Republic Wireless rolled out with their new 3.0 “Clear Choice” plans today. This is great news for a lot of people that wanted the new phones or used a good amount of cell data each month. If you’re a light cell data user though you might rather want to stick with the 2.0 refund plans instead. Why? Well, there’s a couple reasons why, but one of the main reasons is because it will save you money.
So I went to check the Republic Wireless site today, and lo and behold the new 3.0 plans were prominently displayed as their plan options. At first glance it seemed that they had gotten rid of the 2.0 plans completely from the site, but they just had them buried on a different page. I wanted to get some more info though, so I went into the Republic Wireless chat and this is what I found out.
Chat with Republic Wireless about where the refund plans have gone
Republic Wireless Rep: Hi, How may I help you?
Stock: Hi. Can I still get new republic wireless 2.0 refund plans?
Republic Wireless Rep: Hi Stock, please know that you can subscribe to Republic Refund Plans on any phones that were released prior to today’s launch. All nine phones that have been released today must be accompanied with a change to our Clear Choice Plans if purchased. We understand that this may not be preferable for some, however we think that you will be pleased with the lower cost of each GB of 4G LTE cellular data on our Clear Choice Plans.
Stock: Where do I find these plans and phones? I only see the 9 phones
Republic Wireless Rep: This page lists the phones that we have currently available with Republic for the Refund Plans: republicwireless.com/sale/. You can also go to the top of the page and hover over “Shop” then select “Sale” from the drop down menu. You can view the phones, prices and specs of each device on that page.
Stock: Is it just the 1 phone? I thought you had 2 the other day
Republic Wireless Rep: We have unfortunately sold out of our phones that are eligible for activation on our Republic Refund Plans.
Stock: Will you get more phones for the refund plans soon? Also, Will you get more phone options for the refund plans? If so when and what phones?
Republic Wireless Rep: We hope to receive a new shipment of Moto G 3rd Gen devices soon, however we are not certain when these phones will arrive. We ask that you continue to check our online store, as it will be updated immediately once our new shipment is received. We are currently not aware of any plans to release new devices that are eligible for Republic Refund Plans, however we ask that you continue to monitor our website and our Community for updates.
Stock: OK, so it’s just this 1 phone option then? Because you had 2 options a couple days ago. it was a cheaper phone option.
Republic Wireless Rep: That is correct. We will no longer be offering the Moto E 2nd Gen device in our online store unfortunately.
Stock: Will you continue to offer refund plans in the future or are you phasing them out?
Republic Wireless Rep: We will certainly continue to offer Republic Refund Plans, and we currently have no plans to discontinue those service plans. We can understand your concern, and we do want to continue providing Republic Refund Plans as an available service.
Stock: Thank you for this information. Am I able to buy a phone that is compatible with the refund plans from anywhere else?
Republic Wireless Rep: If you wish to search other retailers for phones that are compatible with the Republic Refund Plans, we recommend searching for these devices on Amazon or a similar site. You will just need to ensure that the device is capable of being activated on Republic Wireless’ service.
Stock: And how would I know it was capable of being activated on the Republic Wireless service? Is there some sort of way to know this?
Republic Wireless Rep: Typically this information is explicitly provided by the seller, as the software on previous Republic Wireless phones was specific to our service and incapable of being used with any other service provider.
Stock: Great, thank you. Would these be new phones or used phones?
Republic Wireless Rep: While we are unable to determine the exact condition of phones being sold by a third party seller, typically these phones are offered as certified used devices.
Stock: Great. Thank you for clearing all this up for me. I appreciate it. Thanks, and have a good day.
Republic Wireless Rep: Thank you for all of your questions, and we hope you have a great day as well! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any additional questions that you may have in the future!
Get your new phone now for the 2.0 refund plans while they last
So what does this all mean? Well, it means that Republic Wireless is obviously advertising and trying to push their new 3.0 plans. Even though they still have the 2.0 refund plans as an option there is only one phone you can choose from that is new, and they have hidden that options under a different sales tab that isn’t prominently displayed or obvious. And, if you want to get any other phone that is compatible with the 2.0 Refund Plans you’re going to have to find a good used one. Where? As suggested by the Republic Wireless Rep, “Amazon or a similar site.”