Hooked on Phonics Learning Reviews

by Mememememe6969

This is a nightmare, I thought I canceled months ago, but just realized I’m still being charged. I tried to log into HookedonPhonicsLearning , it takes me to safari to log in, but I can’t because I only ever had a temporary password as I cancelled it the first time I logged in. I request a password reset over and over, never get an email. I request in HookedonPhonicsLearning for a new password, they send me an email, then say I successfully changed my password, but then my password doesn’t work and I can’t log in to cancel, again! HookedonPhonicsLearning is a joke, it’s so poorly designed, and they are clearly counting on you forgetting to cancel, or not noticing that they keep charging you. Trash people with a trash app.

by Taylor-Made Ministries

I taught two children to read using the older version. this new version is horrible. The upload is too slow to keep the attention of the children. I have given it some time and still cannot identify a path or how to determine when you have completed an area. They have sections but those have not as helpful as the outline path of the previous version. I realize there may be some aversion to change. But I am pretty adaptable if the change is greater than what was. This is all over the place and is taking longer for the children to learn to read. No stars.

by Suaside1

We have been having issues with trying to log into the account and have tried many times to get a hold of someone to speak with and resolve this issue.

I have called your number, but an automated message just comes on saying that due to a high volume of calls, my only option is to leave a message. After calling numerous times, at different times of the day, because I wanted to speak with a live person, this message always comes on and no one ever answers the phone. I finally gave up and left a message and to this day have not received a call back.

We were only able to use this program maybe twice, before we started having issues, even though payment was still taken from my account. I now wish to CANCEL this subscription, effective immediately and I am so disappointed that I ever gave this program a chance.

by Rwandrw

This USED to be amazing, BUT the program was rewritten and now it makes no sense, follows no discernible pattern, and our second child is getting almost nothing from it and does not stay engaged like he did with the previous version. Then is for some reason it gets deleted (Oh I am sure your child would not do that) you lose your account information as to payments and plans. Hours and hours multiple phone calls & Emails to get it back only to have to do it again because a little brother deleted it. I don’t have the time or energy to work to get the program back and am looking for a new one that works

by Hmacnski

I’m a homeschool mom, my first daughter learned to read using your program I have all the sets and for a reward that would get to use HookedonPhonicsLearning that went along with the books and was super excited to learn to read. Now that my other daughter is learning to read with the physical books she doesn’t get to use HookedonPhonicsLearning because it’s too baby-ish and doesn’t look like the books anymore or easy to use. They loved the part where they earned trophies and extra books to read on it. Wish you would give the option to use the old app or new one for others. Disappointing. I’m going to have to find another reading program to buy now to use for my other daughter.

by Emily0081

I figured I would try it since it was only $1 for the first month and she’s going to be doing complete remote learning her kindergarten year, which I’m very nervous about. But I had doubts because my daughter is very much into her phone and playing Roblox and other stuff on it, so learning games never hold her interest. And I was right when it came to this one. Unless I forced her to sit and do it she has no interest whatsoever. And I don’t want her to end up hating the learning process. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it this year and make sure she learns everything she needs to. I’m terrified. But I think for kids who don’t already spend hours a day behind a phone or tablet (yeah I’m a bad parent I know) I do think your kid would benefit!!!

by Jellybean898

It’s a good app but there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement. I really wish “aw” would be added to it because my son really struggled with “aw” words (saw, jaw) when we were doing sight words without HookedonPhonicsLearning . I wish you had to make the kids speak the words before they moved on. Because he can just click right through them. So I really have to be right on top of him when he’s doing this otherwise he’s not getting anything out of it. If my Spanish app requires me to say things in Spanish before I move on then there’s no reason why it can’t be on HookedonPhonicsLearning too. It’s an okay app. Just really needs a bit more tlc.

by LaynaStar

Before pre-k my son had already mastered the alphabet and phonics so I was excited to try this with him to challenge him to learn more. The lessons are good but since there is little to no variety he races thru it to get finished. They do get harder as far as words go but there is zero challenge in the lessons. And it is literally the same set of lessons over and over just with different word families. I do appreciate that the lessons build up and continue using words he has already practiced. But PLEASE add some variety to the lessons so young readers stay engaged and have something new to look forward too.

by MomSaysWhat?!

My daughter just started the “Learn to read” program & was so proud to get to the end of the unit reading words that end in -an.
Hooked on phonics spends the unit (and every subsequent unit) using the simple lowercase “a” shape (the one that my phone won’t let me type apparently, but we write as a circle with a line backbone), and then in the end of unit book the program switches to the fancy type lowercase “a” (as typed here). After spending a unit identifying the shape of lowercase a’s go switch to a new shape of a with jo introduction is rough on a new reader. The end of unit books could use more support in general- it’s unclear if the expectation is that she can independently read them or if she’s meant to listen to them as watch the words highlight as a means of reinforcement.

by Vvvroom

My kids definitely enjoy it but it’s unnecessarily slow at times. For example, we hate the shopping cart with the meerkat because it goes back to the initial spot each time the correct word is chosen. It drags and my kids just hate it and they’re bored. We wish there was a fast forward button. Please consider taking out some gratuitous actions or several speed options. Also, it’ll be nice to have an option to skip some lessons if needed. My oldest son should be starting at level 9 or 10, but this doesn’t give you the option at all. You would have to go through from level 1 and do every single activity. It’s too easy for him. I wish we can choose which level to start. Overall great, but not versatile and even frustrating at times.

by MRHambrick

My 3 year old has been using HookedonPhonicsLearning for a few months and it (along with our phonics work-practice if individual letter sounds) is helping her start to blend. The lessons progress well by teaching kids word families. The one area I would improve is the pronunciation of the short letter sounds. I would remove the “uh” sound from letters like /b/ /c/ /p/ /h/ etc. I think the “uh” sound makes it more difficult for kids to blend as they progress in their reading development.

by Jamiemclev

We have so enjoyed watching our now almost-5 year old son become a reader during quarantine using only HookedonPhonicsLearning and the related practice packs mailed to us. He went from reading words like ‘cat’ and ‘mat’ in March to reading full stories from our shelf, and he is loving the freedom it gives him to explore books in a new way. We have used the program inconsistently over the last 5 months depending on our family’s bandwidth, but it has been easy to move at our own pace and review areas where my son was not quite confident by revisiting sections of HookedonPhonicsLearning . He loves the songs (and so does his little bro), and they like the silly animals and their antics, particularly the rhino on the bulldozer and the strange but funny meerkat. There was a period where we saw problems with HookedonPhonicsLearning loading, and we reached out to customer service and they told us the developer team was working on it. This most recent update fixed any issues we were having and all seems to be in order. We can’t wait to finish the program as we start homeschooling more officially in September! We’re on the beginning of first grade now, so it won’t be long!

by Emmles14

My son was behind in reading and it was a struggle trying to teach him myself. But after just 1 week of doing the Hooked on Phonics lessons, I saw such a huge improvement!! I love the way the program is structured and how they make it fun for the kids. It’s been a month now and I am so proud of how far my son has come. I’m a huge believer in Hooked on Phonics and recommend it to anyone!!!

by Pimpinsan

My five year old son had been in “Phonics” after school class two times a week for a few months for just 30 mins each session. I found that he was making very little progress and the activities he was doing did not hold his attention. Then after his school shut down due to COVID in April, I got him all sorts of learning books in order to prepare him for Kindergarten. He wasn’t too much interested in those. I decided to download the Hooked on Phonics app since it was just $1 for the first month. Let me tell you, I was a bit skeptical at first about the claims they were making that my son would be reading in a month. But to my amazement within three weeks he was reading. Now he’s reading everything and is definitely ready for Kindergarten and I couldn’t be happier. I must admit that some of the reviews almost made me not give HookedonPhonicsLearning a try, but I’m glad I did. Thank you Hooked on Phonics.

by Eichelbergerveronica

Myself and my 5 yr old daughter have been using HOP for a week now, ONE WEEK!, and she can now read 4 books!!! She’s doing incredibly with this program. She does her lessons on the HOP app and she uses it along with the workbook and practices until she gets it right. I’ve struggled all year to teach her to read and in one week she can now read 4 books! Thank you Hooked on Phonics!

by GraceColler

My eldest child is gifted and my younger possibly struggles with dyslexia. HOP has worked wonders for both children. My first child was completely independent with it back when it came in CD form and she taught herself to read at the age of 3! My son who is 6.5 and is struggling is not fighting the lessons and is delighted by the online content. I can’t say enough for this wonderful app. Worth the money any day of the week.

by KnittingsmyBag-Lois

I started Hooked on Phonics with my granddaughter when she was 3 years old. We actually started because I care for her 8 hours a day and I didn’t want her watching television all the time. It was really just something to do but low and behold the child learned to read. I have to admit that now she is 4 HookedonPhonicsLearning doesn’t appeal to her anymore but she still loves the notebooks and reading books. I photocopy the pages in the workbooks so she can do them over and over again. It is a wonderful program. Just go at your own pace with no expectations and you will see something wonderful happen.

by 0x294

UPDATE: I think as long as you keep your subscription current, the progress is saved. Personally, I prefer to manually update my subscriptions month to month (sometimes letting them expire for a short time) to ensure I don’t pay for ones I no longer use. In any case, HookedonPhonicsLearning works well and has helped my four-year-old develop independent reading very early, and I’m especially happy to see the introduction of a spelling program.

I want to love HookedonPhonicsLearning as its method really is helping my kid learn to read, but it’s SOOO buggy when it comes to remembering/saving my kid’s progress. He’s had to do the same lesson 5 times and HookedonPhonicsLearning refuses to acknowledge he’s completed it.

by CrysG24

People! Listen up! This is by far the BEST way to build literacy skills! I’m a 90s baby and I grew up on Hooked on Phonics. Now I get to share the same experience with my child! This platform is incredible to use, my son is 5 and has developed phonemic awareness, letter recognition and can write! Through the use of HOP, he has developed a love for literacy and that is a mother’s DREAM! Additionally, I made a goof in my account and called the customer support team for help. Ryan Roberson was AWESOME and even took the time to understand my child’s needs on a personal level. He went above and beyond to fix my issue and showed incredible pride in the company. Give him a raise! Parents, don’t hesitate. Be the teacher your child needs and take the stress out of homeschool! Subscribe to Hooked on Phonics ASAP! It’s worth it!

by Childofalliance

My Dad used Hooked on Phonics when I struggled with reading growing up so when my own children started having problems I found an old cassette tape and book set and tried it out. They enjoyed it, but one of our kids has a hard time with Times New Roman font so I reached out the company to ask about the new app and book set. The customer service rep was not sure about which typeface the new system used but offered us a trial run for $1 of app and books.

The new system has larger more adaptive font with more spacing between the lines as well. We love that the books are used in different ways on HookedonPhonicsLearning so we can reinforce what our kids are doing independently. Now both have the ability to read and we are continuing to work on fluency and confidence.

Thank you Hooked on Phonics for helping a second generation of readers in my family.

by Saddenend

**Just be sure whatever discounts you see listed from Hooked On Phonics (especially for HookedonPhonicsLearning ) you purchase from the website and not from iTunes or google play. We just learned the hard way the pricing is different! Online/app unlimited lifetime via the website price is listed the same through I tunes however I tunes charges it per year. Just don’t want others to have to pay more for a program that does work when they don’t have to. Especially since we didn’t realize the pricing was different.

by Azmo99

I purchased the lifetime subscription a year ago and it showed up as a yearly subscription on the receipt of the initial purchase. When I called Apple to inquire at the time and confirm I purchased a lifetime subscription, they said yes. Now all of a sudden my subscription converted to monthly without authorization and I have been charged $6.99 for the last two months for HookedonPhonicsLearning . Not happy, as my kids love HookedonPhonicsLearning and we have the complete program, but I refuse to pay again for something I should have had in the first place. The lifetime subscription is not true to its name.

by Hitchhikermike

I paid $50+ for HookedonPhonicsLearning unlocks a few years ago and since that have been utterly unable to access what I paid for. Now they are on a subscription model and it doesn’t look like I can get ANYTHING that I already paid (ahem) TOO much for. What are you guys doing? I’ve supported your company for decades- this is NOT how you treat digital customers. There’s a reason why your App Store ratings are so low...

by 4DTrini

My son used to play this on my iPad so much. We just tried to play it and now it’s not working. $49 that’s almost $50 for something that’s not working anymore‼️⁉️. It’s summer time and he needs activities with high educational levels. I need this to work again or I want my $50 back now ! What kind of scam is this ! ❗️?‼️⁉️ When we went into it , it’s asking for us to pay for everything all over again❗️ ! What is going on here ! This is thievery ! I will not pay another $50 for this again.! Please help me ! I WANT HOOKED ON PHONICS TO WORK OR I WANT MY $49 BACK ! THIEVES ! THIEVES !‼️‼️‼️
It has been some months since we used it but, I shouldn’t have to pay $50 again...come on are you kidding me❗️
HELP❗️❗️YOU THIEVES!
I’ve never had to login before...what is this⁉️
Money or app

by Steph55599

I have not used HookedonPhonicsLearning in quite awhile but remember It was the one time charge of $49. Did they do away with that option? I’d love to be able to access the same features that I previously had. I just have a serious issue with paying an additional monthly fee for what I “should” have lifetimes rights anyway. Sorry if I’m confused about something. Also, did there use to a separate classroom version?

by Nana@&12

HookedonPhonicsLearning is great. But since I updated today. When I played unit 1(yellow) there are 3 lessons inside. In the lesson 3, there are helper words. At beginning it had sound, but it showed black screen, I got back , tried to get in , it had no found , no video. HookedonPhonicsLearning has something wrong after update. And my phone is a new phone !would you fix it , please !

by OrdinaryJane

On every device we have I have to log in multiple times to keep the kids playing. It’s so bad that the program is not usable. It is beyond me why this has not been corrected by the developer. Our family signed up for a year. Big waste of time and money. I like the hooked on phonics resources but the poor functionality destroys the product.

by Letiwheeler201"

I have iPhone XR and cannot use HookedonPhonicsLearning. All it tells me is “wait for current download before “ doing anything on HookedonPhonicsLearning . I was able to access the reading library yesterday and that’s it. It won’t work. This is completely ridiculous given the price for the subscription.

by Kdub157

It’s a decent app, however it seems like for every 5 minutes of learning, there is a minute of an intro for the big reading show, over and over. We got it, big reading show. Why do we need to watch the same intro when that time could be spent actually learning something?

by LovingYourselfIsKey

My youngest son loves the songs and enjoys learning via HookedonPhonicsLearning . However, on one of the lessons (the girl with her tongue out of her mouth), he is unable to see the words. Since he cannot see the words, he has guess which person has the word in front of them. He taps on each person until he gets it right. Other than that, it is a great way for my 5 year old to learn. If you all could fix that issue, we would greatly appreciate it!

by Bluster Tart

They have added the reading show since I originally bought this about 10 years ago which was great for my third kid. The levels are gradual enough for the kids not to freak when the words get bigger. It reinforces the sounds over and over with cute little games. Perfect for pre-k kids that are learning letters and sounds, and seamlessly mov3 on to reading simple words phonetically. Highly recommend. Every one of my kids begged for hooked on phonics time each day!

by Hemicat

I think this is the 5th reading app we've tried for our 5yo, even a couple more expensive subscription apps, but it's the first one she's loved where she asks to play! It is really intuitive and even our 2.5yo can play it. HookedonPhonicsLearning works faster and with less bugs than some of the others. Downloading HookedonPhonicsLearning was slow and downloading content is a bit awkward but still it's by far the best program we've found!

by This Be The Gamer Guy

I am now 10 and used this when I was about 4 and loved it! I am now in accelerated reading in my school and am one of the top readers in my school! I would be in normal classes without HookedonPhonicsLearning! I recommend this to anyone that has a kid (like myself) that is struggling with reading or doesn’t like it. (I no longer struggle but that is because of HookedonPhonicsLearning)
Best (non gaming) app ever!

by I Love High5!

The hooked on phonics app is great! I recommend it to everyone because the little games and videos are really engaging. The achievement section sets goals and there are SO many ebooks included. My daughter loves playing every night and I’ve seen such a huge improvement in her interest in reading and her reading skills. The subscription options are well worth it. Hooked on phonics has been around since I was a little girl and it’s still just as great. I had a problem with HookedonPhonicsLearning once and customer support was pretty helpful and attentive too.

by Lollie74

I downloaded HookedonPhonicsLearning in May of 2013. My son was around 20 months at the time and it was a free Mother’s Day download. He played and played with it. Even when other apps didn’t keep his attention, this one did. I don’t know if it’s the reason he started pre-school reading on a first grade level, but I believe it had a lot to do with that. He wasn’t the kid that liked to sit still for books to be read to him so I cannot take the credit. I have advised many of my friends to purchase or download HookedonPhonicsLearning for that reason. Thanks so much for helping my now 7 year old to read. ❤️