LG 600G Review – Beyond the Basics
This phone has much to offer
This is a follow up to my previous post about this phone. So, if you haven’t yet read my LG 600G Review part 1, you might want to check it out by clicking here. And, if you’re a new visitor to this blog, you may want to subscribe to receive free updates by clicking on the link at the top right corner of this page. Now, on to part 2 of the review. [NOTE: As of August 21st, you can access part 3 of the LG 600G review by clicking here.]
[Edit: this phone is now available for $39.99 from TracFone. Click here for more details.]
First, something to clear up on this phone regarding my initial review. I had said that the screen is equal to the w376g. After further review, though, I’ve found that the screen on the LG is not as nice. The reason is that, when viewed from an angle slightly above or below “straight on,” the colors tend to become distorted. This is similar to earlier LCD or rear-projection TVs, where if you stood too far to either side the colors would be skewed. I would estimate that, on this phone, there is a range of 20 degrees either up or down where the colors are perfect, and another 20 degrees in each direction beyond that where the image is still viewable. If you “tilt” this phone any more beyond that, you’ll still be able to read the text but the wallpaper will look pretty distorted. This isn’t a big deal in my opinion, but it’s something I wanted to point out.
Another item that I didn’t point out in my discussion of the external features of the phone – the LG 600 has a single port that provides the connection for the charger, a wired headset, and USB data cable. Only the wall charger is included in the package, and I didn’t buy any of the other attachments to test them separately. However, it is a pet peeve of mine that manufacturers insist on having different connections. It would be much better for the consumer if all phones used the same headset plug, USB cable, and charger connector. However, LG requires that we buy more accessories because whatever we may have had for previous phones won’t work with this model. This probably is a moot point for me, since I’ll never use any of those other accessories that would require a separate purchase (and the bluetooth means fewer wires in general). But, I wanted to point out that I think this business practice is NOT favorable to consumers.
Now on to a topic that is of interest to many readers – Bluetooth. I am very happy to confirm that the LG 600G’s bluetooth is far more functional than the w376g, which is basically good only for pairing with a headset or other audio device. On the LG, I was able to use two different bluetooth headsets that I tested. But, I was also able to connect to my computer’s bluetooth feature and transfer files both to and from the phone. This is important for a couple of reasons – first, you can take pictures with your phone and transfer them to a computer without using any airtime. Second, and perhaps more importantly to some, you can transfer audio files and pictures from your computer and use them as ringtones and wallpapers on your phone.
Click on the image for more info about this phone.
I haven’t done a lot of testing with it yet, but I quickly used a couple of free computer programs to crop and convert an mp3 file to a .amr file, which could then be used on the phone as a ringtone. I then transferred the file using bluetooth, and set it as my ringtone. I think I’ll need to do some more tweaking to my process to get it to sound how I want, but at least I know that the bluetooth file transfer works well. I was also able to VERY easily transfer a .mid file (polyphonic, not mp3) and set it as my ringtone, and I was quite pleased with the results.
In addition to making your own ringtone files, the ability to transfer via bluetooth opens up a variety of choices for acquiring custom ringers. Among them, I believe that you should be able to swap ringtones with other bluetooth phones, although I haven’t yet had the chance to test this. There are also a number of websites that offer downloadable tones, which you can save to your computer and then transmit via bluetooth to the LG 600G.
Another way that you might want to create a ringtone is to use the record feature of the LG 600G to record the audio of your choice. This recording can then be saved and set as the ringtone.
It’s a good thing that these alternate options exist, because TracFone wouldn’t let me buy any mp3 ringtones from them, either using my computer on the web or using the phone’s web browser. I can’t figure out why this would be the case, and I emailed TracFone to ask why. I’ll report back here when/if I hear back from them. But regardless of their response, it looks like the bluetooth transfer will end up being a much cheaper way to get ringtones for this phone, and provide unlimited options as well.
One thing I WAS able to download from TracFone is a wallpaper graphic. After having done it just to test it, though, I highly doubt I’ll ever pay for a wallpaper download since it’s now so easy just to go out to any internet page, save an image to your hard drive, and send the image to your phone via bluetooth.
Now on to another fun feature of this phone – the camera. I have never had a camera phone as my primary phone, so maybe my expectations weren’t all that high, but I was happy with the results produced by this phone. Within the options menu of the camera, you can choose resolution (320X240 or 640×480), pic quality, multi shot mode, self-timer, and white balance. Also, when in camera mode, the arrows control the zoom (only available on the 320X240 setting) and make the image lighter or darker. Another interesting feature on this phone is that the camera can be activated while the phone is closed, by pressing and holding the down arrow key on the side of the phone. In that case, the image will be displayed on the external screen. Here’s a pic that I took with the camera, on the lower of the two resolution settings:
Image taken with LG600G camera
Another extra feature of this phone is the web browser. However, similar to the w376g, the browser function is pretty limited in that it can only access content through TracFone’s mobile web site. This includes some headlines, sports scores, and weather, as well as TracFone’s storefront selling ringtones and wallpaper images. Off-limits, though, are any other mobile websites such as Google, Gmail, ESPN, and any other mainstream site with a mobile website. I tried, but was unable to download the mail clients for Yahoo and Gmail. It’s too bad TracFone insists on limiting access like this, because I think that a little more web browsing freedom might appeal to the same type of people that will be drawn to this phone.
Alright, I think that’s enough for this section of the review. I’ll wrap it up with a final LG 600G review post within a week. On that post, I’ll cover the games and productivity tools featured on this phone, and share my final thoughts as well as spell out a little more advice on choosing between this phone and the w376g. [NOTE: As of August 21st, you can access part 3 of the LG 600G review by clicking here.]
Again, if you haven’t already done so, you may want to subscribe to receive free updates by clicking on the link at the top right corner of this page. This will ensure that when I publish more info about this phone, the w376g, and other TracFone topics such as great deals and new bonus codes, you’ll find out about it right away.
My main question… can you set different ringtones for different people? And also… can you set text message ringtones? Currently I have the LG225 which allows you to set ringtones for groups only… & only use the internal “tones” for text alerts. My husband has the Motorola w376g, which I like, because its similar in menus etc. to our old Motorola C261’s. I liked the Bluetooth feature of the w376c… but then I saw the LG 600G and am considering upgrading to that one.
Another question: Can I hook up the LG-600g via Bluetooth or USB cable to my laptop, and be able to use the laptop’s modem to dial into my internet service? This would be a great feature for me, as I travel out of WiFi range frequently.
Also, with regards to the Moto-376g, could this device (link below) be used to offload the pictures the phone camera takes so they can be downloaded into ones computer? If so, that would be a great work around for the lack of connectivity on the Moto. Check it out:
http://www.cellularoutfitter.com/2-in-1-usb-2-0-microsd-sim-card-reader—writer.html
I know your charged by tracfone for browsing the web,but are you charged with minutes for emailing .?
Okay, so you have to hold down a button to turn on the camera while it’s closed? That sounds a little better than my current phone, which just uses a separate button. I still wonder if the camera would go off when it’s in my pocket. Just a minor complaint, but still.
@Katie – Yes, you can set ringtones for specific contacts (or by “groups” if you prefer). In order to do this, the contact must be saved in the phone memory, not on the SIM card. And if I understand you correctly, you are wondering about whether you can set up a specific tone for a text message alert. If this is what you are asking, the answer is “yes – sort of.” There are four different tones to choose from for a new text message alert. As far as I can see, you cannot add your own tones to be used as text message tones.
@TBass – I don’t believe that this phone will function as a modem for your laptop, which is basically what you want it to do, correct? As far as I know, a vast majority of phones are restricted so as to prevent this type of functionality, at the request of the network carriers. They would rather charge you extra for “data” packages than to allow you to use the existing technology with regular voice minutes. But, i could be wrong.
also, I don’t think that the reader you pointed out will work – I am pretty sure the pictures are saved in the memory of the phone, not the SIM card. Can anyone else here prove me wrong? (I don’t have the w376g available to check for myself).
@Slim Jim – yes, you are charged minutes for emailing. How much depends on whether you send the message as and SMS or MMS. MMS will cost a minimum of 1 unit, plus more if the message is particularly long. SMS costs the standard .3 units per message.
@Joe – I should clarify on the camera button – it is actually two button pushes to activate the camera. First, press the “volume down” button once to activate the external screen. Then, press and hold the same button again until the camera turns on. Finally, press the button a third time to take a picture. I think it’s pretty unlikely to take pictures inadvertently.
I have a question about the mp3 ringtones.
I have ordered this phone – it should arrive any day now – and I haven’t owened/used any products that have bluetooth before.
How exactly were you able to take the mp3 files and make them into ringtones? You mentioned some “free computer programs” you used to do this. What are they?
Once I have a mp3 file ready, um, well, how do you use bluetooth? I realize this is probably a dumb question, but, hey, I’m new to this.
I have a laptop with wireless internet capabilites, but I’m guessing that doesn’t automatically mean bluetooth?
Is there a way to make the file transfer through USB in some way?
Any help would be appreciated!
Hi Ash
I’ll get to the specific details on this process in a post later this week or early next week. It’s not difficult, but may take a while for me to write it all up so I’m going to have to put it off a little while yet.
Again, thanks so much for the reply.
You wrote, “I don’t believe that this phone will function as a modem for your laptop, which is basically what you want it to do, correct?”
No, I don’t want the *phone* to function as a modem, I want it to function as a phone, like a land-line, so that I can connect to the net via my laptop’s dial-up modem. I used to have an old analog Moto and could do this using a card from SimpleTech that plugged into my laptop, and came with a cord that connected the card and the phone. It worked just like at home. This was before the advent of USB (yeah, I’m old) though, so it seems to me that any phone that would allow computer connectivity, should be able to be used in the manner I described, that is, if there is a function to make it give a dial tone. I know there are phones that do this. Comments?
As far as the SIM reader device goes, the folks at Cellular Outfitter said it CAN read the SIM cards on the 376g, and get the pics of the card. Now how reliable these folks are, I don’t know, but it might be worth the $10 to find out, and if it didn’t work, I could always return it. Still wondering about the 600g though, as being able to use my laptop’s dial-up modem with it would be the deciding factor for me. Thanks again….T. Bass
Okay, thanks for all the info. I think I’m gonna go with this one over the Moto. My current phone lasted me 3 years and I think it’s time for a new one!
This is your latest blog, so I’ll put it here. It’s about the Motorola w376g.
After 3 week, I finely have my phone turned on! First I needed a new sim card, then they canceled sending it to me, said the card I had would work (it didn’t), so had to send me a new card again.
Anyway, here is what happened. I had a 60 minute, 90 day card, so I tried adding it to my phone w376g.
I put in the # on the back, then pressed prom. code yes, and added that code 56617. When it came back, it gave me 60 minuets X2 120 minuets, + 90 days, the prom. (code expired). So I tried every thing I could to put in a new code, nothing. I have no idea how to do it?
So is there anyway I can add a prom. code if the first code I use is expired?
I hate loosing the 60 minuets, or however many it may be, because I’m to dumb to know how!
Even if its to late for this time, I would like to know for the next card I try.
PS, I didn’t have any trouble with the Noka phone I had before. Is this a new twist with the newer phones?
Hey great site! Ummm my question is…do you have to wait to close the phone after you send a text message? I currently have a Moto W370 and I have to wait a while to close the phone or else the message doesn’t send. It is just ANNOYING!!!!!!!
My question is,are there any differences between the tracfone lg600 and the net10 lg600.I know there the same company,but is the software different or something.The reason i ask is because iam having trouble with saving a picture to my phonebook.It always says write error.I have been reading the reviews for the tracfone lg600 and no one else has mention this.
I’m having the same problem, let me know if you get an answer to this.
Hi Ben
I just tested this, and I flipped the phone closed immediately after pressing the “send” button. The external screen then displayed a “sending” message, and a few seconds later I heard a chime indicating that the “send” was complete. And, it worked, as I had sent a message to one of my other phones to make sure. If that’s a big concern to you, then this phone will solve that problem for you!
hey pbushx2 can you help with my promblem
@ Roger – I haven’t compared the Net10 and TracFone version side by side, so I can’t say for sure. One thing that I noticed with the TracFone version of the LG 600G – a contact must be saved to the phone, not the sim card, if you want to assign a photo to the contact. Could that be part of the problem?
I’m having the same problem as Roger, but I do have my contacts saved to phone and not sim card and I still get the write error when I try to save the picture. Let me know if you have an answer to this problem. Thanks!
Can you take a picture, and set it as your wallpaper?
Ha Ha Thanks…it was just annoying to be hanging out with my friends and they send a text message and just flip thier phone shut! Not me though! This new phone looks good!
Perry – yes, you can do exactly what you described.
Does anybody have this phone for the net10 network.If there is i need to talk to you about some issues,i’am having with my phone.
Can you tell me if the LG 600g has voice dialing? Since I’m blind and would have to cary sheets of
Braille or a tape that can get lost and therefore lose everyone’s number. It would be a great feature to have.
Hi All..I ordered a LG600G Mon of this week and got Wed.. fast and no problems.. Charged the battery and went to web site to activate the phone. Somewhat of a problem in that I wanted to transfer my old Spring phone number to the new phone. You fill in all the info and the page kind’a just stop at that point and I was not sure if the phone was going to be activated or not. However late Wed. night I noticed , as they said, my old phone number no longer was working.
On to buying some time, which I was going to get the 1 year and 400 minutes when I ran into my first problem. I was told to go to “Code Entry Mode” and enter a #0 and place the code I received on the web page. Didn’t work! However it was late …past 1am so went to bed and checked again about 10am and still the same plus I had a phone number but not my old number. So I called the number at service and got a fairly clear speaking person who talked me thru and got the phone up and running with lots of time and all….however it’s 7pm and I still have the phone number Trac gave me and not my old number.
Couple of things I would like to do..first I would like to tranfer my old contact list to the new phone. I have ordered a Bluetooth adapted and a Sim card reader in hopes I can do this??!!!?? I have looked at the Sim and am not sure how it come out. I have had GSM phones before and they just plug in the side of the phone much like a memory card in a camera. This one has a medal band across it and I don’t see how it come loose. I also have Bluetooth in the car and want to pair it up, but do not have contact list or the correct phone number…yet. Maybe in the AM!!!
All in all, so far so good, like it better than the Katana.
Hi Bill
The LG 600G does NOT have voice dialing. I was very disappointed that this feature was lacking, but I forgot to put it in my review – I will edit part 3 of the review. Thanks for pointing that out to me. If you are looking for a phone with the voice-dialing feature, the LG 3280 does a nice job of it. It has the nice option that you can activate, so that whenever you open the phone you are prompted to speak the name of the person you want to call. This might be ideal in your case as there would be no button-pushing necessary once the contact list is set up. That phone is actually on sale in a nice package deal at the following link:
http://supercoupons.wordpress.com/tracfone-800-minute-deal/
@ Richard – Hi, thanks for your input. Unfortunately for you, porting a number from one provider to another can be a painful experience, regardless of the two providers. Unfortunately, TracFone seems to have more trouble with this than many phone companies. I guess all I can say is “hang in there,” and keep working on it. It might not hurt to first call your old provider and confirm that they’ve done all they need to do in order to start the port. Then call TracFone again and let them know that everything is done on Sprint’s end of things. That could help speed it along.
To get the sim card out of the LG, you’ll need to slide it out from under the metal piece holding it in place. I was able to do this but sticking my fingernail behind the bottom of the SIM card and sliding upward. Hope this helps.
Hi All ..again. Well the phone is up and working fine. It all was due to porting my old number from Sprint. Seems Trac porting failed to tell me they would be sending a NEW Sim card. I call this AM and the CS folks went thru all the stuff and said “That not the Sim I show to be in your phone” Well as I said is the one you sent in the phone and is the one on the red card that came with the phone. Oh said the person, we sent you a new Sim card do you not have it???
Tracking the shipment it WAS here within the hour, plugged it in and all was well. I have read many blogs about how bad the CS were at Trac.I must say, that was never my case. They were always, or at least tried to be helpful. As for the Sim removal, I was making more of it than it was. All the GSM phones I have used had a Sim carrier…this doesn’t…just goes under the medal band. I had hope to report on porting my old contact list from the old Sprint phone to the new one and the linking to the bluetooth in the car, however the mail was not kind to me today and I didn’t get the software and other stuff to do it with. I have tried the old Sprint Katana software but didn’t work. Didn’t think it would but had to try. I do have the old phone list in a csv file. More later
How did you get a ringtone for the LG600g? I have not been able to purchase any from tracfone and it is driving me crazy!!! I don’t have an MP3 player to download from to the phone but you said you can record from the phone and save??
Thanks for all the great info!!!
One of my upcoming posts will be to describe the process of creating your own ringtones from mp3 files. There are also free .mid sound files available if you search google for them.
Hi,
Does the Bluetooth on the LG 600G work with Microsoft’s SYNC as found on newer Ford vehicles (I have a Focus)?
Thanks!
We just purchased a 2010 ford fusion. It does work with sync but so far i can not add my phone contacts. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Linda,
As far as I know, no one has gotten the contacts to sync with built-in bluetooth systems in vehicles. It might be possible, though. I would suggest that if you want to pursue it further, you consult your dealer.
Hi Jake
I can’t answer your question personally, but maybe someone else here will chime in with a response…
I have this phone from Tracfone and get the same “write error”. I initially was able to save as picture id but now only get the write error. Called Tracfone, went through the same processes to set an id after resetting the phone and still get the error. They said they have to contact the main office and will get back to me. It’s probably a software glitch but could be hardware also.
Hi! i have been reading your blog and i have learned a lot of cool things i never knew about my phone (the LG600G. So i wanted to first say thanks. Well my question is can u change the wallpaper on the front screen or is it just the black line thing?
Hi Krystal
I responded to your question on a different page:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/tracfone-lg-600g-review-part-3/#comment-872
Thanks for your extensive review of this phone, which I just purchased from Net10. I have a couple of criticisms of the phone to add to your comments, and if I am wrong I would welcome being corrected.
First, the owner’s manual that comes with the phone is woefully inadequate to explain how to use the phone’s functions — it just about covers how to set up and make a call. No word on anything else.
Second, after establishing a contact list, I wanted to associate a photo with the corresponding contact. After selecting this option, however, I was taken to a screen purporting to show my contact list which came up as empty.
I have been unable to find a more complete manual for this phone. If you have any suggestions for how to find more information about it, I’d be very appreciative. Frankly, the 600G works fine as a phone, but I could have gotten a phone that does that without the bells and whistles for a lot less money.
Hi Phil
You are right about the manual. For some reason TracFone decided not to include the actual manual in the package. However, you can find a digital version here:
http://www.tracfone.com/images/en/phones/TFLG600G/manual.pdf
I’m not sure how you are adding the contacts. It may be that the contact info has to be stored on the phone memory itself rather than the SIM card in order to assign a photo. Perhaps the manual above will be helpful in figuring this out.
Thanks so much for this link! Much appreciated!
What exactly are the steps required on this model phone to get it to recognize a standard Motorola Bluetooth headset model HS820. We have two LG600g phones and two headsets and neither phone wants to recognize either headset. Am I setting something wrong?? I can’t be sure as there is NO owner’s manual. Help please, thanks.
Could you tell me what band this phone works on?
850 – 900 – 1800 – 1900 ?
Thank you
Thank you very much for this review. I was a little iffy about this phone. Now that you have confirmed for me that MP3 and image files CAN be sent to this cell phone via Bluetooth from my computer, I have made this Tracfone phone my purchase of choice.
Thanks again,
- RKO
Seems to be alot of trouble with this phone. Im thinking about getting one from Tracfone but it sounds like alot to do just to get ringtones on the phone. I might just choose the Motorola W376g instead, seems alot easier to use and it doesn’t really matter if it has bluetooth or not.
Hi Ryan – I would agree – if you’re not that concerned with ringtones and being able to send pictures to your computer for free, then the w376g is probably a better choice, especially when it’s $20 cheaper.
I have the Motorola W376 and had already activated it when I decided I want to transfer my previous number from my trusty Nokia to the motorola. I called Tracfone and they sent me a new SIMS card. I called back after receiving it and the operator had me insert the new SIMS card and was able to switch numbers and add the minutes almost instantaneously.
I had pictures and phone numbers in the Motorola (not saved to the original SIMS card but to the phone itself) and they were all still there after the switch.
It was very easy and painless, unlike many of my other dealings over the phone, so I think their service is improving.
9/24
I have had problems activating the phones.. two years ago I purchased a new phone and called to activate it….wanted units and # transferred to new phone. I was asked if I had the old phone there and how many units were on it I checked and told them the amount of units. To make a long story short it took 5 days and about 20 hours to get the phone to operate..last rep found the problem after 2 hours on the phone..they had cancelled my account. She said it was listed as a lost phone.
I purchased a new phone LG600 G on 9/12 and received it 9/16 and called to activate it ..went through the process and was told to wait 72 hours and check operation calling and receiving. Didn’t work after 72 hours( 9/19 )and they tried to activate again.. after another hour they said they would send me a new phone. It is now 5 days still no phone…after many calls was told today that I would get the phone in 7 days.. Don’t know about the new phone never worked …but had no problems with the old one. I would not buy from Tracfone again their service department and reps stink….Would cancel but, have about $200. worth of unit that I would lose. So I’m stuck
Peg – have you read this recent post of mine?
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/tracphone-support/
Now that I have had Net10’s LG 600G for a little while I’m unhappy with the way its features don’t seem to work right as they are supposed to. Two of my gripes:
1. I have set specific ringtones for each of four caller groups (each caller number in each group is saved to the phone), yet when a call from anyone is received, the same old “phone” ring sounds.
2. I have assigned pics to specific contacts, yet these pics only appear in the contact list; not when they call.
Am I just a disgruntled incompetent? Or shouldn’t these functions work the way I was hoping they would?
Hi Phil
I have heard other people say that they’ve also had problems with the contacts list in their Net10 version of this phone. For some reason it seems to be specific to the Net10 software, but not all Net10 users have the same problem, I think. I’m sorry to say that since my phone does not give me the same problems, I can’t offer any advice on fixing them. But, the good news is that you’re not a disgruntled incompetent, so you can be happy about that, at least!
I have found that you must let the ringtone play all the way through in the preview in order to set it to ring for a specific contact – worked for my W370 Tracfone.
Hey, I’m thinking about getting this phone because the ‘6′ button on my old tracfone has decided to slowly stop working, and this seems like the nicest phone they have.
I was wondering though, considering i’m a textaholic, how many texts does this phone hold?
Hi Katie
I’m not sure about this – I do know that it has 4 MB of storage space, which is quite a bit. This is allocated among the ringtones, pictures, audio recordings, applications, and messages, I believe. So I think that if you have a lot of pictures, for example, that would leave less space for text messages, and vice versa. But however you use it, 4 mb is quite a bit of memory. If you try to use it mostly for messages, I think you’ll have lots of room. Maybe someone else can help answer this question, though.
helloo
i have this same model of phone, yet, i cannot find the voice recorder in the tools
where do i locate the voice recorder because i want to set something as my ringtone!!!
please reply to me i neep helpp
you can find the voice recorder by going to Menu->My Stuff->Camera & Recording->Record Voice
Hi,
I just purchased an lg600g with bluetooth technology from net10. I want to download pictures from my camera phone to my computer. Can I do it without buying a Bluetooth and just buy a USB cable to hook from phone to my computer? Also where do you buy the USB cable?
Thanks
I don’t think that this will work with a USB cable. You should be able to find something called a “Bluetooth Dongle,” which plugs into your computer’s USB port, for around $5, though, so it’s not too expensive.
I have a LG 600G and wanted to know what Bluetooth Dongle I need to transfer pics. I have a HP desktop w/ Windows XP. I checked on line and found quite a few but don’t know which is compatible. I would appreciate any information. Thanks
I can’t get my LG 600g to pair to with my laptop. I never setup a bluetooth security code on either. IS there a default code?
I haven’t tried connecting the LG600g to a computer lately, but I don’t recall that there is a default code – I think that you just have to make sure that the code entered on the Laptop matches the code you enter in the phone. I usually used something like 1234 or 0000, and that worked for me.
I currently have this phone and there are some features which I think are really great but i like some of the format on my old moto261 better. Like the text messages used to come up with who was sending it to you. Even when you go into the inbox you cannot see who the sender is until you used ur mins and receive it.
One thing I am trying to figure out that was available on my other phone was the ability to send a picture message to my email. I’ve tried with this phone and it says no address after I’ve tried to send it and it gets put to my outbox/drafts. Anyone know whether this is possible or not?
Nitsirks – It should be possible to send a pic to an email address with this phone, but I don’t remember the specifics on how to do it – mine is currently sitting inactive while I try out the LG 225, so I can’t test it out for you. Hopefully another reader will be able to help you out.
I can take pictures with my TracFone LG 600 and send them to friends cell phone and they can open them. I can recived and save pictures from my freinds cell phones, but I can’t open them to view them on my phone? It goes through the process then stops and displays “Unsupported Fubction” message.
What is wrong and how di I fix it so my LG 600 will display received pictures. Need help!!
Thanks,
Joe Shimandle
Thanks,
I tried that but it didn’t work. I think I did it correctly, but the user’s manual i down loaded from LG wasn’t much help. I thought about sending it bluetooth to my computer, but don’t see any options for that on my phone. I need a job, so I can buy a real phone.
The second attempt at sending the pictures to my email address worked. It’s not my preferred way to view them, but better than not seeing them. Thanks.
I recive an LG 600 g from U.S.A with
a net10.com and it does work in Algeria .
I acn’t call to the number for unlock it and in the net there is no mention for algeria .
Can you help me ?
Good thanks .
The LG6OOG sounds like a good phone. But would like to kmow if I could access my business email with this phone? Thanks
Hi Jack
I don’t think there’s any way of using this phone to directly access your email. However, you could set up your current email account to forward a portion of all emails to your cell phone, but that gets to be a pretty big pain if you get more than a handful of emails a day. It’s also possible to send emails from your phone, as I discussed in a previous post:
http://tinyurl.com/btc96h
Hi, I just got my LG600G tracfone. I have it paired to my computer with Bluetooth. I can send pictures “to my phone” from the puter but I can’t send pictures “from my phone” to the puter?? Which is what I really want to do. Can you help?? Thanks
Hi Bob
Have you tried opening the picture from the “my stuff” menu, then selecting options > send via > bluetooth? This is what works for me.
Does anyone know if LG 600G has compatibility issues when connecting to a car hands free system via bluetooth? This is the only reason why I am considering LG 600G as a replacement phone. Thanks for your response.
I think that both the LG 600g and the w376g have been successfully paired with a variety of built-in and add-on vehicle systems.
i have a very quick question…. how do you get pictures off of this phone??? i heard you send it to your e-mail but how do you do that??? ha ha I’m still a little technological challenged. PLEASE HELP
how do I send pics from my lg600 to my computer?
If your computer has bluetooth, you can send pictures from your phone by bluetooth, and it won’t cost anything. If you don’t have bluetooth on your computer, you can buy something called a bluetooth “dongle” or “adapter” probably for around $5, definitely less than $10, and it plugs into a USB port to give your phone bluetooth connectivity. Or, you can send the pics by email. I haven’t done this myself in a while, but I think that you need to first create an entry for your email address in your contact list. Then open the picture you want to send, and under options select send>as multimedia message. Now enter your email address (from the contact list)in the “To:” field, and send it off. It will probably deduct 1.5 or 2 units to send it all. If that doesn’t work, you might also want to check out the comments on my recent post about send messages from your TracFone to an email address:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2008/12/29/email-with-your-tracfone/
Have a LG600G Tracfone,Have tried sending email to my tracfone with file attachment from computer. Email delievered to my tracfone,but without attachments.What am I doing wrong or is this phone even capibable of doing this? I have even tried changing file formats a number of times and that don’t work.Thank you!
Hello,
First off, let me just admit that I’m a dinosaur when it comes to cell phone and Bluetooth technology. I’m basically trying to find out what I need to get to be able to transfer data files(mainly .jar, .jad and .amr files) to and from my computer and LG 600G phone. I’m on a minute plan with Net10 so it gets expensive fast to transfer files over the air.
I ordered a data cable from a company online that said that it was compatible with this phone but when I plugged it into my USB port, my computer is saying “Unknown Device”. Is there some software that can sync the driver and cable to my phone or do I need to just purchase a Bluetooth to accomplish what I want. Also, will I need to purchase this Dongle device?
Hi Ed
I’ve never attempted to use a USB connection, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there. A bluetooth dongle should help you achieve what you are trying to do, though. In my most recent post, I pointed out a deal on a bluetooth adapter from buy.com – you might want to check that out.
Hi, I have had the LG 600G for about a week and love the Contact features allowing Caller ID with picture and ring tones recorded custom for each entry. This makes it a lot easier to identify the caller in a hands-free driving situation. This is my first experience with actually using BlueTooth (BT) outside of my PS3 and this phone has made the PC conection super friendly. I am a little confused by the BT head set connection and am wondering if anyone knows if there are separate BT Profiles for a BT Head-Set and a BT Hands-Free Car Kit. My car kit has paired with the BT HeadSet Profile and the phone dosen’t use the full functionallity of the BT Hands-Free Car Kit. I know that I will not get the voice calling commands because of the LG 600G’s limitations but all phones are suppose to support the Verbal Caller ID function where the speaker phone in the car kit calls out the number of the incoming call. Does anyone know if the LG 600G has a BT Profile for a car phone kit in addition to the BT Head-Set Profile?
Can you help me to unlock my LG 600 G to set the time . It was a net10.com and I am in Algeria and it does not work
greetings.
I am interested in upgrading my tracfone from a Nokia 1100 to either a Moto w376g of the Lg600g and have read both reviews, but you have never mentioned how visible the screen is outside. My Nokia is the same if I am inside or outside. My wife has a Moto Razr and that screen is totally unreadable when you are outside and the sun out. How would you rate each phone for visibility outside? By the way your reviews are the best on the internet. Please respond
Hmm, I live in the far north where it’s just now starting to warm up, but it’s been quite a while since I’ve tried to view either phone outside. But if I recall correctly, the 600g is slightly easier to view when in full sunlight. I could be wrong, though. Hopefully someone else will comment, otherwise I’ll have to test them, side-by-side, outside.
Thanks for responding, for those of us in the south that are outside year round being able to read the screen in daylight is an important part choosing a phone. The Razr was left to us and isn’t at all user friendly in daylight, so we don’t want to make that mistake when buying a new phone.
Where does one get this software to transfer files to and from their PC to the LG600 once they find a Bluetooth Dongle? I have a Bluetooth Dongle that came with a proprietary transfer program and the only way I can access the dongle is with the proprietary software, I can’t see the dongle listed anywhere under MY PC and I don’t see any MY Blue Tooth option in control panel or anywhere else on my PC which has XP Pro.
Also can I recieve sound files via text message?
Has anyone been able to export their contacts, edit them, and import them back into the phone using BLUETOOTH?
I have the Net10 version of the LG 600G. I find it difficult to operate the menus because there is no “back” button. When I am in a menu and want to go back I have to hit the “end” key and go back to the main screen and then hit the “menu” key and start alll over again. There must be an easier way. Am I missing something ?
Tom – I may be mistaken here, but I think the “clear” button backs up in most menus. Does that do the trick?
Tom: The “Clear” button is the “C” between send and end. I was having the same frustration as you until I found the C button by accident
May 19, 2009 – In speaking with a sales support person at Tracfone this morning about the L600G’s capabilities, she made a point to tell me that the unit’s Bluetooth was not able to send pictures to my computer, only to other phones. One of the reasons I’m considerinig the L600G is to be able to download the pictures. My husband just received a Samsung T301G and was disappointed to discover that he could not download his pictures for printing. You have said that pics COULD be downloaded via a Bluetooth attachment with the L600G. Do you still think that to be true? I sure hope so.
Dorothy – I’ve personally transmitted pics FROM the 600G TO my PC via bluetooth, so I know it works unless there’s a newer version of the phone with that feature disabled. I doubt it though. (I bought mine in Aug., 2008).
I have the LG600 phone and I can send and receive pictures from my puter VIA Bluetooth.
I just purchased a Tracfone LG600G from Target and ported my (ancient Nokia 5100) number to it. CS said it would take about 72 hours – it took 24.
I have had much success transfering photos back and forth to my laptop via BT, ALSO other files, BUT, (slightly off subject), I find that midi files (.mid) sound much better than .amr files for ringtones. A good converter to amr is “Mobile AMR Converter”. Try http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Mobile_AMR_Converter.htm
(free, btw – and I am non-affiliated- it’s put out by Sony/Ericcson)
Thanx for this blog pbushx2, the manuals are FAR from adequate.
Thanks for the tip on the converter!
Will I be able to download photos to my iMac desktop from a Tracfone LG600G phone. I have Blue Tooth on computer.
Yes, you should be able to download files using the setup you describe. I haven’t personally used the 600g with a Mac, but I’ve heard from others that have done so successfully.
I was wondering how to change where it says “home” on my display screen. I searched the phone settings and have not been able to find it.
And also I have downloaded songs on my phone but can’t seem to find out how to play them, it only gives me the choice of sending the song.
I don’t think there’s a way to change the “home” on the display.
As far as playing the songs, can you go into your “my folder” menu and play it from there by clicking on it?
Samantha – hmmmm ? i do not see anything that says “home” on the display. where are you seeing this ?
Great info on your site. Sadly a brand new LG 600G (Seattle area based) won’t work/roam in BC Canada. Shows “emergency call only” no matter what you dial. Beautiful phone otherwise.
Hi Ken
All TracFone models should be “emergency only” whenever you leave the country. I think their business model is just too simplistic to allow for international roaming.
I really like the LG600! I’m glad my husband lost the cheaper net10 phone. It was always automatically calling me. Now this one has a flip cover to protect the keys.
Got a bluetooth dongle for my pc to get the pictures from the phone. Finally figured it out. You have to tell the pc bluetooth to “receive a file”. Is there a way to send more than 1 picture at a time? Or to keep the bluetooth in Receive a file mode so I don’t have to open it each time?
Thanks
volvo girl, I think that you need to send them one by one if you are sending them from the phone. Another option, depending on what bluetooth dongle/software you have on your computer, is to explore the phone using the computer, and do a batch copy that way. I don’t remember specifically, but I THINK that worked for me. Again, it might depend on your system setup, though.
pbushx2 ….. all i see here is a Reply link. I do not see anything to reference a New Post. anyway – i have the LG600g and love it, so far. I’m just not too keen on the soft keys. My left key is for Menu (no problem) My right key is for Messages. I’d like to re-program that key to Contacts. I have contacted both LG and TracFone .. neither could tell me how to do this. I suppose it’s just a firmware thing that can’t be changed ?
nedave – I don’t think it’s possible to repgrogram the soft keys on this model, but the down arrow key access the contact menu. So maybe that will work for you?
When I bought the 600G, the accessory kit came with it for free. The accessory kit includes multiple adapters (it’s a universal kit for Nokia and LG), a case, a 12V charger, and headset. What I don’t understand is that there were two headsets in the kit.
Thank you for the information about the zoom feature of the camera. I was wondering why it didn’t seem to be working (I had it in 640×480 mode). Didn’t realize I could take pics without opening the phone, either, though I did wonder about the camera icon on the switch. Not sure how useful this is, though, as you can only view the image you’re about to snap if you’re taking a pic of yourself.
As for the web browser, you are mistaken in that you can only access TracFone. I chose the 600G mainly for two reasons (other than price and double minutes): I wanted a camera phone and I wanted access to twitter. (I was actually hoping for short codes, but was informed by TF after purchase that they disallow short codes, and if the system detects you using them they will either send you a notification or de-activate your phone.) At any rate, if you go to the menu item “Web access” (instead of pressing the browser button) you can scroll down to “Enter URL” and go wherever you like. I have already updated twitter using m.twitter.com (at a far more expensive rate than SMS) so I know this works.
Lythande – thanks for your feedback, especially on the browser. My 600g is no longer active, but I did try the “Enter URL” shortcut before and it didn’t work for me. For some reason it seems that TracFone has locked out most but not all handsets.
How do I assign different people to “groups”. When I try to do it and hit the options button it tells me no item to add.
Hi Rick – you need to make sure the contacts are saved to the phone, not the sim. You can edit this by going in to the contact info, then select edit and under “memory” it should say “phone.”
Hi there great Review, I have had my eye on this phone for a wile mostly just so I can make some techno ring tones and my question is as follows.
My PC does not have a built in blue tooth device and I have been looking at Blue Tooth USB connections on Newegg.com and was wondering will just any Blue Tooth USB device work? I was looking at there cheaper ones 10$ and under and just don’t want to buy one that isn’t going to work. Any info you or another reader could give me would be great.
Thanks
Allatu
Allatu – a cheap bluetooth adapter (also called a “dongle”) will be fine. I think I paid under $4 for mine from a site called dealextreme.com (though shipping took a while – it came from Hong Kong, I think.
I got that Bluetooth Dongle. Only took a few days and it works great. I bought two of them for a little over $5 total.
Reply-pbushx2 & Bob.
Thanks guys so much this is great news
I will look into the ones you got from the site you provided but still have my eye on one at newegg.com that has had good reviews.
Thanks again
Allatu
What do I do if I’ve used my computer to upload a sound file to my phone, and then decide I don’t ever want it as my ringtone again, and want to remove it from the phone? Is there a simple way to delete files from the phone?
I think that to delete a file you need to go to the “My Stuff” folder, select Audio and Ringtones, select options, select “Multi-delete.” FRom there, select the files you want deleted and then delete them.
This is a great site. Thanks for all your info.
I currently am using an old Nokia Tracfone. If I purchase a new Tracfone and transfer the units from my old Tracfone to the new one, is my old Tracfone automatically deactivated or would I still be able to use it?
Also, I thought I saw somewhere in these comments that you are charged for incoming text messages on the new phones whereas you were not on the old Nokias. Is that true?
Cute kid in the picture!!!
Hi Krista
Thanks for the complement on my beautiful daughter – she just turned four today!
Anyway, the old Nokia 1100 had free incoming texts. No recent models have this feature any more.
If you transfer the minutes off of an old phone, that old phone would be deactivated. You could only use it again if you first add an airtime card to re-activate it.
Thanks for your quick reply.
That actually brings up another question. Can you have 2 active phones with the same phone number? Could I activate my new phone with an airtime card and use the same phone number as my old one? My thought is I have 30 days to return the phone, and I could try it out without deactivating my old one.
I purchased a Motorola 376 and am trying to decide whether to keep and activate that one or go with the LG600 or maybe just keep my Nokia……especially since I have 3 power cords and 2 car cords. If I buy a new phone, I’ll have to buy accessories and won’t have the backup cords. Decisions, decisions.
Happy Birthday to your daughter!!
Krista –
You cannot have two phones active with the same number. So there are two ways you might approach this:
1. activate the new phone with a brand new number and test it out that way for a while. This would require you to carry two phones. If you decide you like the new phone, you would then need to deal with Customer Service to get a new SIM card for your new phone (for free). Once you receive the new SIM card, you can transfer your old phone number and remaining minutes to your new phone.
2. Activate the new phone with your current number, thus deactivating your old phone. If you don’t like the new phone, you could switch back to the old one, but this also would require you to get a new SIM card similar to what I described above.
In either case, the process of getting a new SIM card might leave you without an incoming number for a few days – calls to your old number during that time would go to voice mail, I believe. This might not be completely accurate, though – it’s been a long time since I’ve done this myself. It’s possible that your number would remain active until you begin the process to activate the replacement SIM.
As for accessories, the plug on the w376g is pretty universal within the Moto product line – same as the RAZR and SLVR series, so they’re widely available. I’ve heard of people picking up chargers for them for a dollar or two at Walmart or various dollar stores. You could also keep an eye out for a free phone deal from TRacFone.com, and buy the phone as a backup, apply the airtime card to your current phone, and use the charger and battery as spares. There are options…
Will this LG600G work with Chrysler’s U-connect bluetooth system in my 2005 Jeep? I can’t find much info about the specific version of Bluetooth that the phone employs. And Chrysler’s website….it’s as bad as you might expect. Nothing too helpful there. Chrysler says I need “Bluetooth “Hands-Free Porfile,” version 0.96 or higher” but I cannot find out what version the phone uses. Any insight?
Uma – this phone should work, as I’ve heard of people getting it to work with other Chrysler products in the recent model years. I would think that if it works with a 2008 model car, it would work on a 2005 model. However, due to the wide variety of cars, I can’t offer any specific advice on getting things set up. If you bought the car from a Jeep/Chrysler dealer, perhaps you could ask them for assistance. I know other users have had success in asking for help from the car dealer.
PEG Try this Bluetooth Dongle.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12092
I have it and it works good, not the best most advanced feature rich program but it does the job, allows you to transfer pictures and ring tones to and from the phone.
P.S. The external antenna on it is fake.
Thank you Dallas, I just ordered the dongle. If I ever get my phone working I will be all set. After 11 days of trying to activate the phone, TF is sending new sim card. Hope that works .
Thanks again…..Glad I found this site…great info and and great people
pbushx2..thank you for the reference to your other post.. I am giving the service reps another chance.. waiting for new sim card, if no results I will go as per your recommendation. thanks again.
I was hoping I could download games to my phone. Will the tracfone web enable me to do that. I called tracfone and they said I could, but after reading these reviews I’m wondering.
Is there a way to download games to the 600g or even the w376g?
Cindy – to see what games are available from TracFone, go to their site and click on “Buy phones and more” followed by “downloads and more.” That will tell you what games you can get from TracFone for your particular model.
As far as the LG 600g specifically, I was able to download a java-based version of Tetris. That’s all I tried. I downloaded the file from the web using my computer, then transferred the file to my phone using bluetooth. Next, I installed it by following the instructions on the phone after I opened the file from the phone. For reference, the game was a .jar file.
I don’t have a lot of experience doing this, however, so I don’t know much about how secure it is (or isn’t). In other words, I don’t know if you found a random game.jar file on the web, if you would be safe installing it on your phone. I don’t know what kind of harm is possible.
Awesome site! This review helped sell me on the LG 600G. Had it a couple weeks now, first time with Tracfone as well. Love Tracfone as it’s perfect for me. I’m lucky if I use 20 minutes a month on my cell phone, just for emergencies or a quick “do we need milk” call.
My question is about accessing the web. Only thing that really interests me would be weather and maybe a radar image when traveling. When I try to access the web (via the web button or in the menu) I get a message that says “You are not authorized to access the Mobile Web Browser. For assistance please call our Customer Care Center”.
So I take it that I actually need to contact support to get the browser to work or is it not possible to use the web on the phone?
Thanks!
bonscott – thanks for the kind words
To answer your question, this type of problem with web access is common among web-enabled TracFones lately. To rectify it, I would suggest emailing Elston, who I posted about a few weeks ago. Here’s a link to that post:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/tracphone-support/
And it could also have something to do with your SIM card – ATT SIMs seem to do data better than T-Mobile SIMs. Check out these posts for more info on that:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/tracfone-and-net10-sim-card-info/
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/more-tracfone-and-net10-sim-card-info/
Hi I have two LG 600G from Net 10. Can you tell me if it is possible to retrieve info in phone book and transfer it to another phone. One is replacement for the other.
CAB –
First make sure your contact list is saved to your SIM card, not your phone, on the old handset. Then remove the SIM card, use a SIM card reader to copy the contact list to your computer, then use the SIM card reader again to copy the list from your computer to the NEW SIM card.
Here’s a link where I talked about this a little bit:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2008/06/26/tracfone-sim-card-reader/