****I deleted the whole original post because it was out of date and did not apply anymore.***
Common questions:
Q: Who is Lycamobile?
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/
A: Company based in the UK and is a prepaid service provider in multiple countries.
Q: What kind of coverage would I get?
A: Lycamobile uses T-Mobile towers with no roaming.
Q: How much is the paygo rate?
A: 2 cents a minute for talk, 4 cents a minute for text, 6 cents per megabyte of data.
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/national-plans
Q: I heard there is free incoming texts. Is that right?
A: Yes, that is true.
Q: I also heard calls to toll free number are free. Is that right?
A: Yes for some free area codes, that is true.
Q: Is mms supported?
A: No.
Q: Are short codes supported?
A: No.
Q: I use XXXX minutes per month, XXXX texts per month, and XX GB data per month. Lycamobile's 2 cents plan would cost me $XXX!!!
A: Obviously, people who pay by the minute do not consume such high numbers. If they do, then of course a minute plan would not be suitable for them.
Q: How is the data rounding?
A: Data is broken down to 1/6 of a megabyte or 1 cent. Any stray app that uses data will likely consume at least 1 cent. So it is best to completely disable data until needed.
Q: How is the data speed?
A: As Lycamobile is based in the UK and your web traffic is routed that way, speeds will be a little slower than your typical T-Mobile mvno.
Q: Does no roaming mean that I cannot make calls outside my area code or region?
A: No roaming means that your phone must use T-Mobile's signal. There is no roaming onto At&t or other small regional gsm providers.
Q: Is there a roaming cost?
A: No roaming means no roaming costs.
Q: Okay, I get there is no roaming, but how come my phone always shows ROAMING?
A: Lycamobile calls themselves a true mvno so all their users are "roaming". Some phones show this on their display. other phones do not. Just live with it.
Q: What kind of phone do I need? Is a locked T-Mobile phone okay?
A: Lycamobile calls themselves a true mvno and uses their own mobile network code. That means the phone must be unlocked. Almost all other T-Mobile mvno's do not do this. That is why other T-Mobile mvno's can use locked T-Mobile phones.
Q: I don't understand. Can I use a T-Mobile or At&t phone?
A: Only if is unlocked.
Q: Will a Verizon or Sprint phone work on Lycamobile?
A: Lycamobile sends you a sim card. Although there are a few exceptions, chances are those phones cannot accept ANY sim. For the few that do have a sim slot, the sim in your CDMA device is usually reserved for international travel. Sims for American cell providers do not work.
Q: Do you know of any inexpensive unlocked phones for Lyca?
A: Samsung A157 intended for At&t's GoPhone brand retails for about $15. Unlock instructions here:
https://slickdeals.net/f/6210666-at-t-samsung-a157-prepaid-gophone-5-free-shipping?v=1&p=61248212#edit61248212 . Alternatively, unlock codes on ebay for the A157 run about $3.
Q: What is the minimum requirement to keep the service alive?
A: One billable event every 120 days. After 90 days of no billable event, Lycamobile will email you. A billable event is making a call, sending a text, actively using data, or adding money to your account.
-On March 6, Lyca has changed to minimum usage to 90 days as stated in this article.
http://www.prepaidphonenews.com/2...-text.html
Q: Does the answer to the previous question mean that Lycamobile does NOT require at least $XX every XX days?
A: Yes.
Q: Are you saying that I do not need to add some amount of money every X number of days?
A: You only add money on the 2 cents a minute plan when your balance is running low. There is no requirement to add money if you are using the service and have a sufficient balance.
Q: What is the minimum amount needed to fund the account?
A: If you already have a sim, it is $10. Alternatively, you could preloaded $5 when ordering a sim from Lycamobile. At launch, the minimum was 10 cents. Unfortunately, that is not true anymore.
Q: Are there any refill options if Lycamobile's site is not working for me?
A: Try Callingmart.
Q: Does disabling voice mail work now? Before it did not.
A: It works now. To deactivate your Lycamobile Voicemail service: dial *185# followed by the call button.
Q: Am I charged to listen to voicemail?
A: No you are not charged to listen to voicemail. However, Lycamobile does charge you when somebody leaves you a voicemail. So you get charged whether you listen to voicemail or not.
Q: How much is international calling for the 2 cents a minute plan?
A: International Rates for paygo is the amount listed + airtime minute charge. So for instance a call to Canada would be 1 cent/min (as listed on the website) + 2 cent/min (regular paygo airtime charge) = 3 cents/min
Q: Can I use Lycamobile when I am in another country?
A: Sure, but be aware the costs per call are sometimes multiple dollars per minute.
Q: Are there any hidden charges, taxes, or monthly fees?
A: No
Q: I just activated an Apple device, and now Lycamobile is sending me texts from the UK and charging for it. Is Lycamobile trying to pull a fast one?
A: Your Apple phone is trying to activate Imessage and Facetime and sending texts to the UK. You would need to ask Apple why this is done. Normally, Apple officially supported carriers cover the costs of these texts. Lycamobile does not. Therefore, you should disable these 2 features unless you enjoy getting charged for sending these texts.
Q: I want to use the 2 cents plan, should I top up with $20 or more so I don't have to worry about it?
A: When your account has enough money for a monthly plan, you might get accidently bumped to the monthly plan by mistake. Keep you balance under $16.
Q: Where is the Unlimited Talk & Unlimited Text for $19?
A: Discontinued.
Q: Did Lycamobile ever have free incoming calls when roaming internationally as was in the original post and on their website when they first launched?
A: Not to my knowledge. Most likely, the website was incomplete and/or unfinished and the numbers listed were just a placeholder until the real rates were entered.
Q: Why did everybody talk about zip codes?
A: When Lycamobile launched, their sim card ordering form was goofy. The website wanted everybody to enter their zip+4 code into the form. However, the form only allowed 9 digits. Entering 5 digits did not work. Form has since been fixed.
Q: I want to sign up. How much are the sims?
A: Previously, sims were free. Now, there is a $7 charge if you do not preload a sim with any money. Preload one sim for at least $5 and get up to 3 sims shipped free.
https://account.lycamobile.us/get...px?lang=en
Q: I want to sign up, but the site gives me an error.
A: Lycamobile only can give out phone numbers from Peerless and Broadvox. Those 2 companies do not reach every part of the country. Hence, the form will reject your request.
Q: I don't care about what number I get, how do I get a sim?
A: The usual places like Ebay, Amazon, or a dealer.
Q: Those 3rd-party places still charge me a dollar. I want a free sim.
A: Go here:
https://www.facebook.com/lycamobi...6264290645 and use the coupon code LYCA if needed.
Q: Can Lycamobile port my old number?
A: That is a maybe. As said before, Lycamobile only issues phone numbers that Peerless and Broadvox occupy. No Peerless or Broadvox in the area means that if your number is not in that area, your old number will not get ported.
Q: Can I port my landline number to Lycamobile?
A: No. Lycamobile only ports mobile numbers.
Q: Can I port my Google Voice number to Lycamobile?
A: No. Lycamobile only ports mobile numbers.
Q: What areas do Peerless and Broadvox occupy?
A: Peerless
http://www.localcallingguide.com/...&npa=&ocn=
Broadvox
http://www.localcallingguide.com/...&npa=&ocn=
Q: My old number is in a Peerless or Broadvox area. How come I am still having troubles porting?
A: Nobody knows why Lycamobile sometimes has trouble porting.
Q: With the number of scary stories about porting into Lycamobile, does that mean I should avoid Lycamobile?
A: A number of people have ported to Google Voice. Then, they set all calls going to their Google Voice number to their Lycamobile number.
Q: If porting is so bad, then how come some people said they ported easily?
A: Wish I could tell you when it is okay and when to avoid porting.
Added March 18, 2014 - Some have speculated that on paygo, "for incoming and outgoing" refers to calling, texting, and data. In other words, users are charged for incoming and outgoing texts. That is because "for incoming and outgoing" was added on Lyca's website after the stating the rates.
Recently however, the phrase "for incoming and outgoing" has been moved to beneath the talk rate. In another forum, people are speculating that Lyca's is just bad at writing their terms clearly. They believe that incoming texts are free.
Added March 18, 2014 - There is a belief that the 250 minutes/$16 a month plan (not the paygo plan) includes free Lyca to Lyca calling. Since this is not specifically mentioned on Lyca's website, I will classify this as YMMV and subject to change without notice.
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http://www.prepaidphon
Rates for paygo:
2 cents - per minute of talk
4 cents - per text message
6 cents - per mb of web
This seems like it would be a good plan for very light use, especially with data. The "unlimited" data cap of most popular MVNOs is 2-3GB. If you were paying 6 cents per MB, you would be paying $120-$180 for the data alone.
The texts could really add up, too.
This offer on their site looks interesting too.
"Buy a prepaid Nationwide Plan with unlimited national Talk, Text & Data from $39/month and we'll give you FREE Unlimited International Calls. "
This offer on their site looks interesting too.
"Buy a prepaid Nationwide Plan with unlimited national Talk, Text & Data from $39/month and we'll give you FREE Unlimited International Calls. "
"
Just got off the phone with Lyca customer service, since the service is new here in the US, they don't seem to know what is what. I asked about the # of service days you get for $5 or $50, it seems that money put on payGo (and service) will last until it runs out. But, you must make 1 call at least every 90 days or you SIM will be deactivated.
"
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sessizlik21:
There are 2 maxlength:8. The first maxlength is for entering your 9 digit zip code the first time to find your address. The second maxlength is only used if you make a mistake and need to reenter your zip code again. Therefore technically, only one maxlength needs editing. That is if you are editing the 1st one. There is no harm in trying to change just the one to see if it works.
Technosquid:
People interested in Lycamobile paygo are those who pay by the minute/text/mb. It is not intended for those who need unlimited everything because as you are saying, it would not be worth it
People interested in Lycamobile paygo are those who pay by the minute/text/mb. It is not intended for those who need unlimited everything because as you are saying, it would not be worth it
I do hear you, that it could be a better deal for very low data users, but I just wanted to illustrate that it's actually a pretty high rate at $60/GB.
5 cents per minute
2 cents per text
10 cents per MB
I did find you can set up auto recharge on your credit card to refill your minutes after they drop below a certain level. Hmmm, this is interesting.
I did find you can set up auto recharge on your credit card to refill your minutes after they drop below a certain level. Hmmm, this is interesting.
I have not used my Lycamobile for a while and it has now stopped working. Why is this?
We automatically deactivate SIM cards if you do not use them to make a call or send a text for more than 120 days. Unfortunately these SIM cards cannot be reconnected and the cell number also stops being available for you to use after this time.