SafeLink provides more minutes, new plans for low-income households

economic benefits of owning a cell phone, which can make all the difference for a low-income household. Programs like SafeLink work to provide low-income individuals and households with free cell phones and minutes so that they might take advantage and improve their situations. Previously this would provide them with a free phone and 80 minutes per month. Recently Tracfone, the company behind SafeLink, announced changes to its program in the Delaware area. Instead of the single plan, qualified SafeLink users will now get to choose from three different plans. These include 250 monthly minutes that do not carry over, 125 rollover minutes, or 68 rollover minutes with international long distance to over 100 locations. With the first two plans text messages cost one minute, while three text messages cost one minute with the last plan. Each plan also comes a free handset from LG, Motorola, or Samsung. More information can be found at SafeLink.com.]]>

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41 Comments

  1. Tara on August 18, 2010 at 11:04 pm

    How do you choose a new plan on safelink? I went to their website but I didn’t see where to choose one.



  2. trevor on August 19, 2010 at 12:37 pm

    I have a 125 rollover and not only does it come with a nifty LG phone I save money on not having to pay a monthly service fee. There are absolutely no hidden costs with this deal and I am now able to budget on my calls



  3. cindyh23 on August 26, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    I know trevor! no hidden deals at all. I love not being on a contract and feeling tied down to anything. Tracfone has been great for money and the savings are unreal. THE double minutes I HIGHLY SUGGEST!! i was spending way too much money…. like I kept just getting bills for my old phone contracts and they would go up and up. NOw I PAY FOR WHAT I USE. AND I PAY WAY LESS



  4. bill on August 29, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    I have been getting 150 minutes a month for the last 3 months (previously it was 68). Florida resident. Did the changes mean I’ll drop to 125?



  5. Alan0339 on September 2, 2010 at 3:51 pm

    Why does the TV commercial advertise FREE TEXTING, and I get charged .3 units for every text sent and recieved? And why am I still only getting 68 mins./month?



  6. Spencer19 on September 9, 2010 at 10:51 am

    I have a tracphone and i like it a lot. I have the LG410G flip phone. I have the 250 minute plan and its fine cuz i dont talk on the phone too much, i prefer to meet and speak with people in person 😉



  7. gloria cox on October 2, 2010 at 1:36 am

    why was our minutes taken we alread had



  8. Terri Christle on October 4, 2010 at 12:17 pm

    so today 10-4-2010 ive changed my minutes plan on my safelink phone and i was wondering how long it will take to get the new 250 mins i signed up for??? i just recieved my 68 minutes last friday..will it wait till the next months add minutes date?



  9. debra dishno on October 31, 2010 at 1:20 pm

    I would like to apply for more minutes on my phone for my daughter and I. Our phone no. is 273-5413. I was told we are allowed 250 minutes. May we please apply. Thank you.



  10. Miriam DiMartino on November 3, 2010 at 9:50 am

    show three ways to access and add free prepaid minutes to my free SafeLink phone.



  11. Evelyn Carbone on November 9, 2010 at 5:19 pm

    I would like to know where to apply for the 250 minutes …please email me and let me know…thank you Evelyn



  12. Seth on November 10, 2010 at 12:47 pm

    Stop stealing my money. If you want a phone, pay for it. Don’t take my tax dollars and get a phone. It isn’t your RIGHT to have a phone. I’m sick of paying for other people to get for free what I have to pay for.



  13. caryn on November 24, 2010 at 10:33 am

    In response to the individual,that is upset that there taking her tax dollars and for the phones,you are a thoughtless ,uncaring selfish person,because these phones have saved lives ,like with the elderly that cant affford one,and instead of laying there dying on the floor they can call for help,or if a women and her young children,are brokedown late at night in below zero weather they can call for help,wouldnt you rather your tax dollars go for somthing good,cause nomatter what they are gonna find away to tax you,and you know it, so it,s better it goes for somthing good.



  14. Amber on December 15, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    Another response to the person(Seth) who is upset about tax dollors. First of all get your facts strait the safelink plan has nothing to do with your tax dollors, its a free plan from track phone. so before you fly of the handle do a little more resrech.



  15. Erin on December 19, 2010 at 8:46 am

    I love the fact that we can now change our plans from the 68 minutes to more I would run out of those minutes and the month wouldnt even be over.



  16. mary on December 19, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    i know there are three plans, but which plan offers a flip phone. i currently have the 250 plan and my phone is an LG, it’s not a flip phone. which of the three plans offers a flip phone?



  17. Rick on December 31, 2010 at 10:06 am

    Safe link (Tracfone) minutes are paid for by the long standing lifeline program (low income) that is paid by the feds.You are not entitled to receive a landline and a cell phone it is one or the other.Safelink is only giving the phone itself free in hopes you will buy extra minutes from tracfone and of course they are getting paid for the minutes you already receive and are not giving them to you because they like you or feel sorry for you..



  18. krystal on January 23, 2011 at 4:36 pm

    i have a question..carry over is like roll over right?



  19. Stephanie on January 29, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    Krystal,
    Yes carry over is rollover. From what the Safelink representative told me, all plans carry over EXCEPT the 250 min plan. Even if you add minutes, when your phone is “refreshed” it will go back to 250 minutes.
    For those of you who run out of minutes because of texts…..Try getting the LG420G. If a text comes in, standard texts only, and your phone is closed you can use the volume rocker on the side of the phone to open the text for free. Just keep pressing down until you reach the current time. Then, if you want to see the text again just open the phone and view as you normally would but without the 0.3 minutes reduction! This will save a LOT of your minutes.
    In case any of your were wondering, Yes you can replace your phone with a more updated one. Just give Safelink a call when you buy a Tracfone, and they will send out a sim card of your choice, for either T-Mobile(T5) or AT&T(C4) service. I received mine by overnight mail. They may not do this if your “Port” was successful, mine was not.



  20. joe the plumber on March 14, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    if this “govt supported” program, as the commercials said, was really for the sick old people who have no phones (like the bleeding hearts claim) why can youkeep your old number? This is one more link in the govt chain of cradle to grave oppression. This is paid for by tax dollars, and a fee for all legit phone subscribers. And go ahead, call me heartless for thinking its wrong to take from peter to pay paul. 28% of my paycheck goes to these “its my right to have everything you paid for, but I want them for free” govt programs.
    Just wrong, and don’t bother callig me cruel and heartless. I’m nicer than you, trust me. I am



  21. bennett lewites on March 22, 2011 at 8:59 am

    i’m trying to switch from 68 min to 250 min plan but every number i call i get no helpful information.could you pls rerespond and let me know the procedure



  22. john crowley on March 25, 2011 at 10:58 pm

    To Joe the Plumber:
    Please do research before you mindlessly rant. If you read the fine print on Safelink.com you will find out that tax money is NOT paying for this. This is purely Tracfone’s program, not the governments. Yes, government records do aid in determining your eligibility but that is where government involvement stops. This is more a promotional stunt by tracfone then any government aid program. The fact that people in need get free cell phone service is simply a side effect of clever corporate marketing.
    Also, stop to think how much actual money this program costs. The physical cellphones are mass produced in China for 25 cents each, and the rest is all digital. There is little overhead cost with this program.



  23. Holly on March 28, 2011 at 6:12 pm

    GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!!! This program is offered by Tracfone itself, NOT the government. If you have time to write nasty comments, then you have time to go to safelink website and get the facts. Stop complaining if you don’t know what you’re talking about. GET A LIFE!



  24. yur on April 5, 2011 at 10:17 pm

    I would like to know where to apply for the free 250 minutes and free cellphone for old people …please email me and let me know…thank you Yur



  25. Shun on May 17, 2011 at 2:58 pm

    Yes tax dollars pay for this service; however, it’s not from your paycheck. The tax revenue is from your cell phone, so if you dont want to pay for people to get a free phone. Stop using a cell. You dont need one anyway.



  26. lin on July 7, 2011 at 5:52 pm

    I have been all over the safelink website 50 times, and the links just send you in endless circles, that end in a page to apply. It keeps saying ‘more details’, but the links NEVER take you anywhere you can actually look at the details of the 3 plans- just more links leading to more links, and no real information. Would it really be so hard to just write it down somewhere we can find it….?



  27. Leila T. Moore on August 8, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    I recieved a promo for 180 minutes on my nes phone. How do I access these minutes?



  28. YVONNE on August 30, 2011 at 1:35 pm

    i GUESS THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FUSSING ABOUT PEOPLE GETTING FREE PHONE HAVE NEVER FELL ON HARD TIMES. FOR THE GRACE OF GOD IT COULD HAPPEN TO ANY ONE.



  29. Betty on September 5, 2011 at 10:06 am

    I am sooooo tired of people who can’t stand to share anything they have with someone less fortunate. One lady said she was really nice and not cold hearted. I guess it is in the eye of the beholder. It is easy to be nice when you have everything you need and can pay all your bills. What you really are is a self-rightous selfish person, who thinks everyone should be just like you. Barf!!!!!



  30. famas slight of hand on November 12, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    i just got my phone, so theres no way to get 0.3 per text on the 250 plan??



  31. John Bell on November 29, 2011 at 2:06 pm

    I had my sister place minutes on my phone because my minutes were used up and when the new month came along those minutes were wiped off my account.Just to caution you that you will loose those minutes so only buy as many as you need for that month, that money and minutes were wiped out by trac phone.



  32. jerry on January 7, 2012 at 7:02 am

    FWIW, from the Safelink site,,
    https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Safelink/program_info/benefits
    First sentence pasted from the full description. Click on link and read it’s entirety and then folks can draw their own conclusion whether their taxes pay for the service,,
    —————
    >> There is no “Obama phone” or other newly created federal program to provide free cell phones. As you may know, this is a myth that is now circulating on the Web via email and blog sites.
    ——————–



  33. SmileyM10 on February 15, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    Whoever has to pay for my free phone, I would like to say thank you very much. If it were not for this program I would be with out a phone and on the road everyday alone.
    THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



  34. jennifer penrod on April 22, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    my son has run out of minutes on his trackfone thru safelink. ive purcased a $19.95 card/60 min. ive heard that safelink ill double the min,how do i obtain theose min?



  35. jerzee8citi on August 30, 2012 at 10:34 am

    Google promo cards when you run out of mins. And buy a 60 min card will give you a promo code for 200 add. Min, that’s what pays for the free service !!!”””



  36. Alicia Nelson on January 11, 2013 at 2:07 pm

    PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE! TRACFONE IS THE WORST ONE TO HAVE EVEN AS A FREE PHONE! DO THE MATH after you check out VIRGIN MOBILE who ALSO has the free phone and plan under the name ASSURANCE WIRELESS! They give you 250 minutes AND 250 texts! And if you want UNLIMITED, YOU ONLY PAY $30/mo. If you currently have SAFELINK, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND SWITCH!



  37. JoanM on July 1, 2013 at 7:08 pm

    Gee, all these folks who hate that the working poor and old folks have access to this life-saving phone service need to get another hobby than spending time lurking on these message boards.
    Just to clarify: the cost of the phones is absorbed by the company providing them; the minutes (at a set price determined by the government) are reimbursed to that phone company by the federal government.
    This program originated under that old Communist President Ronald Reagan, before we had cell phones. It originally provided assistance to help pay for home (land line) bills.



  38. Holly M. on March 3, 2014 at 4:00 pm

    @Joetheplumber: Not everyone is out to take “Your” tax dollars… I work too, along with millions of other Americans and pay taxes. However, I PAID $9.99 for a refurbished Samsung “bar phone” from Tracfone for my 16 year old daughter that has Asperger’s Syndrome and tries to walk home from school on occasion as opposed to taking the bus, thus having me search frantically for her and the first thing the police always ask me is,”Does she have a cell phone?” And I’ve always said NO. I also paid $9.99 for 30 mins. I have applied for this service as I work part time. I’d love to work full time if I could leave her home by herself but I know I’ll be taking care of her well into her adult years and worry about her safety daily.



  39. Todd on March 10, 2014 at 10:11 pm

    I must say safelinks is the way to go! its the only one to upgrade your phone to an thing sweet! I got a LG 840 for about $20 its the phone I’ve had in a while. the phone looks so good people laugh when I say its my Safe Link phone!!!



  40. mark rushing on December 17, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    Is there a place in Houston,TX. to buy more minutes to add to my existing minutes? Or maybe a phone card?



    • Liz E. on December 18, 2014 at 12:08 pm

      Mark, you can refill your minutes online with this page. Otherwise, I would call the customer service and they should be able to lookup a location near you.