Samsung T301G

I’m in the process of putting together all of my info about this phone, and I’ll update this page with links to the info as it’s published.

To find out if this phone is available in your area, click here.

For my Samsung T301G Review, Part 1, click here.

For my Samsung T301G Review, Part 2, click here.

For my Samsung T301G Review, Part 3, click here.

For my pictures of the Samsung T301G, click here.

I’ve also posted the photo below to prove that the phone does indeed include double minutes for life, as shown on the package. At the time that I placed my order, the “phone details” page was not showing that DMFL was included with this phone. The packaging on my phone obviously indicates otherwise, and the details on TracFone’s site have now been updated to display the correct info.

Samsung T301G includes Double Minutes For Life

Samsung T301G includes Double Minutes For Life

48 thoughts on “Samsung T301G”

  1. Fantastic. A comprehensive review of the T301g from someone who also has an LG 600g was exactly what I was hoping for, so look forward to the updates. I currently use an LG 225 but am considering upgrading to either a 600g or a T301g.

    Photo caller ID- is it limited to photos taken with the phone itself, or can you assign *any* photo on the phone to a contact (such as photos from MMS or Bluetooth)? Same question for the 600g, I suppose.

    In terms of advantages and disadvantages, how do the T301g and the 600g compare to each other? Battery life? Assuming they’re on the same network, signal strength and call quality? Screen quality? Camera quality (not just the pixel count)? Bluetooth capabilities? Features?

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  2. Oh, one more question. Does the calendar/scheduler app on either the T301g or the 600g let you set it so that the phone automatically switches to vibrate during an event. I really like how my old VM Marbl could automatically go on vibrate during classes, without me having to remember to do that.

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  3. I am so excited! This is going 2 be my first cell and I was going 2 get the Motorola 376 but then I saw this slider. I just knew this was the phone! I am getting it for my birthday and I was so excited 2 find out about the double minutes for life because I was going 2 have 2 buy the $50 DMFL card. Thank you for such detailed reviews!

    Reply ↓

  4. Thank you for what you do. I couldn’t wait to read about the Samsung T301G. I am considering getting it but I have a few questions.

    Does the Samsung T301G allow you to set the type of ringtone that you want for text messages as the Motorola 376 does? How does the Samsung T301G let you know that you have a text message? Just curious because the Motorola 376 has the blue flashing envelope.

    Reply ↓

  5. Pingback: Samsung T301G Review - Pictures « Pbushx2’s Weblog

  6. So far the only thing I don’t like about the Samsung 301
    over the Motorola 376 is the reception in fringe areas. In one location the Motorola will pick up in certain places inside the house, but with the Samsung I have to drive about a mile and a half down the road before it will pick up at all.
    Aren’t both of these GSM phones and do they use the same networks? Samsung says no outside antennas, but is there anything that can be done to improve reception?

    Reply ↓

    • Jerry – thanks for sharing that experience. I haven’t come across enough fringe areas to really test this, so that’s good to know and I’ll incorporate it into my reviews. Both phones use the same network, but probably have different quality radios and internal antennas. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any way to improve reception with the T301G.

      Reply ↓

    • Does your Samsung 301 allow you to choose the ringtone that you want for text messaging?

      How does the screen display you have a text message?

      Thanks

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      • You can choose from just four pre-loaded message alert tones. As far as I can tell, you cannot load custom tones for text messages.
        When you receive a new text message, the screen will say “# new message(s).” If you clear that message without reading the messages, you’ll still have a little message icon at the top of the screen reminding you that there are unread messages.

        Reply ↓

  7. Does Tracfone support the web browser feature of the T301G?
    I read somewhere that you can only access the tracfone website.
    That wouldn’t be of much use.

    Is Tracfone a reseller purchasing time from AT&T and/or other providers and then selling it to their customers? Is the T301G only sold in AT&T areas?

    Thanks

    Reply ↓

    • Yes, the wrb browser is limited to just the Tracfone website, and indeed it isn’t very useful.

      Yes, Tracfone is what’s called an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), meaning that they rent time on someone else’s network and resell it to customers. Note that while most prepaid providers have poor coverage compared to contract service, that is NOT the case with Tracfone or Net10.

      Reply ↓

      • You can indeed access other sites via the TracFone browser, but you don’t do it by pushing the “broweer” button. Use the BROWSER section of the menu and choose “Enter URL”.

        Reply ↓

  8. Pingback: TracFone to Offer New Samsung Models - T301G, T201G, T101G « Pbushx2’s Weblog

    • The jury is still out on that somewhat, but I haven’t noticed any major drop-off compared to the w376g, which is excellent at picking up a signal.

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  10. my 600G tends to go into sleep mode and wont make calls if i open it up and dial, it will dial and instantly drop the call or say emergency calls only…so I’m looking for a new phone, currently i have a net10 LG600G and the reception and signal quality is HORRIBLE. I need a phone that has VERY good reception…and it needs to be a net10 phone. any suggestions, its its a flip phone it needs to have a screen on the front that shows who is calling.

    thanks!

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    • Tom, I think that the T301G will be coming out for Net10 sometime, though I have no idea when. Also, the Motorola EM326g (or something like that) is also supposed to be coming out on either Net10, TRacFone, or both, but I don’t know when that will be either. Both of those models are sliders, so they will show you who is calling without you opening the phone. And the T301g reception is at least as good as the 600g, in my fairly limited testing. As for the Motorola, I’m hoping it will be at least as good as the w375/76/77 series, which is quite good.

      Reply ↓

      • I love the new phone, but can get a signal to save my life. I’ve been on the phone almost daily with TracFone for 2 weeks and still nothing. My old Motorola C139 got perfect reception. This one, next to nothing. I’m ripping my hair out!

        Reply ↓

  11. Your guide helped me greatly in deciding whether to buy the T301G or not. I decided to buy it maybe a week ago and so far I have not had any real problems. A question though: I’m assuming T9 is avaliable on this model, but how do you enable it when texting? My old tracfone had the T9 feature so it slightly bothers me only because I’m so used to T9. If there’s no way of enabling in, I’m pretty sure I’ll live, but I figured I’d ask.

    Reply ↓

    • Lauren – T9 is definitely available on this model. I use it on my own T301g.
      To enable it, when in text entry mode, press and hold the * key. After a few seconds, the “abc” in the upper right corner will turn to “T9 abc”
      As an aside, you can do the same thing in the calendar and alarm modes and, I think, in the new contact entry mode.

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  12. Can someone clear up a question I have. Does the T301G have a 1.3MP camera or a VGA camera? I’ve googled reviews and some say it’s VGA and others that it’s 1.3MP. I haven’t seen one in store yet, but I plan to today, if for nothing else but to get this cleared up. I figured if it’s 1.3, it should be definitely and prominently advertised on the package.

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  14. Marie –

    I don’t think that the C139 has much better reception than the t301g, if at all. That leads me to believe the issue might be with the SIM card within your T301g, not the phone itself. Did you read my two most recent posts about SIM cards and how they affect the performance of your phone?

    http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/tracfone-and-net10-sim-card-info/

    http://pbush14.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/more-tracfone-and-net10-sim-card-info/

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    • Just an update – Customer Escalations sent me a new T301G to try. It does get a better signal (even though it’s not working now), and has a much longer battery life than the original, but still no signal at or near my home. I looked up the T-Mobile reception areas in my city and found I am located in a close to dead area for T-Mobile so may just have to live with no signal at home. HOWEVER, I have had no phone service since receiving the new phone. As soon as the replacement phone arrived, I tried to activate it on line but my account was disabled so I had to call the dreaded customer service to try and activate the new phone. I explained to the woman that I had a defective phone, received the replacement and wanted to move the phone number and minutes to the new phone. She said “I can move your phone number but none of the 2330.50 minutes”. I explained again that did not make sense since the original phone was defective and it should be an even swap. Same answer – “zero minutes will transfer”, so I said I would call someone else on Tuesday 9/8/09. The phone number was transferred and SOME of the minutes DID get transferred, but since then I have not been able to make or receive calls. When I call my Tracfone from a landline, I get a message saying the subscriber has not set up voicemail, and when I try to make calls from my TracFone I get a message saying “T-Mobile, say English for English…” Now they are telling me I need a new SIM card. I HOPE I don’t have to go through hours upon hours on the phone again after I get the new SIM card to get my phone working. IF I do, I will be going directly to Customer Escalations… This is crazy. Up until this incredibly frustrating experience, I always had good luck with TracFone and would have recommneded them to others. If this had been my first TracFone experience, I NEVER would have used them again.

      Reply ↓

    • I posted this in Support Follow-up, but thought it belonged here – so here it is.
      TracFone sent me a new SIM card for my T301G. The original SIM card was a T-Mobile, and I could not get a signal in or anywhere near my home. The new card is AT&T and has worked perfectly everywhere. Much thanks for posting the info on SIM cards.
      For the most part, I LOVE the phone, except for the browser button. WAY too easy to hit accidentally, and I have done it about a dozen times.

      Reply ↓

  15. I too had problems with Tracfone T301G reception in my home area. Could not make or receive calls and no signal. After 4 1/2 hours of troubleshooting with a Tracfone Customer service rep they discovered my phone was not compatible with my area. They said they’d send a new phone that had better Technology (?). What they’re actually sending I found out tonight is a new SIM card for better coverage. I’m taking a wait and see approach.

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  18. Bradley, the t301g DOES allow web browsing, but only to TracFone’s allowed sites. that list of allowed sites recently grew by quite a bit, and now includes gmail, yahoo, hotmail, myspace, twitter, and facebook (through FB’s mobile site), among others. You’ll only be able to see “mobile” sites, though, not full HTML sites like you can view on a regular computer.

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  19. I just ordered this fone yesterday.

    And i was wondering can you put music ring tones on it, like you can with the Motorola EM326g?

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  20. Does this phone let you assign a different ringtone to each contact? Because I bought a tracfone for my mom over a year ago and people are STILL calling it for the previous user of that number.

    I was hoping change my settings to a super brief ringtone, like a single beep and then assign a normal ringtone like a song to all the contacts in the address book. I would really appreciate your help!

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  21. i am thinking about getting this phone becuase it would be a nice upgrade from my motorola W376g. my current phone looks so old and out of style. anyway, i’ve been reading a lot of stuff about not having service at home, which would NOT work for me. i text all night long. my current phone works perfectly at my house. will an upgrade to the samsung T301g make a difference??

    Reply ↓

  22. Just got a Samsung T301G Tracfone. I tried to use it at my son’s house and there was no signal. I had my old Verizon cell and it had 5 bars. My son has a ATT and he had 5 bars.
    Spent a few hours with customer service and they had me put differt code in the phone. I asked for the supervisor and he also had me put codes in phone. My phone was inoperatible and the banner read Jan 1. He is sending me a new SIM Card. I turned on phone next day and it works ok but coverage still sucks.
    The SIM Cards different in that they search first for Verizon, ATT, etc, signal.
    Thanks, Jim C.

    Reply ↓

  23. I’ve got a Samsung T301G thru Tracfone. Are SIM CARDS different in that they search first for a Verizon or ATT or T-Mobile signal first?
    My coverage sucks at home but my old Verizon cell had 5 bars.
    Do different SIM Cards make a difference in signal reception?
    Thanks!

    Reply ↓

  24. hi,
    just wondeing if there is a text to email functionality with the t301g tracfone…so far is have been unable to accomplish this…if the answer is yes, pls step me through it…tks in advance, tim in texas

    Reply ↓

  25. I started out the Summer with the 326g. Lost it in the Rockies some where. Bought another. My old Nokia could receive in places where this guy won’t even budge. Friend with an AT&T gets great pick up, while I can’t get a dial tone. Since some phone provider has given it’s users a special case to improve reception will Motorola do the same?

    Reply ↓

  26. Pingback: Samsung t301g Review | Prepaid Phone Guy

  28. Hi,

    First, many thanks for all the excellent work you’ve done to make sense of the most confusing part of the tech revolution. You’ve literally saved my sanity with regard to understanding TracFone sim cards and how to get rational support for problems that should never be problems.

    I had to get a new T301G and now face the task of typing in my contacts again. I thought that a SIM card editor might do the trick and make life easier and so bought an Epraizer SIM card reader that came with software that seems to be a little buggy. When I try to write contacts to the SIM card, I get an error message that the card buffer is full and can’t be written to. I haven’t been able to overcome this and get it to work and wonder if you or any of your readers know of any mobile data management software that will work with this SIM card reader and let me get my contact list written to the SIM card???

    Thanks for any help or suggestions as to what might work.

    Reply ↓

    • Hi Bill
      I haven’t used the t301g in a while, so I don’t remember the bluetooth limitations. Is it possible to send/receive contacts via bluetooth on that model? It seems to me that you can. If so, that might be easier than messing around with the SIM card reader.
      Another thought might be to insert the new SIM into your phone, then create one contact as a placeholder. Then insert the new SIM into the reader and connect to your computer again. Maybe then you’ll be able to use the “placeholder” contact as an example, and cut-and-paste your real contacts following this example. Does this make sense?

      Reply ↓

  29. I just bought the Samsung T301G for my wife and myself.

    It has wonderful features, but a major frustration for me are the apparent severe limitations in entering text in one’s Contacts.

    For example, if you want to enter “ABC Industries” the best one can do is “Abc-industries,” or if you’d like to enter “John Smith, M.D.” the best one can do is “John Smith,m.d.”

    Is there a way to do what I want?

    Thanks in advacne for a helpful reply.

    WS

    Reply ↓

  31. Hello,

    I have the Samsung t1301g also. I was wondering if I can get an adapter to allow my 2.5 mm headset to fit into the Samsung phone?

    I didn’t realize it used a different type of headset connection. I am disabled and cannot use the one that came with it.

    Please advise.

    Thanks.

    Reply ↓

  32. Pingback: Samsung T301G review Part 1 | Pbushx2s Weblog

  33. Pingback: Samsung T301G now available from TracFone, Review Coming Soon | Pbushx2s Weblog

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