RAZ Memory Cell Phone

I have had two parents with dementia. One moderate and one mild. This phone is a waste of money. One with mild dementia could not figure it out. Can’t imagine how someone in memory care could begin to use it.

The instruction manual tells how to dial a number with the keypad but it isn’t even an available feature. My family called support several times and was told it would be available the next month. It’s been several months and nothing. They commented that the feature is not advertised for this phone.

Then are there instructions in the manual?? They couldn’t answer that. Don’t think the Alzheimer’s store is affiliated with the Alzheimer’s Association like we did. No way to return. Beware!

I was excited to buy a RAZ phone for my mother because I thought it would be great for her. I lived apart from my mother and had the phone delivered to her. Unfortunately when she went to T Mobile to initiate service with the phone they said the phone didn't work and they could not do anything.

I only found out later that you have to call Raz while you are at the T Mobile store for them to give instructions on starting the phone. My mom lost the phone and I'm out $300 so that was a complete waste of money. I have no idea how the actual phone works and never will.

I just want to make sure that others see the part where you will be charged $75 restocking fee if you return this phone.

Bad on me for not reading every part of the site, but I think shame on this company for taking $75 from elderly customers that live on a very limited budget, just because their item did not work for the customer.

I am sure the phone probably works fine for most, but it just was not going to be a good fit for my father in law.

The application software is still buggy, especially the 'white list'. Cannot add new numbers. Recharging is tricky.

When the phone is placed on the wireless charger, just because the blue light comes on does not mean that the phone is charging. You have to carefully inspect the battery level signal to see if the phone is actually charging. If the two above problems are corrected, then I'd give the phone an excellent rating.

I purchased a memory phone back in October. For the short time period a Disabled Veteran used the phone approx 4 to 5 weeks... it was a total disaster. He called 911 several times by just having the phone in his pocket.

So... Emergency services showed up at the Private care facility in which he lives and disrupted the residence. I paid for 911 dispatch service which was a waste of money.

When he called 911, if I was not at my phone immediately to take the call from dispatch service as his care provider.... then they will dispatch emergency services.

There is also NO way to reach them back by phone and when called back # received... message indicates you have to go to a help email. Where has the "personal service gone"! After the final 911 call, the phone jammed and is now stuck in a position the phone is NOT useable whatsoever....

So after spending over 500.00 between Memory phone, special charger, 911 service and mint mobile... This phone is trash and was such a waste of money... not only waste of money but waste of my time!

I received a call phone from customer service rep at Raz Mobility and expressed the many concerns, I was told someone would call me back which never did. Not only is this phone not meet our needs, but now it's broken! The user is a 100% disabled combat veteran.

That’s it! There are no applications or settings to cause confusion. No notifications or operating system updates. No voicemail. no texts. No distractions. Simply tap the picture of the person you wish to call. That’s it… [Their description from their website.]

True, the phone cannot retrieve voicemails or receive texts. That does not mean that there is no voicemail or that texts can be sent to the phone. Both instances give the impression the phone does provide these services. I have been told that on Mint Mobile the voicemail cannot be disabled.

It can however be managed from another phone. The ability to send an auto-text reply or forward texts does not exist. All said, the phone and portal are straightforward and simple to negotiate.

The software has some work yet to go, I am told they are working on an update and I will see if that addresses these issues. Customer service is polite and knowledgeable, though the product uncomplicated. Issues exist, but I have not found a more appropriate device.

A mixed experience. An excellent concept with spotty implementation. The pros: much more useful (or, at least, useful for a more compromised niche than other dumb phones) than phones which are just slightly simplified versions of standard smart phones.

The portal which allows many functions (e.g., adding new contacts) to be performed by a distant family member is extremely useful. Also worth mentioning, their technical support has been very good.

Almost always available via telephone without an eternal wait and manned by technicians who know the product and are capable of troubleshooting and problem solving. In short, when it works this is a five-star product; and when it doesn't, they are reasonably good at finding a fix.

The cons: a number of problems which probably could have been avoided. 1) when the phone completely discharges, the ringtone shuts off.

This was corrected via a couple of calls to technical support which eventually directed me into the normally unavailable settings menu and provided instruction for moving a few toggles. Problem appears to be solved.

2) At one point all of the RAZ software mysteriously disappeared and the phone reverted to a normal smart phone. The fix required sending the phone back to raz. They corrected expeditiously and at no charge. Still not certain (and no information from raz) about how this happened. Has not recurred.

3) The touch screen sensitivity is finicky. Sometimes it is over sensitive and calls are triggered by the slightest incidental touch. At other times, the touch screen is unresponsive and the phone becomes a very expensive paperweight since calling out is impossible. This problem has not yet been fixed.

On balance, a qualified recommendation. Worth a shot if a cell phone remains a necessity but a Jitterbug or similar option is still too complicated. Be aware, however, that not all of the kinks have been worked out.

We bought the miniVision cell phone for my 90-year-old mom who has lost her sight to glaucoma. The phone was difficult to set up, we had to find a new cell service provider, and it was even harder to use than her Jitterbug phone.

Because I live in a different city and we had to do the different cell service, I asked RAZ Mobility for an extension on the trial period which they granted. However, when I returned the phone, they said it was beyond the extension.

Upon checking the email thread, I found that they had sent a second email with a different (earlier) date for the extension. I didn't see this email. I returned the phone, but RAZ Mobility did not refund our cost even minus the restocking fee.

I now see other negative reviews and wish I had read more about the company before buying this phone.

I don't recommend the RAZ mobility phone for a person with dementia living outside of a family home. The concept is great but the phone in reality has a number of issues that made it impossible for my mother to use.

First, it took over two weeks to find a carrier that we had good reception with, the Mint Mobile SIM it came with was very difficult to insert and no location instructions as to which tray to insert it.

Then, it was not easy to use because I had to figure out how to get out of the RAZ mobility ap. No instructions were included on how to do that so I had to wade through customer service to learn how to do that.

The phone is always on so it runs out of batteries every1-1.5 days. If the phone runs down to 0 charge, when charged up again the starting screen becomes a battery image--not the promised home screen with faces.

It was difficult for me, a person without dementia, to figure out how to get it back to the promised home screen. Second, a person with dementia, like my parent, can't always remember how to charge a phone. So this phone was not able to remain charged so it was useless.

Finally, it took forever to put the faces and names in the system. You cannot use Chrome, only Safari to do that--no one told us that so I spent lots of wasted time trying to figure it out. Save your $400--unless there is a person without dementia on hand to troubleshoot daily--don't do it.

Purchased this phone for my 90 year old mother who is in a nursing facility. She had such problems trying to operate a cell phone so this phone seemed like a blessing. It has been nothing but a headache.

When I ordered the phone, I confirmed with RazMobility that it was compatible with her then current Cricket Wireless account. I was told “absolutely”. Once it arrived & I set it up with her SIM card from the old phone, it did not work.

I contacted Raz and was told that Cricket did not support this phone. I informed them that they’d given me bad information.

Customer Service told me that Cricket had just recently made that change and I should accept their offer (which came with the phone) to switch service to MintMobile and get 3 months free.

We had to change her phone number and inform anyone she’s in contact with of a new number. The phone worked ok for 2months. As other reviewers have mentioned, the contact with the phone either causes unwanted phone calls or the buttons don’t respond at all.

We are only now at the end of the 3 month free promotion, and the phone is barely working. Mint Mobile tells me that they too are no longer supporting this phone!! I immediately contacted RazMobility customer service who insists this isn’t true.

Soooo, I call the provide again, and am told they are sorry but they no longer are supporting this phone!

Raz mobility tells me that I should just switch to another carrier! I’ve had it! In only 3 1/2 months I have a phone that isn’t working and I do not intend to continue switching providers.

This phone is a great concept but terrible design & technology. I will not recommend to anyone. I will have a landline installed for her and forget these headaches.

So I ordered this phone. My mom is in a nursing home. In NY where it's had strict restrictions. I Never opened it. Didn't even break the seal on the box. Raz Mobility kept 100.00 to restock.

I asked for management and he called me. He was part owner and refused to care about customer service. He had zero concern. He was nasty on the phone.

They emailed me that they never go away from policy. So when policy is more important than people. Buyer beware. He is lining his pockets. Sad. No compassion just policy.

Unfortunately it is used with a major carrier and the battery goes down quickly to 35% or less. It does not hold charge like an iPhone. Have it on dark mode which is suppose to help with this issue.

All contacts stay bright. It does not decrease the pictures. Have an email into them. Not certain we’re keeping this if there is no solution to battery drain. Otherwise great for dialing for ALZ patient.

My experience with Raz Mobility has not been good. We were never able to get it to receive phone calls. We tried three different carriers. The phone is super sensitive and nearly impossible to carry without unplanned calls to everyone on the screen.

My mom was so frustrated and embarrassed that she continued to call people without trying. Thankfully the 911 button asks you, "Are you sure you want to call 911." But since we could never get it to work for incoming calls and they wouldn't help us, we have just wasted $400.00.