In 1995, Consumer Cellular set out to simplify the often burdensome experience of purchasing a cell phone. Since then, a lot has changed. Cell phones can now easily fit in your pocket. They can stream in high-definition and can even help you surf the Web. What hasn’t changed, though, is Consumer Cellular’s industry leading approach to cell phone service, an approach that comes with no tricks or fine print, just stellar service that caters not only to those in their golden years but also anyone looking for a quality cellular experience. I have a lot of experience working with older adults in addition to the technology that makes their lives easier and more fulfilling. In this rundown, I’ll be taking a look at the current offerings from Consumer Cellular: their phones, their plans, and the overall customer experience. In the end, I’ll find out if they really live up to the hype.
Consumer Cellular Pros and Cons
If you’re looking for the bullet points, then look no further. Here are the main things I appreciated about Consumer Cellular.
What I Liked
Low Priced Plans: Starting at just $15 for their most basic plan, Consumer Cellular offers plans at a highly competitive price point. What’s more, I was able to stack up additional savings by adding more lines to my service plan. This, combined with no activation fees and additional discounts for AARP members, makes Consumer Cellular one of the most affordable cellular service providers on the market today.
No Long-Term Contracts: Unlike many traditional wireless providers, Consumer Cellular did not lock me into a long-term contract. Each of its plans are paid on a month to month basis, and I could upgrade my service or cancel it without paying any fees or penalties.
Wide Range of Devices: From basic flip phones to the newest models from Apple and Samsung, Consumer Cellular’s offerings run the full gamut of cell phones. They even allow customers to put their own phones on their service, provided they use SIM cards.
What We Didn’t Like About Consumer Cellular
No Prepaid Options: While I appreciated that Consumer Cellular doesn’t require long-term contracts, it would have been nice to have the option to prepay for minutes. When providers allow this option, it means that any unused minutes can accumulate rather than disappear at the end of each pay period.
High Device Costs: Consumer Cellular offers several flip phones and smartphones that cost $50 or less; however, these models are mostly outdated and limited in their functionality. For those looking to purchase newer models, the price could be upwards of $1000, a cost that is normally built into the service plans of traditional carriers.
Lack of Medical Alert: Although Consumer Cellular’s plans and devices can compete with major mobile providers, they lack some of the features of providers that cater specifically to older adults, features such as medical alert functionality.
The Purchasing Process
Ordering a phone through Consumer Cellular is just about as easy as it gets. In addition to Target and some independent retailers, Consumer Cellular devices and plans can also be purchased through their website, which is what I did. Here I was able to view a list of each of their plans and the devices that could be used with them. To my surprise, Consumer Cellular was incredibly transparent about their costs.
Phones themselves can be purchased with either a one-time payment or several interest-free installments, and the service plans clearly state their cost in addition to what else is included. How many of us have signed up for a cellular plan only to be blindsided on our first bill by hidden fees? Activation Fee? Universal Service Fund Fee? Smartphone Fee? No thank you! So naturally, I was pleased by Consumer Cellular’s transparent pricing. The fact that some of these prices were highly affordable only sweetened the deal.
Choosing a Cellular Plan
Before I chose a phone, I had to decide on a service plan. Consumer Cellular offers a wide range of plans, (seven, to be exact), and each of them included some amount of talk time, text messages, and data allowance. These plans are divided into two groups, Talk Only and Unlimited Talk and Text. Let’s take a closer look at the differences between the two.
Talk Only: As the name implies, this type of plan means that your phone is good for one thing only, phone calls. The $15 iteration of this plan comes with 250 minutes, and for $5 more a month, the number of minutes becomes unlimited. I know of a good number of old-fashioned folks in my life who shudder at the idea of text messages and social media, so this would be the perfect plan for them.
Unlimited Talk and Text: This type of plan puts no limit on the number of phone calls or text messages, and the only difference between its five versions is the amount of data they cover, from the $25 plan with 500MB to the $60 plan with unlimited data. Data refers to activities performed on your phone that require Internet connection, activities such as browsing Google, watching videos, or sending emails. Although it’s somewhat difficult to put an exact number on it, 500MB of data would be roughly equal to visiting 2,700 web pages or streaming 30 minutes of high definition video per month. For those who plan to purchase a smartphone, I highly recommend this sort of plan, as it will allow you to make the most of all of your phone’s features.
For a full list of Consumer Cellular’s plans, look below, or check out our pricing and plans page for Consumer Cellular for even more detail.
Type of Plan
Number of Lines
Monthly Price Per Line with 500 MB of Data
Monthly Price Per Line with 3 GB of Data
Monthly Price Per Line with 10 GB of Data
Monthly Price Per Line with 15 GB of Data
Monthly Price Per Line with Unlimited Data
Monthly Price Per Line with 250 Minutes
Monthly Price Per Line with Unlimited Minutes
Unlimited Talk and Text
1
$25
$30
$40
$50
$60
N/A
N/A
Unlimited Talk and Text
2
$20
$22.50
$27.50
$32.50
$37.50
N/A
N/A
Unlimited Talk and Text
3
$18.33
$20
$23.33
$26.67
$30
N/A
N/A
Talk Only
1
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
$15
$20
Talk Only
2
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
$15
$17.50
Talk Only
3
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
$15
$16.67
Ultimately, I decided to sign up for Consumer Cellular’s Unlimited Talk and Text plan with Unlimited Data, which would normally cost $60 per month. However, Consumer Cellular offers discounted rates for additional lines. Since I purchased three lines for myself and my children, the total cost for my service plan came to only $30 per month per line, meaning my grand total for service was $90 a month. Now, I can see why this might seem expensive to some, but considering comparable plans from major cellular carriers could run upwards of $200 a month for three people, I was impressed by how much of a bargain I was getting.
FYI: For only $15 a month, you can add on one or more phones to any existing Consumer Cellular plan, making it both easy and affordable for couples and families to share a wireless plan.
Choosing a Device
Consumer Cellular offers an impressive array of phones, ranging from simple flip phones to the latest offerings from Samsung and Apple. I can safely say that they have something to satisfy almost any taste or need. For example, there’s my father, a classic older American man who has had the same flip phone since the early aughts. It frustrates him that even though he needs a new phone, his major carrier no longer offers simple devices made for calling and texting only. Fortunately, Consumer Cellular has two no-frills phones, the Doro 7050 and the Link, that fit the bill.
On the other end of the spectrum, Consumer Cellular offers the iPhone 11 Pro Max with its 12MP triple-camera system in addition to the Samsung Galaxy S20+ with its 3200 x 1440-pixel resolution display. While it’s easy to assume that these types of cutting edge smartphones supersede the needs of most older adults, I wouldn’t be so quick to assume. Studies show that roughly half of seniors with cell phones have smartphones, and the older people that I know get more technologically advanced by the year.
Ultimately, I decided to test out three different phones from Consumer Cellular, the Doro 7050, the iPhone SE, and the Samsung Galaxy S20+. Each of them had their own unique set of features, but more on that below.
Keep Your Phone: If you happen to already be using a phone on another network, you can transfer this device to a Consumer Cellular plan with one of their SIM cards, included when you sign up for a service plan.
For an exhaustive list of the cell phone offerings from Consumer Cellular, look below.
Brand
Model
Available Colors
Available Sizes in GB
Regular Monthly Price
Monthly Price with EasyPay
Motorola
Moto G7 Power
Black
32
$150
$10
Motorola
Moto E^6
Black
16
$10
$80
ZTE
Avid 559
Black
16
$50
n/a
Apple
iPhone SE
Black, white, red
64,128, 256
$350
$10
Apple
iPhone 7
Black, pink
32
$200
$10
Apple
iPhone 8 Plus
Gray
128
$300
$20
Apple
iPhone XR
Black, red
64, 128
$600
$25
Apple
iPhone Xs
Gray
64, 256
$900
$60
Apple
iPhone 11
Black, red, white
64, 128, 256
$700
$70
Apple
iPhone 11 Pro
Gray
64, 256, 512
$1,000
$80
Apple
iPhone 11 Pro Max
Gray, beige
64, 256, 512
$1,100
$140
Samsung
Galaxy A20
Black
32
$180
$10
Samsung
Galaxy J3
Black
16
$90
$10
Samsung
Galaxy S10e
Black, white
128
$500
$25
Samsung
Galaxy S10+
Blue
128
$750
$50
Samsung
Galaxy S20
Gray
128
$800
$65
Samsung
Galaxy S20+
Gray
128
$1,000
$80
Samsung
Galaxy Note10+
Black
256
$900
$60
Samsung
Galaxy Note10
Black
256
$750
$50
Doro
7050
Red, black
N/A
$50
N/A
Consumer Cellular
Link
Red, black
N/A
$30
N/A
How My Phones Worked
In terms of phones, I purchased the Doro 7050, the iPhone SE, and the Samsung Galaxy S20+. Between the three of these phones, I got a good sense of the range of options from Consumer Cellular. Let’s take a closer look at each of them:
Doro 7050 ($50 One Time Payment)
Doro 750 Consumer Cellular Phone
This is one of the most affordable options that Consumer Cellular has, and it’s one of two phones that feature the classic clamshell design of yore. I’ve got to say, there’s something I missed about the tactile experience of a flip phone, perfect for an older adult who wants to stick to the basics. For starters, its buttons are actually raised rather than on a touch screen, and they’re backlit so I could see them even in the dark. With nearly half of people over the age of 65 suffering from arthritis, the size and spacing of these buttons made it easy to dial a number or type out a text message. When I made calls with it, I noticed the volume of the receiver was appropriately loud and clear.
Additionally, the exterior of this phone featured an assistance button, which, when I pressed it, called a number that I had chosen, which happened to be my husband. However, it could also be another emergency contact or service like the police. This feature in particular made this phone seem like an ideal option for older adults. Sure, the Doro 7050’s 3MP camera wasn’t going to help me win a Pulitzer in photography, but for those of us looking for a simple way to remain connected on the go, the Doro 7050 is a solid option.
iPhone SE ($350 One Time Payment)
iPhone SE
Originally released back in 2016, the iPhone SE packed in enough features to impress me, though my technophile kids looked at the thing as though it were a fossil. Regardless, I appreciated its 12MP camera, which captured photos in accurate coloration. In addition, the smartphone had the intuitive menu screens that I’ve come to expect from Apple products. But what about the phone itself? Well, I’m happy to report that the actual phone portion of this smartphone worked beautifully. The audio quality was crystal clear, even when I took the phone on bike rides through the wilderness. Plus, even though it operates through a touch screen, I rarely found myself pressing the wrong button, although this could be an issue for those with arthritis.
While Apple says that the SE’s battery life lasts for 26 hours of call time, my phone seemed to last even longer during testing. For the more adventurous buyer, someone looking for not just a cell phone but also a camera, music player, and television, the iPhone SE is a good choice. Even if the idea of using a smartphone is a bit intimidating, the SE’s intuitive design made it easy to explore its wide array of features.
Samsung Galaxy S20+ ($1,000 One Time Payment)
Samsung Galaxy S20+
Now I assume that most people over the age of 65, let alone from my generation, don’t require the technologically advanced feature set of the Samsung Galaxy S20+. But I’ve been surprised by older adults before, so here goes nothing. Similar to the iPhone SE, the Galaxy operates primarily through its touch screen; however, this phone features a higher resolution, which came in handy while browsing the web for complicated dinner recipes. When the text was too small, I simply pinched the screen and zoomed in to my heart’s content, a great feature for older adults, considering over 15% of people over 75 suffer from some form of vision loss.
The Galaxy’s camera featured a 64MP lens, and the images I captured with it looked as though they were professionally taken. But once again, as with all smartphones, I had to consider the ultimate question. How did the phone work? I’m happy to report that the Galaxy S20+ worked brilliantly. Calls were easy to dial on its large, 6.7-inch screen, and the audio quality seemed even clearer than the prior two phones, even in areas with poor service. The only drawback I could see with this phone is its size. Although its large screen makes for easy viewing, the phone was a bit bulky to carry around, especially if you’re a woman without pockets like me.
Savings Tip: For most of its devices, Consumer Cellular allows you to purchase RFG-certified returned items, pre-owned devices that have been refurbished and can cost around $100 less than the new factory versions.
AARP Benefits
For over a decade, Consumer Cellular has been an official partner of AARP, meaning that current members of this group receive a 9% discount on their monthly fees. Now, I’m not an AARP member just yet, but let’s say for the sake of argument that I was. Since my monthly service charge from Consumer Cellular was $90, this would have added up to an annual savings of $54. In addition to this generous discount, AARP members receive an extended 45-day money-back guarantee on their devices and service plan, 15 days more than that of regular customers. Trust me, I’m counting down the days until I’m eligible for membership and all that it has to offer!
Closing Thoughts
When it comes to cellular service providers geared towards older Americans, I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone better than Consumer Cellular. Its breadth of phone compatibility ensures that there’s a device for just about any taste or ability level, and the straightforward nature of its service plans takes the headache out of an industry often filled with hidden fees and complicated contracts. Arguably, the only thing missing from Consumer Cellular would be more robust features for medical alert functionality, like the kind that’s built into the Jitterbug Smart2 from GreatCall; however, for those looking for a simple and affordable way to have a cell phone, Consumer Cellular has just what you’re looking for.
Not exactly. Unlike other cell phone providers, who implement overage charges for minutes used beyond the parameters of your plan, Consumer Cellular instead automatically upgrades you to a plan that covers the number of minutes you’ve used. For example, if you’re using a plan with 250 minutes of talk and you go over this amount, they’ll simply upgrade you to the next plan. The plan comes with no overage charge; however, you will pay the difference between the plans.
All of Consumer Cellular’s plans include the minutes listed on the plan, regardless of the time of day or day of the week. This is what we’d call “anytime minutes.” On a related note, the tradition of giving free minutes during nights and weekends comes from the fact that these are the least used times by customers.
Unfortunately, they do not. Consumer Cellular plans begin on the first day of the month and reset at the start of the following month. Luckily, if you find that you’re not using a large portion of your minutes, you can easily change your plan at any time for no extra cost.
Depending on your current service provider, you most likely can transfer your existing number to Consumer Cellular’s network. Just be sure to undergo the transfer process before canceling with your current service provider. This way, the number will remain active so that Consumer Cellular can guide you through the process.
Written By
Amie Clark
Amie has been writing about senior care products and services for the last decade. She is particularly passionate about new technologies that help improve the quality of life for seniors and their families. Seeing her parents and grandparents age made Amie ask herself, “Would this be good enough for my loved ones?” In her spare time, Amie enjoys outdoor adventures and spontaneous road trips. Learn more about Amie here
60 Comments
I had a nice little Doro phone on my CC account, but since it was limited to 3G, I decided to get a new flip phone that was 4G compatible. I purchased a “Link 2” from CC, and every aspect of the experience was a complete disaster. To start, the Bluetooth protocols between the phones were incompatible, so I couldn’t export my SIMM data from the Doro to the Link, and ended up having to go to a Target, where, initially, the tech was baffled until he came up with an unconventional work-around involving an adapter that allowed the Link SIMM to fit in the Doro. (CC, incidentally, told me that the procedure at Target was routine and easy… not so.)
Then, once my Link was ready for use, it proved to be extremely unreliable. When it is closed, the flimsy case allows inadvertent button activations with very little pressure. It is poorly built. Also, the menus and operation are very non-intuitive and difficult to understand. Too many features crowd-out the essential utilities, and really, it is an overall disaster of engineering. I told CC to reactivate the old Doro. I’ll use it until complete obsolescence of the 3G protocol makes it useless. I wouldn’t recommend the Link 2 to my worst enemies.
Consumer Cellular is by far has the worst customer service on the planet. My phone quit working and I called seven times . Each time I waited 20 to 55 minutes to talk to some one and on two of the calls got cut off. On the 8 th call the lady said we need to do a ticket on this. That is hilarious! Why not on the first call do the ticket? I have had little to no cell service in that 13 days and was told I would be called today. You guessed it –no call. Everyone in my neighborhood is leaving Consumer Cellular for they lost touch with their customers and no longer care about us. Shame on you Consumer Cellular for you have a bunch of employees that have zero desire to help anyone. I will share my story with everyone I know so they don’t ever think about your services–or lack of the them!
Consumer Cellular would not honor the warranty of the Doro 7050. The phone would freeze up and I could not make calls. The process I had to go through to send it back for warranty was insane. (Hard shocks, resetting the phone, plugging into a different outlet, removing the battery etc) and even though the phone would not function as a phone should(not being able to make or receive a call) it was not covered under the warranty because there was a small scratch on it. So I had to buy another phone and the 2nd one immediately started freezing up (I think the technical term was “Sticky Keys) I ended up being stranded at the doctor’s office. That was it, I went to the AT&T store and got a new phone and service.
Be ware of what they tell u..said new phone was like old one…new 1 only ha 16 gb..old had 64gb..when I realized the problem I called and was told they would send me a new phone asap (took 4 to 5 days) used first phone till new 1 arrived.returned old phone but over a week later they returned old phone saying it was scratched do I had to pay for it…my problem…they stink… DON’T SWITCH….it was their fault they sent the wrong but my problem… customer service lied and by the way whenever u call it’s at least a 20 min wait if your lucky…
Consumer Cellular = terrible. Run away. Just don’t do it. Their customer service is the worst: 20 minute hold times to get customer service reps that can’t or won’t help you resolve any issues. Their coverage is terrible. Their data is artificially throttled on AT&T’s network – you can put an AT&T phone beside a Consumer Cellular phone and the AT&T phone will be 10x faster. When you try to port out to a different carrier, they will hold your phone hostage. Run away.
The quality of Consumer Cellular has significantly diminished in the last 2 years. Dropped calls; no service at all and told it is a T-Mobile issue; trying to get the code to access my bank account by text and have to wait for over an hour. By then, the code has expired. Places in my neighborhood where I have used my phone for over 10 years I can no longer get service. I came here to see if other people are having the same problems. Tomorrow, I change my service provider.
I am considering the unlimited data plan as I often work / study from home and tether with no ISP. Is the tethering reliable?
I currently use an inexpensive Samsung and don’t really want an expensive phone because I am used to this phone, and I don’t want to lose an expensive one. This is sufficient. My current provider is AT&T and I used a go phone which means I prepaid. Do you know if my phone will transfer to their plan? I also store files on a card SD card. Can I continue to use this? Meaning, on my own phone. The cheap Samsung that I like well enough.
My husband has service with Consumer cellular. I had my cellphone service with other service provider. Since we don’t use cellphone much, it is cheaper to have family plan, share minutes and data. I purchased a new cellphone from Consumer Cellular ( my old phone was not compatible and can’t be used with consumer cellular). I got the new cellphone just after I paid my monthly fee for my cellphone service with previous provider. So I called Comsumer Cellular and asked to postpond the phone number transfer. The gentlleman who talked with was nice. He made a note and said my phone number will not be transfered until Aug.20. On Aug.11, I found my old cellphone ( has service with my previous service provider) didn’t work any more. I called my service provider. I was told that my account was closed because my number was just transfered to Consumer Cellular. Then, I got the invoice from Consumer Cellular. I was charged for the whole month ( from July 12 to Aug 11), even the phone number was transfered on Aug.11, the last day of the billing cycle, without my permission. I called in again. The guy whom I talked with said that this was wrong, and he didn’t know why this happened. Since his supervisor wasn’t available that moment, he said his supervisor will call me later. No one ever called. Ten later, I called again. After 15 minute holding and 10 minutes explaining, they refunded the charge, but refused to credit the ongoing promotion ( $15 for add a line), said that I was offered one month free. They call the refund for a charge that should have never happened a free offer. I am writing this down. It is not about money, it is not much. It is about business honesy. I feel they played a dirty trick on me. And that makes feel uncomfortable.
i’m 85 yrs old and CC has been my cell phone svc for as long as I’ve had a cell phone, about 15yrs, the only thing I’ve had with CC is when they upgrade you to the next level, they don’t put you back to the lower plan that you had before they upgraded you. The only way I can get the original plan back is to put it back before the end of the month. They have been upgrading my svc for the past few months, making my bill over $40.00. I let them get away with it for awhile (auto-pay). I stopped auto-pay, and now I have to pay the bill myself. It’s been a little hard for me trying to remember to pay the bill on time. Now I’m attempting to change my phone svc back to what it was before. The lowest I can get. $25.00 or less.
Absolutely the WORST customer service-hassling me for the return of broken equipment that I do not have access to as it is in my Mother’s drawer of her NURSING HOME! I wrote the CEO back on May 11 and never received the courtesy of a reply. They DID charge my account over $100 for failure to return in a timely manner. Some companies have bent rules in light of the pandemic-clearly CC has not!
This is the worst equipment, phone service, and customer service I have ever experienced. You have to wait DAYS to talk to a person (no lie, you have to schedule a freaking appointment to talk to them) – the call center refers you to the chat on the web, but the chat says NO LONGER AVAILABLE. The phone never worked half the time, the battery would never stay charged, it’s a piece of crap rip off of senior citizens. I had them two weeks and then I switched to Verizon – MUCH better phone, MUCH better phone service, MUCH better customer service for about $5.00 more per month. I had to keep taking the battery out of the phone so it would unfreeze; oh, and then there was the day it started beeping and beeped for hours until I jacked the back off the phone to remove the battery – the phone was so flimsy it felt like it would rip in half when trying desperately to get the back off. If you want to know what shopping was like in Communist Russia, sign up for this rip-off – long lines for a piece of junk. If you are retired and have all day to spend on the phone or waiting for call back from them, it’s FOR YOU. If not, RUN RUN RUN. They couldn’t even manage to transfer me to their own billing department – I got a robocall and had to wait another 2 hours or so to talk to that bunch of fools.
Consumer Cellular has had great customer service for me so far. As for the Cons listed:
1) No prepaid plans? This of course is not relevant unless you want a pre-paid plan. So– since many of us don’t, it’s non-factor.
2) Expensive phones. Other carriers only offer deep discounts on phones if you sign on for a multi-year contract with expensive services, e.g. unlimited data, costing $40-$50/month more than Consumer Cellular. So– even tho the phone sounds inexpensive, you end up paying for it, and then some more. Consumer Cellular is going to be cheaper in the long run.
I can’t speak to the quality of Concume Cellular service….I never got that far. When I went to start service with their rep at Target (Acworth, GA on 5/28/20) she totally incompetent and botched the whole thing…with an attitude; completely oblivious to the concept of customer service.. After two trips to Target over two days and spending 1 1/2+ hours each time I gave up and went to AT&T. The rep put up repeated obstacles saying I couldn’t use this email, couldn’t use this ID or that password. Through this debacle she “ported” my landline number to the cell but when I canceled the startup she didn’t cancel the porting so when I got gome I had no landline AND no cell service. I got about the same plan with AT&T for about the same price (with military discount). No wonder that Consumer cellular is a third tier player in the cell phone industry and AARP and Target ought to embarrassed to be associated with it.
Target employees are not Consumer cellular employees. Target employees are taught to SELL THE PRODUCT, but they are not taught about the plans. If you want information, go to the surce.
I am trying to find an excellent phone with excellent service. I was thinking Consumer Cellular. I need the service I order to work 100% of the time. There is no room for error. I live in Michigan. Please, I am looking for 2019-2020 reviews. Ànd the type of phone to use. Thank you in advance
Consumer cellular is awesome. I had them connect my mom’s new Android phone that she had no idea how to use. They were so patient with her and I knew this because they arranged a three way call so I could hear them and her on her old landline. They remotely helped connect my sister while she was in a hospital. They have lowered her cost by half and no contract needed.
I was just thinking about changing from Verizon to consumer Cellular until I read some of the comments about consumer Cellular, now I’m wondering if I should just stay with Verizon. Is there is someone out there that can give me a good excuse to change to consumer Cellular please let me know.
I switched from Verizon, and I love it. I got the Samsung Galaxy J3 phone, which is fine for me, and my plan is $20 per month. Just added my mom for $15 per month, as well.
Best reason to choose Consumer Cellular over Verizon: it’s easier to reach a real person at the customer service number. Far less automated menu button pushing. All operators are US based and call connection quality is excellent (so little need to worry that u won’t be able to understand the rep). I recently switched from
Verizon to Consumer Cellular for that very reason.
If you love wasting your time, then sign up. Why do you need an excuse to sign up? My phone never worked. After two weeks I switched back to Verizon. Stick with a real phone company. These people are light-weight want-to-bes. You won’t ever get to talk to customer service, no email to them, no chat. Hours on hold. Days on hold. Bad equipment, horrendous coverage, dropped calls.
Does cellular one have both fall and emergency protection for my consumer cellular by Apple, iPhone? Also would appreciate approximate cost added to my current CC bill!
I know that it is stated that Consumer Cellular uses both T-Mobile and AT&T which gives them great coverage. However, it is unclear that it will self select the one that will connect to. I currently have Mobile-PCS (owned and serviced by T-Mobile) and there are LOTS of holes in my area and even lots of spots inside my home that doesn’t get strong enough signal. If the phone could switch between whichever signal was present that would be ideal. I fear however, that it simply means you get one carrier and they are (maybe) able to switch your phone to the other. Which is it? Anybody know?
Call Consumer Cellular and ask them to send you a SIM card for ATT. When it arrives, switch the SIM cards and you will be using ATT rather than TMobile. Ask them to explain the steps involved.It’s easy.
FYI, When you order a new phone from CC, you have the choice of requesting ATT or TMobile. I say, always ask for ATT. My family has used CC service with ATT as the carrier for five plus years. I have five lines with them and have had no problems whatsoever. Although each phone could use either ATT or TMobile, we prefer ATT for all of them because we find the coverage is comprehensive and reliable. And don’t bother going to Target.
Good luck.
Ask them to switch you to the AT&T network if you are on their T-Mobile network or vice-versa. Our T-mobile was 1 bar at the house. It’s now 4 bars with AT&T. We found out that they typically send you a T-Mobile sim card (even though we have an AT&T near us. AT&T is very good throughout the Phoenix area.
If you go over the minutes or data allowed by your plan, Consumer Cellular will automatically upgrade you without charging overage fees. However, you will have to pay for the more expensive plan.
We purchased a Consumer Cellular Phone for our son 4 yrs ago, he absolutely loves it. We have Verizon and are trying to get away from the contracts and high pricing. His phone is 1/5 what we pay for 2! When his phone quit working for who knows why 2 yrs ago we called the company and they sent out a replacement free of charge. I love that every time I call I get a person I can understand and I don’t have to be on hold forever. Now my husband wants a new phone and I’m telling him ‘Look at consumer cellular first!’
Predatory billing and bill creep. Watch your billing carefully, folks! With Consumer Cellular, if you go over your data they bump you up to the next tier, and you have to take time to drop it back down by phone or online to get your (somewhat) low price again. Often, because of how the billing cycles work , they won’t let you drop your data and you get locked into paying for far more than you want to. When you get fed up and cancel service to join a cheaper unlimited plan from a big 3 competitor, they will bill your card -even if you specifically request that they remove it from your account and not bill it, Ever-, because they send an email after the call that says they’re billing you anyway.
what you describe is NOT predatory billing. very unfair review. you don’t seem to understand how cell phone services work. try going over your data allowance with Verizon for example… you’ll be charged $15 PER GIG! frankly, the fact that Consumer Cellular will automatically upgrade you with no overage charges and not require you to even stay on that plan is a nice feature.
good luck with your new carrier… don’t be surprised to see a significant increase in your monthly bill.
This information is specified on their site and is not kept secret. I’d rather pay $10 more if I go over, rather than a large bill like other companies. Their data charges are very reasonable in my opinion.
I bought an ALLY device in November for my neighbor, I bought it through Consumer Cellular, it has NEVER worked. I have called Consumer Cellular over a dozen times about this device, I still do not have the problem resolved.
It has come to the point where I have written a letter to Consumer Corporate headquarters. I am enclosing the letter at the bottom of this page.
Dear Sirs.
I have been a customer of Consumer Cellular since about 2012. I have always considered Consumer Cellular a very good company and have recommended it to many of my customers.
I have five phones on my account. All work good with not problems. In the past every time I have contacted Consumer Cellular I have had the problem fixed rapidly.
Recently I purchased an ALLY device for my elderly neighbors, the man has had a stroke, and
cannot talk well. He has also lost most of the use of his right arm and leg.
His wife trusted me to buy this ALLY device for him. I purchased the first device in 2016 and I purchased this device in November 2018 to replace the first device.
The device is supposed to alert the monitoring company when he either falls or pushes the button.
My neighbor fell on March 20th 2019, the device did not work. I called the monitoring company and they told me the device had never been activated. I gave them all of the information including the IME no and they had no record of the device. I finally got the device activated but it only worked one day before it quit.
I have called Consumer Cellular several times and have been given all kinds of excuses as to why I cannot get my device replaced or my money refunded. I even bought the warranty on the device, But since it is still under warranty from Consumer Cellular it is not their responsibility yet.
This morning a man Named Chester called me and left a no. to call him back on voice mail
I called twice, first time it hung up on me after 8 minutes, and second time I hung up on CC after 23 minutes of waiting on hold.
I talked to a representative this morning named Lindsey who promised to call me back in 24 hours to see if I can get any portion of the money I paid $141.04 for the device and I am paying $29.00 a month for no service whatsoever. I need to have some kind of refund.
What is amounts to is that an 80 year old couple have paid $368.00 for something they have never been able to use.
I would like to know who I can talk to that can solve this situation for me.
Consumer Cellular is a rip off. I purchased 2 phones, one for my wife and one for me. I can turn these phones on side by side but only my phone will get a signal. Her phone needs to be rebooted 3 or 4 times before it gets a signal and is constantly searching for a signal. I have called Consumer Cellular 5 times about this problem. They tried to boost the signal to no avail. I called them back and told them to replace the phone. The rep said he would. The next day I get a call from Consumer Cellular that they will not replace the phone but wanted me at my expense to replace the SMS card to be sure it wasn’t that. I asked to talk to a supervisor but he wouldn’t do anything either. I called the insurance company that I insured the phones with but they refuse to fix an on going problem. Needless to say, I cancelled the insurance and I am currently seeking another carrier. Consumer Cellular sucks ass and I do not recommend them to anyone. They will be receiving their faulty phones back very soon. If it sounds to good to be true than it probably is. Consumer Cellular are liars and cheats. St
eer clear of them.
If they won’t send you a replacement, like they said, how the $#@!! you gonna get a replacement. Read the whole comment before you give your simple advice. And by simple, I’m not using the definition of uncomplicated.
Just tried to add this to my mother’s account, they told us it is no longer available.
The last actual “review” by a purchaser was March 2017. Has anybody purchased and used the system since that time. I’m considering it because it would be way cheaper than what I have now (except for the $150 charge for the equipment) but I got burned on a Great Call system in 2016 and am reluctant to get burned again.
I bought mine this summer (2018) after taking a minor fall and fearing a repeat performance. I get billed directly by consumer Cellular with my phone bill, The system works well, operators are friendly, The fall protection works, I accidentally jarred the device while sitting down once and it called the operator. I did a lot of research before buying this unit I am pleased with it, I feel secure with it and I doubt superior service is available for the price. I hope this helps.
Today is 2/21/19 & mine has been working but this morning is just red light only? Will be calling them later to make sure they are still in business. I had 2 calls(accidentally) this week & it called them & they immediately called me to make sure I was alright. If they discontinued I will really be disappointed.
I’ve had the Ally for years & love it am grateful to have it. It will call them if it appears you fall which is amazing & helpful when you live alone.
The first one I had worked great for years. I had fallen at home when alone. Thank God my son happened to be here that day. I fell in bathroom, fractured femur & hip. Would have died here alone with my little dogs if son wasn’t here. Had 6 surgeries, etc.
My adult children wanted me to go in assisted living as I have difficult walking & usually use wheelchair/ But I refuse to leave my home so decided to try Ally. And as I said love it.
That does it.
I was ready to send for one of these gadgets and then my daughter suggested I get more information and I latch into this link.
Totally against buying one.
If something happens while I’m trying to resolve these problems and die, they will get my money without a care. No thanks!
I know this is an older post, and not sure about all locations, but where my Mothers lives here in Michigan we had to contact our local Fire/rescue department to have a lock box installed on her home. They came out and installed it to her front entry door knob for free. Being the fire department is dispatched for all medical emergencies (including when her alert is activated) they will be the first to arrive and open their lock box (where her house key is located) to access the residence. So this is something you would do, not the medical monitoring service.
same problem as already reported.. the response center VRI had 3 IT tickets to activate my unit and never did. My first unit was defective, and returned. My replacement unit would not give out my information to the response ctr. as a Unknown Caller. Now I’m told by Consumer Cell that my unit was not activated. I’m not going to purchase another unit with these problems. Seems that Consumer Cell & the response Ctr are not able to work together to make the item work. Total lack of communication between the company. It’s a good device, but beware. It will cause a lot of issues trying to get it to work, and forget about any support. You won’t get it without back & forth calls which in this case. Item is being returned. Consumer Cell is really good for the phones, but the support on this unit is not available.
Anxious to see an update from a current user of Ally. I need this type of device and would like to purchase but only if it is trouble free.
Do you know who runs the call center for this and their qualifications/track record?
Anxious to see replies.
Purchased ally which never worked. Recieved msg that the IT people knew about it would call back. Never did. After calls back and forth it was determined that it should be sent back. Waited a week for return label. Called Consumer cellular back they said no they had not sent it yet. Meanwhile, billing took the $23.75 for the use of this dead ally. Got a call from them (again) saying they were unable to return the money for the month we paid for. It was not in there system. So not only am i out the $24 bucks, I havent got a return label yet. But my disabled partner is still out a call button and so far $158 for the button itself! Not one bit happy.
WOW, that doesn’t sound like Consumer Cellular. This must be a third party product. You need to be sure Consumer Cellular administration hears about this. I won’t buy one until I see better reviews now.
I agree that this is VERY unlike Consumer Cellular. They have the best customer service out there (all Americans, all the time–no language barrier). I would push for a refund/credit for the unused time. They are a very fair company in our years with them. I am thinking of getting an Ally for my 87 year old mother who falls regularly (sometimes knocking herself unconscious), and she lives alone at least part of the time but wouldn’t go into a care facility if it were the last thing she did. Thanks for the post, and hang in there. Be persistent. Ask for a supervisor if you need to. They will make it right.
Let me know if this was resolved and how effective the Ally is. I’m having foot surgery soon and live alone. I want a medical device. I am already a Consumer Cellular customer. Please update the information if possible.
Stay vigilant Barbara. Let us know how things turn out? – A