Ting on a GSM network: Open beta is, well, open.

Andrew Moore-Crispin • March 1, 2015

We hope you find some of the information in this article helpful – but we should point out that information about GSM/CDMA is outdated. Ting Mobile customers know they’ll continue receiving great coverage and service as Ting is currently on three nationwide LTE networks, including the nation’s largest and most reliable.

GSM network beta

Ting on a GSM network is now in open beta. That means anyone with a Ting GSM SIM card can activate it, slip it into an unlocked phone and get started with Ting. No invitation required.

Likewise, the purchase page for the Ting GSM SIM X1 has gone from invite-only to public. That means the Ting GSM SIM card is available to purchase (then activate, then put in an unlocked phone and get started with Ting) with no invitation required.

If it feels somehow impolite to just waltz in to a beta uninvited, or if you’ve been anxiously awaiting an invitation and are disappointed that no explicit invite is coming, let us say this: You’re invited to the open beta of Ting on a GSM network.

Check out the Ting GSM and CDMA coverage maps to see what kind of coverage you can expect where you are. GSM and CDMA devices can coexist under a single account, sharing pooled usage for minutes, messages and megabytes.

New Ting customers can now choose whether they’d like to get started with their first device on either GSM or the CDMA networks. In many cases, the type of device someone wants to bring will determine which network is the right one.

Why ‘open beta?’

We’ve been hard at work on Ting on a GSM network. We’ve sent out invitations in the thousands with a majority of people taking us up on the offer. We’ve used the feedback we’ve received from our intrepid testers to further refine the activation process and the way we confirm that devices are compatible. Another thing we’ve been working on is making the switch from the CDMA to the GSM network easy for those that want to move their service or one of their active numbers from one to the other.

Thanks to everyone that tested out Ting on a GSM network in the alpha phases and the early beta rounds. Your feedback has been invaluable. It has helped us file the sharp edges, sand the rough spots, dot the i’s and mix the metaphors.

So, is Ting on a GSM network perfect?

Yes.

Wait. No. Sorry. No, it’s not quite perfect yet.

Known issues

The biggest things that are missing at this point are international roaming and international long distance.

International roaming is only an issue if you plan to travel outside North America. Truly, even if you are travelling internationally, you’ll likely be using an unlocked GSM device on Ting anyway, which means you should be able to just swap out your Ting GSM SIM for a local prepaid SIM when you reach your destination. You’ll get better rates from a local carrier anyway, regardless of who your carrier is.

International long distance calling could actually be an issue for some. That said, if you haven’t been waiting to call Grandma overseas using something other than Skype, Hangouts or FaceTime then it’s not really a problem.

Other known issues are small and shouldn’t impact the experience in any way. We’ll continue to keep a running tally of issues and fixes as they arise in the Ting on a GSM network discussion. That said, we wouldn’t be launching an open beta if we weren’t confident potential issues were few and far between.

Get going on GSM

This open beta is for people that have a GSM device already and that would like to use it on Ting. If that’s you, just activate a Ting GSM SIM X1, break out the correct SIM card format for your phone (from full SIM all the way down to nano SIM). Slip the card in, reboot and you’re up and running.

Before we remove the beta label, we want to offer the kind of awesome and easy to understand assistance you’ve come to expect from us for anyone looking to buy a GSM device. That’s our next priority.

So, if you’ve already got a device you want to use, run the numbers on the Ting ESN checker. Do we even have to say that this check is of the “no risk, no obligation” sort?”

Once you’ve run the check, you’ll know if the device you want is ready to activate on Ting—for the record, now that Ting is available on a GSM network too, odds are good it is. If your device is ready to come to Ting, the page will use its considerable smarts to lead you through the simple activation process, if you follow it through.

Useful links: