Founded in 1999, Cricket Wireless is one of the largest prepaid phone service providers in the United States. Cricket reviews describe a mix of both positive and negative experiences with the company's customer service, network coverage, and overall quality of service.

Cricket Wireless provides some type of 4G LTE network coverage over most of the United States and offers international texting, data, and calls in select countries. The company claims to have upwards of 98 percent nationwide connectivity (which was bolstered by its acquisition by AT&T), allegedly covering more of the U.S. than several competitors.

Another important aspect that drives Cricket’s corporate DNA is data throttling. Every client gets a certain amount of high-speed data that comes with their plan each billing cycle, even if the plan is marketed as "unlimited." If a customer exceeds their allotted high-speed data usage amount, they notice a significant slowing of their Internet and data services. As a user approaches their monthly allowance, they may notice a slower data speed.

Jennifer Van Buskirk is the current company president. Recently, the FCC approved AT&T’s $1.2 billion merger with Leap, Cricket’s parent company.

Top Ranked Companies

#1 Q Link Wireless

6.5 Overall Score

3.5

star star star star_half star_border

(4,328)

View Profile View Profile

#2 Gabb Wireless

5.6 Overall Score

2.1

star star star_border star_border star_border

(386)

View Profile Visit Site View Profile

#3 Verizon

5.4 Overall Score

3.4

star star star star_half star_border

(2,356)

View Profile Visit Site View Profile

thumb_up

The Good

Large Selection
Cell Phone Plans
Add-On Features
No Contract
Customer Service
Discounts
Plan Changes

Large Selection

With a large selection of smartphone and other device options, customers are able to find a phone that fits their needs, including the new Samsung Galaxy S20. Although some pre-pay cellular services do not include Apple products, Cricket has the iPhone. In the past, users of prepaid services had a hard time finding the latest iPhone and users of prepaid phone services often had to settle for an older generation model. That is no longer the case.

Current customers appreciate the number of Android models that are available. While there are not that many Windows phones to choose from, Cricket does offer two nice Nokia models. Overall, the best variety of phones comes through Android-driven phones. All of Cricket's phones come with the standard operating systems that are on the market, including Android, iOS, and Windows.

To use your current phone with a new Cricket prepaid plan, you can purchase a $10 SIM card or bring an unlocked LTE-compatible device.

Cell Phone Plans

Cricket's basic monthly plan options include:

Talk and Text: unlimited calls and texts, but no data or picture/video messages ($25 per line)
2 GB: Unlimited talk and texts and 2 GB data access ($30 per line)
5 GB: Unlimited calls and texts and 5 GB data access ($40 per line)

The Unlimited plan, which costs $55 per month or $50 after the Auto Pay credit, includes:

Unlimited data access with upload speeds up to 3 Mbps
Video streaming at SD quality, about 480p
Unlimited calling, texts, and picture messages in the U.S.
Unlimited texts from the U.S. to 37 countries
Data access plus unlimited calls, texts, and picture messages to and from Canada and Mexico
HD voice and WiFi calling with compatible phone

The Unlimited Extra plan includes all the features of the Unlimited plan, plus unlimited high-speed data access with faster 4G LTE speeds, and 15 GB of mobile hotspot on compatible devices.

Cricket's unlimited data plan works well for family plans: You get four lines with unlimited data for $100 per month. Keep in mind that unlimited data refers to both high-speed data and lower-speed data. After 22 GB of high-speed data usage, Cricket may slow speeds.

Also, the Auto Pay credit is not available with multiline discounts or on promotional offers.

Add-On Features

Cricket offers these features as monthly add-ons at a reasonable price:

Cricket Protect, which covers you from device loss, theft, or malfunction ($7 per month)
Cricket International, which adds international communication coverage ($5-15 per month)
Individual Country Add-Ons, which include calling minutes and unlimited text, picture, and video messaging to Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Philippines, and Vietnam ($10-15 per month)
1 GB High Speed, which can be used when the high-speed access included in your base rate plan is gone ($10 per month)
Mobile Hotspot, which makes your cell phone a Wi-Fi hotspot to which you can connect your laptop or tablet to the Internet on the go (also called tethering). This add-on is only available with current
Unlimited plans and select grandfathered plans ($10 per month)

Cricket offers 30 GB, 10 GB, and 3 GB data-only plans for hotspot data usage.

No Contract

Cricket has all the bells and whistles of a contract provider but doesn't require the contract.

Customer Service

There are plenty of storefront locations to get help with your Cricket wireless plan. For the most part, Cricket Wireless reviews report that Cricket does a good job of providing quality customer service. Prospective customers can speak to Cricket customer service using the live chat feature on the website.

Discounts

The 5 GB, Unlimited, and Unlimited Extra plans are eligible for savings with Auto Pay credit and group save discounts. Families can save up to $100 per month in discounts for up to five lines. Cricket does also offer a discount for each plan if you set up an automatic payment every month.

Plan Changes

Because the company does not require a contract, you can change your Cricket phone plan anytime you'd like for no charge. Once you switch plans, your plan will take effect immediately, unless you decide to wait until your next billing cycle. However, note that you can only change your plan twice per billing cycle, and any change may affect your current discounts.

Cricket Wireless also mandates that no more than one plan change per phone number can be scheduled to start on the next billing cycle.

thumb_down

The Bad

Data Throttling
High-Speed Unused Data Expires Monthly
Limited International Coverage
Claims Limits
Mixed Reviews

Data Throttling

While the data throttling option makes it easier for Cricket to "spread" data around and avoid charging overage fees, data throttling does kick in when a user is still within their allotted high-speed data amount for the month. This may make it difficult for users to check their email, surf the net, or access optimal download speeds for other purposes.

High-Speed Unused Data Expires Monthly

When purchasing the 1 GB high-speed data add-on, any high-speed unused data you have at the end of the month expires each cycle. So if you don't use up all of your additional data, you pay for it anyway.

Limited International Coverage

With the Cricket Unlimited plan, customers can call, text, and use data in Mexico and Canada. However, in the additional 37 countries with coverage, calls are not covered — only text message communication including picture/video messages. To access coverage in additional countries, you need to purchase an individual country monthly add-on.

Claims Limits

The Cricket Protect add-on covers a maximum replacement value of $1500 per claim of loss, theft, accidental physical damage or liquid damage, in-warranty exchanges, and out-of-warranty malfunction, which is really good coverage. However, each customer is limited to two claims per 12 months. For the accident-prone customer, two claims may not be enough.

Mixed Reviews

Cricket Wireless reviews are mixed, which makes it difficult to decide if the cell phone provider is a trustworthy company. Many reviews highlight poor customer service and slow data, while also appreciating Cricket's low price and affordable plans. If you want to learn more, you can find Cricket Wireless reviews below.

gavel

The Bottom Line

There are pros and cons to the Cricket Wireless prepaid plans. The service provider features the latest Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems and the latest phones.

Cricket offers flexible plans and includes optional add-ons that let users customize their phone plans as needed, with variable data plans and lines needed per account. Cricket does a good job with multi-line discounts with a four-member family plan costing only $100 per month.

However, one of Cricket's major downfalls — like any major carrier — is its data throttling. When you reach your data limit, your Internet usage will dramatically slow and will not pick back up again until the start of your next billing cycle.

View Best Cell Phone Providers

Was this content helpful?

thumb_up Yes thumb_down No

border_color Write a Review

User Reviews

Star Rating

2.9

star star star star_border star_border

359 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

31%

4 grade

13%

3 grade

11%

2 grade

1 grade

39%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

star star star star_half star_border

Quality

star star star star_border star_border

Service

star star star star_border star_border

Trustworthiness

star star star star_border star_border

cancel

Filter by:

arrow_drop_down

Sort by:

arrow_drop_down

star star star star star

Junior Ramirez Tucson, AZ

I LIKE HOW CRICKET HAS BETTER COVERAGE IN THE CITY THAN TMOBILE, I TRIED VERIZON AND SPRINT ,INCLUDING BOOST MOBILE AND OTHERS, SERVICE WAS BAD , INTERNET WAS SUPER SLOW TO NO INTERNET, UNTIL FINALLY DECIDE TO SWITCH TO CRICKET/AT&T NOW I HAVE INTERNET AND SERVICE IN ALL THE ROOMS, AND 5G. THE ONLY THING I DISLIKE ABOUT THEM IS THEY DON'T CARRY ONE OF MY FAVORITE PHONES, THE NOTE LINE SAMSUNG. I HOPE THAT CHANGE IN THE FUTURE, I MEAN THEY HAVE IPHONES, BUT IPHONE IS SO LIMITED, IT'S SO ANNOYING, SO ABSOLUTELY WILL RECOMMEND CRICKET TO MY FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS, WICH ALREADY DID AND THEY ARE GLAD THEY SWITCHED

2 years ago

star star star star star

Charles S. Kew Gardens, NY

I was a former Verizon customer and became fed up with their high prices for my simple needs, placing phone calls a few text messages a month that I thought I would switch to one of the lower end carriers, I did brief research and discovered that cricket was owned by at&t and that the penalty would be slower download speeds, I'm not a gamer nor do I watch lengthy videos on my phone so I felt let's give them a try. I couldn't have been happier. Their customer service has been great and living in the metro area signal strength is no problem. Now y this is the draw back, if you switch to one of their plans where a free out inexpensive phone is given you will notice the download speeds but if you option for a phone with faster processing speeds you should be quite happy with them.

5 years ago

star star star star star

Christina Coon

Love there phone selection they have and also there family plans with wonderful protection plan for your phone too. Plus there great customer service in there store and on the phone.

7 months ago

star star star star star

Laura Oravetz Denver, CO

My old cell phone died yesterday so I went to my cricket store on W. Alameda in Lakewood (Belmar), CO. I was taken right away by Bianca who was incredibly helpful. I am 71 and needed an easy to operate phone. She helped me with the choices that would be best for me and then helped with my selection. Also, gave me several choices for a case cover. She was able to transfer everything from my dead phone to the new one and explained anything I needed to know. I so appreciate the customer service I received.

3 years ago

star star star star star

Cricket lover Stevens Point, WI

They basically have a very caring staff. I used to go to Cellcom. And Cellcom refused to allow me to get a new phone. So I switched to cricket. They are very easygoing. I also tried Sprint. Sprint wasn't so easygoing with caring over the number. Cricket has been everything more. There is one major annoyance or bad thing. The customer service is usually really great. But one time, The service couldn't figure out how to transfer a sim. Not much of a big deal. I just had to tell them how to do it. But I think they were new or in training. Anyways. I like cricket. They deserve a reward.

3 years ago

star star star star star_border

Shaya Espino Meridian, ID

I just experienced the best possible customer service experience from Cricket, customer service repressive Emee, at the Cricket store in Meridian on Cherry. I was looking for a case for my phone and Emee was just amazing with her assistance and professional skills. She greeted me as soon as I came in the door and was sincere and paid attention to what my need was! I really appreciated her help today; she made my day a happy one. I have been a good Cricket customer for many years and have always been happy with my phone service but I had always felt the customer service was lacking until I met Emee today. Cricket needs to hire more reps like her. Thank you Cricket, for better customer service. Shaya Espino

5 years ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Joshua Aidan Dunn

I've had Cricket service for the past 4 years. I chose Cricket over Verizon because the cost was less than half of what I was paying before. However, in recent years, the functionality of their payment system, and the quality of their customer service, has declined dramatically. In the past 4 years, they have turned off my auto-pay and disconnected my phone line, despite there being sufficient funds in my connected bank account, 4 times. Each time, I have had to pay a $5 reconnection fee. The past 2 times, they have made it exceedingly difficult to pay the fee and reconnect my line. It's nearly impossible to reach a live human on the phone (and it often hangs up on you after 10 minutes), and their automated phone system is so poorly designed and so unresponsive to human input that it does not work well enough to use to pay a bill. Their website has so many issues -- the last time I tried it, the numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 wouldn't work in their Bill Pay system. This meant I had to pay $9 instead of $5 for the reconnection fee, AND it was impossible to enter my credit card number to set up Autopay (for the 5th time since I've had this account). When I finally reached a human on their chat function (after a frustrating and unsuccessful conversation with their automated system, that couldn't recognize simple requests), they completely denied that there was any problem on their end. I've tried resolving these issues at a store. While they were very nice, they were not authorized to receive payment or fix any of the issues, so they had to refer me back to the website & phone number. Each time they have disconnected my autopay, I have gone and tried to reconnect it right away. Even when they do accept my payment info, it often takes days to process -- and in the meantime, they disconnect my phone. This past week, I paid to reconnect on Wednesday, and now it's Saturday and I still don't have cell service. In the meantime, I lose any incoming calls or text messages. (The last time this happened, I called and asked them whether I could recover my missing texts. They said I'd have to get a subpoena and get the police to request this from them, in order to get those text messages back -- otherwise, they would not help.) While I certainly have saved money by using Cricket instead of Verizon, the amount of hassle involved in paying for and keeping my line active is just not worth it. As difficult as they make it to pay for and keep your service, it almost makes me wonder whether they are actively trying to drive away their customers. I am actively looking for a new cell provider, and can't wait to be done with them.

8 months ago

star star star star_border star_border

esjobes Parkersburg, WV

I have been a customer of Cricket for 8 years now. A satisfied customer until recently. Always spoken high of and recommended to family/friends/colleagues. Never had an issue with a signal between stays in Columbus, OH and Parkersburg, WV. The reason for 3 stars is that those on Family Plans should be aware of what just happened to me last week. My ex and I separated two years ago but have remained on a Family Plan consisting of her, myself, and our 3 children. Last week she got upset with our oldest child and called me demanding that I remove him from the Family Plan since the account has always been in my name. I told her that I didn’t agree with that decision and a couple of hours later I noticed that I didn’t have service any longer. Turns out that she spoke with someone at Cricket and reported both mine and our sons phones as missing/stolen. I contacted Cricket several times through phone and chat and all I got was “you’ll have to pay a reactivation fee and then choose a plan for you and your son” and “this is why we don’t recommend that people stay on family plans when separated” - I’m not exactly sure if that is recommended anywhere in writing by the company but I have my doubts. I tell them that I’ll receive my cellular service elsewhere. I get my new SIM card in the mail yesterday and find out that my phone needs to be unlocked in order to use my new service provider. I call and chat all evening yesterday with no help on Crickets end. I purchased this iPhone 8+ in their store the day I opened the account. Since I don’t know what the new PIN is they cannot assist me. So today I take one last shot by going into a Cricket store. They inform me that since my ex is the owner of the account that I can’t even get my phone unlocked because she isn’t here to show her ID. Even though just five days ago they had no problem letting her take over ownership of the account without the owner, myself, present to do so. Something doesn’t add up, right? Then he tops that with “well, technically the phone that needs to be unlocked has to be in service for 6 months before it can be unlocked”. I say “so you’re insinuating that I need to pay a reactivation fee, and pay for service again for 6 months in order to have my phone unlocked when I’ve been a loyal customer for the past 100 months until this situation occurred just five days ago?” He responded with a stare after realizing how ridiculous all of this was. So bottom line: service was good, no issues there, but apparently if you are in a Family Plan be aware that if one of them goes rogue they will pick and choose how they want to handle the fall out of said situation.

1 year ago

star star star star star

William Lancaster Akron, OH

We needed to add a line to our account, but did not know how to find the required info from the phone we currently had to keep that phones number. Ron was the salesman and went over and above to get the info and set up our new phone. Great service. Located in Battle Creek on Beckley.

1 year ago

star star star star star

Jewelleah Kempers Los Angeles, CA

Cricket has the best overall phone plans at the best price without compromised service or coverage wherever you roam. It has unlimited data plans and Hotspot that do not get throttled after a certain usage making it truly UNLIMITED and that is rare!

2 years ago

star star star star_border star_border

Shay Mathiesson TX

While the company seems to offer good services and I really like how they have a budget plan avaliable if you say have troubles paying entire bill. That's a very nice feature that few if any of the other carriers have. Yet I HATE how every damn month it FORCES you to update! You HAVE to allow device to update and so for a good ten minutes there you have ZERO control over your own phone! What that means is you wouldn't be allowed to call 911 while it was updating for example. Also and I have researched and researched but there apparently doesn't seem to be a way to stop these updates! I've tried going to settings, looking up the app that houses it and tried doing a force stop but it will not allow me to do squat. In other words I am forced to deal with unwanted updates to where I have zero control over a phone that I BOUGHT!!! So yeah that's my biggest and really only complaint against Cricket because aside from the forced updates, they're a nice company that have competitive plans and deals. Also their customer service is excellent I think. They've always been able to resolve any issues that came up plus they're very nice as well.

2 years ago

star star star star_border star_border

Wayne Koch Sacramento, CA

They offer you 15 GB of hotspot per month, while this isn't a huge amount, it is one of the most from a carrier and the fact you can add another 15 GB for $10.00 when you run out isn't a bad price at all. The only thing I don't like about it is if you have unlimited data, you should get unlimited hotspot but all carriers are shady when it comes to hotspot or also called tethering. They coverage is one of the best and I never had problems with data throttling ever. If I were to rank them on just overage and how much I got throttled after going over 22gb,I would give them 6 out of 5 stars, it was always excellent. My problem is with their billing. I bought a Nokia C5 endi from cricket and although the phone is ok, the my cricket app never worked and I could never access the online app with my phone since buying it which not only made it inconveniant to pay my bill it made it almost impossible to pay it on time and even though cricket new of the Nokia problem, they would still charge me the $15 dollar late fee and suspend my service. So I had to pay an extra $15 every month and it's impossible to get ahold of a real person in customer service. I finally gave up and switched carriers because of this

2 years ago Edited June 20, 2022

star star star star star

Kristin Hungerford CA

The Cricket Store in Clio is wonderful. Erin was courteous and helpful. She went through one pathway and the computer told her everything was fine. When it wasn’t she tried another way and her phone is now working. Thank you for making this easy and painless.

2 years ago

star star star star star

Unicornmaskid Kissimmee, FL

We have been with Cricket for about 4 years now and have never had any major problems. The girl at the store Jamie has always been so nice and helpful every time my husband and I have wanted to upgrade. I think the company is great.

3 years ago

star star star star_border star_border

Norma J Roberts Warren, MA

Been a Cricket customer for couple years. Brought my sister in to local store and told agent I was bringing in a referral. Agent assisted me in applying for the referral using the app on my phone. The referral code was sent to my sisters phone and the agent proceeded to set up her service. He directed her to enter the referral code when she went online to set up auto . Upon doing so a message said "not eligible". When calling customer support I'm told it was an error and they would fix it. When they didn't I called again and was told the referral is denied because it was entered after the service began. That is so not correct and there is no changing their mind. I will not be referring anyone else.

5 years ago

star star star star star

Gary G. Sherman, TX

All the employees were very helpful especially the manager and Pedro. Very courteous and friendly as well as professional. I will happily return there for all my cellular needs. (My only suggestion is to provide earbud adapters for anytime purchase)

5 years ago

star star star star star_border

Mike Lawrence, KS

My family has the "unlimited" 4 phones for $100 a month plan. For the most part Cricket we are happy with the service EXCEPT for one item. Cricket limits group texts to 10 people max. I have a group of 15 people that I have to text, but with Cricket I can only do 10 at a time. Verizon, Sprint, etc have no limit. This seems to be an arbitrary limit set by Cricket. This is my only complaint, otherwise I'd give them 5 stars.

5 years ago

star star star star star

Miranda Grand Blanc, MI

Unlimited data access* with speeds up to 3 Mbps Video streaming at SD quality (about 480p) Unlimited calls, texts and picture messages across the U.S. Unlimited texts from the U.S. to 37 countries Data access plus unlimited calls, texts and picture messages to and from Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

5 years ago

star star star star star

Charles E Mickler Auburn, GA

Best cell phone company I've ever worked with. They are easy to switch to, provide excellent service in all areas at the best prices for those services. Customer service is knowledgeable and friendly as well as easy to use online, by phone or in store.

6 years ago

star star star star star

Janette Vogel Fairfield Bay, AR

I have been a Cricket consumer for 10 years. Since they are on the same towers as AT&T, I find the company very reliable. If you are not computer or cellphone savvy, you may want to go with AT&T unless you happen to have a Cricket store nearby as you will need to know a few things about your cellphone in order to start using Cricket. Though, if you can follow directions without getting aggravated, getting started with Cricket is not too difficult. I have 4 phones connected to my account with unlimited text and internet for a nice low price. I love Cricket!

3 years ago

star star star star star

Sierra Beck Herriman, UT

I've had cricket for a couple of years and I'm very pleased with the service. I've gone into the mountains for a vacation and had service when nobody else in my family did. Cricket reached more places than Verizon did at that particular location. I also love that I've been getting more data a month without paying more money. My plan gets upgraded by a GB of data a month every so often.

5 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

LaVon Thomas

Never, ever purchase a Cricket phone over the phone or online. My experience has involved over 10 phone calls in one week, and it has become apparent that they do not give proper training for customer service jobs, or they are scammers with tv commercials. Plus, a plan that is $55.00 has 0 hotspot.

7 months ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Ramon

So last nite my bridge pay was up,I called them,the prompt said to leave any amount to avoid late fee,this morning I went to cricket Stafford,the girl said I must pay 60 .00 but I just paid 15 last nite she didn't care ,60 nothing less ,she was very rude so I just dropped cricket ,their too greedy.lost my 15 dollars but at least I don't have to worry about greedy cricket & the rude obnoxious people working for them,good riddance.

8 months ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

yaira Hurtado Middletown, CT

Worst experience ever in my life with any kind of service. Please think twice before going there. I bought a new phone and wanted to switch to a different carrier, so I chose Cricket. Big mistake. Everything was fine until I tried to make regular phone calls. It didn't work; the calls were cut, and when someone called me, it went straight to voicemail. So, I went to the store. They reviewed the phone, checked configurations, and found nothing. I asked if it could be a phone problem because it was new, and they told me that it wasn't. They asked me to call customer service because they couldn't do anything else. So, I called that day. After an hour of waiting, I finally got someone. The woman did the same as the tech people in the store, and, of course, it didn't work. She told me that she would contact the technicians at the store to review my case and call me back at 10 am. That, of course, never happened!!! So, I called again that afternoon. After another hour of waiting, I got someone. A new woman answered me, so I had to explain everything again. She tried all kinds of solutions again, but nothing worked. She even changed the phone number of the line, but it didn't work. As a last resort, she disconnected the physical line to connect an eSIM. That didn't work either. And here is the worst part: she told me that at this point, she had to report the problem to another department, and maybe they could fix the problem. But she never reconnected my physical SIM again!!!! So now, not only can I not make calls, but I also don't have any service at all. Of course, I never got any response from any department of the company or anyone. I lost the money of the line and the activation because they don't refund anything even when they mess up. And, to make matters worse, they still charged me for the next month. DON'T GO THERE. THEY ARE SHIP FOR A REASON!!!!!

9 months ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

Anthonet rowe Alpharetta, GA

Do not pay this company for international plan. What they do at the middle of the month, after you paid your monthly bill, you can not make a call, so if you have 1000 unit , they only allow you to use 500 and then when you try to call your phone says “ you are not allowed to make this call at this time try again later” you call the customer service they are rude, hang the phone on me several time, one of them called Chris if that is his real name. For one week they where not able to fix my international line to allow me make calls, I pay $15 just a waste of money you can not use their service and they are so lack customer service. Be aware !!!!!!!

10 months ago

star star star star star

Sinister Babe Kyle, TX

Cheap service but is better than some bigger names out there! I never had a problem with this service on my phone. They offer some gray deals and reasonable monthly plans

10 months ago Edited January 15, 2024

star star star star star_border

Cuban Queen Fort Lauderdale, FL

I have been with this company for a few years now. They don't offer any discounts for being a loyal customer. Phone prices are high. My plan includes my 3 Kings and myself. I'm keeping them for now. The monthly bill is pretty reasonable.

1 year ago Edited October 23, 2023

star star star star star_border

Who Knows Baltimore, MD

Cricket wireless is a very decent company especially for people whom like prepaid phone services. The service is always great. They have great prices for everyone's budget. They have a great insurance policy to assure any problems that arise with your device or service are covered. Highly recommend.

2 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Lisa E Leominster, MA

They are usually fine and allow automatic monthly payments. However, I recently lost my phone. I had it disabled. It was returned to lost and found the next day and I requested that it be enabled again. No problem according to the rep I spoke to. Turns out it was a BIG problem. Their policy is to blacklist the phone for up to three days running during which time, requests to enable the phone restart the clock. If I need to continue using my phone, I have to call EVERY day. I was told to use a spare phone. No kidding. Why on earth would I have two phones?? Now I have to wait for a three day stretch before it falls off the blacklist. That is, according to the THIRD person I spoke to on the THIRD daily request to enable the phone again which apparently lasts until midnight when it turns back into a pumpkin until I call to get a fairy godmother to make it a real phone for the day.

2 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Paul Lytle Reading, PA

I've had cricket for over 10 years now. My explanation of cricket is its like having many thorns in your side. Initially when I switched from Verizon I was told I could only bring 2 phones over at a time after I had already placed my order for 4 lines to be transferred. After speaking to the customer rep, about a day later all sim cards showed up which indicated their customer service did not know what they were speaking about. Over the years I experienced slow service-throttling. I do not use an extreme amount of date so there is no reason to have slow service. Over the years I have spoken to customer service and most of the time it appears they don't know their product. The cricket voice mail app is somewhat horrible. At 1 time when I received VM messages the app showed it was one person who called and when you listened to the voice mail it was actually someone else that called. Another time I had created an out of office voice mail and saved it. Had someone else call my phone to verify it saved. After 2 days it reverted back to my old voicemail. For the last month service has seemed to really slow down and even though I show 3-4 bars I still cant even get on the internet while at work. I receive a lot of scam calls at least 3-4 times a day and cricket does nothing to block them on their end. My thought is they are possibly selling my information to these scam call centers. If I had to explain my dealings and phone service on cricket to someone I would say its like living in a 3rd world country.

2 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Valerie snyder Weirsdale, FL

Yes the prices are very reasonable but let’s remember the old saying “you get what you for”. How true and I get there are rules for a reason and o have not once disputed that but could have done something in my situation yes I believe so but unfortunately this girl Marium who claimed to be the manager at the Mt. Dora store in Florida was about a joke. She had friends there and talk talk talking up a storm being all loud and shouting Spanish from one side of the store to the other. She asked me after 15 min what I needed and I simply stated that I had a brand new never taken even out of the box phone and I wanted to pay the $200 difference and purchase the one I actually wanted. I didn’t purchase it my soon to be ex husband did. Well she was not happy about that for some reason she said well I’m with a customer so sorry your gonna have to wait. I had no problem with that so I waited patiently all the while I guess they didn’t really just because I am not Spanish has absolutely nothing to do with any language I speak. She just assumed I didn’t I’m sure everyone knows what happens when you assume. Well that was her first mistake then when I explained what had happened and what I was hoping to do she was oh no you cannot do that with this look on her face so unprofessional then proceeds to count on her fingers like in kindgarden with her 2 inch nails that looked ridiculous like I was a child and did not understand🤨. Best part I asked who was the manager and if I may speak with thrashed was like oh no no no I am the only manager you can’t talk to nobody else. I left that store and will never return if that is the type they allow to represent them then I need to take my 12 lines and sign with another carrier. Not to mention I have only been a customer for about 15 years. But she said so what that doesn’t matter. Great way to handle yourself I am now done and be so happy to get a new carrier.

2 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

A R Fort Worth, TX

Ive had Cricket since 2016 or 2017. I had no problems until recently. During that time I did purchase a brand new Note 8. I currently have the same phone and I prefer to keep my phone. "If it aint broke" why try to replace it? The company has been switching to upgrades from 3g to 5 g. They tried to tell me my phone was not compatible. Thats false. It was a ploy to a promotion to switch to a crappy new phone they had to offer. The committment was to use a free phone for a minimal of 6 months. I was disitasfied that they couldnt see that my phone was compatible with LTE. I continued my service and now a few of my family and friends have done the same. Maybe one day we shall yse services but we all switched to T mobile with no contract.

2 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

haeschliman Howell, MI

I have loved Cricket for 3 years, but had a very ridiculous customer service experience with them recently. My phone was suspended after changing my autopay because our prior card had to be cancelled due to suspicious activity. When I called to get it worked out I had to speak to several customer service representatives, just to be "disconnected" after 30+ minutes of waiting to be directed to the correct person. The second time I called, the customer service rep claimed that I was blinking out, and made me retell my story 3 times, because he couldn't hear me. He sounded crystal clear, and I was calling from my office where I use this phone to call clients all day. Then he said he would call me back, and never did. I paid the unwarranted $15 late fee, because I couldn't take more time out of my work day. Unfortunately, this seemed systematic, a phone company that has poor service or drops calls during a customer complaint... suspicious. I have loved the service for myself and my 4 adult children who live in Utah, Idaho, Ohio, and Michigan. We have used cricket for over 4 years. I would just say, do not have your autopay mess up because they are going to nickel and dime you for no reason.

3 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

michelle kidd Lima, OH

I have had the worst time since switching to Cricket I have a note 10 and was told I needed to upgrade to their phones because mine wasn't compatible with their network REALLY? 🤣. I get the runaround between the store and when you have to call on phone to speak to tech. They both pass me back and forth like a tennis ball. I had verizon before them and just wanted cheaper phone bill and let's be frank I got a bigger headache with my phone dropping calls and not being able to hear on phone and lousy reception and showing only 3g network. Had hopes for cricket and I wish I could have had better experience with them. Back to Verizon I go I guess.

3 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

MindyV Lubbock, TX

I was really happy when I switched to Cricket Wireless. I was able to get me and my son better quality of phones than we'd previously had. And the employee was great. The problem with Cricket Wireless is that they have NO CLUE how to process auto payments. You get a discount for having your account set up on auto pay but they don't know how to process them. One time they took money from another customer's auto pay and applied it to my account. I chatted with them about my auto pay and they said that everything went through and that I was fine, even though money hadn't been taken out of my account. Once they realized the mistake, several days after I talked to them about it, they decided that they were going to double charge me for their mistake. Auto pay shouldn't be tricky at all!!!! It should automatically take money out of the debit card that is on the account at the time the payment is due. That should be simple. But apparently it's not.

3 years ago

star star star star star_border

Lizzy Puentes Tallahassee, FL

Cricket phone services is one of the best I have had. The data is high speed and I have cellular service most places I go to. The plans are very affordable and features like hotspot and international calls are also helpful. The only downside is sometimes I will have good cellular service but the internet will sometimes act a little slow.

4 years ago

star star star star star

Richard V Tagle San Antonio, TX

I've used Cricket for many years now. Never have been disappointed, never have had to deal with minutes and such and I truly and sincerely recommend Cricket to anybody who asks me about my cell phone company.

4 years ago

star star star star star

Catherine Collazo

Cricket has been the best cell phone service company that I have ever had the pleasure of receiving service from. Their prices are very competitive, their products very reliable and their customer service is superb.

4 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Kent D Rager Fort Wayne, IN

Service is okay and the advertised price is what you'll actually pay since it includes taxes/fees. However, don't expect to get a bonus from their so-called referral bonus program. I referred my parents to switch to Cricket Wireless. I got the referral URL link and emailed it to them. They received the email and we clicked on the link. The link brought up a web page that said the referral code was emailed to them. We were in a hurry, so we didn't wait to actually receive the code and went to the store and activated new SIM cards with their existing phones. They never did receive a referral code - we looked in the spam folders and everything and it was never received. So we logged into their new Cricket account and tried to get it to resend the code, but it said the email address we entered wasn't the same one (even though it was). After clicking the referral link and entering the email address, I was finally able to get a code, but now the system won't accept the code. I called customer service and they said that because their lines were already activated, we were no longer eligible for the bonus. That is just plain wrong!

4 years ago

star star star star star_border

Mark Berry

Honestly I have been Cricket for 10 years and the service has great. When they switch to AT&T..good became great. The only downside is you can't trade your phone in for an upgrade but I'm ok with that and they dont have any customer loyalty rewards but again I'm ok with that too.

5 years ago

star star star star_border star_border

Anonymous Spring, TX

THEIR AUTOMATIC PAYMENT WORKS PERFECTLY. THE TECHNICIANS IN THEIR LOCATIONS ARE YOUNG AND VERY UNDERTRAINED; THEREFORE, I HAVE TO ASSUME VERY UNDERPAID AS WELL. THEY ARE ONLY SALES PEOPLE AND NOT GREAT AT THAT. TOOK OVER 45 MINUTES TO BUY ONE PHONE AND GET IT SET UP. WHEN YOU GO TO THEM WITH A PROBLEM WITH YOUR PHONE THEY ARE USUALLY CLUELESS, AND I'VE BEEN TO SEVERAL OF THEIR PHYSICAL STORES. IT IS JUST AS BAD AT EACH ONE.

5 years ago

star star star star star

Paul Nashville, TN

The best coverage by far of the prepaid services. I always recommend to other professionals and business people especially for staff and assistants with great coverage and low dropped calls.

6 years ago

star star star star star

A. Taylor Panama City, FL

My favorite cellular has been Cricket Mobile. The network coverage and quality are as good as any I've ever used. The monthly plans are simple, straight forward, all encompassing, and reliable as well as very cost effective. High quality and dependability have been consistent qualities of cricket. I highly recommend it.

4 years ago

star star star star star

Amanda Drews Arlington, TX

I love Cricket! I can afford cell service for 3 people thanks to them! Their customer service has been awesome and every person I have talked to has been patient with my questions and hemming and hawing over which phone I wanted. They took their time to make sure I understood the differences and pros and cons.

4 years ago

star star star star star

Gold Silver Flower Saint Paul, MN

Cricket is the best option when it comes to phone services. I always use Cricket since it it’s easier. Most of my family use Cricket since I use it. I introduced them to Cricket so now all of my family have a wonderful experience with Cricket company. Xoxo

4 years ago Edited September 14, 2021

star star star star star_border

Emily Norton Tucson, AZ

There are definitely pros and cons of using cricket. First of all, it’s cheap and they were constantly giving me more data without raising my price which is great. The service works really well in my small town, but it definitely has less coverage in other areas than some other providers. I also had some problems with messages or pictures coming in, but anytime I called cricket usually could fix whatever the problem was.

4 years ago

star star star star star_border

Calista Huber Mesa, AZ

We get a really good deal for the price! It's fairly cheap and we have plenty good service. We do have spotty areas that other providers don't, but it's never really an issue. The plan we're on is monthly, not contracted, which is nice, and we have more data than we even need, unlimited texting and call, for a great price! We also got rebates and gift cards from signing up and buying phones there, so even our phones were a great deal! Everyone is always so helpful at the stores, and while there is sometimes a wait, it's worth it.

6 years ago

star star star star_border star_border

Jose Carcamo Orlando, FL

Data signal is the worse. Even the service for calls is good, look like they have tweaked the signal for data. Have complained many times, they check and supposedly make adjustments. But never improved… only app (with interruptions) i can use is Amazon music. Still with them because is cheap.

1 year ago

star star_border star_border star_border star_border

H Sanders Meridian, ID

After about 7 hrs trying to get my phone unlocked, I quit. I met all the criteria for getting my phone unlocked and cricket was unable/unwilling/incompetent to unlock their own device that they sold me. I am currently a #Crickethostage and unable to use my phone in Europe which is a safety issue as a solo traveler or any type of traveler. Every time I called, they gave me a different excuse as to why they couldn’t unlock my phone. Not to mention getting hung up on and not being called back. And even though I have receipts from my phone purchase they proceeded to tell me I didn’t buy the phone with them. I went back to the store I purchased my phone at and they denied the store too. Even they were frustrated and agreed I met the unlock criteria. I will spare you from the 7 hours of my frustrating experience. I now have to go spend a few hundred dollars to get an unlocked phone (the same one I currently have which is so stupid) when they can just unlock what I have. I think they made an error on my IMEI code prior to selling me my phone. I wish they would just make it right. I just needed to be on a different network for three weeks in Europe and had planned to get my phone running on Cricket once I returned. Sadly if they are still unable to unlock my phone, I am unable to return to the service and will pay more elsewhere for better customer service. This review is null and void if they are able to do what is right and unlock my phone. Again, I have met the 6 month criteria and there isn’t a logical or real reason why they can’t unlock my phone. Cricket if you read this, please just help do what you promised.

1 year ago

star star star star_border star_border

Colby Oklahoma City, OK

We used cricket phones for awhile. The phone comes loaded with a certain number of minutes. I would recommend for anyone who wants to purchase a phone and pay as they go, with no bills! Personally, I think you end up paying more in the long run.

1 year ago Edited August 8, 2023