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AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

[General] Unlimited Lifetime SIP Trunk $85 with free Sprint cell service

We're a Johnny-Come-Lately to the RingPlus world, but this is a deal worth considering. If you join their new Member+ program ($69.99 for a lifetime* membership), you can then sign up for the new (one-time $15 fee) Eternity Free Plan which gives you free unlimited calling in the U.S., free unlimited text messaging in the U.S., and 1.8GB of 4G LTE free data each month using any Sprint-compatible smartphone. The silver lining is that RingPlus also provides free SIP calling on your same account, and it works great with any Asterisk PBX. Translation: $85 gets you an unlimited Asterisk SIP trunk for your lifetime or the lifetime of RingPlus... which ever comes first.

Offer expires this Sunday, March 13. If you have Sprint service in your neighborhood, this is a No-Brainer. If you have an Asterisk PBX and no Sprint service, it's still a No-Brainer just for the free U.S. calling via SIP trunking.

Additional details and Asterisk trunk configuration here: »nerd.bz/1p8lOKo

RingPlus summary and fine print: »social.ringplus.net/disc ··· ember/p1
CatsEyeX
Premium Member
join:2014-08-20
Alviso, CA

CatsEyeX

Premium Member

Do I understand correctly that you can increase the LTE data to 2.8GB for $8.99 one time if you join the Member+ program?

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

said by CatsEyeX:

Do I understand correctly that you can increase the LTE data to 2.8GB for $8.99 one time if you join the Member+ program?

It's $8.99 per extra GB payable monthly.

josephf
join:2009-04-26

3 edits

josephf

Member

Looking only at the cellular aspect of this deal, the $85 gives you lifetime unlimited voice + text and 1.8GB/month LTE data all on the Sprint network (as opposed to RingPlus' homebrew concoction they use for voice that reputedly is of poor quality)?

How much would the lowest cost phone cost to be able to signup for this service?

How does this promotion compare to the earlier promotions they've run in terms of the amount of minutes and data provided on the free plan? And what are the (other) benefits of Member+?

Trimline
Premium Member
join:2004-10-24
Windermere, FL

Trimline

Premium Member

Sign up is very confusing - did you have to connect a social media account? That is kinda scary - let me know how you fared.
CatsEyeX
Premium Member
join:2014-08-20
Alviso, CA

CatsEyeX to AllThumbs

Premium Member

to AllThumbs
Does anybody have any experience with porting a VOIP number to RingPlus?
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

SCADAGeo to AllThumbs

Premium Member

to AllThumbs
said by josephf:

as opposed to RingPlus' homebrew concoction they use for voice that reputedly is of poor quality?

RingPlus uses Sprint's IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and has music, news, or ads (haven't heard an ad yet) as ringback on its *cellular* service.

I'm on the "Truly Free 2" plan while testing, and for the few calls I have made, the cellular service has been comparable to Ting (a Sprint MVNO on CDMA network, and Ting now offers GSM service, too).

Recently, I discovered that calls to toll-free numbers did not count against my cellular plan minutes.

said by josephf:

How much would the lowest cost phone cost to be able to signup for this service?

I use an old LG Marquee (LS855) that was used on Ting a couple of years ago... it's my only CDMA phone.

Currently, BestBuy has a Sprint pre-paid Moto E on sale for $30 (check ESN/MEID on Ring+ page *and* register the cellphone with Ring+ before the opening box and turning on cellphone).

It's a good idea to keep in mind that some promotions are only available to new accounts/devices, so I have to see if a promotion has an upgrade option for my current device (LG Marquee), otherwise, I'd have to add a new device to my account in order to take advantage of a current promotion.


said by josephf:

How does this promotion compare to the earlier promotions they've run in terms of the amount of minutes and data provided on the free plan?

There are many Ring+ promotions, and some include tethering, while others do not.

Here's a list of their current promotions.

Occasionally there are "flash promos" on their Twitter page, which also has a history of their promotions.

said by Trimline:

Sign up is very confusing - did you have to connect a social media account? That is kinda scary - let me know how you fared.

Security should always be a primary concern, and its a good idea to read *all* of the fine print.

I agreed to letting Ring+ access/install anything on the cellphone (data mining at its finest - at least they're up front about it).

If a person is privacy oriented, it may be a good idea to install Xposed and XPrivacy, use a new email address, and/or create a new social media account (I created a new Twitter account and followed @RingPlusMobile).

A social media account has to be connected within a week of account creation, and a post made with the #RingPlus hash tag.

If I'm on a Ring+ cellphone call, pressing '0' while on the call will post a tweet on Twitter.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs to Trimline

Member

to Trimline
said by Trimline:

Sign up is very confusing - did you have to connect a social media account? That is kinda scary - let me know how you fared.

The social media referred to in this promo is simply a post to their forum coupled with a link to it. Not a big deal.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

SCADAGeo to AllThumbs

Premium Member

to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

The social media referred to in this promo is simply a post to their forum coupled with a link to it. Not a big deal.

That's true, I had forgotten that there are different social requirements for each offer.

The post to the RingPlus forum must be a review of a cell phone carrier.


---

Here's why I linked a new Twitter account:

2014-05-19 Prepaid Phone News: RingPlus Terminating Some Free Plan Users' Service.
2014-09-18 RingPlus Ending Free Service For Most Users.

Previously, when free services ended, those who actively promoted Ring+ had their accounts converted to "house" accounts.


---

For those who are interested, here is a SlickDeals.net - RingPlus Wiki/FAQ.


---

There are offers that do not require Member+ level. The current offer (valid until Saturday, March 12, 2016 11 PM Pacific):

Beyond - Free Plan

For New Lines Only
2000 Min, 2000 Text and 1,600MB 3G data
Overages: 2 cents
Top up $20

*Social requirement: Review 1 or more cell phone carrier with link provided by sign up



Please note that this is *throttled*:

hungryghost:
I just heard from RingPlus. The Beyond plan's "3G" data speed is throttled at 256kbps. This is official.

I was also told that RP is working on increasing the data speed as part of the new data project, which is the upcoming ad sponsored data initiative (more info to come). Indications are Beyond's data speed will soon (before the next billing cycle) be bumped up to 512kbps. But for now, it's officially 256kbps.



---

If you're considering the lifetime Member+ plan, be aware that new Member+ lifetime subscription offer of $69.99 will end on Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 12pm Noon Pacific.

Afterwards, new Member+ annual? subscription will be $99.99.

The above information can be found in the promotion for the next Member+ only plan: Evermore Free Plan - Starts Sunday (03.13.2016) 5PM Pacific until Friday (03.18.2016) 11PM Pacific:

Evermore Free Plan

A Member + Exclusive

Evermore Free Plan
$0/mo: 2,000 minutes, 2,000 texts, and 2,000 MB of full speed 4G LTE data (Tethering $5.99 per month available as an Add On. Otherwise, overages at the rate of 1.75 cents per unit of talk, text and data.

A $15 Top Up is required to cover overages. If, and only if, the Top-Up balance reaches $0, another $15 auto Top Up will be automatically charged to your credit card on file.

*Social requirement: We would very much appreciate it if you post some of your hobbies or other things about yourself would like to share on your social.ringplus.net profile in the About section of your profile. Once you sign up for your plan atringplus.net, you can use the same login information to sign in at social.ringplus.net, and set up your profile.


AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

For those of you old enough to remember, I've been scrambling to find my Captain Midnight decoder badge. You almost need one to keep track of all the plans and various terms and conditions. If you're into VoIP, this $85 deal with unlimited calling via SIP or Sprint is probably the best offer you're ever going to see, and I doubt it will be repeated once they see how much communications traffic it generates. Better hurry.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
Interesting. But sign up is pretty confusion. What are the steps that I need to do? Join the Member+ program (where?) and then Sign up the Eternity plan? Do I need to transfer a number by tomorrow? Please help!

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

No immediate phone setup is required. Read the Nerd Vittles article for full explanation. For signup procedure, see this diagram on PIAF Forum.
OzarkEdge
join:2014-02-23
USA

6 recommendations

OzarkEdge to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

For those of you old enough to remember, I've been scrambling to find my Captain Midnight decoder badge. You almost need one to keep track of all the plans and various terms and conditions. If you're into VoIP, this $85 deal with unlimited calling via SIP or Sprint is probably the best offer you're ever going to see, and I doubt it will be repeated once they see how much communications traffic it generates. Better hurry.

Meh. Or stay calm and pay a fair price for a fair product or service from a respectable supplier you want to survive, and ignore the monkey business with obfuscating terms and conditions that are constantly changing.

OE
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

1 edit

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Member

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I tried to follow your procedure to signup for Truly Free 2. However, they keep asking me about my device and my old Moto or Samsung Verizon phones are not eligible. So I stuck there.
Edit:
Looked over your Nerd Vittles article. It looks like the trick is that I need to get a compatible phone. If it is the case, I will give up.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

1 recommendation

SCADAGeo

Premium Member

said by twinclouds:

Interesting. But sign up is pretty confusion. What are the steps that I need to do? Join the Member+ program (where?) and then Sign up the Eternity plan? Do I need to transfer a number by tomorrow? Please help!

If I recall correctly, the RingPlus page showed an example using the DEC ESN. I had to use the HEX ESN. It would be a good idea to check it against Ting's BYOD page, too.

Free porting is part of the offer.

Other options include picking up a Sprint Prepaid, Boost Mobile, Ting, or FreedomPop phone (Virgin Mobile phones may require a call - see SlickDeals FAQ/Wiki previously linked).

My preference is for root-able and bootstrap un-lockable phones, usable with AFWall+, CWMRecovery or TWRP.

If this is not a requirement, Best Buy has a Boost Mobile ZTE Speed 4G for $19.99.

It's in stock at the San Diego Best Buys, or you may be able to get a price match (Fry's Electronics, Walmart, etc - check return policies for unopened cell phones).

Something else to keep in mind - on Jan 1, 2016, those of us who live in California (or have a phone number with a California area code) have a new Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS) Surcharge, and the rate varies by city.

said by twinclouds:

I tried to follow your procedure to signup for Truly Free 2. However, they keep asking me about my device and my old Moto or Samsung Verizon phones are not eligible. So I stuck there.
Edit:
Looked over your Nerd Vittles article. It looks like the trick is that I need to get a compatible phone. If it is the case, I will give up.

There's no rush for the Truly Free 2 plan, it seems to appear frequently.

said by OzarkEdge:

Meh. Or stay calm and pay a fair price for a fair product or service from a respectable supplier you want to survive, and ignore the monkey business with obfuscating terms and conditions that are constantly changing.

OE

RingPlus is using social media as its advertising platform... sort of reminds me of Ting during its start up phase (without the constantly changing social requirements).

BTW - RingPlus offers paid service, too.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs to OzarkEdge

Member

to OzarkEdge
said by OzarkEdge:

said by AllThumbs:

For those of you old enough to remember, I've been scrambling to find my Captain Midnight decoder badge. You almost need one to keep track of all the plans and various terms and conditions. If you're into VoIP, this $85 deal with unlimited calling via SIP or Sprint is probably the best offer you're ever going to see, and I doubt it will be repeated once they see how much communications traffic it generates. Better hurry.

Meh. Or stay calm and pay a fair price for a fair product or service from a respectable supplier you want to survive, and ignore the monkey business with obfuscating terms and conditions that are constantly changing.

OE

Haven't seen any behavior that would warrant your characterization of their service. Your description sounds more like our historical experience with some of the Bell Sisters.
AllThumbs

1 recommendation

AllThumbs

Member

Just a heads up that, if you're on the fence about RingPlus, this is the last week to sign up for the Lifetime Member+ program at $99. After Friday, it's $99 per year in addition to the cost of whatever plan you choose. Some plans will be free, and some won't. But all of the better Member+ plans will require an annual subscription to Member+, or you lose your plan unless you're a Lifetime Member+ Plan member. Details of current $15 2K calls/2K SMS/2GB data promotion here.* Lots of rules. Read carefully!

* With 2,000 monthly U.S. calling minutes, this week's plan remains an excellent bargain for those that want a SIP trunk for your PBX on Sprint's Internet backbone at minimal lifetime cost: $99 + $15. This plan also supports tethering at $5.99/month with each additional 1GB of 4G LTE data (above included 2GB) costing $8.99/month.
Bogen
join:2011-04-05

Bogen

Member

What's the benefit of a Member+ membership?

The price went up from $85 to $99 since the OP was posted?
dJON
join:2009-06-10
11712

dJON to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
You can get it for $70 lifetime. BEFORE Friday.
Upgrade to 6 months for $50, then upgrade to lifetime for $20.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

1 recommendation

SCADAGeo to AllThumbs

Premium Member

to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

Just a heads up that, if you're on the fence about RingPlus, this is the last week to sign up for the Lifetime Member+ program at $99. After Friday, it's $99 per year in addition to the cost of whatever plan you choose.

said by Bogen:

What's the benefit of a Member+ membership?



2016-02-xx Member+ coming soon announcement
2016-03-15 SlickDeals.net - RingPlus Eternity Free - Member+ details:
quote:
What is Member+?

Member+ is a RingPlus membership program that gives Members additional benefits. The subscription is tied to a specific phone line, and is not transferrable. Benefits range from special pricing on wireless services to promotional pricing in the RingPlus store for items sold by sponsors and RingPlus.

Specific Member+ benefits include:
1) Priority Support (March 15th 2016).
2) Special Prices for data Add Ons.
3) Special store discounts and credits exclusively for Member+ subscribers for products and services from RingPlus and its sponsors.
4) Exclusive cell plans for Member+ subscribers.
5) VIP Priority for Upgrade Waiting Lists (for waiting lists joined after becoming a Member+ subscriber).
6) RingPlus support will handle the following for Member+ subscribers only:
a. Member+ subscribers can enjoy the benefits of any RingPlus promotion up to 2 days after the promotion is closed to everyone else.
b. Support staff will swap ESNs for you between accounts (basically, internal ports for free).
c. Member+ subscribers will be able select their area code (coming soon).

*More benefits to come.

said by Bogen:

The price went up from $85 to $99 since the OP was posted?

The offer posted at the top was for a Lifetime Membership+ subscription at $69.99 (taxes included, expired Sunday, March 13, 2016 at 12pm Noon Pacific), along with a $15 top-up (taxable pre-paid amount) in case you go over plan limits, so total price was $84.99 and tax. :)

The current cost of a Lifetime Membership+ is at $99.99, and expires ???.



---
said by dJON:

You can get it for $70 lifetime. BEFORE Friday.
Upgrade to 6 months for $50, then upgrade to lifetime for $20.

Did this work for you?

---

Here's a list of available plans as of 2016-03-17:


Free Plans.


Paid Plans.


Currently, only two plans require Member+ level, and they are expiring soon.

Please note that if a plan does not mention tethering in its offer details, it will not be available as an add-on in the RingPlus dashboard.

Continuum Free Plan
   Available : Monday (03.14.2016) at 4PM Pacific until Friday (03.18.2016) at 11PM Pacific
   Cost      : $0 / 30 days 
   Top Up    : $20 to cover overages @ $0.02 per unit of talk, text and data (overage data will be full speed).
   Voice     : 2,000 minutes cellular or VoIP
   SMS       : 2,000 text
   MMS       : $0.04 each
   Data      : 1,800 MB (LTE throttled to 256kbps) 
   Add-on    : 
      ???
 
   Social requirement: Post something about yourself (e.g., your hobbies, expertise on subjects that might help other Members, etc.) 
 


Member+ only: Evermore Free Plan
   Available : Sunday (03.13.2016) 5PM Pacific until Friday (03.18.2016) 11PM Pacific. 
   Cost      : $0 / 30 days
   Top Up    : $15 to cover overages @ $0.0175 cents per unit of talk, text and data.
   Voice     : 2,000 minutes cellular or VoIP
   SMS       : 2,000 texts
   MMS       : $0.04 each
   Data      : 2,000 MB of full speed 4G LTE data 
   Add-on:
      <b>Tethering - $5.99 / 30 days</b>
      Member+ 1000 MB - $8.99 / 30 days
 
   Social requirement: Post something about yourself (e.g., your hobbies, expertise on subjects that might help other Members, etc.) which you would like to share on your social.ringplus.net profile in the Activity section of your profile. 
 


Member+ only: “Q” Free Plan
   Available: Wednesday March 16, 2016 at 5:30PM Pacific until Friday March 18, 2016 at 6:30PM Pacific.
   Cost      : $0 / 30 days.
   Top Up    : $25 to cover overages @ $0.02 per unit of talk, text and data.
   Voice     : 2,500 minutes cellular or VoIP.
   SMS       : 2,500 texts.
   MMS       : $0.04 each.
   Data      : 2,500MB (full speed LTE). 
   Add-on:
      Member+ 1000 MB - $8.99 / 30 days
 
   Social requirement:  We would very much appreciate it if you post something about yourself in the Activity section of your Social forum profile on the topic &#147;My Favorite Way to Spend My Free Time&#148;. 
 
dJON
join:2009-06-10
11712

dJON

Member

YEP. Then upgraded to Q plan (effective next billing cycle) 2500 min 2500 text 2500 MB with $25 Top Up.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

SCADAGeo

Premium Member

said by dJON:

YEP. Then upgraded to Q plan (effective next billing cycle) 2500 min 2500 text 2500 MB with $25 Top Up.

Don't try this at home, folks!

I was multi-tasking, looking at the Member+ add-ons for my wife's line (just added last night to the Continuum plan), when she needed something done right away.

Apparently I selected the 6 month plan, instead of the Lifetime plan, prior to leaving.

I was distracted when I returned, confirmed the order, went to the invoice page, and noticed I was only billed for $49.99.

No worries, I thought to myself, I'll just use the upgrade path... but it's not there.

I scheduled the upgrade for her line (Q plan starting next billing cycle), then I had second thoughts about it... the cancel pending upgrade is no longer there, either.
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

1 edit

2 recommendations

PX Eliezer1 to AllThumbs

Premium Member

to AllThumbs
I am surprised that educated people (including attorneys) could sign up for things involving words such as "lifetime" or "evermore", or recommend them to others.

The old Bell System is gone. Yugoslavia is gone. Flashcubes are gone.

So how can folks enthuse over potentially perishable organizations such as RingPlus and Sprint, in regard to anything "lifetime"?

-----

I await a lecture.

mozerd
Light Will Pierce The Darkness
MVM
join:2004-04-23
Nepean, ON

mozerd

MVM

said by PX Eliezer1:

I await a lecture.

Not a lecture .... just some observations:

Smart people can do lots of Stupid things before the bulb lights up!
Stupid people can do lots of Smart things without knowing it and have no knowledge of the bulb!
Smart and Stupid is the Nature of human nature --- Stupidly Smart or Smartly Stupid or just plain normal.
taoman
Premium Member
join:2013-09-13
Seattle, WA

3 recommendations

taoman to PX Eliezer1

Premium Member

to PX Eliezer1
said by PX Eliezer1:

So how can folks enthuse over potentially perishable organizations such as RingPlus and Sprint, in regard to anything "lifetime"?

What organization isn't "potentially perishable?" I think AllThumbs made it pretty clear that by lifetime it's the "lifetime" of RingPlus. I spent $85 for unlimited incoming/outgoing plus 1.8GB of LTE data. But I also now have a SIP trunk with unlimited incoming/outgoing. So far SIP calls have been stellar. Could it all end tomorrow? Of course. Just like Google Voice could end free calling tomorrow. It's a calculated risk I was willing to spend $85 on. For some of us, VoIP is more of a hobby than a necessity.
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1

Premium Member

Clearly you understand the issues, my concern is more with the people who don't.

Although I would say as a matter of general principle that anyone who advocates for consumer rights, should avoid promoting offers that seem too good to be true (because they usually are).

Collecting a high upfront payment, then promising free service for life, usually does not have a happy ending.

Ooma had to largely move away from this business model. It is of course true that the early adopters lucked out.

Google Voice never asked anyone for any money for domestic calls....
taoman
Premium Member
join:2013-09-13
Seattle, WA

2 recommendations

taoman

Premium Member

said by PX Eliezer1:

Google Voice never asked anyone for any money for domestic calls....

Google Voice also doesn't supply 1.8GB of LTE data. And in fact,
GV does indeed charge for certain "high cost" domestic calls (like "traffic pumping" area codes such as 641).
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1

Premium Member

It's a tough time now for many MVNO.

PTel (and their sister brand GIV) went out of business last month, they were a well-regarded T-Mobile MVNO that had survived for years.

But I do wish RingPlus and Sprint well.
Bogen
join:2011-04-05

1 recommendation

Bogen

Member

Can someone, a simple sentence or two, explain the bottom line of what you get with this deal - and the bottom line what it costs in total?
taoman
Premium Member
join:2013-09-13
Seattle, WA

taoman

Premium Member

said by Bogen:

Can someone, a simple sentence or two, explain the bottom line of what you get with this deal - and the bottom line what it costs in total?

Well the OP listed all you get in that deal but it has already expired. RingPlus has deals coming and going all the time and you can go to their web site to see current deals. Quite frankly, there are no current deals I would even consider. But again, the deals/plans are changing all the time.