Pinwheel Plus 5 Kids Smartphone (Age 8-18) | First Month Free, No Activation Fees | Millions of Apps with 1,200+ Safety Ratings | Unlocked | Customizable Controls | No Social Media

We love the whole system around. Yes there are some apps that can get them to the internet, but you have the option to approve or decline the apps.

Phone works fine. The pinwheel app is deceiving. Yes, they do have a bunch of apps, however, what they don't tell you is that most of them are not "pinwheel approved". My child was able to bypass 3 of the "approved" apps and gain access to the internet. Customer Service wanted a video of how it was done. I sent them 1 video and after a month finally heard back from them. When I called to inquire about the other 2 apps, they wanted me to send another video. If kids can figure it out maybe they need to hire one of them instead of having me send a video each time. They use a traffic light system which is helpful. Some of the apps are strange, like the lightbulb app and any of the gaming apps are for young children. I also wish they had a basic calendar app that doesn't have the potential to link to internet (IE:google) for upcoming events (practice, games. music lessons etc) to help them learn time management. I have no problem with the phone, works great. My issue is Pinwheel.

I would give pinwheel 0 stars if I could. After my daughter refused to use an android, I returned the phone and spent about an hour with tech support going through the steps I needed to go through to return and cancel the service (literally after 1 week of use). I just noticed they’ve been charging my credit card a monthly fee for the last year. Shame on me for not paying attention. I’ve reached out to them twice, but have gotten no response. I had to put a stop payment on my card to prevent this from continuing. This is just shady business, in my opinion.

Set up was easy, phone works great! I had to deal with customer service one time for an error on my part, and they were really good. The only thing I don’t like is certain apps aren’t even an option at all, you have to put a request to pinwheel that maybe they should add it.

If it's a younger pre teen it's good. Teenagers that are responsible, or gaining responsibilities, this is not for them... too restrictive.

The Pinwheel phone offers a user-friendly experience with its intuitive app and caregiver portal. However, the additional cost of the Pinwheel portal, coupled with the potential complexities of carrier compatibility, can significantly impact the overall value proposition. While the phone itself may function well (if you are able to utilize Android), the experience can be marred by issues related to carrier support and customer service. In our case, Mint Mobile's lack of familiarity with Pinwheel phones and their generally poor customer service exacerbated the problems we encountered. The most alarming incident, however, was the unauthorized access to my daughter's phone number, leading to the receipt of extremely explicit content. This security breach raises serious concerns about the phone's protection against potential vulnerabilities. Neither the cell phone carrier, nor Pinwheel cared to help - each blaming the other. The experience of the horrifying texts messages that my child received truly marred her resulting in HER asking for the phone to be returned and no longer asking for a device. It was truly a terrifying experience. Our attempts to leave a review for a Pinwheel phone in any other platforms where removed by Pinwheel so you will find it difficult to find an honest review of the phone anywhere. In conclusion, while the Pinwheel phone offers some convenience, the potential risks and frustrations associated with carrier compatibility and security issues make it a less desirable option for many users.

Perhaps a good option for a first phone , but limited in its ability to grow with your child. The list of available apps is decent, but there are also noteworthy exclusions. For example, if your child has a drone that requires the DJI Fly app, you are out of luck. The lack of social media apps is a mixed bag. I agree that for your children, most are toxic. Still, rather than an all or none approach, I would prefer the ability to control what apps they can use and then be able to monitor those. Same thing with web browsers which, as child gets older, become a necessary evil for school work. You simply do not even have the options which are offered by some competitors. Because it is Android based, child needs to have a Google account. Problem is that it can not be a family link managed account. You have to either create a new, unmanaged, over 13 account or claim child is 13 and remove from family plan. This becomes problematic if they already have Gmail. I do like that you are not tied to any one cell provider. The primary competitors tie you to their outrageously priced plans I am mostly satisfied with pinwheel for my 13 year old but, by the time 15 rolls around, I will likely need to find an alternative solution as Pinwheel's restrictions do not grow with your child.

Avoid. This is my second time giving pinwheel a shot. It still feels like it's in beta mode. Not as intuitive or refined as gabb for other alternative options. And good luck working with customer service. They are absolutely awful and create what feel s like purposeful hurdles to deter customers from leaving or reaching out.