RingPlus severely curtails free mobile plan offerings

Saving money on ringplus severely curtails free does not have to be complicated. We rounded up the essentials so you can spend less and skip the guesswork.

Key Takeaways

• Advertisement The sweetest deal in the mobile world is about to get a little less attractive!
• Read more: The #1 wireless network in America is… Free cell plans taking a haircut at RingPlus For almost a year now, I’ve been enjoying 1,0...
• The free service is subsidized by ads you have to listen to after you dial a number but before your call connects.

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The sweetest deal in the mobile world is about to get a little less attractive!

Read more: The #1 wireless network in America is…

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 numerous 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 typically 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:

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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!

Read more: 5 excellent smartphones under $200

New app alerts you when a scammer is calling

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Final Thoughts

Before you check out, double-check ringplus severely curtails free against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.

Originally published at clark.com.