Need advice: FP sim from BestBuy - can I activate it on my existing FP account?

[djphilosophy]

The $10 credit does not allow you to turn off auto top off. This was the old system where you needed a $5 (and then $10) credit to turn off top off. It’s been replaced with safety mode. The $10 allows you to downgrade a sim from the trial plan to the free plan, but since you’re activating on the free plan right away you don’t need that credit on there. So to turn off auto top off you need to pay for safety mode, which is $6.99/month prorated that lets you toggle the top up off. You can then unsubscribe from the safety mode when top up is off. Note this is not an account credit.

So your screenshots are old, using the outdated system? Or the current system but a bug of using the old system when trying to activate on an existing account?

If someone has activated in the past few weeks, I guess on a new account, I'm wondering if you can activate a Best Buy or Target SIM for $.99 activation fee, and pay nothing more if you don't turn off top-up. Total cost to get the SIM up and running being $.99 for the SIM and $.99 activation fee.

[Parker5011]

So your screenshots are old, using the outdated system? Or the current system but a bug of using the old system when trying to activate on an existing account?

If someone has activated in the past few weeks, I guess on a new account, I'm wondering if you can activate a Best Buy or Target SIM for $.99 activation fee, and pay nothing more if you don't turn off top-up. Total cost to get the SIM up and running being $.99 for the SIM and $.99 activation fee.

I just tried tonight. They won’t let me do it.


Sent from the X

[jettable]

I just tried tonight. They won’t let me do it.

Do you mean they won't let you activate for 99 cents, or do you mean they won't let you activate at all?

[Parker5011]

Do you mean they won't let you activate for 99 cents, or do you mean they won't let you activate at all?

They wouldn’t let me activate for $.99. They said I had to add $10 to it. I even called and talked to a CSM


Sent from the X

[jettable]

They wouldn’t let me activate for $.99. They said I had to add $10 to it. I even called and talked to a CSM

Bummer. Did they say what the $10 was for?

[Parker5011]

Bummer. Did they say what the $10 was for?

Protection for them for overages.


Sent from the X

[3r8YxMLY]

They wouldn’t let me activate for $.99. They said I had to add $10 to it. I even called and talked to a CSM


Sent from the X

Thats your mistake right there, don't call to activate, of course they'll spew bs to charge you more. You have to do it at https://www.freedompop.com/activate on your own with a new email.

I literally just activated a new sim on the free plan a few minutes ago for $0.99

So your screenshots are old, using the outdated system? Or the current system but a bug of using the old system when trying to activate on an existing account?

If someone has activated in the past few weeks, I guess on a new account, I'm wondering if you can activate a Best Buy or Target SIM for $.99 activation fee, and pay nothing more if you don't turn off top-up. Total cost to get the SIM up and running being $.99 for the SIM and $.99 activation fee.

No my screenshots were not old, they were taken that day. It's still the same activation system, the bug only exists if you try to activate on an existing account. So to activate for 0.99cents you have to use a new email. Yea the bestbuy/target sims work atleast the ones with sku 5986902

[cellular-dude]

Regarding the possible $10 surprise fee, this is one reason why one of the cardinal rules of using FreedomPop is to give them a virtual credit card number with as low a limit as possible. Whether "bug" or deliberate, any $10 charge won't go through if your virtual card has a limit of $5.

They don't accept prepaid cards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I use the American Express prepaid cards on mine, they work just fine.

[brg]

Thats your mistake right there, don't call to activate, of course they'll spew bs to charge you more. You have to do it at https://www.freedompop.com/activate on your own with a new email.

@3r8YxMLY: Consider adding "YMMV." What you report is your experience. I have done exactly as you...

• using a SIM purchased for $0.99 from BB
• activating via the Internet (not a call) at https://www.freedompop.com/activate
• specifying only a free account; explicitly declining/"unchecking" all promos and add-ons, including any top-up
• using a new email address

...yet each time I have been hit with the (undisclosed, and only after-the-fact) $10 charge.

Once it happened when installing a new SIM in a new phone using a new email address and using the mobile browser, so even that is identical to your approach. Another time it happened while using Chrome on a desktop. I'd rather use Chrome because mobile screens are small and my approaching-Social-Security-age eyes are too tired.

If you indeed activated very recently perhaps they have resolved the issue. However, having experienced the upcharge several times I'm not so comfortable that your approach is a "universal fix" that will experience no problem whatsoever.

Also, FWIW, I'm no noob when it comes to FP: I've been using it since the WiMax days; since they first released the "FreedomSleeve" for the iPod Touch. I currently have 7 active FP devices, so I've been around the block a few times with these guys. And my experience is, sadly, different from yours.

Maybe I'll give it a go with my last remaining FP LTE SIM from BB...

[Parker5011]

Thats your mistake right there, don't call to activate, of course they'll spew bs to charge you more. You have to do it at https://www.freedompop.com/activate on your own with a new email.

I literally just activated a new sim on the free plan a few minutes ago for $0.99




No my screenshots were not old, they were taken that day. It's still the same activation system, the bug only exists if you try to activate on an existing account. So to activate for 0.99cents you have to use a new email. Yea the bestbuy/target sims work atleast the ones with sku 5986902

Do you put the SIM card in before?


Sent from the X

[Parker5011]

Here’s what it says after trying




Sent from the X

[djphilosophy]

Do you put the SIM card in before?

In 3r8YxMLY's screenshots, you can see that there's 4/5 bars mobile signal, so it's pretty safe to assume the FP SIM was installed.