I never thought I would do business with a MVNO. I usually stick with one of the better known Big 3 (Verizon, AT&T, and T Mobile) mainstream providers since becoming a cell phone user way back when. But times have certainly changed. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And this qualifies in a huge way. My mother became gravely ill with a bad leg and feet infection just before Christmas. She spent a week at her hospital of her choice, then was transferred over to a rehabilitation center to relearn how to walk again. While at the hospital, she had access to the hospital’s own provided phone. She actually kept it within her bed at all times until she left. When she was at the new facility, she was suddenly without her own phone. The facility has a shared phone system with many other patients. The staff is very short handed and cannot accommodate so many people just for phone usage. So I decided to buy her a new personal feature cell phone just for her. It had to be inexpensive (both phone itself and the plan), not too flashy or “in” (as to discourage temptation and then possible theft by the other patients as the phone must be out and in easy reach on her bedside tray at all times), simple to operate by herself (she is 90+ years old and does not understand-even frightened of-high tech at all), and reliable n actual operation. I chose this prepaid model as it is a classic flip or clamshell style and that is the easiest to use feature phone available at Best Buy. While it does offer many options to choose from, the few main very vital things my mother (or anyone else) must do when using a cell phone of any type is to send (dial) and receive (answer) calls plus an ultra easy way to clear/erase/delete mistakes/power down and end call (hang up) when ready to do so. This particular user-friendly flip phone does that ever so well. It protects the keys which prevents “butt dialing” or accidental dialing when not wanting to. Hanging up and mistakes are solved by simply closing the lid. The minutes are cheap, generous, and spaced over a 3 month time period which can be carried over when renewed. Loved that part! With the Pandemic in full swing as of this writing, I needed my mother to be able to manage these very basic cell phone skills completely on her own in order to keep in contact with us. I am no longer able to visit in person anymore. We need her to tell us directly via this little phone what she needs, is going on, etc. Especially if the now overwhelmed staff cannot do so anymore. So this phone is now a vital part of her healing process. I recommend this phone for anyone in similar straits as we are. It is a reliable simple feature phone to have on hand for emergencies of most types and other unexpected unforeseen events. It should work well stored in a glove compartment of a car, a spare for when the other phones in the house are not working anymore for any reason, or someone in the extreme range of ages (children to the elderly) be able to use a phone in confidence. Anyway or anywhere a smart phone would be “too much phone” for the needed tasks at hand.

I have been with Tracfone for years and I recently had an LG440G, which was a 3G flip phone, and was advised by Tracfone that it might stop working in the near future. I looked at some of the newer phones for use with Tracfone service and most of them were Smartphones, which I DID NOT WANT. There were two flip phones only, and one did not have very good reviews at all so I went with this one, the L125DL flip phone, which is 4G, and switched over to it. Although I was initially quite annoyed at having to switch phones in the first place (this is the second time I have had to do so), I must admit I have been pleasantly surprised by the L125DL. The viewing panel is larger than the one on my previous phone and in color and the phone has more features than my previous one. The numbers pad is also slightly larger and easy to use. I mainly keep my mobile phone for emergency use only like to call for roadside assistance if my vehicle should get stranded out on the road and not as a regular phone. I use my land line for most of my calling so I cannot talk in detail about the various features of this phone as I have not used them or really taken the time at this point to get to know them. I cannot rate the camera as I have not tried it (I have a separate digital camera that I use for pictures). I have gotten on the internet with this phone and while of course the viewing panel is small you are able to get online. There is also a feature where you can check the battery level of the phone. It tells you at what percent charge the battery is at. The battery takes several hours to charge. I hardly use the phone and I have to recharge it about every 2 to 3 days. The main panel shows the day of the week, date and time, which is a very convenient thing. The only real complaint I have about this phone is that it does not show how many minutes you have left. My previous phone always had the minutes visible in the main panel but this one does not. With the L125DL, in order to get your balance of minutes left, you have to text "balance" to 611611. This really does not affect me much because as I said I only use the phone for emergencies and have been with Tracfone for several years and have over 12,000 minutes on my phone so I do not regularly have to check my balance. For somebody who needs to check the balance frequently because they do a lot of calling, this could become quite a nuisance. But overall, I am quite happy with the L125DL.

If all you want is talk and text capability and don’t require a pocket computer, this is the phone for you. 4G-compatible with Tracfone’s reliable network (in my area anyway). Can’t beat the price, $29.99, and it doesn’t require $40 worth of additional equipment such as a hard case or a screen shield. It’s good for single-hand-operation (unlike typical smart phones) and fits comfortably in a pants pocket. Durable. Also has a low-end camera. Battery lasts days in standby. Down side? It’s not possible to have multiple texting threads with the same contact. Also, an incoming text message gives a single audible notification (no repeating notifications), so if you’re away from the phone, you must flip it open to see if you have received any messages. Not recommended if you need to access the internet. The FM radio does not work.

As FLIP phones go, this is really good for a "dumb" phone. I bought this "LAST OF THE FLIP PHONES" for my mother when it was announced that 3G would end everywhere. One of my friends has one - as I'd assumed that I would not find a "dumb phone" for her again. The numbers are bigger than my mothers previous phone. It has better features than her previous phone. The key is that it's 4G so there is a bit more time for this to work. As a "Star Trek" fan from way back, I still think the "FLIP PHONE" was a smarter and better design.

This is my first TracFone. I have found this phone to be simple to use and it fits my needs. I don't text and I don't need to have internet service on my phone but this phone can accomplish those task. I liked the size, in that it easily fits into a pocket and the flip cover protects the screen. Easy set up to activate phone service with per-paid card. You can easily change the wallpaper to customize the look of the screen. Sound quality is good. Only draw back so far is that the phone does not display remaining minutes left from your phone plan. You have to get on the internet and set up a free account to see your minutes, which I have done from my laptop.