UPDATE 5/24: my phone stopped being able to make calls (immediate disconnect). Called Safelink. Asked them to re-provision it and mentioned I wasn't getting EBB. They claimed I was (wrong). After my phone was reprovisioned, I received a message stating EBB benefit was active ... However my wifi calling was broken and Safelink is trying to claim it never worked (total lie ... Purchased my current phone specifically for wifi calling and it worked perfectly ... What is more, no minutes were ever deducted from my allotted 1000 when I used wifi calling. NOTES: It is my belief that Safelink is receiving government EBB funding for every one of us who applied to be included, but not necessarily providing them unless you spend forever on the phone with tech support insisting you didn't get what was promised. Also: knowingly or unknowingly tech support is lying to those subscribers who were told BYOD subscribers weren't eligible. EBB has nothing to do with who you bought your phone from. I have an LG v35 bought used from Amazon. It is an unlocked ATT branded model and I am now receiving EBB benefits. Re: wifi calling ... nothing nefarious going on there. Even postpaid ATT customers occasionally lose that function. The difference with Safelink/TracFone is that it is much harder to find a knowledgeable tech support rep to re-provision it for you(rather than lie and say you never had wifi calling). Good luck everyone. PS: TracFone/Safelink does not deserve to retain this government contract but I am of mixed mind about lobbying against them, solely because they are the only provider in my region that services those who need access to AT&T Towers.

Another UPDATE: Still no EBB for me, as of 5/14/21, even though latest Tracfone update promised plan would update by now. Totally had it with this runaround ... Filing complaints against Safelink with all agencies listed in my previous posts. wish they'd get some bad publicity at this point ... A news story on how government subsidized carriers in general are jerking clients around (possibly diverting EBB funds) might break this stalemate, but I do not have time or health right now to be the engine for it. (If the mobile telecom industry even cares about its public image nowadays...carriers have been violating federal regs with impunity for decades).

April 20th. Got another email saying sign up was required again ... So this is my third sign-up without seeing any sign of the promised data. My guess is Tracfone is nevertheless receiving government funds this whole time for administering this theoretical benefits program. Probably won't help but I'm filing an EBB complaint to see if I can find out anything.

old post: I got an email from Safelink (an Obamaphone participant) today stating that the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is upgrading Safelink subscribers to Free Unlimited Talk, Text and Data -- including unlimited hotspot! -- starting in March and ending six months after the health crisis is over. Safelink is owned by Tracfone.

So if you're newly eligible because you lost your job due or need Food Stamps due to COVID etc but have been dragging your feet applying for a free phone because you didn't think the benefit was worth it, now it definitely is!

I'm hit or miss with checking emails and easily could have missed this one, letting me know I had to opt-in to receive the upgrade.

" Don’t Miss Out. You must accept this assistance to receive the benefits. Text EBB to 611611 to get started! "

I texted EBB and received this message:

"You are opted in to receive Truly Unlimited Talk, Text and Data with Hotspot starting March 1, 2021, and we will contact you if the FCC requests further information from you.

"The Emergency Broadband Benefit is temporary and will end 6 months after the public health emergency no longer exists or funds are depleted. We will notify you when there is a change to the benefit."

I don't know if Assurance Wireless and the other Obamaphone participants are also offering this benefit, but I think it is likely -- certainly worth making inquiries.

Note that Safelink/Tracfone defaults to a TMO sim card if you just apply and don't specify.

If want an AT&T or Verizon Sim, be very emphatic that you don't get TMO reception in your neighborhood (or inside your house if they argue with you). And/or tell them you've got a device that only works on AT&T or Verizon. Don't be wishy-washy and make it sound like it's just a preference. I requested an AT&T sim three times before they finally sent the right card!

The application process is much easier than Food Stamps (which isn't all that hard). If you have a SNAP benefits card or are on Medicaid, it's pretty automatic, and there are other potential routes:

Medicaid/Medi-Cal

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Food Stamps or SNAP)/CalFresh

• Supplemental Security Income

• Federal Public Housing Assistance

• Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance

• Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

• Tribal Head Start

• Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit

I've never used either, but I'm researching options to reduce monthly expenses. I had previously heard about ACP for home internet, which I plan to apply for once I move.

I came to this sub to research MVNOs and saw posts talking about applying a $30 ACP credit towards their monthly cell phone service.

So now I'm wondering if these are 2 separate ACP credits, or if I have to choose whether to apply it to home internet or apply it to cell phone service?

Back in May, I applied for the EBB benefit with Safelink on my tracfone. I already had Safelink through the government LIFELINE program, so it was fairly easy to get the EBB benefit. Once I had that, I had unlimited talk, text, and data with 10 gigs of hotspot on my phone. They said they would notify me when the program would run out of money, but about August 9th my phone stopped getting data, and it had somehow rolled back to my old plan of 500 min, unlimited text, and 4.5 gigs of data. Which I didn't know at the beginning of August, so I unwittingly used up all my data.

My question is, HAS ANYONE EXPERIENCED ANYTHING SIMILAR?https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Enrollment/Safelink/en/Web/www/default/index.html#!/ebbLanding