Phone 4 – No Social Media or Internet Browser, GPS Tracking, Parental Controls, Talk & Text, Kids Phone for Ages 9-13, Activation Fee and Gabb Plan Required – Black

Simple set up. Not too expensive. Love that kids can listen to music without actually getting onto the internet. Love that you can track locations. Phone cases are simple but cute.

This is my 11-year-old daughter's first phone. I only wanted something that had calling and texting. It's a plus that they have the weather apps and a music app and some other things which she loves. I read reviews saying that somebody took 7 hours to sign up. I'm pretty sure I sent this entire thing up in about 20 minutes. It was very easy. She's only had a few days but I am really hoping it continues to be as amazing as it has been so far.

I carefully considered all my options in getting my children their first phone for use as a mobile house phone. This one seemed like the perfect choice for our family. I wanted a smartphone for the location tracking for when my son was off in the neighborhood and so the kids could learn how to text the way the majority of us do (as opposed to using T9 on a flip phone), and I liked that this was incapable of scrolling apps or unfettered Internet access. This phone was at a good price for Christmas and offered a free month of service, so it seemed like a good time to make it happen. Right out of the box, after setting it up and picking a service plan, I knew this was a mistake. It functions like a bloated old phone that can’t handle updates. On top of that, you have the option as a parent to add some extra apps from the website, and every one I clicked on gave me an error message and didn’t load, which is for the best because the battery life is absolute trash. This phone, right out of the box and with no extra apps or pictures or videos and without any serious use, cannot hold a charge for more than a day, and then it takes hours to reach a full charge. We have to charge it overnight to make sure it gets a full charge. I’ve been charged already for the first month of service, even though they’re advertising a free month. I was able to switch from a two year contact to month-to-month (because I don’t see this phone lasting two years), and I spoke to a person when doing so. The only reason I’m not pushing to return it is because my kids love having a phone & I can’t afford a better phone right now, but I do feel scammed. I plan on getting a new older model iPhone or Android and utilizing parental controls and apps in the coming year.

I have researched a few of the top options for teens with cell phones, and I have found that this was the best option for our families needs and values. I am so glad we picked this phone, I am able to monitor everything and she is held accountable, knowing that a phone is a phone, used to communicate and take pictures, of course. Great value, excellent service from the company. The setup was so easy, even I could do it by myself. I’m not tech savvy at all.

The phone is so great for saftey for kids. We tried everything before getting a gabb phone. iPhones with parental locks, old flip phones, but this is the first phone my chile is safe on and jailbreak the settings. Also, customer service is prompt to help. Already have recommended this week to other parents.

So far so good other than several setup difficulties. The phone hotline was helpful to resolve those however. I do like the parental controls and the texting and calls seem to function well so far. We will see how this works for our 7 year old but overall seem good for the price.

We love that this phone gives our 12 year old the capability to communicate but doesn’t have access to internet since we don’t want that access for her yet. With the gabb phone we can track her and she has a way to text and talk with family and friends.

TL;DR Overall, Gabb devices are great for users with additional device control needs especially. May not suit some users, but if you're in the market, give Gabb a look and/or try! Just make sure to get the 4 Pro (more down below) Full review: Decent service, decent device overall, overs most of what the 4 Pro offers. No other company provides such robust, granular parental control. Similarities: Software: Android-based but heavily Gabb-altered (but not in a bad way, see next points) No Internet browser Contact-management defaults to user-managed and filters unknown contact messages/calls to requests tab Optional Parent-Approved contact mode blocks ALL contacts except parent approved Location tracking capabilities Plans: Starter: 25-30 pre-tax: NO picture/group msg (MMS), cloud storage for pictures/contacts, no other frills Standard: 30-35 pre-tax; adds MMS, Gabb Music Lite (explicit free radio-style music), more cloud storage Advanced: 35-50? pre-tax; switches to Gabb Music Plus (more typical customizable music player with same artist/song access), 3-10GB data, and additional cloud storage (Note: no 3rd party app support only essential apps) Key differences: Made by Nuu (not Samsung) Overall decent specs compared to the 4 Pro, that work decently well (didn't keep it long enough for deeper testing) Back finger print sensor as opposed to side button Plastic (and more cheap-feeling) build You can remove the battery (I heard someone was upset about the phone not turning on, then finding out they didn't put in the battery. At the time I kind of laughed, but when I actually got the phone, I can see why. The phone is surprisingly hefty without the battery. Not uncomfortably so, though Factory reset is allowed without calling tech support for a command to be sent to the phone first (unlike 4 Pro) Extra apps are limited the “essential” apps (which are like 10 I think?) even on the advanced plan Points to consider: Objectively overpriced as of Mar 2025 (less of the typical phone features, and often higher monthly than adding a line to an existing family plan. PLUS, 4 and 4 Pro plans are literally the same price with less features offered on the 4 Advanced plan) Not without quirks (examples: verification codes come through as requests, or not at all with Parent-Approved contacts mode; links don't work because there's no browser support; and many apps don't allow login because they require browser/Google account access) Significant lag more often than 4 Pro and more than typical Having owned both the 4 and 4 Pro, your extra $50 are dollars well-spent in getting the 4 Pro: it's more premium (Samsung is well-known and respected; who has ever heard of Nuu??), offers more flexibility and future-proofing (since the 4 Pro can add on apps IF desired, but the 4 CANNOT), and the plan pricing is the same for both anyway. People say that iPhones have more control as a parent and thus safer, but they're really easy to get around (I have experienced this with my 6yo). Samsung has Samsung Kids mode, which is much better, but it still allowed my son to download games from the Kids launcher, aside from ones I assigned. (At the moment, I use Bitdefender’s app lock, which requires my fingerprint for the browser and app stores, and this so far has fixed that issue). I recommend Gabb, 10/10 as long as none of the things mentioned above are a major deal breaker), but go with the 4 Pro (even if your kids are younger still but old enough to want a phone, since you don't have to add apps). Full Disclaimer: *former* customer of almost 1.5 years from Oct 2023 to Mar 2025 and *former* employee for 6 months during that time. We started with a Gabb Watch 3 which had some issues but with help, we were able to get it fixed. All in all, Gabb does a great job at keeping your kids out of places they shouldn't be. Naturally kids will find ways to get into what they shouldn't (GroupMe and Canvas are allowed and yet at one point kids could access Youtube videos somehow outside of what is shared on them).