# Tin Can - Companion App — user reviews > 92 indexed App Store user reviews of Tin Can by Tin Can, rated 3.00/5 from 105 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tin-can-companion-app/id6741686691/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tin-can-companion-app/id6741686691.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 42 · 4★ 3 · 3★ 9 · 2★ 10 · 1★ 41 ## Newest reviews (20 of 92) ### 4/5 — Great concept *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* The concept of the Tin Can Phone is great, and overall we’ve been happy with it. We have two, so I do wish there was an option to change the ringtones to make it easier to tell which one is ringing. We also had some connection issues at first, but customer service was very helpful with troubleshooting and got everything working properly. A few small improvements would make it even better, but overall my kids love it! ### 5/5 — Great 1st Phone Alternative! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We are so very happy with our TinCan! We got it for our 10-year-old as her first phone—a way to take that first step toward coordinating playdates and communicating with friends without immediately introducing apps, social media, and screens. What I love most is that it brings back something we didn’t realize kids were missing: the actual skill of talking on the phone. Things like answering, introducing yourself, having a conversation, knowing when to speak, and figuring out how to communicate without relying on texting or apps are skills we might assume kids naturally learn, but they really don’t have much opportunity to practice anymore. TinCan gives them that experience in such a simple, age-appropriate way. I also want to give a shoutout to the TinCan team. I know they experienced a huge surge in demand around Christmas, and that came with some setup glitches and understandably frustrated customers. From what I’ve seen, though, those growing pains were a reflection of how quickly the company grew—not a lack of care or commitment to their customers. They’ve been wonderful to work with, and I genuinely appreciate what they’re creating. We wholeheartedly recommend TinCan for parents who want to give their kids a little more independence and communication skills while delaying the jump into the smartphone world. We couldn’t be happier with ours, and I’m really excited to see where this company goes! ### 5/5 — My kids love it *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* My kids have a blast using this phone and all their friends have insisted on getting one too! We had one issue with a faulty cord and customer support got us a new one right away! ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* This has been so amazing for my 8yo’s independence and her friendships. It was shockingly easy to convince other families to give it a go and we will never look back. ### 5/5 — Great! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We don’t do kid cell phones and this is great to keep them connected. ### 5/5 — Brilliant company! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We fell in love with our Tin Can the moment it arrived! The packaging and design is brilliant. The throw back phone is awesome and has been used daily…I love the cord. It stays in the same place and never gets lost. We love that it is low tech and screen free. Our kids are 6, 8 and 10…and our 10 year old son seems to receive the most calls, lol. That I never expected. Thanks for making this! We tell all our friends about it and will keep doing so. ### 5/5 — Independence *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We purchased the tin can flashback. My 9yo was so excited and even came up with a phrase every time they answer the phone (“this is M_, how’s it hangin’?) I love that it somewhat removes me from the planning and gives my child the independence to do this herself. ### 5/5 — Back to the basics! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We have loved our Tin Can. The app is very user-friendly and the children love to call their friends and relatives. It also has also given us the freedom to leave the house, knowing they can call if any issues arise! There are many things they are benefitting from with the use of the phone. ### 5/5 — NostalgicMom *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* I’ve recommended the TinCan to every parent that I meet. I love that my kids are gaining crucial social skills and communicating without looking at a screen. Hearing them fight over who gets to call to their friend next is way easier to tolerate than hearing them fight over iPads or tv time! ### 5/5 — Best choice ever! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* My kids absolutely love their Tin Can when it rings. They stand up run across the house sit on a white couch and talk like it’s the 1980s. There’s no screen sharing there’s no distraction. There’s just simple beautiful conversation friend to friend. I would recommend every household have a Tin Can not only for the conversations my kids are having with their friends, but for the safety feature it’s great to know my kids have a way they can always call 911 should something there’s no passcode there’s no Face ID simply pick up the phone and dial. My kids are more in touch with their grandparents and their cousins. they’re not hiding in their room on a device they are living in community that is growing out of their own thoughts and feelings. My only regret is not finding the Tin Can sooner buyers today 😀 ### 5/5 — 5/5 stars! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We love our Tin Can phone! It has been one of the best purchases we made for our girls (ages 7 and 10). I’ve been recommending them to all our friends and family. ### 5/5 — Love our Tin Can! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* This is a wonderful way for the kids to communicate with friends and family without having to be on a device. The kids love it and quickly, some of their friends started getting them as well….they loved staying in touch through the summer and organizing their own playdates. We have the paid plan to be able to call other numbers and it is very convenient! Highly recommended! ### 5/5 — Kids Phone *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* great for kids keeping in touch with friends and family! ### 4/5 — Bring back childhood *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We absolutely love our Tin Can. We’ve had it about nine months now, and the ability for our kids to connect with their friends in a simple tech freeway has been amazing. The phone is easy to set up, I love the feature of an app to provide some technology and parental monitoring. But the simplicity of it is what makes it so amazing. The company is fast with customer service, handled their explosive growth in a way that was honest, professional, and endearing. I highly recommend the Tin Can for anyone tired of coordinating. Their kids play dates for them, who wants to empower their children without giving them another high-tech device ### 5/5 — A lovely addition to our house *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We love our Tin Can! It’s been a great addition to our household. It has also delayed the pressure of our kids getting cell phones. Our kids manage their own play schedules with neighbors now. They also pick up the phone and reach out to Grandma. Plus they can check on where Mom & Dad our if they are not home. All the suggestions on why to get one are accurate. I highly recommend. ### 5/5 — My kids love their Tin Can! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* The outside calling is well worth it for them to be able to call my cell phone when I’m out as well as grand parents! They’ve also become much more independent in setting up playdates and learning basic phone skills that FaceTime did NOT teach them. We haven’t had network issues since the first month or so (December 2025), but I will say that the cord has a really bad habit of falling out of the handset while they’re talking. We had it replaced and it’s still very loose, so they’ve learned to hold it very carefully! ### 5/5 — Highly recommend!! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* My kids love their tin can! It’s a really fun way for them to stay connected with friends without having to use a screen. I recommend it to their friends parents whenever I can. ### 5/5 — Great for young kids! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* I don’t understand some of these bad reviews, user error maybe? This has been wonderful for my daughter to make plans with her friends in the neighborhood. Also, being able to make and receive calls from grandparents have been really fun for everybody! The only thing, I wish there was a better way to keep the cord attached, it likes to pop out too easily when it’s stretched, but not a huge deal. ### 5/5 — We love our Tin Can! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* My kids love calling their grandparents and their friends to schedule meet ups. They literally squeal with excitement every time the phone rings. Everyone with young kids should get one!! ### 4/5 — Great concept *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We really love the Tin Can phone for our kids! The app is user friendly but would love to be able to access voicemail options. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — The phone arrived July 27 2026. Promising idea, but unusable so far *2026-08-07, version 3.0.0* I bought Tin Can phones to help our grandchildren stay in touch safely, but registration has been blocked for over a week because the app cannot find an available phone number in any area code I try. Support confirmed the issue and said it was escalated, but there has been no resolution or meaningful technical update. The concept is excellent, but a server-dependent product that cannot be activated is of no practical use. I’ll revise this review if the problem is resolved promptly. ### 1/5 — Going on hour 3 of trying to get working *2026-07-13* I think an update occurred that prevents you from seeing any directions on how to set up the phone. The FAQs on the website and the little brochure are the only directions that you have to figure out setup or that I could find. I have a flashing Tinothy button that doesn’t do anything. A dial tone but no actual call through. And I’m assuming if I have an external number in the app, I should be able to just call them? ### 1/5 — Terrible product terrible customer service *2026-06-18* Our phone hasn’t worked from the beginning. We’ve had it three months and so far every call has been static or dropped kids tried calling my cell phone and it goes straight to voicemail. However, no other phone or landline does this only the Tin Can phone. I try and call the kids and I get a message saying that my friend is not available. The kids are unable to talk to their aunts, uncle‘s friends or anyone on this device. A total waste of money and time huge disappointment. Tried contacting customer service have not gotten any response. Other than an automated AI message . As well as sent a text message. The concept is great. The product is trash. ### 1/5 — Very buggy *2026-06-08* Multiple hang ups during initial installation. Able to to overcome them until the final roadblock at the disclaimer about 911 service. even closing the app and then later deleting the app and reinstalling did not allow set up finish. They say they have it running smoothly, but that's not the case. ### 1/5 — Slow and unresponsive *2026-05-13, version 1.3.0* Frustratingly slow, takes forever to load. Click buttons and nothing happens. ### 1/5 — Don’t bother *2026-04-04, version 1.2.2* Tried for over 45 minutes to get the thing to work. All Bluetooth, WIFI, and prompts appeared to work and then ultimately we keep getting a network error. The FAQs all reference known errors that they are working on with no fixes. ### 1/5 — Extremely rocky, failed onboarding and garbage support *2026-04-03, version 1.2.2* So right out of the gate when I scanned the QR code and submitted my email address, I failed to get an email with a code. Upon contacting support I explained myself a few times, getting increasingly confused at the bizarre responses they gave me until I realized I was talking to an LLM. Absolute waste of my time. Finally hours later a real human (I think) responded with an apology, but after some back-and-forth they told me that my provider (fastmail) was blocking them "for some reason" and they expected me to use another address. I pay for email explicitly so I can rest assured that a garbage company like Google isn't going to cut me off, which matters even more to me since this will be an account connected to my child. So that's a no-go. Now I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to return this or...I dunno, but I would never recommend this company after this experience. It's obvious they don't really have the chops or care to support this product effectively. Think twice before buying! ### 1/5 — Have to reinstall to login *2026-03-18* Every single time I open the app, it has logged me out. When I try to log back in, after entering my login info the login button doesn’t work. The only solution is to delete the app and reinstall it from the App Store. Has been doing this for 3 months. ### 1/5 — A literal tin can *2026-03-06, version 1.2.2* App doesn’t even work. You can’t login because the login button does nothing. I was able to login once and it just said Error. So, the phone is a literal tin can. Cannot even set it up to use it. ### 1/5 — Bummed *2025-12-30* We bought this phone for my kid as a gift from Santa on Christmas morning. We’re 5 days past Christmas, and we have yet to get the phone to work. Apparently it’s not connecting to the server, but the company has also stopped responding to all customer service requests. My app glitches every time I push the manage availability, we just get a grey screen. Completely disappointed by this product and company so far. I am hopeful we hear from them and get this resolved. The kids who have them working sound like they’re really enjoying them. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Our kids LOVE it *2026-08-21, version 3.0.1* Our kids love it - they call grandma and grandpa all the time! Worry free! Tip: tin can speaker phone makes grandma and grandpas hearing aids go all echo-eee-kerfloohey. ### 5/5 — Best app it could possibly be *2026-08-21, version 3.0.1* I wish every app with features controlling who can access my kids and what my kids can access worked so seamlessly and intuitively… like my kids’ school laptops for one thing. Tin Can has thought of everything. I’m hoping to buy 4 for Christmas presents for cousins! ### 5/5 — Killer kids phone *2026-08-21, version 3.0.1* We got this for our kids last Christmas, and while there were some problems those first few days, tin can was communicating with us the whole time. And after they fixed that problem we have had zero problems since. We love tin can!! ### 5/5 — Be a 90s kid *2026-08-21, version 3.0.1* The Tin Can has been a wonderful communication device for my children amongst their peer group. They have independently learned to memorize phone numbers, use phone etiquette when answering calls and leave voicemails with confidence. This is their way of connecting without, “hey mom can you call so and so,” and I LOVE that it doesn’t involve a screen. Thank you for bringing such a gem back to life. ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-08-21, version 3.0.1* Kids love it ### 5/5 — Love! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We love our Tin Can! My kids love calling their cousins and grandparents on the phone. We really like that it is through wifi, the sleep features, and that they can only call people we approve of. ### 5/5 — Love our Tin Can! *2026-08-20* My 10 year old daughter LOVES her tin can-- It is such a delight hearing her chatting on the phone, calling her buddies, cousins, aunts, grandparents whenever she likes! Thank you so much, Tin Can, for making this possible! ### 5/5 — A great learning experience *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* We bought a Tin Can phone for our kids and it has been a wonderful experience for them. They have learned how to answer a phone and end calls. They have the freedom to call up family members or friends whenever they want. It is also helpful when they are left home alone to know that they can call me if they need anything (such as whether they can have a snack 😆.) ### 5/5 — Amazing! *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* Tin can is great for kids. I love it! ### 5/5 — Great tool for my kids *2026-08-20, version 3.0.1* I’m really loving our tin can and how it’s allowed my kids to stay connected with family who lives far away without needing me or my phone. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-23.*