• TextNow

TextNow

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Overview

TextNow has a rating of 3.9 stars from 522 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with TextNow most frequently mention phone service, sim card, and second line. TextNow ranks 5th among Mobile Applications sites.

Proactively asks for customer feedback

This company responds to reviews on average within 4 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 88.3%
Positive
310
Neutral
11
Negative
30
23
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How would you rate TextNow?
Top Positive Review

“Need better reception for calls.”

Adelita V.
10/15/24

This app has been great need less day. When I need to use Text No, it opens right up for me. No problem. Reception could be hella better for voice calls... Other than that Text Now does the job and gets it done.

Top Critical Review

“Unsatisfied”

Clark L.
8/22/24

I paid for the card, it doesn't work, there is no free calling, and there is no available customer service for assistance. That's about it... Save for the fact that health insurance spammers can get through with perfect signal strength time after time even leaving default four-second vms. I'm not upset or anything, I didn't have high hopes about this from jump street, just saying.

Reviews (522)

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phone number (36)
Thumbnail of user chrisr534
Washington
1 review
3 helpful votes
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January 21st, 2019

This app needs to be close doenthe stealyour money don't replied an email or they don't ha. Support number bad new here guy please be careful

Thumbnail of user carols2189
Montana
1 review
1 helpful vote
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July 27th, 2021

I quit using TextNow several years ago. Now someone has my number, and my contact list! He texted my daughter and some friends, inappropriately.

Service
Value
Thumbnail of user now58
Virginia
1 review
5 helpful votes
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August 26th, 2020

This app is 90% scammers with no support. So they are allowing scammers to use their services to deceive the public. DONT TRUST

Thumbnail of user joannac55
California
1 review
2 helpful votes
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June 28th, 2018

I use this app all the time when I have wifi but no cell service. The cell service in my town sucks. Textnow is a life saver!

Thumbnail of user lorens104
India
0 reviews
0 helpful votes
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December 30th, 2021

My experience is not good for textnow because I not work properly... Therefore I request u to solve it.

Service
Quality
Thumbnail of user vijaykumars1
California
1 review
4 helpful votes
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August 24th, 2019

How is this company in business is absolute amazement. This company has absolutely No support. Period! One of the worst services ever created.

Thumbnail of user johnt1995
Florida
1 review
2 helpful votes
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December 2nd, 2020

Total waste of time and money... spent 9.99 and two hours of my life and their techs still could not make it work...

Thumbnail of user aa262
Canada
1 review
4 helpful votes
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May 1st, 2019

Very very slow to load, crashes the phone over half the time. This program works well from a pc, but definitely not reliable to use on a cell phone!

Thumbnail of user ad547
New Jersey
1 review
3 helpful votes
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February 3rd, 2023

Too long time for verify that human and if I'm not a human, am I a dog? Theme is not good and hard to login

Thumbnail of user aprilb81
Texas
1 review
0 helpful votes
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December 27th, 2022

I got a sim card and can't get any service. I get no bars, just an E. I can't make calls or texts. Totally sucks.

Tip for consumers:
Don't waste your time.

Products used:
Sim card

Service
Shipping
Quality
Thumbnail of user dubc2
Nevada
1 review
2 helpful votes
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March 31st, 2021

Received some sick text message with people cut to pieces and people with their heads cut off the first time I tried to use text now

Service
Value
Shipping
Returns
Quality
Thumbnail of user hayleighw1
Georgia
1 review
3 helpful votes
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September 1st, 2017

The app is overall pretty good, the only problem is you can't be added to group chats unless the person that starts the chat also has the app

Thumbnail of user christopherh1276
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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January 9th, 2022

Easy when you need a number to talk to loved ones fast, always reliable when you don't have a phone plan

Thumbnail of user he11728
Texas
3 reviews
15 helpful votes
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February 25th, 2018

IT SPAMS YOUR PHONE SO MUCH IT INTERRUPTS THE CALLS AND CAUSES THEM TO DROP!
It does not matter how strong your wifi is, it constantly screws up. You just simply cant use it.

Thumbnail of user phillipm160
Delaware
1 review
4 helpful votes
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February 26th, 2020

The Text Now app doesn't work. It's extremely slow, then it stops. It doesn't work. It's dysfunctional.

Thumbnail of user esperanzap
Florida
1 review
4 helpful votes
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May 30th, 2018

If you're ever considering textnow, don't. They provide horrible data service and voice quality with even worse customer support.

Thumbnail of user balajik6
Maine
1 review
2 helpful votes
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March 31st, 2020

I have this app on my iPhone and Samsung, and it works seamlessly with all devices. You can create a group chat of up to 25 people, compared to a paltry 6 on Freetone, the app I switched from. This app is free for unlimited Wi-Fi calling and unlimited texting on Wi-Fi. I use it to text my friends and call them at home. The person you're calling or texting doesn't need to have TextNow. Call quality is awesome - I called my friend Ev yesterday and everything sounded perfect. Messages are awsome too - they send in 2 seconds. Also, you don't get your messages blocked at random times, like with Freetone. You can also block people. Also, you can set it as your default phone calling app, which is very useful. Voicemail is free. I can also transfer my (TextNow) number to a SIM card on Sprint's network. You can also use it for receiving verification codes (new Google account, Youtube account, Tiktok messaging, etc). You can use your TextNow number as your Google Duo number (Google Duo is Google's video call app, sorta like FaceTime for iPhones. You can download it for both Android and iOS). Overall, I'd say that this is the best. I daresay it's so good that I don't need Textnow's customer service :) This is THE BEST!

Thumbnail of user kevinh535
New Jersey
1 review
3 helpful votes
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June 19th, 2019

DONT BUY PREMIUM SERVICES, THEY ARE SCAMMERS, THEY WILL STOP YOUR ACCOUNT ANYTIME AND WILL NOT OPEN IT AND THEY ARE LIERS. DONT GO NEAR TO THIS COMPANY. BETTER FIND OTHER COMPANIES ONLINE

Thumbnail of user summ228
Missouri
5 reviews
39 helpful votes
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November 2nd, 2020

First, I appreciate that TextNow provides a way to get a low cost or even free additional number. And having tried MANY other comparable services, I have to admit the horrible audio quality is standard. In more than 10 years, I have yet to use a decent VOIP phone service no matter what part of the US I've lived in or who the provider is (large cable companies or small apps).

But what make TextNow especially frustrating are two things: 1) There's no way to BULK DELETE messages. So you sit there getting rid of one junk message after another. And every single call that comes into your number is stored as a call. I think TextNow subscribers get so many junk calls because the numbers are so frequently recycled. See problem #2:2) For some reason I can't find yet, I get DOZENS of spam calls every single day. It's so bad I have to keep my device OFF because otherwise I get calls from junk callers all day long at work. Now you understand why problem #1 is so bad. To use TextNow, you have to constantly scroll to, select, delete, then--an added waste of time--CONFIRM DELETE every. Single. Junk. Call.

Oh, and the service is unreliable, to boot. I've missed multiple calls due to tech issues with the service. And callers tell me the voice mail system doesn't work. They'll call, try to leave a message, but either they're disconnected or the message won't get delivered to me.

Although free (I wouldn't buy one of those outdated, glitchy phones they sell for a paid subscription), TextNow just isn't worth it. Even if you were willing to put up with the massive waste of time fielding and deleting junk calls, your other parties can never hear you on the other end. Getting messages isn't reliable. And the constantly recirculated pool of numbers sets you up for oceans of junk calls. I give the app 2-stars instead of 1-star because, unlike many of its competitors, it at least does work on my phone. So it's a decent emergency texting service when you need to send confirmations... but don't want to use your real mobile number.

Thumbnail of user samanthah219
New Jersey
1 review
7 helpful votes
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December 23rd, 2019

I live in an area of Upstate NY that has absolutely no service and so to text friends and family from home, I utilized this app. For a while it was fine, I didn't have any complications. Last week, I tried to open the app chich would normally auto login and take me to my text messages. This time it asked me to login, and when I tried, I received a message telling me that I had been banned for terms of use and to read the terms, which told me nothing. Both myself and my husband read the terms several times. So I did what any other consumer does, I searched for a customer service number or email. Could not find one that didn't take me to an utterly useless page that very much wanted to make me feel like an idiot "try to delete and reinstall the app or update it" Give me a break.

I was able to find a live chat where I talked with a rep names Jason, that told me that I could not gain access to my account any longer because I had violated the terms of use. My account had been permanently disabled and would not be reinstated for any reason. When I asked what I had violated in the terms of use, he said "We don't have access to that information, we can only see that you've been banned"... Sketchy as $#*!! Just sayin!

On a side note here, I used this app to communicate with elderly family and I am now completely unable to get those phone numbers because I've been banned. I only ever saved those numbers to the app because I could not contact them otherwise. My family members have no one else but me and have several medical issues that frequently cause them to come in and out of the hospital. TextNow has been advised that there will be legal pursuit if harm comes to my family and I'm unable to assist them because I have no way to contact them now. Banned with absolutely no warning and no reason as to why. Bull$#*!. They've also been reported to the BBB in both Canada and the U.S. Find literally any other app!

Thumbnail of user jazielt
Texas
1 review
1 helpful vote
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February 2nd, 2022

It $#*!ing suck s it doen't let me in horrible rateing just sucks it just sucks better update screw this app

Thumbnail of user scotta82
Missouri
2 reviews
7 helpful votes
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May 9th, 2021

I use TextNow primarily on my desktop since transitioning to 100% work-from-home. I've had my account for about two years. I can send and receive texts reliably. But that's where the fun stops. While I get an ocean of incoming calls (spam) and can make calls out, the calls will last only UP TO 45-seconds. Then the calls inexplicably disconnect. I was just waiting on my bank to return my request for help. As the customer support agent was verifying my identity (44-seconds into the call), the call disconnected. Now I'll have to sit on hold for hours to get through to another agent--and that call will likely disconnect quickly, too.

It seems to me like TextNow is purposely disconnecting some calls to save bandwidth for the company's high-paying customers. This has been happening to me consistently since I opened a TextNow account. It doesn't matter what kind of internet protocol I use (high-speed wifi, ethernet-connected...), my calls are invariably ended in under a minute. But if I'm waiting on hold to speak with a customer support agent (like with my bank), the call persists as long as I'm willing to wait (hours...). So something is happening with the active voice calls.

Another issue I have with TextNow is that I can't find a way to bulk-delete spam calls/texts. You have to sit there clicking on each message/call, selecting delete, then CONFIRMING delete before being dumped back in your call/message queue. This is a massive waste of time.

If TextNow had proven reliable, I'd have happily bought a plan with them even just to use on my computer. But if they can't put forward a good showing with their free plan, then I have no confidence in the company.

By the way, I did contact TextNow. Their customer support asked me to create a new account to "test." But the account sign-up page recognized that I already had an account so wouldn't let me create a new one via email. The TextNow agent then asked me to link a "test" TextNow new account to my family's Facebook or Apple account pages. Are you kidding? To troubleshoot I have to disclose our other accounts? That's one way customers' private data is stolen--via these linked accounts. So, no, TextNow doesn't offer a reliable alternative to traditional exorbitant mobile phone services.

Tip for consumers:
If all you need is another free texting plan, go for it. But if quality voice calls matter to you, then it's not worth saving a few pennies NOT to be able to use the phone.

Products used:
I tried the company's free VOIP plan.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user vdenyssew
Tennessee
1 review
0 helpful votes
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August 3rd, 2024
Verified purchase

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Thumbnail of user dennisw1360
California
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 26th, 2024
Verified purchase

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From the business

TextNow is on a mission to make phone service free, easy, and accessible to all by providing users with a free phone number, and unlimited calling and texting on the nation’s largest 5G network in the US and on WiFi. Founded in 2009, TextNow is the largest provider of free mobile phone service in the US, supported by advertising. We have offices in San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Waterloo, Ontario and our app has been downloaded more than 250 million times globally. Our phone service helps more than 8 million people connect freely every month. For more information visit
https://www.textnow.com/

Company Representative

Thumbnail of user jasong1972
Jason G.
Typically responds within 4 days

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