Why Choose Assurance Wireless Compatible Phones?
Assurance Wireless is a Lifeline-subsidized telephone service provider owned by T-Mobile. They offer Lifeline assistance services, free monthly minutes, texts, and data, and even free mobile devices to eligible low-income individuals and households throughout the country. As the company is one of the most popular Lifeline providers in the U.S., we have prepared this article, in which you can find everything you need to know about Assurance Wireless compatible phones.
Before we take a closer look at the phones that are compatible with Assurance Wireless, let’s determine why should we choose Assurance Wireless services and compatible phones in the first place.
Overall service
Customers tend to be satisfied with Assurance Wireless services, as the provider offers free government-provided cell phones and newer upgrade cell phones at a discounted price, free plans, no annual contracts, no activation fees, a voicemail account, call waiting, caller ID, and other benefits for its Lifeline-eligible customers. Assurance Wireless is available in over 40 U.S. states and can only be used by Lifeline-eligible customers.
To qualify for Lifeline assistance you must participate in a public assistance program, such as Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or have an income that is 135% or less than the federal poverty guidelines. The service is non-transferable and only one discounted Lifeline service is available per household.
Plans
Assurance offers a great basic Lifeline-only free plan, which varies between states. It comes with unlimited monthly texts, a certain amount of monthly minutes, and a certain amount of free data. In addition to this basic option, Assurance Wireless also offers plan add-ons, which allow customers to purchase additional monthly minutes and data for a low price. In addition, the company provides low international rates to over 200 countries and other special features. You can check out their plans and add-ons in the ‘What Are Assurance Wireless Compatible Plans’ section below or at assurancewireless.com/help-center/data-and-services.
Coverage
Assurance Wireless uses T-Mobile’s cellular towers and provides its customers with the nationwide T-Mobile network with excellent 4G LTE coverage that connects 99% of the population and the largest 5G network in America. While T-Mobile offers one of the best coverages in the U.S., their cellular towers aren’t equally distributed. As such, their network may not be available everywhere. Check if their service is available in your area on the coverage map on their official website at coverage.assurancewireless.com/t-mobile.html.
Customer care
The company is also known for its fast, reliable, and highly professional customer care service and a simple application process. The representatives are available by mail and by phone at 1-888-321-5880. They also have an extensive FAQ page, where you can find the answers to most of your questions (assurancewireless.com/help-center/faqs).
How Do I Check My Phone Compatibility With Assurance Wireless?
Assurance Wireless doesn’t offer a Bring Your Own Phone (BYOP) program and doesn’t allow customers to bring their own devices to Assurance Wireless. As such, the only phones that can officially be used with Assurance Wireless services are the ones that you can either get for free or purchase through the upgrade option directly from Assurance Wireless.
Due to the lack of a BYOP program, there is no way to check your phone compatibility with Assurance Wireless. The only way you can be sure that your phone will work with Assurance’s services is if you bought or got it from Assurance.
On the other hand, if you don’t have an original Assurance Wireless mobile device, it should not work with the provider’s services and SIM cards. Nonetheless, numerous customers have reported using an Assurance Wireless SIM card with another phone. While there is no guarantee that it will work, you can always try inserting your Assurance SIM into an unlocked device. If the phone accepts the card and connects to Assurance’s network, you should be able to use it without a problem. To try whether or not your non-Assurance phone works with your Assurance SIM card, try placing a call and sending a text message. If both go through, you are all set.
Assurance Wireless Compatible Phones List
Currently, Assurance Wireless is still transitioning from its previous owner (Virgin Mobile USA) to T-Mobile, which acquired the company in April 2020. As such, they have very limited phone options available for purchase, because they are trying to make sure they only offer devices that can operate on their new T-Mobile network. Their current selection of mobile devices can be seen at origin-shop.assurancewireless.com/phones.html. At the moment, they don’t sell any phones on their website. Instead, to order a phone, you must contact the company’s customer service at 888-321-5880.
When it comes to their Lifeline government-provided devices, customers can expect to receive a free Android smartphone – either new, pre-owned, or refurbished. However, if you would prefer to have a simple flip phone, make sure to let the provider know in advance and it will provide a basic phone instead. The exact model of the free phone can’t be chosen by the customer – it depends on availability, state, and other conditions.
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What Are Assurance Wireless Compatible Plans
Assurance Wireless offers its Lifeline-eligible customers a basic Lifeline-only free plan with free text messages, minutes, and data. While the plan comes with unlimited messages in all states, the amount of monthly minutes and data varies from state to state. In most states, customers get up to 1000 free minutes a month (in California, the basic plan comes with unlimited minutes) and between 4.5 to 6 GB of free monthly data.
In case you need more minutes or data than you can get with the Lifeline-only free plan, you can purchase one of their affordable plan add-ons.
You can either add some extra minutes or data to your plan or you can purchase a monthly minute and data bundle.
Add minutes
You can purchase 250 additional voice minutes a month for $5 or pay $0.10 for each additional voice minute.
Add data
When it comes to data you can select:
- A 100 MB high-speed data add-on for $1 and 30 service days.
- A 500 MB high-speed data add-on for $3 and 30 service days.
- A 1 GB high-speed data add-on for $5 and 30 service days.
- A 2 GB high-speed data add-on for $10 and 30 service days.
- A 4 GB high-speed data add-on for $20 and 30 service days.
- A 5 GB high-speed data add-on for $30 and 30 service days.
Add a bundle
If you wish to add both minutes and data, you should consider opting for a monthly add-on bundle. You can choose from the following four options.
- The $15 add-on plan comes with unlimited texts, unlimited minutes, and 1-5 GB of data (500 MG or 4.5 GB is free data, and 500 MG is plan data).
- The $20 add-on plan comes with unlimited texts, unlimited minutes, and 1.5-5.5 GB of data (500 MG or 4.5 GB is free data, and 1 GB is plan data).
- The $30 add-on plan comes with unlimited texts, unlimited minutes, and 4.5-8.5 GB of data (500 MG or 4.5 GB is free data, and 4 GB is plan data).
- The $45 add-on plan comes with unlimited texts, unlimited minutes, and 10.5-14.5 GB of data (500 MG or 4.5 GB is free data, and 10 GB is plan data).
You can select and purchase any of these add-on plans at assurancewireless.com/help-center/data-and-services.
How Do I Get an Assurance Wireless Compatible Phone?
As Assurance Wireless doesn’t offer a BYOP program, you can only get a mobile device compatible with their services directly from the provider. There are two ways to do so.
You can either receive a Lifeline government-funded free Android smartphone chosen by the provider when accepted into their Lifeline assistance program or you can get a newer and more advanced Assurance Wireless smartphone by upgrading the basic free phone that you will be offered. You can purchase an upgrade phone on their website, by phone at 888-321-5880, or at one of their local representatives.
In both cases, you must be qualified for the Lifeline assistance program, as Assurance Wireless only offers phones and services to Lifeline-eligible customers.
What Other Carriers Are Compatible With Assurance Wireless?
As we have established before, Assurance Wireless doesn’t offer a BYOP program. As such, officially speaking, devices from no other carriers can be used with Assurance Wireless SIM cards and services. However, as some users have reported using an Assurance Wireless SIM card and services with phones from other carriers, you can try to insert your Assurance Wireless SIM card into the device and check if you can make calls and send messages.
On the other, hand if you wish to take your Assurance Wireless cell phone to another carrier, you can do so, but first, you must unlock the device. Assurance Wireless will unlock your phone upon request if your phone meets the following eligibility requirements:
- The phone must be provided by Assurance Wireless
- The phone hasn’t been reported lost or stolen or flagged as ineligible to be unlocked
- The phone has been active for at least 12 months
Note that most smartphones can be unlocked remotely within two business days, some must be unlocked manually, and the older models with a Master Subsidy Lock (MSL) are not able to be SIM unlocked.
After unlocking your Assurance Wireless phone, you can take it to another carrier. If the phone is GSM, you can take it to other GSM-supported carriers and if the device is CDMA, you can take it to a carrier that supports CDMA devices. Before you take your phone to another carrier, make sure to check your phone’s compatibility with their services. Most carriers offer a free compatibility test on their official websites.
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What Are the Assurance Wireless Compatible Phone Replacement Terms?
If you wish to return a mobile phone that was purchased directly from Assurance Wireless, you can do so within 7 days of purchase by simply calling the company’s customer service. The device you wish to return must be undamaged (it cannot be damaged by you) and in its original packaging. Make sure to enclose all of its original components and the original receipt. If the device has been purchased elsewhere, it is subject to their own return policies.
Each Assurance Wireless free or discounted upgrade phone comes with the manufacturer’s one-year warranty. In case the phone starts to malfunction, simply call the company’s customer service at 1-888-321-5880 and they will send you a replacement phone. The phone they send may be a new, pre-owned, or refurbished device of the same or similar model, depending on the availability.
In case your phone got lost or stolen, make sure to call the provider’s customer service at 1-888-321-5880 as soon as possible so that no one else can use your remaining balance. The company may charge you a replacement device and shipping fee.
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FAQ
How Is the Assurance Wireless Coverage?
As of 2020 Assurance Wireless operates on T-Mobile’s signal towers, which offer great coverage.
In Which States Can You Get Assurance Wireless?
Assurance Wireless is available in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
Does the Government Provide Assurance Wireless Compatible Phones?
Yes, Assurance Wireless is a Lifeline provider. As such, it offers free government-provided phones to Lifeline-eligible customers. As Assurance doesn’t offer a BYOP program, the only phones that are compatible with Assurance Wireless services are the ones offered by Assurance Wireless.
Can I Get a Free Assurance Wireless Compatible Phone?
Yes. Assurance Wireless offers Lifeline-eligible households free devices along with their free monthly plans.
Are Assurance Wireless Phones Unlocked?
No. Assurance Wireless phones come locked to their network. However, they do have an unlocking policy set in place, which means that a phone may be unlocked after certain conditions have been met.
Can I Upgrade Assurance Wireless Compatible Phone for Free?
No. While Assurance Wireless offers a basic to mid-range Android smartphone for their Lifeline-eligible customers for free, any newer and more advanced upgrade smartphone must be purchased. However, you won’t have to pay the full price for the upgrade phone but a discounted one.
Can I Use Bring Your Own Phone With Assurance Wireless?
No, unfortunately, Assurance Wireless doesn’t offer users to use their existing devices. They offer free mobile phones, which are supposed to be used with their services.
What Is Assurance Wireless Customer Service?
Assurance Wireless has a responsive customer service, which can be reached by mail at Assurance Wireless, P.O. Box 5040, Charleston, IL 61920-9907and by phone at 1-888-321-5880. They also have an extensive FAQ page, where you can find the answers to most of your questions (assurancewireless.com/help-center/faqs).
Is Assurance Wireless CDMA or GSM?
After making the transition from Sprint’s to T-Mobile’s network, Assurance Wireless is now a GSM network.
What Towers Does Assurance Wireless Use?
Assurance Wireless uses T-Mobile’s signal towers. However, since T-Mobile also acquired Sprint, some of T-Mobile’s towers are old Sprint’s towers.