The sweetest deal in the mobile world is about to get a little less attractive!
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Free cell plans taking a haircut at RingPlus
For almost a year now, I’ve been enjoying 1,000 talk minutes, 1,000 texts and 500 MB of LTE data on the Sprint network for absolutely FREE from RingPlus. The free service is subsidized by ads you have to listen to after you dial a number but before your call connects.
Unfortunately, RingPlus announced Monday via email that it ‘has to switch to a new system’ and that many of its beloved free plans will be discontinued very shortly. There was precious little in the way of further explanation.
The following plans are being discontinued:
- Commitment
- Commitment (Member+)
- Free Plan
- Future – Phase 11
- Future – Phase 3
- Future – Phase 5
- Future – Phase 6
- Future – Phase 9
- Leonardo 2
- Leonardo 3
- Michelangelo
- Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Seashore (Memorial Day)(Non-Member+ Upgrade)
- Truly Free
- Truly Free 2
- Truly Free 3
So if you’re a RingPlus customer who has enjoyed free talk, text and data, here’s what you need to know…
Everything will remain the same for you through the end of your current billing cycle. You’ll have access to your standard allotment of data as you usually would. But once you enter a new billing cycle, you’ll be put into cell phone purgatory.
For the next 30 days after your current billing cycle ends, you’ll find yourself in a temporary holding plan with only 200 minutes, 200 texts, 200 MMS and 200 MB LTE. (Editor’s note: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!)
During that purgatory period, you’ll have to elect another free or paid plan from RingPlus. If you fail to do so, your service will be canceled at the end of 30 days—though your number will remain active for porting to another carrier for an additional month.
These are the plans currently being offered that you can sign up for going forward:
As for me, it looks like I’ll have to make the switch to the Mad Feast plan for $10 a month.
I’m loathe to pay a monthly cell phone bill, but I don’t see another viable option. The thing is, I’m still a very heavy talker and texter. There’s no way the 500 texts and 500 talk minutes of the Mad Fiesta Free will work for me. That would be half my usual monthly allotment. And I am not always near reliable Wi-Fi, so the Mad Oak is likely out of the question too.
Oh well, the no cell phone bill thing was sweet while it lasted!
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