrade fee need? when using over 1G, will it stop or charge extra?
thanks.
There is no downgrade fee-- and no need to downgrade, or remove 'free' trials, etc. If you don't put a credit card on the line (and you don't have to), data will stop when you hit the 1 gig limit. There is no fallback 2G.
If you choose to put a credit card on the line, you can allow overages (and charges).
How is the quality of the FP GSM services - is it way better than the old Sprint based VOIP was ??
Since their GSM services seem to be on AT&T, I wonder if this will work better than their CDMA did in our rural area ??
2 questions that perhaps someone knows the answers for...
- If we got this and it was awful is it likely that BB will accept a return ??
- If this gets bought & shelved for future use, is it likely to go dead after a while ??
The attraction of this for us is of course the unlimited talk:
Direct link to BB:
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/freedompop-12-month-prepaid-plan-lte-3-in-1-sim-card-kit/6187400.p?skuId=6187400
Generally speaking, AT&T signal is more steady and consistent than Sprint... nothing to do with CDMA vs GSM, just how the carriers lay out their towers and also frequency.
I dont know about att. But sprint sucks talking on V0IP for me. Sometimes works sometimes dont. And I live in the big city. Rural area? I doubt it works at all. Data still works fine tho
thanks KenE. Do you think they will do the same as on the regular sim accounts that when you overuse, they will suspend your account until they get a valid credit card to charge?
There is zero Sprint here, just AT&T or VZ.
There is also just about no wireless data coverage around here.
Tried FP, pre-GSM and it was absolutely useless couldn't even make any calls.
GSM coverage here can only be via AT&T here if it works at all...but if it doesn't work I don't want to end up stuck with an expense for a useless 'plan'.
Best of luck ET. I keep running into hassles every time I try freedompop. I returned the last sims I got without activating. Way too much hassle.It looks like it will cost you $15 to try theatt service for 3 months, If you pick up the sim card at your nearest best buy. 1 gb per month data is included. unlimited VOIP talk. Is it worth it? If you need att data sounds like $5per month for 1gb data each month is attractive.
https://slickdeals.net/f/11594311-freedompop-gsm-plans-unlimited-talk-text-1gb-lte-data-3-months-15-free-store-pickup
"$15 + Free Store Pickup
....
Best Buy offers select FreedomPop GSM Prepaid Plans on sale starting at $17.99 --> Now $14.99. Select free store pickup where available. Otherwise, Shipping is free on $35+ orders. Thanks Jbh98
Available options:
Freedom GSM LTE Prepaid Plans (3-in-1 SIM Card Kit)
Includes: Unlimited Talk & Text + 1GB LTE Data each month
3-Months Prepaid for $17.99 --> Now $14.99 (one-time payment)
Cost breakdown: ~$4.99/month
12-Month Prepaid for $44.99 (one-time payment)
Cost breakdown: ~$3.75/month
Plan Details:
No credit card required
Activate at Activate | FreedomPop (required)
FreedomPop offers Voice Over IP (VoIP) wireless service (learn more)
Includes Voicemail & MMS
After your first 3 month or 12 month period is completed, you may add a payment method and renew at the original plan rate of $19.99/mo. (3-month plan) or $49.99/mo. (12-month plan) if desired
Alternatively, once your 3 month or 12 month period is completed, you may downgrade to the FreedomPop Basic Plan (more info). Also check the Wiki section below for further details.
Additional data available (requires payment method to be added to account)
For use with the FreedomPop mobile app (iOS / Google Play)
Compatible with most unlocked Android & iOS GSM devices (including unlocked phones from AT&T, T-Mobile, Metro PCS, Cricket and other GSM carriers)
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Good deal?"
Hi Als !!
My cellular journey during the recent decade taught me 2 main things:
- Don't ever trust providers, their claims or their 'promises';
- Most often things appear too good to be true...because they ARE indeed false.
Adding to the above, I have also learned to associate FP with hassles as you did, and also TF - which I will always despise for their absolutely horrible 'customer service', and how poorly that their apps even work.
The -ONLY- reason I started using TF at all was having a bunch of the cheapo cards from the special a while back as well as an unlocked phone to use with their GSM services, but in 4 days that time is OVER.
The last few cards will be used to keep my partner's GSM services going, as she barely uses that at all.
You're not required to put a credit card on the 3-month or 12-month plans at all, as long as you purchase from Best Buy, Target, Ebay, etc. Data will quit working when you hit the 1GB limit, until the plan rolls over at the next month, when the line will start working again. (Not suspended, but just "hibernated".)
In theory, data used for VoIP calls/texts gets rebated to your account-- but folks seems to say this is not reliable. Remember that making phone calls requires data on FP-- so when you're out of data, you also can't call, except on WiFi.
Wow, just noticed both Best Buy and Target have the 3 month/1GB Freedompop SIM for $9.99-- the cheapest I've seen it.
If someone wants a short trial:
https://www.target.com/p/freedompop-3-in-1-lte-sim-kit-3-month-prepaid-plan-unlimited-talk-text-1gb-data/-/A-53511487
Things to remember: I think you can't port in a number without paying a fee (and adding a credit card......). If you want to continue after the 3 month period, I don't know whether you'll have the option of moving to the 12-month plan, or only keeping the 3 month plan (both at normal retail cost, not the $9.99 you'd be getting this for now.) To renew, you need a credit card on the line, too. If you're not planning on using it for calls, or you are using Google Voice/hangouts instead if FP's VoIP app, you could just buy another SIM instead of a credit card renewal.
Can you use PayPal instead of a credit card?
My apologies, Et-Z. I thought I had replied to this earlier, but apparently forgot to hit 'submit'.
Best Buy will not accept a return on the FP SIMs, or any pre-loaded SIM once activated. They consider them consumables.
Some folks who have tried both think FP VoIP works better on AT&T than Sprint-- if so, this may be due to latency, or something else about how the different networks handle VoIP.
VoIP quality is, in my experience, very dependent on the phone used. I have had very good call quality on both Sprint and AT&T, less-than-stellar chances of receiving an inbound call, and more attention required to start/sync the app for outgoing calls than may be acceptable for a user who just wants a phone with no hassle. I think it's common to all VoIP that you may have problems if you are in transit and switch cell towers.
@joseph, you can use Paypal to purchase the pre-loaded SIM from any vendor that accepts Paypal. As far as adding a payment method to your FreedomPop account if desired, the simple answer is 'maybe'. FP appears to not want to accept Paypal unless it's linked to a credit card that allows recurring payments. See this post from akaLTD, who figured a workaround to use Paypal linked to a limited-charge virtual CC
https://www.nthcircle.com/forum/freedompop/1955-using-virtual-cc-number#29735
(Note: FP may be more willing to accept Paypal for purchasing a SIM or device than they are for accepting Paypal as a payment method linked to a line-- the purchase itself should be a one-time charge.)
I have FP LTE SIMs in a number of different phones.
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They seem to work flawlessly in my AT&T Prepaid phones (both of which are LG Phoenix 2 phones).
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They work nearly as well in an unlocked LG X Charge and
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Verizon Prepaid Moto E4 phones.
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They work lousy in an Alcatel Pop 4 Plus and a couple of Blu phones that I own.
If you have any AT&T Prepaid phones, laying around, you might be very pleasantly surprised with the quality of VOIP over their network.
Chelle, are you using Google Voice/hangouts, or the FP messaging (VoIP) app?
And are your comments about the various phones referring to the VoIP function of those phones, or data as well?
(I have the Alcatel Pop 4 Plus and a BLU as well-- I haven't noticed SIM compatibility/data problems, and haven't tried either with any VoIP beyond a quick test with the FP app on the BLU.)
I use the FP VOIP app. There are no compatibility issues, that I'm aware of, but the voice quality seems to vary between devices-- from "okay" to "hey, that sounds as good as cellular voice!", per my above comments.
Thanks! I've read comments over the years about some specific devices that are notoriously problematic with VoIP, including the LG Volt that FreedomPop sold for a while. There's a nice thread somewhere in the FP forum about the Volt, but I think the factors that caused such problems with the Volt are semi-universal: the VoIP app wants to see defined levels from the phone mic, and coming back to the phone speaker. Those levels are not adjustable by the user in stock android builds, and if those trim levels are not compatible, sound quality will be poor, or unusable.
Hmmmm....VOIP +/- cellular data +/- rural areas...too dicey for this old guy.
I'll choose instead to stay with straight cellular services, thanks !!