Gone and never to come are those days when being connected was a preserve of the well-to-do in the society. Currently, everyone wants to be connected to his or her loved ones. As a result, most people are now looking for ways to get phones and tablets more affordably. Thankfully, the Federal Government is now offering free phones to all eligible individuals via the Lifeline program. Besides this, it allows you to get a discounted or almost free tablet via the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). If you want to get a free phone and tablet, consider applying for the Lifeline and ACP combo plan.
The good news is that there are many service providers that offer the Lifeline and ACP combo plan. To learn more about how to get Lifeline free phone and tablet, consider reading this article and you will be good to go.
To Start, It’s Important To Understand How The Lifeline Program Works
First and foremost, the Lifeline Assistance program was established in the 1980s. It is imperative to note that this program was initiated in order to reduce communication costs for low-income families. Therefore, all eligible individuals or household can qualify to get a free phone alongside discounted cell phone plans.
From free texts to mobile data, there are many cheap cell phone plans one can enjoy, thanks to the ACP & Lifeline program. With these offers in place, all eligible individuals can now remain connected with their loved ones, work online, learn online, access emergency healthcare service and so much more.
Once you qualify for Lifeline program, you will be able to enjoy a discount of up to $34.25 if you live on Tribal lands or $9.25 in case you live on Non-tribal lands. It is important to note that the Lifeline program is only limited to one person per an eligible household and the benefits gained are non-transferable to another household member or household, even if they are eligible.
Here I Mention 3 Steps To Get a Free Phone and Tablet Via Lifeline & ACP Combo Plan
Well, Lifeline program only allows you to get a free smartphone alongside free texts, minutes and mobile data. When it comes to the cell phone plan offered, be certain that they will vary as different carriers have different offers to all their customers. Therefore, depending on your preferred carrier, chances are that you will enjoy different cell phone plan offers that will help you to remain connected.
For you to get a free tablet, you have to either apply for the Lifeline and ACP combo plan from your preferred carrier. This is because Lifeline Assistance program on itself does not offer free tablets to eligible people.
Apart from the Lifeline and ACP combo, you can be able to get a free tablet if you apply for the ACP facility from your service provider of your choice. In fact, if you are Lifeline-eligible, be certain that you can go ahead and apply for the ACP facility and be able to get a discounted tablet alongside other incredible offers.
Steps 1: Eligible For The Lifeline & ACP Program To Get Free Phone And Tablet
By now, you are aware that you cannot get a free phone and tablet via the Lifeline program. Instead, you will be required to be eligible for the Lifeline and ACP combo plan so that you can be able to get these devices free of charge. To be eligible for the Lifeline and ACP combo, you will be required to meet the following requirements:
1. Ensure that you have a low income
As far as the low income criteria is concerned, you must ensure that your income stands at or is below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. This qualification makes you eligible for the Lifeline program.
Better still, your income should stand at or be below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Depending on the state that you live in, there is a need for you to check what its Federal Poverty Guidelines stipulate and then establish if you meet the much-needed threshold or not. The latter qualification makes you eligible for the ACP facility.
2. Be a participant of a government assistance program
Apart from having a low income as discussed above, you can now qualify to get a free phone and tablet via Lifeline if you are a beneficiary of a government assistance program. Some of the popular government assistance programs that can make you to qualify for free phone and tablet include:
- Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit
- Medicaid
- Supplemental Security Income(SSI)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP)
- Federal Public Housing Assistance(FPHA)
Besides the above-mentioned programs, you can now be eligible for free phone and tablet if you live in Tribal lands and enjoy any of the following programs:
- Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(Tribal TANF)
- Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
- Tribal Head Start(Only households that meet the much-needed income qualifying standard qualify)
- Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
To be eligible for the ACP facility, you need to ensure that you are a beneficiary of the Lifeline program. Besides this, ensure that you are a participant of any of the programs that we have listed above. Additionally, ensure that you are a beneficiary of the following programs:
- You are a beneficiary of a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children(WIC)
- You are a beneficiary of a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year
- You are a beneficiary of Free and Reduced-Price School Breakfast Program or School Lunch Program including at U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools.
Steps 1: Gathering Necessary Documentation To Apply For A Free Phone and Tablet
For you to apply for a free phone and tablet via Lifeline & ACP combo program, you need to submit certain documents so that your application can be approved. To put this into perspective, you will be required to submit copies of your personal and eligibility documents so that you can prove your identity and eligibility status respectively. In the subsequent sections, we shall take a closer look at the various documents that you should gather first so that you can get started:
1. Personal documents
When it comes to personal documents, you need to submit an official document that has your name in full, your date of birth and place of residence. The following are some of the essential documents that contain these vital details:
- A copy of your U.S driver’s license
- A copy of your passport
- A copy of your individual Taxpayer Identification Number
- A copy of your government-issued, military, Tribal or state ID
- A copy of your permanent resident card or Green card.
If you want to prove your address, consider submitting these documents:
- A copy of your utility bill
- A copy of your recent tax or W-2 return
- A copy of your mortgage or lease statement
2. Eligibility documents
Besides the personal documents mentioned above, you will be required to submit copies of documents that show that you earn a low income or are a participant of a government assistance program such as Medicaid, SNAP, Section 8,WIC,or SNAP. To prove that you earn a low income consider submitting the following documents:
- A copy of your paycheck stub
- A copy of your child support award
- A copy of your Veterans administration statement of benefits
- A copy of your divorce decree
- A copy of your Federal or Tribal notice letter of application in General Assistance
- A copy of your current income statement from your employer
If you are a beneficiary of a government assistance program, consider submitting any of the following documents:
- A copy of your statement of benefits
- A copy of your approval letter
- A copy of your benefit verification letter
- A copy of your benefit award letter
For you to qualify for a free phone and tablet, you need to ensure that you are 18 years and above. If you are emancipated, you can still go ahead and apply for a free phone and tablet via Lifeline & ACP combo program. However, you need to submit copies of your court document or certificate of emancipation so as to prove your emancipation status.
Note: The Affordable Connectivity Program will stop accepting new applications and enrollments on February 7, 2024. So consumers must be approved and enrolled with a service provider by 11:59 p.m ET on February 7th to receive the ACP benefits. The existing ACP beneficiaries will continue to receive their ACP benefits for at least April 2024. This date is an estimate and may change.
Steps 3: Applying For A Free Phone And Tablet
The process of applying for a free phone and tablet is not difficult per se. Here are the steps that can help you get started:
- Ensure that you are eligible for the Lifeline and ACP combo plan. For instance, ensure that your income stands at or is below 135% or 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Additionally, ensure that you are a participant of a government assistance program such as Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, WIC, Section 8 or Tribal-based programs such as Tribal Head Start.
- Choose a service provider that offers free phone and tablet via Lifeline within your state. Fortunately, you will not miss a carrier that offer these devices via Lifeline and ACP combo plan.
- Visit your preferred carrier’s official website and then enter your ZIP code or country on the blank field that you will see next to ‘Apply Now’ or ‘Get Started’ button.
- After entering your ZIP code, state or city, tap on the ‘Get Started’ button.
- Since you want to apply for a free phone and tablet, choose the Lifeline and Combo plan and then tap on the ‘Apply’ button.
- You will be redirected to a different page where you will start filling the application form. Here, you will be needed to key in your name in full, SSN, date of birth, place of residence and so much more. For optimal results, ensure that you key in the correct details as required by your carrier.
- Once you fill in the application form, attach soft copies of your personal and eligibility documents.
- Check whether everything is correct and then tap on the ‘Submit’ button.
- After submitting your application form, the carrier’s team will review it and then respond to you after a few days. In case you meet your carrier’s set requirements, you will be able to get a free phone and tablet within 7 to 1 days, depending on their availability and location. As far as your service discount is concerned, be sure that it will be applied at the beginning of your next month’s billing cycle.
It is important to note that you will not get a free tablet, but rather a discounted one. To put this into perspective, you will be required to part with at least $10 and not more than $50 towards the purchase of your tablet of choice. On the other hand, your carrier will be offer you a one-time discount of up to $100 that can help you purchase your tablet inexpensively.
Free Phones And Tablets Model List, That You May Get Under Lifeline & ACP Assistance Program
If you applied for a free phone and tablet and followed the right procedure as outlined above, be certain that you will be able to get these devices and get connected. When it comes to free phone, trust that you will get an entry-level to mid-range Android phones.
If you want an iPhone model, you will not get a new model. Instead, you might be able to get an older model. Finally, the device that you will get will depend on its availability and the state that you live in. Here are some of the free phones that you can get via Lifeline program:
- LG M150
- Blue Advance
- Kyocera Hydro Reach
- Apple iPhone 6S GSM
- Alcatel Dawn
- Apple iPhone 6(CDMA OR GSM)
- Apple iPhone 7
- Apple iPhone 8
- Motorola G Power
- Motorola E5
- NUU Mobile A3
- LG Stylo 4
- LG K30
- NUU Mobile A5L
- Samsung Galaxy S9+
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy J3
- Samsung Galaxy A10
- ZTE Wrap Elite N9518
- ZTE Prestige 2
When it comes to tablets, you can expect to get refurbished mid-range or new tablets that allows you to connect to a 4G LTE network. Some of the models that you can get here include:
- Apple iPad 2020
- Google Chromebook
- LG G Pad 5
- Samsung Galaxy Tab s7
- New Microsoft Surface Go 2
- Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2
- Fire HD 10 Tablet
- Lenovo Tab M10 Plus
- Lenovo Tab 5
Basic Specifications of Government Free Tablet
To start with, the Lifeline and ACP combo service providers hardly offer the latest tablets. Besides this, you might not be able to get the tablet that you have always wanted. Thankfully, these carriers offer high quality tablet that will meet your needs. In most cases, these carriers offer tablets from renowned brands such as; Lenovo, Microsoft, Google, LG, Microsoft, and so on. Here are some of the basic features that most tablet come with:
- Your tablet will be powered by Intel Core processor
- It will run on the current Android Operating System
- When it comes to the display, the tablet will have a 12.3 inch PixelSense screen display. With this display in place, you will be able to watch movies, play mobile games, stream online content and so forth.
- It will come with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities so that you can connect it to other devices seamlessly
- The model allows you to connect to the 4G LTE and 5G network
- As far as its internal storage is concerned, this model will come with a 128GB ROM and 8GB RAM. The model can also come with a memory card slot that allows you to expand its internal storage. If you want to expand that memory space, you are at liberty to insert an SD card whose capacity is 512GB.
- At the back, the model will come with an 8MP camera and a LED feature. With the LED feature in place, you will be able to take high quality photos even under low-light intensities. At the front, the model takes pride in having a 5MP for taking fairly decent selfies.
- Depending on your preferred tablet, it can come with a warranty of 5 years or thereabout.
Other Benefits That Can Enjoy Once You Get Free Phone & Tablet Via Lifeline And ACP Combo Program
After obtaining the free phone and tablet, here are the benefits that you are likely to enjoy:
- You will be able to work online
- Learning online will no longer be an issue to you as you will not use the phone or tablet for that purpose
- You will be able to remain connected with those whom you love
- You will be able to get entertained as these devices can now allow you to stream online content, watch movies, surf the internet, play mobile games and so much more.
- With the phone and tablet in place, you will be able to access emergency healthcare services
- The phone and tablet will allow you to look for better job opportunities online
- Since you will not have to purchase mobile data for these devices, be certain that you will save more when it comes to internet bills. Besides this, the device are offered almost free of charge. Therefore, your communication costs will reduce significantly.
Other critical features that you will enjoy include
- 3-way calling,
- Free shipping,
- Call waiting
- Unlimited text
- Unlimited data(This might vary from one carrier to another)
- Unlimited talk
Service Providers List, Who Offer Free Phones And Tablets Under Lifeline & ACP Combo Program
Some of the carriers that allows you to get free phone and tablets under the Lifeline ACP program include:
- Assurance Wireless
- Cintex Wireless
- Qlink Wireless
- NewPhone Wireless
- enTouch Wireless
- Assist Wireless
- Easy Wireless
- AirTalk Wireless
Other Ways To Get Free Phone And Tablet
Apart from the carriers that we have mentioned above, you can now be able to get a free phone and tablet via non-profit organizations. Here are some of the reputable organizations that allow you to get a free phone and tablet:
- Computer For Learning
- Freecycle
- Cty.Org
- Everyoneon
- Microsoft Registered Refurbished
- Accelerated School Programs
- World Computer Exchange
- Technology Assisting People in Need
- Komputers 4 R Kids
- The On It Foundation
Apart from the organizations and programs that we have mentioned above, be sure that you can get a free or discounted phone and tablet via the following methods:
- Visit reputable online platforms such as eBay, Amazon or Walmart and check their current offers when it comes to phone and tablets. Here, you will be able to get a discounted phone and tablet that will suit your needs.
- Take a closer look at the Facebook Marketplace and determine if you will come across decent phone and tablet from that end.
- Ask your friend or family member whether he has a phone and tablet that can offer free of charge. Chances are that he might have upgraded to better devices, thereby rendering the old phone and tablet less useful to him.
- Contact your carrier and ask if it is offering budget-friendly phones and tablets. Since most service providers usually offer phone and tablet deals from time to time, you can be sure that you will not miss models that will suit your budget.