Scratch Wireless was a Wi-Fi-first phone service launched in October 2013. Calls, texts and data ran free over Wi-Fi, with Sprint’s network as backup. In April 2016 the company said its product was discontinued and unavailable for purchase. No relaunch followed in the sources BestCellular.com reviewed.
Scratch Wireless is gone
Scratch Wireless launched on October 16, 2013, as a Sprint-based virtual carrier built around Wi-Fi. Phones used Wi-Fi first and fell back to Sprint’s cellular network. In November 2015 it began charging for calling it once gave away. On April 6, 2016, the company said: “our product is discontinued and unavailable for purchase.” It said it would keep supporting current customers.
If you had a Scratch Wireless line
No carrier took over Scratch Wireless customers. The sources name no successor and no transfer deal. Scratch ran on Sprint, but no source says Scratch lines moved to Sprint or any other carrier. If you still hold a Scratch phone, treat the service as ended. To keep a number, you would have needed to port it out before the service stopped.
How Scratch Wireless ended
- October 16, 2013: Scratch Wireless launches a Wi-Fi-first service on Sprint, with free texting and free Wi-Fi calling and data.
- January 16, 2014: Service opens on an invitation-only basis with one phone, the Motorola Photon Q.
- November 16, 2015: Scratch begins charging for Wi-Fi calling and folds texting into paid data passes.
- April 6, 2016: The company says its product is discontinued and unavailable for purchase.
Why Scratch Wireless ended
Scratch built its business on free Wi-Fi service, with paid passes for cellular use on Sprint. That model leaned on customers buying extras. In 2015 it dropped unlimited cellular data passes and then started charging for calling it once offered free. In April 2016 CEO Alan Berrey said the company was re-designing the solution and promised positive announcements soon. The sources report no relaunch.
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 Scratch Wireless
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. Scratch Wireless counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Scratch Wireless
Is Scratch Wireless still available?
No. Scratch Wireless stopped selling service in April 2016 and said its product was discontinued. Its old website still shows a stale sales page, but the sources show no working service after that.
Which network did Scratch Wireless use?
Scratch used Wi-Fi first. When no Wi-Fi was available, phones roamed onto Sprint’s cellular network. No source says Scratch customers were moved to Sprint or to T-Mobile.
What happened to Scratch Wireless customers?
In April 2016 the company said it would keep supporting current customers while it re-designed the product. No source names a successor carrier or a transfer deal. Former customers had to choose a new carrier themselves.
Was Scratch Wireless really free?
At launch, yes on Wi-Fi. Text, voice and data were free over Wi-Fi and texting was free everywhere. Cellular use cost extra through passes. From November 16, 2015, calling moved to a $9.99 monthly charge.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- Sprint MVNO Scratch Wireless launches ‘free’ Wi-Fi-based service (Fierce): October 16, 2013: launch, Sprint fallback, founders.
- Sprint MVNO Scratch to stop offering free Wi-Fi calling and free cellular text messages (Fierce): October 29, 2015: charges begin November 16, 2015.
- Wi-Fi-first MVNO Scratch Wireless on hold (Fierce): April 6, 2016: product discontinued and unavailable for purchase.
- Sprint MVNO Scratch Wireless starts offering ‘free’ Wi-Fi-based service (Fierce): January 16, 2014: invitation-only launch on the Motorola Photon Q.
Best Cellular. “Scratch Wireless: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/scratch-wireless/
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 Scratch Wireless’s customers. These carriers publish their network and run today.