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Free online games, courses, live concerts or movie streaming in coronavirus lockdown

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Mar 23, 2020, 10:23 AM

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In these trying times, companies and individuals are rising up to the occasion, announcing measures to ease the financial burden of bills and fees, but also offering free entertainment, and free access to home office and educational online tools.

Here's a list of the best freebies you can get in coronavirus lockdown, when families are hunkering down at home (links below):

Burger King offers two free kids meals with each order from the app per day (March 23-April 6)
Free Microsoft Teams Premium access for six months.
Free Tomb Raider on Steam, Watch Dogs from Epic.
450 free online courses from Ivy League universities.
Free live music, fitness or yoga classes, and theater performance streaming every day.

Free online games to beat lockdown boredom at home

Steam, GOG and Itch.io are all running free game promos with tens of titles for the times of the coronavirus quarantine and home isolation:

Epic throws in Watch Dogs and The Stanley Parable for free to PC gamers (until March 26 at 11 a.m.)
GOG or the former Good Ol’ Games have a special "Spring Sale" promotion with 37 titles to choose from (through March 30).
Indie game store Itch.io also has a few dozen games discounted down to zero.
Steam: more than 40 new game previews are available through Steam for free through next Monday, March 23.

Free movies and TV shows streaming

Here are a list of the best free movie and show streaming services you can use without a Netflix, Hulu, HBO, or Disney+ subscription:

Crackle: Sony's free, ad-based movie streaming service doesn't require an account.
The Roku Channel: available either in your computer browser, or in your Roku-connected device.
Kanopy: free movies and documentaries with a library card or a student account.
Hoopla: free movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows streaming with a library card.
Pluto TV: from the King of New York, to the Big Short.
Tubi TV: free, ad-based movie streamer.

Free live concert music and theater streaming

While the Metropolitan Opera's on Demand app or its website will unleash a free opera performance at 7:30 pm ET each day, like Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor today, or Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin on Sunday, not everyone will be able to appreciate those as fully as a live concert or theater.

1/ Tonight's FREE Nightly Met Opera Stream proves that opera still has the power to bring us together and raise our spirits. Natalie Dessay and @jdiego_florez star in Donizetti’s great comedy La Fille du Régiment.

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Watch: https://t.co/vkSGVfaTGH

Ken Howard pic.twitter.com/TnENheogIZ
— Metropolitan Opera (@MetOpera) March 20, 2020

With most festivals, live performances and concerts cancelled because of the coronavirus restrictions, here's a list of the best you can watch streaming online March 21:

United We Stream: Curses, The Lady Machine, Jamaica Suk, Martin Eyerer, Pan Pot, Shaleen at 2pm ET
Al Di Meola (jazz): live on Facebook at 4pm ET
Rufus Wainwright (pop): live on Instagram at 1pm ET
Low Cut Connie: live on Facebook at 5pm ET
Ben Gibbard (rock): live on YouTube at 7pm ET
Third Man Public Access: live on YouTube at 1pm ET with different artist each day
Isol-Aid: an Instagram live-streaming festival promoting unity and community.
Sofi Tukker (electronic): live on Facebook at 1pm ET

Free online courses and home office tools

If you want to actually use your lockdown time for self-improvement and/or working from home, here's a list of free online courses, classes, or video conference tools:

Free LinkedIn online courses, from how to use Zoom video chat, to Microsoft Teams tips and tricks.
A list of free online courses from Ivy League universities like Harvard, Brown or Princeton.
Free Worddio language learning platform access for six months.
Free Power Yoga and Camp Gladiator group fitness streaming to get you moving.
Free Google Hangouts Premium video-conferencing till July 1.
Free Microsoft Teams Premium for six months.

At Microsoft, the health and safety of employees, customers, partners and communities is our top priority. By making Teams available to all for free for six months, we hope that we can support public health and safety by making remote work even easier. https://t.co/e8aaocLzYD
— JP Courtois (@JP_Courtois) March 3, 2020

If you've been struggling how to use Zoom conferencing, the service removed video call time limits for its free version in the US.

Zoom’s virtual backgrounds are my new favorite thing pic.twitter.com/Bgjyy9791U
— Rahul Kothari (@rahulk013) March 13, 2020

Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T coronavirus relief

The Keep Americans Connected Pledge asks involved companies to not cancel service to residential and small business customers unable to pay bills; to suspend late fees that customers may incur; and to make their Wi-Fi hotspots available to anyone needing them. The pledge is valid for the next 60 days starting today, March 13, 2020.

T-Mobile fees and data cap measures

Any T-Mobile or Metro customer will have unlimited phone data for the next 60 days (except roaming).
Additional 20GB of hotspot/tethering data.
Free international calling for all current T-Mobile and Metro customers to Level 3 impacted countries.
Residential and small business customers impacted financially by the pandemic won't lose service.
T-Mobile broadens roaming access for Sprint customers to use its network (no doubt as a merger precursor).

Verizon fees and data cap measures

Verizon will waive late fees for residential and small business customers impacted financially by the coronavirus pandemic for the next two months.
For the same period, Verizon won't terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of inability to pay their bills in the ongoing coronavirus disruption.

AT&T fees and data cap measures

Again as part of the Keep Americans Connected Pledge, for the next 60 days, AT&T listed the following coronavirus measures on fees, bills and data caps. The carrier will:

Not terminate the service of any wireless, home phone or broadband residential or small business customer because of their inability to pay their bill due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Waive any late payment fees that any wireless, home phone or broadband residential or small business customer may incur because of economic hardship related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Keep our public Wi-Fi hotspots open for any American who needs them.
Unlimited AT&T Home Internet: All AT&T consumer home internet wireline customers, as well as Fixed Wireless Internet, can use unlimited internet data.
Continue to offer internet access for qualifying limited income households at $10 a month through its Access from AT&T program.
AT&T World Connect Advantage: Business customers currently on or who purchase an AT&T World Connect Advantage package receive 50% off the current rate in a monthly bill credit (max $7.50/month).

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.