Customer Ratings & Reviews

Lively is a MVNO service which works off the Verizon network I used a Pixel 6a during my testing. The cell phone service with Lively was great in terms of signal strength and data speeds, I had connection everywhere I went. There was never an issue with dropped calls or data services not working, now of course this is dependent on how well Verizon service is near you. I was not throttled when streaming music or videos and was able to play videos at HD quality, I was even surprised that I was able to get 5G with the Ultra-wide band connection, this is usually an add on from other MNVO providers. On regular 5G service I was able to get great download speeds of about 30 Mbps down however the uploads were 1-3 Mbps and at times even under 1 Mbps. On 5G ultraband the upload and downloads were 50 down and 10 up which is more than enough for anything. The lively exclusive services are catered to elderly, with easy setup for emergency contacts and medical information. It provides simple method of contacting emergency services and having a central place for all your personal data. After installing the SIM card the Lively app runs in the background, on the pixel 6a it was easy to access from the pull down which is great so you don’t need to go hunting for it. The app allows you to call with any questions about the service, call a nurse with health problems or invite family members to stay informed about your health situation. All of these are excellent for someone that isn’t tech savvy. The Lively app even has a health tips portion to give you tips that will help better your health. Lively offers a reliable service without being locked into a contract while allowing you to bring your own device. This is great for just about everyone and I like the fact that they don’t hide 5G service behind a paywall. The added features are catered more to elderly or non-tech people and are laid out so they are simple to use. The emergency call feature is easy to identify and even gives you 10 seconds to cancel a call request in case the request was an accidental touch. Being able to keep loved ones notified about your health is huge plus. I liked everything about the service except for the slow upload speeds.

Lively is a MVNO cell phone carrier on the Verizon network that is geared towards seniors. What Lively does different from other carriers is that there is the availability of services such as on-call nurses, asking for a ride or informing Lively and family of an emergency. This is all done on a very simple app. The app is almost too simple but very easy for seniors to get the hang of. In the app set-up a test call is made and I found my call picked up fast and the operator very nice and clear. I found phone calls and text messages to function well. I didn’t have any dropped calls or difficulty finding services. It seems like internet speeds were deprioritized and like most MVNO, it is not at the same speed tier as regular Verizon customers. Even in areas with a lot of cell towers, I mostly only got LTE and rarely 5G. Sometimes speeds were spotty and slow. When this happened , videos were slow or unable to load. The speed is fine for light browsing or checking email. This is very location dependent and worked well in some areas more than others. For the most part, it worked well and really depends on Verizon's MVNO coverage where it is used. The SIM card when inserted into a phone is identified as a Verizon SIM and the mobile network is Verizon. This difference in names for the Lively service and the Verizon Sim might confuse less tech savvy seniors if not explained to them. I was disappointed to find out that Lively does not have hotspot capabilities. This does simplify things for seniors but I know a lot of seniors that prefer tablets when at home or traveling and would have great use from being able to hotspot. I was hoping this would be a good option to recommend especially to seniors who travel a lot or don’t have wifi at home. Overall, I think this is good for seniors that want to be independent but also want the ability to call for help when needed. I can’t speak to the quality or efficiency of the service as I thankfully didn’t have a need to use it. It is also potentially good for those who don’t have family to call for advice or advocate for them. Probably not as useful for those that are a bit more tech savvy or can dial for a family member or have a telemedicine service to help them.

I absolutely can not complain about the ease of set-up of this SIM card and it's service. It's pretty self-explanatory. Whhen it comes to the set-up process. All you need is a compatible device. Something compatible to an unlocked Verizon phone. I used my unlocked Fold and it set-up took mear minutes. Once set-up, I was making calls. As well as sending texts in no time flat. There's also an emergency 24/ 7 Urgent Response feature that works like a dream, for those nightmarish situations. There's really nothing to it. It comes in a small packaging ( A SIM card card) You'll haave to punch it out from it snaps from the carrier card, then, simply place it iside your compatible device. The calls are smooth and clear. I don't have any problem hearing my friends and family when we talk. And can't tell the difference in the call quality from their end as well. I really don't know what else to say other than, " If you've made it this far into this review, you should be putting this Lively SIM card in your cart. I definitly recommend this to everyone.

The Lively cellular service with additional urgent response 24/7, 365 is a great concept. The service runs on Verizon's network and offers subscribers to have a cellular service with emergency response taken an extra step further. In the case of an emergency, the Lively service can also notify predetermined friends and family added in the app. Pros: - The service runs on Verizon's network and was consistent available even in the basement of my home. The service (at least in my area) switched frequently between 4G LTE and 5G/5G-UW when not on wifi. Coverage is excellent. - The app is simple, easy to download and set up, and -- perhaps most importantly -- easy to use. - While I didn't experience a need for the emergency response, this service would be an excellent addition to an older family member or friend or even someone who lives alone and needs the extra protection of their on-demand emergency services. - The Lively team is U.S. based Cons/Conclusion - The only con I see with this particular setup is it currently don't allow eSIM activations. My parents, in their 70s, would benefit greatly from the Lively services but have iPhones that do not have physical SIM card slots. However, I read there is a newer kit which includes eSIM capabilities on Best Buy's website. This is a great, bundled service with unlimited talk, text, and whatever amount of data you need (and you can always add more). A great idea for older people, people with disabilities, or even someone who lives alone and needs the extra assurance knowing the Lively response team is there to help in any way possible. An absolute 10/10.

This is a really nice setup for someone who might need medical support as Lively provides it as part of its package. I chose to use my own phone a google Pixel 8 that is unlocked. Make sure you download the lively app as that is the whole point of using this service. The phone service runs off of Verizon's cellular network, and with lively you get the same service without the verzion prices. I did not have any issues with the service and my phone seemed to stay online even when traveling around the midwest. The phone did jump from LTE to 5G but while using it to stream music it never had any issues. However, I could not get higher than 30mpbs download speeds, tested many times. We have an iphone with verzion as well and I was able to get speeds way above 30mpbs, so it seems that Lively is caping the speed. This should not be an issue with most users but should be noted if the users is needs faster speeds. When I setup the app it was recommend doing a test call to their emergency services. I was connected with a very nice person who had a very calm and peaceful demeanor. I explained that I just set everything up and it was recommended to call. She was happy nothing urgent was happening and explained some of the other services they offer and things the app. I was extremely happy with this whole interaction and that if it was really an emergency that the person on the other end would be calm and professional. The app has some nice features and is constantly running in the background. In the app there is a large red star in the top right corner. This star is for a user to select to get in touch with emergency services. No matter where you navigate through the app, that red star stays on the top corner. I was also impressed that there is a widget you can add to your phone to easily connect for an urgent response. In the app you can also add emergency contacts, medication/medical information, vehicle information, and even just-in-case notes. I'm assuming this information is then viewable by Lively support so they can help aid medical help if you are unresponsive or having trouble communicating. There is even an option to connect with a nurse/doctor for questions or concerns. If I had a parent/grand parent who lived alone I think the Lively phone service and app would be perfect for them. They would still be able to keep their phone that they already know, have a reliable phone service, an easy-to-use app that easily connects them to an urgent response team, or just call to chat with a nurse/doctor about concerns. Overall, I really like the whole setup and the thought and concern that they put into Lively.

What a pleasant surprise and fabulous deal. I am tickled pink to bring my new phone over, get same very reliable service for way less money on my bills! Thank you Lively for putting all aged customers first!!! The benefit is huge. Same reliable Verizon clear calls thru Lively and far more affordable!

Either im cursed or apple doesnt want that sim card to work, i dont know what i did wrong with it but i ended up going to cricket and spending 70$ but i still have this sim card, and its not activated so, maybe if someone could help me figure that one out that would be nice because it did say it was free.

Excellent experience. I would not change a thing about it.

I called and talked to support on 5 different occasions and every time I was told something different and told I would be contacted again. Never got a follow up. Never got my esim activated. Sat on hold for accumulatively 4 hours between being transferred to different people that also didn’t know what was going on. I’m glad I didn’t pay for this and it was included free with my phone purchase just a disappointing, headache inducing experience. Do not recommend this phone company in the slightest.

Was a huge pain and extremely time consuming to get set up and added.

The SIM card was installed in a Verizon Galaxy S21 5G phone. The phone was upgraded to the current firmware, Android 15 and One UI 7.0 prior to the installation of the SIM card. I then installed the Lively App from the Android App store, installing the app also apparently installed an "Urgent Response" widget, which I placed on the home page. My home is served by the C band 5GUW service and is capable of receiving high speed data up to 500 Mbps. The Lively SIM seemed to be restricted to normal 5G service, connections were solid but restricted to about 40-50 Mbps. It was sufficient for video streaming, such as Youtube streaming. Phone calls were clear and static free, I did not notice any dropped calls or issues. The limited texting that I did, seemed to go through without any issues. The Lively Service seems to be geared to a senior audience providing information resources and emergency response service on demand. The Lively App offers several services, "Ask Lively" which says you can call at any time you have a question; "Lively Link" which enables you to create a network of family or friends so that they can keep track of you and "Nurse On Call" which puts you in touch with medical assistance 24 hours a day. The Urgent Response widget creates a large button which can be placed on the home page of the phone. Pressing it immediately puts you in contact with a very pleasant customer service representative. The one I got, answered the phone immediately, was very pleasant and when I asked what sort of questions they handled, informed me that their primary function was to handle emergency and medical calls, although they could answer any question. My only reason for downgrading the service to 4 stars was the inability to take advantage of the ultra wideband service.

This Lively SIM kit is a great option for those looking to get into the Lively service offering but desire to bring their own device, making this a one size fits all alternative to things like the Jitterbug. Activation was mostly straightforward; the only required step was to call the Lively line and talk with a live rep to tell them you're activating service. Of particular note, it seemed as though the customer service rep was based in the US, which will undoubtedly be a positive for many. Overall, this was painless. The customer service rep was very friendly (as expected with this type of service) and the app made contacting the service simple. On the topic of the app, it is an easy to use, straightforward conduit into the Lively services. In particular, they've placed a large red exclamation point button in the upper right that will immediately connect you to their customer service system. This app design makes it usable for all ranges of potential users, including those not necessarily used to using cell phones or apps. The design is deliberately simplistic and easy to understand, which enables this to be used with any phone of a person's choosing (which is great for those who aren't about the Jitterbug style of over simplistic designs) but still want to keep things easy to use. Service quality was directly in line with my main Verizon phone. Given Lively is operating as an MVNO on Verizon's network, this was both expected but also a nice surprise. From my experience, this isn't much in the way of throttling or service degradation. Really my only issue with the service is that I received a few spam texts on the phone. Given the potential audience for this service (older folks who aren't as attuned to technology and potentially are more susceptible to scams), I was hoping for a bit more in terms of spam protection. Nothing crazy here, perhaps 3 or 4 messages over two weeks, but none the less, this might be an area for improvement in the quest for helping their customer base in the long run. One other potential issue for some is that this, as mentioned, is an MVNO on the Verizon network. This means if your part of the country doesn't get great Verizon service, you may need to look elsewhere. Overall, this is essentially what you'd expect. It enables you to add the benefits of a service like Lively to whatever phone you'd like. The app is easy to use and the customer service was great. This is a great option, provided you have acceptable Verizon coverage in your area.

This is a service oriented phone plan. It was super easy to add to my Google 6a phone. Calls are on the Verizon network and sound quality is crystal clear, plus the signal strength is second to none just about anywhere you go. It's health focused so you can pair certain heath tools to it, as well as a mental health aspect to it as well, as it lets you connect with a live operator to inquire about things as well as someone to just talk to. There is an alarm button for those that have mobility problems, where if you click the alarm, it gives you a few seconds to cancel then it notifies emergency personnel to your triangulated location for helping you. Overall I think this is a great service for older people that might not want a complicated phone service, but need something more than just a rotary phone. The app is super easy to understand and navigate, so that will be great for elderly that have slight cognitive impairments. Obviously this doesn't replace actual care by a loved one or a professional, but it does offer a certain level of peace of mind.

I had a good experience using Lively. It was easy to set up and fast to get authorized. Once it was in my device and working, I had no problem moving the SIM to other devices in my staple. I tested it in on: - Rabbit R1 - Pixel 9 Pro Fold - Pixel XL - HP Chromebook Elite Dragonfly - iPhone 12 mini I travel a bunch, so I have quite a few SIMs on me. This SIM is pretty much only good in the U.S., but you'll have the power of the Verizon network behind this MVNO. I had great speed with my Pixel devices pretty much nationwide. I tested it in the Midwest of STLMO and also in LA, Phoenix, and Dallas. In all of these areas, the signal strength was good and it was fast. With some of my devices, I had extremely great down and up speeds; In 4G areas I had pretty good latency and I didn't feel held back at all by bandwidth, I consistently got over 45mbps pretty much anywhere I worked. My data use is pretty skinny (so I thought). My Netflix use was a lot of data but it really didn't slow down even with constant video watching on both Netflix and Youtube. I would say you could really watch a reasonable amount of videos without killing your service from throttling. Now, if you are using older devices, circa 2020 and earlier, you really have to think about what bands your device supports. On my Dragonfly Chromebook I didn't have more than 2mbps so it matters. Make sure your device works well on the Verizon 4G network. I didn't have any luck connecting to 5G with Lively. I was hoping it was wrong and I could get some juicy 5G. Now, Lively is the same company that does Jitterbug phones, so my expectations were met that this was going to be an entirely easy process. I didn't access customer service working with Lively but I didn't need it at all which is just fantastic. Overall as a MVNO this was the easiest experience I've had.

I tried out the Lively Unlimited Talk and Text Gold plan. I received a pre-activated SIM card that was used with an unlocked Android cell phone. My usage areas were primarily in two PNW cities across two states and along the Amtrak line connecting the two. Starting in my primary residence, the service came up with three bars and showed the 5G icon. Internet connectivity was sluggish - loading a magazine or webpage and a speed test showed that while I was getting around 25Mbps down, my upload speeds were abysmal at 0.5Mbps. There were no issues with texts, those went through, quickly with no noticeable latency compared to my other service though voice calls did have static and other quality problems. I turned off the 5G mode on my phone but got the same speeds with just the 4G connection. So, this service is likely being throttled on Verizon's network. A few blocks from that house however and things were fine. Speedtest showed 28Mbps down and 10Mbps up. Not the fastest speeds but good enough for normal internet use and watching a couple videos on the go with no noticeable issues. Call quality was better so I think my first place was just in a relatively low reception area for Verizon. Along my Amtrak trip was where being on Verizon's network showed some plusses. Areas where I'd lose phone connectivity with a different provider, I still had connection with the phone and could still surf the web and make calls. There were very little dead spots until reaching the end of my trip where the phone lost complete connection to the cell network and did not reconnect until I restarted it. The phone showed 5 bars, but just would not actually establish a connection. After the restart, in the new city things were just about the same. Same speeds I was seeing, around 25Mbps down, 10-14Mbps up, no strange internet or streaming latency and good call quality. I've not experienced any service issues or deadzones beside the weird behavior when I first arrived on the train. My take is that this is perfectly reasonable service for someone prioritizing cell access for calls and text messages. Internet is serviceable, but definitely not Lively's selling point.

Lively Sim Card- Provided my own phone. Despite some confusion with activation, once activated, I found the service excellent. Sim card installation was simple, and the phone restarted and set itself up in minutes. Talk, text and data worked like a charm and has not disappointed. The speed is not the fastest, but it is consistent and does not impact the use (29 download/ 23.1 upload). Videos load without lag and play without stuttering. My area does not work well with certain carriers, but this was not the case. The Lively app offers some interesting health services, with Nurse on call, and health tips. It also allows connection to optional wearables which enhance these heath features. For the elderly or those with health issues, I think this could be useful and if nothing else, great peace of mind. By simply pressing the highlighted urgent response tab, it instantly connects you to help. With the reliable phone service, I would think this is even more enhanced. Messages work flawlessly. The cellular service does not disappoint and by itself is excellent.

I’ve had great experiences using the lively mobile services. The app works well, and the emergency feature works extremely well, which user can activate by pressing a button on the app. Once an emergency is activated, instant response is provided by a live person not some AI or robot. I tested the feature (Lively allows user to test it). User can opt in to add emergency contacts and even medical information on the app. There’s also access to nurse on-call basis and even a stand-by operator that user can call anytime to ask a question as often as the user likes. I don’t have the need for that specific feature, but I can see how useful these features are for seniors. Beyond these specific features, the wireless service demonstrates a high degree of reliability and consistent performance. Within the dense neighborhood of a major metropolitan area, 5G connectivity is readily available and maintained. In the suburbs, or in infrequent situations where 5G coverage is unavailable, the network seamlessly switches to 4G (LTE) network. The network's performance is very good and reliable for video streaming. Overall, this is a very good mobile service provided by Lively. Network performance of course, is always dependent on where we live but in my case of using the service for more than a few weeks now, I couldn’t’ve be happier.

Lively runs on the Verizon cell network, so the service is as reliable as any Verizon service, solid for me. I have great phone and data service from Lively, everywhere i went, the cell service was great. You have plans to choose from going all the way up to unlimited data with care advocates and Nurse on call. You can get just the Lively cell service or cell and Lively help. Lively has cell plans that start with 5 gig of data as if your a homebody then that's all you'll need, as you can use wifi for data, then add the Lively services like nurse on call. The Lively app, you get it from the app store, you open it and you have 3 tabs on the bottom, Home , Services, and Health, at the top right you have a red star with an ! In the star. When you tap the star your phone calls the Ask Lively team (24/7) anytime day or night. One can ask for rides, ask to speak to a nurse or doctor (that they will transfer you to) about some unfortunate medical condition you are experiencing. It took about 3-5 minutes to get to a nurse and that is a lot quicker than driving to a walk in or calling to ask to speak to your doctor. The Home tab is where you can add Lively wearable and eddit your profile. Services tab you can call a nurse, ask Lively. The health tab gives you daily health ideas. The app is very basic, big icons and fonts, especially suitable for elderly. This is what makes the app and service so easy and great. You have the ability to call for rides, so if you dont drive, just open the Lively app tap the red star in the top right and ask them for a ride, they will get you a lift car ride, instead of you going to the lift app yourself. If the person that has Lively calls Lively, any friend and family member can get notified. My Lively experience was quite pleasant, from cell service to Lively nurses.

I think many have made Jitterbug jokes about their aging parents or grandparents from time to time. Being someone who grew up in the smartphone era and has seen both sides of it, I totally understand some folks' propensity to avoid newer technology, specifically refusing to get a smartphone (or even a basic cellular flip phone, for that matter). Then something happens, and the advantage of outfitting a friend or loved one certainly outweighs the risks we encounter as we get older. I have two family members unfortunately struck by dementia, and a few other friends who have lived with it firsthand. It is an incredibly difficult and trying experience, both for those supporting the afflicted and the afflicted themselves. I was recently on a family trip, and stories of how Alzheimer's has impacted one family member were shared, which makes this particular product an interesting one to review and spend some time with. I'll start first with the offering: Lively gives you eSIM/physical SIM access to their cellular service (on the Verizon network) as well as the Lively suite of assistance services, including the following: - Ask Lively, an unlimited call service available 24/7, which provides device support, help in looking up a phone number, or provide directions; - Lively Rides, through Ask Lively, which will book Lyft rides and put the charge for those rides on your next monthly bill; - Urgent Response, an unlimited call service available 24/7, which can offer assistance in a number of situations, like feeling lonely or unsafe, or getting lost; - The Lively Link app, which provides notifications to friends and loved ones on location updates, or if other Lively services have been utilized; and - Care Advocates/Nurse on-Call support for help with wellness resources and goals, questions about medications, or general medical advice. I'm very comfortable with technology, and there are definitely some of these services that overlap with existing (and sometimes free) services available outside of Lively. For instance, for one family member, we can always track their location using Apple's Find My network, which has come in clutch on more than one occasion; the same is available cross-platform with apps like Life360. And anyone who has a smartphone can install a preferred rideshare app and get a ride any time they need. But that's not really what this is about. Lively offers a more full-service product that fits into a niche of partially-capable, still somewhat independent folks for whom a little extra 'insurance' would make their family members feel a bit more secure. And for those family members incapable of interacting with a smartphone in any way (or who refuse to do so), there are other Lively products for them as well, like the Mobile2, a worn device that has fall detection and offers a single-button press for access to Lively services. What I find most compelling about what Lively offers is that regardless of your level of technical expertise, there's a solution available that gets you access to their services, whether by keeping an existing familiar device or purchasing one of a handful of more basic devices, including limited-feature smartphones, flip phones, or the aforementioned Mobile2. Imagine a loved one going for a walk in their neighborhood, something they do several times weekly without supervision, who becomes confused and gets lost: this person could contact Ask Lively for directions home or arrange for a Lyft to give them a ride. In a more extreme circumstance, Urgent Response could provide even more support. And linked family members through the Lively Link app would have been notified when their loved one left the house and would be notified again when Urgent Response was engaged. The reality of dementia is that it evolves over time, and you never know when a seemingly good day could turn for the worse. My opinion of the ideal solution is not to limit freedom or take away dignity but to utilize the technology available to us to enhance the lives of those with these afflictions. Because Lively offers a few different service levels, this isn't as easy as justifying a one-time purchase. But this also isn't the type of thing that is easy to justify based on cost, as Lively may provide for some exactly the level of comfort they need to provide themselves or a loved one the independence and dignity that they deserve. Understandably, that's difficult to enumerate, but ranging from $15-$45 per month, for some I can see it as a small price to pay for just a little bit of reassurance that the service offers.

The Lively service seems to be a useful tool for seniors that are sometimes in need of extra assistance, whether it be medical advice, quick information requests, or emergency medical assistance. The kit here comes in a small package that's easy to open and install in your smartphone - Its a physical SIM so a device capable of using a nanoSIM is required - The service trained up immediately in my Pixel 9 Pro Fold and in my Galaxy Z Fold 6 (I was able to test the Verizon-compatible service in two phones) without issue. The Verizon cellular service resolves as 5G UW in my area, which is Verizon's top tier service, but I noticed sub-par upload speeds, and normal download speeds as expected. When setting up the Lively app, I was offered to easily provide my contact details, but it will be important that some seniors have an assistant with more affinity for mobile tech setup be present when doing these steps - The app asks for LOTS of permissions to do its thing, and the widget setup for emergency response isnt added to the Home Screen by default, so thats a step I'd recommend. The app itself left me wanting, as its interface is a few years old it seems, or written without very good UI design - It seemed dated and a bit rough around the edges... BBHealth could do better. The cell service worked great - Typical excellent VZW MVNO coverage, with the same great tower coverage as full-on Verizon, but it seems less prioritized speed, so the technophile senior using this service may find it a bit slower on some tasks, if they're also a mobile gamer or do anything with streaming that requires higher upload bandwidth, such as video calls or UCaaS. A great solution in the app and services, bundled with good cell coverage for the demographic. An interesting approach that I'm sure will do well if bundled with. nicely equipped, senior-focused hardware at some point as well (Like the Moto G series mobiles that work great on Verizon, or the Pixel series from Google which give a great UX.)