Amazon Prime Phones Now Get An Ad-Removed Refund

Just about a week ago, Amazon revealed that it would be removing the lockscreen advertisements from Prime Exclusive phones. Those advertisements allowed Amazon to offer phones to Prime members at a lower cost, as presumably the revenue made from putting ads on the lock screen would make up the difference. Lockscreen advertisements apparently didn't work out the way Amazon was expecting, though officially, the company said it was removing them so that users would be able to take advantage of modern unlocking methods like facial recognition.

Whatever the reason, those ads are now gone, and even better is the fact that this move applies to everyone who already owns a Prime Exclusive phone, not just those who buy these phones moving forward. That's excellent news for anyone who is sick of seeing ads on their lock screen, but what of those who actually paid to make them go away?

For those unacquainted with Prime Exclusive phones, Amazon actually allowed owners to pay a $45 fee to remove those ads permanently. If you did that and you're feeling a little burned by Amazon's decision to drop ads entirely, never fear: According to Android Police, Amazon is beginning the process of refunding that $45 fee to anyone who paid it.

An Android Police reader sent in an email from Amazon today, which notifies them of the incoming refund. One thing to note is that the refund will be offered in the form of an Amazon gift card, but being one of the largest retailers in the world, you can probably find something to eventually spend it on. Amazon says that the refunds will be available to users in 2-3 business days.

So, it's nice to see that those who shelled out $45 expecting that they would otherwise need to contend with ads for the rest of their device's life are getting their money back. It's kind of a shame that the refund is only being offered as an Amazon gift card, but when every other company under the sun seems to offer refunds in the same way, we guess it probably should have been expected. Have you received an email like this? Head down to the comments section and let us know!