Government Programs
Description
The RAZ Memory Cell Phone is a simple cell phone for individuals with Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia and intellectual disabilities. The phone allows people with disabilities to stay connected with friends and family.
The single-touch dial picture phone prioritizes simplicity. It includes only one screen. This single screen includes three elements:
- Photos and names of up to six contacts (with an option for up to twenty-four);
- A dedicated button to contact 911;
- Alternative RAZ Emergency Service to avoid unwanted 911 calls (requires subscription);
- The time, remaining battery power and and signal strength.
Six contacts are displayed as pictures with the names below the pictures. Optionally, up to twenty-four contacts can be shown. Pressing a picture will start a call. The cell phone also includes a dedicated 911 Emergency button.
The display, which is a large 6.2 inches, does not time out. It always remains on. At your option, incoming calls can be restricted to those coming from Contacts, eliminating undesirable predatory calls.
Contacts, including names, pictures and numbers, can be managed through an easy-to-use online portal. Caregivers can also access from the portal GPS location information.
The picture phone does not exit the home screen. This prevents users from getting confused in the normal smartphone environment. Even the power button can be disabled by the caregiver.
Voicemail cannot be accessed.
Wireless Charging Set available.
DANIEL KRAUSE (verified owner) –
I have been looking for a phone that would not confuse my Mother with her dementia. I have not found a phone that would work for her until I found this one. Having the ability to set up and control the phone from the caregiver portal has greatly reduced the time I have to spend dealing with phone issues. My Mother lets me know if she needs to add a number to her list and I can do the from anywhere without having to physically change it on her phone. I also like being able to check the battery level from the portal adn let her know if she needs to charger her phone if she forgets. No more assuming the phone is just dead. The GPS feature also gives me peace of mind to know were she is or if her phone was left somewhere. This is a great solution if you are looking for a phone for your family member with dementia.
Barb –
I can’t thank you enough for working me to get the phone up & running for my mom. She’s starting to adjust to using it. This phone will help her as she gets flustered with all the options even on a basic cell phone.
Arlene –
I am so grateful for this phone & the wonderful support staff that helped me with my questions & missteps. Tried out the phone with family members & are anxious to give it to her on Monday, her 92nd birthday. This will be a godsend for her to be able to communicate with her family during these difficult times. Usually there are only 5 stars but would give 10! Thank you for making this a very bright moment. Thank you again.
Penny –
I am so very thankful for this phone. It has given my father a sense of freedom again. His confidence in using the phone is phenomenal and we haven’t been able to say that in a while. I am wondering if there is a case that can be recommended that has a cover for the front that will stop accidental calls. PLEASE LOOK AT THIS PHONE FOR YOUR LOVED ONE, YOU WON’T REGRET IT.
Judith Matysik –
I purchased this phone for my mom who has dementia and was having great difficulty using even her simple flip phone. It is very easy to use and wonderful that I can manage the phone from the portal. I would rate “5” except 1) I assume there is no way to disable the 911 function due to legal issues, but it would be nice if I could since she is in a nursing home and help is always nearby; 2) would be nice to get rid of the message that says “individual’s voicemail has not been set up” since there is no voicemail option (I get calls from my mother’s family asking why she has no voicemail); 3) would be nice to be able to increase the number of rings. It only rings four times and it usually takes her longer than that to get across her room to answer since she doesn’t carry the phone around with her. All in all, though, very happy with this purchase.
RAZ Mobility –
Thank you for your review!
You’re correct, the 911 function cannot be disable due to legal and regulatory issues. However, we offer the RAZ Emergency Service as an alternative. You can find more details at https://www.razmobility.com/product/raz-mobility-emergency-service-annual-plan/
As for 2) the voicemail message and 2) the number of rings – these are control day the wireless provider. The number of rings / ring duration can bu adjusted by some of the carriers. Please contact the carrier and request it to be changed.
RAZ Mobility Team
JULIE GREENWOOD –
This phone is very nice to look at and easy to use. I love that we can limit the calls that my mom receives. She was always so confused by the spam calls about the extended warranty for her car. It’s great that she doesn’t get those anymore. It’s also really nice that she can see photos of my sisters and me to decide who she wants to call.
We have already seen the benefit of the emergency service. It works perfectly when my mom accidently dials the 911 button!
When I purchased the phone, I did so with the expectation that I could limit her repeated calls. I didn’t realize that I would have to remove the programmed numbers from the main screen in order to limit those calls. In a future update, I would love to see an option that allowed me to just put her on a brief pause without having to change the look of her interface.
Jerry Vickery (verified owner) –
I am pleased with the simplicity of this phone. We have the Verizon version. It is easy to set up, and my wife is learning to operate it better than her previous phone.
However, there are a couple of things I do not like. One, the volume is fixed, and it is too loud for certain situations. Secondly, there is no way to track missed calls, or voice mail.
It would be nice to be able to adjust ring volume from the portal, and also, change the ring tone from the portal.
Another suggestion is to add a locating option to an app that can be easily accessed from my phone, similar to the “find my phone” app that Apple has.
Linda Kaiser (verified owner) –
I can’t express how much this has helped in communicating with my mother that has dementia. When she calls me, she feels that independence, and not having to rely on anyone making her calls for her. Also, can call her anytime and she will answer. Love it!
Diana (verified owner) –
We all like the phone. I appreciate the customer support. I had trouble understanding a couple points and they explained the solutions well. I was having trouble changing from dark to light background. It worked fine in Chrome and didn’t work in Safari. There is a message about messages, which is confusing in that it doesn’t accept messages in the first place. It’s the perfect phone for my mother-in-law.
LB (verified owner) –
This phone solved our conundrum with needing a simple phone for our older guy who now feels reconnected without the barrage of incomprehensible scammers. The tech support and customer service is responsive, efficient and superb.
KM –
I just wanted to say thank you for this product. My mom, who has dementia, broke her hip, got COVID while in the hospital and ended up recovering from both in isolation in a nursing facility. She has been struggling to understand what is happening to her and not being able to be there with her has been a challenge for all of us. This phone has helped her tremendously. She had forgotten how to use a cell phone a long time ago but she can use this phone and it has lifted her spirits to stay in touch and she likes looking at our pictures. It’s such a well designed product and the customer support you offer is very appreciated as well. The staff at the Verizon store wrote down the information because they said they get requests for senior-friendly phones all the time and they don’t sell anything like this phone. The therapy staff at the nursing home commented that they love the phone as well and will be recommending it to other families in the facility.
So, thank you for making such a thoughtful product and know that you have helped my mom tremendously during a challenging time for her.
Paul (verified owner) –
RAZ phone works well for my 96 year old Mother-in Law. Tech support was very helpful with initial set-up.
ELIZABETH a WOLVERTON (verified owner) –
Great phone for my 90 year old parents except every time they pick it ok to take it with them or put it on their pocket or purse, it accidently dials their contact as the pictures are easily bumped or touched. Is there anyway around this?
RAZ Mobility –
Hello Elizabeth,
Thank you very much for your feedback! We’re glad to hear that the phone is working out for your parents.
One option we can recommend to prevent the accidental dials is the pouch with belt clip – https://www.razmobility.com/product/memory-phone-vertical-pouch-with-belt-clip-large/
RAZ Mobility Team
Alexander Eguis (verified owner) –
The phone is made by Motorolla which is an excellent manufacturer using a custom-made OS for RAZ. Overall, the phone is of high quality and the ease of use is high. However, I wish there were more options available to the user and caretaker. As I see it right now, this phone is just too simple. If a caretaker is trying to reach the user while away and the user misses the call there is no missed call log that informs the user who called. If possible I’d recommend an option that allows the contact bubbles to be customized to be almost as apps, so one contact bubble could be a call log.
RAZ Mobility –
Hello Alexander,
Thank you very much for your review, feedback and suggestions! Additional features and options are being developed and will be available as a free update to existing customers as well.
RAZ Mobility Team
Julie (verified owner) –
This phone has been a godsend to me as the caretaker of my mother from three states away. I love how I can manage the phone via the portal. There are so many things I love about this phone and its ease of use for my mother. Other reviews talked about the default ringtone volume being very loud and unable to change. The ringtone volume was super loud! I called RazMobility Support and they walked me through how to lower the ring volume (but you can only do it when having the phone physically with you and they walk you through all of the steps). I’m sure there are other changes RazMobility support can help you with. Just call them and ask, “Can _____ be adjusted on the phone?” They have been super helpful. I love how simple the portal is to manage and how I can see the battery life, and GPS location of my mother’s phone. The MintMobile cell service did not do too well in my mother’s nursing home, but it was easy to switch out the SIM cards to another carrier. But make sure you purchase the more expensive Raz phone so you can easily switch carriers if you need to. I would have stayed with MintMobile if the reception was better as their website is super easy to navigate. So this review doesn’t go on forever, I’ll focus on some features I would like to see in the future: recent call list, ability to adjust the ringtone volume, voice volume from portal. One glitch I’ve found is that when my mother presses the “Hang Up” button too long, she accidentally calls the contacts listed in the #5 & 6 spots. To avoid her accidentally calling someone a lot, I added my contact info into slots 5 & 6. So if it happens, she is just calling me. We also bought the wireless charger (which comes with the protective phone case). That way my mom does not have to struggle to plug in the regular phone charger. The wireless charger charges super slow to avoid wearing out the battery. This phone is awesome. Raz, if you created an affiliate program, I think you could get the word out even more about this phone. I would be a huge cheerleader of the phone!
RAZ Mobility –
Hello Julie,
Thank you for your review! We’re glad to hear that the RAZ Memory Cell Phone keeps your mom connected.
The ability to control the ring volume via the portal will be include in the next release among other new options.
We have an affiliate program and our marketing team will contact you.
RAZ Mobility Team
Kathy Thorbjornsen –
I purchased this phone for my Dad who we just moved into a nursing home due to dementia. He became unable to remember how to work his old cell phone or the regular telephone. The RAZ has been a Godsend. It’s so easy for him to use and he is absolutely thrilled to be re-connected with his family. I had a little trouble activating it, ( a senior citizen setting up a phone for a senior citizen…what could go wrong???). But I called customer service and the rep that helped me was amazing. Patient and knowledgable and even emailed me pictures of what things should look like along the way. She made sure I knew how to add names and pictures to the phone and even offered to do it for me if I emailed her the pictures. I’ve called a few times with questions and I reach a human being quickly and they always know the answer to my questions. Customer service of the highest caliber. So far the only downside is that when the phone is in the case the volume of the ringtone is very low and my Dad doesn’t always hear it. I’ve called customer service and they told me that I have to be near the phone to adjust the volume, so the next time I am there I will give them a call. The RAZ is the absolute perfect cell phone for any senior but especially one who has impaired mental capabilities.
Katri McLendon –
My 92 year old father loves this phone. I love not worrying that someone is scamming him over the phone. He loves showing it off to his friends at the retirement community. I love not spending hours trying to talk him through getting him back on his phone. He loves not calling the wrong person because he touched the wrong line in his contacts. I love updating new phone numbers for his contacts without having to have his phone in hand. For us it’s a win/win/win.