Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Jitterbug Smart2 unlocked, 32gb, No-Contract Easy-to-use Smartphone for Seniors by GreatCall,Black

Top positive review

Perfect for the technologically challenged

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2019

Prior to purchase, I had a Jitterbug flip phone, which I was satisfied with, but I dropped it and it broke. I was intimidated in buying a smartphone because I am not tech savvy, to say the least, and do not care about apps, texting or emails. However, I do use google, which jitterbug flip phones do not have. My hesitancy was also compounded by the copious amounts of bad reviews but I thought I would give the phone a go and if I didn't like it I would return it. I have no idea why so many people have problems with the phone. I have been using it a month and have had NO issues. It is easy to navigate and the instructions are easy to follow. Customer service was IMMEDIATE and it was a no hassle experience. In fact, I was shocked that it was such a pleasant experience. Maybe I got lucky, but everything was explained quite simply. Also the screen is not hyper sensitive, like other smart phones. That is another reason I did not want to purchase a smart phone. Every time I used someone's smart phone, the screen would change without me even touching it. Very frustrating! Anyway, this one is not at all sensitive and the screen remains visible for a long time. I also like that you are not locked into any plan. It is very inexpensive. I pay about $30 a month for minutes and data. In addition, the ring tone is loud enough for anyone to hear and it is easy to type, if you need to.Furthermore I would recommend it to anyone who feels uneasy about technology.

11 people found this helpful

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Private

Junk cell phone.

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2020

We had high hopes on the Jitterbug smart 2 smart cell phone. First cell phone seemed to work great and had no problems setting it up and it work about four days until we received a call on it and we found out we could no answer it. Nothing we could do, we could not answer it. We called customer service and they walked us through and it and we could not answer it. So they sent us a replacement phone which was also defective as you could not set it up or get it to work. I spend over three hours with tech support until they closed and no luck, then the next day for about two more hours with no luck so they said they will send another replacement phone which they said they will pre-setup and have it working out of the box. We received it today and again, this phone is also defective. It will let you make some calls and not others? Can't text, can't set up WiFi, Can't set up Bluetooth, can't set up email. Touch screen works sometime and not other times. We paid for the unlimited plan for calls, texts and Data and two of the three don't work and this time, I called Customer service & Tech support and they could not help me at all and in fact, the lady was rude when she said she can't help me. The Jitterbug smart 2 cellphone is a junk phone and Great Call is a lousy company and overpriced to boot. I don't recommend the phone or the company. Save your money and time and get your phone service from one of the other carriers who deal with good phones and tech service/customer support!

5 people found this helpful

2,260 total ratings, 697 with reviews

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From the United States

Perry Winkle

Perfect for the technologically challenged

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

11 people found this helpful

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Private

Junk cell phone.

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. GAINER

Easy to use and set up

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2021

Verified Purchase

We were changing to smart phones from old flip phones ,we both had. A bit worried at first from some of the reviews, but we had no problems . The tech help was excellent. We watched online as to how to do it and when we had a problem got help immediately. Both of us had to get used to tapping the screen but practice makes perfect. We were able to put in all of our emergency info on our own. That takes time but will be lifesaving for our niece to get. My husband sent the great niece and nephew his first text and they were impressed! There does seem to be a need to charge everyday, as oppose to the little flip phones. We didn't put off any of the steps to get started, set up our Google etc. and I advise to not wait or you will put off indefinitely ,as one reviewer cautioned. This was good advise., even though it takes time. Highly recommend this product. We already had WIFI for our computer set up. This is useful to do first ,if you don't have already. We are in our late 60's and early 70's , not techies but it would be difficult to set up for someone with no computer skills I would think. A younger person could do that for you, as the say to day operational part is simple.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Elisa Worthington

Excellent clarity, and pretty easy to use for my 94-year-old computer-ignorant Dad

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2019

Verified Purchase

I got this phone for my 94 year-old Dad, who is extremely hard of hearing and has never used a computer or a touch screen. It replaced his old flip phone, which he was unable to hear anyone on, and which he never really learned to text on. Initially, he was afraid that he would "mess up" the new phone, and he had trouble with the touch screen, because he kept stabbing or pushing at it. Nor would he let me teach him how to use the phone, so after I set it up, I gave it to him along with the very good user guide. Within two days, he was making phone calls and sending and reading texts with relative ease. He's still not 100% accurate with the touch screen, but he's getting better at it.

Here are the things that I think are great about this phone:
1. It has REALLY excellent clarity for phone calls. My Dad can hear me better on the phone than he can when I am standing directly in front of him. This is the first time in years that we have been able to have actual, back-and-forth phone conversations. It's practically a miracle. I read a review from PC Magazine that complained that the Smart2 was not loud enough, but with my Dad, louder just makes sounds more indistinct. What he needs is clarity, and that's what he gets from this phone.
2. It is easy to send and receive texts on. The fonts are large and clear, and the keyboard is easy to use, with practice. For someone like my Dad, who has NEVER used a smart phone or a computer, the touch keyboard was challenging at first, but he's getting much better as he uses it.
3. It has a text-based, rather than an icon-based interface. For Dad, this made a big difference. He was totally flummoxed by the icons when he looked at my IPhone, but the text-based interface makes sense to him.
4. Great Call, which is the plan provider for the Smart2, piggybacks on the Verizon network, which is the only network that works reliably in the area where we live.
5. You do NOT have to get the health services portion of the plan. The Smart2 has a red 5* button at the bottom of each screen. If you get the health services plan, pressing and holding the 5* button connects you to a Great Call service that listens to your problem, determines the proper response, and either resolves it or contacts the appropriate emergency responder. If you do NOT get the health plan, pressing and holding the 5* button connects the user directly with 911, which for my Dad is actually more useful than having to go through Great Call.
6. The phone is cheap. You can get one from Amazon for about $75.

Now, here are some things that are not so great.
1. You are stuck with Great Call as the plan provider, so you cannot just add this phone to your existing Verizon plan. The Great Call plans are expensive. My Dad spends very little time making and receiving calls, and doesn't use email, so I got him a minimal monthly plan that includes 200 minutes of voice calling, 300 texts, and 100 MB of data, for $31 including taxes and fees. There is an unlimited voice and text plan that includes some data for about $60 including taxes and fees. This would be OK for folks who already have in-home internet and can get most of their data via Wi-Fi, but for others like my Dad, he'd go through 100MB pretty quickly if he was using a few apps and email.
2. Customer service is spotty. It took me four phone calls over two days to get Dad's account set up, partly because I had to have Dad available to authorize a) his credit card information, and b) having me set up as the contact person for his account. Some Great Call representatives were good, others not so good. Most annoying of all, though, were the two times I called and tried to reach the sales department, which is who you need to talk to to activate the phone (by the way, $35 activation fee if you get the phone anywhere other than through Great Call). The recording for the sales department said that it was closed, even though I was calling within normal business hours. In order to actually reach the sales department, I pressed 1 for "yes" when the recording asked me if I wanted to respond to a survey, and I was then connected to the sales department. I can't explain that, but it was frustrating.
2. The battery capacity is not fabulous. Dad needs to charge his phone every night, and he is not using it all the time.

Summary: Pros -- great, inexpensive relatively easy-to-use smart phone with truly epic call clarity. Cons -- expensive phone plan only available through Great Call.

679 people found this helpful

Helpful

melissa Myers

Decent phone crappy customer service, long activation

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

Seems to be a decent phone and easy to use but customer service is the worst took me 3 phone calls and several hours to get it activated. The reps had no customer service skills and would basically put me on hold while I heard them talking in the background. Made it seem like a basement business not very legit. Just got the phone so I’m hoping for better service in the future. I did not see anyway to download tour previous contacts and I wasn’t about to attempt to call customer service again. Don’t”t have your elderly parent call and activate this phone, service is ride and takes an extremely long time. For phones geared toward seniors you would think they would make the activation process easier and provide basic customer service etiquette.also if you want to keep a previous phone number it take 3-5 days to port your number

15 people found this helpful

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Catlady 13

Not a no-brainer

Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

It is not as easy as the ads say to set up and use this phone. Right now I am using the text and phone, The rest of the features are a challenge. It would be easier not to bump the red button every time I pick up the phone, but there is a button to push if you want out. It just takes a while to figure out. Younger "old folks" will probably catch on faster than I have, but it is the only cell phone I have been able to even use the basics. Of course, I am 85 years old too.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

SYR

Where to begin... DO NOT PURCHASE

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2019

Verified Purchase

Phone would not activate after filling out the online information. Called Customer service off the Jitterbug Smart2 screen instructions when it finished trying to activate and got a Happy Holidays recording with Holiday Hours. Located the correct number off the box and the lady said turn it off and it would correct itself by morning. I won't go into all the details of my calls and attempts..3 days, 43 so far and they just tell me it will correct itself. They say it can take a few min. hours or a full day or so!!! Also they are not trained to speak to elderly people .. I was activating this phone for my dad strictly so that I could send him text due to his failing hearing... Had he or my mother tried this it would have been a bigger disaster than it currently is! I asked about the signal... 1 bar and she said I was in a dead area... I live in Dallas TX and Verison is one of the most used services however she said she could hear me loud and clear!!! I had to remind her the phone they sold me isn't activated! I also found it interesting the guy how repeated a restart activation process for over 45 min. had no idea there was some kind of network issue so there was no way the phone was going to work... He finally gave up and said he would send me to Customer Service... and instead he sent me to the sales dept. I'm DONE!!! Dad not hearing well is better than having to deal with this phone much less if I could get it to activate will it even work???

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Michael L Shafer

Quality

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2021

Verified Purchase

There Is ALL To Like about this phone. Easy set-up with the polite and knowledgeable staff at Jitterbug/Lively. I updated from the fold basic Jitterbug. All of the captions are easy to read. Instruction booklet on How to use the phone. A Talking Assistant That will call you by name and EVEN SING TO YOU! Amazing. She will remind you of appointments, alarm clock, etc. The Directions are GREAT! Just tell the assistant where you want to go and visually the map is on the screen and she is telling you Out Loud where to Turn etc. The phone keys are simple to call and so Much More. I Highly Recommend This Phone. I Even Purchased It 1/2 Price On Sale Here At Amazon.
Thank You.
Michael L Shafer

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Bonnie Osterman

a nice product for limited purposes

Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

I have had my Jitterbug for almost 3 months now. At first I was concerned because i really only wanted it for 2 purposes. To download an app for my new hearing aids and for Uber. My first attempt to download the hearing aid app failed miserably. My audiologist tried her best but the app took 15 minutes to even begin downloading and then it stopped completely. My first attempt to call Uber also failed miserably. I could not get the app to work completely. I was able to register with Uber but when I went to request a ride I couldn't get the request completed. As a result I missed a doctor appointment. I did call GreatCall and the helpful service rep said she would reboot my software. After that the next time I tried Uber it worked perfectly. As for the hearing aid app...well I had it downloaded to my IPad which worked out fine. I just used the phone itself yesterday for the first time (other than some practice calls to my landline). I used the speaker feature and was able to hear very well at least in a quiet home setting. not sure yet how it works outdoors with noise. Another thing I noticed is when the phone is exposed to sunlight the screen darkens to where I can't see a thing. I noticed this when I used Uber the first time and wanted to track the car's progress. I was in the sun and the screen got so dark i saw nothing until i walked into a shady spot and could once again read the screen. I don't use this phone very often but I think it works for my limited needs. and yes I "dialed" the emergency response Red Star accidentally several times while ordering an Uber ride. Really not a great location for that button. But again for my simple needs this inexpensive phone does the job (finally). I just hope I don't have to keep having the software rebooted for my app to work properly. I do like the helpful videos on how to set things up on the phone. Really easy to do even for this old timer. I haven't even set up all the features yet since I use the unit so infrequently but they're there if I need them. The battery does run down rather quickly even when the phone is not in use. I just keep it charged all the time now which isn't a problem. The screen is easy to read altho the keyboard is a bit tiny and I've spelled words in ways I've never done before!! But with patience I get the address done right on my Uber ride requests. I texted once just to say I did it. Again new spellings on many words which had to be corrected but I survived! I have only called tech support once and the lady was very polite and very helpful.

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mary L. Kowalski

Came w/unusable charger from Ama/10/22/21 I left them

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

UPDATE UPDATE: I HAVE LEFT THESE PEOPLE!! They are NOT patient people. Anything goes wrong, you have to go thru them and they won't stay on the line with you. They charged me $90 EXTRA because I forgot to turn off my phone and it kept running in the background (This was only my second cell.) I went back to TracPhone. FYI. The camera in Jitterbug sucks.

FIRST OF ALL ----- ONE PRECAUTION -- DO NOT START PLAYING WITH YOUR PHONE UNTIL ACTIVATION!! I DID AND I HAD TO CALL JITTERBUG TO START ALL OVER AGAIN. The staff member that I talked to was amazing. OK YOU WERE WARNED!

Ama does NOT TELL YOU that you have to pay a $35 activation fee!!!!! After I got the phone turned on, I plugged it in and the next day, there was only 45% charge and I didn't even use it yet. Changed outlets, waited an hour (never saw the little battery light up like my other phone -- THAT should have clued me in but I thought this was different). Called the Jitterbug #, and they are sending me a new charger -- no cost of course -- and I have the peace of mind at $40/mth that if my w/c dies anywhere (electric), I have someone to call instead of 911 which can't do anything (BEEN THERE, DONE THAT -- no cops, no ambulance nor fire can help if I get stuck dead somewhere).

So far I haven't really used it much except to play around with it but I think it will be one of the better ones for someone like me who hits those other small icons and screws up the phone. These Icons are "larger enough" so I hit what I want and not every other thing; the menu is right in front of you; they give you a GOOD BOOKLET to start you off with GOOD instructions and when I got stuck, they helped me out. It works on GOOGLE so you have to have an acct. Other than that, it's light, the camera seems good but I don't think you can write on your pictures, at least I couldn't after playing around with it for about 2 hours; I'm still trying to find my way around but I don't think it will be that hard; must have earphones for music. Will update probably next month or so. To ME, it was worth the money and bill.

3 people found this helpful

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Jitterbug Smart2 unlocked, 32gb, No-Contract Easy-to-use Smartphone for Seniors by GreatCall,Black

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