Alcatel U3 | .au

Review your last buy on ProductReview.com.auAlcatel U3 has been discontinued. See the Best Mobile Phones. Alcatel U3MPN: 4337817 2.1

48 reviews

Positive vs Negative8%31%61%Read moreCompareWrite a reviewValue for Money1.7Ease of Use1.5Software1.5Battery Life1.9Camera Quality2.1Hardware1.9

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Decent first phone – It's a good first phone. It has a good camera but social media apps don't work on it. If you want a phone for calling and sms then it is good but if you are looking to upgrade don't choose this Show details

K B. Victoria 5yVoteMore

The worst phone ever – I cant answer calls, i cant unlock it some tomes, the data stop working while I was using the navigator and thanks to that i just lost a job opportunity. what a piece of s**t Show details

Aussie user NSW 3 posts 6yVote (1)MoreValue for MoneyPerformance

The worst phone experience you can EVER have right here – This is by far the worst phone ever conceived, it hangs ALL the time, but it queues commands so while it sits there for 20 minutes doing the simplest task, everything you tapped in frustration thinking the phone crashed yet again will then play out, whether you like it or not. It freezes CONSTANTLY and will do so everytime you get a phone call,… Read more

and it has a double lockout swipe screen so, you will NEVER EVER, be able to answer a call on this phone, ever. I've had the phone for 6 months and to this day I've never been able to answer a call on time and have had to call back every time. This is a scam device and the worst phone I've ever encountered. When my new phone arrives I will be making a youtube video destroying this phone and I'll buy 8 more just so I can destroy them in various ways.

Positive reviews

Neil A 2 posts 7yVoteMore

The 4G LTE version is a huge improvement on the older 3G unit! – I purchased my 4G LTE version five months ago as a replacement for my ageing Nokia smartphone. I'm satisfied with it's performance and consider it good value for money. It outperforms my old Nokia (3G) and has far better reception in my rural area! I noted most of the negative reviews are based on the obsolete 3G models which are still been… Read more

dumped, as cheapies, by retailers and networks (Telstra, Aust. Post shops, junk mail etc). Blind Freddy would see that, for the price of a burger, you are not going to get a product that will compete, in performance, with a phone that cost from $100 or more.

Weasel 2 posts 7yVoteMore

Nice upgrade of the 2012 Alcatel pixi 3, it has a much more substantial feel to it and is a smart li – Yes they do run smoothly, especially if you go into the apps settings and switch on Restricted background data which stops the apps using up data unless your using those apps! Also the music player is very good with the effects booster switched on, the U3 could use some note choices in coloured backs like silver, green,red,gold,White,camouflage and orange, and some florescent colours as well,  Show details

Luis VIC 6 posts 8yVote (1)More

Perfect first smart phone for our teenager – Very affordable first smart phone for our teenager, available with all the apps and gadgets possible in the market. The camera its just ok for the value and probably they will need to updated but anyway for this price is just acceptable. Is a very strong hardware and very recommended for clumpsy teen  Show details

Negative reviews

Steve G. QLD 6yVoteMore

Alcatel U3 useless phone – Warning do not buy it is of very poor quality phone the company should be sued for selling a useless phone. Slow charge.Slow to connect to internet, poor sound quality, Settings limited,Calls do not connect, screen shatters easily when thrown at force on to the ground,. . Show details

June QLD 6yVoteMore

Poor battery life – Not so cheap as it cost $79 AUD from Officeworks. Battery life a joke and I find it hard to navigate. For example, it only rings twice on incoming calls and won't allow an adjustment. It's also very slow. A very fussy phone that forces password use just to read a text. Show details

Emma3168 WA 2 posts 6yVoteMore

piece of junk cant even answer calls – worst purchase i have ever made. cannot answer incoming calls, takes hours to send a message, 99% of apps freeze when opening, contact names do not load in the message list. Battery is worse than anything i can describe. Show details

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Recent reviews

Hide my S. NSW 6 posts 6y  Fair IncentiveVoteMoreValue for MoneyPerformance

Decent phone but it’s still pretty slow for me – It’s very slow, the apps crash almost immediate after opening and call and text takes hours to send. The camera is also very bad. I highly do not recommend this product. September 7th 2019 Update: Bad product, don’t buy This phone is the worst thing ever. I bought it to replace my 5s but it was way slower and all the apps crash almost immediately when opened. Definitely will not recommend to anyone. Show details

Sarzie Mac 167 posts 6yVoteMore

A very bad choice – My Mum and I each bought one of these phones a few months ago, and both of us regret it. Her phone basically never works and the battery is flat within hours of a full charge. Mine is performing significantly better, but it's still not quality. The camera is useless - each time I try to take a picture I'm faced with a new problem. Either it… Read more

refuses to take the picture, or for some random reason takes a dozen identical ones! When I'm online it fails to detect where I'm pressing the screen, meaning I rarely end up on the site I wish to be on. I also was messaged to do a system upgrade, which failed to work, due to a system error, however I'm still sent upgrade message notices all day and night - annoying to say the least. On the plus side, no-one will ever steal it from me! Just don't buy it!

Sam 2 posts 7yVoteMore

Don t touch it – Dont try to text because it might take days to get to the recipient. Dont try ringing anybody because it wont respond and if anyone rings you you cant answer i know its a cheap phone but it should still at least call and text. This phone is not fit for any purpose! Show details

MoreSam 7y  

please note this phone was bought from carphone warehouse not newcastle phone repairs

Mike e 7yVoteMore

I’d like just like to be able to take a call pleas – The phone has no positive attributes - so slow to react to touch request makes it virtually impossible to use - tried just to set it up to take calls and still couldn’t do that - phone would start to ring about 10rings in and then refuse to pick up as touch wouldn’t work - definitely didn’t get what I paid for and at $65 that’s saying something. Added a memory card and made no real difference to speedy - truly awful phone Show details

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Compare all dave 7yVoteMoreEase of UsePerformance

worst phone EVER owned! Would give 0 stars if possible – Terrible camera, cant take a legible photo of an A4 size, word processed letter! Just tried to bluetooth a photo of my receipt (proof of purchase) and that wont work either, have tried many times to bluetooth over to my laptop previously but phone seems unable to do so. I've had no problems doing it in the past with other phones! Is probably just… Read more

as well, as the photo quality is so bad, you cant read the receipt anyway!! Thought I'd listen to music on youtube for my 15 minute ride home, arrived home before app had successfully opened! Phone rings but screen dosen't change to allow me to answer the call! Everything is so slow or crashes, phone is all but unusable. I put an sd card in after purchase but after transferring 120 contacts from my last phone, I was told memory almost full! Bought a previous model for less money and it was fine, I feel robbed.

Daryl NSW 7yVoteMore

Price of junk – It won't hold charge ,takes so long to open any apps,cuts out without touching anything.you can the watch the power level when your trying to use it.never will I buy another phone from alcatel I brought 2 for $48 , $24 each Show details

Jason NSW 2 posts 7yVoteMore

Rubbish – Battery life a few hours. Power level lower than it was half an hour ago when I plugged it in. Beeps every five minutes to tell me "Messenger is not responding. Close it?" despite the fact that I deleted messenger last week. In the middle of typing a text, the screen changed, said "advertisement," then went black and started playing random… Read more

music. When I touch or swipe the screen, I often have to stand there repeatedly doing it for a few minutes before it responds. Then as often as not another app opens itself randomly. Can't ring a 1300 number where you need to choose prompts because the keypad disappears and if you do anything to the screen it just hangs up.

Bakerboy 7yVoteMoreValue for MoneyPerformance

Ok for a basic phone – The apps constantly crash and stop working, sometimes when i used it and recieved calls, it wouldny even let me answer them. Texts often take for ever to send and recieve. It often gets hot for no apparent reason and its battery charge once lost 20 percent while i wasnt ven on it! Show details

PreviousOlitech EasyFlip4.1 Realme 64.5 Olitech EasyFlip 24.6 Apple iPhone 11 Pro4.2 Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max4.1 NextCompare best Mobile Phones Conhy 7yVoteMore

Rubbish! – Joy launcher stops phone working altogether. I have disabled it many times but every time it's near a hotspot, it updates and installs joy launcher yet again. It won't send messages. It's very slow. Complete waste of money. Do not buy this phone! Mine is going in the bin! So frustrating.  Show details

Sammy V 7yVoteMore

This phone is so bad it should be illegal to sell – Wow! Just wow!... Where do I start?... Firstly I struggle to hear who i'm speaking to even on loud speaker. I sometimes receive messages hours after they have been sent and sometimes I get double copies (though this maybe because of my provider, so not sure) Sometimes a set alarm doesn't go off. Apps continually crash. If I had 1 cent for… Read more

everytime I saw the words, 'unfortunately, joy launcher has stopped' I'd be a trillionaire! lol. I would seriously rather use the Nokia 3210 I bought last millennium! lol. Avoid like the plague!!!

Lucy S 7yVoteMore

Dont waste your time and money on this phone – The apps are so slow and it turns its self off. It constantly says that the 'Joy launcher has stopped' and when this happens you can use the phone. One the joy launcher starts up again it instantly informs you that it has stopped working so you just have a piece of junk.  Show details

PDI100 7yVoteMore

Garbage don’t waste your money! – Struggles to even make calls and cannot add anything even with a memory card, bought it as a back up phone, what a terrible mistake, garbage ! garbage! garbage! I smashed it up and literally binned it! I wanted for games to save wear on my “daily driver” has it too long hence the pleasure it gave was hitting it several times with an hammer.  Show details

abdul 7yVoteMore

rubbish phone – don't waste your money the charger isn't even working and signal keeps dropping never ever worst phone ever, and it getting hot every time you put on the charger i would not recommend any one to purchase this phone, its sometimes without turning power off its restarting by it self.  Show details

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Compare all Samantha L 4 posts 7yVoteMore

Not Bad – Good for teens to stay in touch. Easy to use and navigate around. Apps run smoothly, good for listening to music and playing a few games. I would recommend it to teenagers that are not fussed with having all the bells and whistles of a iPhone or other big brand phone  Show details

Jonas 7yVoteMore

Avoid like the plague! – This is the worst phone I've ever used in my life. It freezes all the time and the OS restarts. Slower than Windows 95 and MSDOS. It would be unacceptable even in the third world for something to operate this way. It looks decent but it essentially doesn't work. I'm perplexed as to how this is sold as a smartphone when it can't even run a basic app like WhatsApp correctly. I'm disgusted with this product.  Show details

Annie 7yVoteMore

Not a bad unit – This mobile is quite simple to use, camera quality is not too bad for a cheap phone It’s bright enough and quite tough. It does everything I need it to do, mainly calling and texting. Its a bit slow on the internet which I dont use much anyway. Not much good with apps. It’s a handy little phone if you just need a phone  Show details

Scott 7yVote (1)More

Worst phone ever – No boubt this is the worse phone i have ever had since 1995. I want my money back and all the pathetic try hard expenses I've ever had on this piece of crap. It didn't answer phone calls or it took 2hrs to send a txt. Dont ever buy this phone. You'd be better off with one from 1990  Show details

Sparks 4 posts 7yVoteMore

Just good for calls and texting – When is a smartphone no more use than a dumb phone? When its the Alcatel A3. The probem is that it is a very cheap model and now its out of date and old but they are still selling it. Android and the apps have all moved on and this cannot keep up. Calls yes, texts yes, apps - not really.  Show details

PreviousRealme 64.5 Olitech EasyFlip 24.6 Apple iPhone 11 Pro4.2 Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max4.1 Oppo Reno Z4.3 NextCompare best Mobile Phones Yowie5 4 posts 7yVoteMore

Ok on a good day – OK as good as I can rate this and thats is only taking the very cheap price into account. The big surprise with this phone is that despite looking like a modern smartphone, its 3G not 4G so you can imagine its an old design. The user experience is slow and lagging but it (usually) gets there in the end. If you are used to an iPhone you will be in… Read more

for a big shock lol. Still it does work and I paid less than $20 new so you need to take that into account.

MGTD 4 posts 7yVoteMore

Frustrating old tech – This phone is still as new but its old tech . I didn't realise quite how out of date it was when I bought it but the very cheap price should have been the give away. Its actually 3G so slow and many of the native apps are out of date but cant be updated to newer ones As you might guess its slower than watching paint dry to use, Its cheap!  Show details

Anonymous Scotsman 8 posts 7yVote (1)More

Nice looking Garbage – Extremely slow and unresponsive. Often the OS would just stop working so I would have to restart the phone and easily got overwhelmed after 1, maybe 2 apps tops. Very little memory and didnt save stuff to the so card I popped in properly giving me constant issues. Heaps of bloatware as well.  Show details

Vanguard 4 posts 7yVote (1)More

Used for around 3 weeks then gave up – I wont bag these phone out too hard because they are clearly an older model (3g) and the y are very, very cheap ($17), Lets just say that I was over the moon to get my Huawei back from warranty repair and haven't turned it on again. Its super average at everything and very frustrating to use in all ways. Its cheap, that's the only positive I can say about it.  Show details

RetrosDA 4 posts 8yVoteMore

Super average phone – This is average on a good day. Why? Dull unresponsive screen, slow processor, little RAM, and a camera that is a joke. It CAN make and receive calls and that's about all ist good for. Some apps cant even be updated. I got this only because it was cheap and I need a second phone but its frustrating to use and I would suggest you look elsewhere.  Show details

V8Mate 4 posts 8yVoteMore

Cheap but only just passable – This was a cheapie fill in phone for me. I definitely wouldn't want it for my daily driver. Two reasons 1- screen - dull with poor pixel density and sluggish performance. 2- camera - just horrible. This is a very cheap smartphone but you will notice its limitations a soon as you use it, if you are used to anything modern. Calls and texts work fine though  Show details

Lisa45 QLD 48 posts 8yVoteMore

missing important feature – i didn't want it for an internet device - i just wanted a cheap phone to fit a bare minimum of apps on and use for calls/SMS (4gb memory is actually better than my previous by 100% so that aspect didn't bother me). Sadly, it's completely missing something - a flashing LED to show you have messages/missed calls (after a lot of searching i found an… Read more

admission that the phone doesn't have one at all - and the app they recommend didn't work).

The phone's operating system updated perfectly well (i have cable internet at home and connected it there via wireless, no problems). If this is going to be your only internet device, don't buy it - buy something with a better screen, more RAM and more memory. For me, for $35 - it's ok. And eventually i'll find a LED Indicator App that works!

Junkers 4 posts 8yVoteMore

Dud phone - apps canno be updated – I got this because it was the ACTUAL cheapest smart phone you could get at the supermarket while my iPhone was getting a new screen (dont ask ;p) and Oh man is it a stinker. I will give credit where its due and say yes it can technically make and receive calls but that's where the good news ends. It is so outdated that the apps it comes with all… Read more

need updating out of the box and... you cant! Over half of the are "not supported" with this version of Android. So its basically a dud. I used it for two weeks and now its a nice paperweight! Oh and its only 3G too!

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