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Contact CenturyLink customer service
Got a question about CenturyLink service? Cool. You can reach a living, breathing CenturyLink representative from 8 a.m.–6 p.m. local time Monday–Friday.
That’s all the service says on its website, and yeah, it’s not very helpful. Without knowing CenturyLink’s time zone (it’s central, by the way), you can easily call too late or too early, wasting your time. This likely contributes to CenturyLink’s poor customer support score.
Also, Monday–Friday from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.? Like, when almost everyone is at work? Nobody likes sneaking in customer support calls at their desk or during a lunch hour.
Luckily, you can reach CenturyLink reps by chat from 8:00 a.m.–midnight (CT), seven days a week. If you work during the day, we highly recommend this method of contacting CenturyLink.
CenturyLink customer service hours of operation
| Time zone | CenturyLink phone support hours (Mon.–Fri.) | CenturyLink phone support hours (Sat.) | CenturyLink chat support hours (7 days a week) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Standard Time (EST) | 9:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. | n/a | 9:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m. |
| Central Standard Time (CST) | 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. | n/a | 8:00 a.m.–midnight |
| Mountain Standard Time (MST) | 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. | n/a | 7:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m. |
| Pacific Standard Time (PST) | 6:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | n/a | 6:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. |
| Alaska Standard Time (AKST) | 5:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | n/a | 5:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. |
| Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST) | 4:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. | n/a | 4:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. |
For most US customers, there is ample time to contact DISH after work (assuming you work a nine-to-five job).
That said, when you adjust for time differences, Alaskan residents have a tighter window. But Hawaiian residents really get the short end of the deal since DISH’s customer service hours are almost entirely during average sleep and work hours.
If your schedule is more flexible, DISH suggests calling between 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (EST), which is likely when they experience lower call volume.
For technical support matters, DISH representatives are available 24 hours a day at 1-855-402-3233.
CenturyLink outages
Uh-oh. Did your slasher movie stream cut off right when the killer raised their machete? Or did your internet go out when you were about to smoke the rest of the pack in a Forza Motorsports 7 online race? Did your landline go down while you were dialing 911?
You might be experiencing a service outage. If so, you can get help from CenturyLink online or on the phone by following these steps:
- Use the Test Your Services tool.
- Enter your account or billing phone number.
- Fill in your billing ZIP code.
- Click ‘Run Test’.
The test will tell you if there’s a known outage in your area. If an outage isn’t to blame, you can click the “Internet Problems” button to continue troubleshooting your issue. Or call tech support by clicking one of the buttons below.
CenturyLink customer service phone number
To reach a CenturyLink customer service rep, dial 1-877-837-5738 from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. central time, Monday–Friday.
CenturyLink customer service online
Do you prefer typing over talking? Do you trust your own research over the expertise of a call center employee? Then online customer service might be for you.
CenturyLink has several options for online help:
- Live reps available via chat from 8:00 a.m.–midnight central time, seven days a week (respond “agent” three times to reach a real person) \
- Live reps on Facebook Messenger and Twitter (Mon.–Fri. from 7:00 a.m.–midnight central time, and weekends from 9:00 a.m.–7 p.m. central time)
- A way to email the repair department
- A detailed, searchable help page
- Handy customer support tools, including Internet Speed Test, Service Troubleshooter, Where’s My Technician?, Modem Compatibility, Manage My Services, and Find Product Availability
We contacted CenturyLink customer support via chat 11 times. We’d call seven of the wait times normal (five minutes or less) and four of them too long.
The reps, for the most part, were knowledgeable. We did, however, have a few annoying encounters.
One rep repeatedly insisted that 1.5 Mbps would handle multiple video streams and online gaming—which is wildly incorrect—while pushing us to sign up. And on two other calls, agents were unable to tell us even basic details for CenturyLink’s phone service add-on, Easy Talk.
So 8 out of 11 chats ended pretty well, while the other three had us pulling our hair out. If this were school, CenturyLink would’ve scored a 73%—or barely a C. That’s a passing grade, but we feel like CenturyLink can do much better.
Other CenturyLink online support
Account and billing FAQ
CenturyLink tech support
| Tech support department | Phone number | Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet repair | 1-877-348-9005 | Email repair department | 24 hrs./day, 7 days/wk. |
| Phone repair | 1-877-348-9007 | Email repair department | 24 hrs./day, 7 days/wk. |
Is that dadgum internet box on the fritz again? Don’t give in to your urge to smack some functionality back into it. Call one of CenturyLink’s three different tech support departments. Or send a strongly worded e-letter to the general “repair” email address.
CenturyLink customer support for your business
CenturyLink business customers have a wealth of customer support options. In the table above, we’ve listed the chat and phone contact information. There are also detailed help pages for both CenturyLink Small Business and Enterprise support.
CenturyLink local customer service options
Once upon a time, CenturyLink had local stores where you could get customer support and make payments—but it’s closed those.
Some (but not all) Walmarts will accept CenturyLink payments. Unfortunately, the only way to know for sure is to visit your local Walmart and ask.
Before you call CenturyLink
So you’ve blocked out time on your calendar, and it’s time to make that customer support call. To save yourself time, be prepared with the information a CenturyLink rep will need to assist you:
- Your account number or the phone number linked to your account
- Answers to any super-secret security questions you put on your account
- A pen and paper for notes
- Your choice of snacks (in case you’re on hold for a while)
- A way to distract yourself from being on hold—something shiny, a stress ball, a voodoo doll, etc.
Pay your CenturyLink bill
Need a way to give CenturyLink your money? See if one of these payment methods suits you:
-
-
- Automatic payments: Sign up for CenturyLink AutoPay.
- By app: Download the My CenturyLink smartphone app.
- By mail: Find your payment processing center and send your check or money order to CenturyLink.
- By phone—automated phone system: With your check or credit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover) ready, call 1-800-244-1111 any time and follow the prompts. This is a free service.
- By phone—representative-assisted payment: Call 1-800-244-1111 from 7:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (CT). There is a $3.50 fee for this service.
- In-person: CenturyLink has closed all of its brick-and-mortar locations, but some Walmarts will accept payments.
- Online: CenturyLink Quick Bill Pay is available 24/7.
- Through a payment service: CenturyLink accepts payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT) from third-party services like CheckFreePay and Western Union. There is a fee for using these services. You can make these payments in person or online.
-
Sign up for CenturyLink service
What? Are you not a CenturyLink customer? Why are you reading this? Oh, you’re interested in becoming a customer.
In that case, call 1-866-449-1979 from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (Mon.–Fri.) or 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (Sat.) central time.
Cancel your CenturyLink service
To cancel your CenturyLink internet or phone service:
-
- Call 1-800-244-1111 Mon.–Fri. from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (CT)
- Be ready for CenturyLink’s customer retention team to try and keep your business with special offers and options. If nothing can change your mind, just stay firm. It’ll be over soon enough.
- Return your equipment using the return box provided by CenturyLink.
Bottom line: Is CenturyLink customer service good?
CenturyLink (like Xfinity and Spectrum) is known to have customer support issues. In our 2019 customer satisfaction survey covering the top 10 DSL and fiber internet service providers in the United States, CenturyLink rated 7th in customer support with a score of 3.99 (out of 5).
CenturyLink ranked similarly in install/setup (8th), modem satisfaction (6th), and reliability (7th). Better scores in billing (2nd) and value (4th) kept CenturyLink’s combined rating at 3.99, which was good enough to finish in 5th place overall (tied with Frontier).
Pros and cons of CenturyLink customer service
Pros
- Easy-to-reach live reps
- Handy online resources and tools
- Comprehensive business support
Cons
- Unclear support hours
- Incorrect support info
- Half-baked customer advocacy
CenturyLink still has work to do to improve its customer support.
It’s troubling that CenturyLink has even one rep that would try to push a sale based on clear misinformation. Also worrisome is that CenturyLink’s idea of doing better through customer advocacy is to refer us to its existing customer support department.
But we do like that it’s so easy to reach a live rep (especially via chat) and that most of them know what they’re doing. The online help is also rather comprehensive. So CenturyLink is at least headed in the right direction.
CenturyLink customer service FAQ
What is the number for CenturyLink customer service?
You can reach CenturyLink customer support by calling 1-877-837-5738.
Does CenturyLink have 24-hour customer service?
CenturyLink does not have 24-hour customer service. Phone support (1-877-837-5738) is open from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (CT), Mon.–Fri. Chat support is open from 8:00 a.m.–midnight, seven days a week.
CenturyLink does, however, have 24-hour tech support. For internet help, call 1-877-348-9005. For assistance with phone service problems, dial 1-877-348-9007.
How do I contact CenturyLink customer service?
There are several ways to contact CenturyLink customer service.
- Phone: Call 1-877-837-5738 from 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. (CT), Mon.–Fri.
- Chat: Live reps available via chat from 8:00 a.m.–midnight (CT)
- Facebook Messenger and Twitter (Mon.–Fri. from 7:00 a.m.–midnight CT and weekends from 9:00 a.m.–7 p.m. CT)
What time does CenturyLink customer service close?
CenturyLink phone support closes at 6:00 p.m. (CT), Mon.–Fri. Chat, Facebook, and Twitter support all close at midnight (CT).
Who can I escalate to at CenturyLink business customer service?
To escalate issues with CenturyLink, you can contact its Customer Advocacy team via Facebook Messenger and Twitter (Mon.–Fri. from 7:00 a.m.–midnight CT and weekends from 9:00 a.m.–7 p.m. CT).
How do I talk to a real person at CenturyLink?
You can reach a real person at CenturyLink fairly easily by calling 1-877-837-5738 (Mon.–Fri., 8:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. CT) or through chat (seven days a week, 8:00 a.m.–midnight CT).
How do I report a CenturyLink outage?
If you think there might be an outage in your area, you can visit CenturyLink online to test your services.
After entering your account or billing phone number and ZIP code, you’ll learn if there are known outages in your neighborhood. You may also call technical support at 1-877-348-9005 (internet repair) or 1-877-348-9007 (phone repair) to report an outage.
Randy Harward’s scribblings have appeared in HARP, Guitar World, Blurt, and a couple dozen other publications since the late ’90s. When he’s not watching TV professionally for CableTV.com, he’s eating burritos, playing disc golf, and caring for his tarantulas. Like everyone else on the internet, he thinks his cat is awesome.
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