U.S. Cellular Reviews

after many years they dropped so many calls that I dropped them

Overall

Rated 1 out of 5

I've been living in the Chicago area for more than 40 years now, and US Cellular was my first cell phone service, back to the days when they were called PrimeCo and their little pink guy was their spokesperson.

At the start of my term, maybe 10-15 years ago, they had good service within the Chicago area and nice prices for service plans. The biggest con was that they were a regional, not national, carrier and the national plans were more expensive. That didn't matter to me much because I didn't travel for business much.

Then, about 4 years ago, I updated to a Blackberry Curve and problems started. The phone would lock up while browsing and, worse, there were really bad dead zones at my day...

Good service, great reception.

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

I've had service through US Cellular for about six years, and during that time I haven't had one single bad experience.  That says a lot.  I have reliable reception, even when I'm out of town.  The only place it doesn't seem to pick up well is hilly or areas will mountains.

We recently added a phone for my son for only $ 20.00 more dollars a month!  The phone I selected for him was through US Cellular and it only cost me a penny!  ONE CENT!  It's just a basic flip phone, but that's all an eleven year old needs!  And what do you know, two weeks ago he lost the phone.  SIGH.  Well, fortunately we had insurance on it so we ordered a new one for him ...

US Cellular decides how long you get to keep your messages

Overall

Rated 1 out of 5

US Cellular has recently decided to arbitrarily decide how long you get to keep your messages.

If you don’t happen to remember to re-save them every 30 days or have dementia or Alzheimer’s disease and no longer have the capacity to remember to save them every 30 days then they are automatically deleted.

There is no option on the menu to inquire if you want to permanently store your messages. Yes, the reminders were annoying but there was never the ability to permanently store any messages.

These are our messages and our right to save them if we so choose. Save them already!!! Stop constantly reminding us to do so and just store the damn things.

We will decide when we want to delete them or we will delete our service with your company.

Thank you, US Cellular. There will now be many people who have lost loved ones, whose only memory of their voice is stored on their voicemail, who will forever lose that precious memory of the last time that person told them “I love you”.

Great Customer Service, Nice Perks

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

We've had US Cellular for a little over three years now.  We have had no problems with them whatsoever.  There have been instances where unexplained fees have shown on my bill.  A call to a US Cellular Customer Service rep is pretty painless to make.  They are friendly and strive to make the customer happy.  The charges have been removed due to both instances, I was never explained as to why I would be charged them in the first place. 

Good service and I like that all my incoming texts are free.  We have a pretty basic family plan...just the two phones.  We added a $5 text package for mine since I do text.  I don't usually go over my allowed 250 (I think) texts a month.  I like you can choose from two different pans, depending on your needs for roaming. 

Their website is fairly easy to navigate.  As with many service type providers, I do find their billing statements a bit confusing at times.  

All in all...we like them and will continue to stay with them.

Great coverage, not so great phone options

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

As the title suggests I think U.S. Cellular has great coverage, but their phone options are a little lacking. The available phones are getting better (finally some android phones in the past 6 months) but they don't have any phone that people just "have to have". I think if U.S. Cellular had some better phones it would make a lot of the younger generation want the service and not view it in a negative light. 

With that being said I haven't had any real issues with their service. They over great coverage. U.S. Cellular uses a CDMA network so they don't have to have as many towers to cover larger areas. Also with CDMA this could lead to coverage problems outside of the United States (if ...

Long time customer disgusted and leaving

Overall

Rated 1 out of 5

I've been a long term US Cellular for many years. However, I am now leaving them because they (1) misrepresented a product they sold me and (2) weren't interested in doing anything to correct their mistake. A year ago we upgraded to Android phones. Since they are more expensive, we were interested in the phone insurance option. The salesman described the program as follows: for a lost, abused or stolen phone there would be $100 deductible for a replacement phone. Otherwise, if it were an issue normally covered under warranty, the insurance extended the warranty and there would be no deductible for replacement or repair so long as the problem phone was returned. I relied on this inform...

Supports our Troops! Cares about those who serve.

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

I was a prepaid phone user, looking for a company to get a cell plan through. I had narrowed my search down to two providers. Altel and US Cellular.My Marine was 'at war' at the time, due to come home, but I was not sure of his ETA in the states. One night my home phone rang and the caller ID gave a US Cellular number. I answered and found out my son had just arrived stateside. One of the people there to greet he and his fellow Marines on their homecoming, was a US Cellular employee. This person handed out cell phones to the Marines, and said, make as many calls as you like, talk all you want.So within minutes of 'getting home'.... my son was on the other end of the line, as glad to hear my ...

2 phones having the same trouble

Overall

Rated 3 out of 5

We've got 2 phones in our household with the same problem. Both screens just all of a sudden went blank. Took both in and it took a minimum of 4 weeks to get them back. One after being sent out for the second time they said was unfixable due to a hairline crack in the phone, the other came back and 1 day later the screen went blank. I'm worried we take the second one in to US Cellular it will come back as unfixable due to a hair line crack. It is quetionable to us as to whether this crack was there in the first place. We ended up having to buy a new phone outright for $379 from US Cellular because the phone was only 6 months old and the insurance had only been on for 30 days. Be careful when you have to send you phones into US Cellular to be fixed and be sure their costumer service people look over the phone with you to document that there is no visible damage to the phone BEFORE they send it out!

Great company, great service.

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

The thing I liked the most about U.S. Cellular is that they did not charge us an outrageous deposit because my husband and I have less than perfect credit histories. We were prepared to have to pay a deposit, but Cingular/AT&T Wireless wanted $500 per line. That's a $1,000 deposit for my husband and I to each have a phone, even on a family plan. U.S. Cellular charged us $100 per line and we'll get it back in a year, as long as we pay all of our bills on time, which we do. I appreciate this company's willingness to work with someone who is trying to rebuild their credit. In addition, the service is great! It even works at my mom's house, which is way out in the boonies.

Little to no service where I use it...

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

I was mislead by a sales rep into thinking that US cellular would provide adequate coverage where I travel, all over the state of Arizona.  Let's just say, the signal was patchy, at best.  Oh it was not fun.  And I was told that my incoming calls were free.  Yeah, they're free if you're in the "wide area coverage" which encompases like 25% of the US, if that.  And guess how much "wide area coverage" there is in Arizona.  None.  The rep knew full well I'd be using my phone in Arizona, and didn't bother to let me know that gem.  Of course I made the mistake of taking his word for it.  Their service may work for you, but good God do your research first.

US Cellular is the best of the best!!

Overall

Rated 5 out of 5

As a insurance sales agent, my cell phone is my life.  I have other service with companies in the past, but US Cellular has been my right hand for years now.  I love the feature of the incoming calls free, and the back up plan for my contact information, along with the nights and weekends at 7.  With having a family package, and allowing to add different features for one or two lines, it allows me the freedom of finding the best fit for my busy family. Plus with the wide range of people who are also us cellular customers, with the mobile to mobile minutes free, you save money every month by not using minutes.

I know some companies offer roll over minutes, but you still pay for incoming calls, so that is not such a savings after all. 

US cellular also has a great customer service deparment, and from my experience, you do not stay on hold forever when you want to reach them.  Very fast service.

If you are not happy with your current service, you should give US Cellular a try!!!

US Cellular prepaid service is expensive

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

I was with US Cellular for 2 years. I joined their service and signed up for their prepaid cellular service. It used to be called Talk Tracker but I do not think they call it that anymore. At first I was pretty happy with their service. Call quality was great and I had a great signal. I even had a signal riding the train underneath O'hare airport! I started out by paying $30 a month. I cannot remember how many minutes I received but it was an ample amount. I couldn't text because that cost extra. Over the course of my 2 year with US Cellular my monthly amount changed twice. I went from paying $30 a month to $45 a month by the end of my cell service with US Cellular. The unused minutes never rolled over so I always felt like I was throwing away money. I also couldn't text unless I paid extra money on top of my monthly fee for the Easy Edge plan. Although the service was great I just couldn't see spending all that money and then throwing away extra minutes at the end of the month.

Cost Efficient with less service.

Overall

Rated 2 out of 5

After a couple of trips to North Carolina from Maryland I learned the difference in service.  My US Cellular phone with "Nationwide Coverage" was poor.  The audio quality is worse on other networks, the roaming icon appears and you'll be lucky to get a call out.  When you are 400 miles away from home you want a phone that works, is reliable, and good quality.  You wont find these qualities from US Cellular.  US Cellular does offer competitive rates and service plans, but they have to in order to make up for the poor "Roaming/Nationwide" service.  Many people will stick with US Cellular because they have been around longer and it's all the know.  I highly recommend trying AT&T instead.  Don't fall for low prices, junk phones, freebies, and other hype it is all there to cover their inefficient, and lax service.  Other providers have freebies and special offers as well, but I recommend using a service provider with towers they own and operate.

Very rude, Blame the Customer ,

Overall

Rated 1 out of 5

Went to US cellular to upgrade my phone to unlimited texting, , next month I got my bill was about $300 usually runs under $100, , went in to find out why, , they switched me to a nation wide plan instead of free texting,, I explained this to them and they said the notes in the computer say nation wide plan, ,, I called head of US cellular and they told me that the notes in the computer say Nation wide plan, , I told them to get on their survaliance cameras zoom in and you can see me point to unlimted text plan ,, look at my bill since I though I was upgraded to unlimited texting, , texting is what ran my bill up, , as they could see I had never texted like that on any other bill and I have ...

U.S. Cellular is good for long-term customers

Overall

Rated 4 out of 5

My husband and I have had U.S. Cellular cellphone service for over 10 years. The reception is generally good and dropped calls are infrequent. Around the holidays, they run great promotions. It is undoubtedly the best time to purchase a new phone. Our favorite part about U.S. Cellular is that they reward long-time customers. We purchased a package ten years ago. Throughout the years, we have rolled over this package time and time again. We have added minutes and services to our plan as our needs have grown and changed. Even with these add-ons, our monthly cellphone bill is significantly less expensive than any of the others out there. We have been able to continue on this same plan ...