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AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

2 edits

AllThumbs

Member

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

April 17 is D-Day. If you want to easily get on the RingPlus Gravy Train, you'd better hurry. Sprint (the awful company that just keeps getting worse) is tightening the screws on using other MVNO's prepaid phones on a competitor's platform without adherence to the one-year waiting period. Details here.

Having just wrestled with Sprint for a week trying to acquire Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge devices to use with RingPlus (impossible even at full retail if not for Best Buy), I continue to be amazed by the lengths to which Sprint will go to shoot itself and its own MVNOs and resellers in the foot. Gotta say they're just as bad if not worse than they were 20 years ago. What this new policy really does is increase the number of electronic devices that will end up in landfills when they could have been put to constructive use in the mobile community and assisted in stemming Sprint's perpetual red ink. While I love RingPlus and what they're attempting to accomplish, I'm afraid they've hitched their wagon to a bunch of idiots who will be lucky to survive this final nail in their coffin. We'll have a report on iPhone SE compatibility this Friday! /rant
PX Eliezer1
Premium Member
join:2013-03-10
Zubrowka USA

PX Eliezer1

Premium Member

said by AllThumbs:

Sprint (the awful company that just keeps getting worse) is tightening the screws....

Not to mention:
»Sprint Suffering Major Outage in Northeast [22] comments

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
How large of the Sprint MVNO handset market was represented by MVNO's handsets being used on a different Sprint MVNO? Are these handsets significantly less expensive than what is otherwise available?

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

2 edits

AllThumbs

Member

Here are 20 Best Buy offerings for under $100 that will disappear: »nerd.bz/1RHL0yh. And here's another clump in the $100 - $200 price range: »nerd.bz/1RHLnIX. My educated guess is that these phones probably represent 90% of the current RingPlus consumer market so this will be a major blow to their customer base. It probably means your only safe choice after April 17 will be an expensive post-paid Sprint-branded phone, an older used phone, or a phone purchased directly from the RingPlus store: »store.ringplus.net/Smart ··· _13.html
hok (banned)
join:2002-02-27

4 edits

hok (banned) to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

What this new policy really does is increase the number of electronic devices that will end up in landfills when they could have been put to constructive use in the mobile community and assisted in stemming Sprint's perpetual red ink. While I love RingPlus and what they're attempting to accomplish, I'm afraid they've hitched their wagon to a bunch of idiots who will be lucky to survive this final nail in their coffin.

First, it is not a new policy at all. In fact, the policy has been there for more than a year. April 17, 2016 is the date Sprint will start enforcing the over a year old policy.

Second, the policy is meant to prevent people buying brand new subsidized phone from high monthly fee carrier or MVNOs such as Boost Mobile - ZTE Speed for $19.99 for the sole purpose of using it with MVNOs with no monthly fee such as RingPlus and FreedomPop.

Third, your statement "What this new policy really does is increase the number of electronic devices that will end up in landfills when they could have been put to constructive use in the mobile community and assisted in stemming Sprint's perpetual red ink." simply is wrong. Sprint has been losing money when people buying brand new subsidized phone like Boost Mobile - ZTE Speed phone for $19.99 without signing up with Boost Mobile which offers plans charging at least $30 per month. The policy indeed does allow brand new subsidized phone to be reused with MVNOs or carrier other than subsidizing carrier or MVNO after using the subsidizing phone with the subsidizing carrier or MVNO for a year.

Fourth,
said by AllThumbs:

Having just wrestled with Sprint for a week trying to acquire Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge devices to use with RingPlus (impossible even at full retail if not for Best Buy), I continue to be amazed by the lengths to which Sprint will go to shoot itself and its own MVNOs and resellers in the foot. Gotta say they're just as bad if not worse than they were 20 years ago. ... We'll have a report on iPhone SE compatibility this Friday!

Delaying most expansive flagship device from signing up plans with no monthly fee actually is a wise business decision just like newly released movies would not be offered for streaming. Instead, they are played at first line theaters. I had to wait full thirteen months after Google released Nexus 5 by LG to be able to sign it up with FreedomPop. I have not been able to sign up with FreedomPop using Google Nexus 6P by Huawei. Yet, I am pleased that I could use the same phone to sign up with RingPlus.

With herein above said and done, I must admitted that I did buy a Boost Mobile - ZTE Speed phone for $19.99 without signing up with Boost Mobile and immediately (actually before checking out at Best Buy) used it to sign up with RingPlus to grab a good deal. If I ever swap this Boost Mobile - ZTE Speed phone out, it will never be able to activate on Sprint network again on or after April 17, 2016 unless it has been signed up with Boost Mobile and stayed with Boost Mobile continuously for whole year which of course I will not do. As a result, the Boost Mobile - ZTE Speed phone will be Wi-Fi and 911 calling phone instead of mobile/cellular phone, still won't be in landfill for a while.

Finally but most importantly, for people only want to use brand new phone instead of used phone that has been with subsiding carrier or MVNO for at least a year, I would highly recommend phones that would work flawlessly with every carrier in the United States as well as internationally since the cost of owning a phone is going to be expansive anyway and have to be paid in full upfront; why limits your carrier option to just one or two carrier(s) in the United States to begin with? With this prerequisite, it also narrow down phones can be considered for purchasing in full price outright. They are Google Nexus phones, Apple iPhones SIM-free (instead of carrier specific) and Motorola Moto X Pure Edition. These phones are mentioned in the order of my preference. It is important to avoid buying device from any carrier or MVNO since they usually if not always install bloatware at best or even modify the operating system all for their own benefit, for example, removing SIP capability from native dialer (Phone app) so they can continue to milk revenue from talk minutes and texts.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds

Member

O.K. So will the boost $19.99 phone still work before April 17?
hok (banned)
join:2002-02-27

hok (banned)

Member

Yes but I doubt RingPlus will offer any best ever deal like 3250+3250+3250 before April 17, 2016.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

1 recommendation

AllThumbs to hok

Member

to hok
First, an unenforced policy is no policy at all. Not sure what your point was but this is a new policy insofar as consumers are concerned. If you prefer to call it a "newly enforced policy," the result is the same.

Second, this policy was clearly intended to prevent churn between MVNOs probably at the request of some of the higher priced MVNOs and their resellers. We can agree to disagree about just how much subsidizing was at play. I suspect this had more to do with merchants (such as WalMart) wishing to protect their long-term compensation arrangements with some of the MVNOs. WalMart in particular has flagged their prepaid phones in such a way that they don't work with RingPlus. Presumably BestBuy could have done the same thing but chose not, preferring instead to sell more phones and attract more customers, a concept that is completely foreign to Sprint.

Third, Sprint makes money regardless of which MVNO a consumer uses. Sprint's profits aren't tied to what the MVNO charges but rather to the number of calls an MVNO processes through the Sprint network. So Sprint makes money whether the MVNO offers free service or some other pricing strategy. Not many people will hold onto a prepaid phone once they conclude that their provider is overcharging them. So I think the landfill is the most likely destination for these phones rather than utilization as WiFi and 911 calling devices. In the past, they got recycled for use with other providers.

Fourth, despite Sprint's best efforts to delay access to flagship devices, it isn't working. Neither Apple nor Best Buy plays that silly game. Keep in mind that Galaxy Nexus 7's and iPhone SE's aren't subsidized phones. They are phones being purchased by consumers making a conscious choice to pay full retail price. Some might argue that tying the purchase of such phones to purchase of unsubsidized service from a specific source comes perilously close to running afoul of federal antitrust law.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds to hok

Member

to hok
Thanks.
The boost $19.95 ZTE device should work, right? I am asking because in the RingPlus sign in page say some of the boost devices will not work.
hok (banned)
join:2002-02-27

hok (banned)

Member

Yes, you don't even have to check it out from (pay to) Best Buy first, just do it like me, copy both MEID and ICCID numbers from the bottom of the retail box to sign up with RingPlus. If it works, check out and pay Best Buy. Otherwise, just try it with another retail box of same phone.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds

Member

Hok:
Thanks.
Another question. Does any plan have a social media review requirement and if it does what I need to do?
hok (banned)
join:2002-02-27

hok (banned)

Member

Don't worry about the social media requirement, I have not seen anyone get their account closed due to lack of it. In fact, I have not done any.

In contrast, before signing up, you better read entire thread of RingPlus MVNO Pros and Cons.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds

Member

O.K. I got one just for fun. Everything seems works. It's only about $20 anyway! I am going to use it as back up. Thank you all for your tips.
I read the pros and cons. The only con that I have some concern is the roaming charge. Is this roaming to another carrier or is location based? Please let me know so I don't have to spend time check online.
Regarding the "for life" VOIP calls. Is it still available?
Thanks.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

1 edit

SCADAGeo

Premium Member

said by twinclouds:

O.K. I got one just for fun. Everything seems works. It's only about $20 anyway! I am going to use it as back up. Thank you all for your tips.
I read the pros and cons. The only con that I have some concern is the roaming charge. Is this roaming to another carrier or is location based? Please let me know so I don't have to spend time check online.
Regarding the "for life" VOIP calls. Is it still available?
Thanks.

Here's The Accretion Free Plan Promotion. It's in the non-Member+ section, and ends on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 10:00PM Pacific.

$25 top-up (plus tax). It includes at least 1000 voice (cellular or VoIP) minutes, 1000 SMS, and 1000 MB LTE data (full speed) .

Before you open the cellphone box, please make sure the MEID passes the BYOD device checker.

Please complete the registration processes (triple check the ICCID) process before powering on the cellphone.

At the present time, roaming is only available to Member+ subscribers, and it's very expensive.

Edited - typos
SCADAGeo

SCADAGeo to hok

Premium Member

to hok
said by hok:

Yes but I doubt RingPlus will offer any best ever deal like 3250+3250+3250 before April 17, 2016.

They just did, in a 2nd Flash Promo (1st Flash Promo occurred at between 9:00 PM and 9:30 PM Pacific time, and many folks in the Eastern time zone complained).

SlickDeals.net - Ringplus: Wednesday, March 30, 2016: Borg and Accretion Second Flash Promo – from 1:00PM Pacific through 2:00PM Pacific.

For NEW lines only: Accretion sign ups during this Flash promo period will get 3500 talk, text and data no matter what happens during the rest of the promo, and their sign ups will contribute to the overall promo (x) calculations. The full allotments will be applied within 48 hours after the regular promo closes. All other promo terms and conditions remain the same.

IMHO - this is an interesting social based promotion. Outside of the flash promo period, the number of units added to the base of 1000 (voice/text/data) depends upon social interaction (liking the post about plan announcement, thumbs-up at SlickDeals.net's original announcement page, and number of people getting the Borg (Member+ only)/Accretion (regular) plan.

As of 2016-03-30 12:05 PDT, an additional 519 units have been added to the base of 1000, so for those who missed the flash promos will have a minimum of 1519 voice(cellular or VoIP)/text/data(full speed) 48 hours after the regular promotion closes.

The total number of units for this plan can be tracked via this Google spreadsheet.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

FYI: Sprint model of iPhone SE purchased from Apple Store this morning works great with RingPlus.

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf

Member

What did you pay for the phone?

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

64GB Sprint model is $499 + tax
16GB Sprint model is $399 + tax
AllThumbs

1 recommendation

AllThumbs

Member

If you've been waiting for a good deal to come along to give RingPlus a shot, now's a good time. These new deals run through Tuesday. We've also documented how to use RingPlus with the latest and greatest smartphones in this week's Nerd Vittles article. Finally, remember that you only have until April 17 to activate a cheapo prepaid phone from Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile. On that date, Sprint is closing the loophole and unactivated prepaid phones won't work until they have first been used for a full year on the original Sprint mobile platform.
CatsEyeX
Premium Member
join:2014-08-20
Alviso, CA

CatsEyeX

Premium Member

Okay, I might have to break down and do this. Does anybody know if Best Buy currently has any phones that will work for this for $20 or less?
taoman
Premium Member
join:2013-09-13
Seattle, WA

taoman

Premium Member

said by CatsEyeX:

Okay, I might have to break down and do this. Does anybody know if Best Buy currently has any phones that will work for this for $20 or less?

ZTE Speed (mentioned previously in this thread) is $20.

»Re: [General] Unlimited Lifetime SIP Trunk $85 with free Sprint cell service
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds to CatsEyeX

Member

to CatsEyeX
Yes. The $20 ZTE phones are available and it works for me and my friend. I think you need to order online then pick up in store. The Best Buy near me only have it for free Boost sign up.
twinclouds

twinclouds to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
Just want to make sure, at least according to the RingPlus the official requirement, does the social review requirement are for all of the plans, e.g., the Michelangelo plan that I am using, or just for some special promotion deals? Hope somebody can clarify.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

SCADAGeo

Premium Member

said by twinclouds:

Just want to make sure, at least according to the RingPlus the official requirement, does the social review requirement are for all of the plans, e.g., the Michelangelo plan that I am using, or just for some special promotion deals? Hope somebody can clarify.



The social requirements for the Michelangelo plan is via the honor system.

quote:
Honor system, please comply:
Please post a link to this promo on any of your social networks (Facebook, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn) and include #ringplus. If you don’t have a social network, just go to the RingPlus Forum at discourse.ringplus.net and post a comment there.

For your convenience, some example posts are listed below:

Facebook:
Ringplus.net rocks. They’ve got zero dollar cell phone service. You can find it on RingPlus.net 1000 min / 1000 text / 500 MB data free per month with no contract.

Twitter:
FYI #ringplus gives cell service 4 free. Please retweet to support the free movement #dontgetmilked @ringplus

LinkedIn
RingPlus is offering completely free cell phone service as part of its innovative new business model driven by viral advertisement strategies.



Please note that the forum has moved to »social.ringplus.net. Click on "Community".

Should you decide to use Twitter, I would suggest this instead:

FYI #ringplus gives cell service 4 free. Please retweet to support the free movement #dontgetmilked @ringplusmobile.

josephf
join:2009-04-26

josephf to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

If you've been waiting for a good deal to come along to give RingPlus a shot, now's a good time. These new deals run through Tuesday.

It appears that the current deals are only especially good if you already have a paid Member+ membership.
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

SCADAGeo

Premium Member

said by josephf:

It appears that the current deals are only especially good if you already have a paid Member+ membership.



They are, and I took advantage of it. Wife's line will upgrade to Buffet 1 (3500 voice, 3500 SMS, 3600 MB LTE date) in the next billing period.

The best plan that I've seen available (without Member+ subscription) was the Accretion plan during the Flash Promotional periods (3500 voice, 3500 SMS, and 3500 MB LTE data). I activated a couple of lines for family members, and we're still waiting for the full Flash Sale Promotional allocation.

The standard Accretion allotment was 1871 voice, 1871 SMS, 1871 MB LTE data, and this was allocated as of late Friday night.

The current plans available without Member+ subscription (with new line activation):

Buffet 4 : $25 top-up (plus tax), 2000 voice, 2000 SMS, 1500 MB LTE data, overages at 3¢ per unit.

Buffet 5 : $20 top-up (plus tax), 2500 voice, 2500 SMS, 1000 MB LTE data, overages at 4¢ per unit.
*tethering included*

Buffet 6 : $15 top-up (plus tax), 2700 voice, 2700 SMS, 500 MB LTE data, overages at 5¢ per unit.
*tethering included*

There were some issues with being able to initially sign up, so LTE data was incremented by 100 MB.

I also noticed on the plans page that top-up amounts have been reduced for the Buffet 5 and Buffet 6 plans.

FWIW - Some voice quality results.
hok (banned)
join:2002-02-27

hok (banned) to CatsEyeX

Member

to CatsEyeX
said by CatsEyeX:

Okay, I might have to break down and do this. Does anybody know if Best Buy currently has any phones that will work for this for $20 or less?

I think by now Boost Mobile - Huawei Union is better than Boost Mobile - ZTE Speed for same price.
hok

hok (banned) to AllThumbs

Member

to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

First, an unenforced policy is no policy at all. Not sure what your point was but this is a new policy insofar as consumers are concerned. If you prefer to call it a "newly enforced policy," the result is the same.

Second, this policy was clearly intended to prevent churn between MVNOs probably at the request of some of the higher priced MVNOs and their resellers. We can agree to disagree about just how much subsidizing was at play. I suspect this had more to do with merchants (such as WalMart) wishing to protect their long-term compensation arrangements with some of the MVNOs. WalMart in particular has flagged their prepaid phones in such a way that they don't work with RingPlus. Presumably BestBuy could have done the same thing but chose not, preferring instead to sell more phones and attract more customers, a concept that is completely foreign to Sprint.

Third, Sprint makes money regardless of which MVNO a consumer uses. Sprint's profits aren't tied to what the MVNO charges but rather to the number of calls an MVNO processes through the Sprint network. So Sprint makes money whether the MVNO offers free service or some other pricing strategy. Not many people will hold onto a prepaid phone once they conclude that their provider is overcharging them. So I think the landfill is the most likely destination for these phones rather than utilization as WiFi and 911 calling devices. In the past, they got recycled for use with other providers.

I beg to differ, enforcing this policy simply mean Best Buy and Sprint have enough of subsiding the growth of RingPlus. As you have stated, subsidized phones sold by Walmart has long been banned from activating with carriers/MVNOs that were not subsidizing the phone. As a result, major source (if not sole source) of subsidized phones to be activated with RingPlus have been purchased from Best Buy. Although Best Buy would give away those lowest cost subsidized phones for free if buyer is willing to have phone activated at Best Buy, Best Buy and subsidizing carrier/MVNO makes money back from buy’s monthly payment of service plan Best Buy signs buyer up with. If buyer wants to buy those lowest cost subsidized phones without having Best Buy activating them, they normally charge $19.99 instead of giving them away for free. $19.99 only can cover the cost of handset Best Buy pays at best. Best Buy subsidizes their operating (overhead) expense associated with selling these lowest cost subsidized phones without having Best Buy activating them while Sprint subsidizes the handset cost since Best Buy purchases those lowest cost subsidized phones from Sprint prepaid, Boost Mobile by Boost Worldwide, Inc. in United States and Virgin Mobile USA, L.P. All of them are either Sprint direct or wholly owned subsidiaries of Sprint Corporation.

It is not common or easy for people signed up with Sprint prepaid, Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile to find out better deal like RingPlus. Let alone the practical knowledge and skill (know-how) to fully understand the promotional game of RingPlus. Not to mention getting a phone actually working with RingPlus all by themselves as required by RingPlus or FreedomPop. Starting April 17, 2016, there will be additional hurdle as the cost of entry will be significantly higher due to no more subsidized handset. All these factors add up mean people will stay with their original phone plan longer. After one year with their original prepaid phone plan, they sure can switch to other Sprint MVNOs with same handset without having it going to landfill.

While you are correct that Sprint makes money from its MVNOs regardless how much its MVNOs sell Sprint mobile phone service for or even give it out for free, I am confident that you realize Sprint makes even more money when consumer signs up service plan directly with Sprint prepaid or Sprint wholly owned subsidiaries like Boost and Virgin Mobiles not just because of higher plan pricing but also cut off the middleman.

My point is that “this is a new policy insofar as consumers are concerned” actually “could have been” “assisted in stemming Sprint's perpetual red ink” if it was implemented earlier.
said by AllThumbs:

Fourth, despite Sprint's best efforts to delay access to flagship devices, it isn't working. Neither Apple nor Best Buy plays that silly game. Keep in mind that Galaxy Nexus 7's and iPhone SE's aren't subsidized phones. They are phones being purchased by consumers making a conscious choice to pay full retail price. Some might argue that tying the purchase of such phones to purchase of unsubsidized service from a specific source comes perilously close to running afoul of federal antitrust law.

I hope you understand Sprint is a for profit organization, and people spent close to a thousand dollars for a highest priced flagship handset would not have to resort to service plan without a monthly fee.

To sum up, if you were Sprint, you would probably have done the same thing if not even more is my honest belief.
twinclouds
join:2010-06-12
San Diego, CA

twinclouds

Member

Does anybody know if I can unlock the ZTE phone and use it in China when I go there on China telecom network? I know it can be unlocked but not sure if it will work in China.
This is just hypothetical because I don't know when I am going to China, Just curious.
hszeto (banned)
join:2002-06-05

hszeto (banned)

Member

No, it will not work with any network but Sprint and its MVNOs. Only Sprint and Verizon still utilize CDMA. Others are utilizing GSM for well over a decade.