Reply To: RingPlus Free Cellphone Service

Almost any old or new Sprint phone (as well as most old Boost or Virgin phones), flip, smart, etc., can be used. It is best to have a phone in advance. RingPlus sells phones but they seem to be overpriced on equipment. It’s usually much less expensive to get it elsewhere like eBay, Swappa, C7Recycle or MegaSaver. C7Recycle has very good pricing. Or you could use an old Sprint/Boost/Virgin phone you have lying around unused. Also, when buying a phone through RP directly, I’m not sure how you’d be able to activate new service in the same order when ordering the phone. I think it may be possible, rather than having to wait for the phone to arrive, but I’m unfamiliar with how that might be done.

If getting it elsewhere look for a Sprint phone and try to get the IMEI or ESN so you can check before buying to make sure it’s compatible with RP. RP has a device compatibility checker you can find by googling: RingPlus ESN Check

When checking it there you want to see a response saying “Congratulations, your device will work on RingPlus” and not “it looks like your device is currently in use”.

If you want to signup for a current flash promotion that will expire before you will have a chance to obtain a phone, you can use a “placeholder” ESN. Later when you have your phone you can switch the service to your phone. Switching phones deducts $1.99 from your top up balance (which in the current plan will be the $38 you deposited.)

To find a placeholder ESN, use A0000012345FFE9 as the MEID and change the numbers to something else and leave the zeros/letters, until you find one that works (most work). You can check one now to find one that works. These are from ancient Sprint phones that is almost never used anymore.

If you’re using a smartphone from the last several years or newer, when entering your phone information into the account, in addition to the ESN/MEID you’ll also need its ICC ID.