Talkatone: WiFi Text & Calls Reviews

My mobile phone stopped working and I needed a texting solution. After reviewing and trying several options, I couldn’t find an app that was free unless you were contacting someone else who was also a subscriber to the same app. Then I stumbled across this app! The free version allows you to dial and speak to anyone on any number whether the subscribe to this app or not. I loved it so much I upgraded it! Now for only $1.99 + $3.99 per month I have no ads (which were not intrusive at all anyway) for the $1.99 and a stable number, voice mail transcription, call forwarding and other great features. That’s less than $6.00 per month for a full-featured VOIP service with crystal clear calls, MMS texting, address book, unlimited domestic calling, voice mail and customizable options like ringtones etc. I just cannot stop being impressed. Even with the free version you get unlimited domestic calls and MMS. It puts Skype and so many other apps to shame. Download it and give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.

I use this to dial in to a community conference call almost every morning. (My regular phone company started charging extra fees for dialing in to conference call numbers which wasn’t in my original contract, so this was my workaround.)
-Sometimes (okay, often) the connection is terrible, has static, echoes, disconnects, etc. I would not use this for a work or any type of call where a bad connection would look unprofessional or cause a serious problem. Since the group I’m dialing is a casual one, not at all related to work or anything time sensitive, it’s not the end of the world if I lose my connection.
-Recently, in addition to the ads at the bottom of the screen, there is a nag screen that blocks the keypad and prevents me from dialing unless I allow tracking. I’d rather not, so I may have to find something else.
-Last, there is always a little ad saying that you can dispose of the phone number and burn a new one. Seems like it would help if you wanted privacy, right? But it also seems that when I dialed out my full real name is displayed to the call recipient, so there goes the privacy aspect. If you want a private second number I don’t think this would be good for that.

It took forever for me to figure this out, but I was getting “message failure” when sending some messages. I finally realized that Talkatone will not send a message if it contains certain words. Weird, but I guess I can understand some words, but it wouldn’t let me send a message with the word “stupid” in it. I was telling someone I was on a flight that got in “stupid early.” I tried sending the message 8 times, and then sent sections of the message, some of which worked and some didn’t. I finally narrowed it down to that one word. I sent the exact same message one last time with every word identical except I changed the message to “very early” instead of “stupid early,” and it worked. I can’t imagine why the developer would restrict a word like that, especially completely out of context. I don’t want to run into a situation where I might be in a hurry and have to figure out which word they find offensive in order to get my text through. If they don’t like “stupid,” then any word could be on their ban list. And it’s got nothing to do with my provider. I use that word and others that are worse all the time and they go through just fine on my phone. Very strange!

UPDATE: I’ve been using Talkatone for years.. same phone number, no issues. Recently I found need for another 2nd phone number (hehe) and after trying out all the others and checking the subscription pricing.. I realize this app is the best value too! I got lucky with my first number as I got in at the beginning when they offered one time fees!

I rounded up rather than down because people should know how wonderful Talkatone is and how much it's simplified my carrier switches. With this app I have been able to keep a set number where I can be reached. I can text and call and my credits usage seems to be nonexistent. I tried many many other apps and when I found this one I knew I had found a keeper. I spent the $10 (one time fee) to go ad free and it feels like a normal part of my phone. The only complaints I can find is the poor ring tone selection and that I wish voice calls were a bit louder.. All in all, it's exactly what I needed! Have recommended Talkatone to many!

if you enjoy endless frustration, go ahead and get this awful app... if you need to get a text reliably through, don't bank on this at all... EVERYthing i ask it to do results in a huge delay of 40 seconds to a minute... not kidding at all... EVERY...thing! waiting for conversations to load takes forever! calling up the text box takes forever! seeing actual contact names instead of their numbers takes forever! even just trying to complete a text to someone TAKES FOREVER because of hiccups and long delays!! i have to pretty much count on a five minute ordeal just to send a simple text to someone, EVERY time! my god, even the ads don't fit the spaces provided for them, ads from local business here... i bet they don't even know what they're getting for their advertising dollars... even aesthetically Talkatone is awful... COULD Talkatone GET ANY WORSE!? (sadly, probably)...

oh! a new update! hopefully they've addressed the delay issue! .....oh, no, no they haven't.... i just sent a text that took a minute and 15 seconds to go through... everything still takes a millennium... Talkatone won't even rotate from portrait to landscape in less than 45 seconds! IT CAN'T EVEN DO THAT REASONABLY QUICKLY!!

what in the living hell is the problem!? PLEASE sell Talkatone to a developer who cares.... PLEASE!!

At first I loved Talkatone it was fine but like 4-5 months later it went down hill.
One day I’m doing what ever and I want to text my friend witch Talkatone is good because you can text people without a apple device and people around the world but here is when it went down hill ok so I was doing what ever and I go to pick up my phone. To remind you I never logged out of Talkatone so I pick up my phone and i start texting my friend then all the sudden it won’t send.. my phone turns black then goes where you sign in and I never did anything so I swiped my apps out and let it go but every time I texted someone for about 2-6 minutes it would say ( you have been logged out please sign back in) I never pressed any thing to sign out all I wanted was to text my Friend and others so now here’s the part we’re Talkatone is disappointing so it happen for the rest of the day then I’m like ok I’m done so I tried to logg in with my number or email and it says Please check your internet and clearly I’m on the internet! So now please fix it or I’m done because Talkatone is a disappointment to Talkatone Store. Now there is no way to text my friend and other people I know that doesn’t have a apple phone SO THANK YOU FOR RUINING THIS.

I had this app for a couple years now. I know apps can have bugs and need a tweak every once in a while, but I haven’t been able to use my this app for a week now. I have reached out to customer support three times. I get the auto messages but nothing is ever done to help me fix my issue. I have deleted and reinstalled Talkatone multiple times. I pay for a permanent number. I even gave it some time thinking it’s a system glitch , it will clear up in a few hours. Nothing… nothing….and not even a call to help me… I’m truely disappointed. Talkatone helped me so much when I was in the hospital with no cellphone service but only wifi… I could always call my elderly mom ( who has Talkatone ) and we could keep contact during the hospital stay. Especially useful during the pandemic as you can’t go in with your loved one. This is why I am so upset ! How can Talkatone not work all of a sudden?? I can’t place calls or get them either. When people call I just get a notice of a missed call ! Or a message! I can’t text out anymore, can’t send a pic. Nothing!! I’m so upset! I want to be refunded for the charges to maintain a non working number!! What’s the point of keeping it if I can get my calls right??

When it worked it was THE BEST! Since an 'update' somewhere earlier, AFTER it was working GREAT with my REALLY OLD iPad-3, I can no longer use Talkatone on the same iPad-3 because I can't update the iPad to version 12. Unlike a lot of app developers that allow for you to be able to download an earlier version that worked, when I try to download through my purchased apps page, all I see is that d@mn info regarding needing to upgrade my device! I have been trying to contact the company regarding this for about a year now, and I'm getting nowhere. As a result of the above, all I can do is caution people from even thinking about using this companies' apps. It is my opinion that they do not care about the customers' needs, but rather only the revenue that their apps can generate for their coffers. In other words THEY don't give a crap about the customer. End of story.

My son found Talkatone for my granddaughter who is 7 so she is able to use her “new cell phone.” It’s actually an older phone that my son gave to her to use with select people and there is no charge like you would have if you needed to activate and buy minutes or a phone calling card. He pre-programmed the numbers she is allowed to call and now that her and I and a few of her friends from school and in another state that they used to live in can have phone conversations for as long as we want as often as we want we are all happy. I found Talkatone very easy to use and have not had any issue thus far. Neither has my granddaughter. It also works on my tablet so that we can text if wanted but she is only starting to write sentences and its just easier for her to talk. She does get a kick out of this as do I. Thank you for keeping it free.

I use WIFI in one location a lot and I don't chat or talk when outside. Although, free app do not give up your SIM or SMS. I can not say how well it works when using SMS or SIMS from the major cell phone services outside. this app is perfect in home when everyone wants to use the land line phone. I can talk for a long time on my smartphone using WIFI & this app. can make calls, rec’v calls for free. They have a reminder system that warns you to make a call before the assigned phone number is loss. In other words you must make a call every 30 days ,if not the account is closed. It happened once, then ,they offered another phone number and I have had it for years. I am going to try the low monthly service that guaranties never losing my number, + voice mail.

There are reviews on here that claim things like “it takes forever to send messages” or, “calls don’t work” or, “app takes forever to load” BUT, I personally have used Talkatone and tried others that CLAIM to be free but then want to charge after the “free credits” are used - I have had occasional issues with Talkatone “freezing” and sometimes the sound quality on calls could be better but, after restarting it, it works flawlessly and reliably and, it really IS 100% FREE ! Ok, so there are ads ... it’s a FREE calling & messaging app and, if the tiny, unobtrusive ads at the top or bottom of the window bother you, then pay to have them removed because NO app is going to give 100% truly free calling and messaging without ads.
I only ding this app one star for the occasional hiccups that I already mentioned but, overall it is a very good app that I use every day. Thanks and keep up the good work !

Ok so, first off, i LOVE that u dont have to watch videos or anything to earn talking minutes like some other apps. The talking quality is pretty good, and texting goes through pretty well.. the only problem ive been having is that i get NO notifications at all. No text notifications and the phone doesnt ring when someone calls me, it goes straight to voicemail on their end and they have to leave a message, and it shows up on my end as a missed call. Not really convenient if ur expecting an important phone call, and no notifications for the texts make it hard to answer people on time without checking Talkatone every 5mins to see if they texted back yet.
I have notifications turned on in the settings and it still wont work.. my bf had the same app and his notifications worked, so im not sure why mine dont. Fix this issue and ill give 5stars!

Talkatone is amazing i would say but i have a lot of problems and it is bothering me. So when I first got it, Talkatone was amazing and it was fun I would say but when i kept using it, a lot of strangers would always text me and say “hey I’m a horny sexy girl looking for sex and I’m single” or “stop calling me man your soo Gay” But I don’t know how people get my number and it’s angry and kept on bothering me and told them to stop and it never ended it. I am very angry but so far, it was a OK app but I have a lot of glitches and every time my mom calls me, it would say “unlock pin” then I’m done but I call them but it then it shows me that I accept the call or decline and when I am done it shows me calling them with was angry and annoying but I would say that I would love that if you update it so people won’t automatically text or call you and I have been getting robot calls but I was aloud to block them so I was happy about that. Thank you for reading this.

Calling out can be spotty - often it will seem to connect but there’s no sound so you have to disconnect and call right back.

Other times you could be mid-call and all of a sudden it gets very staticky. Doesn’t matter if it’s WiFi or 3g or where you are located. Signal doesn’t improve. If you hang up and call back suddenly it’s clear again.

MASSIVE battery hog. A few programs can be battery hogs but this one will drain you after only a few mins on a call. It’s best to be plugged in or near a plug especially if you plan to talk more than 15 mins.

The BIGGEST issue is I cannot get it to let me accept any calls. Most of the time I get a quick chirp letting me know I just missed a call even though it wasn’t ringing. Other times it sends the caller straight to voicemail and I only know about it because there’s a missed call/voicemail notification. On the rarest of occasions where it actually rings it still doesn’t actually connect you. When you click to connect it’s just dead silence even though the phone counter is ticking as if the call is connected. Most of the time I just disconnect and try calling the person back.

Anytime I give out the number i tell people to just email me or leave a message so I can call them back since Talkatone never works. It worked not horribly initially so I’ve started to establish it as a steady number but it’s gone so down the drain it’s barely functioning anymore.

Overall, Talkatone is pretty cool. You can make unlimited calls in the US and Canada. Most apps would make you buy credits for all calls. Since I have no use for the international calling subscriptions for credit I don’t need to buy them. But the reason my review is 4 stars is the quality. I keep hearing static and some weird long beep and sometimes the caller on the other end sounds like they have helium in their voice. If you could improve the quality of calling, I would give it five stars. And also when I am receiving an incoming call and Talkatone is not open, I click on the notification that I receive and it doesn’t answer the call. I have to call the other person back. Improve the quality and fix the incoming call issue and it’s five stars.

this app is a great option for a second line. I've used the free version for about a year and have gone through a couple of phone numbers without any issues. I've been able to talk (within USA), text and send pictures with no issues and all for free. I only use this app for selling stuff online and other occasional social events. As long, as the former owner of the phone number didn't post that number online or they owe money to creditors, the this app number doesn't get bot or phishing calls. That can happen with any number. I'm just having a little trouble finding the voicemail messages. I forgot where to retrieve the voicemails. Keep up the good work.

Update: voice mail appeared again after reinitiated Talkatone . I didn't reinstall but I enabled background refresh and it did the job.

So as a 15 year old with a small family and low income my mother doesn’t make much money she could only afford to pay for service for one phone and I couldn’t call or text people so I went on a hunt to find a legit app that would let me talk and text for free it was hard but I came across this app Talkatone is AMAZING not even joking I can now call my mother and text her or anyone else FOR FREE Talkatone works and is definitely work downloading no free trials needed the only problem is that we can have ringtones from songs in our Apple Music section but instead we have premaid ringtones that would be nice to have custom ringtones if possible but otherwise Talkatone works very very well and I do recommend downloading Talkatone if you can afford service to call chat or text people I give it a 5 stars

I’ve downloaded plenty of apps for free calling, free texting and just plain free everything according to what a regular cell phone owner would need to make it through the world without having money. I that j can really find out if life can be freely lived even for people who are born in a unfortunate place or situation and Talkatone! ITS the only one to provide everything I was looking for in everything else. I couldn’t be more happy to share that to people and to start seeing more people used Talkatone! It’s so easy, very good with protecting your privacy you don’t have to purchase anything or feel the number is unreliable because it’s all 100% free, 100% reliable and most importantly all to provide your needs at your desired time!

Free candy, yeah, nothing comes for free. I was impressed at first. My own private phone number, texting, yada yada. And just when people I’m close to get used to my private number an add pops up from the developer saying I must agree to their policies of information sharing before I can use Talkatone again. So I go and read the policy. Are you F@$#ing kidding me? This policy is worse than those I see on windows apps disclaimers. It boils down to, we demand the right to assume your identity. And if you say, “yeah, whatever” then they get total access to your texts, photos, phone calls, messages, videos, and everything else on your device. And they will sell that to whoever’s walking by with a buck. Or hand it over to the authorities should there be something on your device they find suspicious. “Dude, that party last night was bomb”. Clearly a terrorist, arrest him. Nice try Mr. Trumphole. I bet he was like, you must call it “trumpatone”! Anyway. I can’t use it anymore because I don’t like my info being out there like that. You decide but please read that policy first.

Talkatone does everything that a normal Smartphone would, but I only have one problem with it. The problem is that in order to receive calls, you have to have Talkatone open in the background, and calls appear in a notification at the top of the screen, making it so that if you are in another app, you have to quit whatever you were doing, and rush to Talkatone to answer the call. I recall missing a call at least once, and today my Mom called me, and sense I swiped away all my apps, and couldn’t answer the call. She had to call a different number, and let me know that it didn’t work. That really frustrates me, but other than that, Talkatone works just fine. PLEASE fix this problem, and other apps like Skype or FaceTime just interrupt what your doing, which in my option I like a LOT better than missing the call every time.

I’ve had Talkatone for 2 years.. I would have given it 5 stars because it worked great!
In the last 2 weeks.. all calls go directly to voicemail.. I have emailed support at least 5 times and still no answer ( I mean they don’t even respond)!!!!!!!! In the past you could delete Talkatone and reinstall it.. and nothing was lost... not this time!!!!
I delete it and reinstalled it and everything I had on there is gone!!!!! Some of this was special stuff... plus numbers I now can’t get back... I’m so disappointed!!!
Especially in the fact that support doesn’t answer!!! And I still can’t get calls or even know I have a call.. it doesn’t ring... but goes directly to voicemail! And I only find out I have a call from looking at my emails! If support answers and fixes this problem I will change this back to 5 stars.. because it always worked in the past!!! And if there was a problem support contacted me right away.... not this time..
I’m devastated that I lost messages and call logs.. from someone special!!!!

I never write reviews for apps, but Talkatone is wonderful. It does drain the battery a bit; but the reason it does that is because it’s constantly running in the background. I need an app that acts like a genuine phone. That means anyone can call me...anytime! The other apps shut down entirely after a period of time. That means missed calls, missed texts and well.. just not what I’m looking for. Talkatone also sends full photos (MMS) texts and does not attach the application logo or link. The recipient receives typical messages without advertisements! Other apps don’t even let the recipient open photos unless they download their texting app! This one works like a regular cellular service, which no others seem to.

Love it!

I planned to write here in a week but its been something like a month. After a period of time suddenly Talkatone stops notifying when messages come in. Also Talkatone progressively got less consistent with message delivery as time has passed.

Day 1 review:
"I deleted this before because it was to glitchy I decided to give Talkatone another try today, so far so good. There have been two crashes already today but Nice layout everything has been sent and received quickly, no other glitches or obtrusive adds, service is actually free :)) all good so far. Lost half a star cuz two crashes in less than a day and you lost one full star because the "do not disturb" setting on my iphone does not impact your app. Not sure if that last one is within the devs power but i feel like it aught to be, perhaps i just didnt see a do not disturb within Talkatone or have some other setting arri, i will update review in a week or two after i have used it more."

I've been using this app for years now. I ported over my At&t number to Google Voice so I could retain my US number as I moved to Brazil. As I began to use this app I was amazed by the reliability at placing and receiving calls along with receiving and sending SMS messages to my friends and family back home. Several updates later it seems as though the reliability has gotten worse with every update. I used to get an immediate notice when I received a call or SMS, but now it seems as though I never do. I've tried tinkering with the settings but nothing works. I still recommend it but wish they would figure out the notification reliability problem.

Well sad to say in Theory it’s a 5 stars app! Works great to test it Until you pay the $3.99 for better VM and $1.99 to remove ads. It worked perfect for a day and once I decided I would keep Talkatone and pay up it went down hill from there. Looking back I should have paid someone $5.00 to just kick me in the nuts and call it a day! It would have been less painful. The phone rings one time and that’s it. You have no idea people are calling you. Unless your phone screen is on 24/7 a call will not show up. Text messages are 50/50 that you receive. I’m a tech guy and tried every single notification option on my IPhone and on Talkatone and ALL calls are missed. Nothing worked!
Tried to email tech support on Talkatone ! MIA for days no response at all. I have cancelled the subscription and gone back to Google that is 100% free and reliable for a work line. I’m out $6.49 and 2 days of aggravation! Trust me Keep your $$$