I looked for reviews on Carolina West and couldn't find any, so I thought I would post this to help other consumers. I left Verizon and signed up for CW because they offered a $50/mo unlimited voice, text and data plan. That's a great price, but I ended up canceling because of some short comings. Pros: -great price for an unlimited plan -great coverage in the high country of NC -good local, english speaking customer service -some new decent smart phones Cons: -they roam primarily on Sprint first and if it's not available, then on Verizon. I had trouble with dropped calls and bad coverage when traveling. The phone would hold onto a weak Sprint signal and wouldn't switch to a strong closer Verizon signal. My other Verizon phone I carry ALWAYS had better coverage. -the phones are all 1 to 2 generations old, even the newest smart phones they offer. Their newest phone, the Razr Maxx, has been out on verizon for over a year. -They do not offer 4G, which is 10 to 20 times faster than 3G. -They advertise 4-600kbps upload and 6-1200kbps download speeds, but in 50 speed tests I conducted, not one even reached the minimum and most were in the 200kbps download range. The internet was slow and youtube took FOREVER to load. -They are a small company, so they don't do much with timely android updates and the technical support is minimal. -You can't tether or use your smart phone as a hot spot outside of the 5 county CW tower area. If you travel and want to tether your laptop to your cell you can't do it, as you can on other carriers. -The unlimited plan throttles your data speeds even lower after 3 GB of data usage. -And finally, your used smart phone has very little residual value on ebay or craigslist, unlike Verizon or ATT phones, because there is a very limited market for a used CW smart phone. All in all, Carolina West is a decent company with decent plans and prices. But if you are techy or want the better smart phone features, you will be disappointed. Hope this helps somebody. It took me a while to figure all this out. I've decided to go with a pay as you go service provider on the Verizon network. Cheers. read more

The worst wireless company in the world and has been for years! Glad to see them being bought out by Verizon. It's about damn time!!! As someone from the area and having cell phones for the last 30 years, I can't tell you how happy I am to see this shady and underhanded company go away!!! Back in the analog days of cell phones, when there were a lot of regional carriers, they were pretty good but when cell service went digital and 3g and 4g started coming about,they went downhill fast and so did their service.They did not have the customers or the money to try and compete with the big guys but they tried when they should have just stayed a regional carrier.It made absolutely no sense why a carrier that only served 6 counties in N.C. to start,thought that somehow they could do nationwide. It was ridiculous!!! Most people don't know but ever since 4g came out in the area in 2011,carolina west has being using Verizon transmitters to provide 4g in the area and now 5g. They didn't have the money in 2011 to buy their own equipment but they were a "nationwide "carrier? Yeah right!!! It was all a joke and they should have closed then. They have had so many roaming disagreements with other carriers over the years,it is pathetic. They don't get along with anyone and they damn sure don't care about their customers. They never have.Customer service sucks because of the culture set by their useless ceo,if you want to call him that. As someone who has met him and talked with him, I can't tell tell you first hand,there is a reason nobody ever got any good customer service there. It started with him. The only thing he has been worried about is padding his own pockets and to hell with everything else. Their prices have been ridiculous for years. A little regional carrier,covering only 11 counties at the end,charged customers more than the big national carriers do and they only serve 11 N.C. counties!!! It's insane that people in the area were paying that when they could have had any of the big 3 for less than they were paying this useless company. Verizon taking over this Mom and Pop shop has been the best news for the area in over 30 years. I know the locals are having a fit, wondering what will happen to their service but trust me guys, it only gets better from here. You will see soon enough and then you will wonder how and why did you support this useless company for so long when you can actually use your phone everywhere you go, instead of worrying about going over your roaming allotment when you do travel outside their very small service area. The bills will be about the same for some of you and for others, it will be cheaper since Verizon just announced the simplicity plan for $30.plus taxes and fees and the price is guaranteed for 3 years. So good riddance to Carolina West Wireless!!! It's great news for the residents of the area. read more

I have had this cell service for years and the cell phone reception is worse and worse. I try to support local businesses, but the service is horrible. I have tried to switch to Verizon, but CWW will not allow my number to be ported over. read more

Expensive fixed wireless service that is possibly worse than Hughsnet if you can imagine that.

status update: one month ago this was posted. Just for all prospective customers out there. The issue still persists until today with no additional support other than we know there is a problem but can't tell you when we will be fixing it. However their billing system seems to be working just fine. I work from home and was assured faster service than what I had. Only to receive the worst most inconsistent service ever. Customer service is polite while using their customers as their troubleshooters over and over again putting them through the same painstaking steps while as a the customer. Getting an actual human on site to resolve the service issue is next to impossible. The app support tickets do not work and you as a customer are left having to stop your day to call them and just through all the hoops again before a trouble ticket is issued. read more

No service since September 2023 company 1csaid need to update software didn't work then says updating towers with no date as to when this will be fixed to switch over to 5g then says your phone want work on there service they sold me 4g phone 2 yrs ago they use 4g on there towers, then tells me there's no service cat my address funny it worked just fine before they mess with things, then tells me 4-6 months before it's fixed, no one at this company has a clue what's going on but want you to pay for no service. Worse communication, worst company ever. read more

Great Customer Service, they were able to help me with all my cellular needs! There is great service in my area and all across the US!

So after almost being with the company for almost 20 years as a costumer my phones are shut off while I'm sitting in the hospital with my wife and kids that were in a accident, I call Carolina west and guess what they don't care and refuse to turn at least one phone back on until I go to the bank to put money in a account to pay the bill. Sorry Carolina west I just thought being with my family was more important than making a payment. Next time maybe we should check with you to see if it's ok to be with our family's in time of need because loyalty and family obviously mean nothing to you. So much for calling my insurance company and lawyer back until they get there money. Carolina West, there for you as long as they get what they want. read more

I'm honestly surprised they're still in business. I looked into switching to them but MAN they have crappy service and prices. 135/mo for 2 lines BEFORE adding any phones, and their data is slow. Insane. read more

Their service sucks outside of the county I live in....data speeds are so fucking slow..I drive a truck and need a dependable carrier...don't waste your money,go somewhere else for your cell phone service.... read more

Was a great experience with awesome workers to help and exsist you

They are HORRIBLE!!! Customer service does not exist with the main office. The sales folks were really nice. The service was spotty and the bill continued to go up even though I had unlimited minutes and unlimited free roaming. Hum? The company shut my phone off-saying I had not paid my bill. In fact, I had paid 2 months in advance. The main office turned my phone on, but still tried to keep my money. I closed my account and switched to Sprint that same day. After porting my number to Sprint, Carolina West still continues to bill me and send me customer service surveys. Harassment in the 3rd degree. DO NOT use this provider. They are useless! read more

Don't go to Carolina west!!!! Service sucks and every month on.ur bill has some hidden fee added in that is not supposed to be there. Funny how my husbands Samsung galaxy 8 won't load a page for nothing can't get apps to work etc. With Carolina west but when I switch to straight talk with a phone that's 5 years older than his I have the best signal could ask for. Also they say here's a free tablet for buying your phone's with us today ok than a year later when we try to pay off our phones n go to a different phone carrier they tried to say that the tablet would have to be paid off too for 286$ when we didn't even want it !!!!!! I could of bought a laptop for that!!! Also when I bought my phone I put insurance on it the phone was 120$ so when it quit working& I tried to use my insurance I had to pay 120 deductible and buy new phone!!!!!! read more

Carolina West is the worst company in the world. I regret signing a contract with them so much that I am paying money to get out of the contract. No service anywhere in Carolina except right next to their tower. It is ridiculous. When I call a CAROLINA WEST customer it says I have a wrong number even though I know I don't. PLEASE don't use this company. You will regret it so much. read more

Customer service with the main office is not the best. Wished you people did more for your customers as far as billing goes. However its WAY BETTER than Verizon or Sprint. I don't have a problem with service. There is one spot in a 4 state area that doesn't have signal. 4g is all that we stream. My son has broken 2 phones, got replacements with in an hour. No hassle. We have 7 lines and unlimited everything including data, messages and calls and we pay less than with 3 phones from Sprint. Verizon allowed people to open 10 lines in MY name I have had to get an attorney with them. I don't recommend anyone else. read more

They use to be good I'm in Crossnore can't get any signal it use to be good no signal now .They promise the world and don't call back !! On a scale of 1 to 10 they are a 2 read more

I'm a Verizon customer, and recently had a Carolina West employee contact my phone looking for a friend of mine from work. Curious as to why and how they got my number, I talked to my friend at work that they contacted Carolina West wireless to inquire why they were calling people from his contacts looking for him. Apparently they had called several people looking for him and he hadn't have Carolina West those numbers. He owed a bill that wasn't paid, and Carolina West went through his past bills and were contacting people through the numbers they found on his bill to try to collect on the bill. Regardless of the circumstances, seems a little shady that a company would resort to this action to try to collect. Im not a customer, and do not recommend anyone else to be after seeing these business practices. read more

Worthless, outside their service area. And yes I have extended lte and took phone in to be checmed

Carolina West Wireless recently made changes to their business model. They no longer offer 2 year contracts and special pricing on their phones. They say "we just want to be like everyone else", well that's unfortunate. Both their cell service and customer service is not great, but we have been loyal customers for 20+ years due to the fact that they offered phones at discounted prices with a two year contract. If they are not going to offer that, why stay with a substandard company? There is no reason to. There is no customer loyalty or helping in their community, it's all about greed and being like the "big guy". Well I hope that they lose their loyal customers over this. It would have been nice if they would have sent out an email, a letter, etc. stating as of xxx date we will no longer offer 2 year plans and discounted phones. At least customers would have had a chance to upgrade before the change. So all those that are in the Carolina West Wireless service area - there is no longer a reason to stay with CWW and accept poor quality service. Time to move on. read more

we have retained an attorney to sue the individual who sold us our equipment , her manager his manager and his boss,also customer service mgr. read more

This is the worst cell phone company I have ever had. They lie about their pricing...$44.95 for unlimited pre-paid, but then they tack on an extra $5.00 for "administrative fee". The cell service is awful, unreliable and if you need to talk to a service rep. at 8:00 at night....not going to happen! When I am out of town...still bad. Fortunately I only have to be in this area for 6 months, then bye, bye Carolina West. They would not let me keep my number and sell cell phones no one has ever heard of. It is a monopoly company for the people who live in this region. read more

Awful customer service! If you are under a service plan with CWW ... start planning your escape. My MIL recently passed, my wife and I are working to simplify things for my FIL. Only my MIL had a plan with CWW, again deceased. We attempted to port her old number and add it to our AT&T account so my FIL would have a phone in case of emergency. At this point CWW refuses to allow the number to be transferred over to my AT&T account claiming the contract is still valid ... to a deceased woman. Unbelievable that a business that has a copy of a death certificate is so unwilling to treat customers with some dignity. Run, don't walk. Shame on you Slayton. read more

Have been with them for over 6 years because we had a really good rate. However, everytime our 2-year contact is up and we want new phones, they hassle us and tell us we can't keep our existing plan (although after months of hassle they usually relent). Coverage is really bad and main customer service is horrible. Steer clear. read more

If no star was a choice, I would choose that one. I have spent entirely too much of the past year calling Customer Service due to phone defects (that they will not resolve). Both mine and my husband's phone will dial out twice when calling a number. The phone forces us to 'merge' the call, then the call is dropped. Very frustrating. Not to mention, the texts are delayed. When we travel to visit family, coverage is very, very disappointing so we either have no service or dropped calls. We have been double-charged this past month (which put me over the edge). For one entire day this past month, I had no service for over 24 hours due to the fact they were adding my employee discount (which hasn't happened yet, it is 8/18 and I took the information into the store in MAY). When dealing with Customer Service, they did not inform me of the interruption in service. It was a surprise. Of course on a day that I was meeting tenants and having appliances delivered! I have never despised a company this much. Will be happy to go back to the wireless giant, "Verizon". September 2015 cannot come soon enough! read more

I've been with carolina west since dec. Soo..3 months.. lord, it seems longer. I HATE this company. I'm trying to pay my phone off tomorrow and I'm going to another company. This company is crazy! I haven't had a bill under 150.00 a month.. and that's for ONE PHONE ! I'm placing this rating only to let other consumers know.. your best bet is to avoid this company! I went this evening to pay my bill to be told it's 164.00 for this month. I have no over due fees. No roaming. Just my payment where I'm to pay 65.00 for my galaxy. And unlimited service because they kept telling me I was going over my data limit. I work 6 days a week and don't take my phone into work with me..I work 10 hour shifts and I'm going over on my data? Still not sure how but told them to place me on unlimited. With Boost my plan was 50.00 a month unlimited. If you have unlimited money this company might work for you.. I'm just not willing to pay 150.00 + a month for a phone I only use to call my family. Maybe twenty calls a week..I don't text much. This is an insane bill. Then you try to call them to find out why.. ha! It's a 9-5 customer service line. No after hour calls. Nice! Im paying outrageous prices for no customer service!? They are going to lose this customer as soon as I figure out how to cut ties in the morning! Giving 1 star because I have to or it would be -10! read more

Poor customer service at retail store. A few 20 something year olds who think folks who are older and technically challenged are irrelevant. I do not recommend this store. Ill be gone as soon as possible. read more

My customer service has been great, although it is not available 24/7. Very satisfied with sales people. We got one bum phone but took it back and they replaced it. Their pricing is great on service and phones You have to make a decision like you do for a restaurant. Do you want to go to Ruth Chris, Longhorn, or Texas Roadhouse? One of my biggest concern was cost of phone and monthly bill. It was very affordable and the service has been good. Their signal may not be as good as some, but I am paying $80/mo for two phones including service. I can't afford for my phone cost to be a car payment just because I want to stream movies, music, etc. If you pay attention, most places have wifi and I always check it. If you need unlimited everything, 27/7 customer service, and phones that will hold 10k songs, and online high data gaming, this company may not be for you. You have to decide how much you are willing to pay for your gadget. read more

horrabile service i work about a quarter of a mile from their tower in hickory and cant get a good signal half of the time, i live in lenoir and cant even send a pic message it usually states sending on the phone for at least a day, ive had every excuse offered to me from them in the world even replacement of a 2 month old smart phone has been done , the last call i made to customer service they told me my elevation was lower than the tower what a load of crap, i told them if i offered a service to them but they never got it but still had to pay for 2 yrs they would be pissed too, worst cell phone ive been with yet to date i suggest not to get attached to them read more

I have had service with Carolina West for 10 years plus. They have expensive phones and expensive service but I lived with it while I lived there. I recently moved to Florida and find that my phone is always roaming, battery is always drained, messages are delayed, calls are dropped and I have not been able to use the internet since I moved here. I only have 4 months left on my contract and asked if they would cancel early due to non-service. The answer was NO, you will be charged 100.00 for early cancellation. I tried to reason with the person including asking her what she thought the chances of me selecting Carolina West if I moved back to NC. Her response was that she thought I would choose them. I had to laugh and asked her why would I choose a company who wouldn't cancel a contract after 10 years for lack of service. She said she would transfer me to a supervisor and put me on hold and never came back. Even AT&T cancelled a contract for lack of service and they have the worst customer service ever. I was very disappointed with Carolina West and will not use them again. read more