Doro 7080 Problems

The Doro 7080, with its promise of a solid build and functional features, attracted many. For some, the phone lived up to its reputation, while for others, there were glaring challenges.

Pros:

1. Build and Design: The Doro 7080 boasts a solid build quality with satisfying flip mechanics. The volume buttons are robust, giving the user confidence in the product’s durability.
2. Audio: For its compact size, the audio quality from the in-built speaker is commendable.
3. Music Player: An added feature that many users appreciated is the shuffle and loop mode in the music player.

Cons:

1. Operating System: The device’s operating system appears to be its Achilles’ heel. There is a noticeable lag when apps are opened. In fact, this delay can sometimes mislead users into thinking they haven’t pressed the keys hard enough. The system does not clear memory effectively after closing apps, leading to further performance degradation.
2. App Performance with 4G: When 4G is enabled, using apps like WhatsApp or the Camera becomes a challenging task. The system often crashes, making multitasking nearly impossible. For instance, listening to music while typing on WhatsApp will cause the music player to crash.
3. Notification Challenges: A persistent green light blinks every 4 seconds upon receiving a notification. This can become particularly bothersome, especially during nighttime. The only solution is to manually check or remove the notification.
4. Display Brightness: Another point of contention is the screen’s minimum brightness setting, which many found excessively bright. Interestingly, the screen’s minimum brightness seems to outshine the flashlight.
5. Camera App Limitation: The camera app only supports the main camera. Users looking to take a selfie would need to go through WhatsApp.
6. Contact & Memory Issues: Some users reported the mysterious disappearance of contacts upon restarting the phone. Moreover, the device seems to have compatibility issues with certain SD cards, especially when playing MP3 files.
7. Music Player Quirks: The music player lacks folder organization, lumping all songs together. Crashes are frequent, and even after a crash, the music player icon stubbornly remains in the notification bar.

The aforementioned challenges have led some users to restart their phones multiple times a day, especially when they wish to listen to music. Despite these issues, the Doro 7080’s saving grace seems to be its compatibility with WhatsApp web, a feature that made it an attractive option for some. However, given the slew of issues, many have concluded that unless WhatsApp web is a priority, it might be best to explore other options.

In light of these problems, a few users have discussed potential alternatives. The Beafon SL880touch was mentioned as a similar device without the bugs reported in the Doro 7080. However, it’s essential to note that while these “dumbphones” may seem attractive, they may not be suitable for the elderly due to their complicated operations and small text display in apps like WhatsApp.

As a potential solution for some of the problems, third-party apps can be used to control notification LED behavior. While this may alleviate the notification light issue, it’s clear that the Doro 7080 needs a comprehensive software update to address the multiple challenges users face. Whether the company will release a much-needed patch remains to be seen.