TextFree: Call + Texting Phone Reviews

by Kikizawa

I have used TextFree mostly for verification codes and being able to send images to classmates. I am a foreigner living in US and I dont need a sim that much because of my short stay as a student, I use WiFi mostly. If it wasnt that most of classmates uses app like telegram andthat app ask for phone numbers, I really dislike I have to pay for a month to be able to see verification codes. I dont wanna risk money and the service doesnt work after paying it, I dont make calls and I think it is unfair you have limitations with texting. If you wanna charge for codes, I think you would let us watch ads or charge for a week or something similar for verification codes. I suggest to give trial period of the monthly plan to be able to see if it really works because not everyone has a good WiFi and devices.

I also dislike the images I send to classmates cant be seen in their phones and this one a feature I liked of TextFree. Not everyone needs a monthly plan for codes if they dont use unlimited calls and lots of students dont have too much money so we choose this kind of apps for needs that USA asks to verification or keep in touch with close people to us.

by Llortretsam

As the title states, TextFree used to be great, but they did an update that slows it all down by displaying a huge ad everytime you go to TextFree to respond to a message . The old version had ads, a banner across the bottom and ads that would look like texts, but now it freezes the whole screen for a full page, intrusive ad that ruins the whole experience. Look elsewhere there are hundreds of other apps that have less ads and work better.

UPDATE: after reading similar canned responses from this company regarding why they choose to continue intrusive ads, I strongly recommend ANY other texting app available. They will be FAR better. AND THEY SELL YOUR INFO TO SCAMMERS, THUS THE THOUSANDS OF ROBO CALLS. They give the typical greedy response “ it’s free ads are how we make money” they make plenty with the ads they had before, now introduced huge intrusive ones to “coerce” you into paying for their premium service...at that cost, just go to metro pcs.

UPDATE 2: after more canned responses from them most seem very catty and pretty condescending rather than actually admitting mistakes of the company they also toss out “pandemic” excuses. Everyone seems to have the same issue, they made plenty of money from the non intrusive ads, before they had even less users...so I don’t buy that excuse for a second. With the latest update they also blocked texted verification for specific sites.

by BRO 77

When I click the message it will often freeze up and I will have to close out TextFree , double click home, swipe up, and then restart TextFree literally 4-5 times before I can click one of the messages and it'll take me to the message. When I type it will often freeze up so I can type or mid typing it'll freeze and unfreeze so I'll type one part of a word and finish the last half of a word or two later and then I'll have to use auto correct and rewrite the couple words it froze for. Sometimes it will take me to the message and the box to text won't even be on the messaging screen and I'll have to close out and reload TextFree for it to go back to normal but then the when I do it freezes up and I have to close and reload it a couple more times to get it to unfreeze. Sometimes it'll take me to safari or TextFree store even if I didn't click the ads, and no my finger doesn't slip and accidentally click the ads, it just does it by itself sometimes. I'll sometimes have the text box glitched out at the very top of the screen so I can't see the other person's message, or the text bar will just be frozen 3/4s from the bottom inbetween the ad that's covering up half the screen and the top. Paying to get rid of the ads may help with the ad related glitches, but it won't help with the rest of the glitchyness with TextFree , my advice would be to GET ANY OTHER TEXTING APP!

by Fototico

They keep begging to allow the. To track me across apps. Hey Pinger, get lost! There is bo reason to track people. Not tracking people do not prevent you from displaying lousy apps. Which makes my old review still true to this day.

I’ve been using TextFree for something like more than 10 years or so. I’ve seen it grow from a dumb little app to what it is today. Unfortunately with dumb full screen ads it has gone down the path of cheap junk apps. I used to pay to remove ads when it was only a few bucks per year, but once they went to the monthly fee I stopped subscribing and stopped using TextFree as much. Now with the full screen ads I am seriously considering deleing TextFree . Sad but if there is one thing I am not willing to put up with is full screen ads. I was a paramedic for ten years and now I’ve been a patrol officer for three years. In all those years I’ve recommended this app and Pringer to thousands of people, but now that will stop and I will wait one or two updates to see if one of the developers regain some sense of common decency stop with the greed for more and more money. TextFree as not advanced much, if any, in years to justify the move to full screen ads.

by Jonathen_crow

I’ve seen countless people complaining about their issues with TextFree. Mostly that they’re able to send text messages but not receive them. And I’ve also seen that through my own efforts their response team for help is completely unresponsive. In a lot of places on the website you’ll see that they take a short time to respond, but in reality they take upwards of weeks, it’s been several weeks since I submitted my first request and I still have no response. Most other people cannot find responses, or solutions to their problems. They seem unwilling to respond anyone that is not buying credits.

This was once a good app, really great for people who possibly lived in bad areas were their Wi-Fi was stronger than their cell phone signal. And were unable for whatever reason to use their actual cell phone services to contact other people. It used to be really great especially when you were trying to do multiple things at once, or you were unsure of someone having your real number. Now it’s not worth the amount of time it takes to download.

by MamaAvoidsSpam

I use TextFree to shield my new number from spam and garbage and for that it does the job. But I switched over all possible non-personal calls to the text free number including the public library, businesses and retailers I have rewards with, and even potential financial advisors that I plugged my name and number online and the website “finds local matches”. The text part of it is acceptable, even with the annoying ads, but incoming and outgoing calls are unbearable. I paid $1.99 for some certain amount of outgoing call time and I hear clicks and constant bad service type interruptions (I hear only every other word) to the point where I have to call back on my regular number. This happens 100% of the time I use TextFree for incoming or outgoing calls. I’m going to have to say goodbye to TextFree because of it. But for text I would say TextFree is satisfactory especially if you are trying to avoid Google. But overall, as is, it’s gotta go.

by Graceland Kelly

okay so i’ve tried talkatone and almost every free calling and texting app out there but i always come back to this one.. one thing i love about talkatone that TextFree lacks is that talkatone you only need the calling “ credits “ for international calling... on that app you can send unlimited texts and calls to anyone without calling minutes... regardless if they have TextFree or not and i LOVE TextFree but i do think that dark mode should come to TextFree it would be BEAUTIFUL i’d suggest also “ read receipts “ and i think we should have unlimited text and calls... the calling credits should just be for international calling..so basically we just have unlimited texting and calling to any number regardless if they have TextFree or not with ads to keep it free just like the talkatone app does!!! other than the whole calling minutes thing that’s the ONLY thing i don’t like other than that TextFree is amazing and the best of the best but please give us dark mode and give us unlimited free calling i’d appreciate it! and so would do many other people!!!

by 💘🍪😆😄

Okay, I need TextFree. Because I don’t have a phone, and my Apple iPad only texts to other Apple products. With TextFree I can text my mom and dad who have Samsung phones. Also some of my older cousins. (The younger ones don’t have phones.) The changes that you should make is that you get a lot more calling time. Because my mom and dad are going to be working a lot over the summer, and I’m gonna be home alone with my older twin, and little sister. And they are gonna be gone a lot! (My Mom has to go in for training for a new job, and my dad is a truck driver, hauling stuff and farming.) And 10 minutes of calling time. AWWW HECK NO. Okay... I know you can also earn calling time, but I’m too young to make any purchases, or subscribe, or start a free trial for anything. If you wanna know how young it’s younger then 14 but older then 10. And there is no way I’m BUYING CALLING MINUTES. So that’s part is stupid. But I love how you can customize the background colors of the text and stuff. That cool. Welp that’s all I have to say. PLEASE CHANGE THE CALLING MINUTES! Bye!

by T0Ne3e

I own a iTouch 5th Gen, Current Mini iPad & iPad Pro. When I discovered your App on the online store and tried it out for a week without adding any of the subscriptions to do a little App Test Drive, I knew right away this app was an App paying subscriptions for. It’s Easy, Works with all my gadgets, and I can keep in touch everyday all day with everyone I know. Before this app, I used an old Flip Phone for my communications and it SUCKED. It was ancient, I haven’t seen anyone flip anything for anything in our present time and I wasn’t a fan of Contract Mobile Carriers, I did good with what I had though. this app is 👍🏼 GREAT ! Voicemail to Text feature is the best feature E V E R ! It’s changed the way I communicate from not caring to caring. I recommend this app to Everyone Out There. I haven’t had any issues and App is up to date and running smoothly all the time so Thank you everyone at Pinger.

by Cass 7678

I’m generally not the type to use an app like this (40 year old, woman, with a home phone & cell phone). But, I recently decided to shop around for cell service to save some money. I canceled my current service, planning to switch providers the following day. Then I saw a few more ads & decided to hold off to do more research.
That was great until I realized I had no method to text certain friends & family. This was the first app I found in my search, so I signed up (not expecting much).
To my surprise, it’s been super easy to use. I really loved that I was able to pick my own, local number. After that, I was able to start texting right away. The return texts came back quickly & there was no noticeable delay in speed.
I would definitely recommend TextFree. I’ve been using it for a few days now & am very pleased with everything.

by BRIT ICONZ

This is been a success story also a struggle story me as the reviewer have been using this app for over six years close to seven and when I had no way to have a phone service from my iPhone I was able to always have access to people calling me and having textWhich it being a American app I had no idea I’d be able to use it in Europe where I went and subsequently suffered a heart attack still having no phone service tax-free had allowed me to call and text my friends and family in the USA with no extra surcharge and really no problem this was a great thing now if this doesn’t come with the bells and whistles but it still was pretty forward thinking for time it came out it’s still one of the originals and one thing about it it’s stable sometime to glitches but it’s stable overall and I’ve still been able to use it we talking about six years of service that I use pretty much every day I am an original thank you tax-free you really helped me expand on so many things and yes I do have phone service now but I still use this as one of my secondaryNumbers one of the best apps ever invented because it works

by BSmooth512

Best VoIP App ever. Love the service and most of all the best deal ever. Why? Because it's the best and cheapest service to sign up with if one wants to have phone service at your convenience. In addition, Thanks to Text free I survived with out phone service for three month and they didn't pressure me to sign up. As result can't wait until I sign up for the service as as form of appreciation. In addition this is now what I call greatest cp service of all time. With great concept while enhancing technology by providing optimal solution when needed. Thank you so much cuz you Rock this app...and most of all I use your service as my primary iT service for my company as well. Reason - if I’m not available then the customer can even leave vm even when I’m off line. As result what an amazing/brilliant technology. Much love and respect Goes our to the creator of your organization and employees as well.

Thank You Everyone...

BCS inc.

by Studiorich

If you have cell phone service that is pay as you go where you pay ten cents per minute you can use your new phone number from TextFree as a WiFi phone and enjoy unlimited voice calling and not worry about racking up minutes on your prepaid or pay as you go cell phone plan also if you live in an area with poor cell phone service but have a strong WiFi signal then you don’t have to worry anymore about dropped calls using your cell phone as you are using WiFi to make and receive calls. Note No 911 Calls can be made with this service so you must use your cell phone or land line for 911 calls. This feature full phone line comes with voicemail, text, and so much more for $4.99 per month. Calls are clear using your speaker phone and uses less power using WiFi then using a cell phone tower. Plus if you own other cell phones or iPads with no cell service they too will all work using the same local phone number just download this app app on all your other devices and you have phones that you can use throughout your home even on locked phones and iPads. You will not be disappointed this is one truly amazing app well worth $4.99 per month and you can try it for free if you don’t mind ads but you risk losing your phone number after 30 days. But your subscription guarantees you can keep your new phone number and is ad free.

by Jengih

I would like to share with you my honest and overwhelming feelings for fried okra. It’s something I have harbored inside of me since I was a child. I have never shared these feelings to anyone before now and I wish you could understand to what depth these happy sensations of love and warmth battered in a perfect amount of coziness and placed in my grandmothers perfectly seasoned skillet. A skillet that has the unbelievable amount of exact proportions of normalcy’s a child needs. I grew into the person I am today bc of that skillet and I am able to give and show love because of all those perfect little pieces of fried okra.
I’m just pulling your chain!!! What in the world am I even talking about!!!
But in a serious note... TextFree is AWESOME!!! Love it!!! It could t be any better and I want to say thank you to everyone that has had anything to do with it:)
Have a wonderful night and smile bc Text Free App is my fried okra😉

by Zimukusa

Okay, so let’s ignore the fact that three of us in the company mis-dialed the number and that was the problem, not actually a bug... 🤦‍♀️
...when I reached out to TextFree developer I half expected no response as I’ve had really negative experiences before with other app developers. We were getting messages that our number had been disconnected despite having paid for the number (again, this was entirely user error as we were misdialing but didn’t realize til later).
Frustrated, I sent about 5 messages in quick succession. Got a response within an hour of my first message from someone who clearly knew to calm me down and get tech support. (Instant 3 stars).
Tech support tried calling and it worked for them but not for us. Tech support escalated the ticket to second level and provided frequent updates as we were dealing with different time zones (4.5 stars)
Second level tech asked for some basic info and quickly spotted the one digit we were dialing incorrectly. (5 stars)
I wish I could give two more stars to make it seven, cas I know from many tech friends that these kind of basic errors are ridiculous, but both tech support and second level tech were so good humored about it, I could almost hear the chuckling through their emails as I gulped in horror. (It’s been a rough week, I knew there’d be an error somewhere!)
Truly appreciate the highly professional and good humored support on TextFree.
Seven stars if I could give them!

by FBIMANSr

I enjoy the text free app and calling like watching the adds even joined a few to help with free minutes although it requires internet to use phone and text I really appreciate it helps me very much I have told several of my friends about TextFree and If you are down on your luck or just can’t afford a phone bill, try the text free app , watch a few adds get minutes for phone you can pick your own number, from an available list of numbers , and you are back in Buisness, yes it requires you to use WiFi! But so far my quality of call’s have been good ,and best of all as long as you use your phone a few times a month you can keep your number, and if you do need to change your number ! Well you simple request for a new number and you can change it and you can even keep your unused minutes!! Wow how great is that ? If after all I have just told you how great text free phone and text app is and you don’t get it , then you just don’t need a phone ! I Love it

by PB&J721

I have truly unlimited everything with my phone plan so I’m not the one who needs to save data or minutes and texts because I use my plan’s monthly allotment too early...I’m also not the one who needs an extra number to give out to handsome strangers I meet at the bar and have to make sure my wife doesn’t catch me! **not judging btw just saying TextFree has several uses for an assortment of demographics** No I’m the air head that misplaces their phone and always needs to log in to the computer or iPad to send messages alerting my best friend I accidentally left my phone in her car...AGAIN...and then beg her to drive back over and drop it off...AGAIN!! Anyhow, I appreciate that I can log in from virtually any device and have my contacts readily available to me for calls and texts because there is no way I could remember all of my contacts phone numbers or call for help without TextFree!! Thanks guys and gals at Text Free!

by Cobalionandzelda43210

I have had TextFree for 5 years (yes, 5 years) so it is imperative that I write a review! I got TextFree when I started college and did not have phone service yet, and I used it for over a year constantly. I've kept it ever since, and I still have the phone number that I started with. I moved to a rural area, where getting cell service is nearly impossible, and TextFree came in handy for actually being able to talk on the phone without needing to be in specific corner of the house or outside. This is the best free texting and calling app I've ever found. There are, of course, things that annoy me (like the amount of ads, not being able to make calls for free and only receive them, and the phone number going away if you haven't used it in a while). This is a completely free app, though, so I couldn't be happier. If you want more capabilities, you could either pay for TextFree or pay for phone service. For everything that TextFree does, I can't help but to give it 5 stars.

by Mmcvey98

Best free app for texting for when you need another number. I hope that none of you ever have to have another number for the reasons that I have had to. The only complaint I have is the fact that you have to buy minutes and the cost but on the same token with that;
If someone tries to call the number you have the option to have a call go directly to voicemail, so if the Caller leaves a voicemail you can still get the communication, along with the ability of an automatic text response to let them know that you cannot receive telephone calls on that number and make them aware of that fact. So I still give it five stars despite the downfall of having to buy minutes. They give you some free minutes to start, and methods/other ways to gain free minutes IF you want to take the time to go through all of the surveys and marketing etc.
When I have used the actual calling function of TextFree , the quality has been great. So overall for being a free app I give it five thumbs up :-)

by Jeff Pham

I still have a cellphone plan with limited minutes, this helps me a lot since I could make actual phone calls and text over the internet. They give you a phone number and you can text all you want. If you want minutes, you could earn them by watching short ad videos which is something I absolutely love! I am not rich so TextFree helps me save money.

The only thing I don't like is when you press the power button on the iPhone, it ends the call. I usually press the power button to turn off the screen, so it's just very confusing and I've accidentally ended calls before. Also, it appears that there are 2 different dialpad and call screens: one is from Pinger and the other is Apple's phone call screen. This is incredibly confusing, I would just like to have 1 call screen. The Apple call screen usually appears when the screen is locked, but it's still very confusing.

by 26atom

I used TextFree quite a bit. The old version worked beautifully. There were ads, but they weren't intrusive. For some reason I couldn't transfer my old number to my new iPad so i downloaded this new abomination. I was hit by 2 ads immediately. I also cant find Where to re-add ANY contacts. The intuitive usage is hidden.

I have an update to add to this review. Now that i have used it for a few weeks there is one HUGE NUISANCE that has been included in the update. The ads now replace some of your contacts, crowding out your numbers. How did the EVER allow this? Also, there are ZERO ways to delete them. Someone left me a voicemail in error and i am unable to get their erroneous call out of my contacts. There used to be an "erase conversation" button, which because you now must scroll through ads, has completely disappeared.

Ive been using the new updates for some time now. I’m convinced the numbers have been sold, as i now receive a robocall every 30 minutes and obscene messages daily. I’m looking for a better app. I would never recommend anyone download this. They offer no way to block or erase incoming calls, causing your contacts to be lost far down the list. Its truly awful.

by Wilson6765

I only have an iPad, so I’m not able to text people with non-Apple devices. I got this app to be able to text one specific person. It worked well for several months, but then it stopped working, so that he was not receiving my texts and I was not receiving his. After a few weeks of trying to solve this problem on my own, I finally contacted tech support. I got a response from them a very speedy nine days later. After a minimal interaction, I was told that the problem must be with my friend’s cell phone carrier. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t, but I feel that my problem was not adequately addressed, and since I now have no reason to use TextFree , I will be uninstalling it from my iPad.

UPDATE: After posting the above review, I was mysteriously contacted by someone else from the company who helped me troubleshoot the problem I was having. It’s good to know that someone in the company is capable of providing good support. However, I hate that I had to use threats to get anyone to take me and my problem seriously, so my decision not to use TextFree anymore stands.

by Andrew1243

I had TextFree for a while, pretty good, then I decided to try TextMe, but I deleted and got this one again. I like TextFree, but Sometimes it can be a little slow and I have to reopen it, please fix. And I think you should make calls better speed and quality, please fix this and I will stay by your side.

Andrew,
I apologize for wasting your time further but, if I delete TextFree and reinstall, can I resume the use of my old number and keep all of the contacts that I had previously? It seems like an unnecessary amount of work to delete it and have to get all of my contacts back. I have a fairly large amount of contacts. Regardless, thank you for your patience. I will continue to use TextFree with a five star review for support.

by Winterstone007

I am truly grateful of all that is allotted to me by TextFree and its creators n maintainers 🙏🏻 I have been using it, with the same uninterrupted or changed contact, for nearly a decade. It has saved me so much money and headache. I have been able to contact when no phone services work via WiFi. I have never had an issue to even need to contact customer service; if there even is one, lol. That is ‘top notch’ status quality to me. Not to mention being able to connect and utilize from any device that downloads apps or gets internet access. I hope to continue for another decade and beyond as the world moves more towards this kind of platforms. Thank you to all that are involved with this project for the outstanding results and complete privacy and anonymity (unless I myself connect me.) 💜🙏🏻👍🏻🤗

by JF0333

This is one app that really is free! Yes, you can purchase minutes if you want, but you can also watch a few short (very short) videos and in return, you are credited minutes on your account, which you only need if you want to make an actual phone call - texting is free. The only downside to using TextFree is that not all SMS text messages are accepted by TextFree.....certain one time codes that a company sends you in order for you to complete their sign-up/account confirmation process, are not recognized and therefore will not come through using the phone number that you are given/chose when using TextFree. I think this is an area that TextFree developers are working on, so hopefully the list of comparable SMS texts grows soon. Otherwise, this is a solid app that works great!