RingPlus was a low-cost wireless carrier that ran on Sprint’s network and offered free, ad-supported plans. In early February 2017 it warned customers that Sprint could cut service. It sued Sprint, the shutdown date slipped to February 21, 2017, and customers were moved to Ting Mobile.
RingPlus is gone
RingPlus ran on Sprint’s network and paid for free plans by playing ads in place of the ring tone. On February 3, 2017, it told customers service could stop on February 11. It had sued Sprint the week before. The deadline moved to February 21, 2017. Wikipedia lists that as the end date. Fortune put the base at about 90,000 customers.
If you had a RingPlus line
RingPlus customers were moved to Ting Mobile under a marketing deal, with a $35 credit per line. Ting expected every RingPlus number to be ported by February 21, 2017. Ting itself later changed hands: Dish bought key Ting Mobile assets in August 2020. The sources do not say what happened to numbers that were never moved.
How RingPlus ended
- Week of January 30, 2017: RingPlus sues Sprint in federal court in California, alleging fraud, breach of contract and patent infringement.
- February 3, 2017: RingPlus warns customers that service may be cut off as of February 11.
- February 7, 2017: Tucows says Ting has a tentative agreement to move RingPlus customers to Ting.
- February 16, 2017: The deadline is extended: customers keep service on their number until February 21.
- February 21, 2017: RingPlus service ends; customers are absorbed by Ting Mobile.
- August 2020: Dish acquires key Ting Mobile assets from Tucows.
Why RingPlus ended
RingPlus did not own a network. It leased service from Sprint. In early 2017 Sprint moved to end the arrangement. RingPlus sued, claiming fraud, breach of contract and patent infringement. Sprint denied wrongdoing and said it had fulfilled every part of its agreement. Most RingPlus users were on free, ad-supported plans, so the paying base was small. Tucows expected only 5,000 to 7,000 extra paying Ting customers a year later.
How to find who holds an old number now
- Check an old bill or payment record. It names the company that billed you last.
- Run the number through a carrier lookup tool. It shows the carrier that holds the number today.
- Call that carrier and ask for the account number and transfer PIN.
- Start the port from the new carrier. Never cancel the old line first.
Your right to keep a number
Number portability is federal law, not a carrier policy. The rule is the FCC’s: Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers.
How we verified RingPlus
BestCellular.com tracks active carriers and defunct ones. We keep both, because people still search for brands that no longer exist. Every fact on this page comes from the sources listed below, and we leave a detail out when no source states it. Where sources disagree, this page says so. If you can document a correction, tell us and we will check it against the sources.
Tracked and active are different counts on this site. RingPlus counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about RingPlus
Is RingPlus still available?
No. RingPlus service ended in February 2017. Wikipedia lists February 21, 2017 as the end date, after an extension from the original February 11 cutoff. The brand has not returned.
Which network did RingPlus use?
RingPlus ran on Sprint’s network. It was a virtual carrier that leased Sprint service and added Wi-Fi coverage. When Sprint ended the deal, RingPlus customers were sent to Ting Mobile, not to another Sprint brand.
What happened to RingPlus customers?
They were moved to Ting Mobile under a marketing agreement, with a $35 service credit per line. Ting expected all RingPlus numbers to be ported by February 21, 2017. Customers were told not to port out on their own first.
Did RingPlus really offer free cell service?
Yes. Most of its users were on free plans. RingPlus earned money by playing ads in place of the ringing sound when a customer placed a call. About 90 percent of its customers were on free, ad-supported plans.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- List of mobile virtual network operators in the United States (Wikipedia): Former MVNO table: Ring Plus, Sprint, end date 21 February 2017, customers absorbed by Ting Mobile.
- Ring Plus sues Sprint (Fortune): February 6, 2017: Sprint lawsuit, February 11 cutoff notice, about 90,000 customers, ad-supported model.
- RingPlus customers to migrate to Ting as service shuts down (Fierce): February 8, 2017: Ting tentative agreement, customer counts, 5,000 to 7,000 expected paying customers.
- Ring Plus shutdown update: deadline extended (Tech Times): February 16, 2017: deadline moved to February 21, $35 Ting credit, porting advice.
- Ting Mobile (Wikipedia): RingPlus shutdown boosted Ting in 2017; Dish bought key Ting Mobile assets in August 2020.
Best Cellular. “RingPlus: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/ringplus/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.
Live carriers to look at instead
No carrier took over RingPlus’s customers. These carriers publish their network and run today.