Hey there! Looks like you're blocking ads.
We get it, they're annoying, and we won't stop you. However, consider adding us to your allowlist, or joining our Patreon to support our independent journalism. Tiers start at just $1/mo!
Update: Helium Mobile provided the following statement to Android Authority:
The Zero plan is not currently available to new subscribers or those looking to downgrade, as we refine our offerings. Existing Zero plan subscribers are not impacted. We remain focused on delivering affordable, reliable mobile service to our subscribers.
– Helium Mobile
We’ve updated our article.
Smaller MVNOs are often way cheaper than postpaid carriers, and can save you quite a bit of money. Unfortunately, there’s a much higher risk of these companies suddenly changing terms on you, or worse, collapsing entirely.
It’s often a sign of instability when a carrier changes your pricing without warning, and that’s exactly what Helium Mobile appears to be doing.
Helium Mobile “Zero” Plan No Longer Available
Customers on the Helium Mobile “Zero” plan began receiving notifications on April 27th informing them that their plan will no longer be offered. Indeed, on Helium’s main website, the Zero plan is shown but marked as “not currently being offered”.
The FAQ for Helium Mobile has also been updated with a question that asks “What happened to the Zero plan?” with the non-answer of “The Zero plan is not currently being offered” being given as the response.
As a result, Helium Mobile now only offers two plans: Air and Infinity. The Air plan is $15 per month and includes 10GB of high-speed data with unlimited talk and text, while the Infinity plan includes 36GB of high-speed data followed by unlimited throttled data.
Signs Point To Helium Mobile Struggling
Helium Mobile just began charging taxes and fees to Zero plan customers back in January. It irritated them at the time, because it meant that a payment method had to be put on file to pay for those fees. Many customers, including myself, left at that time.
They also decided to end the legacy $5 and $20 plans at the time, which was a really bad sign that the company wasn’t doing well, because they had originally promised that those customers would retain their plans for as long as they remained customers. Ouch.
Now, just 4 months later, the Zero plan appears to be coming to an end entirely. The Zero plan lasted just over a year.
Existing Customers Are Grandfathered In
According to a user on Reddit, and one of the users in the replies to the post, the company informed them of the pending change via text, and says they have until their next billing cycle to cancel or they’ll be moved to the Air plan.
However, the company says that’s not the case and existing Free customers will be grandfathered in, at least for now.
Conveniently for Helium, these free plan users have already input their billing details during the aforementioned new taxes and fees.
Helium Leaves The Door Open?
Helium currently refers to the Zero plan as “not currently available”. That could imply that this is just a temporary change, and that the plan will return eventually.
We’ve reached out to Helium to see if they have a response and will update this post once we learn more.
