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Life Wireless Reviews and Ratings

Note: We just began this page on March 5, 2014, so it will take some time to get enough reviews to be meaningful.

Average Rating: [starrater tpl=10 style=’starscape’]

Please rate above and contribute your review in the comments below.

Welcome to our Rating and Reviews page for Life Wireless. The star rating above is an overall customer satisfaction average of all those surveyed. Further below you’ll find reviews of the company from real customers. If you have a free government phone from Life Wireless we encourage you to rate the company and leave a review.

Life Wireless is a Lifeline provider of free government cell phones in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

Please consider your overall satisfaction with Life Wireless — customer service, delivery, product quality, cell connection quality — and give them a one through five star rating above.

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  1. If you are going to ask "how do I get a cell phone?" go here instead.
  2. If you are going to ask "how do I get a replacement phone," go here instead
  3. We are not your cell phone company. All technical questions should be asked of your vendor.
  4. Your comments are moderated, and we will manually approve those worth publishing within 24 hours.

Comments

  1. Will not answer phone when on hold for 30 minutes. When I e mailed them
    .says can not correspond with people in my area.I had their phone for 4 years.. now they will not answer.

    Reply

  2. I signed up for Life Wireless here in California a week ago. I got a phone (terrible speaker compared to my motorola) and was told to call customer service to port my number. I have called 611 several times a day for five days and I have never reached a representative. I went back to the kiosk rep but he was told to call 611 as well . I tried emailing but only received a response telling me i couldn’t use email to process a port/SIM card request. Life wireless is back east and their EST hours are 9 – 6 which means 6 am to 3pm here in California. SoI set my alarm and got up to call them at six and they still didn’t answer the phone “…high call volume…continue to hold next available representative”. I’ve had phones with entouch and assurance (which has better customer service) and my friend is with tru connect and those companies answer their phones during business hours. NOT LifewireLESS. Emphasis on “LESS” is intentional. This seems like a violation of FCC laws about porting. Clearly life wireless has pushed in to a market they are unprepared to serve. Probably the CPUC would be interested. But meanwhile I have three days to port my number while my service with cricket is still active. . I will have to call the California Lifeline Service Administrator and request a benefit transfer. Any suggestions on a responsible lifeline company ? — K.G.

    Reply

    • We avoid recommending one company over others, but you can look through each provider’s page to see readers comments. That might help you see which one has the best comments.

      Reply

  3. Free phone needs minor update to SD card, but 32G is only about $7.50 now, the max the phone will handle. I’ve switched to LW from another company and they provide more data and phone time, and better support. I’m not able to talk to any support team over the phone, but through email they respond and have saved me twice from when I thought I’d have to buy a new phone. I really recommend them, I doubt anyone else is better.

    Reply

    • It’s good to hear about your experiences because we hear so many horror stories about our readers’ experiences with customer service.

      Reply

  4. Worst customer service ever, has their own jaded recertification, which I can’t get to because I’m a California resident, and it’s based on Georgia. Claims it’s phones are locked to itself and makes you have a fear you won’t be able transfer to another phone company, have I already said that the customer service sucks? Let me see, they had no idea how to give me my recertification pin, when California lifeline says they can do so, so I switched to truconnect for the fact that Lifewiress felt like they wanted to start gouging me for money

    Reply

  5. GREAT SERVICE, been with 3 other providers, by far the best one i’ve been with. Thank you Life
    Wireless!! Would highly recommend

    Reply

  6. This company is bullcrap. I applied and sent in all the personal info they wanted and only after they received my personal information did they tell me they don’t have coverage in my location. What a scam. Please check to see if you can provide service BEFORE you get personal info.

    Reply

    • They didn’t take any money from you nor enroll you, so we think the word “scam” is far too harsh for this incident, Stephanie. Maybe “unorganized” or “inefficient” would work, but not “scam.”

      Reply

  7. Browsing the internet should use about 25mb per hour, I browsed the internet for an hour then checked my phones Data Usage and it showed 68mb had been used. There is nothing wrong with my phone (my unlocked smartphone with Life Wireless Sim),no malware,etc..Another time I went online for 4mins to check something quickly and then checked the Data Usage and it showed I used 20mb for 4minutes! Life Wireless is clearly ripping people off. Isn’t anyone in this Government Program monitoring these people?

    Reply

    • Impossible for us to comment on your problems because we are not privy to how you used your data. However, measuring it by the hour is an odd concept. Usage depends on what you do while you’re online, not how long you’re online.

      Reply

    • Something everyone should be aware of, as far as data usage:
      Every single app, as well as your phone operating system, is sending and receiving data daily
      -beyond the current app you might be using.

      Learn how to turn of data transmission(cellular, bluetooth) when it is not needed to be used. Also, uninstall ALL apps you do not use-like the ones that came as default with the phone.

      Reply

  8. I just signed up and pending for a free phone and minutes. If approved which smart phone are they going to send me

    Reply

    • No way of knowing, William. Most companies offer a range of makes and models and they are all handed out randomly.

      Reply

  9. I have had life wireless for almost 2 years. Absolutely the best service I have had using lifeline. No issues what so ever. But I use my own phone. If you have a unlocked ATT phone go with life wireless you will not be disappointed. Note, most of these comments are from dull minded people. Life wireless is ATT. It is the best deal you will find, and as long as your phone is compatible it will work flawlessly. You can buy a decent unlocked smart phone from Amazon for $40.

    Reply

  10. Someone can text me takes me one hour to get it ,only work’s 59 percent of the time..add to put the SIM in my AT&T phone are it wouldn’t work at all…

    Reply

    • That’s not got, we haven’t heard about this long of a dealy before. But we are extremely curious as to how you calculated a precise 59%.

      Reply

  13. WORST LOW LIFE PONE COMPENTY EVER..YOU LIFE WIRELESS ARE THE WORST.CUT OFF MY DISABEL DAD 7 TIMES.NOW HE IS DEAD BECAUSE HE COULD NOT CALL 4 HELP

    Reply

    • Sorry for your loss, Debbie, but we want all our readers to know that ANY cell phone with a working battery can call 9-1-1 in case of emergencies. You don’t need an account with a cell phone company.

      Reply

  14. Hate it. Called to change number and had hard time understanding her then she changes it tells me new number and instructs me dial and power off. I did and my phone has been disconnected every since

    Reply

  15. from 1 to 10 I give it 0 The Phone it self

    The staff are very nolageable and nice it’s just The gov Phone it self

    steel don’t see the slat to get it apart

    The WiFi is a Jock an a half theirs no Av You don’t go on line with out Av

    I just wont yous it. and no Malware just Phone calls an Text..WOW just a gov free Phone.not a payed P.

    Reply

  16. I got unlimited texting but for over a week I can’t text or receive. This never happened before and I’ve been using my own personal phone instead of the crap one I originally got which wound up dying on me. Why is my texting gone? And how can I get it fixed? I can’t always call my friends and family

    Reply

    • We’re not your service provider, so it’s impossible for us to diagnose your problems, Jessica. Call 6-1-1 to speak to customer service.

      Reply

    • They say,” you can’t complain about something free,” well,maybe that’s true,but I’d like to make this suggestion.If the companies selling these cheap no good cell phones that are paid for with government money,perhaps,the government needs to quit buying them,and require everyone to purchase their own cell phone with the government service,an option lifewireless and others are given the customer anyway.Just saying,the phone are crap.

      Reply

  17. Run don’t walk away from lifewireless !!
    Just getting signed up should have been a red flag. I send in what was required , no response after a couple weeks so I called back and was told we can’t read the address on your License , resent it again then another week passes by with no call and now it’s the fact that one of my ID’s stated my name was Ronald on one of the ID’s but Ron on the other 3 yet they have my address on 2 of them and my social. Number as well. This took 2 more calls and another month before I finally got my phone but then when I get it you can’t hear on it. Like the speaker fell into the phone so I called again and was told to put the phone back in the box , write “ return to sender” and when we get it we will send you another phone. A week went by and I called to see that they got the phone back and they said “ nothing yet. Then the next week I called again and still nothing. The girl on the phone asked me for the tracking number and I told her as I stated before that when you write “return to sender” and place it in the mail box you don’t get one. About 20 minutes later after being put on hold I was told that a one time curtesy phone will be sent out to you. But when I got the replacement phone it had a battery that lasted maybe 10 hours so I called AGAIN and was told they would send me a new battery in 7-10 days. well 12 days passed so I called this morning and was told that “ I’m not sure who you talked to but there is nothing on my account about sending a new battery and further more it shows that we haven’t spoke to you since November??? And that if I wanted a new battery then I would have to PAY 5 bucks for it ?? So now I have to pay for a defected battery that I did nothing to ?? This place is total BS.
    AGAIN , RUN DONT WALK from these people !

    Reply

  18. Zero stars

    I just got off the phone with these incompetent service representatives,
    I call to get my texting re enabled because they cut it. (They have cut my texting twice in the past month even though I have unlimited) So I call up & need wait like ten mins to talk to someone. Finally a lady answers, I tell her that my service is disconnected & she asks, “Your name please?” I reply, “My name is Addie, but this phone is registered to my parent.” & she goes like freaking crazy. “Well, I can’t help you till parent calls, this is Not your phone. I can talk to you but can’t reset your service” So I’m like, “Okay, why did you cut my service?!” She’s like mad for some reason & is like, “I can’t tell you, that private information. Your parent needs to call.” I’m like, “Listen, I’ve been without texting for two days, you guys couldn’t answer the phone for the past two days, & by the time my parent can call your office will be closed. That will be three days of no service, what atonement do I get for this?!” & then the lady screams at me, “THIS IS NOT YOUR PHONE!!!” & hangs up. What kind of customer service is that?!
    If any other carrier’s customer service demonstrated such disregard for a costumer they would be fired. This is completely unacceptable.
    This carrier has won ZERO stars on their service.

    Reply

    • No doubt that the rep’s attitude was horrible, but unfortunately she was correct that she cannot discuss your parents’ account with you.

      Reply

  19. Besides that the service is mostly lies,I can’t use my data fully,my phone stopped working and it wasn’t even my fault,the battery is crap,the phone is crap too dosent even have space for anything and my text messages get blocked often because lies they are not unlimited you only get 1,000 per day and if you waste them after 6pm you have to wait until the next day to call and get them unblocked. Instead of just sending me a new phone they make the process longer by me having to spend my money and send mine,reason is why do you want my non working phone?. I hope I get the new one fast cause if not,I will sue.

    Reply

  21. My life wireless is a good carrier it helps me with all my doctor’s appointment and being able to contact my family and friends ,and schools .

    Reply

  22. Terrible company. Here’s why:

    1. They only gave me 10mb of data usage per month. I checked the amount I am supposed to have according to my state and it’s 1gb. When I brought this to their attention they refused to upgrade my data allowance and said they would “get back with me.” They never did.

    2. I can’t connect to the internet even if I wanted to use my measly 10mb of data. The customer service rep said they would send some codes to my phone that would enable internet usage but they never did.

    3. Somehow I had used 2mb of data usage. I asked the rep how did that happen when I can’t even access the internet. She didn’t answer me and acted dumb.

    4. Customer service reps are rude and act like they have better things to do. One time I was disconnected while talking to the rep, I called back and she didn’t even apologize for the lost connection. I ask a question and their reply is “I don’t know.”

    Stay away from this company!!

    Reply

  23. This company is a joke. I feel they are using this “life wireless” just as a front to screw the government out of money. There are so many complaints that prove it. For me they said the sent me a phone and I never even received it. I called the crappy company many times and they always say let me talk to my supervisor. And of course you get nowhere. They said its the post office. So I have to call the post office, why should I have to call the post office its their package, the post office said Life Wireless addressed it incorrectly. Needless to say many calls no answers I am done.
    Even if the phone ever shows up I will refuse it.
    Once again. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!!!!

    Reply

  25. Received phone and, when activated it said I would get 10MB per month instead of the 1GB as advertised for people in my state (1/10th) so have to purchase more data from them. Government paid/subsidizing isn’t enough. Customer service said wasn’t eligible because a new account using AT&T and not T-Mobile. I HAD NO CHOICE WHO PROVIDER WAS!
    The phone sent keeps putting random digits in PINs, outgoing telephone numbers, web pages.

    Reply

  26. I got my phone and it never really worked. They said keep trying it and they will send me another one free if not satisfied. I could never answer my phone. I pressed so hard I thought my screen was going to break. In the box was directions like a little book from a cracker jack box it reminded me of. You couldn’t see it at all. I called to get another phone and she said it was $35.00. Was so rude and she never cancelled my service but said she did.

    Reply

  27. Awful!!!! Coustomer service is rude. The rep refused for me to speak to a manager and on top of it all I received a non working phone. I was told they would send me out a new one but I would have to pay for shipping even tho they sent me a Non working device.

    Reply

  28. After reading most of the neg. replies I wasn’t sure what I would be getting. I rec. my phone yesterday and it was very easy to set up once the battery was charged up. I was able to use it with no problem and it was as clear as my home line. Thank you for a great phone.

    Reply

    • Don’t thank us, Joanne, because we’re an independent informational website, not your service provider. But it’s always good to hear back from a happy customer.

      Reply

  29. This phone company is not complient at all man I’m trying to get a job I applied about 3 week ago but I guess I’m the dumb one I put all my personal information​ to apply it took 1 for them to send me my page and shirt no mangers contacted me all business was done on the internet and email
    They gave me all random into I was suppose to get training I called the guy over ten times I live in a local area and he live far away I never met the guy he finally picked up the phone 6 days after I called them said he was going to train me first he say Monday then Monday turns into next Saturday to Tuesday it’s just been so much better yet I still haven’t had the training I need to start and all the people I called to try to get help it keep taken me to the same person please if u thinking about working here don’t do it!!

    Reply

  30. I applied for a life wireless phone at a booth. I took out the chip and put it into an prepaid AT&T cell phone that I bought at Walmart. I’ve been using it over a year. It works great. Just remember to place at least one phone call within every 30 days or your service will be terminated. The cell phone that I bought at Walmart cost $30 at the door. I believe it is called an AT&T Microsoft Lumia.

    Reply

  31. I’ve been a LifeWireless customer since June 2016…This is the absolute worse phone company. Not only have I had to have four phones replaced since the beginning, they forced me to purchase one for $35 back in October 2016. By January 5th of this year, the new phone had stopped powering on so I had to send my new phone back to them. They finally sent me a phone Feb. 2nd, but it wasn’t the new phone I purchased. This phone had scratches on it and did not look new. I called and argued with them until a supervisor checked the IME for the new phone I had purchased, and I read her the IME number for the phone they had returned to me. We both agreed it was not my new phone but the supervisor said it was a warehouse issue and there was nothing she could do. However, I find out this morning the supervisor I spoke with had noted on my account that they did send me my new phone (a flat out lie); so when I tried to make arrangements to send this phone back, I was told I had to buy yet another phone because according to their records my warranty had run out. I’m so disgusted with this company that I ask them to disconnect my service, then I was told I couldn’t change to another government company until after a year of leaving LifeWireless.
    I’ve always paid for extra minutes every month with this company, and today I feel cheated and ripped off.

    Reply

  32. LIFE WIRELESS plans are a complete rip off!!!! I don’t use the free minutes I PAY 29.95 for 30 days of unlimited talk and text this is the second month in a row they have ripped me off a week!!! I added minutes January 27th here it is February 15th and my phone doesn’t work! I WILL NOT be adding anymore minutes!!! Not only do I get jipped on my 30 days you don’t get service hardly anywhere! I’m a truck driver so I need service!! I am switching to straighttalk today!

    Reply

    • That took my money. Then the next that took my 29.95.and no that will not put my money back on my card or gave me my money back..

      Reply

  33. never had any problems until now, I just enrolled again and got a smart phone, I love it, but today is dead, it doesnt charge, cant get it on, is just dead after about two monthsths

    Reply

    • Jose,
      Same thing happened to me! I’ve had my Lifewireless phone for only a couple of months and it stopped working. Lifewireless refuses to replace it even though after explaining what happened it was evident that it was a malfunction with the phone. I will never again use this company for anything! How is it that other people are getting a phone when they are not eligible but ones who need it are denied??

      Reply

  34. I did have Life Wireless service, I cancelled after just 4 days. I received a very poor quality of actual voice service. Quite often the icon on the screen of my phone would light up indicating that I didn’t have any working phone service. Other times my phone calls would just disconnect in the middle of the conversation. After conversing with Life Wireless tech support, it was determined that the problem was because they use AT&T equipment and the reception was very bad by my home. Funny because my SafeLink service I now have uses T-Mobile equipment and works great. But T-Mobile and AT&T use the same equipment. Huh? Also, they were handing out their phones within 2 blocks from my home. Why would they hand out their phones in an area where it’s known that AT&T has very bad reception? Oh, well, it’s all good now.

    Reply

    • So sorry that Life didn’t work out for you, but happy to hear that Safelink has solved your problem.

      However, your story should serve as anothe warning for our readers about street booths and tents. The people who work at these facilities are generally independent contractors who do not report directly to the Lifeline Assistance companies. They set up where and when they want and the Lifeline companies generally do not know their schedules. The fact that you were given equipment that doesn’t work well in the area in which it was given out reinforces what we’ve said so many times to our readers:

      ENROLL IN LIFELINE BY PHONE OR ONLINE, NOT IN STREET BOOTHS AND TENTS.

      Reply

  35. I’m a friend of one of your customers, Mr Chester Artis, & the only reason why I am sending you this text is because he isn’t able with his phone. Please feel free to call this number 253-732-1457.He needs a replacement phone for work. Thanks in advance for your assistance. Also this is my email because he cannot access his.

    Reply

  36. The phone I got had everything in Spanish language! And there were no settings to change it to the English language. And after 1 month the battery failed! I ended up putting the sim card into a AT&T GoPhone and then it worked fine. The service is just as good as AT&T in terms of coverage, signal, etc. But the phones you get from LifeWireless are the absolute worst!

    Reply

    • I just received a small older safelink cellphone that is too small for me..can i used my sim card in another cellphone

      Reply

      • It depends on the phone, Lisa. Not all SIM cards are compatible with all phones and all cell networks. Contact your service provider’s customer service team or tech support team to verify before you try it.

        Reply

  37. I simply wanted to swap out my phone, cause I got the phone with small lettering , and could not see the screen well. They gave me a hard time , so I cancelled my service. I’m disabled and needed the phone for my doctors. Thanks for nothing life wireless.

    Reply