anyone using consumer cellular?

As one of the last people in the world who does not have a cell ph it is time to buy one.
I know one person who has CC and they like it, so i am leaning that way.

My #1 concern is transfering my land line # over, how long does it take before i could make/rec calls?
thanks

I switched to CC about 3 years ago. At this point, I'd never consider switching to another carrier ever again. I had Verizon before this & was paying around $80.00/mo. Now - $34.00/mo. I get less dropped calls with CC too, and I bought a Samsung android phone (from Apples) for $99.00. It's 10x the phone my old 5 was.

As far as transferring my old # to the new phone & new carrier, NO PROBLEM at all. AND, when you call CC, you talk to a person in the USA - not someone in the Philippines you can barely understand.

I've had it for several years now, Dad has had it for about two years now. I believe they primarily use the A&TT network and T-Mobile in others?

Port landline to Consumer Cellular
Transferring a landline phone number can take five (5) days or more. Outgoing calls can be made immediately, while incoming calls will continue through your old service until transfer is complete. Check status by calling Consumer Cellular customer support at: 888-345-5510.

I've used them for the last 3 years and never had any trouble and the bill is always the same.

We had AT&T and were getting raped, $80/month. We switched to CC for about $30/month about two years ago and have had 0 problems. Living in rural ND you are always worried about coverage and so far traveling around the state we have never had less than two bars. As to switching, went to Target and were lucky to get a tech that knew his stuff. Took about 30 minutes and we were good to go right then. As a side benefit, he cleaned out a lot of junk that AT&T had installed on the phone (initially got the phone from AT&T). Unfortunately some of the AT&T crap was hard coded and he couldn't delete it but it's getting time for a new phone anyway!

BTW, we kept our landline. Our local telephone coop has a smoking deal, telephone, unlimited long distance, and internet for about $90/month.

thanks for the replies, i am not a techie so i just want the flip phone they sell, i think!!

No complaints..$34.68 a month...

great Subject as i too am considering the jump. I should mnetion I know NOTHING about cells but one question is Are the above prices just for phone service or do they include internet access, texting etc.
and if so is there a cap on those services ?

I have Redpocket mobile and pay $16/month with one of the lowest level plans. If you are by a wifi connection, it uses that instead of towers, not burning minutes. Unlimited text. Been with them for almost 20 months now.

Was with verizon and paying over $60. Bought a clean Samsung S7 phone that was $120 and it was paid for in 3 months from savings. You don't get priority on the networks, never had a problem.

Big name plans are such a rip anymore.

That's dependent on the plan you select. You can bring your own phone (not verizon) or buy one from them. Easy terms, no contract. Check 'em out:

consumer cellular plans linky

Unlimited calls in the USA (minimal charge for calls to Canada), unlimited text, & different data plans - for getting on the internet or using mobile hotspot. I have the minimal data plan with gives me 3 GB of data each month - I have never used it all up in a month. If you need more data, the next level is $10.00 more, then there is another level after that - they may also offer unlimited now too.

I pay $130 a month for 5 lines of unlimited talk/text and it includes Canada and Mexico on Verizon. I benefit from discounts for autopay, paperless billing, and veteran discount. That's the cheapest I can find and ATT doesn't work at my parents house and they are on my plan. ATT and Verizon use different technology (GSM vs CDMA) and can't recall which is which. We had Xfinity mobile and was cheap and used Verizon towers. We had it for a back up cell phone in case power went out and the babysitter didn't have a cell. Prices went up so we dumped it. I may check into consumer to see what it would cost me. Sounds like it works well, but need Canada on our plan.

I have used them for about five years and would recommend them.

The only issue I have had is during the pandemic wait times when calling customer service were way too long.

My wife tried to switch from AT&T but Consumer Cellular could not support her iPad. I have both an iPhone and and iPad so I don't know what the issue was.

we've had them for a good while now, no complaints here.

Most of the services will have a coverage map available. I'd look at that before deciding on any carrier.

Puretalk.com

My wife got us set up with CC several years ago. Apples to apples comparison to Verizon, our previous carrier, CC was $100 less per month. CC uses Verizon's repeaters, at least out here. CC pays them for the usage of the repeaters, they pay their staff well[ I asked], have ENGLISH SPEAKING HELP that are not eating something when you call for assistance, you can boot them anytime you want if you think they suck[ unlike many others], you don't need a contract, give a AARP discount if you are vintage, give you a piece of the action for referrals.. So...where is that $100 bucks going?

still doing research.....
has anyone kept thier old number? how long did the transfer take? the web page says a land line could take week to switch????

I have the same number I've had for 30years. And it was hooked up before I got the new free smart phone

After reading the start of this thread I hooked my mother up with it online. She's already received it in the mail and had her old cell number transferred with a phone call or two, its done.

I've had CC for about 9 months now. Had Verizon prior and T-Mobile before that. CC has been OK for the most part but we just went up to northern Michigan last week on vacation and I had several instances of not being able to get a signal. Never had that problem with Verizon or T-Mobile.

Check out Puretalkusa.com I have been using them for years. Two lines for $36 a month unlimited talk text 2 GB https://www.puretalkusa.com/cell-plans

When I switched to Consumer Cellular from AT&T I compared the coverage maps.

Best I could tell they were identical.

Looks like PureTalk will give a referral bonus of $20 for each party. That is pretty good. I am thinking of switching now but I don't think I have an unlocked phone to switch with. Can you "unlock" a phone?

I see Mint Mobile has a really good monthly plan too. Anyone have experience with them?

I am on my second year with Mint Mobile.
I like it and have had better signal strengths than when I was on Verizon for 16+ years, especially after Verizon cancelled their 3rd party antenna tower coverage.
Mint uses the Tmobile system.

Slightly less than $23 per month for 4 GB data and unlimited talk/text, but you have to pay in advance.
Their WiFi Hotspot creation works good on an old Google Pixel XL
When you are at home their system uses cell-over-wifi automatically and uses none of your data allowance.

Switched over my landline to Consumer Cellular about three months ago. Think I paid about $25 for a basic flip phone and my plan is just for unlimited phone usage - no texting or internet. My monthly bill is around $18.

Nice thing is that I can now block phone numbers, which I couldn't do with my landline. Any time I have to give out a phone #, I have almost always given out my landline # and not my cell #. I figure the $18 a month Consumer Cellular bill is insurance to keep my cell # under the radar. Plus I have had the landline for ~40 years and just like the number.

I have not used the phone on the road yet. Probably will some day.

Yes - I will recommend Consumer Cellular.

I got a flip ph and kept my old number!!
I made 2 calls but they could not call me back, i will sign up on the web page and try to get more info.

Last year I got a NEW unlocked Motorola G7 "Power" (big battery) for $130. I don't see G7's, but now the G8's are out there for just a few dollars more. Do a quick google search...

maybe a couple of silly questions but again I'm not the brightest candle in the box especially with the new technology
I am currently with Century Link for both phone & internet (40 MBPS)

I realize we are being somewhat forced to the "cell phone technology" by banking, and several other requirements and plan on making the jump soon.

So the questions are:
I believe there are ways have your cell phone utilize the existing hard wired phones in your house while ditching the landlines cost IE: disconnect the phone service. If I am correct are there any drawbacks to doing so ?
Are their particular companies/adapters etc. that are better than others?

And if one does so, does this affect the internet service (DSL) by the same provider. To my knowledge, my location limits me to using the phone companies hardwired phone lines for internet access.

Several times I have called friends on there cell and they couldn't find it at the time which resulted in my calling their landline.
I don't like the idea of having to carry a phone everywhere I go in the house or shop.
It's a bit harder to misplace 4 or 5 phones LOL
TIA

wanted to bump this, had no problems since july, but the phone just stopped working yesterday, i cant call out, i cant rec calls, and i cant check my voice mail. i have tried to get a different signals in different locations but still nothing. i tried to call the tech line but i hung up after 35 min of listening to how important my call was.
any ideas?

Which carrier did you wind up with ? And is it a new phone or a dinosaur like i have ?

You're sure airplane mode hasn't been turned on?

its a new flip phone . i dont know what airplane mode is, i will try the web page again.

I have used Consumer Cellular for about five years with iPhones and no issues.

Airplane mode shuts off the phone from sending or recieving calls. Look it up in your phones instructions to see how to trun it on and off.

a few companies make a bluetooth receiver that links to your cell phone when you come in the door.
It will ring on that base and any wireless phones attached to that base like your regular land line would normally have done. Except you don't actually connect to a land line anymore.
I too don't carry my phone around when I am at home. Much to the annoyance of people trying to reach me. I drop it in one place and leave it there. If I happen to be close enough I will pick it up, but they all have my home phone, just too lazy to look it up.

https://www.amazon.com/PANASONIC-Link2Cell-Bluetooth-Assistant-Expandable/dp/B072N3T79P
one example

my mother in law has the same filp phone thorugh cc.
try rebooting it. sometimes they push updates and it goes offline and had to be rebooted to connect.
assuming you just woke up and it stopped working vs fiddling with something and it stopped.

Ive had it for 3 years maybe.... no issues other then no data at my house but not really there fault... its my location.

rebooting it did the trick.

I switched to Consumer Cellular about 3.5 years ago & ask myself all the time - why didn't I do it a LOT longer ago? $34.00 a month like clockwork, & I have fewer dropped calls than when I had Verizon at $86.00/month. Also, I bought a new $99.00 Samsung phone from them at the outset & it's been fabulous. Still on the original battery even.

thank you

Amazon bulldozed a buried cable that had been clearly marked for them as they built a new warehouse nearby.
The construction foreman said on camera “I was told to do it because it would be better for Amazon to pay for the damage than slow down construction.”

So I lost my home internet connection, going on 2 months now.

I have been relying on cellular internet from Mint Mobile, who buys service from T-Mobile,
and using the “create wifi hotspot” feature of a old Pixel XL phone.

This has worked surprisingly well.
It was quite easy to upgrade from 3 Gigabyte minimal service per month
to 10 GB service for just a few $ more per month.

I get a better signal with Mint than I had with Verizon,
especially after Verizon eliminated 3rd party tower service a few years ago to save money to help pay for 5G equipment.

Mint has 5G service available
but my old phone does not cover those new bands.

I am going to get fiber optic home internet soon.