Alcatel QUICKFLIP 4044C | 4G LTE | HD Voice FlipPhone | Cricket Unlocked for T-Mobile & AT&T, Grey, 4GB

Bought for my 12 year old to replace her former smart phone, which it's been decided she's not responsible enough for, but I still want her to have a way of communicating with me when need be.This is not a smart phone. First and foremost. However I needed to find a phone which would work with a Mint Mobile SIM card, and had 4g service at a minimum. Most of the flip phones out there are only 3g. So this one fit my basic requirements.Even though it is branded Cricket, the device I received IS unlocked.Con: the back cover which you need to remove to add the battery, sim, and optional SD card is VERY difficult to remove. I don't plan on swapping out any of that any time soon!Pros: not at smart phone. It does have I ternet access but you're not going to downloading apps. But you can get to sites like YouTube and many others. Downside: if you're in my boat where you're trying to limit your child's YouTube usage ... This can be a little of both. But hey, if you tell your kid to Google something that is possible.Has a built in music player and capability for up to a 32 gb SD card. Daughter was happy that she can listen to music.Kid has to learn T9 texting. That's a learning curve.Capable of talk and text.Durable. Without need to buy a protective case.Bluetooth enabled. So using it with wireless headphones is a possibility.Wifi capable so if you're trying not to use your data it's an option. Very difficult to turn off the wifi however.When it's in standby mode the battery lasts FOREVER it seems. I left it over a week without charging since kid wasn't using it for anything else at one point.Overall. If you're looking to simplify things this is a good pick.

The volume is extremely low. I have excellent hearing, but if you're in a crowded place, forget it. You'll not get the volume high enough. (But I guess if you need it that loud, maybe you should do something different anyway. Save your hearing). The volume for the alarm is too low as well. So if you want to use your phone as a morning wake-up alarm, think again. You have to type in two letters for a contact search. Other phones allowed me to just type the first letter, and all names beginning with that letter pop up. Not this one; you must type in two letters.The phone is extremely slow. If you're trying to send a text, you might need to wait 30 seconds for the phone to load or whatever it is doing, to allow you to begin typing. When you answer an incoming call, it's slow. Most phones, as soon as you flip you can talk. This one, better wait about 2 seconds after the flip, for it to get itself ready. There is no apostrophe mark on the main punctuation menu. Seriously?! Apostrophes are important.Though you can do a Google search online, there are no instructions included, nor even a basic message of an online link to find the instructions. It's nearly impossible getting the thing on vibrate. You go up and down, up and down the volume bar. It goes from 15 all the way down to mute. But usually skips vibrate. You have to keep going up and down, from 1 to mute and back until it recognizes vibrate. A horrible phone.

I have used the T-Mobile 'Pay As You Go' service on a basic ('dumb' ) phone for many, many years.However, T-Mobile's decision to phase out 2G service has meant that the areas I could get a signal have been shrinking slowly for a long time, and call quality has fallen to an unworkable level for at least the last 6 months. It has become almost impossible to complete a call. Time for a new phone.Unless you relent and get a 'smart' phone, choices are severely limited. I saw no point in getting a 3G phone, as they will soon be phased out too. That basically left this model as the only T-Mobile compatible ( 4G LTE ) option I could find.What do you get from supplier eTrade ?Yes, it's an ATT branded phone, in an opened box. However, it does appear to be brand new, and complete with all the original documents and parts ( battery and charger only ). I presume it was opened merely to unlock it.What do you need ?You need the mid sized SIM card to connect the phone to your service.Does it work with T-Mobile ?Yes, I bought a new SIM at a T-Mobile store, which you can break off it any of the 3 sizes ( big, medium, micro ) to fit any SIM phone. It connected to the service with no issues.Can you transfer phone data ?To transfer all my contacts, the store had a device which required USB connections to both the new and old phones. These I had to buy ( approx. $4 each ). The device connected to the phones, but only my old phone ( which was supplied by T-Mobile ) would transfer any data. The device could not access the new phone. Maybe this is because of the original ATT programming ? All I know is that the contacts would NOT swap from the old phone to the new one.Result ?I have a working phone with crystal clear reception almost anywhere, but I'll have to re-enter all my contact info.NoteT-Mobile no longer offer their own 'Pay As You Go' service. They have franchised it to a third party, who charge a $3 per month connection charge. Calls are charged at 10 cents per minute.