Do you use FreedomPop in the USA? If so, what are the details?

arlen holder

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Dec 16, 2018, 4:03:02 PM12/16/18

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Do you use FreedomPop in the USA?
If so, what are the details?

I read in this thread today...
<https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/KtbZM4UI3Lw/MB33w2p7CQAJ>

That the FreedomPop plan is...
o $10
o For 200 minutes
o 500 SMS texts (dunno about MMS)
o 500MB of cellular data (dunno the speeds)
o On the AT&T GSM network
o Using a specific "FreedomPop" app on the smartphone

But what are the gotchas?

What's the expiry date, for example, of the $10?
Is it 1 month? 3 months? 1 year? Forever?

If you use it within the expiry period, does it roll over?

And, if you need a "freedompop app", am I to presume that this FreedomPop
plan works on an "existing" phone (that already has, say, T-Mobile
service)?

Or is this FreedomPop plan meant to be the primary phone line?

If FreedomPop is meant to be a second phone line on a phone that _already_
has a phone number, then, how does FreedomPop differ from the other free
second-line apps such as "SecondLine" or "Talkatone" or "2nd-Line", or
"SideLine", or "TextNow", etc.
<https://www.sideline.com/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.talkatone.android>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.TextNow>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.tn2ndLine>
etc.

If you have experience with FreedomPop in the USA, please provide details!

The Real Bev

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Dec 16, 2018, 4:32:46 PM12/16/18

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On 12/16/2018 01:03 PM, arlen holder wrote:
> Do you use FreedomPop in the USA?
> If so, what are the details?
>
> I read in this thread today...
> <https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/KtbZM4UI3Lw/MB33w2p7CQAJ>
>
> That the FreedomPop plan is...
> o $10
> o For 200 minutes
> o 500 SMS texts (dunno about MMS)
> o 500MB of cellular data (dunno the speeds)
> o On the AT&T GSM network
> o Using a specific "FreedomPop" app on the smartphone
>
> But what are the gotchas?

The price varies. You buy a SIM for something between $1 and $10. Once
you've got it activated and refused all the extra-charge services, you
pay nothing more and you get whatever was promised when you bought it.
For 30-day-free-trial purposes, Day 1 is the day you placed the order,
not the day it was finally activated. It's a real pain to extricate
yourself from the extra-charge merry-go-round, but it can be done.

>
> What's the expiry date, for example, of the $10?
> Is it 1 month? 3 months? 1 year? Forever?

When Hell freezes over or Freedompop goes out of business.

> If you use it within the expiry period, does it roll over?

Nothing rolls over. You start the month with only what was promised per
month.

> And, if you need a "freedompop app", am I to presume that this FreedomPop
> plan works on an "existing" phone (that already has, say, T-Mobile
> service)?

Existing phone yes, but unless it can use two 'phone' SIMS, it replaces
your T-Mobile SIM. We have one older phone with the FP SIM and
hangouts. The hangouts dialer works when you're logged into a wifi
system; FP works when there's no wifi available. Handy for use with
Gas Buddy to find cheap gas stations when you're traveling.

> Or is this FreedomPop plan meant to be the primary phone line?

If so, then I think there are monthly fees etc. I never really checked
into that, I just wanted free data for when I was out of reach of a wifi
source.

FWIW, Charter provides access to a number of free wifi hotspots, but you
have to be really close to them before you can log in. The one time I
used it I was outside a small business on the sidewalk and don't know
how far away their router actually was. Less good than I had anticipated.

> If FreedomPop is meant to be a second phone line on a phone that _already_
> has a phone number, then, how does FreedomPop differ from the other free
> second-line apps such as "SecondLine" or "Talkatone" or "2nd-Line", or
> "SideLine", or "TextNow", etc.

I think those are wifi-only, like google voice/hangouts. I could be
wrong, though.

> <https://www.sideline.com/>
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.talkatone.android>
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.TextNow>
> <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.tn2ndLine>
> etc.
>
> If you have experience with FreedomPop in the USA, please provide details!

I also bought a $20 FP hotspot that provides 200MB of data (maybe 500MB,
I can't remember now)/month. Doesn't roll over, no additional charges.
I've used it only a couple of times and it did what it was supposed
to. You turn it on and log into it with your phone. 3"x3"x.5", roughly.
Seems to hold a charge for quite a long time when it's not used.

--
Cheers,Bev
"It is a matter of regret that many low, mean suspicions
turn out to be well-founded." -- Edgar Watson Howe

mike

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Dec 17, 2018, 1:49:14 AM12/17/18

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I was happy with the FreedomPop WiMax
home internet service while it lasted.

I've been trying to sign up with FreedomPop
free phone service for years.
Here are the problems I've run into.
It's very difficult to pin them down on anything.
Don't know about the pay plans on ATT, but the free stuff was always on
the Sprint network.
Most of the used phones around here are Verizon.
They say they're unlocked, but they don't have
radios compatible with sprint. I've checked out maybe
a dozen phones and none were compatible...either wrong
radios or locked elsewhere.
The data plan says 500MB, but you only get to use the
first 400MB before it shuts you off. You have to add
money to the free plan to get past 400MB. And it debits your card
automatically,
for your convenience,
unless you pay to have it not
automatically pre-cover a potential overrun.
I'm paranoid that a rogue application might
consume huge amounts of data without my consent.
On a 200MB plan like a hotspot, that effectively
means you only get 100MB.
Some have reported that, as you drive around, it
switches between towers and gobbles up your data
in the process.

I took a shallow dive into the new ATT plans, but didn't find anything
that looked acceptable.
Probably somewhat simpler if you buy one of their
used phones. Reports vary on the quality of their
used phones.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Freeupmobile.com is offering a ATT SIM for $2 and
a free plan. It looks much less complicated than
the freedompop one. Looks like they don't require
you to sign up for a bunch of trial paid stuff that you
have to remember to shut off.
Verizon and ATT and Freeup agree that my Verizon Droid mini
is compatible with the service. It's unclear from the site,
but there have been reports that the data is hard
limited, so there won't be any overages.
I figured it would be worth the $2 risk. Haven't
gotten the SIM yet. Jury is still out.

This site is worth a look:
willmyphonework.net

I suggest that you use a single-use virtual credit card number
to sign up for any of these plans.
I've had FreedomPop deduct a nominal amount from
my credit card if I merely logged into their site
to check out the latest offering. It always
gets put back, but all attempts to remove my credit
card number from the account have failed.

I would not port my number there.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I don't understand why you'd need a second number
on an existing phone plan, especially if you have
to pay extra for it.

For low usage, I have an emergency flip-phone on
a prepaid plan with PagePlus. Uses verizon network.
Cost/minute starts at 10-cents a minute and goes
down if you add bigger chunks of minutes.
Have to add minutes three times a year at a
total cost of less than $11 for 100 minutes
3x a year.
Minutes roll over as long as you don't let
the 120 days lapse. I can forward my google
voice primary number to it if I'm expecting
a call when I'm out. NO data tho.

I expect it's a common problem that, as soon
as I put the battery in the flip-phone,
I start getting spam calls. Doesn't cost
anything if I don't answer them. Bummer if you
get a phone number previously used by a drug dealer.

Are we having fun yet?

123456789

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Dec 17, 2018, 10:50:38 AM12/17/18

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On 12/16/2018 11:49 PM, mike wrote:

> I'm paranoid that a rogue application might consume huge amounts of
> data without my consent.

That happened to me one time. I started checking because my phone was
hot. Turned out it was the 'My Verizon' app. It had used up over 1G and
was still going. I disabled it (can't be deleted) and problem solved. I
never figured out why and never found anyone else reporting the problem.
I had enough rollover to cover the data loss so never complained.
Needless to say I have never re-enabled the app even though the updates
since 'might' have fixed it...

micky

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Dec 25, 2018, 7:23:49 PM12/25/18

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In comp.mobile.android, on Sun, 16 Dec 2018 21:03:02 -0000 (UTC), arlen

holder <ar...@arlen.com> wrote:

>Do you use FreedomPop in the USA?
>If so, what are the details?
>
>I read in this thread today...
><https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.mobile.android/KtbZM4UI3Lw/MB33w2p7CQAJ>
>
>That the FreedomPop plan is...
>o $10
>o For 200 minutes
>o 500 SMS texts (dunno about MMS)
>o 500MB of cellular data (dunno the speeds)
>o On the AT&T GSM network
>o Using a specific "FreedomPop" app on the smartphone
>
>But what are the gotchas?

They have both "plans" and "services" so when you cancel the plan you
subscribed to, figuring you won't have to apy for it, it turns out you
havent' cancelled the service which they gave you even though you didn't
ask for it The service is free the first month or two so you don't know
that it's a separate thing, but they have your credit card and now
you're paying for it.

You can cancel it too but I had to yell at them twice to get the first
month's charge refunded and she claimed she was doing it to be nice, not
because they had tricked me.

Visual voice mail, meaning "text", is free iirc the first month and
after that i'ts $10/month iirc, so why do I need that when no other
cellphone has it? So I cancel it. Then I find out that without it, I
have no voicemail at all. There is no audio voicemail except in cases
where they decide they cant' transcribe it to text.

I thought this was related to its being VTOM, or TVOE, whatever it's
called where it doesn't actually use cellular phone calling but instead,
cellular data, and that's why the dialer didn't work, but I currently
have MintMobile and it's supposeed to also be VTOM but it does work with
the regular dialer.

However I havent' tried using two sims with MintMobile because it was
meant to be a sufficient primary line with no need for antying else .
And it would be too, except the phone doesn't always ring. I woudl still
recommend it on the odds that you won't have this problem. There is a
long thread in their forum dealing with this problem, but it only has
10 or 20 posters, and I figure for the thousands of others, it must work
fine. ??? I'm paying 20/month if I pay a year in advance for unlimited
calls and texts and 5gigs/month of data, but i've never come close to
using 5 gigs and maybe I shoudl have signed up for 15/month for iirc 2
gigs of data. 15/month is only 180 a year, and Iwas already paying 100
a year for only 50 days usage. I was in a profligate mood when I
agreed to the other 60/year.

They have a new-customer offer of 3 months for 20 dollar, to give you
time to evaluate it. I'll admit that I only gave one or two people the
umber then and they never called me, so I didn't notice that the phone
doesn't always ring, until after I paid for the whole year, but I coudl
have a) made sure someone or other called me a bunch, b) called myself a
lot, c) only paid by the month after the 3 months were up, even though
it's twice the price (but only for a month or two.)

Oh, when you first get your sim, say you only wanted a data sim for the
free data, they send two sims, one for data and for data/voice.

I was on the Sprint network too. Don't know about ATT.

>
>What's the expiry date, for example, of the $10?

What's the 10 for?

>Is it 1 month? 3 months? 1 year? Forever?
>
>If you use it within the expiry period, does it roll over?

Nothing rolls over.

>
>And, if you need a "freedompop app", am I to presume that this FreedomPop
>plan works on an "existing" phone (that already has, say, T-Mobile
>service)?

It will work on probably any unlocked GM phone.

YOu can't use the dialer that came with the phone. They have their own
dialer, and there was another app for visual voice mail iirc but since I
didn't have that, I had to use their dialer app to send a text

I have a dual-sim phone but whether I put the freedom pop in the first
slot or second, not everythign worked with the other sim. (an ATT sim
that for 100 every 12 months or less gave me 50 days of use, as many
phone calls as I wanted on those days, $2/day. ) I used it on a driving
trip to florida, 4 days each way, and my friend said she couldn't hear
me or we were disconnected with Freedom. I would be parked at random
places on the highway when she called.

I don't regret leaving Freedom Pop. It was a bad experience afaic.

>Or is this FreedomPop plan meant to be the primary phone line?
>
>If FreedomPop is meant to be a second phone line on a phone that _already_
>has a phone number, then, how does FreedomPop differ from the other free
>second-line apps such as "SecondLine" or "Talkatone" or "2nd-Line", or
>"SideLine", or "TextNow", etc.

I didnt' know about any of these.

><https://www.sideline.com/>
><https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.talkatone.android>
><https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.TextNow>
><https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.enflick.android.tn2ndLine>
>etc.

If it's an android app, it's an android app that uses data on your
primary and probably only plan, but from what you say, it provides a new
phone number.

This is why we're running out of numbers.

Arlen Holder

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Aug 4, 2020, 11:15:22 AM8/4/20

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kelown

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Aug 4, 2020, 11:49:46 AM8/4/20

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> For those who are interested in Freedompop details, please see...

Not recommended.

* They require a proprietary hotspot to use their service (or they used to).
* Their back-end monitoring uses some of your limited free bandwidth.
* They make it difficult to monitor your bandwidth usage and will
automatically charge you for a refill tier once you go over your free
allotment.

sms

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Aug 4, 2020, 12:31:58 PM8/4/20

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On 12/16/2018 1:32 PM, The Real Bev wrote:

<snip>

I activated two phones on FreedomPop. One old phone on the free plan.
Another one I bought the 1GB/month plan (unlimited voice and data) on
eBay for about $31 for a year. That's a phone I can lend out if anyone
needs one.

FreedomPop sold their AT&T business to RedPocket who is being a little
less annoying with it. Still, there are precautions to take with the
free plan. For the free plan, it's best to buy a SIM card from a store
(Best Buy) rather than sign up to get a free SIM card sent to you. Pay
the setup fee with a new Paypal account then close that account so there
is no way they can ever charge you anything extra.

The data speeds are good, around 75Mb/s down is what I get.

The cheap 1 year plan seems to have disappeared from eBay, and both
Amazon and Best Buy are now at $49.99, while a bunch of eBay sellers are
now gouging.

Of course the other issue with FreedomPop is that you must use their
voice and SMS app. Everything goes over LTE or 3G data though you don't
get charged data for voice and SMS.

It's a cheap way to get good coverage with a backup phone if you are on
T-Mobile and you are traveling through rural areas where AT&T and
Verizon are the only carriers with coverage.

Arlen Holder

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Aug 4, 2020, 8:52:48 PM8/4/20

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On Tue, 4 Aug 2020 10:49:44 -0500, kelown wrote:

> Not recommended.
>
> * They require a proprietary hotspot to use their service (or they used to).
> * Their back-end monitoring uses some of your limited free bandwidth.
> * They make it difficult to monitor your bandwidth usage and will
> automatically charge you for a refill tier once you go over your free
> allotment.

Understood.

Steve Scharf just posted today that they changed ownership, and the new
owners, are, according to Steve, less onerous to deal with (supposedly).

In addition, Steve posted today some useful pricing information:
"The free Freedom Pop plan gives you 200 voice minutes,
500 SMS, and 200MB of data per month."

And Steve compared it with the "Truephone" plan...
"The Truphone plan charges 9¢ per
outgoing SMS, and 9¢ per outgoing voice minute, but incoming voice calls
and incoming SMS are not charged, so figure it's less than half the cost
compared to T-Mobile's per minute and per SMS cost. There's no need to
add money to the Truphone plan every year. Also, on Truphone, data is
available at 9¢/MB. That's very high ($90/GB) but if you need just a
little data, i.e. to book an Uber or Lyft ride, it's okay. Truphone uses
AT&T in the U.S., so the coverage is better too."

Truphone charges no monthly fees, you pay for whatever data, voice, and
SMS you use. It's a good emergency phone but the per unit costs are
high, especially for data. <https://www.truphone.com/us/consumer/sim/>.
Available in most countries. See
<https://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2014/06/truphone-price-cut-9-per-minute-sms-or.html>

Knowroaming is similar to Truphone, no monthly cost. Available in most
countries <https://www.knowroaming.com/product/travel-sim-card/>.

FreedomPop's free plan has no monthly cost. U.S. only.
<https://www.freedompop.com>

Vodaone U.K. also has a plan like this.

I suspect that there are others as well.

For all of these there is a modest start-up cost, typically $5-30.

There are also ome non-phone devices where having a plan like this is
useful. I.e. there are tracking devices that communicate by SMS. You
send an SMS and it responds with longitude and latitude coordinates. You
can have a "poor man's Lojack" with these devices and a non-monthly cost
plan. Send an SMS every few months to keep the account active (plus on
Truphone incoming texts are free).