Firefly Mobile Firefly
Average Ratings
A WARNING BEFORE YOU RING IN A DISASTER FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILD
One would suppose that a company producing and marketing a product for young children would consider children. One might also suppose that childrenâs product company would consider child safety.
And you might also think that a telecommunications company would be required by law to provide what they sell. Or, that a telecommunications company would remember that phones are for safety as well as for fun and games. Not so with Firefly Mobile, producers of the flyPhone and glowPhone for children.
Four months, two hundred dollars, innumerable hours and several other problems later, I can accurately report that Firefly Mobile isnât interested in your child, your childâs well-being, you, or providing the services that you paid for.
A full report can be found on the Consumer Affairs site:www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/firefly.ht
There isn't enough room here.
fireflyMobile did not provide a service that worked for several months to innumerable consumers and children. They will not respond to the problems or Consumer Affairs complaints, nor will they issue refunds for defective products or services not provided. Highly not recommended!
Firefly service unacceptable
This phone is great for the intended user. Kids understand it with little instruction and parents are in complete control. But battery life could be better. Account service however is horrible. The meter is running regardless if you are using your minutes. Some setup functions can only be done online, and others can only be done with customer service intervention - it depends if you have the original device or the newer Glowphone. I have spent months attempting to reactivate a previously expired account. After $45, 5 months and 3 SIM cards it is still not working. Game over, next call is to my lawyer.
GOOD IDEA WRONG PHONE
I gave this phone a zero because i bought this phone for my daughter and son. I feel more comfortable with my children having a phone for after school activities, so they can reach me. This is a good idea however i had such issues.
PROs
kid friendly
easy to use
Cons
easy to break
didn't grow with kids ( too childish looking)
I decided to change to the sanyo 2400 it has parental features i wanted so i could control who they called, and it was a real phone so as they got older the phone grew with them. So parents if you want a phone that is still parent controlled for children and bought this phone and are unhappy as i was here is a alternative.
HORRIBLE WASTE OF MONEY!
you DONT want this phone for your kids! its a complete waste of money. first of all, it restricts ALL calls! who wants a phone for they kids when the phone restrics who the phone calls? i mean sure some parents would want to keep their kids from calling their friends and from text messageing but why? and also the sound quality is HORRIBLE! it scratches WAAAY too easily. you cant store more than 20 numbers in the thing and its difficult to navigate. i mean i have more than 20 numbers and i dont even have that many friends! and it only has like 5 buttons on the thing! how can you dial anyone? how are your kids gonna call all they friends? oh wait i forgot they cant because it RESTRICTS ALMOST ALL THE CALLS. i mean COME ON! who would want this? if your wanting a basic phone for your kids i would recommend a samsung t619. or a small nokia. but NOT THIS. do yourself and your kid a favor and dont buy this dumb phone.
Not Durable, Horrible Sound Quality
We purchased a Firefly for my 8 year old son for Christmas. He has had the thing two weeks. My son is an extremely responsible, gifted kid who takes really good care of everything he has. Last weekend he was walking on our hard wood floor. He had the FF in his FRONT pocket. He slipped and fell on his HIND quarters, barely bumping the phone on the ground, through his jeans. The LCD screen broke inside and there are ink blots all over the entire screen. It will not turn on at all, much less make any calls or function to what it should.
We have the factory warranty, and also bought the extended warranty from the dealer. Unfortunately those will not help us since we are honest people and will not claim that it was not our fault that the device was broken. My problem here is, if the Firely Moblie company is manufacturing and marketing this phones directed at 8-12 year olds, shouldn't they have made it a little more durable? The thing is light as a feather, the plastic is cheap and is scratched far beyond what it should be after being stored in a pocket for two weeks. It broke under the slightest pressure, and the sound quality is terrible!
We are making him replace the device with his own money, as he understands that even though it wasn't on purpose, he still broke the phone. But his father and I will be instructing him to go with a different phone and a different provider. As the FF phone was an extreme waste of money.
Buyer Beware.
Pros:
Small enough to fit in their pocket.
Calls mom and dad easily
Cons:
the rest
Horrible sound quality
Breaks easily
scratches easily
hard to navigate
Great for kids!
If you have a child, teenager, or just need a *basic* phone for someone, this is the way to go! Even elderly people could benefit from this phone as an emergency only type device.
It's true that the phone is marketed for a childs use, but seriously, after checking the phone out throughly, it's a great idea!
As I mentioned above, teens could benefit from it when you want to control who can be called! Basically, unless the number has been programed in this phone, you can't call it! And as you have to have the pin # to change the address book entries, it would be ideal for a parent wishing to give their children a phone and know who they call! Granted, incoming calls aren't restricted, but outgoing are! And since it's so basic, you don't have to worry about extra costs involved with txt, and internet usage charges!
All of the above are my pro's... but onto my very few con's. Keep in mind though that this phone is intended children primarily.
The biggest con I see is that the person entering all the phonebook data has only the buttons shown to work with... It reminds me of some of the very first pagers, where 3 buttons controlled everything!
*The second biggest con is the fact that IF one of the places needing to be called requires imput (like the entering of an extension) you can't. So be mindful of that if there is no operator option on the places that will need to be called which have automated phone systems.
*And the last one is the emergency button. The button is on the side, and while you have to press it for 3 seconds, THEN press the send key, I worry that it's a bit too easy to dial when it's not intended to be (plus, little kids do tend to play with buttons!
But seriously, this is a great idea!!! Just remember that no matter what kind of phone you give a child, and no matter what restrictions are on it, YOU the account holder are responsible for the end result! :-)
Phone not for seniors, Service and Return Policy Horrible
Customer Service consistently poor, both on web and via phone. Website locks up frequently, Customer Service phone puts caller on hold then disconnects at times. Activating the SIM did not work on the web, and CSR had trouble via phone. Also there is a continued lack of ability to pull up account info they have been provided.
None of the people in Customer Service acknowledge or apologize for the repeated issues. Nowhere do they specify they won't refund SIM card if activated (even if not one call has been made or received or even a call plan made). Also they allege to need a full credit card number to verify what was paid (despite having account info) in order to then verify refund amount. This seems to be poor industry practice and also a security risk to the buyer.
Device is marketed to kids but some reviewers recommend it for senior adults - a mistake. The phone is too small and still has too many functions (menu) for older folks not electronically inclined.
Overall the worst service experience I've had in years.
DO NOT WASTES YOUR MONEY
THE PHONES ARE GARAGE AND SO IS THE SERVICE. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE NOT VERY HELPFUL. YOU CALL AND ALSO SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST ONLINE AND TWO MONTHS AND NOT REPLY. IT IS THE WORST COMPANY.
Firefly Mobile Company Not Recommended
I thought the idea of getting my daughter the Firefly Mobile phone would be a good idea because it limits usage and is a baby step to a real phone when she is older. The problem was I went to their website, ordered the phone after have many issues and loading delays with their website. They sent me a very unprofessional - too informal email that said my order would be shipped and arrive in 6 business days. 3 weeks later, no phone, no communication. I sent them 2 emails and no response. I tried to call their 800 number and I was on hold for 20 minutes. If you call after hours, the message says you can leave a message but then the mailbox is full. So you can see where this is going. They even took the money out of my account. Then when I finally got a live person, they said they were back ordered. I cancelled my order because I thought if they can't get the device to me and provide the appropriate communication about delays etc., they don't deserve my business and the rest of their service much be crappy too.
The purpose is clear
This phone is designed for children ages 7-11. You can get it free at almost every cingular store and otherwise it is only $25.00. The phone is great because first of all who wants to spend alot of money on a child who may or may not lose the phone and who is almost surley going to scratche/dent it up. The parental controls are great because you can monitor the calls (even to all cingular customers if you want) so the child will not go over the minutes! Plus you dont want you child calling God knows who (everyone is worried about that these days). You can't get the kind of call restictions like that on anyother phones!!!!!
