No app
Prison calls without an app.
No Wi-Fi needed either. The number they dial is what saves the money. One tap puts it on your phone. Then prison calls ring in your own dialler.
Checked against the published rates.
The saving
The tariff does the saving.
Calls from prison cost less to a landline than to a mobile. You need no app for that.
- 5.50p a minuteTo a mobile, on a weekday.
- 2.48p a minuteTo a landline, on a weekday.
- £0.74, not £1.65Half an hour on a weekday. To a landline, not a mobile.
- Twice the talkOn a weekday. From the same weekly money.
What you need
The list is short.
| You need | A landline number | An app-based service |
|---|---|---|
| An app on your phone | No. One eSIM install. Then calls land in your own dialler. | Yes. The call lands inside the app. |
| Wi-Fi or data for the calls | No. Each call is a normal call. | Yes. A weak signal is a dropped call. |
| An account to stay signed into | No. | Yes. Plus updates and a password. |
| Battery for a background app | No. | Yes. A closed app is a missed call. |
| A smartphone | Yes. One that takes an eSIM. | Yes. One that runs their app. |
This compares how they work, not named companies.
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 only works by the window. A number in the phone’s own dialler asks nothing new of any of them.
Questions
The ones people ask.
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. iPhone XS and later take one. So do Pixel 3a and later, and Galaxy S20 and later. Calls never need an app or Wi-Fi calling.
Does it work with no internet at home?
Yes. Set-up is one tap or one QR scan. You do it once. You need signal or Wi-Fi for the install. After that each call lands like any other call to your phone. Day to day it needs no broadband, no Wi-Fi 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. iPhone XS and later take one. So do Pixel 3a and later, and Galaxy S20 and later. Once it's in, there's no app to open. Nothing needs updating.
Do I need to change my phone number?
No. The landline number installs beside your own. It's a second line in the same phone. Yours stays as it is. You give the landline number for their phone list.
What happens if my signal is poor?
A normal call copes with a weak signal. An app call over data copes worse. That's why app calls break up or drop.
What does it cost?
£20 a month. Unlimited minutes. No app. Stop any time in one tap.
How a call goes
They ring. You pick up. That’s it.
Evening They pick up the prison phone.
Straight away Your mobile rings. Like any call.
Half an hour in It's cost them 74p, not £1.65.HMPPS weekday rates
Tomorrow They ring again.
One tap. One number.
£20 a month · No risk · Stop any time