Consumer Cellular FAQs: 7 Things to Know Before You Sign Up

You might have seen the Consumer Cellular “Freedom Calls” commercials with Ted Danson of Cheers and The Good Place fame in the past year. They are known for their list of “free” things you get when you sign up including: free activation, free of contracts, free of hidden fees, and free of risks. They want to make it clear that you aren’t tied down to them at all and aren’t beholden to any sketchy behind the scenes “gotchas” which run rampant through a lot of other companies. Commercials aside, we wanted to take a look at Consumer Cellular today to help you decide whether or not this carrier is right for you, so let’s get started.

In this article, we plan to discuss the ins and outs of Consumer Cellular and what they offer. Here’s what to expect:

• A quick summary of Consumer Cellular
• Consumer Cellular's coverage
• Their plans and prices
• Services and features provided
• Consumer Cellular versus competition
• How you can get in contact with their customer service
• Review summary

If you're looking for a quick list of pros and cons though, check our our guide here.

1. Consumer Cellular FAQs: A Quick Summary

Consumer Cellular keeps it simple with four phone plans- (which, don’t worry, we will go over in detail soon). They also introduce customers to their “SmartFlex” system which is a program when you’re using your data and not connected to wifi, Consumer Cellular will “send you free usage alerts via text and/or email when you reach 50% or 75% of your plan's monthly data limit.” And if you go over that limit they will “flex” you up to the next data plan so your data doesn’t slow down for as little as $5/month. There’s no overage fees and you can opt out of this program at any time- maintaining their “freedom” advertisement.

Consumer Cellular is a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO. This means that they purchase service access wholesale from one of the three major networks that own infrastructure across the country – AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile – giving customers service at a much cheaper price. Consumer Cellular is a MVNO of AT&T.

A REALLY Tip: MVNO Edition

If you are unfamiliar with MVNO’s, you should know that they are more likely to subject users to data deprioritization and throttled speeds. 

• Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers.” Which means that those who are direct customers of the “parent” company will get network priority when you’re in a high traffic area like a concert hall or sports stadium, or when there’s network congestion.

• Throttling is also more likely to occur with MVNOs and “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable.” This will happen when you go over a certain number of gigabytes of data for the month, which is referred to as a “data cap.” You’ll see this number displayed somewhere on your carrier’s website. Your normal speeds will slow down until the start of your next billing cycle.

2. Consumer Cellular’s Coverage

In the past Consumer Cellular has used multiple networks to provide their customers with coverage but as of 2024 they are now moving under AT&T. 

AT&T are very much considered to be the “middle of the pack” when comparing it directly to Verizon and T-Mobile. Their 4G LTE sits comfortably between the two, behind Verizon but ahead of T-Mobile, and their 5G network is above Verizon but below T-Mobile. 

As you can see, Consumer Cellular covers areas in the United States, along with parts of Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. You can take a closer look at your area and see if their “5G+ venues” (which is an elevated 5G technology slowly being rolled out) is available in your area by looking at their coverage map in full here.

3. Consumer Cellular’s Plans and Prices

Consumer Cellular offers four plans, three “limited” plans ranging from 1 to 10GB and one unlimited plan. You can add up to 4 lines on one plan, with additional lines being $15 each. All plans from Consumer Cellular are deprioritized. As for QCI tiers, Consumer Cellular is tier 8 on AT&T’s network. 

If you purchase your phone from Consumer Cellular, your device will be locked until your device is paid for in full. The plans they offer renew monthly, and taxes and fees are not included with the advertised price. The advertised price includes their $5 Autopay discount. There are a lot of Pros and Cons with Consumer Cellular, so it’s always good to read up before you sign up!

Plan One: 1GB 

This plan stops data access after 1GB.

This plan offers 1GB of data. You can use all of your plan data as hotspot data. However, after you use 1GB, your data access stops completely. 

The plan costs $25 per month before the $5 Autopay discount.

Plan Two: 5GB

This plan gives you 5GB with hotspot access. 

This plan gives you 5GB of data per month, with the option to use it as hotspot data. Again, your data access stops after this allotment. 

The plan costs $30 per month before the $5 Autopay discount. At this rate, you get 5GB at $6 per GB. 

Plan Three: 10GB

This plan allows hotspot access with all plan data. 

This plan gives you 10GB of data before cutting off at the data cap. You can use your hotspot for all plan data. 

The plan costs $40 per month before the $5 Autopay discount. At this rate, you get 10GB at $4 per GB. 

Plan Four: Unlimited 

This plan gives you 50GB of full speed data before slowing down your connection. 

This is Consumer Cellular’s biggest plan, as it gives you 50GB of full speed data. After you reach 50GB, your data will slow to 128 kbps, or 2G speeds. This is enough to send text messages and emails and browse websites, but not much else. These speeds are extremely slow and may be frustrating for users. You can use a hotspot for all plan data.

The plan costs $55 per month before the $5 Autopay discount. At this rate, you get 50GB at $1.10 per GB. 

4. Consumer Cellular’s Features

While this carrier offers pretty good deals for their customers, there are some differences in the features and benefits that may entice you to pick this one over another. If you’re a frequent traveler, talk to your international friends and family a lot, or are looking for a bit more “perk” with your plan then this section will break down all of that juicy info so you can know what you’re potentially gonna get: 

• Domestic Roaming Data

• Consumer Cellular does not include this feature.

• Mexico & Canada Connection

• Mexico and Canadian connection is pay-per-use at various rates depending on your network.

• International Connection

• International connection is pay-per-use at various rates depending on your network.

• Video Streaming Quality

• Consumer Cellular streams at 480p Standard Definition on all plans. 

• Streaming Services and Cloud Storage

• Consumer Cellular does not offer these features.

• Device Financing

• If you buy a phone from Consumer Cellular, they allow you to pay for your device in installments over time.

• WiFi Calling

• Consumer Cellular offers WiFi calling, which allows you to send and receive phone calls over a WiFi connection rather than cellular reception.

• Spam Protection and Free Trial

• Consumer Cellular does not offer these features.

5. Consumer Cellular Versus Competition

It seems like everywhere you turn you run into a new cell phone provider wanting you amongst their customers. So it’s safe to say that like many others, Consumer Cellular has some competition from their own network providers and other MVNOs alike. Here are a few of their match-ups:

Consumer Cellular vs. AT&T

Consumer Cellular uses AT&T’s network to provide connection to its users, so the service itself is the same, but Consumer Cellular users will suffer from the same data deprioritization that all MVNOs do. And when that happens AT&T customers who are signed up directly through them won’t have their speeds affected.

AT&T however is much more expensive than Consumer Cellular, AT&T’s cheapest phone plan is $65.99/mo for one line and their most expensive is $85.99/mo for one line, which could be a dealbreaker to many. Consumer Cellular’s prices are dramatically less expensive but don’t offer the amounts of data AT&T does unless you are looking at Consumer’s Unlimited plan. We’d recommend checking your data usage before committing to a plan.

Consumer Cellular vs. Straight Talk Wireless

Straight Talk Wireless uses Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint to provide coverage to customers and that in itself is a bit unusual for a MVNO as normally it’s only one provider working with another. For Straight Talk, they currently “share networks with the best four carriers.” 

However, it seems that since Straight Talk is under TracFone Wireless Inc. they will probably just be under Verizon soon. So when comparing Consumer Cellular to Straight Talk’s coverage, Verizon has the most nation-wide 4G LTE coverage out of every wireless carrier in the country which is no small feat. Covering over 70% of the country, Verizon has had it’s footprints all over the map giving reliable coverage to even the most rural of areas when it comes to LTE. Their 5G may not be as wide-spread as their two major competitors, T-Mobile and AT&T, but they do hold high standings in the “5G Games Experience, 5G Voice App Experience, and 5G Video Experience.”

They both suffer from data deprioritization.

Straight Talk has eight plans, double that of Consumer, with their cheapest plan costing $30 a month for 100MB of data, and their most expensive plan is $65 a month for 60GBs of data. 

Consumer Cellular vs. Mint Mobile

Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile to provide coverage to customers and T-Mobile’s 5G coverage and access is hailed as the best coverage overall. So you can expect some pretty solid 5G speeds for any MVNO under the T-Mobile umbrella. Their 4G LTE isn’t as widespread as their two major competitors, Verizon and AT&T, but it’s by no means a dealbreaker. They both suffer from data deprioritization.

What users can note though is Mint Mobile’s $30 Unlimited plan is big for money savers if you don’t mind a 12 month contract, especially when comparing it to Consumer Cellular’s $55 Unlimited plan. So here, Mint Mobile has Consumer beat.

6. Consumer Cellular’s Customer Service

Consumer Cellular has 29 stores with more coming, you can find the full list of where they are located here. Otherwise, users can call their customer support line at (877)-320-3486 and use their chat line any time between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

7. Consumer Cellular: Review Summary

We believe that if you live in an area that has optimal AT&T coverage, Consumer Cellular is a good choice, but if you have multiple network providers providing coverage or AT&T isn’t as prominent, then we think it’s best to look somewhere else. A lot of other carriers’ speeds have Consumer beaten. 

The Good:

• Consumer Cellular’s prices are budget-friendly if you are looking for a limited data option.
• Limited data users won’t have to settle for an Unlimited Plan.
• There’s no contract with their plans.

The Bad:

• You will be subject to data deprioritization which means your data speeds could be inconsistent when you’re out in public not on wifi.
• For limited data users, you might find better deals for the amount of data you’re getting each month.
• You’re barely getting any benefits with a Consumer Cellular plan, and if you want international connections you will have to pay for it.

Want to compare other carriers?

Really.com helps users compare between features, coverage, price, reviews, and more!

We’ve taken a look and looked at Consumer Cellular Reviews before and covered even more about them through here on our REALLY Consumer Cellular section.

And if you want to compare and contrast Consumer Cellular to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.