Nokia 5180i Prepaid Phone (Tracfone)

Rating:
Summary: CDMA = coverage anywhere in the US
Review: .
The phone come with 10 free units (20 if

you activate on line). You can also receive

100 free units by E-mail from Tracfone if

you *activate* your phone after a friend

(who already has her Tracfone) refers you

(she also receives 100 minutes). 120 units

out of the box is a good deal. If you don't

know anybody you can E-mail me, I'll make

sure you receive the $30.00 Tracfone deal.

My E-mail : [e-mail]

You can add units at Amazon or Tracfone.

One minute will take one unit if you phone

from your area map and two units if you

phone out of it (roaming) however local or

long distance are the same rate. If you want

to move, you can change your area code or

phone number (maximum four times a year)

by calling Tracfone. I'm in a digital area so

the sound is great, however I'm *not* in an

area with text messaging available. You can

set up your voice mail by calling your 5180i

from another phone (save your units) and by

using # to set your code and voice greeting.

The phone always show the amount of units

and their expiration. Calls less than fifteen

seconds won't be charged. The activation is

easy but very long, you need to be on line

entering many codes on your phone. The

last step is to confirm the phone number.

Tracfone instructions provide a shortcut

but you have to be very fast after using the

"Menu" key, here is another way : press the

"Menu" key then select (using the cursor)

"Setting", here select "Network service"

then choose "NAM selection". Your phone

number will be right here waiting for you :)

Both keypads and faceplates are easy to

change. I bought a lighter lithium battery

because the original one was a bit heavy.

Rating:
Summary: fast and easy
Review: .
The phone come with 10 free units (20 if

you activate on line). You can also receive

100 free units by E-mail from Tracfone if

you *activate* your phone after a friend

(who already has his Tracfone) refers you

(he also receives 100 minutes). 120 units

out of the box is a good deal. ...

You can add units from Amazon or Tracfone.

One minute will take one unit if you phone

from your area code and two units if you

phone out of it (roaming) however local or

long distance are the same rate. If you want

to move, you can change your area code and

phone number (maximum four times a year)

by calling Tracfone. I'm in a digital area so

the sound is great, however I'm *not* in an

area with text messaging available. My 5180i

has been very reliable, but I bought a lithium

battery because the Nokia factory battery was

a bit heavy. A car charger should cost less than

[$$$] in your local department store. You can

set up your voice mail by calling your number

from another phone (to save your units) and by

using # to set your password and voice greeting.

You can also program a pause on the phone, so

it can dial your bank (pause) then your bank

account (pause) then your code ... with one key.

The phone always displays the units remaining

and their expiration (no need to log on). Calls

less than fifteen seconds won't be charged. The

activation is easy but very long, you need to

be on line entering many codes on your phone.

The last step is to confirm the phone number.

Tracfone instructions provide a shortcut code

but you have to be very fast after using the

"Menu" key, here is another way : press the

"Menu" key then select down (use the cursor)

"Setting", from there select "Network service"

then choose "NAM selection". Your phone

number will be there waiting for you :)
.

Rating:
Summary: FIVE STAR Review!
Review: 100 FREE minutes if you activate a New or Refurbished TracFone through our email link. No shipping! VALID FOR NEW ACTIVATIONS ONLY. Email: [e-mail]
LIMIT: 1 per activation

We have found ours to come in soooo handy!
We spend ALOT of time online & found it necessary to have a cellphone so others can call us while we're online.
Our kids love this Tracfone too & us parents have peice of mind 'cause we can always stay in touch.
From Text Messaging,Caller ID & more(depending on your favorit Tracfone)...this phone serves its purpose 100x over!

Rating:
Summary: Nokia Tracfone
Review: Buying this was easy but trying to get it activated was a nightmare! I bought two of these phones and one wouldn't activate and the other was no good for the area that I was in. The customer service is absolutely terrible I could hardly understand anyone..what a nightmare! I have now sent them back in the hopes of a refund but with the way they know nothing in their customer service department who knows if I will ever get that done. My advice is this...If you must buy one dont do what I did and buy reconditioned or used unless its from a friend and you know they got service with it. I am sick of contracts so I am still looking into what to try next. I might try just using smoke signals because after the experience I have had with "Tracfone" it has put me off even trying them again. Heres hoping I get a refund alright and dont have to call again. US Cellular is the pits too...The phone I have with them doesn't even work from my home and they refuse to replace it unless I renew my contract to a more expensive contract. Everyone is out to make a buck..sick of it. Whatever happened to good old fashioned "The customer is always right?" I may just quit having a cell phone altogether.

Rating:
Summary: Don¿t waste your time and money!
Review: Don't waste your time and money!
I purchased this phone for my husband along with 60 minutes via TracFone's web site. We received the phone on time as promised but the 60 minutes phone card was 3 weeks late. It took us 4 calls to their Customer Service (which I may add is the poster child of how bad customer service can be!) to activate the phone each time we called we wore told to wait 24 to 48 hours. About 2 months after activating the phone we purchased additional air time at local store. We activated it on line and the minute balance did go up however the renewal date did not change. We assumed that it would change on that expiration day as we wore 4 weeks ahead of the due date. On the expiration date the phone stopped working. Customer Service was of no use and very hard to understand. We wore forced to purchase additional air time and forgo the minutes that "expired" on our phone! The last time our phone expired BEFORE our due date I had enough and decided to get a monthly payment cell phone for both me and my husband that averages out to about the same payment as what we paid for one TracFone!

Rating:
Summary: Good but has some problems
Review: Have had my TracFone for a couple weeks now. Set-up on the internet was no problem and did receive the extra minutes for doing so. Find the phone to be a bit on the heavy side and bulky. Does not fit in a pocket very well unless wearing a jacket. Battery charge does not last the 250 hours on stand-by as the Nokia book states it should. Get about 48 at most in a digital area.

Potential buyers may be warned that TracFone "piggy-backs" with different carriers across the US. My local carrier is Verizon Digital. The Nokia Phone features such as voice mail indicator and text messaging do not work in my service area. As I purchased the phone to free up my land line for job hunting, the voice mail indicator is important to me. Have missed calls not having this feature. Had to call the outsourced customer service in India many times before they finally admitted text messaging and voice mail indication is not offered by Verizon in my area. If you do not like using the outsourced customer service reps, and are still having problems, ask them for the customer service number in Miami. I just wish they would be more truthful to customers about what services are offered by their various carriers.

One last thing, beware your unused pre-paid units are not refundable.

Rating:
Summary: This phone has been perfect for my needs
Review: I bought a prepaid cellular Tracphone from Sam's Club a month ago and let me tell you this is definitely the way to go. I was moving from Wisconsin to Texas and needed a phone so I could keep in contact. I activated the phone in WI and in 15 minutes had an active TX area phone number. Then, while traveling I always had a good signal with no roaming the entire time! The reception was always excellent.

For $70 I got a brand new phone with 1-year activation and 120 minutes (10 minutes included + 10 additional minutes for online activation + 100 minute because of a email referral by a friend)! Also, the other thing I love is that phone displays the number of minutes left. It also includes voice mail, call waiting, caller ID. You can setup and access your voicemail from a regular phone and never use prepaid minutes. If you work it right you can get the cost down to 10 cents a minute and they always rollover as long as you're active. More importantly it's great for people like me who won't talk more then 60 min/month.

As far as the customer service, I've had no problems and can't relate to some of the bad reviews I've read. If you need 100-minute referral please email me at [e-mail]

Cherise

Rating:
Summary: Excellent basic cell phone
Review: I did my research as I really have no use for a cellphone, but travel a lot and need a back up in case of trouble/etc. I bought mine through Tracfone.com for under 100 bucks with a 1 year service and 350 minutes included in the price. I responded to a "Honest" person that posted a review about getting a extra 100 free minutes for both of us which I did. So for under 100 bucks I have a cell phone with 470 free minutes for 1 year with voice mail and text messaging. Great deal for me.
I'd like to offer anyone that is interested in buying one, to E mail me and let me refer you and we BOTH get an extra 100 minutes. The referral must be done online so send me the e mail before you activite your phone so I can send you the corresponding Tracfone form to follow. Its easy, I'm a computer moron and if I can do it anyone can.
So, if anyone is interested in getting a Tracfone and an extra 100 minutes for you and me both just send me a E Mail at [e-mail]

God Bless my wonderful Troops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: ANYONE WANT 100 FREE MIN?
Review: I have had this phone since Sep 2004.I have not a problem with it. Other plans are a little more costly.Tracfone is the only one that offers a referral plan.Want 100 min?[...]

Rating:
Summary: For those use don't talk all day or for emergency use
Review: I have used the Tracfone service for about three years. I went prepaid because I did not use the monthly minutes of my previous cell phone plan. I was wasting my money every month. I use the phone to call and check in with my children and other short phone calls probably less than 20 min a month. I would not recommend prepaid to those who use their phone to makes lots of calls, the price per minute is too costly, but for those who use wireless ocassionally, prepaid is the way to go. From the comparisons that I've made it appears Tracfone has the cheapest per minute rates.

I have had no problems with the Nokia 5180i and find it a pretty simple phone to use. The reception has been good and the coverage is acceptable as well.

I use the website for renewing my minutes and it is pretty straightforward. There are long wait times if you do need to speak with customer service but they have always worked out my problem after the long wait.