I’ve organized this page as a way to lay out links to all the info I’ve published regarding this phone.
To find out if this phone is available in your area, click here. (I recommend starting here to make sure it will work in your area, before you do any further research).
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For details on saving $8 on the price of this phone, check out this page.
Read the Motorola EM326G review part 1 here.
Read the Motorola EM326G review part 2 here.
Get part 3 of the EM326g review here.
The Motorola EM326g review part 4 is here.
For a brief overview of my whole review, check out my Motorola EM326G Review Summary.
Nevermind re my question. I only ordered the phone, I have not yet received it. From your photo of the packaging, it appears that a charger is included. As you can probably tell, this will be my first cellphone. Thanks for all the great information!
thanks for the great info..i called net10 and they said the browser couldn’t be locked..THANK YOU..
Yeah, they seem to have a lot of misinformation about this phone. You’d think they’d want to get it right in order to give customers the right info and encourage them to upgrade to new phones, but what do I know?
The most annoying button in the world! A call to Net10 also confirmed that it is “impossible” to lock the browser application … BUT looking at http://thejmart.com/em326menu.htm did the magic … you go to “Lock Application” and use 1234as the code:
- Security
– Lock Application
– Enter lock code (1234)
– Browser (click/select this one)
– Browser (and click/select this one too, just in case)
So now when you click on the Browser button, it wants you to type in the “1234″ code before launching the application.
(Oh, you can lock quite a number of other apps too)
I just purchased the motorola EM326g online at net10. This is the first time I will be using net10. I have always used tracfone, but they didnt carry this phone. I’m a little nervous changing, but am willing to try. the question I have is about a car charger for this phone…is there one and if so where can I find it…thanks
Hi Jackie
The EM326g has the same charger connector as the Motorola w175, w260, w370, w375, w376g, w377g, all from Trac and/or Net10, so any charger compatible with those will work. It’s also the same as most, if not all, of the Motorola Razr series. You might want to search eBay, or other cell accessory sites. Other people have also reported finding generic Motorola chargers at dollar stores or big-box retailers like Target or Walmart for just a few dollars. I would suggest first looking at the phone once you receive it so you can see for yourself what the charger looks like, then look in stores for a compatible charger.
Since Tracfone and Net10 are the same company, could you buy a Net10 phone and activate it (or transfer it) to a Tracfone account, or vice versa? Has anyone tried?
no, they have the sinm the phone comes with locked to it, you can’t put a tracfone sin into a net v10 phone or vice versa, i’ve tried it
Unfortunately not. Each company has its own proprietory software, and due to their different rate systems, the pnones are not compatible.
While you’re at it, Patrick, is there any way to get this phone on TRAC Fon yet?
Hi Ben
There is not yet a way to get this phone for TracFone service. Many are breathlessly awaiting some sort of announcement in that regard, but I don’t know if or when such an announcement will come.
Hi Patrick
Not trying to be you, but couldn’t resist another toy so ojust ordered the LG600 [recon] bundle.
Used 23444 , got 3 bucks off [thank you, paid for your TracFon book], and free shipping.
That means I now have a phone in two area codes, DMFL on both, 120 minutes [plus another 20 for email activation].
I’m stylin’.
Thanks for keeping me in the loop.
Ben
Ring tone question…..
Is there any way to assign a specific ring tone to a specifc caller? On my old phone, I was able to have a ringtone associated only with my wife…that way I knew it was her calling while the phone was in my pocket.
Alan, you can assign callers to specific groups, then assign ringtones to those groups. You can use up to 15 groups, so that’s a pretty good amount. So basically you could assign your wife’s contact info to its own group, then assign her ringtone to that group.
Is that clear? It seems confusing when I read what I wrote, but basically, yes, you CAN do that. It just takes a couple of steps to get it done.
Just ordered and got $8.00 off. Thanks for the codes.
does this phone have video
no…
i am having trouble sending pitures i take from my phone to another cell phone..sometimes they go and most times they don’t..i even reduced the resolution to vga and they still won’t go? any ideas??? thank you..
Brian – is this issue with Bluetooth or trying to send via MMS message?
i was having a problem with both..called net10 and after many ,many,many code changes finally got it to work..however i couldn’t transfer pix with a data cable so i bought a sd 2gig card and it transfers fine..sooooooo why does the pix sent/received cost 2.5 mins and 10 seconds later another 1 min?? i asked them and they can’t get it figured out..ANYONE else have this 1 min overcharge problem? i know it will charge another min if you send a large file and the sending takes another min but that is not the case here..i asked them to send me a new/replacement phone and after 10 days of telling me they would , they have not and won’t say when they will..
I have owned this nifty little phone for about 3 days and I love it. Good news, you CAN transfer PIM data from a palm TX. When I transferred the data (via bluetooth) I was suprised to see that up to three phone number and the email address were transferred. The names were joined (no space btwn first and last), but the data was there. When I transferred the data from the calendar it put it into notes with the proper date, but not on the calendar itself. It transferred all of my flight notes from the 7th through the 20th and you can scroll through notes by using the up/down. I was unable to transfer anything from the comuter, but later I will try palm desktop and see.
I would like to purchase the Motorola EM326G .
But I do a lot of overseas travelling and would like a quadband GSM phone with the 900 band which is used exclusively in many parts of Africa.For Europe I can get by with a tri band phone.
Does Net10 have any triband or quad band GSM phones?
If I get a Net10 GSM phone unlocked can I use a foreign SIM?
Net10 uses a proprietary SIM format, so as I understand it they CAN NOT be unlocked. Likewise you can’t use an active Net10 SIM card in another unlocked phone.
pbushx2,
I would like to buy a em326g, is there a way to tell which sim card I will get? I purchased a 377g for my wife and she got an AT&T card, which is a must for me. Before I purchase one is there a way to tell, or can I request one?
Thanks,
Ray
Ray G – What’s your zip code?
My zip is 74044,
Thanks for the help,
Ray
Ray – sorry for not getting back to you sooner. If you order using your own zip code, I think you’ll end up with a T-Mobile SIM card. If you want to make sure you get an AT&T Sim card, you can use 53703 as the zip where you’ll use the phone the most.
Thanks for the info, I just ordered one of them and will give it a try. The 377 is ok, but I hope this one is a bit smaller and will still work at my house. I will report back once I get it up and running. In any event this will allow me to kill sprint and save about half on my monthly bill.
Hey, news about Tracfone. I use the Safelink plan which only uses tracfone to rout calls through. I spoke to a supervisor and was told as of Aug 1 2009 that this phone works fine with tracfone. The key he said was if you activate it with net10 originally you can never change back so be warned. Last week I got the phone and POOF, called up to activate it as a tracfone and it works great. The issue with the different sims seems to be dealt with when they send the initiation code to your phone. They had to do it twice to get mine working but this proves it will work with tracfone at this time.
Joey -
Just to clarify…if I buy an em326g from Net10, and do not activate it as a Net 10 phone I can call up TracFone and they will activate it? WAHOO!!
Any official word on this pbush? I would love to have this phone through tracfone but I don’t want to risk this if it’s not going to work! I do not want net10. So will they “really” activate a net10 purchased phone through tracfone instead???
Juror58 and Bridgitte – I have not tried this myself, nor have I heard this anywhere else. I would like to try it myself, except I’m not going to spend another $52 on this type of experiment. I’ll keep an eye on this news, but for now I would be very hesitant to try it myself. I have never heard of phones being able to work across services like that.
I’m pretty skeptical at this point. But I guess you could always try it by purchasing the phone from some place with a generous return policy, then returning the phone if it doesn’t work out.
Hello
I purchased the phone and I love it so far. One little problem I have is when I want to hook up a headset to listen to the music. The manual calls for a standard 3.5 mm jack, I have one and it works, sort of. You have to hold the jack out just a bit or the leads don’t line up and the headset doesn’t work. I have stopped by some local cell phone dealers and even Radio Shack but all the headsets and adapters they have all have the same problem. I know that I can use the Bluetooth headset but that is not the best way to listen to music. Any thoughts as to what the problem might be
Hi Kevin
I’m not sure on this one – I’ve tried several different sets of headphones, and they all work fine. I haven’t tried a headset with mic on it, though.
I got the Motorola em326g for net10 about a month ago. It’s a nifty little phone, but I have to stand in one place, or reception goes down. Any suggestions for improving reception?
Kathi,
Please take a look at my posting near the bottom of this page:
http://motorolaem326g.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/motorola-em326g-review-summary/
Really dissapointed in the 326g receiver sensitivity & possibly antenna design.
–Alan
i am wondering what everyone gets charged for sending a picture from the phone to another cell phone? i get charged 2.5 minutes when i first send it and then it charges me another 1 minute about 15 seconds later..i called net10 and they said it should not charge the other 1 minute BUT they can’t seem to fix it..my friend has the same phone and has the same problem? anyone else? solutions? thanks, brian
Brian – I think this is pretty standard. Net10 charges a little more for messages than TracFone.
Yes i just got this phone and it did the same thing. Also if you hit the browser button it charges you and it will not let me do anything. I have not figured it out yet. I am waiting for a new one as my first one did not work properly.
LC
What zip codes will get you different SIMs? I want either a version or sprint SIM. And if I use a different zip code, will the phone think that its always roaming?
Forgot to mention – my zip code is 49505, which gave me a t-mobile SIM for my lg 600g tracfone.
Nate – Verizon and Sprint phones don’t have SIM cards. They’re an entirely different kind of technology. Here’s some background info on the two types:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2008/03/16/tracfone-cdma-vs-gsm/
This phone uses T-Mobile and AT&T networks.
Thank you so much. I read the suggested article. I went with it and love it, thanks to your review. When I sent an sms from my phone to my email, I quickly found out that you were right, it is AT&T. You are the best! One thing that I didn’t like was the inability to send an email to my phone. Net10 does offer a service from their website to send messages though. Thanks again for all your help!
Ok, after a little bit of hassle I was able to transfer my minutes from my 377 to my em326, and then got my old sprint number transfered to the new phone. The only trouble I had was that I activated my 326 before the port and they had to send me a new sim card to port the number to it. The only complaint I had was that tech support told me that it would take 7 to 14 days and they would let me know when the port was ready to activate on my new phone. They did not let me know. I just went to the website and put my case number in. There it told me that my phone was ready to activate. Ok, so it was like 3 days. My sprint number died almost immediately after I requested the change, and I suspect that I could have activated my phone after the sim card arrived. My phone did not activate just like the website said. They wanted me to input some big long number at the end of the activation. My phone would not take that number no matter what I did. Finally I just tried to use it and it worked on my old number, so it worked, not as advertised exactly.
I like the phone, I will say that the reception could be a bit better, but I am going to this phone from sprint phone. I had no reception at my house with sprint, but with the att sim card in this phone I can now use the phone in my house, either upstairs or outside, but it will work. so the reception is not as good as the 377, but it works for me.
The phone build quality is ok, not as nice as my stupid priced sprint phone, but it did not cost 200 bucks and force me to a two year contract.
Then, on the up side the new sim card they sent me had an additional 300 minutes on it. So, I bought a 377 and 300 minutes for 22.00 and then the em326 for 52.00, got another 300 minutes, got a new sim card with another 300 for free when I ported my phone. Total minutes are at 900 and 4 months of service for 74.00. That is the cost of my sprint service for 2 months, and I can’t use it at my house.
One feature that I love on the phone (my sprint had it too, but was a pain to use) is the mp3 player. Very easy to use, and with a 2gig card I can load up many songs. If you want a decent set of headphones that work, well at least on my phone I highly recommend the sony mdrw24 over the head style, they sound nice and you can pick them up on Amazon for like 5-10 bucks, and the sound quality is nice. Now when I run instead of not taking my cell, and using an mp3 player I will take the phone and use it so I will have both when I am out exercising.
Over all I can’t be more pleased with whole set up for the money I spent.
I liked it so much I got my wife a tracfone (she does not use a cell only needs one when she is out running around with the grandkids or something.)
so,thanks for all the great info and coupons on this blog, very nice Patrick!
Ray
Hi Ray
Many thanks for the kind words, and for taking the time to share your experience with it. I really appreciate you taking the tim to do that, and hope that the info helps out future users. 900 minutes, 4 months, and a pretty cool phone for $74 – pretty good deal! Nice bargain hunting.
I was just wondering if this phone has anything other than polyphonic ringtones? Can you use any of the mp3s as ringtones or do you have to buy them from net10?
Jon – you can use your own mp3’s as ringtones. It’s pretty nice.
Pbushx2,
I read in the Specs for this phone that, when transmitting, the phone should be kept 1 inch from the head.
I realize this probably is recommended for all phones, but I just wondered what your thoughts about this are.
I usually just press the phone up against my head when talking, but I’m not a heavy user, hence Net10 works well for me.
Anyway, I ordered this phone last Thursday. It should be here this Thursday per Net10 CS. I didn’t receive a confirmation email so I called today. I used the Promo codes and saved $8. With tax it came to $55 and change.
I had sent them an email last year asking when a phone with mp3 and camera would be available, so I was glad when this one came out.
Thanks for all your info.
Hi Mark
I hadn’t seen that warning about the 1 inch. I’d imagine it’s a CYA for the company so they don’t get sued if everyone ends up with cancer 10 years from now. I guess how much stock you want to put in that possibility is up to you? Like you, I’m not on the phone all that much, and I’m not worried about the possibility at all.
Thanks pbush.
Just arrived today. A couple questions.
There seems to be a little play in the sliding hinge mechanism. The top is sorta loose. Is this normal on yours, or should I return for a new phone? It’s not that loose, just a little, just wondering if that’s normal.
Is it not possible to listen to the radio without headphones? On the speaker that is? The reception is great.
Overall, the phone is great.
Thinking about the radio requiring the earphones, that might be necessary b/c the wired earphones act as the antenna. The radio reception really is great and the audio quality is great even on the cheap earphones I plugged in. Mp3 playa meet 50 Cent..lol.
Camera zooms in/out as well. No flash, but meh, there’s supposed to be a light on it somewhere…lol. As you can tell, I like my new toy…lol. Off to buy a MicroSD memory card, better earphones, and a mini USB cable.
It’s smaller, thinner and about the same weight as my Nokia 1600, but packed with a buncha goodies? Good deal!!!
Just a question about the EM326g. I have received picture messages before (2.5 units deducted when you try to open them). However! Now I am getting a message that the “phone memory is full” and new messages I receive aren’t able to be opened. But of course they still charge me the 2.5 units each time I try something different to get them to open. So far I’ve been unsuccessful at opening them. Is there any way to delete things from the “phone memory” to make room or to open the picture messages directly into the memory card??? I’m totally confused. I’ve gone and deleted all old text messages, pictures, all special ringtones that I’ve put into the phone and they still won’t open. In settings under phone status – storage devices – Phone Memory, under the free space window it says that there is a total space of 9128 kb, used space of 1246 kb and free space of 7882 kb. It sounds to me like there is enough memory for these two picture messages to open. What’s up with this?? Any suggestions on how to open these? Or how to get picture messages to open directly to the memory card so they don’t take up “phone memory” space?? Thanks so much in advance.
I recently ran into the same problem as Donna. Tried receiving a 14 KB MMS, deducted the normal 2.5 minutes, and got a message stating “Phone memory full”. I’ve tried everything that I can think of to delete all the data that was on the phone memory. I even did a master reset and master clear. The default java games are not available, as in just, gone (don’t like them any ways, but still something that needed to be pointed out
). They were gone before I did the reset. When I access my music on my 2 GB card I get a message stating “Phone memory is full. System file can not be created…” The phone won’t save any play lists I create and it won’t save any pictures to the phone memory, even though it indicates that it can store 123 images. Try and save them and I get the message “Failed”. The phone memory before deleting everything I could think of deleting from phone memory: Total Space: 9128 KB Used: 1481 KB Free: 7647 KB. Phone memory after deleting messages and pics and what not, the same. So I proceed with the master reset. No change in the memory. Then went on to the master clear, no results, absolutely no change! It’s as if the phone blocked any access to the memory to add files. Although I am still able to send and receive normal text messages and the wallpaper and ringtone settings are saved. I just can’t figure it out! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Craig,
I’m baffled by this one. Have you consulted Net10’s customer support at all? If not, check out this post for more info on getting fast support:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/tracphone-support/
I have a camera tracpone and I am unable to retrieve my picture that I took any suggestions. I contacted trac and spoke with a rude gentleman and had no help apparently he was new. He also stated at the end of our conversation, “when you find out call back and let us know”. I wont be to happy if I can”t retrieve my photos. Julie
Julie, what is the phone model you are using? And are you completely sure the picture was actually taken? It would be a very strange problem indeed if you could not find the photo again once you had taken it.
No I cant get my pics off my phone. I wanted to save my pics onto my computer. I tried to e-mail them to myself and that didnt even work.. I can see the pics I just want to save them. Julie
Ps where on my phone do I have the model so I can let you know what series it is ???
Julie – are you using a TracFone or a Net10 phone? Is it LG, Motorola, or Samsung? What color is it? Is it flip-style, slider, or a straight candy-bar design? What model number is on the battery?
Donna:
My guess is that there is a file size limit for transferring or receiving pics. If the file size of the pic sent to you is too large, than it will not open. I’m not sure if this is in the documentation anywhere, but it is pretty common to limit file sizes when data transfer/storage are implemented through software/hardware.
This is just a guess, but ask the person to check the file size of the pic sent. If it’s very large, try reducing the size which you can do with various free paint programs like “Paint.net” and others. Or just try sending a smaller sized file from the same person from the same phone. If it goes through, then it’s probably the file size causing the problem.
Then again, maybe you can only transfer certain pic file TYPES, like .jpg and .bmp but not some other more arcane file type. I doubt this last file type possibility though b/c pic file types are pretty standard nowadays and mostly interchangeable as far as I know, which isn’t actually all that far
good luck.
Thanks Mark — I looked at the size of the files of each picture (two different pictures, two different senders) and they are both 33 kb. One of them it specifies it is a .jpg., the other doesn’t say. I truly am technically challenged but it seems to me that they are both small enough to be opened with the amount of free space available to open them in. I dunno. I have received pics from each sender in the past, both taken with their same respective camera phones. I am going to check with each person to see if they can reduce the size. If anyone else has suggestions feel free to comment!! Thanks again Mark!
I have a question about the motorola EM326g.
For the life of me I can’t find any accessories for this phone. I have been trying to find faceplates for this phone but cant
I want to know if the is another phone out there with the same measurements, slider type so I can look up phone cases/faceplates. The closest I found was the motorola z9. Please help!
Jessie – I don’t know about face plates – I’ve never tried. You might look for plates that fit the Moto Rokr EM325, as I believe that model is very similar to the em326g.
THANKS!
Hi me again. I just need to know how to set ringtones to my phone from a micro sd card. Thanks
Hi Pbushx2-
I have the same question as Jessie. How do you get ringtones, pictures and such from the micro SD to the phone memory?
P.S. Nice job on the review.
Jabby and Jessie –
If you have an mp3 file saved on your SD card and want to set it as a ringtone, go to your music library, highlight the song you want, and push the key under the word “options.” Next, select “apply as” followed by “ringtone.” There are five slots on the ringtone menu that are reserved for custom tones – you’ll need to fill one of those slots with the new mp3 you’ve selected.
Another way to do this would be to connect your phone to your computer by USB, and use windows explorer to drag and drop the mp3 file to the “melody” folder on your phone.
As far as where your pictures are stored, you can manage this through the “pictures” setting in the “my folder” menu. Select “options,” and one of the choices is “switch storage.” This toggles the default location between the internal and SD memory.
Thanks, it works great!
Hi again!
Ok, I spent 1 hour trying to set the alarm on my phone and another two on the phone with net 10 tech. support trying to get help (they know NOTHING) The problem is that the phone does not have a a.m./p.m. option and this is keeping the alarm from going off. After talking to three different reps. I got NOTHING!, The darn user guide is worthless.
I know some people think the alarm is a minor feature but hell I paid $69.99 for this phone and expect ALL the features to work! I need to know if anyone else has this issue and if the figured it out?? Thanks!
I spent two hours with net 10 tech. support, talked to three reps. and still have NO soultion. I cant get my alarm to work. I know how to set everything but the problem is there is no a.m./p.m. optin to select and ai think this is why the alarm wont go off. The user guide is useless, as well as the techs! Doesw anyone else have this problem? Does anyone know how to get the alarm to work? I know it’s just the alarm a minor feature but I paid $69.00 for this phone and I want everything to work! Thanks
Sorry, I thought the first post did not go through.
Use 24 hr time to set am/pm.
If you want to set for 2:50 PM, set 14:50 as alarm time.
The alarm just went off for me at 9:34 PM by setting 21:34.
Just add 12 to the PM alarm times. AM times will just be 08:00, 10:00, etc.
Jesse-
It works OK if you use the 24 hour clock. I just played around a bit. Set the alarm at 4:04 to go off at 16:15 and it went off. But I can’t figure out how to set the alarm volume.
Any idears anybody?
Hiya! Not really sure…does this phone have a camera? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. If so, do you know of any other Net10 phones that do have one?
MnM – Yes, it DOES have a camera. At 1.3 mp, it’s actually a pretty good one as far as prepaid phone cameras go. Maybe even good enough to make a small print from.
oh yeah, and is Net10 as good as tracfone or is it more expensive?
I sell cell phones and contracts with several carriers at work. TracFone is about three minutes for a dollar. If you buy a ‘double minutes’ card, or purchase a phone that includes double minutes (direct from TracFone, online), the minutes are six for a dollar.
Net10 charges ten cents a minute. Period. I think there was a one-year card available from TracFone’s website that gave you even less expensive airtime.
I’ve had a prepaid account with a major carrier, and a contract with another. I have Net10 now.
If you ONLY use a cell phone for emegencies or on rare occasions, TracFone is cheaper in the long run. Fewer minutes, but more time to use them. I’m just too cheap to pay that much for airtime, even if I keep rolling over lots of time. I’ll use it at some point.
Kathie – I think that’s a pretty good assessment – thanks for taking the time to help out. Just one thing to add, though: it is possible to get your rate a little lower with TracFone. For example, a 450 minute card costs $80. If you have DMFL, that becomes 900 minutes. And if you add a bonus code on top of it, such as a 80-minute bonus that’s available now, that will get you up to 980 minutes. That brings your cost per minute to about $8.5, depending on how much sales tax you pay.
Many people prefer Net10 for it’s simplicity. As you stated, it’s always 10 cents per minute. (Unless you buy the airtime as part of a bundle and use discount codes, but that’s another story…)
Other people prefer TracFone because they like finding the bonus codes, bundle deals, and (sometimes)loopholes that can bring their cost down even more.
Further, Net10 requires you to buy, on average, at least 150 minutes per month. If you only use 100 minutes a month, then it doesn’t make sense to use Net10 since you’d be paying for minutes you’ll never use. Basically, to decide which is best for you, you’ll need to figure out how many minutes you’ll use each month, on average, and then do some math.
Can anyone tell me how to move a picture from my message file to my picture file. My daughter sent me a picture by mms, and I can’t get it into my picture file. I have the Motorola EM326g.
Barbara – I don’t have the phone in front of me now to try it out, but I have a suggestion. First, look at the picture from your message folder. Is there an option anywhere (maybe under the right “soft” key, just below the screen) to save the picture? That would be my guess.
Has anybody had any luck assigning a ringtone to a caller on the EM326G?
I have set up my callers in categories and chosen a ringtone for each category, but all calls still ring through with whatever ringtone I have chosen for the phone. It’s like the phone is just ignoring the category ringtones. Any ideas on what to do?
Thanks!
I figured it out…the phone number has to be saved in your Contacts exactly the same as the phone number that shows on your caller id when the person calls.
I had entered all my phone number in my Contacts with no area code, like 555-1234. When someone called it showed up as 1(333)555-1234 instead of 555-1234. As soon as I changed the phone number listed in my contact to 1(333)555-1234, the ring tones were categorized.
Hope this helps someone else!
SB – thanks for sharing your insight with us. I also hope it is helpful to someone else, and sincerely thank you for taking the time to explain it.
does the USB cord come with the phone or do I have to buy it or something. If i do end up having to buy it where would i buy it?
Gizzle –
The cable does NOT come with the phone. But the good news is it’s a standard mini-USB cable. That is, on one end, it’s a connector called “mini-USB,” and on the other end is the regular USB connector that plugs into a computer. It’s the exact same type of cable that’s used for many digital cameras as well as some GPS units and mp3 players.
I am getting a cell phone tomorrow, and I have the decision of either getting the Samsung t301g from TracFone or the Motorola EM326g from NET10. I was wondering what one you would recommend and why. The carrier and price really doesn’t matter to me at this point (both offer service in my area and are almost the same price, after the $8 discount code. Thank you!). Thank you for your time in advance; I also apologize if you have answered this before.
Chris –
I would say that the decision depends mainly on which service is a better fit for your needs. Net10 is better for people that use more minutes, but if you don’t use up 150 minutes or more a month, it’s not such a good deal. TracFone is better for people that like the thrill of the hunt in finding bonus codes and double for life, etc, or those that use under 150 minutes per month.
If that doesn’t matter to you, I personally think the 326 is a little more fun – the camera is nicer and the mp3 player/fm radio is also nice. The samsung, on the other hand, probably is just a little better at pulling in a signal in areas where the network coverage is weaker. Hope that helps you sort it out a little.
I bought the em326 mostly because of the camera. it was the only phone offered with a 1.3 mp camera, but I must say the quality sucks, the pictures are all blurred, and it does not matter what setting it is on. Oh yea forget the zoom, the quality goes down from blured to unreconizable.
Bob – where are you using the camera? It’s not the best indoors due to the lack of flash, but I’ve had very good luck taking outdoor shots and some well-lit indoor shots too.
Hi,
I just bought a motorola em326g and for the life of me cannot get the thing to transfer pictures/music to/from my computer. I have tried the mini-usb cable, my own digital camera cable (which fits) talking with net10 tech support, local cell phone stores, radio shack. The guy at the cell phone store (Wireless toys) was probably the most helpful. He said with a pre-paid phone, the software to do the aforementioned is really hard to find on the net. Indeed it is! That was another thing I tried and had no success at. Bottom line is, a mini-usb or my camera cable will charge the phone when I have it plugged into the USB on my computer. Neither will transfer files. I’m wondering if the location of the USB port on my computer would make a difference. Any suggestions out there?
Kathy – go to your phone’s settings menu, and look for the option to switch between “USB disk” and “USB modem.” MAke sure it is set to “disk.”
If that still doesn’t work, another option is bluetooth.
Hi,
Thanks loads for the info on the EM326g. Motorola should be giving you free phones for you excellent help to us. I have some questions…
(1) Is it possible to get AM Radio via this Net10 phone? Some kind of application to download for it?
(2) Is it possible to download Google Maps or some other map/GPS application to this cell phone?
(3) Are Java applications the only type that can be downloaded?
Thanks loads!
Tony
Also, a few more questions!
Can we set up alarms or alerts to go off on the phone at prescheduled days months in advance? For example, if I have a doctor’s appointment in December and it’s October, it would be nice to have the phone set up where it can alert me a few days prior. I could not find this for the life of me on this phone. The calendar is there with a place for notes, etc. When discussing the calendar application, the manual makes a mysterious reference to this on page 31:
“When an event reminder occurs, press….”
but then drops the ball and gives no further instructions on how to set up a reminder or what form the “reminder” takes.
Thanks again!
Tony, I’ll do my best to answer your questions:
I don’t think it’s possible to get AM radio on here, since that requires different hardware than the FM radio.
I have not tried downloading any maps or gps software. You might be able to save maps as jpg files and send them to the phone, though I don’t know how that would work.
I have had some success installing java-based programs, but haven’t tried any other types.
Yes, you can set up an appointment for months or even years from now – I don’t have the phone in front of me, so I’m going off memory, but I think when in the calendar app you need to select “add event,” and in that menu there’s an option of adding an audible alarm.
Everything on my phone works except the MMS messages and the web browser i called tech support 2 weeks ago and they are supposed to send my phone some “codes” i called a couple times in 2 weeks and they said they would send codes again but didn’t do anything yet.
my web browser says Request timed out.Gateway is not responding
mms says mms sending failed
does anyone know how to fix this problem?
Rich – Try contacting Elston, as I described in this link:
http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/tracphone-support/
Hi, was wondering if it’s possible to install Opera on this?! Or if you know of anyone that’s done this?! I can’t find this model number on Opera’s site….. Thanks for all the hard work on the detailed review
DJ – I was able to get opera to work on the EM326g. I don’t remember the exact version I used; I believe I selected Motorola Rokr 325 from Opera’s site. However, I haven’t advertised the fact that I got opera working because when I did set it up and test it out, no units were deducted from my phone. At first, I thought “Great, free internet!” But then when I thought about it a little more, it occurred to me that Net10 might be suspicious if they see me using up a lot of data but not buying a lot of new airtime cards. Not wanting to get my service cut off, I decided not to use the opera browser any more. If you want to try it at your own risk, feel free (and let us know how it goes!). FYI, I just used the opera-min.jar file, and it installed properly.
I don’t mind paying for the data portion, it’s just that Opera mini is a very well built mobile browser & I’ve been using it for a few years w/ my unlocked phone (Samsung SGH-D900) w AT&T.
I’ve decided to ditch the $50 (after various taxes) monthly bill and go with Net10 simply because I can’t justify spending that much on the plan and only use up a couple of hundred mins a months…. I have thousands & thousands of so-called “rolled-over” mins that I’m Never going to use. Like everything else here in the big o US of A…. Companies simply insist on encouraging people being wasteful on things for some strange reason…. Oh, well…. it’s not that strange…. it’s for profit.
I’ll try to get Opera Mini on my phone & see how it goes.
Also… I’ve just received the phone. The Sim cardlooks completely different than my AT&T one… it says “Oberthur” on it and has “TF64SIMC4″ as the card type. On the outter packaging… the barcode sticker reads “NTMT326GP4″…. I did follow your method on one of your many pages to try to get the AT&T Sim since I know for a fact that T-Mobile has very bad reception in my area…
I hope I did it right & got a AT&T sim…. It was very late at night after reading many of your detailed reviews, and when I went on line to order the phone…. I was pretty dazed & confused at that point.
Once again…. Thanks very much for all your hard work
I just want to THANK YOU for the codes! I loved getting the discount! Now if I can only figure it out! I’ve been pushing buttons and DL three ring tones and can’t get them to work…PLUS it’s costing me minutes trying to figure out what the heck I’m doin! I tried DL from my phone and it didn’t work so I went ti thge net10 site and DL them and I got them and I put them where my ring tones are and set one up as a ring, but it doesn’t work! HEEEEELLLLP! Plz! Before I waste the rest of my minutes! LOL!
Thanks!
Roxy
Roxy, I’m not sure I understand exactly where you are running into problems. Are you saying that you are paying (with minutes) to download ringtones from Net10, but you can’t get them to play as your ringtone? How far are you getting in the set-up process?
I figured it out!! Wahoo! LOL! But now I am having trouble finding headphones that fit! I call Net 10 and spent 45 mins online with them to basically be told you got them for free what do you expect! They do not care that the “universal” Kit does NOT work with the phone. When I went to Wal-mart to find a ear piece I was told that they don’t have ones that will work with the phone I have and that it isn’t meant to be used with a headset while driving. That the headet is only for headphones to be used to listen to the music. So I don’t know anymore! I can not talk and drive on the phone, we have to have headsets or speaker phones…but I am more comfortable with the headset cuz ya don’t have to take your eyes off the road to answer it. I am so frustrated with Net10 and there lousy customer service! If the phone wasn’t so reasonable in the rates I would change companies!
Also I have been looking for skins or covers for the phone, has anyone found a place to get them?
Thanks so much for your WONDERFUL website!! I love this forum!
Roxy
Hey, Roxy…..
1st, I would suggest you call the “Corporate” Office of Net10 @ 1-800-876-5753 & complain about the problem that they try to get people to buy something that DOES NOT work with the product. I got the exact same cold shoulder treatment from the regular 1-877-Ten-Cents…. and they even tried to put the blame on me saying that I do not know what I was doing….. Totally pissed me off!!…. Call the corporate office & let them know that even giving away a free bonus that’s essentially useless is unacceptable…. It’s basically like Bate & Switch from my point of view.
Also… I think there’s a way to make the included headset work…. You’ll need a 3.5mm to 2.5mm Jack Adapter which you can probably easily find @ RadioShack… Just take the phone & headset with you & try it out on the spot before you get it.
There is also another method for you to utilize the headphone jack for a wired hands-free earpiece…. What you ‘ll need to get is the kind that’ll work with an Apple iPhone which is a 3.5mm jack like the regular headphones you see on the market… It’ll probably be the Stereo (both ears) kind with a Mic (since most of the Mono (one ear only) wired headsets on the market are made with a 2.5mm plug)…. I’ve included a link where you can get one for a reasonable price & they ship it for free…. it was on sale for $1 the other day but it’s now $2.50
http://www.meritline.com/wire-control-earphone-iphone-black-276—p-25956.aspx
I just tried my partner’s white iPhone stereo headset that was included with the iPhone & it worked perfectly on Moto EM326…. Plus…. with this you’ll be able to use this same one to listen to the Music & FM Radio as well
But if you don’t care much about the Stereo kind…. I would Really suggest you going with a Bluetooth headset instead since it’s much more convenient w/ no wires to tangle up left & right (which I hate)… There’s a pretty nice Samsung WEP470 currently on sale @ Buy.com for $8 after rebate (if you don’t mind the slight hassle) w/ free shipping… I had just received the 3 sets I bought from Woot 2 days ago and paired one with my Moto EM326…. It works great!! Just be careful not to be too rough on the ear hook
…
At $8 for a Samsung bluetooth headset… you really can’t go wrong. I got 3 sets because that’s the max number allowed for the rebate…. I plan on giving the other 2 to family members as Christmas present…. 2 off the shopping list….Haha
http://www.buy.com/prod/samsung-wep470-progressive-noise-filtering-bluetooth-headset/q/loc/111/211914903.html
Please note that if you end up ordering the one from Meritline…. the item is shipped directly from their manufacturer in Hong Kong which will probably take 2 weeks to get to you… I’ve ordered from them many times before w/o any problems whatsoever.
As for the Skin for EM326…. it’ll probably be tough since only Net10 carries the phone & it’s hard to even find much info on-line for the phone… let alone any accessories….
I just cut off a piece of a clear protective film (that was meant for the LCD Screen of my digital camera & had extras laying around), stuck it on the EM326 main screen & called it a day…. since that’s the only place that I’ll really hate to see any scratches on. I’ve tried some skins on my other phones before and hated them…. They make the whole thing bulkier… and also make them Really hard to get in & out of your pocket or a fitted case… especially the silicone skins since they tend to be somewhat a little sticky & attract tons of dust or lint….
Anyways… that’s my 2 cents on the problems you have. Hope you’ll find a reasonable solution so you can really enjoy you new phone…. Good Luck!!
Pbushx2 or anyone else:
How do you turn off tones for key entry?
Also, I would like to turn off tones for phone start up and shutdown, if that’s possible.
The battery seems to hold VERY, VERY little charge. I have to charge it almost everyday after just one or 2 calls. I don’t understand why the battery is so weak. I will check for energy saving settings, but it seems like if I actually used the Mp3 which I don’t yet, radio, or camera), then I’d have to charge it twice a day.
I ran across a site on Motorola where we can submit out complaints so that they might update/upgrade the firmware in the future. I don’t have the link handy, but I will find it and post here, if it’s not here already, which it might be idk.
Here’s the link maybe. I don’t think this is the one I found before that talked about submitting complaints etc for possible future Motorola software upgrades.
https://supportforums.motorola.com/community/phonesplus/phones?view=discussions
Maybe you know where it is pbush? I will look some more. I saw it a couple weeks ago and didn’t bookmark it. Maybe I did…lemme check.
If you could tell me how to turn the beep off for key entry that would be a great help though. thanks.
I think to turn off of the Key Tone…. you’ll need to go into Each “Ring style” & each one of them to “Off” (Menu-Settings-Ring Styles then select the style then go back one step & down to that style detail to change the key tone style to “Off”) at least that’s the only place I’ve found for you to modify the key tone. You might want to download the official Moto Manual for EM326g…. it’s probably more complete than the Net10 simplified version…. I have not had the chance to read mine yet…..
As for turning off the start up/shut down sound….. I’ve gone thru all the possible settings & do not see anywhere that will let you modify that at all
I, too would like to turn mine off….. But I think we’re out of luck on this one….
In terms of updating firmware to “improve” usability … my experience for the recent years is that most companies simply don’t do that anymore…. as long as the phone software is operating “correctly” they just don’t care about improving it. Instead of spending time & money on improving software on existing phones…. they’d rather put it in the upcoming newer models….. unless, of course, if there’s a major wide spread flaw in the existing software… then that might be a different story. Firmware update tends to only exist on the very top of the line phones these days, especially when the cell phone market is changing so rapidly nowadays.
BTW…. my EM326g would not play AAC files at all…. it simply doesn’t see them on the card… Anyone else have this problem?! According to both Net10 and Moto…. it’s supposed to be able to play AAC… I’m somewhat missing using my nice Samsung SGH-D900 which has been so good for the last few years… Oh, well…. How I wish I can use the Net10 Sim on my unlocked phone…. Then I’d really be in HEAVEN
To turn off start up sound/shut down sound change your style to vibrate and it won’t make a sound when turned on.
If the battery is really bad, your best bet is to exchange the phone; if it’s too late for that, batteries are CHEAP on eBay. Just go with a power seller with lots of great feedback…99% or higher rating.
Thanks DJ, Kathy for the quick help and thanks pbush for this great and helpful site.
No more keytones.
I will try to replace the battery, but I read someplace that another person bought a new battery but no improvement. I might call Net10 and see what they can do. Maybe replace the phone/battery. I got a scratch on it I don’t like so a new phone would be great but probably not likely.
The phone really only cost ~$25 with discounts so I can just buy another one when they improve it or come out with something better.
I still have my Nokia 1600 as backup and I haven’t transferred the number. Plus, I have about 5 or 6 months left on the Nokia. It’s hard to give up the Nokia. Keeps a charge forever and no fuss or problems. Talking alarm clock and it’s small and sturdy. Plus excellent reception, better than the EM326G imo. The EM326G has better calendar and other stuff though, so it’s probably a better phone w/ the Mp3/camera/radio. I just don’t know if I can use the mp3 without carrying the charger with me and having an electrical outlet close by.
Hey, Mark…. here’s a somewhat easy solution for ya….
Duracell have this thing called “My Pocket Charger” for many different portable devices…. One of them comes with both Mini & Micro USB charging tips… Perfect for the Moto EM326g. Buy a few of the rechargable AA batteries to use with it…. then you’ll never be afraid of running out of juice.
I have one that I carry around with me & it’s saved me quite a few times on the boring commute trips from running out of juice on a few of my devices
As portable devices getting smaller…. so does the battery life since they keep shrinking the battery sizes to fit in the smaller device…. So it’s like a catch 22…. How frustrating….
I’ve included both the Duracell and Amazon links below… Looks like it’s about $16 @ Amazon…. Not a bad investment, I must say. Hope you find this useful.
http://www.duracellpower.com/electronic-chargers/portable-chargers/my-pocket-charger.aspx
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014FO4R0/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0014FPNBQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=034MDPR0Y09DZ7RMMYZ3
PS…. There are several people reporting on Amazon that the current model will not work with rechargeable batteries… even though mine does work with them… But I’ve had mine for a long time & they might have modified it since so they can sell more batteries… If that’s true…. that’s just plain evil…
Here’s another alternative….
http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-Instant-Charger-Compatible-Devices/dp/B0016Y9R6C
Is using a standard 3.5 headphone the only way to use the FM Radio?! Can you use it via Stereo Blutooth?!
Also…. anyone having problems playing unprotected AAC files in the music player… My phone for some reason won’t play any of the AAC audio files I have….
Thanks in advance for the help
DJ – I’ve never tried aac files on mine, but I can tell you about the FM radio thing – the phone doesn’t have any built-in antenna, so it uses the wires from wired headset, or anything else plugged in to that port, for the antenna.
I keep gettin MMS things sent to me and it charges me $3.00 each time…I thought they were pics or something but I see nothing! Is there a way to block it? My battery sucks too! And I still haven;t heard from Net 10 on the headphones…it’s BS that ppl by the kit and it doesn’t even fit the stinkin phone!
Now for my question is there a way to add more ring tone slots? Or can you delete the ones that come with the phone? Also what about phone skins? (EM326g phone)
Thanks!
Roxy
Roxy – I think you are getting charged 3.00 UNITS, not 3.00 dollars. 3 units costs 30 cents. Still annoying, but not as bad as $3.00. I think you can call customer service and ask them to disable MMS, but that would also disable the web browser and ringtone downloads.
I don’t think there’s a way to add more slots; I’m not sure about deleting the pre-loaded tones.
I had just called Net10 yesterday about the Hands-Free ear bud not fitting the phone…. They told me that U can take it to any Net10 retailer & exchange it for the ones that would work….
But the problem is…. Very few retailers even carry the Moto EM326g There’s no Wally World here and the nearest Le Target is in another town…. & Net10 can’t even tell me if they “actually” have one that’ll fit EM326g… But because I got the kit with the free promo code with the phone…. they’re not really that enthusiastic about helping… Guess I’m just Sh*t out of luck!!
The so “called “Universal Kit” is after all not really universal….
Net10 website now(10/31/09) show the phone comes with USB and a 2GB memory card (presume it’s microSD)
“USB Cable + 2 GB Memory Card ($19.99 Value – FREE!)”
not sure if anyone purchase this recently?
That’s a pretty nice deal – thanks for calling it to my attention.
This model is listed as “EM326″ w/o the “g” I wonder if there’s any difference in the phone itself?!
DJ –
The “g” at the end refers to “GSM” coverage. That’s how Trac/Net10 have been doing things for the last several years. The alternative to ‘g’ is ‘c’ for CDMA. The new Samsung r451c is an example of this, as compared to the new Samsung T401g, which is a GSM model. It just refers to the network they use. I don’t think it indicates anything different about the phone – probably just a typo by Net10.
I have a question….. where can i find everything i need to access the F.M. radio and the mp3 player?
thanks for all the info!
MaLeigha
Hello, I have a question. where can i find and order everything I would need to access the F.M. radio and the Mp3 player?
thanks for all your help!
Great blog!
MaLeigha
MaLeigha,
On this model, you can use a standard set of headphones to listen to FM radio or the mp3 player. If you’re listening to mp3’s, you’ll want to get a microSD card to save them on. It’s a tiny little memory card about the size of a dime. I believe this phone accepts only up to 2GB cards, and you should be able to find a 2GB microSD card for under $8 on ebay or amazon.
i can send and recieve text messages but if its the MMS message my phone has trouble receiving them. it takes the minutes off but then says “failed to receive” what can i do about this proble. thanks
Hey,
Is there a way to delete the games that came with the em326g? I would like to make more space for stuff I actually want.
Thanks.
tony