Customer Reviews

Nokia 6350 Phone, Grey (AT&T)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I will begin on a positive note: for its price, the sound quality of the phone is quite good.

However, the phone's satisfactory call quality does not make up for the fact that both of the Nokia 6350 handsets I have used in the past TWO months have met the same inexplicable fate--they have both powered off mid-call one day out of the blue, unable to be powered back on for two or three days at a time. I have tried different batteries and different chargers to no avail, so it appears to be that the handset itself is the problem. I have used common sense and care in using this phone. In other words, both of these Nokia 6350s' malfunctions cannot be attributed to water damage, breakage, low battery charge, or rough usage. I also doubt the phones' malfunctioning was just a random example of bad luck, either. Also noteworthy is the fact that the second Nokia 6350 handset that was provided as a replacement by my wireless service provider exhibited the same problem within one week of receiving it.

I felt compelled to write this review to warn others who are considering an investment in this handset. This is a very unreliable phone that may possibly bring great frustration and problems your way.

This phone has all of the normal bells and whistles for a standard phone, which does not have a keyboard. I stick to Nokia because they have the longest battery life out there. This is my son's and it has all of the functionality he needs. It has the reliability I need and the quality I need. I'm a huge Nokia fan.

I decided to go "blue tooth" and felt like this phone would meet my exectations. I am very disappointed and will upgrade ASAP. I am a man who carries the phone in my pants pocket for the most part. Problems consist of a very poor ringing volume. Not at all as loud as what I was used to. Missed several calls. The back/battery compartment does not stay on real good. When pulling out of my pocket to answer, I must often hit some of the exposed control buttons, and I get all kinds of sounds and often loose my caller trying to answer it. Unfortunately, i have several house and vehicle chargers, thinking I would like this phone. I believe it would be very suitable for a person carrying it in a purse or belt case. Just not happy with it.

We have a 4-line plan with AT&T. We try to all have the same model phone, as that makes software, usage, etc, easier for the 4 of us.

The Nokia 6350 looked like a nice upgrade for us. It really is a respectable flip phone. It has good phone sound, pretty easy to learn, loud enough ringer, and it interfaces nicely with the Nokia software (free) so our Outlook calendar can be put on the phone.

All in all, if it didn't have the problem (below), it would be worthy of at least a 4-star rating, probably even 5 stars.

BUT...

Of our 4 phones, 3 of them had the exact same problem within a couple of months. The loudspeaker -- the part that is used for ringing -- went intermittent and then dead. It isn't of much use if you can't hear the thing ring. Back to Best Buy they wen't (one of them twice), but that was useless because their repair facility is either completely incompetent or dishonest (or both), which is a story for another day. So I sent all 3 phones to the Nokia repair center. They were professional and competent. One of the three phones came back fixed, and the other two were replaced under warranty. Big sigh of relief.

Three months after that, though, one of the ones that was replaced (presumably with a new phone) now has a dead loudspeaker. Just like before, you can't hear it ring, you can't put it on speakerphone, and of course it can't play an mp3 file (which isn't a big deal).

In other words, it is blatantly obvious that the 6350, while it has the potential to be a nice phone, has a fatal flaw, or at least a big batch of them do. A bad speaker makes a bad phone. If only 1 of our 4 did it, oh well. But when 3 of the 4 had the same problem, and when 1 of the 2 replacements had (so far!) the same problem, it becomes completely unacceptable.

Don't buy a 6350. Just don't. I sure wish I hadn't.

---

June 2011 update... what is above is true, but at least the 3 fixed or replaced phones are still working. HOWEVER... #4 - which never did have the problem - finally bit the dust. The phone still works, it's just that the loudspeaker died. Same issues as above: can't hear it ring, can't use speakerphone, etc. This one will probably not be in warranty, so I'll either have to spend money to fix it or scrap the thing. Trust me - I like Nokia, but this horrible reliability probably means that when we're ready for a new model in a year, we almost certainly won't pick Nokia.

When I first got this phone about a year ago it was great. I loved the design and had no problems with it, but after a couple months it looked like i had had the thing for years. The coating that gives it a pretty color chips off VERY easily. I text all the time and i have to charge it at least once a day if not twice. The back will not stay on for anything and recently i gave in and finally just taped it on because i was tired of having to find it. A few days later it developed a problem when it would randomly shut off and to turn it on i had to take out the battery, put it back in and restart it. Now when i turn it on it will only last about 30seconds before it dies again. Admittedly being a teenager i can be a little rough on phones but I have never had one that lasted less than a year and the one's that i did replace still fully worked. After reading so many reviews with stories similar to mine i wouldn't recommend this phone to anyone EVER.

Flimsy:
This phone is a perfect example of aesthetic design winning out over practical considerations. Nokia insists on having a sleek profile with the phone open. With the phone open, the back forms a nice smooth slightly bent arch. However, with the phone closed - the way it is most of the time - there are all sorts of sharp edges to catch on things. To make matters worse, these edges are on the weak little edges of the trim. I have had to glue little pieces of the trim back onto the phone at least ten time. At this point the entire perimeter of the phone's trim is a patchwork of broken pieces glued back around the edge.

Software Bugs:
From the beginning, this phone displayed a very annoying behavior. Without any warning, the phone will end up in a mode where everything seems fine (the display works, you can browse pictures, etc.) and the display indicates several signal bars. However, if anyone calls the phone it goes straight to voice mail. If you try to make a call, the display will indicate that it is calling but it just sits there and never rings or connects. The only way out of this mode is to turn the phone off and back on. The worst part of this is that there is no indication unless you actually try to make a phone call. I have a friend with the same model and his does the same thing.

Non-standard headset plug:
Nokia insists on using a unique headset plug! I tried five or six inexpensive commercially available adapters. All were the correct diameter and length but none of them would work correctly. Apparently Nokia does not adhere to the standard that everyone else uses. The adapters I bought would only give one channel of audio unless you pulled the plug out very slightly and held it there. The only plugs I found that worked are the overpriced ones you get from Nokia or the very expensive adapter plug I got from Bose for my noise cancelling headset. It came with one specifically for Nokia phones. When I compared the one that works to the ones that did not work, the dimensional difference is only a couple of thousandths. Not enough to see with the naked eye but enough to insure you must pay the big bucks to Nokia!

Unexpected failure of front display:
After less than one year I experienced an unexpected and unexplained failure of the front display. There is no visible damage to the display and I do not recall the phone sustaining any trauma. However, when the front display illuminates, it looks like it has a bullet hole in it. It looks cracked and gives no hint of the picture or data that should be there. However, when the display is not lit, it looks normal. So now I have no caller ID until I open the phone.

The bottom line:
Avoid this phone!

Recently ATT changed the rate plan we've had for 7 years and replaced our phones with these as they were similar in features to the Motorol K1's we had been using. The phones seemed to work OK at the store where they were activated, but later, when we got home, they would not transmit or receive. Just didn't have the reception - bars kept cycling from 5 down to nothing and then back up a little. Never could get a call out. Many calls later to ATT customer service and nothing but frustration. Finally put our SIM cards back into the old Motorolas. ATT service people were very nice and polite but the only solution they would give would be for us to sign a new 2-year contract in order to allow us to upgrade to a more reliable phone. After reading many other reviews, unfortunately after we had gotten these phones, it seems like just about everyone has problems with these phones - either quality, durability, poor features, and/or reception. Highly recommend, if you have a choice, pass on these phones.

The 6350 is very slim and fits great in my pocket easily. But, not only will I not get another 6350 when my contract reaches the upgrade date, I won't get another Nokia. Here are the cons: The first thing I noticed about my 6350 was that the alarm function, once set for a certain time, would only go off about once every 10 days. Call tech support and they told me to download and use the OVI suite to fix the problem. I discovered something the Nokia tech support didn't know; the OVI suite won't work on the 6350. Also, the phone very often won't ring when some calls me. Also, it will sometimes take voice mails but then not notify one has been received when I open it up. Also, even at max volume, the ring is not loud at all. About one-third of the time, when I open it, a message pops up that "PTT rates will apply" for no reason. I have to click the red end/power key to make the bogus message go away. Recently the phone quit ringing all together. The only way to fix it was go in and choose a different ring tone. Yesterday Nokie sent me a text message saying a software update was available for my 6350 at their website. So I went there and entered my model number, and got a message on the Nokia Web page that the 6350 wasn't eligible for the software update. You get the idea.

When my Motorola EM330 was damaged beyond repair, and no longer available, I got the Nokia 6350, which appeared to have been an "upgrade." It wasn't. It would take a long time to list the differences, but suffice to say that in my opinion and experience using several different phones over the life of cellular, this is the most quirky, awkward, poorly design, and inconvenient phone that I have owned. Not only is it cumbersome to set up, but the options are limited and sometimes disfranchising. Some functions that should toggle can easily be turned on, but complicated to turn off. It is not always clear which "subsystem" is being affected, and, unlike all my Motorola phones, it refuses to pair with two bluetooth devices of the same name, which forces me to get another, different, bluetooth headset in order to have a backup paired with the phone.

I am not impressed with its "multimedia" features; I want a pocketable phone with which to talk. If I wanted a "computer in my pocket," I would get an iPhone or Blackberry. By the way, on the front of the Nokia 6350 there are buttons for its music player, but no "stop" button. You can start, pause, and apparently jump forward or backward, but not "stop." WORSE, there is no option to turn that feature OFF! So, it sits there, open to the world, waiting to be activated in your pocket or purse. As you might have guessed, my "playlist" is empty, but that doesn't keep it from trying each time a button it activated.

Finally, the manual is woefully lacking, assuming all too much and clarifying all too little. I could go on, but I think you get the point. This phone seems to please some, but I would think only those whose demands meets its functionality.

Well as usual Nokia has not let me down. Its a simple phone by todays standards and thats what I want. Nice big keys and just enough perks like a ,timer, calender, note pad, to do list, recorder that lets you record your own ring tones in audio, a camera, ect.. One of the things I like best about Nokia is they are so dependable. They just keep on working [at least every one I ever had]. I've had about 4 or 5 over the years. I must admit I think the 6350 is my favorite so for. Great little phone for someone who wants a dependable phone with the normal little perks and nice size keys. Nuff said.