No app
No app. No account. No wifi calling.
The number they dial is what saves the money. One scan. Then it rings in your own dialler.
If you are scared for someone inside, call Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.
Checked against the published rates.
Calls from prison to a landline cost 2.48p a minute on weekdays. To a mobile they cost 5.50p. Half an hour is £0.74 instead of £1.65. The same capped money buys about 2.1 times the talk. That gap is in the tariff. No software adds to it. None is needed to get it.
What you need
The list is short
This compares approaches, not named companies. What an app needs comes from how it is built. Each provider’s own terms are theirs to state.
Why it matters
An app asks too much
The person holding this together is often the least at home in an app store. A grandparent. A home with no broadband. A flat where the signal works by the window.
A number in the phone’s own dialler asks nothing new.
Can I make prison calls cheaper without a smartphone?
The saving needs no tech at all. Calls from prison to any UK landline cost less than half the mobile rate. That is 2.48p a minute against 5.50p on weekdays. A landline at home already gets it. ringyard puts that landline number on your mobile. That step needs a phone that takes an eSIM. Most phones from the last six years do. It never needs an app, an account or wifi calling.
Does it work with no internet at home?
Yes. Set-up is one QR scan. You do it once. You need signal or wifi for the scan. After that each call lands like any other call to your phone. Day to day it needs no broadband, no wifi and no data.
Will it work on a basic mobile or a pay-as-you-go phone?
Pay-as-you-go, yes. Taking calls on your ringyard number costs you nothing. How you pay for your own line makes no difference. A basic non-smart handset, no. The number installs as an eSIM. The phone has to support one. Most smartphones from the last six years do. Once it is in, there is no app and no account. Nothing needs updating.
Do I need to change my phone number?
No. The landline number installs beside your own. It is a second line in the same phone. Yours stays as it is. Theirs is the one you give for the phone list.
What happens if my signal is poor?
Your signal does not change. But a normal voice call copes with a weak signal. An app call over data does not. That is why app calls break up or drop.
What does it cost?
£20 a month. Unlimited minutes. No app. Stop any time in one tap.
Next
One scan. One number.
The eSIM puts a UK landline on the phone you have. They add it to their list like any other number. £20 a month, unlimited.
Get your number