Safelink Wireless is the leading provider of accessible and affordable wireless packages for most low-income families in the US. The company offers several wireless services, such as Safelink wireless plans, which benefit those who qualify and enrolled in any government assistance program or whose income meets the government guidelines. The services vary from State to State and are only open to an individual in a household.
Safelink Wireless is an affiliate of TracFone Wireless that serves eligible households in the Lifeline Program. Thus, to qualify for the Safelink Wireless service, specific eligibility requirements must be met, and enshrined by each State where the service gets offered. However, these requirements depend on a person’s participation in state, Federal support programs or by attaining the Income Poverty Guidelines provided by the US Government.
Safelink Wireless provides various affordable plans for the beneficiaries with no Bills, no Contracts, and no surprise fees. Besides, there are SafeLink compatible phones, data plans, plus voice and text packages. Unlike other prepaid providers, Safelink does not require customers to commit to a service contract; thus, customers enjoy the freedom of changing plans and switching carriers at will hassle-free.
How Do You Qualify For Safelink Wireless
Safelink Wireless participates in the Lifeline program and offers services to eligible consumers in select states and territories. However, the actual legal requirements vary by State. Generally, to qualify for Lifeline, you must either have an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or be a member in one of the following government assistance programs:
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Food Stamps
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance (Section 8)
- Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit
Some states have additional eligibility under the following Tribal programs:
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance (BIA)
- Tribal Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Tribal TANF)
- Tribal Head Start (only those households meeting its income qualifying standard)
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
You can call or visit the Safelink website for qualifications and put your zip code to find plans available in your area. You can complete an application on the website and download the completed application for your records.
Also, you need to write down the Enrollment ID issued when you fill out your application. Using your ID, you will be able to track the status of your application on the website or by calling customer support at 1-800-977-3768.
Pros of Safelink Cell Phone Service
- There are no contracts or credit checks
- Free caller ID, call waiting, and voicemail
- International long-distance features the same rate as nationwide calling
- All TracFone Airtime cards will work
- Monthly allowance applicable for 12 months
- You will get a text notification when your service is about to expire
- You receive free minutes based on the plan and the State in which you live
- You can purchase additional minutes and data Through the Lifeline Program. Safelink service is cost-free
- Freedom to choose the plan you want
Cons Of Safelink Cell Phone Service
- Calling minutes do expire
You need to pay extra for other features such as additional minutes and data.
How Do You Apply For a Safelink Wireless Phone
If you meet the required details, you can qualify to apply for a SafeLink phone, and you can do that on SafeLink’s website. To apply for SafeLink’s lifeline program, you will have to enter details such as your home phone number, email address, name, social security number, and address.
However, your social security number will be used as a baseline to determine if you are currently getting any government benefits. If your application gets approved, you can wait for your phone within five to ten business days. The phone gets sent to you using US registered mail.
As stated earlier, you can qualify for SafeLink Wireless free phone if you meet the following criteria;
- You currently get federal assistance which includes benefits such as food stamps, public housing, and Medical, etc.
- No member of your household currently receives SafeLink service
- Your total household income is below or at the national or State poverty level
- You have a valid US street address that accepts mail from the US Post Office.
To track the status of your SafeLink application, you can utilize the Online SafeLink enrollment status tool. Alternatively, you can contact the customer support team. On the status confirmation tool, you need to enter your SafeLink enrolment ID.
This ID is the one that you got when you first applied for the services. If you can not find the enrolment ID, enter your date of birth, the last four digits of your Social Security number, and your ZIP Code.
What Are The Lifeline Services Offers
With SafeLink Wireless, low-income households can get free cell phones. You can enjoy some other benefits without the stress of a credit check. However, the service is available in many states within the United States, and customers will receive a Tracfone brand prepaid phone. Notably, when you finish the allotted free minutes, you can buy an additional Safelink card for more airtime, as discussed in this article.
SafeLink provides three service plans, and each one of them features the following benefits, including nationwide long-distance, local calls, voice mail, nationwide text, 411 directory assistance, and free-roaming. For monthly minutes, you can enjoy the 125 minutes, 68 minutes, and 250 minutes. Besides, for the option of 68 minutes per month, texts are 0.3 minutes for a text.
You also make free international calling to more than 100 locations and enjoy monthly carryover for any unused minutes. However, the option of 125 minutes per month also enables you to carry over your unused minutes, but you do not enjoy rollover minutes if you select the 250 minutes per month plan.
What is the best Safelink Wireless Plans
1) Safelink Data Plans
For most of the Safelink internet plans, the internet delivers download speeds starting from 15 Mbps to 100 Mbps. You can keep your current cell phone through Safelink bring your own phone and enjoy fantastic data plan offers on Safelink.
To reap the most benefits out of these speeds, you generally require a minimum download speed of 1 Mbps for web browsing and social media. However, for high-quality Ultra HD 4K video streaming, the baseline is above at download speeds of 25 Mbps. Additionally, Safelink Internet provides upload speeds starting from 15 Mbps to 100 Mbps.
2) Safelink Phone Plans
Safelink wireless simplifies the pay for monthly service by allowing you to call a customer service representative and receive help in choosing and purchasing your monthly minutes. However, customers also have the choice of purchasing through the Safelink provider’s website as well.
The website will display various plans or options, including various accepted forms of payment. You can make your monthly purchases online to add minutes, text, and data to your Safelink plan.
Nevertheless, some customers may qualify for the no-cost plan, which automatically adds minutes to their phone within the first few days of the month. However, if you require more than your free allocated minutes, text, and data, you will have to purchase more, whether online or via customer service.
Below are some of the Safelink phone plans.
i) 500-Minute Feature Phone Plan
- You get 500 minutes that feature local and long-distance calls
- Unlimited nationwide text messaging
- No additional fees for roaming
- Includes voicemail, caller ID, and call waiting features
- No data contained with this plan
- Minutes do not carry over through bill cycles
ii) 500 MB Smartphone Plan
- You get 350 minutes that feature local and long-distance calls
- 500 MB of data per month
- Unlimited nationwide texting
- No additional fees for roaming
- Includes voicemail, caller ID, and call waiting features
- Data and minutes do not carry over through bill cycles.
iii) 1 GB Plan Through Bring Your Own Phone
- You get 350 minutes that apply to local and long-distance calls
- 1 GB of data over the first three months
- After three months, the 1 GB of data returns to 500 MB every month.
- Unlimited nationwide texting
- No additional fees for roaming
- Includes voicemail, caller ID, and call waiting features
- Data and minutes do not carry over through bill cycles
3) Safelink Plans Add Minutes
You can add Safelink minutes to your phone or someone else’s by simply selecting a top-up amount and fill in the number of the person whose phone you’re recharging. They could be anywhere, in the US or abroad. The recharge reflects immediately, and you can charge any Safelink phone following the three simple steps:
- Select your preferred Safelink product from the list provided in the product section.
- Fill in the phone number you want to recharge, either yours or anyone else’s number. You have to include your contact information so that you can get notified regarding your order.
- Pay and get recharged. Immediately your payment gets completed, you’ll receive your order in seconds.
However, the best way to add minutes to a Safelink phone is to purchase one of the many bundle combos. Getting one of these recharges includes minutes and data to get both calls and video calls using your phone.
You can enjoy more data, texting, and voice minutes for as low as $10. Each Airtime Card comprises a set number of minutes/data and service days that begin when the airtime card gets added to the phone. The plans include;
i) $10 additional minutes
- You receive 500Minutes, Texts, and 500 MB of Data
ii) $12 additional minutes
- You receive 1,000Minutes, 1,000 Texts, and 1 GB of Data
How Do You Add Minutes To Your Safelink Phone?
- Press Menu
- Select “Prepaid”
- Continue to “Redeem Airtime” or “AddAirtime”
- Select “OK”
- Scroll down and press OK until you see “Card #” or”Airtime PIN.”
- Enter 555 and press OK.
- If you lack a promotional code, press NO
You Can Check Your Safelink Minutes Via;
- Check Safelink Balance via Text.
- Check Balance Online. You’ll need your phone number and the Last 4 Digits of the phone’s Serial Number (IMEI or MEID) to know your balance.
- Self Retrieval Method. Press the MENU key.
- Manage Online Account.
- Contacting Safelink Wireless.
4) Safelink Unlimited Data Plan
You can stay connected and do more with your SafeLink Phone and experience your device to the fullest by adding one of our 30-day service plans. This Service Plan applies to Safelink phone upgrade provides the number of minutes, texts, and data as specified on the plan you have purchased.
After the plan expiry, the unused balance will not roll over to the next month. However, if you are an enrolled participant, you will continue to get your free monthly SafeLink benefit as usual.
i) $15upgrades
You get 3GBof Data, Unlimited Talk and Text
ii) $20upgrades
You get 4GBof Data, Unlimited Talk and Text
ii) $30upgrades
You get 14GBof Data, Unlimited Talk and Text
iii) $39upgrades
- You get 40 GB of Data, Unlimited Talk and Text
- Data at 4G LTE+ Speed
- Video streams at DVD quality
5) Safelink Prepaid Plans
SafeLink Wireless offers you the choice of enjoying the free service while continuing to use your current phone with no credit checks, no monthly bills, and no contract. SafeLink Keep Your Own Smartphone plan needs a compatible or unlocked Smartphone with most GSM Smartphones known as compatible. For the below BYOP plans, the unused balance will not roll over from month to month. However, there are additional data plans available for purchase.
The prepaid plans include;
i) Unlimited Voice Minutes with Unlimited GB of Data
- Free SIM card
- Free Every Month
- Voice Minutes and Unlimited Texts
- Voicemail/Caller ID/3-way Calling
- 911 Access
- 411 Directory Assistance at No Additional Cost
- Nationwide Coverage on America’s Best Networks and 4G LTE†capable
ii) 350Voice Minutes with 4.5GBof Data
- Free SIM card
- Free Every Month
- Voice Minutes and Unlimited Texts!
- Voicemail/Caller ID/3-way Calling
- 911 Access
- 411 Directory Assistance at No Additional Cost
- Nationwide Coverage on America’s Best Networks and 4G LTE†capable
Bottom line
SafeLink Wireless operates using the network of Tracfone as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO ), and its services get offered in certain states in the US Besides, it provides cell phone service to those individuals who qualify for the Lifeline Program, a government-supported initiative.
Interestingly, this MNVO offers cost-free plans or at a very cheap cost once your monthly allotment gets finished. They also provide an elementary phone and service using features similar to TracFone. Safelink Wireless Plans are for voice and text only, but you can purchase additional minutes.