My Lively Mobile Review 2026: I Tested Its Unique Flip Phone Features

To get started with Lively Mobile service, you FIRST have to purchase a device through them. While you have the option to bring your own device, you’d miss out on the unique Lively phone features including the unique emergency button (so I don’t recommend using your own phone).

Lively gives you two phone options: a Lively smart phone or a Lively Jitterbug Flip2 flip phone. I chose the flip phone because this seems like it would be the best basic choice for Lively’s target audience, a senior individual. Also, I’m a millennial. I yearn for the flip phone.

Bright red exterior: I recommend purchasing the bright red color over the black color option as the whole point is to keep it close to you and be able to spot it quickly in case of emergency.

Big buttons and screen: Your thumb fits on each button, so it’s less likely you’ll press multiple buttons at the same time. There are no confusing icons or symbols on the keypad (minus the red dedicated SOS button).

The red emergency button: The emergency call button is at the bottom of the phone. It’s bright red, but it’s the same size as the other buttons. Unfortunately, it seems easy to accidentally press.

Audio clarity: On the side of the phone are volume buttons that give you options for maximum, high, medium, low, and silent. I’ve seen product reviews complain that their senior parent pressed them accidentally and couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t hear anything. The max and high volume are decently loud, and I wish there was a way to lock that setting. 

“Read aloud” feature: In the “Accessibility” setting, you can turn on a “Read aloud” feature that reads everything on the screen out loud for you. This seems initially helpful for someone that is visually impaired or prefers audio instructions. However, it gets annoying and repetitive after a while, and I could imagine someone deciding to not open their phone at all to avoid it (if they can’t figure out how to turn it off).

Open flip answer feature: You can turn this feature on so that when you get a call and flip open your phone, the call starts automatically.

Reminders setting: You can set reminders for yourself or a senior person so they remember appointments, times to take medicine, or even to call you. However, you only get one little beep and that’s it, so it’s easy to miss.

Extra basic features: Flashlight, magnifier (allows you to take a picture and zoom in), calculator, FM radio (wired headphones required), and basic games.

In this mobile review, we give a rating based on four main criteria:

• Dollar value ↓
• Network coverage ↓
• Performance and hands-on testing↓
• Customer service ↓

Then, we average the scores to make an overall rating.

Here’s a quick overview of a Lively Mobile cell phone plan:

• No contracts
• Three phone plan options
• 24/7 live-person operators included on all plans
• Urgent response not included on Basic plan
• Unlimited talk and text add-on for $5/month
• On-call nurse available on Premium plan only
• No data included in flip phone plans
• $35 one-time activation fee

Lively’s current flip phone plans tiers include a $5 paperless billing discount.

For being a basic and minimalist flip phone, my Lively Mobile Jitterbug phone can do a lot. I didn’t charge it for four days, and its battery life was still going strong (though I also didn’t use it actively all day long either).

At first, I laughed when I saw a review elsewhere that mentioned that it does too much, when the flip phone can’t even access the internet. But when you see it through the lens of a non-tech-savvy senior or a cognitively impaired individual, this flip phone can seem overwhelming.

Texting won’t be easy on this flip phone. The text messaging itself relies on the multi-press entry system where you have to press a number multiple times to get the correct letter. A tech-averse or cognitively impaired person will struggle to navigate these steps.

Answering a call is easy with a Lively flip phone: No swiping. Big buttons. Flip the phone open, and just start talking.

You can also press the “Speaker” button at the top left part of the phone. When I tested out a phone call and put the call on maximum volume, I was actually a bit disappointed that it wasn’t louder. It’s loud, but I imagine someone with a hearing impairment could use another level of loudness.

Another issue I foresee is that the volume buttons on the side of the phone where your thumb rests during a phone call are easy to press by accident. If an elderly person tried to make it louder and pressed the down volume button by accident, they could mute the call completely. I advise you to carefully explain this to the primary user for future communications.

I was excited to use the Alexa feature on my flip phone. Supposedly, a user could open their phone and ask Alexa to make a call or send a text message. Unfortunately, this feature never worked for me.

Activating Alexa was a struggle. First, you have to enable Alexa by signing into your Amazon account on the phone. This means that you have to first be connected to a Wi-Fi network on your Lively phone. Then, you have to log in to Amazon through your computer using a code that your flip phone sends to it.

It took me a few days to connect to Amazon because when I initially tried to connect, it gave you the option to “Skip sign in.” Don’t “Skip sign in” if you want to use Alexa. For some reason, it wouldn’t give me this option again until I turned my phone off and on after a couple days. Then, once I successfully signed in, the feature still wouldn’t work at all.

According to a Lively customer service rep, this feature has been temporarily down on the Lively flip phones, but is expected to be up and running again at some point.

The 24/7 live-person operator is probably its best feature. This free concierge feature comes with every Lively plan.

Here’s how to use the 24/7 operator:

1. Open your flip phone
2. Dial 0
3. Press “Ok”
4. Say out loud “speak with an agent”
5. Get connected to a live operator within seconds

The live operator can help you with these tasks:

• Make a phone call
• Find phone numbers
• Transfer to your voicemail
• Speak to Lively customer service
• Ask them for your location
• Ask them to look something up on the internet

Best of all: The 24/7 operator can call a “Lively Ride” for you.

Lively partners with Lyft to bring transportation services to Lively customers. They can order a Lyft for you, give you details about the vehicle, and track your vehicle until you get to your intended destination. The Lyft charge is put onto your monthly Lively Mobile bill.

This feature alone makes a Lively plan worth it for a senior user, a cognitively impaired person, or even a child. You can open your phone and immediately get connected to someone that can help you with anything. Even if you do nothing else on this phone, to have this 24/7 support service is worth its weight in gold.

The emergency button experience is fast and genuinely human. I triggered the “SOS button” to simulate a safety situation. Once I pressed the button, there’s a countdown timer of five seconds (I imagine this countdown is to give you the opportunity to cancel the call if pressed by accident). Then, I was connected immediately to a person. This person is a certified Urgent Response Agent (an IAED-certified response agent), which is the same level of certification held by many 911 dispatchers.

The best part of the experience is that the call automatically went to speaker phone. I didn’t have to put the phone up to my face to speak or hear the responder. I imagine if an elderly person or someone with a medical disability falls (and potentially drops the phone), this feature is extremely critical as they can speak out loud and the agent on the other line can hear them. They also don’t have to hold the phone during the emergency.

The emergency operator can do a few things:

• Help you get an ambulance, family member, or a locksmith
• Conference in 911 for you (using your personal emergency profile to relay medical history, allergies, and precise GPS location)
• Stay on the line until help arrives
• Provide support when you’re walking to your car at night, feeling nervous, or in an unfamiliar location
• Notify family or caregivers through the Lively Link app that the SOS button was pushed
• Bring a family member or friend into the call while you wait for assistance
• Use GPS to give you directions if you’re disoriented or lost
• Call a Lyft to get you to your location

If you’re a caregiver or family member who bought a Lively Mobile phone for a senior, child, or disabled individual, then you will want to download the Lively Link app (not to be confused with the Lively app). This app can connect to the Preferred and Premium plans, not the Basic plan.

This app allows you to track their location, see if they missed appointments, and get notified if they press the emergency button.

Also, you get notifications if the battery level of the phone is running low so you can remind the primary user to charge their phone. I had to chuckle when I saw a notification in the app that my device battery was critical—it was at 60%. Calm down, Lively.

Lively Mobile customer service is one of the (if not THE) standout feature of this mobile service plan. Because of my first-hand testing of the Preferred plan, I personally saw how quickly I got connected to a person, and how thoughtful their conversations and interactions were.

The first time I spoke to a Lively customer service rep asking how to get started with Lively, they directed me to buy a Lively phone. They took the time to suggest I look at Amazon and Walmart since their phones were more discounted than the Lively site.

When I tested the SOS button and let them know I was testing out this service, the emergency responder kindly stayed on the phone with me and gave me generous answers to all my questions.

No scripts. No hurry. Just genuine help. This is the kind of service support that I’d want for a loved one if I wasn’t around to help them.

I read in a few online forums and device reviews that activating the Lively Mobile service was a hassle. My tip: The caregiver or family member should activate this phone service for the primary user. Set it up completely for them because it is not intuitive for a tech-averse individual.

After I got my phone, I followed instructions on the Lively box to activate a plan online or call an agent. The online activation was fast and straightforward, taking less than 10 minutes. I picked a plan, that was it. My flip phone automatically finished the activation process.