Note: Technically this isn't 100% free. There are some upfront costs - about $30 (SIM & Initial service load). The ongoing costs are $0 as long as you stick to you plan limitations. I've had this service since the beginning of December and I still have my initial plan payment in my payment reserve.
Requirements:
(1) Sprint SIM Compatible Phone
Here is their compatibility list.
For my experiment I used an unlocked (Sprint based ironically enough) iPhone 5s. This is the minimum iPhone that they will activate.
(1) RingPlus SIM card
They'll let you attempt to activate a regular Sprint SIM but the web activation process will fail. Save yourself a headache and spend the 9.99 they charge for a SIM.
(1) Credit / Debit card
(1) Social Networking Account
If you're worried about attaching your Facebook or Twitter account; go grab a google plus account and let them have that - or vice-versa.
What we're doing here is activating on of the *free* plans offered by RingPlus. The plans all have limits (minutes/data/SMS) and you only get charged if you go over the limits. If you stay within the boundaries you only pay the initial load fee! If you exceed your limits they withdraw the overage fee (pretty modest fees actually) from your pool which will automatically top off when it reaches the minimum required by the plan.
To get rolling just head over to https://www.ringplus.net, sign up, & purchase a SIM. After your new SIM card arrives: insert it into the phone, head back to the website, login, and run through the activation wizard. This will allow you to pick your plan, pay, & activate your phone. There is one more caveat: Each time you make a call you listen to music or a short commercial as it's ringing the destination party. I didn't think it was too terrible to deal with especially since i'm getting free service.
Note: I noticed that there isn't any way to deny the ability to go over the limits. This is a definite consideration - esp. if you're going to hookup a kid or teenager.
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