A Newer Phone with Great Features
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| LG 530g from Tracfone |
This phone has a good feel with a full QWERTY keypad and large screen it offers great functionality whether you want to call, text or surf the web.
LG 530G Features
The LG 530G is fully equipped with all the typical cell phone features one would expect and with good battery life and Triple Minutes, it is a very appealing prepaid phone.- Triple Minutes for Life
- Full QWERTY Keyboard
- Mobile Web Surfing
- 1,000 entry Phone Book
- 1.3 MP Camera/Video Recorder
- SMS and MMS Picture Messaging
- MP3 Player (Cables and Micro SD cards not included)
- Hands-Free Speaker
- Bluetooth® Wireless Technology
- Voicemail, Call Waiting, and Caller ID
- Voice/Sound Recorder
- Alarm Clock
- Battery talk time up to 3.8 hours
- Standby time up to 6.3 days
- Includes Battery, Charger, Activation Card, Services Guide and User Manual
Likes and Dislikes for the LG 530G
Let's begin by looking at Tracfone Reviewer's LIKES about this phone:
Some of the best features for this phone are the QWERTY Keyboard, MP3 player, Triple Minutes for Life, and overall sleek appearance.
The full QWERTY keyboard (which means it has a button for every letter in the alphabet, like a computer keyboard) is easy to get used to and makes texting much faster. No more hitting the numbers multiple times to get a text message written, every letter has its own button and makes texting simple for anyone.
The MP3 player is a convenient feature that allows you to download songs via TracFone (for a price) or add your own songs to the phone. The songs can be played through the headphones attached to the standard headphone jack, or through the speakers which are decent.
If you plan to use the MP3 player, be sure to buy a Micro SD card (up to 32GB) and a USB cable for the phone, as these are not included. (MicroSD cards are usually around $10 or less for a 4GB card, which is more than enough space for most people)
The included Triple Minutes for Life makes this phone an incredible deal. For every minute you add, you get 2 minutes free. So if you add a 60 minute prepaid card, you get 180 total minutes! This is the best deal TracFone has, and if you also use a Promo Code when adding your phone card, you will get even more free minutes!
Finally, the overall design of the phone is sleek and stylish - perfect for those looking for a phone they can enjoy everything about. It looks good and is easy to get accustomed to.
Time for a few DISLIKES about the LG 530G:
First of all, the phone does come with Mobile Web, but it is not all that great, and costs a lot to use. Few people use the Mobile Web feature, and it is not really necessary anyway. But if you are someone who likes to check email or Facebook from your phone, this might not be the phone for you.
Another dislike is that the phone does not come with an Micro SD card or USB cables. While not including these items does help keep the price down, it would be nice for the phone to come with them since it adds a lot to the overall functionality of the phone.
Overall this phone is a fantastic phone for those who like texting often and but still want to have a no contract prepaid phone. The Triple Minutes for Life is a huge bonus that makes this phone extremely reasonable to use.
Also, check out more Tracfone Reviews or read about How to Make your Prepaid Minutes Last Longer
Also, check out more Tracfone Reviews or read about How to Make your Prepaid Minutes Last Longer
Great Buying Option for the LG 530G:
This phone typically retails for $49.99 from most stores and on the Tracfone website. But it can be found on Amazon for closer to $30-35, a $15 to $20 savings!
I recently bought this phone and so far I'm pleased with it. As mentioned in the review, the browser is expensive and a bit cumbersome to use. If you think you're going to be online a lot you might look at a more internet friendly phone. My biggest complaint is that the phone package only included a very brief owner's manual. There wasn't even a diagram explaining all the functions of the keys! Isn't that odd? Luckily I have a teenager around who explained everything. I've requested the full manual from Tracfone, hasn't happened yet.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have been a little annoyed that no detailed user manual is included. There are several keys on the LG 530g that can be challenging to understand. This certainly isn't a phone for surfing the internet. But for everything else, it performs great. Thanks for your comment.
Deleteme too!
DeleteI googled LG530G user manual, and was able to quickly download a complete, 100 page user manual for free in about 1 minute, from the LG website.
DeleteActually manuals not being very detailed is par for the course for Tracfone
ReplyDeleteMy biggest complaint with this particular phone is no way to BLOCK an incoming caller/number. The phone is pretty great other than that though I found after trial/error you definatly don't want to browse the net too long ... those minutes will rack up quick. I do a lot of selling on Craigslist so the camera isn't "digital" but it does well enough, and receiving text messages is cheap and returning them quick with the "Querty" pad. It's got my vote!
ReplyDeleteSee the message left 3/22/2014 about blocking calls.
DeleteIn regards to not being able to block incoming calls, I may as well stick with my LG500g in that case..
ReplyDeleteI recently bought this phone and overall am very happy with it. Much easier to text on it than my touchscreen was. Problem I am having is how to dial into a phone extension. I dial the extension and hit the pound sign and nothing happens. I just continue to hear the message play. Any hints on how to get this to work? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteCheck to see if there are any promo codes before you add minutes. I just bought a 60 minute card and Googled "tracfone promo codes" and found a site that said April promo codes. You can try several codes so I tried the 30 minute code that said was only for certain phones and it worked! So I got 60 units plus 150 units for $19.97! Why do they call minutes units? The last time I tried a promo code I think got an extra 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteChecking for promo codes is a great tip, in fact, we have a page (located at the top of the page) dedicated to tracfone promo codes! Glad you got some bonus minutes! I don't know why they call them unites, just how it is.
DeleteI agree that this is a great phone. What everyone else said is true. I had the lg800g and hated it. No more touch screen phones for me. I'd like to know where i can order a cover for it. The back is kind of flimsy and I'd like to protect it. Thanks for thos website. I use it for the promo codes all the tome!
ReplyDeleteI went to the local phone accessory store in the mall and found two covers that fit pretty well. One is for the "LG Motion", and the other was a Samsung something or other. They fit, and protect it well.
DeleteIs it the LG Motion silicon gel skin for 4G MS770 ?
DeleteI'm looking for a silicone cover for the LG530g tracfone. can't find one any place. Does anyone have any ideas where to get one? Please email me at AJAnhalt1980@gmail.com if you know of any, Thanks!!!!
DeleteI like this phone too, except I can't sync it to my computer to upload music.
ReplyDeleteCan this phone be synced to a car unit?
ReplyDeleteAny idea why this phone is so hard to find? Tracfone doesn't offer it direct (at least I don't see it), and it's very scarce on Amazon and eBay. This seems odd for a relatively new phone that has gotten good reviews. Has it been discontinued already?
ReplyDeleteI've noticed this too, and I'm not sure why it is becoming scarce. Could be just a coincidence, or perhaps they are ending distribution of it. Very strange indeed.
DeleteTry here http://www.kmart.com/tracfone-lg530g-pre-paid-mobile-phone/p-018W004901837001P
DeleteI sold my LG 530 G in Radio Shack.
DeleteWhere is the "sent" folder in the text area??
ReplyDeleteSent messages stay in the "Outbox".
DeleteI have the phone, but found that the soft keys don't work in the Facebook app. Anybody else have that problem?
ReplyDeleteI bought this in early 2013. A couple of times, it stopped receiving texts w/ no outward signs, while everything else seemed to work. Spent time with Tracfone tech support & had to master-reset (or whatever it's called) and reprogram entering strings of hexadecimal digits. Losing my settings & numbers each time. Had been shutting it off at night & at other times. I decided not to ever shut it off again & it's been great since then.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is fantastic, thank you for sharing your insight! I just upgraded to this phone and am hoping you might be able to help me with two settings that I am unable to figure out:
ReplyDelete1. Once I complete a step, an alert sound is issued, despite the fact that I've turned the volume of the keypad tone to zero. How do I turn this off? This alert sound is issued when I send a text message or when I complete a settings selection, for instance.
2. I would like to customize the voicemail message. What menu option allows me to do so?
Thank you for any help you might have!
does it have a vibration mode?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your detailed review of the LG 530G phone. I just purchased mine from Tracfone and it should arrive in a couple of days. I have been with Verizon Wireless for several years and currently have an iPhone 4s (already old technology), but their costs have been creeping up and up. When I get my LG 530G set up, I will just use my iPhone as and iPod to play my music using my WiFi. Tracfone's pay as you go will save me bundles. I like the layout of the LG 530G as it is kind of like the old BlackBerry that I had several years ago before going with iPhone. I am old school, so I still like having a physical keyboard.
ReplyDeleteThat the phone does not come with USB/micro USB cables is fine as I have those from other devices such as my Kindle. Also, I ordered a 16 GB micro SD card to use with my new phone. It appears that Tracfone will port my current cellular number and have my Verizon Wireless account closed for me, which is great.
Overall, your review makes me feel that I have made a good choice of phone. It has everything that I need at a very reasonable price. I am now very glad that I did not upgrade to the iPhone 5s, which runs anywhere from $200 to $400!
In the LG500GHL model, you do this to block calls. Maybe it's the same in this model too.
ReplyDelete"Edit' the contact, choose "Options", select "Add Detail", select "Groups", select "RejectNo" then choose Done. Whenever the call comes in, it will not ring or show in the window but it will show on the list of "Received Calls" but with no minutes charged.
Love this phone. Like the vibrate feature when number called answers. LG phones have great antennas which I need living in isolated area. Phone does exactly what I need it to do.
ReplyDeleteI love Trac Fone more all the time. They tried to put me on T-Mobile network, but service w/that carrier is not good at my house. They replaced the phone with one that uses Verizon and it works great! (If you don't know, what they do is buy huge amounts of airtime from the major carriers and resell it.)There was some hassle the first week getting all that(and my #) straightened out, but they were very helpful and shipping, etc never cost me a dime. They ported my # which I have had for @15yrs on Alltel, Sprint, and StraightTalk. :Point is though, that I use my ph. for calls & texts. It's a phone. I have a tablet for internet and wifi is everywhere. I have the trusty Tomtom for navigation. I have a 20 dollar phone that works fine and I just paid $32 dollars and got 640 minutes of airtime. Texts cost @1.7cents each. Their slogan is "you're in control." It's true. Even if I burn all those minutes in 2 months, it will still cost about half of what my wifey was ready to pay Sprint and that involves a 2 year contract. Once we get the last two kids out, the difference between $30 a month and $130 a month should be convincing enough even for a hardhead like her! Trac rocks. Big time. Even if you pay $43.75 at the convenience store on the corner, you still get those 40 free bonus minutes with that 200 minute card.
ReplyDeleteIs there an easy way to set the phone to "church" mode where the phone does NOT beep on call, does NOT beep low battery, and in general, just shuts up until you go to /church off/ mode?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Jim
I kept getting a "playback error" for 3 MP3's downloaded using downtube (windows 8.1 app), the files were 2 from two different vocal touhou remixes (they had japanese characters) and one was full english, IOSYS ("Overdrive - IOSYS"). Normally these MP3's work on my phone and PC, but these three only work on my PC. I downloaded one of the files off soundcloud, and removed the characters, and it works fine! then I tried to put the downtube file of the same song without characters, and I still got the Playback Error for that file only! the two files are almost the same! well, except for the fact that one is from a youtube downloader which normally works. Soundcloud works too, but I prefer downtube because it's easier to use.
ReplyDeleteHave this phone... soft keys don't work on Facebook. Browser is expensive.... pretty good phone though. Anyone know what a 9+ icon means?
ReplyDeleteI love this phone but suddenly I can't receive texts. Any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if this phone wii run the Java version of the facebook app?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
"Few people use the Mobile Web feature...." was included in your review. How could you possibly know that or do you track what users of the cell phone do with it?
ReplyDeleteComment is from an old fact-checking journalist.
Just got this phone and it keeps rebooting it's self. Anybody got any suggestions?
ReplyDeleteI bought a 530G a few months ago to use as a basic cell & emergency phone -- so it doesn't get much use. Even so, the battery charge goes to minimum quickly although I just charge it fully, (try to) verify that it is off, and leave it in my truck, disconnected from the charger. I have thought that the brand new battery must have been bad as purchased, so intended to replace it. However, I can't find a replacement for this battery anywhere! So, my question has 2 parts: does anyone know where I can find a replacement for the LG 530G battery (FL-49EN on the battery itself); and am I inadvertently leaving the cell on so as to deplete the battery, and if so, how can I make sure it's off? Should I leave it connected to the battery in the truck? Any thoughts or info will be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI just got this phone last week for and can't figure out how to stop the phone from giving a verbal notification by female voice every time it gets turned on/off and how many minutes are left. It is annoying.
ReplyDeleteHubby gave it to me for Christmas 9 mos ago. I love/don't love it for a few reasons. Used to have a flip phone which I loved. No accidental calls, no accidental waste of minutes on that stupid internet button which I seem to hit a lot. Also scratching up the display face even tho I slip it down in my purse in a special fabric pocket. 2 weeks ago I bought a case for about $7 from Amazon, so hopefully that will take care of a lot. What I really don't like is no call block option! There is a sales call that will not quit calling. 646-886-9198 I think it's a scammer and they call ALL THE TIME. Ready to change my phone number after having the same one for 5 years. I hate that I might have to do that because of a nuisance caller and not being able to block him.
ReplyDeleteYes, this phone has both pros and cons. I like the full keyboard for texting. That is very annoying about the sales calls you keep getting. I'm looking into an app from Tracfone that can be used to block any number that is calling you, which would be great except it is only for Android smartphones.
Deletetry buying a battery for this thing. Impossible- they say it will work but the shape is wrong - the only way I got a new battery is to buy a new LG530g and use that one
Delete