Customer Reviews

LG 225 Prepaid Phone with Double Minutes for Life (Tracfone)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have this phone with a different service, so I'm reviewing the phone itself, not the service.

The pros:
* The phone is a good size, small enough to comfortably fit in your pocket, but large enough to see what you're doing with it.
* Battery life is good - I've had it last through an hour-long phone call then a few hours of instant messaging.
* It's sturdy - after almost two years or abuse, there is not a scratch or a crack on it.

The cons:
* The volume does not go up high enough. I have good hearing, but I cannot hear the ringer on maximum volume unless I am somewhere fairly quiet. I also frequently cannot hear what people are saying to me during phone calls. The volume does not adjust based on external noise levels.
* It doesn't have bluetooth. (I don't know why Amazon lists bluetooth headsets as accessories.)
* It doesn't have a place to enter physical addresses or birthdays for your contacts.
* Finally, LG has an issue where buttons get "stuck" in one position. (For example, if you were pushing the left arrow it will sometimes continue going left after you stop pressing the button.) I do not think it is a physical issue with the buttons, but maybe an electrical or software issue. I have had this problem with this phone and also with a LG television. It doesn't happen very often, mostly when playing games.


Overall, I would say that this is a tolerable phone, but not one that I would recommend, due to the low volume. If you live/work in a very quiet area, have good hearing, and simply want a sturdy phone with a good battery, this may work for you.

I've used TracFone since 2003 when I was pregnant with my first child. I've never had any problems with their service and even got clear signal on vacation 400 miles away! It has been a wonderful service for us and very inexpensive since we mostly use it for emergencies or short phone conversations.

***You can buy bundles of minutes (which must be used within a set time limit of 90 to 365 days) from the Tracfone web site on your home PC or directly from your phone's web browser.***

The above sentence is NOT true. There are no limits on your minutes only your airtime. Every 90 days I buy a 90 minute card for about $20 and all of my previous minutes roll over with it. I've even switched phones and they will swap your airtime & minutes from one phone to another.

I've found the service very easy and convenient. The few times I've had to call customer service (to switch to a new phone) they have always been thorough, informative & courtious.

I have no plans to switch service from TracFone anytime in the near future and am very pleased with their service & products.

Okay, first off, I'll talk about the phone.

First, it's a pretty good entry level flip phone. The quad-GSM does come in handy, so you can get service just about anywhere. The pictures are okay, and the screen could be a little bigger. And real-tones are a nice touch also. However, Tracfone is notorious for locking features. The web-browser will only work on their website, and it will still charge you if you try to get to another site. You cannot get different ringtones unless you email yourself a MIDI ringtone, or get the tones from their site. And the reception is great, but note it will either run on AT&T's network, or T-Mobile's network; Tracfone doesn't have a network of it's own.

Now to customer service. It flat out SUCKS. I recently upgraded my phone to the new Motorola w376 with Bluetooth, I found out they disabled all the good features on this phone. Anyway, I tried to transfer my number and minutes over to the new phone over the website. They said it would 24-48 hours, and it's been about a week now. I called CS, they said the reason the number porting was taking so long was because one phone was a GSM phone while the other was CDMA. Total BS, both phones run off of GSM; it just sounds like they don't know what they're doing.

Overall, if you can handle the CS, by all means get a Tracfone. However, if that's one of the big selling points for you, stay away from Tracfone.

LG TracFone Prepaid Cell Phone - 225

The LG-225 is a compact flip phone with features aplenty. I purchased this prepaid model with Tracfone's "Ultimate Bundle" - a year of service, a 400 minute airtime card and the well-designed phone unit that includes double minutes for the life of the phone, a camera, programmable ringtones and much more.

A handy feature is the clock and caller id that shows through the top of the case without having to open to flip top, and visible minutes remaining on the service.

A great little phone for limited or emergency use.

Excellent phone for a person that uses a phone for emergency purposes or doesn't spend hours talking hours about nothing. The phone itself has excellent battery life, very good coverage in the area I live in, good sound quality, and the small outside screen is a nice feature. I deducted one star because the ring tones are awful in my opinion. However, in all fairness it is possible to download better ringtones from the Tracfone website but, I'm too cheap to do so. Overall the LG225 phone and Tracfone is a great product for those people wanting an inexpensive cell phone. I have owned the phone for about 8 months.

Small, clear video, great audio quality. Phone doubles all Tracfone purchased minutes and bonus minutes will be added to that (i.e. purchase a one year 400 minutes card with a 200 minutes promotional code, and you'll have 1000 minutes to use within one year - longer if additional time/minutes are purchased). Easy to add phone book - can store multiple phone numbers under one contact name. Easy to take pictures, but have to use the web to email the pictures to store on your own computer - no direct connect to a computer. Battery was properly charged and drained several times, but even in standby drains fast, only having 2-3 days standby time. My replaced Kyocera (provided free by Verizon) provided strong standby power for more than a week; You have to use a Tracfone phone with Tracfone. Activate phone with Tracfone online and receive 20 initial minutes. My minutes were not applied automatically, as expected when activating online, but I had to call tech support. Tech support was called several times, for both pre-sale and after purchase support; there was never a wait time and the personnel were excellent. I had 1st ordered the phone direct from Tracfone and then found that Amazon gave a better price. I called Tracfone to cancel the order, and although it had shipped, they gave full credit - all I had to do was refuse the phone when delivered by FedEx. Once upon a time I made good use of my Verizon plan, but for a long time had little and seldom need for monthly use. For several years I paid Verizon $30 a month for a few minutes used over a year's time, and incurred roaming charges. With Tracfone, I purchase minutes per year (1000 for $99), no roaming charges, and none of those phone charge taxes that can increase your bill 20% or more. An assortment of cards for various minutes/time are available. Tracfone buys minutes from all the major cell phone networks like Alltel, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, so I expect to be able to use my card while on vacation in Anchorage without incurring roaming charges. This is a single rate phone: This means that roaming, long distance, and even International Long distance is the same rate, one unit per minute. Tracfone seamlessly managed the cancellation of my Verizon plan and retention of my cell phone number. The phone is full featured - free caller id, mailbox, minutes available. I'm only disappointed with the short battery life. As I don't use the phone frequently, I only know that that standby time is short, and do not have experience on how long the battery performs during talk time. The phone advertises talk time over 2.5 hours and standby time up to 250 hours. I need to check the warranty for battery replacement. You'll find more information about TracFone at www.tracfone.com.

I also purchased the 'Ultimate Bundle'. Awesome deal - except the charger.
I was really SAD to see the old motorolla type of charger on it: you push a button on each side of the charging plug, insert the plug into your phone where it is connected and charges by 2 tiny metal pieces.
Problem: I've had 2 other phones with this type of plug.
BOTH began to malfunction and were ultimately useless because of the charger. Apparently the 'connection' would deteriorate over time, meaing you would need to 'jiggle the plug' to get it connected, until in the end the connection/charging failed to function at all.
-----------------------------
sigh
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I decided to keep the phone, HOPE & PRAY the charger doesn't give out on it... and wait for a charger to come along that will charge the batteries OUTSIDE of the phone itself.

Be Blessed! Buy one. Give one away. :)

I used this phone and it is just fine.

However, when I upgraded to a new phone through Tracfone, it took me over 5 hours of 'technical support' before they finally admitted the replacement phone was defective and agreed to send me a new one.
This was 5 hours over two days and was a horrible experience. I could hear the fourth agent helping other people while he told me to wait - he did this about 8 times. He made me give him my contact information at least 3 times. He refused to read the call notes from the other agents the previous day and made me repeat the exact same steps several times after the previous agents had made me repeat the same steps several times.
It appears that tracfone will do anything to avoid helping their customers and they seem to rely on customers giving up and going away. Such rudeness and incompetence are truly breathtaking in a company that relies on their customers for their income.
If the replacement phone does not work I am going to send it back to them rather than endure another excruciating ordeal such as I have gone through this time.
I would suggest that you do not use tracfone for anything but look for a better company.

I bought one of these Tracfone packages a couple years ago because I wanted a cell phone in the car when driving in case I ran into any problems. I did not previously use a cell phone and I researched what was the best-bang-for-the-buck for me and my usage. So I paid a few bucks for the LG200 DMFL phone bundle w/charge, car charger and case. For I got a "120 minute" card which upon activating becomes 240 minutes and I found a 60 minute bonus code on the internet so for under 50 bucks I had a cell phone and 300 minutes to burn. I spend about 10 cents per minute for air time and thats good for the USA. Each month your unused minutes rollover so I don't lose any. Now every 3 months you have to buy new mintes in order for the phone to stay active and for your minutes to rollover. What I love about the phone is no monthly bills, no extra charges, no gouging, unused mintes rollover and you pay for exactly what you use.

I only use it for a phone and don't text or anything else. After using it for a few months I dumped my landline phone because I didn't see the need to blow the money each year on it when the tracfone works just fine for my usage. Now I am not a heavy talker so I may only use 60 or 100 minutes per month so on an average month I am paying 8 bucks a month for the cell phone. One month I think I talked about 120 minutes and it cost me 12 bucks for that month. The major providers are not even in the ballpark. A plan with 400 minutes I just don't need. Most of my friends spend alotta bucks a month for their cell bills and I'm very happy at 8 bucks or so.

This is a very inexpensive phone but not everyone is going to like it. The volume is pretty low and the speakphone is quite low too. I don't like the old Motorola charger plug. It functions as a basic cell phone which for me was all I needed. Before you buy this cell or Tracfone you should first consider what your usage needs are.

If you need 400 or more minutes per month or need mobile internet this is not the phone for you. But if you want inexpensive basic cell phone for calling and receiving capability, check it out. The math is pretty simple. Also, Tracfone has been strong and clear everywhere I have been, they don't own the towers they lease time off the majors.

I have used a trafone for about 10 years now and I am pleased with my service. I bought the LG-225 a little over two years and I have really enjoyed my phone. It's great for what I need; the ring volume could be a littler louder but overall it's a good phone.

If you are looking for fancy features Tracfone is not for you. However, if you are looking for the convenience of having access to a phone anywhere. Then this is the way to go; you can control the monthly cost. That was one of the features that caught my attention. I don't have to pay a monthly payment if I don't need to.