Motorola V180 (Unlocked)

My husband’s first phone when we first switched our service to Cingular in Feb. of 2005 was the Motorola V180. I read all the specs on it and he didn’t want anything fancy, just something that would work good, have a good battery life and get a good signal.

The Motorola V180 has the following features (Information can be found on the internet):

• Instant messaging for quick and easy chatting

• Motomixer application to mix unique ringtones to play on the 24-chord polyphonic speaker

• Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) for sending pictures, animations, wallpaper, icons and ring tones

• J2ME MIDP 2.0 support for application, ringer, wallpaper, graphic and game downloads

• Peer to peer 2-way games (SMS, GPRS and CLDC 1.0)

• Conference calling and integrated hands-free speakerphone

• Datebook and Phonebook synchronization via accessory USB cable to easily organize your life

• WAP 2.0 compliant browser with GPRS Class 10 for high-speed data transmission

It also boasted of their “quad” band network which later was reduced down to tri band and they stated it had a talk time of 5.83 hours.

This Mororola did have a good signal and it did have a good battery life and good talk time but after only a few months the phone started having static noise and it just got worse over time. Customer service tried some updates and then finally said to return the phone for a replacement and they would send the same phone. The replacement phone had the static noise upon the first use. The static on the phone was so loud that you could not even hold a conversation then it would just turn itself off and often wouldn’t power back up.

This was our second brand by Motorola and both turned out to be disappointing phones over all. My husband now has another brand phone. We didn’t try for a 3rd time on this Motorola.

This phone is not a quality phone. I will list the few pros first:
1. Sleek
2. Ton of features (speaker phone, java enabled, ringtones, aim, etc)
3. Fairly compact

Now to the issues I had with this phone (and the replacement sent)

I had to get this phone replaced 3 months of buying it b/c of dropped calls, poor reception and sometimes it wouldn't ring. The issues were so frusterating when a Samsung with T-Mobile wouldn't have the problems in the same locations.

I went to the place I bought it from and the sales guy there said they have had tons of problems with this phone. He said I have to keep reporting issues to T-Mobile and after 3 replacements they will upgrade me to v188. Supposedly that one is more reliable.

Even though I had the phone replaced after 3 months - in another 4-5 months similar problems started creeping up again.

I would have the phone sitting next to me and it had full service and the phone would not ring when I get a call but it would tell me that I missed a call and that I have a new VM.

Small but annoying problem - every time I make a call it says call fwding on - TMobile couldn't even turn that off.

Every time I receive a call and answer the phone and it would still show that I missed the call. Again annoying.

Speakerphone - don't even bother - after about 2-3 months of use it will stop working. This is a big problem since speaker phone was one of my primary requirements.

With the speakerphone kaput I turned to the Handsfree set. Well that only lasted about 2 months and it stopped working as well.

My wife has the same phone and has similar problems and poor battery life to top things off. She had her phone replaced to no avail.

Note that the issues persisted with the replacement phones! I am in the process of getting this phone replaced again and perhaps I won't have issues but Motorola has struck out twice so I am not holding my breath.


Disclaimer: I am an eBay employee and this review is my own opinion and is not written on behalf of eBay. This review does not reflect the views of my employer nor is it endorsed by them.

I had no trouble at all with my little V180. I carried it for almost 2 years, and everything still worked like new when I upgraded to the new camera phones. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good phone at a good price. Motorola phones c an always be counted on for quality, in my opinion, and this one never let me down.

This is a nice, inexpensive flip phone with a front display. Motorola makes excellent phones, and this is a typical product for them.

I like it. i dont know why one has to write a min. or words, this is all i really wanted to say asaafsdgdfgfdgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

I bought this unlocked phone mainly to use while travelling in Europe/Asia. It is an excellent phone with easy to use controls and strong clear sound. My only complaint is that if you accidentally press the button on the side of the phone it will shut off your ringer or change it to vibrate only.

I had a Motorola cell phone before, it worked great, I lost it and replaced it with a Nokia, I did not like the Nokia, I was getting 2 bars of reception on the Nokia when I had 5 bars on the Motorola, as I do now, people can hear me better and I can hear them better,less static and less fading and this is all in the same areas. You can pay more but I do not think that you can get better.

I bought this phone because I needed a cheep unlocked phone for a trip to Europe. The phone works perfectly and has very good battery life compared to what I am used to. I bought a European version with 900,1800,and 1900 bands. I would use it everyday here if it had the 850 band. Still it will make a great back up after my trip. It is much more than I expected for the price I paid.

Daughter has one works alright for her. I bought one from Ebay reception poor have to put it on speker to listen and talk, normal phone doesn't work. Have lost a lot of calls. I buy phones just for talking nothing else. I had a V60i which was great. This phone does not have voice recognition which is a feature I like. I buying a different phone Samsung SGH-X427

This phone is okay for an inexpensive entry flip-phone. It is thick though compared to many others, and I found the color screen to be very tiny and hard to see in the daylight. The games and basic ringtones are pretty lame, but if you get a USB cable and Motorola Phone Tools you will find you can add many MP3's for free along with pictures, etc. Many 3rd party providers sell covers to decorate it with, and you can get a variety of antennas too if your into customizing your phone. Reception was very good, thats about the best I can say about it. The other features were pretty basic. If your looking for a high-tech phone, this isn't it. Battery life is generally two days for me with normal use. To summarize: if your looking for a basic entry flip phone with good reception, this is a good choice.

This is a great phone for the price! It has many features of phones 3 times the cost. I have no unexpected problems with service or dropped calls. (My carrier is AT&T/Cingular) Clarity is excellent and customer support is provided free of charge from both Motorola and Cingular.

I am not easy on phones; I have dropped this phone on concrete at least 10 times and it still works like it did the day I took it out of the box.

Highly recommend.

This is a fine mobile for making calls. However, it is an old model. I bought the V180 for travel in Europe and the problem with this particular mobile is that texting is even more popular in Europe than in the United States (its cheaper). Sadly this mobile phone is miserable for text messaging. The software is just far too outdated.

Otherwise, it is a relatively small mobile phone. The battery life seems fine. The audio is good. In other words, if you live in the US and your grandma needs a basic mobile this would be a good purchase if found for under $10.

If you are looking for a mobile in England, when you arrive simply head to a mobile store and buy one you can top up as you like.

My V180 lasted for 3 years-no problems no hassles and is still in fine working order. My wife bought us 2 V3 Razors for Christmas and I like it just as well and will not give up my V180 a great standby. You will not go wrong buying one of them.

What I like about this cell phone is all about what it does not have. It doesn't have a camera, it is not a PDA, it doesn't confuse me with technology I don't need. It's a cell phone and occasionally I send a text message that takes me 17 minutes to compile before I send it. (But I am getting better) I just want a cellphone that is reliable. Because the V180 is readily available for a decent price on e-Bay, I am not heartbroken after it hits the deck for the umpteenth time. ( I drop it 4 times a day. Whether I need to or not) I can always get another one.

Cingular gave these away FREE for a reason! They are awful!

I got my V180 directly from Cingular (not an eBay purchase) and I hated the entire 2 years I was stuck with that thing! It would die 11 mins into the conversation everywhere I went. The phone could not hold a charge and Cingular wouldn't do anything to help me with it. Finally, I got an L2 (which is ok) but I have heard nothing but problems with the V180.

Good phone, easy to use, small but the audible is great. Decided to buy phone to replace one that was destroyed by water. Switched out SIM card and have been using this phone ever since. Have great luck with Motorola phones in the past and will stay with them in the future.

Shipped promptly. Nice used phone with minimal scratches and long lasting battery. Much better than expected!
Thanks.

We have three teenage girls. Two in college and one in high school. We bought this Motorola as a backup to get us through to the next upgrade. If one of us have problems, we just use the Motorola. Its a good phone, basic and does what we need it to do. Motorola has good products and we always try to stay with them.

This is a great small flip phone at the fraction of the price of the others. Ringtones can be set to real music and easy to use.

I bought this after dropping my nokia in the toliet (by accident). I am hard of hearing and the sound on this phone is excellent. I have had previous motorola and nokia phones in the past and nothing compares to the sound from a Motorola. The features are great for the technology that is available. I haven't had any issues with this phone. Pickup signal I think is better than a nokia. This is a GREAT phone for users that are hard of hearing.

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We had several of these and while the size and function of this phone is very nice, the outer and inner lcd screens are weak and fail often. The insurance through the cell phone company is a bad deal also, money each month and then $50.00 bucks if you need a phone replaced. If you need it replaced they will tell you to mail it to them and if they deem it defective they will charge you and then mail out a replacement. Buy another model, such as the V551, we have four of those and have had for over a year, they have been dropped also, yet they still function great.

Phone only worked for about 3 months, then died. Cehck the web - tons of people have had similar bad experiences. Wished I'd done more research BEFORE wasting my money on this phone. BUYER BEWARE!

This is the second V180 I have owned.I like its relative small size and features. It has good reception and long battery life.It doesn't have alot of "bells and whistles"but it's a phone not a camera.And you won't have to pay an arm and a leg for a used one. I would buy another one if I had to.