Opis 60s Mobile 4G Phone : The Rotary Retro GSM Desk Cell Phone - Home Senior Cellphone for Elderly Unlocked in Vintage Telephone Style - Black

The media could not be loaded. I bought this phone for an elderly relative (and she loves it), but I’m thinking of getting one for myself to use at the coffee shop nearby. It really draws attention!So let’s get started. The phone arrived well packaged and in good condition. I noticed right away the “heft” of the build, especially the handset. It has some substance to it. My only very slight concern is the plastic dial. The dialling mechanism itself is very solid, but the plastic dial (with the number-holes in it) is ever-so-slightly a little wobbly. Again, this was not big enough of a deal to drop my rating, however.With the exception of both a “*” and a “#” needed to call menu driven call routing systems (used by banks, Dr. Offices, etc.), the phone operates exactly like the old phones it emulates. There’s no screen and no caller ID because those were not used “back in the day”. Naturally, you can also not send text messages but (if I’m not mistaken) you can set up the phone to forward incoming texts to a modern mobile phone, if you like… but don’t quote me on that.I’ve taken the phone to a few local coffee shops and found it to be a great conversation starter (no pun intended). The bright red colour that I selected is really eye-catching. People notice it! It’s better than having a dog for that purpose. 😇Setup was a breeze. Yes, please DO read the included manual (as we always should) for setup details. That said, the setup was simple and basically just:1. Unpack the phone.2. Flip the phone over and note the location of the on/off switch, the sim card slot and the three small lights (not yet illuminated) at the bottom. A raised icon next to the sim slot shows how to orient the card before inserting it.Below the sim slot, there are raised icons for each of the three lights. From left to right as viewed from the bottom, they are 1) sim card status, 2, network connection, battery charge status.3. Insert the sim card FULLY into the slot (let me stress “fully”), using one of the sim adapters, if necessary. Be sure to orient the card as demonstrated by the icon.4. Plug in the phone’s handset into the socket (also on the bottom of the phone).5. Plug in the charging cable (connected to the charger and wall outlet) via the “USB type C” socket. You will see the charging light come on (the right-most light of the three). You should (of course) let the battery fully charge before using the phone, but it should be perfectly OK to at least give the phone a test right away, while it is charging. When the battery is fully charged, that charging light on the right will go out. (It will not change to green).6. Using your thumb to depress/hold the handset cradle buttons, slide the on/off switch on the bottom to the “on” position (A vertical bar icon indicates “on” and a circle indicates the “off” position. Slide it to “on”.)7. The two lights on the left will begin to blink. The charging status light on the right might also blink a time or two. Just be patient and in a few seconds, all the lights will go off.Once they go out, that will be it! Flip the phone over and let up on the cradle buttons. You will hear a dial tone, and you will be ready to go.One final point, please keep in mind that the phone operates on a 4G network, so don’t expect it to have quite the same voice quality as 5G phones. Additionally the phone does not seem operate on the Verizon network (which is Verizon’s doing, not the phone manufacturer's.) TMobile seems to work fine. The discount phone carriers often use either the Verizon or the TMobile networks, so if it is available on the network provider’s website, enter the IMEI number written on the bottom of the phone to check for compatibility.Given that the phone will be used for voice only (no “data” necessary), it makes no sense to buy a sim and service directly from one of the major providers, as they are too expensive for voice only. I ended up going with “Tello”, which only runs $10 (plus tax) per month (at the time of this writing). They use the TMobile network.In summary, I like the build quality and the ease of setup/operation of the phone. For those avoiding smart phones for whatever reason, it is ideal. It’s quirky and will get attention if you pull it out in public.By the way, one reason I went with a full 5-star rating is that when I contacted the seller about a small issue (that turned out to be my own “user error”), the seller was quick to reply and very polite in assisting me. Customer service is huge to me, so they cemented that 5-star rating right then.*********** Update Oct. 11, 2024 ***********Just a quick update three months after purchase. I continue to really like this phone. I feel compelled to mention one issue that turned out not to be the fault of the phone. That is, the phone would mysteriously disconnect from the cell network several times a week. Initially, I was blaming the phone. Then I had another idea. The sim card I was using was from a discount cell provider ($10/month) that uses the T-Mobile network. As a test, I switched to a sim card from another provider (also using the T-Mobile network, but charges $35/month) as a test. As it turned out, that second sim card has never lost its connection. To be thorough in my testing, I let that second sim card prove itself for over a month, then (for the sake of science) I switched back to the original sim card. Low and behold, the disconnections began again. As a final test, I again installed the second (more expensive) sim card and the disconnections once again ceased. This proved to me beyond the shadow of a doubt that a poor quality sim card provider was the root cause of the disconnections, and NOT the phone.So lesson learned. Sure, the second sim card service is more expensive, but to me it is worth paying extra for a service that is reliable. Again, the occasional disconnect was not the fault of the phone, but rather was because the very low-cost sim card provider simply wasn't reliable.If, after purchasing a similar Opis Retro Phone and you too experience disconnection issues, try a sim card from another provider. That will most likely solve the problem. Keep in mind that it's worth paying a little extra for quality monthly cell service. As the saying goes, "Don't shoot the messenger" (the phone itself).

I purchased this phone for my elderly mother. She is sweet but is loosing her sight, hearing, and cognitive abilities which makes finding a phone that she can use a real challenge. Oh she has gone through several flip phones all very similar but she would either not use them or just loose them in the wild.What I really like about this phone is it looks and acts very similar to a desk phone from the 1980's. The function is very similar to a regular land line in that when you pick up the receiver she gets a dial tone and knows the phone is active. The handset volume is adjustable to a very loud setting which is wonderful. There are other features like speed dials and extended functions that she will never use but they are there the same. In addition, my mother cannot accidentally turn the volume or the ringer off or down.We get our cell service through TMobile #tmobile I brought the phone into their store, the team there installed the SIM card and verified the operation of the phone, they even took pictures as they had never seen one before.We are very satisfied.

I will update the product review if I get it working with a different carrier (since I don't think the problem is with the phone, but AT&T) but after 4 1/2 hours online with AT&T technical support it was finally discovered that the only current plans AT&T allows as available for this devices IMEI are hotspot plans, and that the plans that WOULD have supported voice have been discontinued. So although the manufacturer lists AT&T as a compatible carrier, this is no longer true.UPDATE: Was able to get it working with advice from the manufacturer. It required setting up new service using a temporary phone with an IMEI that AT&T would allow a voice plan with, and then moving the SIM card after the plan was active. I recommend against using AT&T with this device, but if you do the above is how to work around their goofy system.

Initial Product Review of product purchased 10 months ago - "Bought this for my elderly mother. Got the sim card and it worked SOMETIMES. No way to retrieve messages, very sluggish in dialing. Worked only sporadically."I needed to update my review based on the EXCELLENT customer service. After my initial review, I was contacted by the manufacturer through Amazon. They are located in Germany. We had a back and forth conversation via Amazon. They asked if they could phone and speak with me about the issue and then they let me determine the date and time. They called. I spoke with Frank. He listened to my issues. Asked if I would return the phone via USA Postal to their USA distributor, at my expense BUT they would reimburse the cost. Then he offered a full refund of the purchase price plus the shipping costs. He sent me instructions on how and where to return. I notified him when I had placed the item in the mail. Within 3 days, I had a full refund plus the shipping cost.I have been SOOOO impressed with the customer service of this company. I'd definitely try their products again when I need one that they offer. Very Rare to see Customer Service at this level today.

We have worked with this phone for 2 weeks and it still is not functional for my 98 year MIL. All we wanted was a simple cellphone that mimicked a traditional house phone, as the assisted living home did not have a land line. It has to be plugged and unplugged to recharge. What a waste of money and time.

This Opis phone is from Germany and for whatever reason it claims to be compatible with ATT, T Mobile, Mint Mobile and lots of other carriers. Unfortunately it’s basically impossible to find a SIM card from any carrier in the U.S. that will work with this technology. Sad because I would have really liked to have been able to use it.