Customer Ratings & Reviews

Over the course of 3 months, the Lively service proved itself to be a solid service overall. Upon initial set-up of the SIM card kit, I downloaded the Lively app to my phone. The app was simple enough to get it up and running quickly, and it leads you through testing out an initial emergency response call to practice using the service. The emergency response staff was attentive and clear, and the app allows for an emergency response button to be placed on your phone's home screen. Voice service was clear and I received a strong signal regardless of where I was when traveling or at home. Eventually I learned that Lively offers wearable alert services in different forms, so I ended up mentioning that to my mom, who in turn decided to get a Lively wearable alert necklace for herself. I also learned that they have their own phones that are supposed to be easier for older persons to use, although I have not used one of their phones. On the down side, outside of the strong phone signal and being able to run my typical apps and games done on the service, I did have trouble when it came to downloading updates and data use over the phone service itself. Although I had unlimited data, it appeared that there was a restriction on what I could use my data for over the SIM service. I had no problems handling those tasks over wifi, but this could be a problem if you are out of wifi range, but need a critical update or download, as there seemed to be data restrictions in place no matter what I tried to adjust for in my phone settings. This was the main thing that downgraded this review by a star. One other issue was with billing in general (a mistake on their part), but it was apologetically resolved, so I am chalking it up to the newness of this service. I would recommend to anyone looking for this type of emergency alert service, if you have consistent wifi access or at least enough wifi access to download critical phone updates without using cellular data.

The Lively phone service was incredibly easy to use. You simply buy the sim, put it into your phone, download the Lively app, and follow the prompts. Lively offers a feature where you are one click away from getting emergency help if you need it. As part of the set up, you will be asked to contact their help center to make sure the service is working. Better to confirm then wait until an emergency. The phone rep was friendly and confirmed that I was good to go. I used to be the caretaker of my elderly parents. I can see this service being extremely useful for caretakers to give to their loved ones who are in need of a simple way to call for help. For the purposes of my testing, I had access to an iPhone with Verizon, a Samsung with Spectrum Mobile, and the Lively on my Google Pixel 4. The service was reliable. When compared to the other services, Verizon had the strongest signal, when is to be expected. Both Spectrum and Lively run on Verizon towers, but do not have priority over Verizon customers. There were a few areas where the Verizon and Spectrum were fine, but the Lively did not have the same signal strength. It was close, it just had fewer bars. Call quality was clear. One thing I noticed on my Pixel was that the battery didn’t run down nearly as fast as it did when it was on the AT&T network. I don’t know for sure if the Lively service had any impact, but I was appreciative of the change. I thought maybe something was wrong with the battery on my phone. Lively is an inexpensive option for phone service with added features that can be used on older or newer phones.

First and foremost, Lively provides great cell coverage. I just finished a drive from South Carolina up to Ohio and as far as I know, I didn't experience any drops in coverage. I didn't have an opportunity to test the data extensively, but I didn't experience any issues streaming videos or audio. If the service didn't work, then the other features would not matter. I wanted to test how this service would perform in cases when my elderly aunt in her 80s might travel away from home to visit my cousins. So all is good on that front. Fortunately, I had an older Samsung S21, and it was a very easy process to get rolling (popping in a Sim Card), so that was very simple. Now the rest is what sets Lively apart from other carriers -- while I have not needed to use these features, they will help us address some concerns with my aunt. Lively offers US based care teams to talk to their customers. My aunt is sometimes a bit lonely, and as much as we enjoy talking with her, we have jobs/kids that don't always make us available. This is a great option, especially when I can tell she just wants to talk to someone. They also offer rides -- my aunt is still very active, but her driving skills are not the same that they used to be. She loves to attend sporting events, but at night, we are constantly offering rides to prevent her from the risk of going out when it's harder to see. She doesn't use apps, so being able to have someone to talk to for a ride to different places is win/win for all of us. And similar to some parents that keep watch over their kids phones, there are features where we can track her phone as well. So if she doesn't return a call after a few hours, we can at least tell if she is busy or needs to be tended to. Lively has a lot of really useful features for those of us with people in our lives that may need a little more assistance. It's a niche product, but fits for those of us that need it.

The setup was pretty seamless. Most of it just like any other Sim Card, you just pop it in and it connects to the network. There is an accompanying app though if you want to utilize all the features like the emergency help and notification to friends and family. The first thing you notice about the app is that it is intentionally designed for older folks - the icons and text are spread out and in bigger fonts. The app does require a LOT and I mean a lot of permissions on your phone and has a constant service running in the background. I am guessing this is for continuous monitoring and quick access when you do require it, but its a bit disconcerting to see. The first thing the app asks you to do is to place a test call for the emergency service. The connection was super quick, I would say within about 10-15s I was talking to a human, and apparently its not just a random person, but someone specifically assigned to you. So, you have that human connection/touch with a consistent person. Another thing to note is that the cell service completely stops working internationally (at least in Europe). Not just the app for emergency services, but no cell service. Overall, it is not just another Mobile service, it meets specific needs for people who might need them, and for that it works well.

I loved to have the Lively services on my iPhone!!!