thinking of changing to consumer celluar

[Dznypal]

we are trying to cut down on expenses since my DD is getting his pesnion, this wekk his SS starts and hes a sub. teacher but Im basaically laid off/ retired but I cant start SS till Sept so all Im bring in right now is unemployment ( itook my penion as a lump so thats invested) such as cable is going in March when our contract is down trying to get our insurance down for house and cars

and cell bill

do any of you have consumer celluar

were thinking of going with them--we already own our phones so

we wouldnt have to get new ones with them--

right now we have unlimited text calls and data

however we could get by with a limited plan but what kind of plans do they have and how much is it

the ads make it sound so great until you get into it

so I thought if I could get your input--some that has the service and if your happy with it or if there was something you would change

any tips and advice would be greatly helpful

thanks all

 

[SmileWoman]

Read the info available on their website for info. Make sure the phones you have are compatible - here is what it says on their site
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY PHONE IS COMPATIBLE

• Consumer Cellular phone
• A phone previously used with AT&T or T-Mobile
• An unlocked GSM phone

While we can never guarantee your phone will work, please feel free to call us to ask us further questions about transferring your phone.

I do have an account with Consumer Cellular to supply phones for my senior parents. They both use Doro flip phones I purchased thru Consumer Cellular. My dad just uses for occasional phone calls, my mom uses for calls and some texts. I have them on a limited plan as they don't need more and the monthly fee I pay for both with taxes is $35.43.

They do focus and market to senior adults. The Doro has large buttons and the volume can be adjusted fairly loudly.

 

[Dznypal]

thanks for the helpful advice I never thought of the phones not comparable

Ill check into that

thanks again

 

[tvguy]

A co-worker has Consumer Cellular and loves the phone service. I agree on checking if your existing phones will work with their service. She bought their entry level smartphone. It is her first smartphone and I think her only regret a few months later is that she has found she isn't using data at all. If she had to do it over again she would just get a Jitterbug phone. But she even dropped internet service at home. She just uses the internet at work when she needs it.

 

[Dznypal]

another question--how can to you tell if your phone is locked and what is meant if its locked

Im glad to hear your co worker likes there new service thanks for letting me know

 

[hsmamato2]

OP you can research your phones and plans beforehand- there are probably better and cheaper plans out there.... walmart has a few to choose from that are a straight 30 bucks a month-

 

[DreamIsaWish]

Depending on what you want to do with the phone (data, lots of calls) you can get by way cheaper. I only pay $3 per month on T Mobile's prepaid. Yep. $3 per month. 30 minutes or 30 texts (or whatever combo to 30 total) each month. Plenty for how I use my phone. And all that money I could have spent on phone service goes to the Disney fund!

 

[kashzan]

we have consumer cellular and love it . Our bill for the 2 of us is 72.00 per month
3000 calls
1500 text messages
unlimited data. We have a certain amount of data but for 10.00 more (brings us to 72.00) it is unlimited. Once you hit your allotted data they automatically increase by 10.00 and you can use any amount of data you want/need with no other charges.

 

[Anthony1971]

for consumer cellular you can buy ATT go phones that may be cheaper and they will work... if you use a lot of minutes/texts or want unlimited data just in case... there are lot of companies that will give you that in the 30-35-40 range plus local tax if you use a credit card to refill if you use a refill card it is tax free in most states they will however slow your data after you reach a certain amount but you still have free data... a lot of these companies are owned by the larger carrier examples sprint owns virgin mobile and boost wireless, cricket is owned by ATT -- more check out cellular backdoor all one word with dot com after it... they also compare the carriers -- this site may get credit if you get a plan by clicking one of the links not sure so just look at the names and go to the sites your self.. some of the carriers however do require you buy one of their phones especially the very very cheap providers but places like virgin and boost you can get great deals on phones if you shop around -- stick with LG older Samsung and like and you are good to go and can be had in the 30-50 range on a bad day... other carriers allow you to bring your phone.. if you want strict limits on your phone and can stay within that consumer cellular is a great deal if you want more there are better deals to be had.

 

[tvguy]

we have consumer cellular and love it . Our bill for the 2 of us is 72.00 per month
3000 calls
1500 text messages
unlimited data. We have a certain amount of data but for 10.00 more (brings us to 72.00) it is unlimited. Once you hit your allotted data they automatically increase by 10.00 and you can use any amount of data you want/need with no other charges.

That seems a little high. I have Verizon, 2 lines, unlimited calls and unlimited texts, 2 GB of shared data, with any of a month's allotment I don't use rolled over to the next month and it's $70. That's Verizon's new rate structure.

 

[Albort]

pay $30 for 5GB of data, 100 minutes unlimited txt... use google hangout for calls... works well!

Tmobile service.

 

[shamrock30]

I have Consumer Cellular. It does have a "stigma" for being for seniors, but that's because many RVers use them, as ours use AT&T phone lines, and are reliable when traveling. They also use seniors in their ads a lot, and advertise through AARP.

My husband and I usually pay $45 including taxes for both of us. We have (basic) Nokia Lumia smart phones, unlocked AT&T Go phones. We can call each other for free. The drawback over a prepaid service is that Consumer Cellular charges taxes each month, but that's in exchange for better reliability when you travel or sometimes if you just live in an area where AT&T is best. We can adjust our plan up and down as we wish, no contract involved. You can get a discount if you're in AARP. We aren't. We are moderate data users on our phones, so I can't comment on whether it's worth it if you stream vidoes, etc on your phone.

My husband previously had an Iphone with unlimited everything from his job. I have never been a huge cell phone user. We share our minutes and data, and we're both happy. YMMV. I did a LOT of research last year before I settled on this plan, so I can also tell you their customer service is reported to be among the best.

 

[Figaroo]

I dont have experience with Consumer Cellular, but I thought Id chime in with another low cost alternative.

If you also have a landline and are using a cell phone for a few calls/texts on the go, Tracfone offers year service/mins, data, text/ phone bundles through HSN. For example, you could get a smart phone, 1350 mins/texts/data MBs, and a year of service for about $130 total (not per month, total for the year!). Can be more/less based on the phone. If you use up the alotted mins, there is the option to add more for a reasonable fee. For example, 1000 MB data for $10.

 

[shamrock30]

I agree that Tracfone can be very cheap. I had them for years, but if you ever need customer service, they can be hard to deal with. If you're an extremely limited user, they may still be the best bet.

I get better reception where I live and when I travel with AT&T lines. Tracfone stopped using AT&T in my area several years ago.

 

[ICF]

We have it for 3 cell phones and our home phone.

We pay $80 (before tax/fees) for the 4 lines -- we have 1000 minutes, unlimited text and 4GB data each month.

Before the switch, we were paying $50+ for just the home phone.