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Doro 6520: Plans | Pricing | Specs

Matt Sayer

Last updated: 12 September 2019

With a flip-phone design, easy-to-press buttons and a raft of accessibility features, the Doro 6520 is a simple alternative to the complexities of modern smartphones.

2.8 inches

Display size

240 x 320px

128MB

Internal storage

2 MP

Rear camera

800 mAh

Battery size

Finder rated as Average vs similar phones

Details

Display size	2.8 inches
Resolution	240 x 320
Pixels per inch (PPI)	143

Dimensions	104mm x 55mm x 19mm
Weight	105g

NFC	No
Wi-Fi	N/A
Network category speed	N/A

Headphone jack	Yes
Fingerprint sensor	No
Water resistance	N/A
Wireless charging	No

Launch price (RRP)	$119
Launch date	2012

Matt Sayer is a writer for Finder, covering all things technology and telecommunications. Along with reporting on events like CES and Mobile World Congress, he has produced comprehensive guides for popular products like smart speakers and graphics cards. He has a Bachelor of Computer Science from RMIT University and is passionate about helping Aussies leverage technology to better their lives.

Buy at ebay

British phone manufacturer Doro set about designing simple, affordable handsets that strip away all extraneous smartphone features and focus primarily on calling and texting. The Doro 6520 is one such handset. Pitched as an "Easy Phone", the 6520 incorporates a range of accessibility features that make it particularly well-suited for the elderly or those with disabilities that affect their dexterity and motor functions.

Design

Simple flip-phone design with large physical buttons for easy operation
Wide array of accessibility options for those who need them

Doro has revived the clamshell design of early 2000s mobile phones for the 6520, producing a handset that looks like it could have tumbled right out of a turn-of-the-century time capsule. But while it might not be quite as sleek as your average top-of-the-line smartphone, the 6520's compact size makes it easy to both hold and slip inside your pocket or bag while you're out and about. A soft-touch coating on the phone's back side provides extra grip, too, which should help prevent any nasty drops.
Core to the simple appeal of the Doro 6520 is its inclusion of a physical keypad rather than a touch interface. Large buttons on the bottom half of the phone provide quick access to call and camera functions, as well as handling menu navigation on the 2.8-inch non-touch screen located on the phone's top half. Screen resolution is a modest 320 x 240, but Doro's custom operating system includes a range of options for increasing text size and adjusting other display settings for folks with impaired vision.
Audio is another area where the Doro 6520 emphasises accessibility. The handset boasts full hearing aid compatibility (HAC) with a rating of T4/M4 and can amplify incoming voice calls by up to 35dB. Ringtone volume is also quite powerful, with a maximum output in excess of 83dB at distances of one metre.
The Doro 6520 comes with plenty of standard audio features, too, including MP3 playback, a built-in FM radio and a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting a pair of headphones. Alternatively, support for Bluetooth 2.1 means you can sync up a set of wireless headphones if you'd prefer. If you do plan on using the Doro 6520 as an entertainment device, you'll probably want to upgrade its built-in 128MB storage capacity with a microSD card. Just note that the 6520 only supports cards up to 32GB in size.
It's worth mentioning a couple of other valuable accessibility features the Doro 6520 brings to the table. First, there's the emergency assistance button located on the rear side of the phone's bottom half. When held down or pressed twice in succession, it sends out an SMS message to the people you've designated as emergency contacts. It then attempts to call them one by one, repeating this multiple times to maximise the chances of reaching help.
Another valuable assistance option is the In Case of Emergency (ICE) feature. This allows you to record important medical information into the 6520's memory such as any conditions you suffer from, any allergies you have and your blood type. In the event of an emergency, medical personnel can access this information quickly and easily even if you're not in a state to provide it.
One other factor to keep in mind with the Doro 6520 is its limited network capabilities. It can only connect to 3G networks rather than the faster 4G networks, though this has little practical impact on the quality of calls or texts. If you plan on using the 6520 for Internet use via its built-in web browser, you may notice significantly slower speeds over 3G, but to be fair, the 6520 isn't designed for heavy web browsing. That's all the more apparent given the 6520's lack of Wi-Fi network support.

Camera

The simple point-and-shoot 2MP camera should serve well enough for basic photography
You'll want to purchase a microSD card if you plan on taking a lot of photos or videos

Doro has equipped the 6520 with a single 2MP camera on the rear side of its top half. Like the rest of the phone's features, the camera is built for simplicity and accessibility, with a basic point-and-shoot interface absent the litany of configuration settings modern smartphones come packed with. You can adjust the digital zoom level and tweak the light sensitivity, but that's about it.
At 2MP, you'll likely find the Doro 6520's camera sufficient for basic photography and recording information you don't have time to write down. If you'd rather capture video, the 6520 supports that too, recording at a maximum resolution of 240 x 320.

Performance

Sufficient power for the simple tasks it's designed for
Limited internal storage caps the number of contacts it can hold

The clean, streamlined design of the Doro 6520 doesn't just make it easier to use. By stripping out the complex features of modern smartphones, the 6520 doesn't need the latest and greatest hardware to perform quickly and efficiently. Making calls, sending texts and viewing photos requires minimal processing power, which is critical since the 6520 only packs a 650MHz processor and 64MB of RAM. Still, for the simple tasks it's capable of, the 6520 should acquit itself well enough.
One area where the Doro 6520's low-powered hardware does hold it back is storage. Since it only includes 128MB out of the box, both the phone book and call log have hard caps on the number of entries they can store. Admittedly, these are fairly generous caps at 500 maximum contacts and 60 logged calls, but it's worth keeping in mind all the same.

Battery

Up to 8 hours of talk time, according to Doro
Battery can be removed and replaced if necessary

Just as paring back features reduces the amount of work the Doro 6520's processor has to do, so too does it reduce the strain on the phone's battery. Given that the 6520's battery weighs in at a svelte 800mAh compared to the 2,000mAh or higher most modern smartphones pack, this is vital. Fortunately, Doro's claims around battery life are quite promising, with the 6520 rated for up to 8 hours of talk time and up to 380 hours when left on standby.

Pricing and availability

Doro 6520

A phone with all the nonsense cut out

The Doro 6520 puts accessibility front and centre with its large physical buttons, simple menus and helpful emergency assistance features.

Buy at ebay

The Doro 6520 is currently only available through online retailers for around $120.

Doro 6520 specs

Display

Camera

Physical dimensions

Connectivity

Power, storage and battery

Device features

Display size	2.8 inches
Resolution	240 x 320
Pixels per inch (PPI)	143

Rear camera megapixels	2MP
Rear camera aperture size	N/A
Video recording	SD
Front camera megapixels	N/A
Front camera aperture size	N/A

Dimensions	104mm x 55mm x 19mm
Weight	105g

NFC	No
Wi-Fi	N/A
Network category speed	N/A

Processor	N/A
RAM	64MB
Operating system	Nucleus
Internal storage	128MB
External storage support	Up to 32GB
Battery capacity	800mAh

Headphone jack	Yes
Fingerprint sensor	No
Water resistance	N/A
Wireless charging	No

Compare SIM-only plans for the Doro 6520

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6 Comments

Liz
April 9, 2019

I have Doro 6520 phone for my sister in law, who is in a nursing home, to use to stop her from spending over $300 per month on calls. However I have been unable to put the Belong $10 per month sim into the phone and make it work. The Doro phone has been unlocked and I have tried to put in the validation codes I have been given from their support people. The screen is still coming up with SOS only. I have checked the sim in another phone and that is not the problem. Is the sim incompatible with the Doro 6520 phone? If not what do I do to enable phone calls to be made please?

Reply
- Staff
  
  Matt
  April 9, 2019
  
  Hi Liz,
  
  Thanks for your question. The Doro 6520 accepts Micro SIM cards, rather than the Nano SIM cards supported by most modern smartphones. It’s possible that your Belong SIM card is the Nano variety, which would explain why it’s not playing nice with your sister-in-law’s Doro 6520.
  
  If you find this is the case, you should be able to request a Micro version of your SIM card from Belong.
  
  Regards,
  
  Matt
  
  Reply
Terry
February 25, 2019

How do I connect a Doro 6520 to Telstra?

Reply
- Staff
  
  Jeni
  February 28, 2019
  
  Hi Terry,
  
  Thank you for getting in touch with Finder.
  
  So long that your Doro handset is not locked with a certain provider, you may insert your Telstra SIM card to connect your Doro handset with Telstra.
  
  I hope this helps.
  
  Thank you and have a wonderful day!
  
  Cheers,
  Jeni
  
  Reply
ian
January 13, 2019

If I buy a Doro 6520, can I use it using aldi prepaid vouchers?

Reply
- Staff
  
  Jeni
  January 16, 2019
  
  Hi Ian,
  
  Thank you for getting in touch with finder.
  
  Please note that AldiMobile’s prepaid vouchers are used with AldiMobile’s prepaid plans/products. If you click on the buy now green button on this page, you will then be redirected to eBay’s page to proceed with your online purchase.
  
  I hope this helps.
  
  Thank you and have a wonderful day!
  
  Cheers,
  Jeni
  
  Reply

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Doro 6520: Plans | Pricing | Specs