Safelink Wireless Reviews

They offer you to be able to upgrade your smartphone online at shopsafelink.com where I made the purchase and received a defective product. I was given the wrong address to make the return so they get to keep my money by claiming to have no information.

If I could give 0 stars I would. Back in 2017 I had a Safelink phone. This is when they were still in PA. I reported the phone stolen because I was robbed. I have since then got my own phone, move to New York and now have lost my job and become homeless. I now live in a shelter. It is now 2019. I called customer support to see If I still have an account with Safelink. On the phone I explain all of this and was asked for the code, pin and number of the phone. Which I do not remember, it was 2 year ago. I was told "sorry can't help you but you can get a new" in a sarcastic tone.

I'm on Medical right now and can't afford $40/mo. on Metro PCS so I decided to try this free govt. phone (Safelink). On 16th and Mission San Francisco a woman agent help me out, I don't need a new phone, I want my Metro number transfer to my unlocked Pixel 3.. She put a new sim and activate (T-Mobile sim). Gave me a number to call for transfer, I call them and provide Metro acct. no., PIN and the IMEI on the new sim, waited for about 10 minutes and my Metro number was transfer, wow... I test the speed, I get 60 mb.

The service was low. They transfer you everywhere. I was in the phone for 1 hr and half. WORST thing. They give info to other third paties and then you start getting phone calls. I received a debit card from NetSpend with the same name I used to sign up with Safelink. I called NetSpend. They said a government agency gave out my info (Safelink). SAFELINK has another phone number I used to sign up and I'm receiving marketing calls there too. All this a couple of days after signing up.

I took my disable customer to one of the Safelink places located on 7th street, Modesto California at a flea market. The first thing she ask for was his ID and medical card. My 76 year old client give it to her and she said she was going to check for his eligibility for the free phone. She said he was entitle to receive the phone for a fee of $40 dollars. While she was doing the process she ask how he was going to pay card or cash. He said cash. While we were waiting other people was paying $40, $50. It didn't look right to me cause it was for the same type of phone. I call the company and told me that there is no fees or charges for the phone.. That is TOTALLY FREE. I went back to the place and took a picture of the car plates she was driving and I want to report her.

I am disabled and was offered a free Safelink phone. Money is tight so I took the offer. I received a SIM card in the mail. It didn't seem to work with my current TracFone. I called for assistance. Got hung up on, spoken rudely to and then hung up on again. This is a phone the government says I'm entitled to. These people don't like that I guess. 3 call for absolutely nothing other than to be upset. What a waste of time filling out the application in the first place, I'm surprised I got the SIM card in the mail. That must be automated. I want want to reload my TracFone but since they are together hand in hand I'll do without. Thank you Safelink/TracFone. We're through.

I called this company five times - four of them I got a foreigner who sent me to different service altogether. Finally I spoke to someone who speaks decent English. He put me on hold for 13 mins then hangs up on me. Worst customer service I ever experienced in my life I'd suggest to anyone wanting to use this service never do so.

I am appalled at the service quality! I have people constantly telling me they have been calling me but it either rings and goes to voicemail or straight to voicemail...but I’m not getting any of these phone calls! I’ve tested it countless times and 9 out of 10 phone calls never ring thru to my phone! I have my own smartphone and have replaced it a few times, so it’s not a phone issue, it’s a service issue.

Received my first SafeLink device and decide to discontinue the cheapest service I found prior and bring my number over to my SafeLink device. OMG! If I only knew the nightmare that would come. The process of porting removed my minutes from a brand new phone and I have called 9 TIMES to resolve. One of the single biggest issues is the language barrier. Speaking English does not constitute comprehending English. I have had to repeat myself over and over. Each of the 9 calls consisted of two persons so do the math. I am told the issue is resolved simply to get me off the phone. It is not resolved and I am receiving the same level service from "corporate headquarters". Going back to Total Wireless!

I re-enrolled for my phone in January. I tried to use the phone today. They said that I didn't place a call that month. I did and I can prove it. I was trying to give that info. They don't care. They told me I had to re-enroll. I told them I already re-enrolled in January over the phone with them. He told me that I last re-enrolled in 2018. They lie, they pretend to do work, and it's painfully obvious they don't care. PRO TIP: Only re-enroll with a hard copy. DO NOT enroll over the phone. A lot of the time they don't even do the work. Ask them to send a hard copy enrollment mailed to you. Fill it out. Make copies, and mail it. Mail it in every month. That's apparently the only way they will help you.

I am disabled but Safelink cancelled my phone because they cannot find my new address in their database. All my government and utility mail has successfully reached my new address. I called Safelink several times to update my phone eligibility without success. I put in a FCC complaint but Safelink will not respond. When I called today, Safelink refused to even try to process my application and hung up on me even though I am eligible under federal rules. If I don't have that phone, I can't call emergency services and will be injured as a result. Safelink gets taxpayer money.

Horrible service, full of incompetent call center individuals in Philippines. I sent in my verification documents three times and keep getting letters to resubmit the same documents. Philippines said service was approved on March 1 and I still have not received a phone as of April 2nd. Phones provided to low-income customers are the worst phones, they are mostly banned in the US because they come pre-hacked.

This is the worst customer service that I have ever had. They sent me the wrong phone to start (it only works in another county which are 30-45 minutes away) and refused to help rectify the situation. Safelink gave me wrong advice every time. I asked about where to get the Bring your own phone sim card kit; the customer service rep was not having it and show he could care less. Next, when I finally got a phone that would work, I called numerous time to get them to transfer my benefits. The customer service reps said that they would, but never did. This crap has been going on for almost 4 months, if not 4 months.

I am homeless and filled out an application for a free lifeline service though Safelink. Being homeless leaves me with no physical address. I listed my Brother address (W/his permission) to his physical, and also his PO box for mailing purposes. They have a checkbox [ ] if this is a temporary .address for which I checked. I was asked to show proof of residency, my name and a bill with that address on it. I said I can't because I don't live there. I am homeless. They told me to get my brother to write a letter saying that I live there.

Very frustrating company but not a scam as some people are asking online, they just have a tendency to send you around in circles, ask for the same thing several times and repeat themselves on the phone like a broken record and if you ask a question their robot brains can't compute... crickets lol.

I phoned on Thursday of the previous week to request a new phone (old one was over 2 years old and not working well). The agent never said that she would deactivate my service. The phone worked fine until Friday afternoon when the service cut out and I was unreachable. I phoned Sunday evening to ask them why and they said that the new phone would be delivered Monday with the old phone number associated with it.

I have been on the Lifeline wireless phone plan for 18 months. The plan started with 250 minutes and 500 GB of data for free. It is now up to 1000 minutes of talk and 1GB of data for free. If you bring your own ATT, T-Mobile phone or unlocked phone then you get an extra 1 GB of data for the first month. To access your account online you need to find your enrollment number. Customer service is fine but not perfect. You really get a lot for a free plan, especially if you get a quality Android compatible phone to use it on. The main advantage of Safelink is that you can use any compatible phone. Other companies limit you to cheap dedicated smartphones that lack a lot of features. Just by qualifying you get service equivalent to about $30 per month. I like them a lot.

When applying for service over the phone good luck trying to get your information submitted. I could barely understand the questions read to me due to a language barrier. After agreeing to all the statement The representative goes to listen to my submitted information and says that it’s not clear I had to re-record it about four separate times and at the end of the call she said it was poor quality. They seriously need to update their computer programming or Recording devices because I couldn’t of been any clearer. I ended up going with a different company! Save your time and effort and find another carrier.

Worst customer service I ever experience. First no one speaks good English so you can understand them. Second, they read a script and never address the issue. I was on the phone for days with them trying to recertify even though I tried to recertify online and was told it was not time. I finally received assistance through the certification company who also complained about them. Then I could not keep my same number since they are sending me a new phone because my phone is outdated. I don't understand with so many complaints why the government is not reviewing this company.

If you purchase the not truly unlimited plan...after 12g stops working and just buffers. Rip off. If you call them they lie and say, "Oh no we have not slowed it down." They do nothing but take money. Boost Mobile is only $10 more dollars a month and they are unlimited.

My SIM card got stuck in my phone and I couldn’t get it out and I called to report my problem but they couldn’t do anything about it. It’s a waste of time to get one of these phones. I could have gotten a replacement phone or send the phone back because I don’t need it if I can’t use it because the SIM card can’t be read since it’s pushed too far in the SIM card slot.

I joined the club... of disgruntled SafeLink users. My complaint is similar to everyone else's complaints from the last 2 months. They're really messing up over there and it's at a point where I think an investigation should be conducted. Seems like the company could be engaging in monopolistic practices associated with subscription cancellation/delay in service. "Well you could just buy some more minutes", they say. I refuse to give in and I don't have the $20 minimum purchase. Safelink is no longer a SAFE LINK for the underprivileged. I've been without a phone for over a week now. They started sending me warnings back in Oct. 2018 about re-certifying, only to get the runaround and time wasted to hear, "Sorry, it was a glitch. Just ignore those. You don't need to re-certify till January." Long Story Short: They should be investigated and this needs to be fixed. It's not like there's payphones anywhere around here anymore.

I receive government assistance in the state of Kentucky and because I qualify for it, I also get a Safelink Wireless cell phone with a limited amount of talk and text. I received a text indicating it was time to recertify to determine my continued eligibility for the use of that service. When I called, the rep was speaking so fast and her English was so broken that I had a severe problem understanding her. She began yelling at me and this call that I have made many times before took about 35 min to complete as opposed to the usual 10-15 min.

Terrible company. Very bad customer service. Service days on phone were getting less and more were not being added on. Noticed this plenty far ahead of time. Went to the website and it said that they needed some documentation updated. Ok, should be pretty easy. They give a number of options. Emailing it, uploading it, etc. So spent time taking pics of the paperwork, etc. Tried those options a bunch of times with no luck. After emailed kept getting an automated response to put the account # in the subject line. Which I had done the first time. And tried again. And again. But it never worked. And there was no way to actually email a person. Even after the automated way didn't' work. So now tried to upload the documents from the site. Did that a number of times but it never even gave any indication that it went thru. Let alone if it was all taken care of. It never was.

I like the other 683 people being Scammed and Fraud being committed against the Fed Gov for the money they are receiving as a Federal Program have been repeatedly been told our addresses are not valid through the USPS. After submitting 20+ documents, I have been told that my address is still invalid. These included 3 State documents, 2 Federal documents, my tax return, and many other documents I wouldn't normally give to anyone other than family and I'm told they're still not valid documents. Seriously???

The customer service from this company is next to non existent. They will not give you a mailing address in live chat and will not answer your questions over the phone. When you ask to speak to a supervisor they will tell you that you a talking to a manager and that they have no supervisor above them. They are basically liars and incompetent. My best advice to avoid this company if at all possible.

I of course looked through the reviews before I started writing this and I noticed something peculiar. How many people's service was canceled on February 3rd, 2018? Theirs, like mine, were canceled because they didn't recertify. Okay, true I haven't recertified yet. Mainly because I was not notified that I needed to recertify and also because my SERVICE WAS GOOD THROUGH FEBRUARY 27TH, 2019. Okay I haven't recertified but why was my service cut when it should have been available for 3+ more weeks? I just got a job on the 1st and now I have no way to be called or to call them and check on a schedule. I was able to contact them and thankfully they understood my dilemma but this B.S. could have cost me this job. I sent in all the required information and I still don't have service. What in the actual ** is going on with these people?

I'm having the growing realization this service is nothing but a scam to steal tax payers' money. It really needs to be investigated. They will not give you a phone no matter how much you qualify. For a one year 6 months I've been sending everything asked for: social security, ID, birth certificate, bills, proof of benefits, ect, ect hearing nothing in return. When I call I am told that I was approved and a phone is coming. Nothing comes. Calling back I'm then told differently that I am now denied needing to re-send ID, SS and proof. I send in the documents asked for. No letter or Email confirming approval or denial. Call back being told they received them, but now have to resend the application.

My service was finally cancelled on Feb 3 2019 and I called their offshore customer service and was transferred to 3 or four different departments talking to people that spoke broken English and they told me it was cancelled because I did not recertify annually. Safelink is a very incompetent organization. They did not believe me when I told them I have not recertified in five years and I have tried to stop service every month. This lifeline phone thing is a broken system - typical of a wasteful government programs that don't work and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Do yourself a favor and avoid these kinds of offshore scams. Most all of these cell phone companies I noticed have the same overseas setups that are doomed to failure.

My Dad is 82 and has a Safelink phone for a few years and has had nothing but trouble with both his phone and customer service. He received notice in Mid November 2018 that he needed to recertify (annually) so I filled out the recertification and faxed it over. I called customer service a week later to confirm that everything was in order and they told me that the application was approved. On February 4, 2019, he suddenly didn't have any minutes. When he called support they said his service had been cancelled.

While I am a former SafeLink customer, who had NO trouble, with service, for over three YEARS, after my SafeLink phone was stolen, and even though SafeLink has ALL of my documents ALREADY on file, SafeLink has INSISTED that I file DUPLICATE documents, before my service can resume. Problem is, SafeLink WON'T tell me WHY they are insisting on DUPLICATE documentation. This is why I caution others, about using SafeLink. IF the service will NOT tell users WHY they need DUPLICATE information, then HOW can users trust this service?

I got a letter in the mail 7 months ago about renewing my lifeline services even though I had to buy another phone in January of that year. I tried to renew my services online at Safelink Website but it showed it was not time to renew my application. At the beginning of the next month I have no service so I call and told that I have to renew my verification, so they connect me to the person to verify and I'm told I don't have to verify and my service is turned on again. This happens every month for the last 6 months after. In the last 2 months, twice a month! So you can understand how frustrating it is for me.

People beware of this company. It is the worst. They speak very broken English that you can't understand and they lie. I started applying in early Nov 2018. Sent, mailed and faxed everything they asked for. Finally in Dec 2018 the hours and the time I have spent dealing with this company was a full time job. Always check again in 48 hrs. Nothing ever changed in that 48 hrs. Finally in Jan 11 2019 checked my account with them. It said all approved. Will receive my phone in 7 to 10 working days. That time passed. Spent 2 more hrs on the phone. Nothing again. You will have in 7 to 10 days scams and we are paying for this. I am disabled with no lifeline. I have printed and logged everything and if I have medical emergency I will sue this comp for putting people's life in danger. WHY IS NOBODY DOING ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?

Had some issues with my Safelink phone, call them and they said my phone was not working correctly and they would send me a new one. I asked that they NOT stop service on the old phone because I am a senior and I could activate the new one when I got it. Yesterday my current phone said "Unregistered Sim", so now I cannot get calls or make calls. Called again this morning and was told they had registered the new phone and my service on this phone no longer would work. I said "I asked them not to do that", he apologized, so now I am stuck another 3 days with no phone. Terrible way to take care of customers, I am not impressed.

I asked for a replacement phone because the one they sent me is defective, after talking to seven agents and was given the runaround, they finally order the replacement but at the same time deactivated my service and now they are saying they can't find my account. I emailed ten five times my benefits evidence. Still deny receiving it, when I chat with them knowing they deactivated my phone service they asked me to call them, I'd like fun for them, I need my service back as I'm still enrolled and I am missing my doctor's calls with treatment needs, these people are putting people's health in jeopardy. I hope this site can help you stop these people abuse, I also filed a complaint with the BBB. I hope I can get some help, thank you.

I will not ever deal with this company ever again. Crooks! I was told I used a deceased person's identity. They asked me to send several things. One of the things was proof I am living. I felt like a criminal. Our Department of Human Resources did not recommend them.

Started with SafeLink. All was well, upgraded to smartphone through this company. The new phone didn’t work very well so called to exchange. Was told it cannot be replaced. I paid for this upgraded phone. After some time I was able to contact them again and was given the instructions to purchase a different phone. They gave me the specs and required phone for compatibility. Even the names of acceptable phones. So went out and purchased a phone they had recommended. Went to active with SafeLink and was told the phone was not compatible. Was instructed to buy another phone. I cannot afford to purchase another phone. Now I am receiving notices that I have not been using the SafeLink phone. So what am I supposed to do now?

I have been applying for Safelink since last year. I applied online for Safelink, I submitted all documents required online. Every time I call Safelink they give me different answers, and they keep sending me applications. I have sent back the applications back with the proofs required, but to this day no phone has been sent to me. Today Jan 20, 2019 I called again and they said that I will not receive any phone 'cause I already have one, which is not true. Many of my neighbors have more than one, I have none and they keep saying that, but if you look at my application it clearly states that I am approved and qualified.

Was on the phone for 2 hours getting transferred to four different people that I had to explain everything all over to and spell everything for them. Tried to use the Bring My Own Phone feature with a Tracfone sim kit I purchased. They either didn't know what they were doing or their computers were "processing". Are they running Windows 98 on dial-up? The last 4th person hung up on me after telling to hold on. Going to try it one more time then it's back to Verizon.

I have literally spent 15 hours in a period of just short of a month with this company trying to get this phone hooked up. All they do is transfer you to other people who receive no information about previous contact. They claim you have no minutes, and will add the minutes and the phone will work in 1-2 hours, or other specified times (always changing) and the phone never works. When you call back, they do the exact same thing and ask you to wait again another specified time. They give you reference numbers that have no meaning because you just do the exact same protocol and they have no information of previous calls. They do not seem to care that you tell them that you go through the exact same process over and over again. They either transfer you, hang up on you, or tell you the phone will work in the specified time, but it never does. It's an endless loop.

I decided to apply for Safelink last year after having a bad experience with a previous phone company. I knew all of the steps I'd have to go through when it came to the application process, so I was ready. According to my enrollment status, all of the information I submitted was accepted except I needed to provide DOB proof. Not only did I email, but I also sent them text messages containing a picture of my state ID. The only thing I received was confirmation that they received my messages. Apparently, a picture of my ID wasn't enough for them. Then I started getting forms in the mail from them that I had to fill out and return with proof included.

Don't ever get anything from them. Husband been on phone for 2 hours with Corporate trying to get my SIM card in my phone to work which came out of their phone. Can receive calls but not make calls. Been transferred to different departments and nobody can do nothing or don't want to. Very poor customer service. Then had the nerve to ask my husband if the service they provided him was satisfactory. They didn't do anything except give him the runaround. Then they hung up on him. That was very uncalled for. Very very unprofessional. Instead of our government shutting down they need to shut down and use that money from idiots that don't know how to do their job and use it to build the wall. Will never use their service again and I would advise anybody else not to use them. Non English speaking idiots.

Safelink. Most deplorable English speaking skills of any foreign customer service I have ever heard. Just like Straight Talk, they transfer you every few minutes. They will do it for hours. I ordered one of their phones. It arrived. The number on it to activate the phone does not work. It is no longer in service. Three hours on the phone with customer foreign service to find out that they sent me a phone that does not work in my area. WHY? They know where I live, WHY would they send me a phone that does not work? They said I'd have to buy my own. So I spend 100 bucks that I don't have on a refurb from their website. It is a blood pressure raising experience and not being able to understand what they are saying makes your head hurt.

I gave this company a great review a year ago, this time I'm very disappointed. I knew that my one year enrollment was coming up so I called them on Friday 1-4-19 to ask if the paperwork could be mailed to me. The first customer service agent even though I gave him my new address, didn't update my address, so the information would have been going to a dead address. I had a gut instinct about this and called back and the lady updated my information.

My phone broke. Screen is cracked. Half of it doesn't work so I have to put it on rotation. I called my social security and they told me that I was eligible to have her free one no matter how many times my phone breaks. I've only gotten a replacement one other time. Only done it one time. Now I go to get a replacement because half of my screen does not work. They told me that they have to have to reset my phone, that I will need to call them from another line when I only have one available line to call them from the phone that I have with just a phone from them. So I run upstairs and ask my neighbor if I can use her Wi-Fi and her tablet so I can contact them so that they can do this after that then it turned into, "Oh so we can't give you a replacement. It says on the account that we can't give you a replacement." But they told me that they couldn't see anything on the account until after they reset the phone.

Every time I have an issue with my phone it's always my data usage. I haven't been able to use my data in my home area for the past 3 days! I ride public transportation to work and waited until going to work to go online to see if there was an alert about an outage in my area. I couldn't log into my account due to duplicate entries found popping up on the screen. So I called to make sure everything was okay, that no one else was trying to use my information to get services.

I have a phone that makes me delete VMs 2-3 times; music that randomly assigns different artist's names to my songs; and most importantly, calls whatever number it wants, no matter what number I entered. Tech support is a joke with these folk. Obviously listening for keywords and reading from a script. Looking for a different carrier with phones that work - even if it's a flip phone, as long as it ain't Safelink.

I had no problem signing up for Safelink. I filled out the forms online for bring your own phone. I was pre-approved in August 2017 and sent my sim card within a month. At first I didn't notice any problems...then everyone kept saying why don't I ever answer or call them back. I started telling people to text or leave a message if they called me and you would be surprised how many times calls NEVER come through. Majority of calls don't but I chose to stay because it was free and only $45 after that to get a unlimited plan. I had no problem re-certifying either. They sent paperwork in the mail, I filled it out and sent it back and never heard from them again.

I like Safelink Wireless, I like the $ 15.00 unlimited plan, but like with every cellphone you still have issues, but overall I truly think they are the best deal around, cause they are always there in a pinch, just don't use all of your free mins...

My girlfriend said she was going to stay at her girlfriend's house to sit as her girlfriend's dad was sick, out of state. I let her take it, so I knew she was safe... But instead she took my phone to Arizona, so I called Safelink to have it shut off. She quickly sent the phone back in the mail before Christmas. Called back Safelink to let them know, I got my phone back and after talking to someone I couldn't understand, I was passed 4 more time when they, Safelink said I had no more minutes left. Then I was told I was blackballed for 72 hours on December 21 2018.

Had applied for Safelink Wireless and was approved in August and chose the option to use an existing LG TracFone. They sent me a SIM card which did not work with my phone, and they had to transfer the minutes and data manually to my phone. Then a month later, I get a letter saying I had not used the phone even though I did. I called again and they said my phone wasn't "attached" to my account, so I gave them the SIM card number and the IMEI number and they attached it, and things were OK until this month, when all of a sudden I can't get any data. I keep track of the usage so I wasn't over the limit, and I gave them a call again. The man I spoke with was very curt and said my account had been "de-enrolled" and I kept asking him why...he wouldn't answer. Had to ask for a supervisor, who said my account was de-activated for non-usage.

When you have to re-certify it is an unbelievable nightmare. I could not hear the machine generated questions half of the time, and my goodness, I had to answer the same type of question over and over, again, with the questions being blurggled. Just note: answer yes to all, even if you can't hear it. If someone were getting this service and has anxiety or a history of panic attacks, I suggest asking a family member with patience to do it for you. OMG!!!

After 3 months of interminable runarounds trying to get a phone from Safelink Wireless, I asked to speak to a supervisor. I was routed to Rhea. WHO GAVE ME MORE RUNAROUND. In a nutshell, I live at a valid and specific address and have a valid Texas Drivers License showing that address. In Safelink's crazy rules, a valid Texas Driver's License does not prove a valid address. Texas Department of Public Safety is one of the nation's strictest licensing agencies. What Safelink is doing in my opinion is taking tax dollars to administer a government program, pocketing the money, and failing or refusing to issue the phones. Don't waste your time. Safelink is a scam.

My son receives Medicaid and got a letter in the mail about getting a free phone. I call to sign up and have now talked to 6 different customer service representatives. NO ONE can help me. According to past records, there was an account created in my name. Sent a phone to a different address and is still active. I DON'T HAVE A PHONE! All the customer service rep said she could do was cancel my account, and I need to wait one year to create a new one, or buy a phone. Your company is a joke and so are your employees.

Wish I could give 0 stars. What a nightmare! I applied for lifeline service in October, submitted my documents through the website. Nothing happened. My account kept showing that I needed to submit document. I called them about it and they said my application was still processing and to check it in 36 hours. I did. Still pending. Finally after a month the website showed my documents were accepted. The website still said pending. Called again and they said the same thing. Wait. I waited. I called them a month later and they said they were waiting for my documents. I told them I had already sent that information and that the website showed they had already been accepted and they said, "Oh sorry our mistake. Wait 36 hours." I did, Still pending. I called them back and they said I needed to call California Lifeline as they were waiting for them to approve my application.

I've read a lot of reviews on here about Safelink service. All of them were complaining about either not getting their phones, having problems with the service. Couldn't get recertified or their phone getting shut off. I can honestly say I've never had any of these problems. I've had Safelink service since 2011. I applied online. About a month later got my free cell phone. It was a basic little straight flat cell phone. I was happy. Never got anything free before. Was very glad that I could get one since I lost my job and didn't have money to buy one. I never had a problem with the phone or the service. I got a little flip phone for my birthday and had Safelink switched to it. Not a problem at all. I called TracFone since that's Safelink's service. All I had to do was give the lady the numbers out of the old cell and the numbers to the new cell.

The other reviews I read here are accurate. I wonder why this company thrives since the services it purports to give do not seem to exist. This is a phone for my son. Multiple calls, multiple dead ends. Even when I was told the problem was found in billing and that it would be changed, there were no minutes. When I asked a helper to stay on the phone while I went on the website to see if what she said worked, she said no, she got off the phone.

No Minutes Coming to Phone: Two months now! I have called technical support and they told me I received these minutes when I have not? I keep account of every minute and write down my minutes! Why are they lying at SafeLink and telling me I received these minutes when I clearly have not?

When they have no need for consumer report they're ok... It's just that they screw up sooo often. Perhaps hiring American workers that speak English well might help... and really training the staff. My last occurrence took a week to transfer my number from one Safelink phone to another Safelink phone. During that time they were reading status notes from a year ago and they deactivated me twice for no reason!!! Very frustrating and yet the cities and govt. don't seem to care they have such poor performance.

I was extremely grateful to TracFone -- at first -- for participating in this program. But...you really need a self-paid phone while you are hoping they make your account work correctly (if they ever do). If you are in an area where there are a lot of Sprint Towers, I urge you to consider alternative providers in the lifeline program who are said to be excellent. But I am not in such an area.

My phone stopped working while I was talking. I can only text. The overseas reps are horrible. They hang up on you. They now want me to pay for minutes. This is supposed to be a free service. The phone is clearly defective. They are the worst people in history.

I'm quite an experienced person using different prepaid plans and other LifeLine providers service, I guess you could say I've tested several other LifeLine plans with other carriers/MVNO and I always go back to SafeLink. I never can understand how there are so many negative reviews on here. Before I started using the Truly Unlimited plan in 2017 I was paying $65 a month for Cricket's so called truly unlimited plan. I would get throttled regardless of data consumption, and all regular HTTP (not https) traffic would be proxied and compressed on Cricket's end of the network without any way to use HTTP data/websites in RAW form with things like curl/wget etc in a Linux or Android OS. They also consider large amounts a data usage to be in violation of 'hotspot/tethering terms'. Eventually Cricket discontinued my service even having paid 2 months in advanced without refunding my money.

Well I'd been with 1 1/2 yrs then they started screwing up everything by putting me down as a disabled veteran so I would have to recertify when I wasn't a veteran and they sent me numerous texts to do this and I went through this for about 5 months and in Sep. I called and the supervisor then said that she would send me new paperwork but never sent it. She just cancelled my service and the company refused to help me with the problem unless I signed up again. So if I were you I'd stay as far away from this company as I can because they're about as bad as it gets. You can't understand the people because they can't speak English. THE COMPANY SUCKS AND IS WORTHLESS!!!

Safelink suddenly discontinued my service without notifying me. Can you imagine if I would have had an emergency and didn't know they discontinued my service! I had changed my phone number several times so Safelink accused me of having multiple phones in my household when I only had one phone but changed the number and I live alone! In the meantime, someone I know has a Safelink phone that he's not qualified for because he has a full-time job at CVS and his own lawn service cleaning business! I reported it to Safelink and they told me there was nothing they could do about it. So unfair!

Unless you know everything there is to know about cells stay clear from using your own phone. They (X4) give misinformation, in my case I have to buy parts to make it work. They don't back their salespeople, and they don't make their mistakes good to the customer. They are extremely nice, but totally worthless. They will not take their sim cards back even though they were the ones who told you what you needed, and blew it twice, so will not send the free phone you should have stuck with in the first place as they repeat over and over (from their Co. list of what to say) that you ordered it (leaving out the part that they told you to), so they have done what they were to do. They understand your anger, but this is all they can do. Anyone know who you can contact for all this injustice? "I have no "personal or business relationship" with this organization?" Well of course I do, or I wouldn't be writing!

The worst problem I have with them is that they keep sending me emails to use my phone. I am using my phone! They will say there is a requirement to make one phone call or send one text message monthly as though I am not doing that. I am on the phone much more than that. Clearly they are tracking what you are doing on your personal phone, though they aren't tracking it well, but it feels like an invasion to know they are monitoring my phone usage. If they are doing that, who is to say they are not listening in or reading your text messages? Scary!

I signed up for Safelink in Sept 2017. I received my phone and service within a week of my first application. In March, I bought a new phone because the ZTE POS they sent me was overheating constantly and was basically unusable. Service transferred over to the new phone, no problem. I was the happiest customer you could imagine until October 16 of this year, when my phone service randomly stopped.

This is my second time trying to get a low income telephone. I had absolutely no problems with Assurance Wireless while living in Florida, but the cell phones they give out really suck. I've now been trying to obtain service with Safelink Wireless in Texas since September 1st, it's now October 19th, and I'm still stuck with them saying that they can't verify my benefits. The first time around, they rejected my address, utility, and benefits uploads, I resubmitted them all, the second time the address and utility bill were accepted, but they still won't accept my benefits cards despite the fact that my Medicaid card has my name on it. This is a piss poor company and I regret the hell out of going with them.

Just terrible. Very rude and do not care. I wouldn't recommend them to a homeless man. Every single time I have to contact them is truly a bad experience. Not every other time but EVERY time! I worked in customer service for years on the phones and still do. There's no way this is even real!!! Reps, Sups, and even the darn Techs are so unprofessional. I'm starting to think it's a SCAM! It's sad and suppose to be providing something to the people to help. Definitely false advertising and my phone still doesn't work properly. With all the complaints, the whole company doesn't care at this point or who let represent them. It's still going on. Just hung up with them and got almost the worst ever experience with them ever. Which encouraged me to leave this review. Just terrible!!!

The problem with Safelink is that they outsource to foreign countries (Philippines, India, etc) without providing them with the proper training to assist Safelink customers. Whenever I call, I can never speak to a US-based customer service. Each question that I asked, I am giving different answers. When asked to speak to a supervisor, no one is available. I have filed a complaint with the Public Utilities Commission regarding Safelink. This company need to be investigated, fined or sanction. There are too many complaints!!!

I have given them ID card pictures, social security card pictures, food stamp pictures, and letter of residency pictures and keep getting told I need to provide more info from food stamps, and proof of address. I call they say whatever they want to cover the butts when catching them in a lie. Also each rep will tell you something different. It's a scam and they have all my info. Been waiting since 09/15/2018. I've spent HOURS on phone with them. They don't know what they are doing.

I tried activating a new Safelink SIM on my account after I lost my phone. It took them 9 days to activate it. The reps kept me on the phone for 1 and 1/2 hour and then told me it’s going to take 24 hours and it’s going to be active. The next day was another 2 hours speaking with a rep. And the next day again and the next day again for NINE days until one rep finally got it done. I asked one of the reps what’s so hard to swap a SIM. I have done it with other companies and it only took 2 minutes. He answered that if I would have understood how telephones work I would have known that swapping a SIM is the hardest thing.

I had a phone from Safelink Wireless stolen a couple of months ago and I has never had a replacement phone before. I remember reading that if your phone was lost or stolen you qualified for at least one replacement phone. So I called customer service at Safelink Wireless and reported my phone stolen and they said they would ship me out a new phone the following week. I checked the mailbox every day and nothing came. I called back and was told I didn't qualify for a replacement phone. I called again and was told the same thing. I kept telling them I was already approved for a replacement phone. I was tired of being treated so rudely so I cancelled my phone number and that very next day the replacement phone arrived. So you called to have it activated just to be told I had to reapply all over again. I did so and was asked to upload photos of my Link card, front and back and proof of address with a picture of a utility bill.

I completed the application and provided proof of income, date of birth and address, both my email and USPS, but they didn't follow through. Whenever I called I got the runaround. They now have information about me I entrusted to them assuming they were competent and honorable. How naive. Even if they don't sell my information, it's in their system and could be stolen.

Although SafeLink Wireless (SW)-- customer service-telephone reps, supervisors, and managers are mostly all friendly, seem sincere, and try to help, the way their COMPANY does business is very unreliable, untrue, and even suspect of borderline fraud, in my opinion. (When I mentioned "fraud" to one supervisor, she got angry and curt with me, defending SW. She was the only unfriendly rude rep I encountered. And I have even graciously given formal in-file compliments to most of her other colleagues. When I turned the tables on her though, asking her how would she feel, if she were an applicant, if SW treated her the way they treated me?-- she had no answer.)

I was given the runaround on several different occasions by the customer service representatives as well as a manager. The individuals at Safelink need better training!!! I felt like I was talking to a 5-year-old otp.

I would never recommend Safelink Wireless to be a sponsor for the free government phones. Their way of conducting business doesn't appear to be in the best interest of the consumer. First, they cut me off before my time was up to be re-certified. Second, after I gave them the required information, such as my food stamp card, they kept asking me to verify my address. I sent them every personal document in my house, including my W-2 statement from prior employment, picture ID, SNAP (food stamp program), and they still weren't satisfied. They kept saying my address is not in the government database. How absurd is that??? This has been going on for two months and still no approval and no phone, yet they are still holding copies of my personal ID information. I do not trust them. Very suspicious in Washington D.C.

Had this phone 3 days and cannot dial out. They cut my damn phone and I never got another phone from any company. I don't understand why they give out government phones for EBT cardholders in need and they cut off the phone and leave texting on. Safelink sucks.

Safelink (Tracfone) provides inconsistent service, crappy phones that stop working after a few months, data and minutes cheating and shortages, and when you call in for tech assistance... It is outsourced to a country that could care less and has no respect for the U.S. I know that when you are down on your luck a free cell phone comes in handy, especially emergencies or simply letting family and friends know that you are still alive... But what good is that if the stupid thing doesn't work! I am cancelling my account and having to live without a phone now... Thanks a lot SAFELINK!!!

It isn't "free" because you work too hard to get service! Would give it a zero if possible. Impossible to get account re-activated. Poor excuses for no service (can't read address on all proofs submitted, more than one person in household, agent's computer's password expired, please re-apply again and again, I could go on but you get the idea). Got service, then no service. Nobody can tell me why it doesn't work! Takes them forever to pull up account. Won't transfer to agent in US (by law they have to). Takes more than the 48 hours to review appeal. Get the runaround over and over. Going to submit complaint to PUC. Terrible way to run a business!

I attempted to apply for Safelink service for my daughter with Down syndrome as she qualified. After they checked her information they proceeded to tell me my daughter was DECEASED. I sent documents with current dates on them and they still denied her. This is crazy! I strongly suggest calling Lifeline support center ** or Universal Administration Services in the United States 1-800-234-9473 option 1, option 1, Option 0. Stay away from Safelink incompetent company that can stress you out. I put up with it for 6 mo. NO MORE STRESS!

I've been with them for years. NOW... all of a sudden I am getting my phone shut off every month. Saying I need to "recertify". I've uploaded my documents time after time. They just did it AGAIN. I've simply been told to Re-enroll. So I've enrolled now. Had three different account numbers after they cancelled them. I am suspicious that the reps are just doing it to collect a commission. I've been bounced around on technical support, just like the others have! Dealt with TracFone tech support. It turned out it was on the Safelink side. I just now uploaded my documents AGAIN. This is 4 times I have uploaded documents, and I've sent in EVERYTHING. My taxes, my food stamp card, my income tax statement, my driver's license. I am getting scared now, since they have so much information. It wasn't always this way. Now I am very nervous dealing with them. I don't know what to do now. Contact the FCC? I think the Safelink reps are SCAMMIN'!

I have had Safelink for almost 2 years. Transferring my phone number from another major unsubsidized carrier was tortuous to say the least - time-consuming for both myself and Safelink. Part of the problem was that I brought my own unlocked phone. They were always patient, considerate, and stuck with the process no matter the time or energy and I never have had to wait more than a few minutes to talk with Customer Service.

I had issues with my first phone, non working SIM card. Spent 73 minutes on the phone with customer service, which is terrible by the way. They don't answer your questions either! After trying to figure out why it wasn't working they just said they'd send a replacement. Got it yesterday, Surprise!!! Same issue!!! So I chatted on the online help because I didn't feel like talking to anyone that has English as their second language because it's really hard to understand sometimes. Didn't really directly answer me. I just cancelled the service.

Well, the overall review of this "business" is truth enough, aye? If there were a less than 1 star I'd have given. The most abrupt customer service agents I have dealt with in 52 years! They borderline on insulting. They offer no way to allow you to offer proof of minutes used. They won't hear anything that may take them more than a 2 min chat comm. I allege Safelink is scalping minutes and forcing the unfortunate users who are unemployed, disabled etc to buy more minutes unnecessarily. What a disgrace to America. With a cloak of helping the less fortunate when they are filling their fat pockets from the poor and needy. A total and utter disgrace. I will be filing a informal with the FCC and a cc with the BBB. Wow.

I got charged $199 when I decided to go with another internet provider which is their setup fee which they waived because I signed a 2 year deal. I'm glad I cancelled with them after 3 weeks so I wouldn't be charged for 2 years of crappy internet speeds. 15 Mb download over 2 Mb upload compared to Cable One 50 Mb download over 5 Mb upload and Cable One was cheaper per month and Cable one has a $50 setup fee compared to the $199. They were not forgiving on that setup fee at all so looks like I got the short end of the stick.

Regardless of the circumstances that got any of us to that point, we’ve all experienced hardships in some form. It can happen to any one of us. None of us are exempt from this. With that being said, we should be grateful for free services that offer some reprieve to the circumstances we can face when this happens. I was grateful when I received a Safelink phone through the lifeline program in August of 2017. My regular phone service was soon to be disconnected. I had become ill in recent months and being a single mother, I knew I needed a phone with active service. I could no longer afford the phone services I had and so Safelink seemed like the best choice for us when it came to minimizing expenses.

I had signed up for Safelink Wireless and was accepted. They sent me a phone and a unusable sim card. I spent 3 hours on the phone with customer service while they sent me to different workers to figure out what the problem was, and it still was not resolved, so they sent me another sim card. Well, this same thing happened 4 times! And on the 4th try they said they would send me a new one that will for sure work. I waited for the sim card and when I got the envelope in the mail, the envelope was EMPTY!!! No sim. At this point I was fed up and just canceled. I am still getting mail from Safelink telling me I need to use my phone or it will be shut off!!!! I don't want anything to do with Safelink and every time I call to stop the crap mail, they say I'm not in the system. The customer service is horrible and the worst I have ever experienced. None of them know what they're doing or talking about.

Safelink Wireless gives a free phone to low income seniors. It sounds like a marvelous idea, but in reality it is the most frustrating company I have ever dealt with! My elderly neighbor is partially blind and hard of hearing. I have been trying to get him recertified because they cut his phone off. Since June 2, 2018, I have made nine calls and have been on the line for at least 30 minutes each time. By the time I reach a rep, I am already frustrated. Each time they tell me something different. We have been jumping through hoops for 2 MONTHS!!! Today I asked to speak to a supervisor. She promised me she would send me the correct form as soon as we hung up. It never came! I think a company such as this is inexcusable! Every bad review you read is true. Why can't our government be associated with a company who respects seniors? My friend is beside himself and he cannot afford a phone, so he is at their mercy. What a shame...

I just spent the last 3 hours with SafeLink. They were trying to find my account. Excuse me, they have been sending me information about my cell phone and other important items. Well first they sent me the wrong Sim card for the phone I bought from Motorola, then I just got the one that fit today. So I did exactly what the information told me to do. I called to get the phone activated. I am currently with Assurance Wireless and just wanted them to transfer service. Using my phone number... after all was done a "SUPERVISOR" got online and assured me all was settled and done.

I qualified for Safelink Wireless service months ago. I had my own unlocked, T-Mobile compatible, GSM phone... not branded and not tied to any carrier. I was porting my long-held phone number from Simple Mobile to Safelink. I am disabled, under regular medical care, and have a myriad of medical, support staff, home health aides, labs, transportation, imaging, clinics, and other organizations and individuals that are connected to and rely on my existing phone number. Without these people and services I would be in a nursing home or worse. (I am not elderly.) I am EXACTLY who the Safelink program is designed to help. Thus far my Safelink experience has been a frustrating exercise in futility. I still have no cell phone service.

The most incompetent arrogant people around & a customer is always wrong by them. They cheat you out of the minutes you are entitled because they never reflect it on the phone. They lie that you were given your entitled minutes. On top of everything else they're dishonest. They just want your money without showing in a honest way pride in their work. It is a criminal business company run by rogue people.

The worst phones and customer service attempts for repair or replacement, ever. We have two phones and both continually break up and/or disconnect. We spent hours with no resolution, constant disconnects and repeated attempts to get replacements. Every call disconnected and we had to start over. Even their online customer service disconnected. I hate these phones and their customer service! Don't buy these phones. You will regret it.

Over two days wasted 75 minutes of prepaid. Spoke to 4 people on phone and 3 on live chat. I was denied a phone because SafeLink did not have their “catalogue” updated. So my valid and correct EBT was denied as documentation though it is what my state uses. A supervisor Mark, the last person I spoke to eventually just hung up on me. I had the valid documentation given to me by my state. It said EBT on front and back but because SmartLink didn’t have a picture of that design in its catalogue they called it invalid and denied me. I’m all set now on another carrier.

Free cell phone service, paid for by the government. Service is spotty and customer services are almost non-existent. They cut off my service beginning of every month stating I had to re-apply. No person to speak with; after 10-12 minutes attempting to navigate automated phone system it often hung up on me. Hold times range up to 3 hours, the system offers a callback but that never happens, I waited 2 days for callback. It might be free but if you depend on it for phone service you're better off paying a different provider. For $15 a month I'm trying another company!!

Trying to recertify the account for my father's phone turned out to be more of a hassle than anything. Try to recertify online and couldn't get to the proper areas so I decided to call them back and just do it on the phone and mail the application to them. 5 failed attempts later due to being disconnected or being put through to the wrong department. I have given up. They can keep their stupid service and phone. I'm adding him to my cell phone account. He is disabled, he has the education of probably a third grader. So these things are very hard for him sometimes to do on his own. Getting through the basics is bad enough. What bothers me the most is when he signed up for this to begin with I am the one that done it for him and I made a point to let them know he lived in the country so certain phones would not receive service there and I was reassured that the phone chosen for him would be fine.

For the month of June 2018, I was suppose to get my 500 minutes of free airtime because I'm on a GOVERNMENT program. Which means that I use the phone for emergency purposes only and with permission through DSS so long as I receive certain government benefits. Anyway, without warning I come to find out that my service has been cancelled because I didn't verify my address? Huh? After living at the same address for three years and was never told I needed to verify my address unless I changed my address.

I have a free Safelink Wireless service for my disability and set my number to donotcall.gov list and still get 20 calls and or 50 Text messages a day with spam. They need to be brought down. I can not even use the phone with this Bad service as the main reason I got the phone was for emergency and all the monthly minutes is used up in a couple day by spammers.

You get these damn foreigners... Can't hardly understand them, they're rude and totally incompetent. I had over 10,000 minutes on my phone and the dirty ** stole them from me. I absolutely detest Safelink Wireless!

Called to cancel service for deceased mother. Tried to called customer service. Had to call 5 different times on two days and answer 10 computer generated questions each time just to get to talk with a person from the Philippines AND I had to lie and say I was interested in a new service just to talk with a human being! Then I get a recording stating all representatives are busy, but I could press 1 to be put into the callback cue without losing my place in line.

I was trying to install SAFELINK sim card that they have sent me. For 2 days, and over 2 hours and 16 minutes, SAFELINK refused to order me another phone or replace me my 2 hrs and 16 minutes, since my TracFone was smashed from an attack and assault brought upon me. So I asked for the SUPERVISOR and they (Ms. ** and some other technical support operator) thought it was FUNNY draining my PRE-PAID minutes from a FREE WiFi App since I'm on a FIXED LOW INCOME. They refused to finish the installation and left me with NO CELLPHONE SERVICE and no REFERENCE #.

I'm truly concerned with how this company has any involvement with the government. I've been on the phone for a total of 5 hours for a sim card. I've been transferred countless times and hung up on. How disrespectful for absolutely no reason. How do we go about reporting this company?

I was qualified with California Lifeline on March and received the first SIM card from Safelink. Then I called the Safelink customer support to port-in my number from the old carrier, an easy task that should take only few minutes to complete. The lady that was helping me did not understand or speak English well enough to be in that position. I had to repeat every word at least 5 times. I could hear the clicking on the keyboard as she was trying to type simultaneously, but for every line of information I gave her I did not hear more than 3 or 4 clicks. Then I had to repeat the entire line again and again. I was very frustrated since it was clear that she did not possess the ability to comprehend and type the information I was giving her. After about 3 long hours I heard her talking to another person but I could not understand nor recognized the language.

This is a company where you cannot speak to a U.S. Representative who you can understand what they are saying. Safe Link is SUPPOSED to provide free government service, however, myself and so many others are having the same problems I am having. You send proof showing that you are qualified, then they say you need more paperwork. This has been going on for months and now after an agonizing effort to get approved, I finally got the approval, told my free cell was on the way. I was stalled, hung up on and lies to whoever runs company? I called again and I was not going to get my free phone, probably never would, but I could buy one? What kind of government would this to happen? Online website showing government free service, so why is it I have to buy a free cell? And cannot get any help from a United States Representative or are the websites just more lies??? I have no order number.

I have been with Safelink for about 10 years and never had a problem. When I asked for a replacement phone I got one in a couple of days without having to send the old one back first. The next time, I did have to send the old one back first. So I was without service for about a day, probably because some people were not sending the old phones back. Three days ago, I saw an Assurance Rep at the grocery store and signed up for Assurance because it was convenient to do so. Safelink ported my old phone number over to Assurance with no problems. The only thing I didn't like was trying to understand the foreign voices. I will see how it goes with Assurance and the new smartphone. My little ole TracFone from Safelink was rugged.

NO STARS!!! Absolutely atrocious company. Was approved for a Safelink Obama Phone Service in Chicago in a temporary room set up outside social services. I showed her my ID, Snap and SSI info and was approved immediately. I got the phone but sent it back thinking I only needed minutes. I have now have moved to another state and have been using the website to upload proof that I am eligible. If one letter or name does not match up on all items perfectly they will deny you. I have been trying to get another phone again for over a year through the website and they have no way of telling you where the popup stores are. Terrible! Frustrating! Especially for a disabled person!!! Shame on you!!! Apparently this is how they are getting out of giving people emergency phones that people like me need desperately. This after SS was able to reduce my check to $500 a month with a rule they "Made up" says legal aid.

Never in my life have I had to deal with such an incompetence, intellectually challenged, unprofessional, uncouth, useless bunch of people. They seem to intentionally hire the rudest and nonchalant group of people. I had zero service from the time I got the phone to the day I told them to cancel it. Absolute rubbish! Was told by a rep that I needed to go stand outside in order for me to make a phone call! Lied to repeatedly. Was spoken to like a 2 year old. If I could give them negative stars, I swear to all things sacred, I would.

Applied and sent ALL REQUIRED DOCUMENTS, yet still rejected my application. You cannot speak with a live representative, there is no field to read the reason for rejecting the application, other than it states did not receive requested documents. YES THEY DID! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH SAFELINK!

Would you believe I have been trying since Jan, 2018 to get regular monthly airtime added to my account. Prior to that as far back as October I had to call in each month to ask for my airtime because it didn't automatically. Their excuse, my documents weren't updated. My computer name doesn't match name on documents. OK. The most horrible thing was listening to the reps laughing and talking about customers. They are rude as well as the supervisors. Nothing gets done. Is this how to treat people, handle a government account? These are our tax dollars. Is my account fixed? NO. I had enough. Just turn it off. Something needs to be done. These people are plain rude.

It took me 5 hrs over 3 week period to even get the phone working. Wanted to bring old phone number to new phone. It took 3 sims cards! Talking to people you cannot understand and I can't even call out! Looking at all these complaints I have been reading, I think a class action lawsuit should be brought about as they are being paid by the US government and not doing a good job, I cannot believe the number of complaints and no suit has been filed!

I have been a recipient of a Safelink phone service for less than one year. My near worthless smartphone was dropped and broken in December 2017. I asked the usual question of whether I could get a replacement and they refused and said I had to provide my own phone. I got a cell phone from my daughter, an iPhone 5S that she has had and used till she upgraded and it still works fine. Of course the dimwit CS rep from some Nigerian location said it was a no-good. I know someone else who uses the exact model and it's fine. Once I got a flip phone from my son that is a TracFone and acceptable, the imbecile that answered the next call that I waited 1 hour and 08 minutes to talk to (or no, try to translate what he was saying, in a whisper no less) told me that the 2nd application that I sent in on January 18, 2018 was rejected because I checked boxes that were not required.

I have had Safelink Service since 2015, with relatively few problems until February of this year, my phone was deactivated. I use my phone and that is not the reason why and no reason was given when I called, and it was reactivated. In March, I did not receive the minutes, I called and was told they reissued them, I still never received. In January I kept getting notices my service was ending, when I called I was told I was enrolled. In February I received the same messages, my service was ending, I called and was told that I needed to re-certify by 4/1, was not available, call back next week. I got this every week.

I began getting emails and text telling me that I would be having my service cancelled. I called and they said they did see any problems because I had a few more months on recertification and nothing had changed except my last name due to a divorce. I continued to get these texts saying they were going to cancel my service and called again. Again someone that barely spoke English and was hard to understand did not know why I was getting those and said on their side of the system things were good.

I'm a person with low income and can barely payphone service therefore trusted Safelink as an alternative to have said service. After getting their services and using the smartphone provided, I'm receiving notices in my address box stating they will shut down my services unless I use their phone which I had for days after activation. I tried calling the number provided to contact their support but it redirects me to an adult service hotline. After using ANOTHER number I found their recorded message indicates I have to pay for said service even though I was told this was a FREE service with limited minute usage. This is a poor display and a sick joke to those with low income and who can't afford phone services. I feel like Safelink is playing pranks and taking advantage of such customers.

This is supposed to be a Lifeline provider. They send you a piece of ** phone, then when it gets lost or stolen, you have to go out and buy another phone! Worst Lifeline company out there! Stay far away from SafeLink!

This company should not be receiving any funds from the government. Their "customer service" is terrible. They are surly and uncooperative. I tried twice to get an application to renew my contract. They said they sent the applications but never did. My service was discontinued without my knowledge.

This has to be the most absolute worst customer service, that any phone company could ever have. I had Safelink Wireless for five years until it was time to recertify in Dec. 2017. I've faxed, mailed and uploaded my documentation and application to them four times within two months and each time that I check the status, it says pending, application approved documentation rejected. When I call customer service the representatives are rude.

I have had nothing but trouble trying to get a phone from this company. They kept saying I already had a device, which I didn't. They issued me a number, but never sent a device to activate to the number. Finally I got the Universal Service Administrative Company (the company appointed to collect data on customers that have a free govt phone and service) to help me with SafeLink. They called SafeLink directly in a 3 way call with me, to try to get it sorted out. SafeLink stated the only way I could have service is to bring my own device. When the rep with USAC asked what was the reason for me not to be able to get the free phone, the representatives didn't have an answer, but reiterated I could have an application for the bring your own device service. The USAC rep had to repeat the question several times. I am eligible for a free phone, but SafeLink refuses to send one.

I was with Safelink for 5 years and left a year and half ago when my flip phone started acting up. They sent me a replacement that was having the same issue, then a second one and after hours and days on the phone trying to resolve this issue I ended up forced to go with another lifeline company who at the time had a great deal by giving us an android phone that Safelink didn’t offer. A year with the company I went with that had great customer experience but poor 3g network. I decided to return to Safelink on January 3rd 2018. What a journey. 2 pages of notes, over 20 supervisors, and probably 40+ reps.. hours and days to get my enrollment id attached again that they never deleted. Now I’ve been on the phone 40 minutes on 2nd escalation on why the enrollment id does not still attach. I’ve done all you, Safelink has asked me to do.

I am not understanding why I can never talk to anyone!!! The phone keeps hanging up!!! Nothing is free! This service is some **!!! If I could I would give ** zero stars!!!

Signed up for a free phone end of October 2017. I was told I can keep my old number and have unlimited data and my phone won’t get disconnected until my old number get transferred to SafeLink. But my old phone number stopped working in 10 days. And after 3 weeks, and 3 sim cards, They still could not let me keep my old number. I had no phone for next two weeks. Finally I had to settle for new number and phone started working for two months. But no unlimited data.

It took eight phone calls, with numerous cut-offs during phone calls, to get my phone working again. It was deactivated without reason. If I want a defective phone replaced, I must pay for it even though I notified them within the warranty period. They sent me the worst phone - buttons that malfunction, and an old-style phone with tiny, tiny buttons that are difficult to read and press. I am not elderly, but middle-aged and somewhat myopic, and they have twice refused to send a phone to accommodate my eyesight issues; or even the issues with the phone itself.

Had become a Safelink customer, signed up through one of their Booths & would buy Data from them on a regular basis. Ordered a replacement phone through their 1800 378 1684 number, because the phone they gave me, was not working anymore. Called today, to find out why it had been 3 weeks and I had not received my phone yet and they start asking, "Did you buy the phone?" That is Switch & Bait tactics, now they are pretending the phone conversation I had with the operator on their 1800 number Never Happened. I don't know where that order number is, I have no idea and will likely take some time to find... This goes back to the importance of writing things down and putting them in a place, where you remember. I don't like how they charged me, that is Dishonest. I don't even think, it's worth the effort to look for that receipt, knowing what their tactics are now???

First of all let me explain SafeLink is own by the richest man in Mexico so he could care less about all the problems people in the U.S. are having. He is making a ton of money off our government. He pays people in one of the foreign countries maybe a dollar an hour. Beware NEVER give personal information to someone on the street or coming to your home for free cell phone services. Do it online either at home, the library or a government office ie. Welfare, senior services or any local office of government.

I guess I should expect this problem out of a state/federally funded program, but here's my dilemma... I have had a lot of troubles this year, & Safelink is just compounding it. I was due up for my re-certification (a.k.a. annual verification) over three months ago, & finally got a hold of my enrollment number so I could go through the movements of re-certifying. The method I used to get my phone in the first place was sending in my SNAP approval papers over the internet. Anyhow, the ** hit the fan with SNAP around the holidays (2017 into 2018) and needless to say it's right when I'm due up for my SNAP re-determination (my due date was Dec. 15th 2017 to get benefits for Jan. 2018). I'm still waiting for my approval from the ** state of Illinois.

Customer service is terribly horrible. Been with Safelink for over 8 yrs. They cut off my service for no reason multi times. Since this new incident in November 2016 I didn't get minutes. Had to speak with 4 diff people that day. Then Dec came. Still didn't get minutes for that month after they told me my yearly enroll was taking care of. Then here come December. No mins. Talked to 3 different people that month that again assured my account was good. Then here come January same thing. This time spoke w/ 7 people on the 1/3/18. The last person apologized for the experiences I had with rep and supervisors putting me on hold for over an hour because I escalated because no one seems to know what the hell to say or solve problems. They even (rep and supervisors) even hung up in my face.

Safelink turned my phone off. Said I'M not a customer! Yes I am, few days before had just added airtime, also now they have turned off my email. Hire and train your employees correctly. So irritating. Plus we get charged for calling them for help. That's unheard of!

I called the Safelink Wireless and asked the status on the process of the phone and line and see if it's approved since last time they told me it was approved but send us documents copies of 'social security and Medicare cards' so I said all right I'll fax those and they told me to call them back in a week and check up on the status.

I qualified just over a year ago for a free phone due to loss of everything - had a really bad year. First I received 350, then 500 free minutes, but due to my circumstances I was not always able to have more than one phone, so needed more minutes. Since getting this phone, I went through a health crisis which qualified me for disability, which I still receive. I just lost my car and job a second time since I moved to my current location. Since 500 minutes were not always enough I started adding unlimited each month myself. There always seemed to be confusion between getting free minutes and my added unlimited.

I got an offer thru the mail for Safelink phone service. I was way more than eligible so I got it... The first few times I called Safelink, I got people who seemed at least marginally interested in what I wanted to know. Now? They truly act like the hate us for calling them! The accents are incredibly lovely but unlistenable. Wherever they are from? They hate us. I need a new phone last year (my number FOUR stopped working). And when I called into activate that new phone? I lost ALL of my minutes, I had almost 8k saved, cause I was trying to accumulate them to use on a trip. Plus, I was never able to get online with it, despite the assurance that I could. I've kept it because I figured, "Hey... It's free! What the heck!" Well, now I need a phone for my job. I ordered a phone, and paid for it, over a week ago, It's 'ready for shipment" but no one can tell me what it's waiting for to be shipped. This is not an isolated anecdote.

Safelink cancelled my phone service saying that someone had applied for another phone in my household. This is not true. After many many frustrating phone calls to them, I was told this information comes from a database. This database is for all free Govt phones. Safelink, Lifeline, Assurance, Q link etc. I found the database number and when I called it, I chose option #3, which is for consumers. However, upon choosing that the automated system told me that they do not interact with customers and to get in touch with my provider. So I called back and chose option #1 instead which is for providers only. It worked! I spoke to an actual person here in the U.S. She then transferred me to the Universal Service Administrative Company.

In Dec 2017 my uncle did not receive his minutes. He is not only disabled. He cannot read or write. I take care of all of his personal as well as financial things. He gave me his phone, I went online only to see that his account was cancelled. He uses this phone everyday. I didn't cancel it and he certainly didn't either. I immediately called Safelink and after too many automated questions I finally got a person who didn't speak very good English. I explained the situation and was told he would have to re-enroll, that the computer had a glitch and cancelled his account. They would send a letter for him to sign and turn his phone back on. It is Jan 10, 2017. As of yet he did not receive a letter.

I called to find out why my phone service had been shut off. I was given several wrong reasons why. Such as I hadn't used the phone in a month. Which was wrong. I use every day. In a course of 14 days and 8 different people I spoke with. They would not turn my phone back on. 10 days ago after having a heated conversation for an hour and a half. A manager of a manager named "Jorgete", which I doubt. Finally told me to wait 7-10 days and that she would take care of the issue. Today is day 10 and not a single person could find the conversation that I had this person. I spoke to 6 non English speaking people today. All could only say they were sorry and that I needed to reapply.

When I call ID says I'm Carlos **. I am not him. In over a yr including replacing the phone I am still Carlos **. I cannot get into my Safelink account. I never know how many minutes I have. My minutes mysteriously disappear around the 20th of the month. Get different information every time I call. Been disenrolled 3 times I. For no apparent reason.

On 11-01-17 I was due an allotment of minutes. Based on Government issued eligible person. On callback to expect an automatic issue amount. I inquired on an automatic issue of minutes that was disregarded. I had to replace my debit/credit card payment. Because I needed the phone minutes and data. On 11-15-17 that 500 minute package data was purchased on credit. It was suggested that minutes were low. That an additional amount of min. purchased would remedy the problem with unlimited usage of like before including data. On 11-21-2017 call up to inquire about unable to access mobile data. It was missing from the plan. The employee had mis-informed me. Claimed she helped.

The SCAM I noticed was my data disappearing. Considering I use an Xfinity account most of the time, I thought someone was somehow hacking my phone and using my service. There isn't Xfinity hotspots around sometimes, but why use the data when I have wifi? The first month I let it go. It's not unusual on a phone the first day or two because of software updates. I started to notice something kind of fishy when waking the screen. My phone would have the downloading icon in the notification panel. When I pull the dropdown to see what was downloading, it would stop and vanish, never giving me enough time to catch it. I realized it couldn't be updates after about five of their disappearing acts. Unless all the buzzards of the world were channeling bad luck to me and the download would finish the split-second window of time it took to pull the drop-down menu. I rooted my device so i could look a little deeper into it.

I contacted SafeLink Wireless today as directed on 12/11/17. I had recently contacted SafeLink Wireless because I hadn't service since 11/2017, due to purchased plan I purchased. Which they stated my monthly benefits on 500 minutes and unlimited text, would start at the end of my purchased minutes expired, I purchased a unlimited plan 10/26/17. Today 11/14/17 I spoke with a customer care manager who was so rude I got out of character. I was told on the 12/11/17 that I would receive a new phone in 2 business day.

This company needs to improve or be shut down completely. The problems I have experienced while my service is suppose to be active are an inability to send or receive text, unable to place calls or receive calls, and no data. It takes several hours to attempt to correct their error and reps will troubleshoot your phone to the point you will memorize and know the steps and still be without service. It appears they are in business to aggravate the hell out of people. When I upgraded to their unlimited plan the rep gave me a 200 dollar plan instead. Safelink reps were unwilling to fix this. My only resolution has been to file a complaint with the FCC. Currently, I am unable to send and receive texts. I have spent hours calling to resolve this and the reps told me it's fixed but it's not. I still receive an error message indicating insufficient funds.

I used to get free minutes through a government program through Safelink. Suddenly I'm not qualified even though nothing has changed in my income. This company is totally incompetent. If you call customer service, it's almost impossible to understand the agent because their English is so bad. There's all kinds of laughing and chatter in the background, and it sounds like the "customer service" is located in the lobby of a cheap motel. Earlier, they sent me an email about a better phone I could get, which I purchased from Walmart. The incompetent rep I talked to could not get it installed properly so I spent my money on NOTHING! This company should be put out of business as soon as possible! They are idiots!

My elderly mother was enrolled in their "free" government phone program for the past 5 years. Her re-certification month is March. However, upon inquiring about why her minutes were not received this month I was told that she did not re-certify in time and was dropped from the program and required to re-enroll. It's December and not even her time to re-certify yet. She was NEVER notified in ANY manner that her re-certification month had supposedly changed. She's also required to RESUBMIT her financial and food assistance info which SAFELINK unfairly got rid of PRETENDING she didn't re-certify in time when it WAS NOT EVEN TIME for her to re-certify at all.

My elderly mother was enrolled in their 'free' government phone program for the past 5 years. Her re-certification month is March. However, upon inquiring about why her minutes were not received this month I was told that she did not re-certify in time and was dropped from the program and required to re-enroll. It's December, not March. She was NEVER notified in ANY way that her re-certification month has supposedly changed. And they want her to RESUBMIT her financial and food assistance info that THEY unfairly got rid of PRETENDING she didn't re-certify in time when it WAS NOT TIME for her to re-certify at all.

Safelink Wireless has rude customer service agents you can barely understand, and they don’t replace lost or broken phones. Assurance Wireless does. Definitely will not use Safelink in the future. They also took my minutes, but couldn't give me a legit reason as to why.

Paid for unlimited and they never gave me unlimited. When you call they transfer you 15 times and then hang up on you. Safelink is the worst company I have ever dealt with. This company gives you the runaround. Safelink TracFone.

I honestly can't say nothing bad thus far. Customer service took care of me when I asked about plans and details. The plan I choose (truly unlimited) is in fact truly unlimited. I used about 900gb of data running my hotspot constantly on 4G LTE and Get free everything. I been through the other companies with the data caps and not telling you everything. There's even a Safelink store in town. And I watched them service and help other people when I got this phone. I run one phone off this that's rooted and custom.

By mail I received an application to apply for a free cell phone. Along with the application was a letter from New Hampshire Healthy Families Insurance company informing me that if I were a senior citizen living on a limited income I was eligible for a free cell phone with free limited minutes and free texting. I made out the application 3 times informing them that "I lived on a limited income and that I was applying for the free phone with free minutes". I did not receive the cell phone until I finally called and made a complaint. It was very difficult dealing with the person I spoke to because she had such an accent I could barely understand her. After a time of trying to get my point across they hung up on me. I called them back the next day and I was told I would get the phone within 7 to 10 business days.

Safelink has canceled my service twice without reason. Website says all my information is correct and that it's not time to recertify yet. I contacted phone support (who barely speak English) and they said there was no reason for it to be canceled, but they couldn't re-activate it and I'd have to apply again. For a third time.

I had my phone Stolen around July and called customer service several times in the past 4 months. They all tell me different Stories... They first tell me to Buy new phone... I did this then they tell me the TracFone I bought was the wrong Carrier. Then they told me It was against Federal Regulation to turn my phone back on. I recently try to buy a phone from Cricket Wireless and they tell me I can not Transfer my Number and I will need to pay a $59.00 new phone number. I have my service for 1 year only. My phone was stolen. It should not be such a Big deal to transfer a Number you had for over 1 year and transfer to a new carrier.

I have been with Safelink Wireless for about 1 year in the state of California and have been disconnected each and every month without fail, and I'm making phone calls so it's not that. It takes about 30-45 minutes every month dealing with customer service to get my service restored. They can't explain why this is happening nor give any assurance that it won't happen again the following month. It really sucks when you rely on an app that shows you where the buses are and when they will be at the stop near you to not work the morning of your Monday workday commute.

At the end of September I had a Safelink workers come to my home and take down my information for a phone and asked if I had food stamps or Medicaid which I have both. I gave my information but ran back into the women 10 mins later and told her to remove my info because I changed my mind. I called to see if Safelink had my info which they did not. Should I be worried about identity theft? Anyone else have this happen? I'm very worried!

Unable to talk to a live person. Unable to lock cell phone stolen from me. How am I supposed to have i.d. no. on phone if I no longer have phone. Person who stole phone then brought a Tracfone to me. However; Tracfone is not free service. Why does Safelink have different address? Is it Miami or Oregon? Something not right here.

I have spoken with 5 representatives since October and they still have not turned my phone back on. All with different reasons with never the same outcome. A couple of the supervisors had very bad attitudes because I wanted answers that they appear to not know. I finally spoken with a supervisor name Gee and she was good today. She said my application was redone on the 17th of October and it was just sitting there waiting to be sent to my state agency! I was like OMG why??? They need to really train their agents better.

As a low income senior, I rely on this phone for transportation and to call my doctor. When I had a medical incident and needed to call my doctor, it said, "No service". During the hurricane I had no service. One time I reported them to the FCC.

I was cancel from Safelink Wireless because they claimed they didn't get the TWO recertification I sent them. I was told I had to reapply for service. I was told I would receive an application in 7-10 business days, this was on the 1st of Oct. 2017. After the 10 days, I didn't receive the application. I call Safelink and was told to wait another day. I did... still no application. I called back and was told I had to apply again and to wait another 7-10 business days, on the 18th. The 10 business days went by again, still no application. This company is completely and totally incompetent.

To summarize my experience: I sent an application around the end of June, got sent a denial letter on Halloween that was dated from July 5th. The letter stated I already was receiving service although I never got a phone. Skeptical that someone stole the phone or stolen my information, I called the customer service line, which took me 3 tries of being hung up on before I got a hold of a person. When I finally got to speak to a person instead of a machine, I told them about the letter and asked if someone could possibly be using a phone under their service with my information. He answered "no, a phone was never sent to your address."

Sometimes, you usually don't have enough minutes because marketers interrupt too much by timing, and scheduling when they call. Other times, your appointment calls combined to personal or minute calls, you also become minute short before your new month. Just to add, this atypical scene caused me to have no minutes very early in the month, during September 2017- Irma; also including the necessity it took to gain shelter help.

I have used this program for years. I live in the upstairs of a house and cannot make calls on my phone. It dials but then automatically hangs up before the call is finished dialing.

I purchased 2 GB plan through Safelink Phone. But before this I was with Verizon for five years. The most data Ive ever used was one and a half GB most the time. Never went over a gigabyte. Safelink Phone I had a gigabyte of data used before the week ended. Shut my cellular data off I still was using data. Would give them zero stars but it wont let me. These people are dubs. Unfortunately Im at a point my life where this is only thing I can afford. These people are very dishonest. I call them at least for five times a month stay on the phone anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour more.

I applied for a Lifeline phone in October 2017 only to find out that I have been a victim of identity theft from 2014 by someone who has stolen my complete identity... I have made over 200 telephone calls including 1 with Lifelock in attempts to resolve this issue as well as capture the criminal. They keep giving you a run around switching you to different people from different parts of the world. None have had the available tools. I tell them, "Go to Home Depot or Lowe's"... Need resolution, they give insults and aggravation... They do incomplete verifications, and are very elusive.

I have spent a lot of time reading complaints here. I was curious what other people have been experiencing. There is obviously a massive problem with a company that does not care about its customers. I have experienced the same frustrating non-conversations with Safelink representatives, who do not speak clear English, and who do nothing more than read from a script. As with other reviewers, I have demanded to speak to managers, but there are no managers. It's very difficult to simply even reach customer service & none of the reps know anything, so don't expect help from them. I lost 10,000 of my minutes because my phone was lost. As soon as I discovered it was lost, I called Safelink to ask for advice & help. I explained, NO LESS THAN 3 times, that I was very worried about losing my minutes. I was also worried somebody would find my phone and use those minutes.

With Safelink Wireless I don't have to buy minutes every month. For me it's free. As long as you're getting welfare you can qualify for this phone. I've had it for almost a year and I have no complaints.

It's a free govt. cell phone service so I guess you get what you pay for. They do not provide smartphones, like some of the other govt. cell phone providers. Terrible customer service. They text erroneous information at times. Customer service is out of country and reps are not knowledgeable and often rude. Not the best network but usually sufficient.

It took me over 4 years to get a Safelink phone and then it didn't work and two SIM cards later and another phone, it finally worked. But I am older and the phone was small and I couldn't see the buttons well. I was told I could go to Safelink's shop, but one of their tech people, and buy a smartphone there and my account and free minutes would transfer to it. So I did. Then they kept telling me it wasn't a TracFone and that I had not bought it from Safelink. I argued for over 45 minutes with one person, who didn't speak clear English. I finally asked for a supervisor and got a lady who helped me thru the whole process to get it working. The first of the next month, no minutes. I got ahold of someone on their chat and had the minutes the next day. The next month the same thing.

Text messaging would not work. Spent 2 hours on phone with 4 customer service people, if you can call it that. No one could help. Next day spent 1.30 hour talking to 6 people trying to get text to work. They say, "Turn phone off and call back in hour if not working." Still doesn't work so, guess I'll be spending another 2 hours tomorrow. Rude and don't know what they're doing. My advise is, please stay away from them. Now, if your phone works then good but if you have trouble then you are really in trouble.

I was a Safelink customer for around 5 years and recently decided to upgrade my phone. The phone I was sent did not work properly so I called and LLLOOONGGG story short I spent at least 20 hours on the phone between many different people, First they sent me a new card, which of course did not work with 1st phone. Then they sent me another phone which didn't work either. So at this point I said, "Forget it. I just want my money back" and they gave me money for ONE of the phones and I had bought TWO total. SCREW you all. I am with Straight Talk.

So check this out: I just signed up again to join Safelink Wireless. I had a phone over a year ago but spilled coffee on it and never even tried to get a replacement and whatnot. So just a week ago I signed up again to get a phone. All was awesome. Got approved as I already expected and suddenly by October 18th, my phone had not been delivered. I spoke with a FedEx rep who told me that all they could do was trace the product but that I'd have to contact Safelink for further assistance.

I'm a social worker so I apply for clients all the time. Over the past 2 months I've been mailing AND faxing all my applications and wasn't receiving any phones. Finally I try to call, takes me an hour to get to a person, and then I can't understand what they're even saying. After giving them the same exact information 30 times I finally hung up because nothing was being accomplished and I kept being transferred. I guess my clients will have to find another phone service.

Absolute ridiculousness. I don't even know where to begin, this service makes ineptness look like a quality the company and their "customer service agents" - another HA! strive for! As in, how many people hung up on you today, Kaksnsjld?? Only ten?!?! Sorry, Mary ** had 103 frustrated hangups in only an hour, she's now employee of the day!!! I am not racist, my husband gave me the proud last name **, and we were both laughing at the ineptitude that made my story funny; I had to tell him the story and laugh with him or cry frustrated angry tears. We laughed!

I have had this phone less than 6 months and I have been disenrolled. Even after I had sent all the documents that are require by Safelink Wireless it's not fair that out of the blue and without my knowledge. So I called to see if they made a mistake because it can happen, but not in this case. His ID # ** tells me I haven't used the phone and I was disenrolled as of June 16, 2017. I just got this phone in March. That don't make sense at all. So I ask him can he send me the letter stating that I'm not with the program. He tells me he can't do that at all. I ask why. He says that Safelink can not send me the letter. I have had this phone for months and I didn't get any minutes for months. There must be something wrong with system. I needed a phone that I could depend on.

This service is the equivalent of not having a cell phone. As far as the data goes, as soon as your data for the month starts and you try to load one internet page, by the time the page loads, your data for the month is zero. You, immediately, get a page telling you to text ADD to 611611 to pay for more service. This crap is crap. What's the point of even having it? I see why people go out and get more than one phone. The service SUCKS lemons, salt and vinegar.

I am so dissatisfied with Safelink Wireless. I don't know what else to do. I have contacted the BBB, & filed a complaint. Someone from ERD Management (whatever that is) claims to have contacted me, on my only phone that I have, and claims they left a voicemail. My whole complaint is that I cannot make outgoing calls, and my incoming callers cannot hear me. I do not have voicemail… This has been going on all year. I cannot get another free service like Assurance which is wonderful, cause Safelink won't take me off their list. Any suggestions??

Absolute worst customer service ever! During a phone call and on my 3rd day of my allotted 500 minutes without warning, my call just dropped. I tried calling the person back to find out I'd run out of minutes??? What? I went online, paid for, and added unlimited minutes and still no phone. Not having another phone, I had to wait the next day to contact customer service with a friend's phone. God forbid if you can get someone you can understand. My friend's phone that I was using is a pay as you go. I repeatedly stated I was going to run out of time, it had 37 minutes left. She kept saying hold on. Finally it ran out of time. I ended up having to set up a new account and activating an old phone to contact Safelink. (Are they serious? Who came up with that name!)

I have never had to deal with people who have no clue! I will be telling all my friends about this wireless piece of crap! People were not professionals at all! It took me 3 hours of playing phone tag. My problem was never solved! My experience was not pleasurable at all.

Enrolled with Safelink Wireless 3 weeks ago on Sept. 8th 2017, my application was approved and I was qualified. I also purchased a phone through them and they activated it and transferred my old number to my new phone. I kept receiving text messages from TracFone saying my plan end date will be Sept. 28. 2017. I called and the 1st rep said to ignore it. So I did, until they kept texting me everyday with the same message. Technical support wasn't helpful. Each rep each day I called for the past 3 weeks since I enrolled with Safelink kept giving me different answers to why I wasn't receiving my minutes. Employee Id ** "SYLVER" completely rude to me and in my opinion should be fired. Ensured me my phone will not be turned off, that I would receive my new monthly minutes the 29th with a text message stating that, and my cell phone was cancelled the next day.

I called because my application had over six different statuses when I checked online. I spoke with over 5 reps and I got a different answer about the status of my app from everyone. I was transferred to 2 different managers one who kept saying, “Go ahead ma'am I'm listening.” While I was explaining my issue then in the midst of me talking he began his own convo with someone in his background in an entire different language. After I said, “You’re not listening. You were just having a whole convo with someone else in another language.” He then got silent and never said another word. I kept saying hello he never responded but I could see from my phone he was still on the line. I eventually hung up.

Have had one of the "free" phones for about 3 years now. Suddenly, without any warning or reason, I was unable to make any calls. "No service", "Network not available", "emergency calls only" would appear on the screen with any attempt. I kept trying and finally called Safelink to tell them "phone not working". OK, got an "outsourced" service and person could not understand English... I repeated the same thing over and over, spelled it out over and over... After 45 minutes I insisted he get a supervisor. The supervisor finally came on and "yes" I had to repeat everything over again, spell everything ("Florida", "Lane", etc) as he could barely speak English. I finally got him to understand the phone had not worked for over 1 month (neither could understand the difference between "a week" and "a month"). I had to demand a new phone (they wanted me to wait two more weeks and call back).

I have had this service for about a couple of years. I updated the service to 2019 and was told I don't need to update again because it was updated to 2019 for service. Well they shut my phone off with a message, "Your account is currently suspended." I called to try to clear this up with Safelink and was on hold for over 1 and 1/2. I had to use my neighbor phone because I don't have a house phone. After the very long wait the woman answer and said she was checking my account for details of why service was shut off. I was on hold again for over an hour. I kept saying are you still there and she replied yes still checking your account.

Will not give me proof of deactivation so I can get another government phone because they could not get the new upgraded phone to work after ten days of talking to technical support. Now I can't get free government phone because they want proof I am deactivate.

Safelink did not send a yearly verification form which I was to receive 60 Days ago. Another was to be sent the 5th of September. I also did not receive this. I now have no minutes. I've Spent hours on the phone with these 3rd world people. I'm getting nowhere. I have been hung up on 7 or 8 times and these Stone Age folks are putting the blame on me for not sending in a verification form which a 3rd tier manager was suppose to send me. If anybody knows who oversees this 2 mules and a broken down wagon operation please let me know.

I have had one of these for about a year and a half. I never even turned it on until yesterday. I don't need this thing, but my beef is this; this phone is an alleged "emergency phone" for folks that can't afford a phone. It has so much additional bloatware on it that it simply cannot function half the time. Every android device in my possession is rooted. Save this stubborn thing. 4.4.4 and literally NOTHING will root it. This isn't a problem by itself, but this means you cannot remove ANY bloat. This thing is a joke, and a bad one. Your loved ones would die of whatever was killing them before this brick could lag its way to the correct option. Trash. People who need this should be insulted.

I understand this is a "free" phone service but every month I spend $40 which is a significant amount of my budget. Every month I find myself fighting with them over my minutes and data. This month after paying for an unlimited plan as of Sept 14th I have only used my phone 7 days and it says I have no minutes. Their excuse is I am canceled from Safelink even though I have to wait 7 business days for their paperwork to arrive via mail which has nothing to do with the $15 plus tax I spent for unlimited call and text on September 1 when I was still customer. They refuse to refund my money and keep passing me off to others who can't speak English. I would go with another service but live in a small town where they are the only ones with service here. I am extremely upset!!!

I have had Safelink for about 6 months and can never use it in my home. I have to walk out in my yard to try and get a signal if at all. I have talked to them many times and no help. One guy told me I need a landline for them to tell me how to get better service. Lol if I had a landline I would not need my cell phone to work at home. I have no choice but to stay with them for now because I am disabled and on a low income, I wish there was something else. This is just sad. Safelink is not safe or a link by any means of the word.

I call my self leaving Safelink, the government is paying them for my name and social security number. Safelink said that they have removed me from the account. Everytime I try to go get a phone they say that I can't get another phone because Safelink is still lock in. Safelink has my information and will not delete me out the system. The government is paying Safelink for my name and they are lying about their company. Who do I connect to tell the government that they are bogus. If I was to do what this major company is doing I would be put in prison for what Safelink is doing. They are extracting money from the government on people name that don't have a phone. I was told that I am lock in for a year.

I have had Safelink for close to 2 years now and at some point yesterday I tried to call a friend and I got a recording saying there is not enough money in my account to make this call. Every time I talked to someone it was a different story as to why I don't have my minutes. I even had one customer service representative tell me it's because I bought unlimited minutes on September 1st and wouldn't receive the 350 minutes until October. There's 2 problems with that. 1st I never bought any minutes. 2nd if that's the case then why can't I call ANYONE.

I came here initially to leave a bad review with this company, because like many of you I have experienced nothing but bad customer service with Safelink for the past 3 months and I was really fed up with it, but after reading all the bad reviews I come to the realization that we have been provided a free service and now we're complaining because we can't get our way. I have been with Safelink now for probably about 3 years I think. Like some, I started out with Assurance and was somehow bullied into signing up with Safelink, okay fine, because I honestly NEVER used their service for myself. I gave the phone to my daughter to use in case of emergency.

Applied for a cell phone for an elderly person. People who answer the phone are not fluent English speakers therefore can't to tell you to reapply (which is incorrect). We had the elderly man's application finally on PENDING in April 2017. It's August 31, 2017 and it's still pending. Since April, SAFELINK told us to "wait 30 days" for approval; then 10 days; then multiple times wait 5 days. This is terrible for the elderly who truly need the help. I asked for an address to return the cell phone, they wouldn't give it to me. "Please wait patiently for 30 days... (15 min later)... for 60 days for approval. Thank you for waiting patiently." My patience of 5 months has run out. Someone needs to investigate this place.

Well I had two different phones. One was a tiny little Samsung phone and it worked pretty good till it went swimming and did a little light show then died so they let me get a Motorola flip phone. Both seemed to work pretty good but you know the text drill and what a pain. So seen ad for Q-link and they would send you a smartphone so I went for it and it worked pretty good with wifi for going online and data also. But the regular phone would not work where I live with. It's what I needed the most for my doctors and appointments and that kind of stuff 'cause they won't let you use messenger with wifi phone. Has to be a regular phone line for some reason even though I have all the message boards all synced together and I get the messages through several different apps at the same time. As the reg phone line just won't let you skype or video chat to a landline because they don't do that which is fine.

Worst experience ever. Phone didn't work and on top of two days trying to explain it to someone on the other end of a phone I was cussed at and called a racial name. Ended up sending the phone back because where I live in Louisiana we need either At&t or Verizon. How they expected me to use T-Mobile I'll never know. Horrible experience. This company needs to be shut down! Making racial slurs is wrong! Esp coming from a company that's supposed to help people!

I am writing this review out of frustration and several phone calls later regarding my Safelink enrollment, which as of today has still not yet been resolved. I am trying to recertify and it is impossible. You can't get anyone to help you. Everyone is a supervisor but yet they can't help. They are rude and you cannot get anyone to work with you even when you are on a 3 way call with California Life Line saying they approved you and all they need is a permanent ID # and Safelink says they can't do that, in other words they don't do squat. What ever you do DO NOT use Safelink. They offer you no viable solutions.

I called about 4 months ago to tell them that my buttons were sticking on my phone and I have a bar phone not a smart phone. They keep telling me to take the battery out of the phone and restart it. That has nothing to do with my problem but I do it anyway. Anyway, they finally realized that I need another phone which they said they shipped out on August 7th, wait 7 to 10 business days. I never got it. I called again, they told me it never shipped out and to wait another 7 to 10 business days. I called a third time to be told that it never shipped out and they didn't understand why I didn't get it. Really?

My 87 senior mother is suppose to go through recertification every year in order to keep her phone. It is absolutely impossible to get in touch with anyone on the phone to do this. It is impossible to do it online. It rejects her info every time she tries to do this. Terrible company.

This is the worst cell phone company ever! My service was fine until I added the Unlimited Plan. The minutes that were on the phone prior to the Unlimited Plan were supposed to be restored the next month, but they were not. My phone was disconnected all together. I called customer service at least 10x before someone was able to help me. Out of each time I've called, there have been maybe (2) reps that were friendly. Everyone else was very rude!!! I literally have to call them several times each month to have my service restored. It's ridiculous! The call center must be very small, because every time I call on the same day, the same person answers the phone. When I asked for a supervisor, they said that they were the supervisor!! I feel like they don't care about the customers due to the fact that most don't pay a bill. It's just not right. I will NEVER recommend this company to anyone!

I called Safelink a couple days ago & all I got was a man sniffing snot & screaming at me to hold. Isn't it odd that when you ask for a supervisor everyone is a supervisor. I have called 5 times today & still using the same phone. I work at a call center -- why would the 1st 2 people I talked to today tell me to call back from a different number & the last 3 say there is an error & I will have to call back in 48 hours???

I've been using Safelink since April. First, the junk phone they sent me had a faulty battery. Once it got to 50% charge, it would completely die. After speaking with someone, obviously outsourced to India, who didn't understand what I was saying, I finally got someone who understood English and got a new battery. I had poor signal but thought the battery was the problem. No.

I applied in May 2017. They sent me a paper telling me to send in my information. I called to see what they needed. I sent in my power bill, medicaid card, foodstamp card. This was not enough. So they asked for my driver's license and my SS number. This was not enough. Then they asked for another proof of address, so I called 911 and got them to send me my correct address. The one I used to apply. Still was not enough. So I called my home phone company and had them to change my address to my new address that 911 gave me earlier this year. This was at the end of July.

A representative of Safelink came to my apartment some months ago stating that Safelink was upgrading users phones to a larger screen. I thought this a novel idea. I received the phone within a week but the sim had an id of another phone number so they stated a new sim card had to be sent to replace the one that came with the android phone (the previous phone was LG model). I received the new sim card and for a few months was receiving my monthly minutes without a problem. Then the minutes stopped coming. I called Safelink but ended up connecting with TracFone. The rep said they were the same but I had to now pay for my minutes since I was no longer with Safelink since I went with the upgrade. I was furious!

This my second phone, they don't know what they are doing. I realized these phone from Japan, so I understand they don't care. The government use their service, they just care of that they have a job. I knew this was too true something free from government. Hope this new business close. It do more bad than good. Sorry we do not need to be stressed. I'm going back to the faithful company l have to pay Monthly.

TracFone or SafeLink should not be able to advertise that you can buy an add-on package for extra minutes. When the SafeLink minutes run out they will just throw them away or dissolve them or whatever it is they do but you don't get them. They will come up with some kind of an excuse and not help you on your account at all.

Recently was sent a new phone to replace one that had become defective, called in to activate new phone, 2 days, 9 customer service people and 13 redirects my new phone still shows NO Service, all after many insults, misunderstood directions and the inability to understand conversations. Don't try for a manager nor Supervisor as they just don't exist. Problems do exist with offshore customer service centers, I do understand this, however this is absolutely the worst experience I have ever encountered, and it is a USA Government funded activity.

I have no income. Lost everything. When I saw that I could get a free phone & 500 minutes through Safelink, I signed up immediately. A year later, the phone doesn't work except for the ability to send an occasional text. I'm in a battle with Social Security. Requires me to get to Doctors & speak to lawyers BUT I CAN'T because voices are garbled. Outsourced rep from India said I needed a Landline for them to test my phone. You don't need to be tech savvy to know this makes zero sense.

I'm a customer for Safelink. I'm eligible and approved by the government to receive assistance with the phone. Still they discontinue giving my minutes without giving me an explanation. They keep on bouncing me from phone to phone, telling me that I need to person x and y but never getting the result. I spend over 8 days trying to resolve my matter, speaking with gov rep saying that I was approved to receive my minutes but on other hand Safelink argues that is not truth.