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Consumer Cellular

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3.9

Overall Score

LAST UPDATED: March 27th, 2024
Number 3 in Blue Circle

3 Things to Look for in a Cell Phone Provider

  1. Coverage  — Look for a cell phone provider that has 4G LTE/5G coverage nationwide and check online for possible deadzone areas.
  2. Affordable Plans — Look for a company that offers multiple plans in an affordable price range. Check to see if the plan offers unlimited talk and enough data to cover your needs.
  3. Device Options  — Look for a cell phone provider that provides service to different types of devices including tablets, smart watches, flip phones, and major smartphone brands.

Consumer Cellular is a small, no-contract mobile phone provider that offers low-cost cell phone plans starting at $20 per month (not including tax or data add-on) for unlimited texts and 250 minutes. From there, plans can be customized to include unlimited minutes and data amounts up to 25 GB per month per line for customers who want to take advantage of app downloads, high definition video, and other uses of the 5G, 4G LTE, 4G, and 3G network. For Consumer Cellular's most advanced plan of two phone lines, unlimited talk, and 25 GB of data, you'll pay around $75 per month.

The company is especially dedicated to meeting the needs of users who are 50 and older, offering AARP members exclusive discounts on its services and Connect plans that sync well with flip phone devices if preferred. Plus, a completely U.S. based customer service team is trained to help inexperienced cellphone users learn how to get the most out of their service and device.

Partnering with well-known brands and retailers, Consumer Cellular phones include nationwide coverage, and its services are located in Target stores nationwide.

Because Consumer Cellular is a budget-friendly cell phone provider, its offerings come up short when compared to other larger-scale companies. For example, Consumer Cellular does not offer unlimited data plans. If you want unlimited data, Consumer Cellular is not the provider for you.

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The Good

  • No-Contract Plans
  • Affordable Plans
  • Unlimited Text
  • Coverage Area
  • Device Options
  • EasyPay Service
  • Mobile App
  • Great Overall Benefits
  • Risk-Free Trial

No-Contract Plans

Consumer Cellular offers no-contract Talk and Connect plans with straightforward benefits.

Additionally, all of the Connect monthly plans include unlimited text messaging. Customers can add phone lines to their plan for $15/month to share minutes, text and data. There are never any additional fees or charges for switching plans if you need more or less from the service. Consumer Cellular has a great option for low-cost family plans, especially for those who don't use phones very often.

You can try Consumer Cellular risk-free for 30 days. If you aren't satisfied, the company won't charge you for that time.

Affordable Plans

Consumer Cellular offers a variety of affordable data plan options that customers can choose from. Its website breaks it down into the number of lines you want, the talk plan you prefer, and the amount of data you want. You choose which option you want from each category and Consumer Cellular's website will give you an immediate estimate on your monthly bill. Here's a breakdown of your options:

  • Phone Lines — One line included in the cost or two lines for $15 per month
  • Talk Plans — 250 minutes of talk for $15 per month or unlimited talk for $20 per month
  • Connect Plans — 500 MB for $5 per month, 3 GB for $10 per month, 10 GB for $20 per month, 15 GB for $30 per month, or 25 GB for $40 per month. All Connect Plans include unlimited text.

If you're a customer wanting one phone line, unlimited talk, and the maximum 25 GB of data, you'll pay around $60 per month.

If you are a customer wanting two lines, unlimited talk, and the maximum 25 GB of data, you'll pay a monthly price of around $75 per month.

Unlimited Text

Although Consumer Cellular makes customers pay more for unlimited talk and additional data, you do not have to pay for unlimited text. Unlimited text is included with all of Consumer Cellular plans. This makes unlimited talk and text for one line $20 per month without data and $60 per month with the maximum 25 GB of data.

Coverage Area

Consumer Cellular coverage is nationwide and only involves a few spotty patches in the Midwest.

Most of the 4G LTE/5G coverage area includes High-Definition Voice coverage, also called wideband voice, which provides clear audio and reduces background noise. It should be noted that Consumer Cellular utilizes multiple wireless networks that vary depending on geographic area and so precise coverage areas from your network may not be determined until you sign up for service.

If you want to check Consumer Cellular coverage in your area, you can do so on the company's website. All you need to do is enter your zip code, and Consumer Cellular will tell you if you're covered. It will also provide you with a coverage map of the entire united states. For exact coverage details, you can drop a pin anywhere on the coverage map.

Device Options

Depending on plan preferences and mobile device needs, Consumer Cellular has a wide array of mobile device options available. Consumer Cellular phones include basic flip-phones for calling and texting, the GrandPad (a senior-friendly tablet), and smartphones for customers who plan on downloading and using apps. Samsung smartphones, Android phones, and iPhones are all compatible with Consumer Cellular coverage and plans.

Customers also have the option to simply use their current mobile phone (under certain conditions) when signing up for a new Consumer Cellular plan. The company provides a free SIM card that is easy to switch out and there are no activation fees for Consumer Cellular phones. It should be noted that in order to be compatible with the SIM card, the phone needs to be:

  • a Consumer Cellular phone
  • a phone previously used with AT&T or T-Mobile (includes Apple and Android phone options and more
  • an unlocked phone (GSM)

It is possible to use a previous phone number, but it depends on the location and the old service provider.

When purchasing a device from Consumer Cellular, customers can choose between a new phone or a certified pre-owned phone if one is available. Certified pre-owned phones are phones that were returned by customers in the 30-day guarantee period and are restored to original factory settings.

EasyPay Service

It also offers an EasyPay service where you can make monthly payments to pay off more expensive phones like iPhones or Android smartphones. Consumer Cellular does not charge interest or additional fees. Customers can make early payments or pay off the remaining balance at any time.

Mobile App

The My CC app gives users the following capabilities:

  • View minutes and data usage
  • Change billing preferences
  • Switch monthly plan if needed
  • Switch to paperless billing options
  • Pay monthly bill
  • Chat with customer service reps
  • View AARP membership card

Great Overall Benefits

Because the company targets retirees, the cellular service plans tend to be very inexpensive for those who aren't looking for a lot of data, text messaging, or minutes. WiFi calling is supported on iPhone models 5C and newer as well as most Android smartphones. Consumer Cellular has no fees for any of their services, and because they have no contracts, there is no activation fee.

AARP member benefits include:

  • 5 percent off monthly fees and usage charges
  • 30 percent off select accessories

Risk-Free Trial

Consumer Cellular offers a 100 percent risk-free trial for all of its customers. If you decide you no longer want Consumer Cellular's services or products within 30 days of purchase, you can request a full refund. This makes Consumer Cellular completely risk free and gives customers peace of mind that they don't have to be locked into its services if they decide to opt out within the first month.

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The Bad

  • Limited Data Plans
  • Additional Phone Line Cost
  • Cap on Roaming Charges
  • Poor Consumer Cellular Reviews

Limited Data Plans

Consumer Cellular is designed to benefit those who want a cell phone, but do not plan on using a lot of data. For those who want basic minutes and text messaging capabilities, Consumer Cellular is a good provider.

However, if a potential customer wants to use a phone to frequently stream videos and music, surf the internet, utilize email, and communicate via social media apps, this company likely isn't the best choice. Consumer Cellular doesn't offer unlimited data-the highest plan includes only 25 GB of data.

Additional Phone Line Cost

Consumer Cellular family plans cost an additional $15 for every added phone line on your plan. Although an added price per phone line is common with most cell phone providers, typically it is less than $15 per month.

With many cell phone companies, having more phone lines on your plan makes your cell phone coverage cheaper. If you don't want to pay $15 for every phone line you want on your plan, we suggest looking into other cell phone providers.

Cap on Roaming Charges

While Consumer Cellular attaches lower international roaming charges than leading cell phone companies like Verizon and T-Mobile (30 cents versus 99 cents per minute of talk), the company also places strict monetary caps on roaming, disabling the phone once roaming charges have reached or exceeded $100 for the monthly billing cycle. While this measure is intended to protect the customer from racking up hundreds of dollars in roaming fees, the cap may be inconvenient to some.

Poor Consumer Cellular Reviews

Although Consumer Cellular has some competitive offerings with a low price and no required contract, consumers haven't given the company many accolades. Consumer Cellular reviews are mostly negative, giving the cell phone provider a low overall consumer rating.

Consumer Cellular reviews rank decent for value for your money but for quality of product and service, customer service, and company trustworthiness, the company falls short. One of the main customer complaints that shows up again and again in reviews is unresponsive and unreliable customer service and technical support, many reviews noting you are either neglected completely or passed around from person to person when trying to receive help.

With the issues Consumer Cellular reviews reveal, customers don't seem to think the low price is worth the bad service.

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The Bottom Line

This is one of the best prepaid phone service carriers on the market for consumers seeking simplicity and flexibility in a phone plan. If you need to adjust your talk or data amounts or add or remove a phone line, there are no fees to make those changes. You can also have unlimited talk and text for a monthly price of $20 for one phone line (this excludes data).

Consumer Cellular customers can expect reasonable pricing (based on limited services), a month-to-month payment platform, quality coverage nationwide, and plan flexibility.

Consumer Cellular is a great option for those who don't need a lot of data but want ample minutes and messages available to spend time talking or texting. The carrier has excellent AARP member benefits and has comparable coverage to the GSM networks it uses, T-Mobile and AT&T.

Perhaps most noteworthy is that Consumer Cellular service is month to month, so you can cancel at any time. Consumer Cellular's customer service is also based in the United States and generally responds promptly to customers.

You can try Consumer Cellular risk-free for 30 days. If you aren't satisfied, the company won't charge you for the time you joined.

However, along with these pros, there are definitely some cons to Consumer Cellular. Consumer Cellular charges $15 for every added phone line on your plan. Many cell phone companies offer better discounts the more lines you add on your plan. If you're a customer wanting more than two phone lines on your plan, you may have better savings with another cell phone provider.

Consumer Cellular coverage also does not include an unlimited plan for data. This makes the service difficult for customers not wanting a limit on how much data they can use.

Lastly, Consumer Cellular reviews are mostly negative, the majority of them highlighting poor customer service.

If you want a no-contract cell phone plan with a small number of phone lines and up to 25 GB or data, Consumer Cellular may be a good provider for you.

However, if you want discounted family plans and if a low price and limited data is not worth poor customer service, we suggest looking into other cell phone providers.

View Best Cell Phone Providers

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Star Rating

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2.1

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770 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

27%

4 grade

5%

3 grade

5%

2 grade

10%

1 grade

53%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

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Quality

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Service

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ND review

Great service for , especially, seniors . The rates are extremely low. Their customer service is outstanding. Very few problems for a company that uses other brands towers

19 hours ago

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Laura Di Orio Green Bay, WI

I have had consumer cellular for about 4 years. I have never had a problem and have traveled to many states. Mostly the east coast and I never had a problem with coverage. I like the plans, I pay less than 50 dollars a month for 2 lines. The only reason for the 4 stars and not 5 is there is no physical store to go to. You need to call them or chat on line but they have always been very helpful with any problems or questions. I will keep using Consumer Cellular.

1 month ago

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Sharon Parrish Mount Juliet, TN

I was a Consumer Cellular customer for less than two months if they have an auto pay discount l never received one is the reason for my account termination. The company is overrated had l checked customer reviews prior to opening an account l never would have. I am now a customer with a company that has a 4.8 out of 5 customer review score. I have the same plan l had with Consumer Cellular, my monthly bill is 50% less, my new company submitted to me in writing my total cost per month and plan. I am retired and have always spent my money wisely being a customer with Consumer Cellular was not cost effective for me.

3 weeks ago

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glenn radel Las Vegas, NV

Purchased an iphone15plus today from las vegas store.. elizabeth took very good care of me... pointed out various features of phones helping me choose best for my needs. took the time to explain the new and different features of the phone. great asset to the consumer cellular family.

2 months ago

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Kathleen Scataglini Phoenix, AZ

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! I helped my elderly father leave Verizon to save money using Consumer Cellular. Their $25 plan turned into $27.30 (not much savings there). The real problem started when his flip phone broke and he had to go and purchase a new "Consumer Cellular" phone, their Iris Flip. There are no "Consumer Cellular" offices or help, so he went to Walmart to purchase the CC phone. Upon calling Customer Service, they said they could not help transfer his contacts, since his phone did not have blue tooth. My nephew sat and hour after hour punched in all of his contacts by hand. ONE MONTH AND THREE DAYS LATER, the new phone stopped working!! He took it back to Walmart. They said it was past their 15 day return policy. He was stuck with a non-working phone, no place to go for help, etc. He went back to Verizon. Upon calling Consumer Cellular, they said there was nothing they could do and then billed him for "the whole month" for his final bill, even though he was not able to even use their service with a broken phone. Good bye, Consumer Cellular.

1 month ago

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Jeff O Woodbridge, VA

After using several different cell phone companies, Consumer Cellular has given me the best service, coverage, support, and at the best price of any of them. We have three lines costing fifteen dollars each plus only ten dollars for data because we don't use much data anymore. But when we did, we were never throttled until we went past 50 Gb and very rarely even then. The U.S. based customer service has always been outstanding. I'm really glad I took their 30 day offer because the coverage turned out to be better than the Ver I was using. In my experience they are the best PERIOD!

5 months ago

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Joan Bender Kissimmee, FL

Staff was helpful in opening our account. The phone back came off and next minute it wasn't working, we had the phone a week. We had to go through the insurance, they are never helpful, it's been a week and no phone replacement. We were told the phone is on backorder. Cheap flip phone, my husband carries a flip for quick use, and no compensation for the fact we have no phone no service.

3 months ago

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Beth zuehlke Big Rapids, MI

This is the worst telephone company I have had to work with {I have worked with Sprint, ATT, Verizon, Spectrum in the past). I set up a home phone for my father with a base that his landline plugged into. I needed an extremely reliable phone because he is 97, blind and lives alone. Problems started immediately because It took over 3 weeks for CC to port his phone number over and with every call from me during this time there was a new excuse. We finally got set up and everything went smoothly for a few months. The reason I left today was that my father's phone has not been able to receive or make calls for FOUR DAYS. We called and computer chatted with CC multiple times daily for four days and they finally just said "ATT towers are out, there's nothing we can do." We checked with ATT and they said that was false and they had no outages. We were never followed up with, nor did the company ever reach out to us to give us a time frame or respond to our concerns. Four days is an unacceptable amount of time to be without a phone for anyone but for a homebound senior, it is nothing short of dangerous.

3 months ago

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Disgusted Miami, FL

Why do 53% of the reviewers on this site give Consumer Cellular only a ONE STAR rating? Because zero stars are not available. CC is an ATT reseller that has carved out a niche exploiting elderly and presumably less savvy customers, note the AARP tie-in. The service is undependable. I used it only for a rarely used backup phone. Too often, I would find that the network was unavailable. Contact tech support, they flip a switch and I'm connected again until next time. This last time, they didn't even offer to check for network outages in my area. They only wanted to sell me a new phone, since mine was six years old. I cancelled on the spot. They will lie to your face. I purchased a second phone which I intended to connect with CC under their "bring your own phone" program. Their rep told me it was not unlocked and could not be connected. This was false. It was absolutely unlocked and compatible with their network. They just chose to lie to me because I had not purchased the phone from them. Verizon connected it with no problem. It remains connected with Verizon to this day. I find that the Verizon network almost never, ever goes down. No issues! I believe CC's business model is built around exploiting their geriatric customer base. My suggestion is to find yourself a real cell phone service provider, such as Verizon, AT&T, or Tmobile. Steer clear of CC. You're not that dumb.

3 months ago

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Holly Acres Dover, TN

They are a fraudulent operation that preys on seniors through lies and deceit. No matter what you are told by their "customer service" reps, do not believe them, especially if you are purchasing a phone through them. I was told I could exchange a flip phone, which was technically incoherent on so many levels, for a less expensive, easier to use phone for my elderly friend. I was forced to pick up all shipping charges and then found out they refused the phone because it wasn't "like new". The issue? A microscopic scratch in the charging port. Other than that its appearance and functionality were perfect. Also, don't be fooled by their AARP endorsement. When I complained to AARP, they dragged their feet contacting Consumer Cellular and then weeks later told me there was nothing they could do. Buyer (especially seniors) be very, very careful with both these organizations. They are not what they say they are.

3 months ago

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Amanda George IL

Consumer cellular is wonderful! I used it for about a year and it was awesome until I moved and didn't get good signal so I had to swap to another company. Everyone else I know that used it loves it. They have good devices and the signal for video chats is really steady and works well with or without wifi.

8 months ago

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Tom Richard St Louis, MO

The above review is erroneous (and it claims to be dated April 2023!). Specifically, the review states, "Consumer Cellular doesn't offer unlimited data-the highest plan includes only 25 GB of data." That is patently false. I switched to Consumer Cellular from ATT precisely because I could get unlimited phone, text and data(throttled at 50GB - same as ATT) for both my iPad and iPhone for $61.75/month. ATT quoted me a price of over twice that, so I switched. I no longer worry about excessive data use, and I notice no change of call quality, but I haven't traveled with the phone since switching. That will be the real test. So far, I'm very satisfied, though.

11 months ago

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CJ Little Rock, AR

Love! Love ! Love! This company is great. I am 63 yo who didn't need a ton of bells and whistles. Just wanted home phone and texting mainly. For 20.00 a month I get just that. Period. No add on fees, surcharges etc. You know exactly what you are getting up front when you select your service and that is how it is billed each month. There is no yearly contract. You can cancel at any time. The service is easy to access via the web and make a phone selection, service selection. The reps are all English speaking and they provide excellent customer service. I have unlimited talk and text and some data which I never use as I am on my wifi at home. I have never had any problems with the service dropping . I am on monthly automatic billing which is very easy to set up. I don't know why I waited so long to switch.

1 year ago

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Adair Dance Academy Omaha, NE

I have had a great experience with Consumer Cellular and have been with them since 2003. My cell phones have all been purchased through them, one lasting 8 years, most I have had for an average of 4-5 years. Customer service has been professional, helpful and rarely a wait. I added my family for a total of 4 lines with unlimited calls, text and data. I own a small business and conduct business with my cell phone regularly. My one wish would be more data, as we have other family members who use it up faster than I would like but the app shows a quick and easy chart of who has used what and they send texts to alert you of your usage. Our total bill for four busy people is $133/month and I am thinking of adding the roadside assistance. I highly recommend!

1 year ago

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Verne Tyler Monroe, NC

I used to have Verizon while in Massachusetts- $119.00 a month...good service. I moved to North Carolina in 2014....and hooked up with T-Mobile. No dropped calls, but trying to pay my $49.95 a month bill was horrific...every month! - I used no more than 2 gigabytes of date every month for 6 years. I logged online to pay and was rerouted because "We don't recognize your password". They made me change my password almost every month and it would take me a half hour to pay the bill! I finally logged onto Conusmer Cellular to see what was available. I was surprised to see that I could get $100.00 off ($5.00 a month off my bill for 20 months) to sign up. I get 3 gigabytes a month - which is one gig more than I ever used at T-Mobile. So, for that, I'm paying $20.00 a month or $359.40 LESS per year. For $7.00 more, they sent me a brand new Galaxy A12 Android cell phone...so for $27.00 a month (instead of $49.95), I'm enjoying all that I ever had with either Verizon or T-Mobile...and I have a beautiful, larger cell phone with 4 cameras in it! I was so happy with it that I'm featuring it on my YouTube channel with over 2,500 subscribers.....at/jtylermusic.

2 years ago

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Clive Damascus, MD

I have been very happy with Consumer Cellular, where I have enjoyed reliable service, low cost, and well-spoken, patient customer support reps. The support contact sometimes requires waiting for a callback at an appointed time. CC offers to provide service to a compatible phone of your own using a free SIM card. I saved $40 a month by paying $10 to CC for an additional line on my account and transferring my Verizon home number to the CC line. (The transfer of the phone number from most carriers is done in a few minutes, but took a week of waiting for Verizon to do their part.) CC resells service from other carriers. The overall quality of service you receive depends on performance of your phone, strength of the radio signal from a cell tower, network internal bandwidth and reliability, and complex computer systems (they manage technical operation, customer data, and business functions). Any error in this complex web is perceived as a failure of CC. (I wrote these comments in Nov 2021. I use voice more than data).

2 years ago

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Darlene Moore Wooster, OH

I have never had one ounce of problems with Consumer cellular other than I needed to change my sim card from the one that came with the phone to an At&T card because of where I live. Customer service was awesome and sent me one right away. btw to the person who said the back doesn't come off, yes it does. First time is a little tight then it is ok. If you're having problems with Customer Service are you being nasty because I have never encountered a nasty person. To the person who said you couldn't change your plan, yes you can because there's no contract. When I went on vacation I called them and added minutes and then when I came back a week later I changed it back. Now I have unlimited minutes so it doesn't matter. I am reading all the negative reviews and I am perplexed as to how you are reacting to the Customer Service Rep. I know that every product has a lemon and I would imagine CC would take care of the problem. If you happen to get a nasty person turn them in but make sure you aren't the cause of it. btw - Verizon is terrible. I had them and I would never go back to them. They rape you over the coals every time you have to get a new phone and their phones are expensive.

3 years ago

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Amy Jody Raleigh, NC

I love Consumer Cellular. For me, the best thing about this company is their customer service. When I call, I actually get at human being, without a long wait! And I can understand him or her. In a world that is quickly becoming disconnected from human contact, Consumer Cellular is one of the remaining places where you can go, hand your old phone to them, and they do all the transferring of your photos and contacts for you. They even change the SIM card. Yes, I could do that myself, but it'd be a bit of a struggle. I'm not a teen who hyper-ventilates by their phone, nor do I sleep with my phone, nor am I married to my phone. So at $30/month with 3GB of data, that's just fine for me. I hate doing every little thing via an app. I want to deal with a human being, not a website, not an app, not a robot on my phone. So Consumer Cellular is great for me.

3 years ago

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Sitansu B Ghosh Dumfries, VA

Consumer Cellular International Roaming My wife and I are Consumer Cellular (CC) customers for the last several years. We have used our own phones for the whole time. It worked perfectly. I do international travel at least one time a year. CC advised me that I should not use my CC phone for international calls. I used local SIM for overseas communication while travelling. In October 2019, before my travel, I logged into my CC account to check my status. I noticed that I could turn on international roaming. I thought that would be convenient. I call the customer service to have international roaming turned on. They told me I must T-Mobile SIM in my phone to get international roaming. My wife’s phone had an AT&T SIM. I went to the local Target and had a T-Mobile SIM for her phone. On the next day, I called 888-345-5509 and the representative told me that international roaming was activated for two phones in the account. In England, I did not try to use my phone for roaming. I bought a local SIM. My wife tried to make calls to US and locally in England. None of the calls went through. Each time we call a customer service message came in with a phone number. We called the number. That number took us to T-Mobile support and they send us to CC support. We did that for few times. Each time the representatives checked and told us that there was no problem and we should make the call correctly with country code if required. At the end of the day, not a single call went through. Back home, I was surprised to see $27.56 roaming charge in my invoice. I called CC customer service on 11/22. I wanted to know why none of our calls went though and I requested removal of the roaming charges. The rep told me that international roaming was not guaranteed to work and the other reason was that I was using a non-CC phone. I have read the documents posted on CC web page. I could not confirm the above two reasons for failing every single call. I also believe that making me pay for the failed calls will be unfair. I would like to know about the international roaming experience of other customer.

4 years ago

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Sam Knight Marysville, OH

I am surprised at how many bad reviews you've got on this site. I have not had any issues with CC. I ordered my phones and plan on line. Phone & SIM card for other phone arrived within 2-3 days. I called CC and within minutes both phones were activated and ready to go. The rep made sure to let me know that they would activate 1 phone at a time to make sure we were not without a phone. He clearly stated that some phones take 24 hours to transfer. CC even cancelled AT&T for us. I went into my AT&T account to make sure it was cancelled, and it was, indeed, cancelled. I've bought 2 smartphones from them, and both work fine. I researched the phones were I purchased them. The service is just as good as AT&T - good coverage, good reception. I monitor my data usage myself, and whenever possible, I use WiFi at home and work. As for the bad reviews, come on, people, you have to take some responsibility and research your product and keep track of your usage. Customer service was FANTASIC! All 3-4 times I called them, I could clearly understand them, and they were pleasant, helpful and friendly. A lot of these complaints seem to be partly the complainer's fault. Do your research, take responsibility for your data usage, choose the right plan and don't expect something that it's not. You get what you pay for.

4 years ago

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David Bessette Broad Brook, CT

I am retired now and I was in the wireless business for over 15yrs, TMO-AT&T and Verizon. First of all this is a great company and I will tell you why. I have searched everywhere and the price is the best for what you get. CC uses AT&T network or TMO with no slowing of the network speeds. Choose AT&T if your phones are unlocked, it has better coverage. AARP discount 5%. Their customer service guide is very simple to use and understand. I cannot find anything wrong with this company compared to all the others, they are the best. I could go on and on but i may be limited to comments on google. The negative is only on thing and I would not call it a negative and that is this. This company is not ment for data hogs, people who use much over 20GB of data a month. Yes you are a data hog and such you will pay for it. my bill is only $66.50 plus tax so about $80.00 for 3 lines with unlimited calling unlimited messages and 5GB of data which is plenty. Oh yeah if I go over that month it just bumps you to the next data plan up automatically with no stupid fees then back to your original plan. Do your shopping...... This is the best for none data hogs. Oh yeah their customer service is awesome. no one is perfect and they use call centers inside the usa only all easy to understand customer service team. Most people comments are when they are upset not when they are pleased. have a great day!

4 years ago

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One old man Ogden, UT

I changed from Verizon about two months ago and am absolutely DELIGHTED. I would give ten stars if I could. Not only am I saving $35 a month -- $420 a year! -- but I also have used more data than I ever did before and came nowhere near my 2 gig limit. And if I should accidentally exceed that, they just automatically bump me up to the next level ( which is only $5 per month more.) And I LOVE the fact that I can identify a call as spam and have it blocked for FREE. Even better than that, I asked CC to screen incoming calls for possible spam. They block it, but if I then see that it was not spam, I have the option of calling back. It also has a Do Not Disturb option for use at night. It holds calls until morning unless I list a number that will be allowed. In addition, if someone calls three times in about 45 minutes, the call is allowed to come through because it may be an emergency. And when I needed some help, I found it to be easy and quick. On top of that, all their service people are in the US and not Bangladesh or South Slobbovia. They even speak understandable English. My ONLY regret is that I did not do this years ago.

4 years ago

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Maurie C. Batavia, IL

5 stars are not enough! I am amazed that any of the other phone companies can stay in business with the LOUSY customer service they offer by comparison with the MAGNIFICANT experience I had this afternoon with 3 different customers service folks at Consumer Cellular. There were three because I needed to provide additional information and had to call AARP to get my member number and Call T-Mobile to get my account Number and Call my bank because my debit was denied (wrong expiration date) They were each polite, professional, knowledgable, courteous, friendly, and totally customer service oriented. What a VERY pleasant experience. I am switching both of my cell phones to Consumer Cellular IMMEDIATELY!

4 years ago

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Charles Bethpage, NY

I had been paying $50 a month for my mother to have service on Verizon. Because my family had unlimited, I had to pay for her to have unlimited. I decided to give Consumer Cellular a shot even though there were mixed reviews. I ordered my mom an Alcatel Go Flip phone and signed up for the unlimited talk plan from their website, which clearly states that they will but doing a credit check. When I signed up with Verizon, T-mobile they did a credit check as well, its standard. I see people have been leaving bad reviews because they were unaware of the credit check. An hour later I received an email saying it was shipped already ( free shipping ). 3 days later I received the phone with instructions to either activate the phone on-line or over the phone, I chose over the phone. The representative was very friendly and helpful. The whole process to port my mother's phone number over took 7 minutes. I asked if I had to call Verizon to cancel her service. He said no, but to be on the safe side it can't hurt. I called Verizon to confirm her line was canceled and it was. The phone/service works perfectly. They even give the first month free, can't beat that. I'm not one to write reviews but I almost didn't go with Consumer Cellular because of the mixed reviews. I'm starting to wonder if they are even legit.

4 years ago

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Gary Hall Saint George, UT

We have been members for many years now. We started with a cell phone for my 90 year old mother. Now we have their phones for my wife and sons, and I would switch as well if I didn't have two tablets and a phone with Verizon. But, time may change that. We now have also the "Ally" Medical Alert Button for my mother, who is now 93. When our first ally developed a slight problem, all it took was a phone call and they had it replaced for free within a few days. Every problem we have had has been solved by the best customer service we have ever used. Other companies should take note! Their phones used to be only for the aged, but now they have all sorts of phones and plans for the best prices around, from large smart phones to old flip phones. And we truly can cancel or change or add items quickly and easily!

6 years ago

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Perry Luvr

We had many Cellular contracts during our lifetime. Consumer cellular advertised 50gb unlimited but never mentioned that it was split between the 2 lines. At 38gb use for both they left message that internet was cut off! Throttling cuts off the page loadings after 3 minutes as "timed out" So not throttled, cut off. They said that we have to pay separately for each line, so no deal as advertised. They act nice while they are cheating you to act like it's good customer service. Smile and laugh as they rob you BAIT AND SWITCH ! So we got 2 lines. Same cost as our last cell contract. Went over 50gb on one line as a test and BAM!Cut off internet completely. No unlimited, Throttling is 1 page per 7 minutes unless it shows timed out. Their secret to giving horrible service is to act very sweet while doing it. They can't pull their wool over this wise sheep's eyes. Other 3 cell companies with caps slowed down a tiny bit but was a true unlimited plan. Consumer cellular are scammers and bait and switch while smiling and acting as caring. Can't do anything because there's no contract. They just deny further service for you. Then scam the next sheep.

5 months ago

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tantive011

I give them 2 stars ONLY because my 93 year old father needs a phone!!!! A few years ago I set him up with an account on Consumer Cellular.com We were paying his bill online without issue. All of a sudden, this year I cant log in with the password, it's asking me for a PIN which we never had.................. I contacted customer service, now understand, my father had a stroke last year, so he's not as cognitive as he used to be. So, I talked to the representative whon informed me they need to talk to my father...fine.... then they start asking him all these questions and all they did was confuse him. He told me to hang up and we will just pay by check. so yeah, not good!!!!

7 months ago

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Kerry Clipper Harrison, AR

Service works as expected. Tried other mvno but came back as service better here. Techs are good at helping too. Been customer for many years. They are a couple dollars more but the service makes up for that. I would highly recommend over other options. Same service as AT&T at half the price.

8 months ago

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Larry Kutnicki Brooklyn, NY

I have using Consumer Cellular for about 4 years... with no issues! The service has been fine as expected, and the pricing very fair especially for seniors! When I needed a new iPhone XR (moving up from iPhone 6) CC pricing was fair ( basically the same as most others at the time) and the 24 monthly payments is working well for me. AARP membership offers a small discount too.

3 years ago

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NC Man Raleigh, NC

I was thinking of switching 4 lines from VZW to Consumer Cellular and read the reviews here. They were mostly negative so I was a bit put off and decided to get a test number/SIM to try out. Everything went well, the connection was excellent and so I switched over all 4 lines. Not only am I paying about half of what I was paying with VZW, but I get more data. Customer service is excellent. They are all in US, and very pleasant and helpful. Holding time was 1 hour, 20 minutes, 0 minutes, 2 minutes on the 4 occasions I had to call to get my number ported over. Best decision I made!!!!

3 years ago

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Linda Crow Agency, MT

We love Consumer Cellular. They have been our provider for years. There is always someone patient and understanding on the help line. Never have we had a problem with our bill. The minor issues we have had with our phones were quickly and easily taken care of with their excellent customer service. If you're looking for a provider, look no further!

4 years ago

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Rick Deckard Hernando, FL

Elderly Retired: My wife and I moved from Verizon to CC over 5 years ago for cutting our monthly cell phone bill less than half. Less than $50 per month for 2 phones was a no-brainer! We started with the “Huawei Ascend 2” and loved this phone! A little over a year ago we both moved to the iPhone 6S. This phone is a bit narrower than the Huawei and much lighter! We both like the iPhone with all its great features and both sync our phones to iTunes for loading music! The only drawback with the iPhone is we never knew when we had a voice mail? Voicemail Screen in our phone app was always blank! Always had to dial “1” to check to see if we had voicemail! Recently had a friend with an iPhone 8 show her Voicemail tabbed screen alerting incoming voicemails with even a little recording on her Phone. So why don’t we have this feature with CC? First Customer Support call was a Female in Oregon. She did mention that I need to set up my “Visual Voicemail” but could not walk me through that setup on this first call! I then did some Google searching and found this: Receiving the notification is a feature provided by your service provider - it's called a MWI (Message Waiting Indicator). Generally it requires a bind between their voicemail server and their SMSC so that the notification can be passed to your phone over the SMS network. In general, these are sent as "push" notifications - the server informs your phone you have a voicemail. This is what allows your phone to produce an alert/notification even when it is locked and the voicemail app isn't running. Essentially, if you're having issues with this, but can still access your voicemail, then you should push back to your service provider using the above details to sound like you know what you're talking about iPhone Visual Voicemail needs to be provisioned on the customer account. iPhone Visual Voicemail also requires a back end Visual Voicemail server on the phone company's end. If they don't have one, a customer's iPhone will only receive regular voicemail, with no way for the phone app to indicate any number of messages received. Armed with this great bit of information I called Charlotte Customer Support in Arizona! She brought up my recent call case info and could not understand why the first agent did not activate Visual Voicemail on our 2 phones? Does this cost any extra? No this feature is included in all of our iPhone plans! Now I am wondering why this was never activated when we moved from Android to iPhones? After she left me on hold to accomplish this activation she came back to talk me through Visual Voicemail set up. Do you have latest IOS? Yes Version 12.2! Again after trying several different steps we could not get it to work. She suggested that it might be my only one or two bar signal strength at my house and I need to drive to a stronger cell signal need at least 3 bars. Ok I will try that. Well this did not work either! On my third call to Nicha in Arizona she did a reset of my mailbox and I still could not set up Visual Voicemail? After doing some more Google searching about this issue I found that I might try restoring my phone to a recent backup in iTunes. We don’t use iCloud so our phones are backed up to PC and MacBook! This did erase current saved text messages and my wife was a little upset losing those! Sure enough doing a Backup Restore in iTunes suddenly activated Visual Voicemail on the reboot! Although we like CC for its great prices and great coverage in Florida there is a definite lack of strong technical support from customer service! Hope this may help those out there in this CONUNDRUM!

4 years ago

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Roger Clarksville, TN

The price is right! Can not beat Consumer Cellular for value. Usually have no problem with calls most everywhere in the US. However, customer service has declined since we signed up. A couple of years ago we could call and an agent would pick right up. Now, it's a wait or use automated call-back. Biggest drawback is that credit card company and the IRS could not send a verification code to my phone because the number "could not be verified" as belonging to me! I'm told by CC customer service that my caller ID will only ever show up as "wireless caller," never my name unless the call is to someone with me in their contacts. That explains the problem . A real drawback but I guess worth putting up with given the price of service with CC is a fraction of directly with a wireless carrier.

5 years ago

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Dave S Lee, MA

My wife and I switched from AT&T coverage years ago as we were paying a fortune for minimal talk minutes with no texting or data. Fast forward and now with Consumer Cellular we have unlimited talk and text and a minimal 250MB data for $33.25 + tax/fees monthly, and can increase data plan for a low cost. We purchased our phones. Connectivity is great.

5 years ago

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John

I have been a consumer cellular customer for a number of years and have been very satisfied with their service. I have two phones on my account and seldom go over 2gb of data use. With taxes my total bill is about $60 every month. The few times I have had to contact customer service I received prompt and courteous service. If the service does not meet your expectations then maybe you should of done more research . For what they offer at the price they are very good.

5 years ago

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Squeaky Chicago, IL

I've used Consumer Cellular for four years. I stay with them because they're a great value and have reliable service. Instead of adding high fees when I go over my plan's limit, they just bump me up into the next-level plan, which is just a few dollars more. At the end of that billing period, I switch back to the lower-cost plan. It's painless and very affordable. Their fees are extremely reasonable and as far as I know have not even gone up since I've been a customer. They also do not require a contract. When I first became a customer, they didn't have a very good selection of phones, but that's improving; they have phones by Apple and Samsung now (although I use a great little Moto that I love that was only $100). The only reason I would not give them five stars is because their e-mail support is awful. If you have a technical problem, call them and speak to a live human. Their phone support is good. But if you e-mail them with a problem, you'll get a cut-and-paste reply that makes little sense and probably won't solve your problem. Skip it and call them instead. I have never used their phone service in another country, so I can't comment on that.

5 years ago

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Richard M. Koch San Antonio, TX

I have been with Consumer Cellular since Jan. 2012. They have exceeded my EVERY expectation since joining them. Their phones, accessories, talk & data plans, AND their knowledgeable, friendly (& PATIENT!) service reps are incredible! I have had nothing but great experiences with them from day one, and the folks I have referred to them feel the same way! I would not consider switching carriers - even for a cheaper rate! I plan to remain one of Consumer Cellular's biggest fans! I've NEVER been disappointed!

8 years ago

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Ali Jariri Carmel, IN

Very bad company prices go up each month and i started with 2 line and they gave me hell when i tried to separate the family plan. I had to port my numbers out because they refuse to separate the lines.

2 months ago

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Senior consumer Philadelphia, PA

Another scam on seniors. Horrible, incompetent, rude customer service reps with heavy foreign accents that are near impossible to understand, working from their U.S. home with distractions in the background. Find another phone service for yourself or your loved one.

3 months ago

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Prayer Partner Jacksonville, FL

Aren't you always skeptical of the commercials and mailings that talk about such good deals? Well, Consumer did just what they said. We don't use the cellphone much so their bottom line of the 250 minutes with a starter contract was perfect. We used 12 of the minutes last month. But we do more texting and that's unlimited. We couldn't be happier. And they let you know if you get close to your alloted number on the internet access. Being the great company they are, they will bump you up to the next level (which is very few dollars) and bump you back down when the cycle starts over. So, you never EVER pay an "over the limit" fee. The commercial is right. Its the best cellphone offer around. Bar none,

2 years ago

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Joseph

Misleading "unlimited" data plan. Over 50 they throttle you back so as to render the connection largely unusable most of the time. I really dislike false advertising. Also agree with other complaints about customer service going downhill.

4 months ago

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David 9 Snellville, GA

I had been with Consumer Cellular for many years with no problems. I have noticed of recent that the American customer service reps, except for a few excellent ones, are increasingly rude, and have know-it-all attitudes without having much knowledge of the problems presented, so there goes that J.D. Power award. The main problem though is absolutely disgusting beyond disgusting. After having trouble with an existing phone I bought other new ones, 3 more to be exact, and EACH had problems from the very beginning, so I sent them back, and each time this cost me extra money to do that. I had also upgraded, and finally I had one that cost $199 that I sent back, but it was returned to me because they said it was damaged. Indeed it was, but I had the phone for only a few days, and I never damaged it---THEY DID. They actually put some nasty scratches on it deliberately so that they could extract $199 from me, my word against theirs. I did a consumer complaint, and very soon a rep called me up and gave me a professionally coached firm rebuttal blaming it all on me. Why they would want to do this in the first place for just $199 I do not understand but it is beyond dishonest and dirty. When I persisted, they finally sent the damaged phone back to me, to keep, but would never take any ounce of responsibility, continuing to blame me, and the consumer complaint was dropped. So much for any follow-up, and that left me with many hours of work for nothing except a damaged phone. This is one of the dirtier things ever done to me by a company, and I will never forget it, and have moved on for a while now. Just remember—they did it to me, so that means that they are capable of doing it to you as well.

5 months ago

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Randall Barnes Sullivan, MO

Terrible customer service. They are heavy handed and aggressive despite appearances. They neglected to remove my wife’s line from the bill despite the fact that I reported her death. They refused to let me change the account name because they said it require a change in financial responsibility despite the fact that I had been financially responsible for the bill since it’s inception. Consequently, every time I called customer service, I had to go through multiple ways to access my account since I wasn’t the primary account holder. When I finally decided to cancel my account with them, they wasted my time explaining things I hadn’t asked about, arguing with me and making the process unnecessarily complicated. When I tried to transfer my number to the new company, they kept the transfer pending for hours and hours giving me no other choice than to change my number since they already canceled my service. When I received my final bill, it was more money than it had ever been. I called about this only to find that they had completely removed me from the account due to my cancellation so I had no access at all. Explanations to everything were vague and only satisfied their needs. I finally was able to speak to a supervisor who gave access to the account and then actually acknowledged the death of my wife and said I would be refunded what I had paid for her line beginning on the day of her death. Billing then let me know that I would only get 3 months returned to me, as a courtesy, with no acknowledgment of the discrepancy. The bill that the billing department sent still said that I owed the full amount. No one could help me with this because I was no longer on the account and their restrictive policies denied me a document that showed the lower amount I was told I could pay. All of the conversations I had with them were pointless. Their tone was pleasant and friendly but the content was always self-serving. They kept telling me they were trying to help me but clearly all they were doing was helping themselves. They are many other phone carriers. Avoid this one completely.

6 months ago Edited September 20, 2023

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Shiela Proudfoot Durham, NC

I was just reading this to help decide if I will make the switch and thankfully I know better because you need to update the information as it is wrong. I don't know how much of this is wrong but I know for a fact that cc has unlimited data plans.

6 months ago

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apple pear LA

I bought a new phone from them thinking that I would be treated better. The phone cost me more than advertised and they could not get it to receive service for two days and too many hours. When my brother and I approached the 50mb cap, we got messages that we were overusing and our data got cut off. They act sweet and apologetic so that they are received as 'good service.' They denied that the service was slow. We could not load a page in minutes. Could not look at a bank account which kept timing out. They said that they could give us the service back if we each bought our own plan at 50mb. So now we pay twice the price. Their customer service is horrible because they put on a "nice" show when there's a problem. "Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Let me fix it for you, okay?" And they can cut your month to month service just like that because you don't have a contract. Best to get service with a company who owns the towers to avoid Consumer Cellular- like tight reigns on service. We are paying the same amount as our former contract and wish we hadn't switched. They never threatened to slow service or throttle data to zero.

7 months ago Edited February 2, 2024

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KmanAuto

Helped my 92 year old neighbor get a phone with consumer cellular. Considering CS is geared towards elderly, they are not very elderly friendly. Requirement just to place order, she required an EMAIL address. My neighbor had never owned a computer, nor ever had an email. Tried signing her up for a free yahoo and google email address, however, those required a cellular number to sign up for as well, to send a verification code to for the email, need the cell phone to get the email, need the email to get the cell phone.... Waited 2 weeks for the order to arrive. They require signature for the phone package. Since my neighbor was a little too slow to get to the door, mail carrier didn't wait around long enough for her to get to the door. Thus, took another WEEK to actually get the package with the phone (So now 3 weeks in). Finally got it. Went over to set it up for her (Tuesday August 1st). Low and behold, they are using E SIM now, and REQUIRE WIFI to set up the phone. So off we go over to my house to try and set it up. So now phone is active, works. Great! The NEXT DAY she has some heart issues and ends up in the hospital. This sweetheart of a woman unfortunately passed away Monday August 7th, so 6 days after getting the phone. So now we are a month since ordering, and less than 1 week of activation. As I am helping the family settle the estate and take care of things, and since I helped setup the phone/account, I am trying to cancel service. Consumer Cellular will not honor the 30 day trial, SINCE IT IS 30 DAYS FROM DATE OF ORDER, NOT 30 DAYS FROM DATE OF ACTIVATION! So less than 1 week of activation, but 1 day past a month of ordering, no cancelation and no refund, nothing. So that is almost $700 the family is out on a device & service that is not usable. Nothing about this company is Elderly Friendly, it is 100% setup to trip elderly and the family into blowing a good amount of money. Save your time & money for your elderly loved ones, just go to Wal-Mart, get a prepaid phone off the shelf and call it a day!

7 months ago

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Dana Tellier Middletown, CT

I've had CC ever since 2017. Loved them. Low cost, great customer service and dependable calls anywhere! But lately my calls have been dropping and people keep telling me my phone's breaking up when I talk to them. I don't live in a dead zone so I should be getting crystal clear phone service. I'm not sure what happened but the service is getting worse. I called customer service, they did a few adjustments but still nothing helped. Now wondering if I should switch carriers.

10 months ago

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Andy Anderson Pahrump, NV

I've had this service for more than ten years. They are a bit backward. Latest example The sim card became obsolete. They replace it for free after it shuts down your phone. I had to pay $10 to expedite shipping which is by USPS and is being delivered after two days. No other options allowed. I will be looking into other providers.

11 months ago

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Debbie Littell Fredericksburg, VA

Great service all around. Monthy cost very inexpensive. Customer Service very helpful always. The only negative in 7 years is reset password. They have the worst reset policy of any company out there. To worried about privacy. There are so many ways to allow access but their staff is not allowed to reset. NEEDS FIXED. If not for password issue a 10 star rating for sure.

1 year ago

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TheRustyScupper Clermont, FL

Changed carriers for cost. Consumer was definitely a better buy. Had a login problem and called their USA Tech Service. Initial person could not help, as this was a new issue. Was transferred to a "senior tech", who thought he knew. Fixed problem in about 5-minutes. Other than the login issue, would have rated a "5-Star". AND, NO WE ARE NOT PAID TO WRITE THIS REVIEW.

1 year ago