Community Phone began when a friend walked into a competitor’s retail store with an email problem. Instead of helping her learn more about her email, their rep sold her a $1,000 cell phone she did not need. Our co-founders decided they could no longer stand by while their friends continued to be mistreated by larger telecommunications companies. They decided to found their own, dedicated to outstanding customers support. Since its founding, Community Phone has helped people save over $150,000 on cell phone plans, spread to more than 25 states, and profiled 8 groundbreaking members in our newsletter. We are improving everyone’s relationship with technology, one person at a time.

We are working toward our dream of making telecommunications free to the consumer. Ultimately, we’d like data to be like the radio, free for the listener and funded behind the scenes by the provider and content-creator. This would mean that, instead of requiring you to pay for the data involved in accessing your social media accounts on your phone (most of which is allotted to serving you ads), those social media companies would pay telecommunications providers like Community Phone for the privilege of having your account. That way you wouldn’t have to pay to access your own data. We’re hoping one day, they’d pay for your phone plan so you won’t have to. The apps pay for a plan to access you.

In the shorter term, we change all the time based on feedback from our members. In the past this has included simplifying our bills, introducing new plans, and adding a store to our website. Looking forward we will continue to design our offerings given this type of feedback. Soon we’re hoping to launch a few new plans, features to improve online privacy and reduce how frequently apps track you, and introduce additional discounts including discounts for low-income with documented disabilities and members of our armed services.

Above all we believe in treating our members with respect. We hope to do this every step of the way, from handling the switch from your old carrier all the way to flying new phones across the country to help with an emergency. We strive for simplicity, so our bills are fair, clear, and consistent. If anything needs to change, we will notify you ahead of time. Most importantly, as our name denotes, we value community. We are hoping to make personal communication personal again by bringing our creative and kind members together. We do this virtually in our newsletter spotlights, introducing a talented member each and every month, and we do it in person at our Harvard Square shop, where members are invited to have a free coffee or tea, explore our exhibit featuring Cambridge as a centerpiece of telecommunication history, and borrow a book from our community library.

We are a full-service cell phone company, dedicated to creating an outstanding customer experience for each of our members. This experience includes handling every aspect of the switch from your old carrier on your behalf, offering coverage on three of the four largest nationwide networks, never having to wait on hold or talk to a robot, and having a customer service representative meet you wherever is convenient to you if there is ever a problem. We also happen to be the first-ever cell phone company based in Massachusetts. Our customers tend to be people who use their technology to create rather than consume. They write books, design jewelry, and run companies. To showcase their work, we publish a monthly member spotlight. In the past these spotlights have included a former CEO of KFC, an award-winning novelist, and a lecturer at Harvard University. Our mission is to help our customers thrive, removing the pain of the traditional telecommunications experience and replacing it with a truly welcoming and encouraging relationship with technology.

We understand. And that's why we make it just as easy to leave as it is to join. We have a 60-day money back guarantee, and will help you move back to your old carrier just as we've helped you move to us.

You will always be able to keep your phone number. However, your current phone may not be compatible with our network. Please give us a call to find out if your phone will work. If you do need to get a new device we give you a set of options that is suited to your needs. If in Boston, we will then bring the new device to you and transfer all of your contacts, pictures, videos, and apps over to the new device free of charge. Otherwise, we can do this over the phone.

We have your back.

No problem! If you're in the US or the UK, select priority shipping in your checkout cart; you’ll have to cover the difference in shipping cost, but we are sure it will be worth it.

We understand. And that's why we make it just as easy to leave as it is to join. We have a 60-day money back guarantee, and will help you move back to your old carrier just as we've helped you move to us.

Please note that we only ship and deliver expedited options on weekdays and our cutoff for same-day shipping is 12:30pm ET. 

We try to fulfill orders very quickly; that said, please email us at help@communityphone.org and we’ll find a good solution. If you’re just getting cold feet, hang on until you can give our service a try–we think you’ll love it and if you don’t, you can always send everything back for free within 60 days of purchase and we'll help you move back to your old carrier (device purchases cannot be returned after 30 days). 

We allow returns in many circumstances.  We have a 30-day warranty on all devices, but it does not cover physical damage.  See our terms of service page for more information.

If you are already a Community member, we will likely take back your current device and contribute the trade-in value toward your next device.  This all depends on the condition of your device.  Contact us for more information.  We do not offer exchanges for non-members.

We offer a wide variety of devices, including Androids and iPhones in new and refurbished condition.  Check our Phones page to see many of our most popular devices.  If you'd like a phone that's not listed there, contact us, and we can likely order it for you!

We offer many plans, on three different networks.  Check out our Plans page to see many of our most popular plans.  If none of our listed plans seems like a good fit, contact us, and we can likely find one better suited for you.

We accept payment via card (Credit or Debit) and will soon offer automatic bank withdrawals.

Yes!  Just let us know that you'd like to pay automatically each month, and we can easily set it up for you.

Refunds can take up to 5 business days.  

Whenever we issue a refund, we refund the payment method used in the initial purchase.  In some circumstances, we also provide refunds via check if preferred.