Yoigo ends free phone and prepaid line portability offer
Vodafone SIMs and Yoigo portabilities offered free phones and €15 credit until rejections began.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Free line and phone via portability: the method Yoigo shut down
Can you get a line and phone for free? For months, yes, and the process was documented step by step. A free Vodafone SIM card, a portability to Yoigo with the 5-cent rate and, as a bonus, a Nokia 100 with €15 in credit. Zero cost and four days of paperwork. No contract lock-in, fees or mandatory top-ups.
How to get a mobile and prepaid line without paying anything
The process starts with a Vodafone SIM ordered online: it arrives pre-activated and costs nothing, neither the card nor shipping. The trick is in the second step, requesting portability from the SIM to Yoigo, which gives away a simple terminal —Nokia 100, Alcatel 1030 or a Samsung— with no shipping costs and €15 in line credit. If the number is new instead of ported, the gift credit drops to €5.
The Nokia 100 has radio, flashlight and a battery that lasts; the Alcatel adds MP3 and memory card slot. The fine print has its quirks: the Vodafone SIM does not always activate automatically and some had to call customer service or wait 48 hours before using it. Terminals also differ when unlocking them, deciding if the deal lasts or ends up in a drawer.
What Yoigo's 5-cent rate includes
The price is what hooks you. National calls at 5 cents per minute, 24 hours a day, every day, to any operator. National and international SMS at 10 cents. Call setup at 15 cents and MMS at 30. Internet at €1.20 per day of use, up to 384 Kbps and no P2P or IP telephony. No minimum usage, no fees and no mandatory top-ups. As a bonus, 20 free SMS until year-end and an extra €5 credit when topping up €20 plus VAT.
Here lies the fundamental change. According to a user, the previous version of the prepaid rate deducted €6 in credit monthly even if the phone wasn't used, leaving the line dead within weeks. Now the operator assumes that if the client doesn't spend, they simply don't pay. It sounds like common sense; it hadn't been for years.
Why terminals are given away and how Vodafone tried to retain customers
Giving away a low-end mobile isn't philanthropy. The most repeated analogy is printers: "It's an investment, like companies selling printers below cost thinking about the business made with cartridges." Some clients stick with recycled devices, but most eventually pay. The business isn't the device, it's the consumption it drives.
Vodafone, meanwhile, didn't sit still. According to users, they called during portability with offers to retain clients; in one case, 15 cents call setup, free calls and a free Samsung E1190, though without credit. When the retention operator discovered the reason for leaving was a card with €15, they hung up. The detail precisely portrays the margins they handle.
The tap closes: rejections and ID requests
The end came due to saturation. Yoigo started rejecting requests and demanding ID and proof of address from those who had accumulated multiple terminals at the same address. Some proposed taking the idea to the extreme: ordering mobiles for the whole family and reselling them later for €5 each. "They've seen the trick," was summarized when the website stopped advertising the zero-euro mobile. Terminals moved to €19, with €15 credit if portability and €5 if a new number.
Some were left halfway, with a rejection email and advice to return to their original company. While it lasted, the offer left a trail of basic terminals: Nokia 1800 with a week of battery, Alcatel with radio and memory card, unlocks for €1.
Prepaid or contract: which is cheaper?
There are two clear schools of thought. One argues contracts are equal or cheaper if you talk a lot and topping up is annoying. The other defends pure prepaid, with no minimum usage, is unbeatable for those who only use the phone to call and be called. Underlying this is the old doubt whether a smartphone without data lasts as long as a keypad terminal. It lasts longer than owners think, say those who tested it.
And an unanswered question: does that no-minimum rate allow the €3/month multi-line internet package on the same line? Nobody answered.
With these elements, the prepaid line remains alive and the zero-euro mobile is dead. If someone offers it again, it will be because they haven't read the fine print of their own offer.
Can you get a line and phone for free? For months, yes, and the process was documented step by step. A free Vodafone SIM card, a portability to Yoigo with the 5-cent rate and, as a bonus, a Nokia 100 with €15 in credit. Zero cost and four days of paperwork. No contract lock-in, fees or mandatory top-ups.
How to get a mobile and prepaid line without paying anything
The process starts with a Vodafone SIM ordered online: it arrives pre-activated and costs nothing, neither the card nor shipping. The trick is in the second step, requesting portability from the SIM to Yoigo, which gives away a simple terminal —Nokia 100, Alcatel 1030 or a Samsung— with no shipping costs and €15 in line credit. If the number is new instead of ported, the gift credit drops to €5.
The Nokia 100 has radio, flashlight and a battery that lasts; the Alcatel adds MP3 and memory card slot. The fine print has its quirks: the Vodafone SIM does not always activate automatically and some had to call customer service or wait 48 hours before using it. Terminals also differ when unlocking them, deciding if the deal lasts or ends up in a drawer.
What Yoigo's 5-cent rate includes
The price is what hooks you. National calls at 5 cents per minute, 24 hours a day, every day, to any operator. National and international SMS at 10 cents. Call setup at 15 cents and MMS at 30. Internet at €1.20 per day of use, up to 384 Kbps and no P2P or IP telephony. No minimum usage, no fees and no mandatory top-ups. As a bonus, 20 free SMS until year-end and an extra €5 credit when topping up €20 plus VAT.
Here lies the fundamental change. According to a user, the previous version of the prepaid rate deducted €6 in credit monthly even if the phone wasn't used, leaving the line dead within weeks. Now the operator assumes that if the client doesn't spend, they simply don't pay. It sounds like common sense; it hadn't been for years.
Why terminals are given away and how Vodafone tried to retain customers
Giving away a low-end mobile isn't philanthropy. The most repeated analogy is printers: "It's an investment, like companies selling printers below cost thinking about the business made with cartridges." Some clients stick with recycled devices, but most eventually pay. The business isn't the device, it's the consumption it drives.
Vodafone, meanwhile, didn't sit still. According to users, they called during portability with offers to retain clients; in one case, 15 cents call setup, free calls and a free Samsung E1190, though without credit. When the retention operator discovered the reason for leaving was a card with €15, they hung up. The detail precisely portrays the margins they handle.
The tap closes: rejections and ID requests
The end came due to saturation. Yoigo started rejecting requests and demanding ID and proof of address from those who had accumulated multiple terminals at the same address. Some proposed taking the idea to the extreme: ordering mobiles for the whole family and reselling them later for €5 each. "They've seen the trick," was summarized when the website stopped advertising the zero-euro mobile. Terminals moved to €19, with €15 credit if portability and €5 if a new number.
Some were left halfway, with a rejection email and advice to return to their original company. While it lasted, the offer left a trail of basic terminals: Nokia 1800 with a week of battery, Alcatel with radio and memory card, unlocks for €1.
Prepaid or contract: which is cheaper?
There are two clear schools of thought. One argues contracts are equal or cheaper if you talk a lot and topping up is annoying. The other defends pure prepaid, with no minimum usage, is unbeatable for those who only use the phone to call and be called. Underlying this is the old doubt whether a smartphone without data lasts as long as a keypad terminal. It lasts longer than owners think, say those who tested it.
And an unanswered question: does that no-minimum rate allow the €3/month multi-line internet package on the same line? Nobody answered.
With these elements, the prepaid line remains alive and the zero-euro mobile is dead. If someone offers it again, it will be because they haven't read the fine print of their own offer.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (120 replies).
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