Nokia 6085 / 6086
Average Ratings
Technology of the future
Nokia 6086 with wifi from T Mobile
NJ Metro NY area.
I have tried many cell phones and carriers and none of them gave me more than 1-2 bars in my own home and I was dropping calls often. I learned about this dual cell/wifi phone so I decided to give is a try about a month ago.
Using my own wireless router, I had the phone hooked up in less than 5 minutes. I can now count on 3-4 bars at home and the call quality is excellent.
I have always shied away from from T-mobile despite living in a highly populated area because of T-Mobile's limited coverage. I have been comparing the signal strengths between my Verizon and T-Mobile phones side-by-side and so far they show about the coverage. However, with the Nokia's added wifi capabilities, I can now also make cell calls deep inside steel/concrete buildings or in the middle of the Catskills or Poconos (or at any Starbucks) as long as there is a wifi router I can sign on to. Since I am a low volume cell user, I did not add the Hotspot@Home service for $9.99 which gives you unlimited calling while you are linked from any wifi router. I still have access to the same routers but my minutes are used up the normal way from my plan.
I travel to Nova Scotia, Canada, every summer for vacation. There are very few areas outside Halifax with coverage. And when I am finally able to get a signal, the roaming fees are around $0.69 a minute which is quite high. However, most small communities there have public wifi hotspots at the libraries and motels which would allow me to make full signal calls all while not incurring any roaming charges. I can't wait to try it out.
PROS:
Ability to call via Wifi Router
Feel of buttons
Built-in FM Radio
Comfortable size and weight
Nokia PC Suite and ability to customize phone
CONS:
Dust accumulates behind the display screen
No Speakerphone button
great phone
pros:
great battery life
great mp3 player
great call quality
great speaker phone
cons:
none yet
Good phone, questionable Hotspot at home service
I bought this phone in November mainly for the HotSpot @ home feature, basically the phone works well and I haven't had any major problems except dropped calls (at least 2 per day and I am on the ph approx 200 minutes per day) The dropped calls I attribute to the Hotspot at home service b/c I had the Pebl before I got this phone and hardly if ever dropped any calls. I have called Cust Service and they are all really nice but it can't be troubleshooted unless I call from a different phone which is a lot easier said than done!!
Pros
-Non shiny surface and buttons do not leave fingerprint marks (big issue for the Pebl)
-Programmable profiles and ability to change profiles just by holding the * key for 2 seconds
-radio feature works really well, very intuitive
-you can close the phone and still be on the headset or listen to the radio (this may seem minor but its really annoying to have to carry your phone open when you are using the headset)
Cons
-Phone is definitely bigger than I like (I am a fan of tiny 'girl' phones and this was one of only 3 hotspot at home phones offered at the time)
-phone unexpectedly switches profiles when charging
-takes a long time to charge battery to full
-Sim card a little difficult to put in the first time but this is pretty minor
Its a good phone overall but TM may have some kinks to work out with the HS@home feature.
Nokia 6085 Phone - Great phone.
I like my Nokia 6085 phone very much.
I like the expansion card, video camera, speaker phone, and external screen. It is nice to see who is calling without having to open the phone.
I just wish I could take it with me.
I am switching carriers because AT&T cheated me. I swapped out a 3 year old phone and they messed up or miss managed my account. Now I have three bills totally $1076, that should have been around $270. They say I have to pay. So I am leaving AT&T FOREVER !!
I just wish I could take my new phone with me.
Consider the cons before you buy
6086
This phone was a step up from the only other HotSpot phone T-Mobile had in Sept. Now that I am on my fourth 6086 and it too is failing, I think it is safe to say that I would discourage anyone from buying it -- wait for something else or Nokia to resolve the problems (they just have me restore factory settings every time I call - and it resolves nothing).
Pros:
-Video
-Camera
-HotSpot
-Speaker phone - really good
Cons:
-Spontaneously restarts in the middle of calls but the dropped call still accrues minutes until the other party hangs up. No notice that a restart is coming.
-One touch dialing performs a last number redial. Have to hang up from the redial and then one touch works for that one call.
-Call is dropped when you move from tower to HotSpot or HotSpot to tower.
-Phone frequently will not connect to any WiFi, even the HotSpot modem - gives "network error".
-Muting a call takes numerous steps.
-Buttons are hard to push for texting.
-Gives only 1 hour of talk time - and that is full charged and with a new battery.
-Batteries only last 1-2 days - the external display spontaneously lights up and discharges the battery.
-Have to wait several seconds after dialing a call before one can put it on speaker phone.
-Silent mode has no vibrate option for when text messages are received.
Recommend getting a different model or a different brand. I historically have been pleased with Nokia, but this model has been a repeated let down.
Best non-smart phone I have used
I bought two of these phones (6085) in Hong Kong, unlocked. It is cheap, but well built and feature packed. The basic phone functions are rock solid;
Pros:
Superb RF performance.
Excellent battery life.
Loud and clear ear piece and speakerphone - works well as a desk top speaker phone.
Nice keypad; good tactile feel.
A folder - personal preference.
Readable display.
Flawless BT performance.
Durable.
Series 40 w/snappy menus.
EDGE.
Nice SMS implementation; I like the RECENT feature.
Workable MP3 player.
Radio.
Native email client (POP and IMAP).
Java capable.
Micro SD card (up to 2gb).
This phone just works and it works well.
CONS:
Camera (but who cares?).
Cheap plastic but still durable.
Style - it is on the ugly side.
Bottom line; a great phone for the money. Durable, reliable, excellent performance on all of the functions that really matter.
How do I
I purchased this phone for the Hotspot@Home feature and LOVE IT. :) I would like to know if any one can help with one thing. How to change the wifi to connect to a wireless mac router. One of my friends have a Mac and I see on here it says they changed it to a Mac and had no problem connecting to it, If you know please let me know, Thank you. Again, this phone works great for me.
Description doesn't mention main feature -WIFI
Got the 6086 wifi phone from T-M the day after it was released - June 28th.
Phone works fine as a phone. Connects quickly to wifi and switch over to GSM is seamless.
The MAJOR negative is that you can't use a Bluetooth headset with this phone because of excessive interference. This has been reported by others on howardforums. The other wifi UMA phone now used by T-M, Samsung T409, is supposed to work ok w. BT.
Another negative is the icons that indicate whether you are in wifi mode or GSM are very tiny.
Sound quality is excellent. I use an SE r520m, as my everyday phone w. BT - so I am spoiled by having an easy to read b&w screen.
This color screen seems worse, tho, than the few i've seen.
If you don't use BT, this phone would be a 4.5. If you do use BT when on wifi, it won't work for you.
What a great phone!
I work for a cellular company and go a lot of different phones and since my company introduced our customers to GSM technology 2 years ago I have gone thru 5 different phones and of those I have to say that the 6085 is so far the best one I've had! This phone is loaded! Bluetooth, MP3 player, extended memory space, just to name a few. This phone is good for people who want a simple phone with the advanced features of the more difficult phones.
Good low budget quad band phone!!
While the 6085 is not the best looking nor does it have the best graphics. IT is a Nokia... So you can count on great signal strenght and batt life. This phone is the answer if you need a cheap international phone. As a gift for your kids.. NOT But the facts are it works when you need it to.
