Motorola V180 / V186 / V188 Specs, Features & Reviews

After buying this phone through a third party web site seven years ago, I had a lot of problems with this phone shortly after purchase. While this phone had some positive things. Below is a list of the positives and negatives of this device.

PROS
- physical buttons
- tri-band phone
- could put mp3 ringtones on the phone
- call quality

CONS
- had an issue with the operating system
- no signal strength
- could not dial out when I got the "no signal" error message
- internal screen was too small

For a cheap entry phone, this phone was just what anyone needs if all u need a phone for is just for calls.. The only problems I ever had with it was when I dropped calls or I got static, but it was not the phone it was the GSM network it was in..

Overall good phone, with great reception as long it was in an area with good coverage..

I have never seen such a crappy phone in my life. With all my being, I advise you to never even THINK about getting the V188, take my word on it.

Within the first few weeks of having this phone, the up arrow stopped working. Imagine how much of a hassle it is to go through activities on the phone without an up arrow. I've had it for 4 months- you have no idea how horrible it's getting not being able to scroll properly. Of course, I could use the side volume buttons, but only on certain screens.
Battery life? Oh please. What battery life? I have to charge it twice a day now because it fails that horribly. In the beginning it'd last 3 hours talk time, 3 days max standby time. (And I mean maximum)
The hinge stopped working a few weeks ago. Now it opens and closes on it's own, and I have to tie a rubber band around it so that the battery doesn't wear down even more. Tell me that's attractive.

Here's a collective list of pros and cons for you:

Pros:
-IMing is great. I give it that. Unfortunately, I can't scroll up in conversations, so it doesn't do much good anymore to see what people are saying. It also only has AIM.
-Pretty easy layout.
-More customizable than some phones, although it isn't wonderful.

Cons:
-Breaks easily. I'm anal retentive with taking care of my stuff, in case you were wondering.
-Reflective surface on the outside blinds me as well as others.
-Battery life is HORRIBLE. 2 hours talking time max anymore, 1 day standby time. (mind you it IS a few months old, but it wasn't that great to begin with)
-Drops calls in a BIG CITY.
-Service comes and goes.
-Holds 30 text messages in the inbox max.
-Back comes off VERY easily. Rub it the wrong way in my pocket and it comes off.
-Vibrate Mode can't be felt 90% of the time.
-People complain about not being able to hear me with the volume turned all the way up.
-And more I can't think of off the top of my head.

Overall, please do yourself a favor and DO NOT GET THIS PHONE.

Shame on Motorola for releasing this phone. I bought it brand new on prepaid from T-mobile about say a year ago. The v180 was good in the first month. First little problem was thats after being closed for a while and you would open it and the screen would not come on. It would take like 15 to 20 seconds. SO I would be screwed if someone called in. Couldn't answer in time. Then It started dropping calls. The the power button stopped working so I would be forced to leave it on. Just too much hassle for 120 phone

Pros: Great speaker/speakerphone, instant messaging is good, texting easy, battery is great.

Cons: Too flimsy the screen almost came off, cheap plastic, software bugs, Color resolution terrible, not reliable.

While I have owned Motorola phones for many years and have found them great, this one I have to admit leaves a lot to be desired.

If you got it free with your contract then trust me, you got what you paid for.

First problem I had was with very low signal strength and dropped calls. I was sent a replacement V180 that was incredibly even worse. Volume from those you are speaking to can go from very loud to where you can barely hear them. Ringer volume very low. Cheap plastic.

I called my carrier and they openly admitted they have lots of problems with the V180 and it is not a very good phone.

Motorola is a great company but they missed the mark on this one. Seriously, spend the extra few bucks and upgrade from this clunker. I went from a an older V60, which was fantastic to this phone and I was very disappointed.

When I first got my motorola v180 I was very pleased. But after about 3 or 4 months the inside screen started to go out every once in a while. Now after 10 months I'm very disappointed. I haven't had a screen for about 5 months. Also when I try to answer a call (my phone is set to answer right when it is open) it wont answer and will tell the caller that my phone is busy. A few other people I know have gotten this phone and are now having trouble with their screens also. Another problem I have had is on the external screen it always says that I have a voice message. Even when I have no messages in my box at all.
**Pros**
~can download good ring tones
~speaker phone has good sound
~good reception
~light weight
~can change the face plates
~fast internet connection

**Cons**
~small screens
~cheap feeling
~problems with internal screen
~not very good wallpapers included
~battery life isn't very long
~trouble answering

in conclusion this phone really disappointed me. when we were at the store, buying them they seemed really neat. but now 10 months later...i regret ever buying them.

Another wireless carrier's employee ringing in here. While the V180 is a cute little flip with a lot of potential, I have a hard time recommending it because of the 50%+ return rate we've had. I've seen consistent problems - screens fail, calls drop after 10- or 15-minute conversations, audio fails, phone shuts off unexpectedly during calls. Signal retention here in Central Pennsylvania is much better with other phones. Warranty repairs take two months to return to the store.

I'm not usually this negative about a phone, but I've gone through three of them myself and finally gave it up and got a different brand. I had the same experience as many of my customers have had.

It's too bad - the keypad layout is convenient, backlight is clear, menus are less intuitive than some but easy once you get used to them. Battery life is terrific. If they could just get it to work all the time.

As you can tell there are some positive reviews of this phone, however as I do work in the wireless industry I will say that instead of getting into a 2 year contract with this phone and getting it for only 99 cents please upgrad to a better flip phone becuase this phone is so easy to scratch and dent up.

I dropped it on my dinner table and you can now tell where I did it whith the scratch. As I said there has been many people return this phone before their 14day or 30day trial period ends I would suggest you highly to do this becuase this phone may look fancy and everything but it is really a cheaply made phone and not even worth the 99 cents as it will not last within the contract period.

If you do decide to keep it get the handset insurance for it becuase it will save you money if it were to screw up or something or if you are in a binded contract and the phone broke (and you did not have insurance) get the handset insurance then call your cellular company and reuqest a new phone replacement and this will also be a way to get around your cell phone company.

I know I had this phone for like 2 days then i upgraded to the motorola v555 which is a much better phone.

Pro's
Speakerphone
Nice battery life
Crystal Clear calls

Con's
Jus about everything else!

Cons -
1. Awful reception in most of places!
2. Drops all the calls after about 10 minutes even in places with [relatively] good reception!
3. That glossy surface is gettin all scratched up too soon.
4. Most of them java games won't show correctly on ma screen!
5. THE WORST ONE - EVERY TIME SOMEONE CALLING YOU OR WHEN YOU CALL SOMEBODY, THE PHONE WILL INTERFERE WITH COMPUTER SPEAKERS, STEREO SPEAKERS, OTHER PHONES' SPEAKERS AND WILL CAUSE NASTY LOUD CRACKING NOISE IN THOSE SPEAKERS!!! THAT'S ANNOYING AS HELL, YO!!!
I'm with Cingular right now and I know fo' sho that other Cingular phones like Nokia, Samsung, etc. do not have these problems! Because everytime my homies would come to my place, I see them havin 5 bars when I cannot get even 3!!! And all of us are rollin with Cingular! Also - I first thought that maybe it's my particular phone that is defective, and replaced it with new identical model cuz I had 1yr warranty, BUT NO, THE PHONE KEPT ****ING UP!!
DO NOT BUY V180, DAWG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pros:small size, good gangsta-lookin design, decent-soundin' mp3 tones. That's about it!

well i used to read all these reviews on products and thought well there are only bad comments about these phones cuz who wants to take the time to write about something that they're perfectly happy with. well i was wrong! i bought this phone and within the first month the sceen kept craping out and disconecting my calls. I was soo happy cuz i would still get charged for a minute cuz it would connect for all on one second. so needless to say if you read this please consider any other phone. its made of cheap plastic that has way to much flex and the screen sucks. i would much rather have a phone that worked then a phone that looked cool but is total crap. so if you read this please dont be like me and say ohh well it doesnt have taht many bad reviews. just go for something else and it will save you alot of time and money in the long run