Dumb phones/dumb electronics

[4RNR]

Anyone here have experience with or use dumb cell phones? My current phone is dying a little and im realizing that ive never really needed or used any of the features i pay for, so why continue? Ideally phone and text and enough storage for podcast to listen to at the gym if it can be transferred from pc to phone like the old ipods....if thats still a thing. Otherwise only need cell and text.

[Malamute]

Anyone here have experience with or use dumb cell phones? My current phone is dying a little and im realizing that ive never really needed or used any of the features i pay for, so why continue? Ideally phone and text and enough storage for podcast to listen to at the gym if it can be transferred from pc to phone like the old ipods....if thats still a thing. Otherwise only need cell and text.

Not sure how much of this may apply to you...

When verizon killed the 3 g network last december, my antique slider phone stopped working. I had zero desire for a smart phone, but they told me I HAD to get one and it wil double my monthly rate from 35-40/mo to 75-80/mo. They then said I could get a flip phone they provided, I said OK, sure, thinking of the older motorola flip phones. The one they provided was absolute and utter garbage. It didnt work reliably, was a huge PIA trying to figure out how to do stuff on it (I can generally figure stuff out) even after using it a couple months. It didnt have the same features a motorola flip phone had 20 years ago and was vastly harder to figure out how to do anything useful.

I finally looked at smart talk, they use verizon towers and seem to work everywhere verizon does but were half verizons monthly rate for similar service level, I could buy a basic smart phone (nokia, $40 at walmart over the counter) and have whatever presumed benefits of it if desired, and it was 35/mo including data.

The end price may not matter as much to many people. Some of us live a little closer to the edge and it does matter. Not a verizon fan after that experience. Oh, and they want to charge me for the phone they repeatedly told me was free, absolutely, totally, completely free, since id been a customer for 20+ years and not upgraded my phone through them in most of that time.

[SCCY Marshal]

Most dumb phones are running a full android operating system and have garbage battery life for that monstrosity running in the background. This market condition is not helped by ADHD consumerist Redditors having the most visible online presence where they want a full smartphone that folds. Or a slightly gimped smartphone to primarily use while also walking around with a back-up full NSA pocket screen for the moments the "dumb" phone just isn't squirting enough dopamine into their organ grinder monkey brains. If you want to carry a sheet of glass in your pocket, the Light Phone (thelightphone.com) is an option. The founders are mostly good about saying no to the public voices that want feature creep.

If your provider will work with one of the basic Nokia brick phones, that is one of your best bets; though they aren't as good as the older Nokia models. As much as I hate Microsoft, they did work with a Mennonite company to cook up an OS for the Sunbeam (sunbeamwireless.com) phones. Not as rugged as a Nokia brick but well regarded with several models depending on how much of a Luddite you want to be. While the ruggedized Kyocera flip phones look promising and have readily replaceable batteries behind a coin slotted screw, the operating system is full android with a glitchy user interface and very bad battery life but they can be stripped down in apps while still managing to run Signal if you want an encrypted text option and can take a good beating for a flipper. I'd call the Kyocera line a last resort.

And be prepared to stand your ground with the cell company staff. They will try to up-sell you on a smartphone. Just make it absolutely clear your are there to activate a dumbphone and they'll typically back off.

This post brought to you by a man who thinks that John C. Dvorak is correct - ideally don't have a cellphone, certainly don't ever carry one outside the house, and just have a landline (as much as a VOIP abomination as they currently are).

[4RNR]

Not sure how much of this may apply to you...

When verizon killed the 3 g network last december, my antique slider phone stopped working. I had zero desire for a smart phone, but they told me I HAD to get one and it wil double my monthly rate from 35-40/mo to 75-80/mo. They then said I could get a flip phone they provided, I said OK, sure, thinking of the older motorola flip phones. The one they provided was absolute and utter garbage. It didnt work reliably, was a huge PIA trying to figure out how to do stuff on it (I can generally figure stuff out) even after using it a couple months. It didnt have the same features a motorola flip phone had 20 years ago and was vastly harder to figure out how to do anything useful.

I finally looked at smart talk, they use verizon towers and seem to work everywhere verizon does but were half verizons monthly rate for similar service level, I could buy a basic smart phone (nokia, $40 at walmart over the counter) and have whatever presumed benefits of it if desired, and it was 35/mo including data.

The end price may not matter as much to many people. Some of us live a little closer to the edge and it does matter. Not a verizon fan after that experience. Oh, and they want to charge me for the phone they repeatedly told me was free, absolutely, totally, completely free, since id been a customer for 20+ years and not upgraded my phone through them in most of that time.

It kinda applies.

My monthly costs are $46 and change with Verizon unlimited everything, which is a pretty good deal. That being said i bought my own phone directly from the manufacturer and not a lease/rent/whatever through Verizon.

I was never a big techy guy and my phones were typically middle of the road $500-ish dollars but that became rather expensive when having to replace it every few years. The phone i bought last year was a Motorola stylus for $300, Had I bought the one without the pen (stylus) it would have been something like $150 - $200.

So it turns out I dont use the stylus nearly as much as i thought i would. Not $150 worth for sure. Theres been one or two times it was useful but nothing I couldnt have lived without. I had a check engine light come on and used the stylus to write down the code, could have done it on anything or just texted it to myself like before. Also, i dont really use any of the smart phone features that make a smart phone worth the money. I never had any social media, I have like 3 apps that weren't pre installed. The only pictures I take are usually reminders of something. Was upstate at a friends 2 months ago and had a really good beer Ive never heard of before so i took a pic for when i get home to remember what to look for. Theres some pics of my dog, some of food and some of targets. Mostly because i forget to erase them. I dont even always have the phone on me. Sometimes I leave it at home because I dont feel like carrying it around.

Really what I use the most none phone feature is podcasts, both at home and the gym, and once in a while GPS. I still have my old Garmin GPS and a tablet (this current phone if i get a new one) to listen to podcasts at home. So those two things are covered. Whats left is listening to something at the gym or in the car for longer trips. If theres a way to load that on a new none smart phone, or an mp3 player. A removable battery would be a plus!

[Dov]

Another big issue with any inexpensive Android phone, whether marketed as smartphone or dumbphone is it will have many unpatched security issues.

If you only use it for calls and texts you don't care about being intercepted then it probably doesn't matter a lot.

But if you store anything important on it or use it for any kind of money or security related function its a real bad idea.

Cheapest phones I can recommend without doing research are current Google brand Android phone ie Pixel line think 6A probably cheapest at memoment I'd recommend or iPhone SE. I have both of those.

[SCCY Marshal]

The Light Phone II has a GPS capability that works to varying degrees based on your location/service/desires and can run their podcast app. Plus a text-only e-ink screen like ebook readers.

[Malamute]

Another big issue with any inexpensive Android phone, whether marketed as smartphone or dumbphone is it will have many unpatched security issues.

If you only use it for calls and texts you don't care about being intercepted then it probably doesn't matter a lot.

But if you store anything important on it or use it for any kind of money or security related function its a real bad idea.

Cheapest phones I can recommend without doing research are current Google brand Android phone ie Pixel line think 6A probably cheapest at memoment I'd recommend or iPhone SE. I have both of those.

I mainly use mine for text and talking, if a txt goes beyond a couple msgs Ill call, otherwise I like the "not requiring an immediate response" and not interrupting somebodys normal life nature of texting. People often laugh at me when my phone rings, I look at it, then put it back on my pocket. "Arent you going to answer that?" No, its not that important, Ill call them back later.

I dislike being quite as connected as I am, but with moms current condition I sort of need to be available. One reason I dont value smart phones that much is cell reception is so flaky where I live its really hard to justify paying much for something I have very limited ability to use, let alone desire. i have a land line since its most reliable at home.

I do zero personal stuff on a phone, though I found a couple ringtones I liked on my laptop then went and downloaded them on the phone. I think I have about 5 or 10 minutes of data use since march. I have fire tablets for things most use their phones for, I listen to radio stations that arent local, cruise the forums and stuff but never use them to log into anything, just cruise and look stuff up and find stuff to put me to sleep when I cant. I never registered them, they work fine, I dont do amazon things on them, so no need to register.

Guess I could pass for a luddite to many. I like the information age and modern widgets, just dont care to be plugged into it full time. It complements my other interests, but isnt my primary interest.

[camsdaddy]

For those wanting to just call and text would an old Apple product work for you? I am thinking an older iphone with notifications turn off and no email would be the same as dumbphone with the possibility if you wanted to turn on maps or something. With the phone in battery saver mode and fetch not on it should last a bit. With 3G being dead the simple smart phone isnt an option I dont think. One can get a plan with Straight talk or similar for less than $40 and then you have the option to use maps or something if you needed it.

I am dumb when it comes to tech but I find my moms android far more complicated and bloated than my iphone. I have iphone because my family has iphones.

[Malamute]

For those wanting to just call and text would an old Apple product work for you? I am thinking an older iphone with notifications turn off and no email would be the same as dumbphone with the possibility if you wanted to turn on maps or something. With the phone in battery saver mode and fetch not on it should last a bit. With 3G being dead the simple smart phone isnt an option I dont think. One can get a plan with Straight talk or similar for less than $40 and then you have the option to use maps or something if you needed it.

I am dumb when it comes to tech but I find my moms android far more complicated and bloated than my iphone. I have iphone because my family has iphones.

Its possible. Someone else may know.

Someone gave me their aunts old Iphone. I took it to a place to get it unlocked, they said they were not able to since it was locked with an account, and it was already too old. They said the closest place to get it unlocked was about 80 or 90 miles away in a very large city I had no interest in going to.

[TNK]

I use a Feature Phone (dumb phone) on Mint Mobile, which is now T-Mobile. It is a Nokia 225 that runs on 4G. I use it only for calls and text. I bought it online and unlocked from Nokia. When I first activated it on Mint Mobile, I had to purchase the Customer Service package for $25 per year and then talk to customer service agents in a not-so-pleasant voice to get them to make it work. They knew nothing of how to make a feature phone work. But a few tech tickets later I got it activated. The prepaid service was $20 per month (with taxes) for one year. I managed to renew it at this rate again for another year before T-Mobile gobbled up Mint Mobile. I expect to pay more next year when I renew, but I like the dumb phone, and, yes, sometimes I find myself out and about without it because I am from the 1970s when we were really on our own, and I do not see why we need to be connected all the time. But sometimes I need to call a tow truck for my old car and I have found the voice coverage okay for my area. Feature phones are more popular than one may think. They have a place in the scheme of things.

[FNFAN]

Another big issue with any inexpensive Android phone, whether marketed as smartphone or dumbphone is it will have many unpatched security issues.

If you only use it for calls and texts you don't care about being intercepted then it probably doesn't matter a lot.

But if you store anything important on it or use it for any kind of money or security related function its a real bad idea.

Cheapest phones I can recommend without doing research are current Google brand Android phone ie Pixel line think 6A probably cheapest at memoment I'd recommend or iPhone SE. I have both of those.

I would second the recommendation for iPhone SE. I converted to Apple after using the iPhone SE as the issued work phone. I use them as my personal phone and have another, virtually new SE that was a relative's. They're relatively cheap now adays and you can store a decent amount of music on the 32GB model. I usually stream most of my music though. I've been with Patriot Mobile for a couple of years and recommend them as well.

[Welder]

It may not fit exactly with what the OP needs because I don't know the cost of it, and with the caveat that I've got no personal experience with this model, if a person is looking for a ruggedized flip....you might want to check out the Sonim XP3plus. I'm a Sonim XP8 smartphone owner, and have been waiting on their XP10 to come out as a Verizon option, which it recently did, and I'll be switching to it. Sonims are used widely in government and heavy industry....my XP8's battery lasts literally for days. I can charge it on Mondays and Thursdays even after owning it for 3 years. The battery is removable, too. The phone itself is ruggedized; I've destroyed three iphones in Otterboxes with long-distance falls to concrete from manlifts, etc, and I've had no problems with the Sonim. My only complaint with the XP8 is the camera (quality is crap), and that's why I'm making the move to the XP10. The XP8 is also heavy, and I expect the XP10 to be similar, but that's par for the course with the giant battery.

The guys in the Verizon store (and probably other carriers as well) don't even know that Sonims are an option; you have to teach them. Last time I was there, one of the employees walked up to me to ask what my phone was (they have a distinctive hump on one corner for the antenna), and like the others, he thought it was pretty cool but had never even heard of the company.

Anyways, it's unlike me to give glowing reviews of things, because honestly most things in my industry need work to be reliable or 100% useful. A lot of things, like iphones, that work for other people, simply can't hack it. So I'm a big Sonim fan, and if I needed to go back to a flip phone (I didn't own a smartphone until about 5 years ago), I'd absolutely give the Sonim version a try. :)

[4RNR]

Another big issue with any inexpensive Android phone, whether marketed as smartphone or dumbphone is it will have many unpatched security issues.

If you only use it for calls and texts you don't care about being intercepted then it probably doesn't matter a lot.

But if you store anything important on it or use it for any kind of money or security related function its a real bad idea.

Cheapest phones I can recommend without doing research are current Google brand Android phone ie Pixel line think 6A probably cheapest at memoment I'd recommend or iPhone SE. I have both of those.


I do not use any money or security related functions outside of my house. Im not sure what "security functions" mean but definitely dont use any financial functions outside of my home. I mostly still write checks and have paper billing.

Not sure how much i actually trust these calls or texts to really be secure. At least not in a way that matters. I believe it was Nissan that said they now store all your text massages, sent through the car app, for ever an ever with no option to delete or opt out. Sure probably no one is reading them in real time but they're not exactly secure between me and the person receiving the text.



I would second the recommendation for iPhone SE. I converted to Apple after using the iPhone SE as the issued work phone. I use them as my personal phone and have another, virtually new SE that was a relative's. They're relatively cheap now adays and you can store a decent amount of music on the 32GB model. I usually stream most of my music though. I've been with Patriot Mobile for a couple of years and recommend them as well.

I had a work issued iphone years ago, not sure on the model but they were much smaller. Didnt really care for it enough to go out and buy one. If its free its for me!!

Dont have a music library. Have not downloaded a song in probably 20+ years. The last time i dabbled in music like that Napster was still a thing! But I believe that was burning songs on CDs. I probably listen to 4 or 5 podcasts/shows/programs scattered over 2 apps. And not even to each podcast, just the more interesting sounding ones. Thats it. Thats 98% of my app/function/feature use. So i figure if its possible to load those onto a mp3 player then I really dont need a smartphone

[FNFAN]

Dont have a music library. Have not downloaded a song in probably 20+ years. The last time i dabbled in music like that Napster was still a thing! But I believe that was burning songs on CDs. I probably listen to 4 or 5 podcasts/shows/programs scattered over 2 apps. And not even to each podcast, just the more interesting sounding ones. Thats it. Thats 98% of my app/function/feature use. So i figure if its possible to load those onto a mp3 player then I really dont need a smartphone


The only dedicated MP3 player I've had is one of the micro Apple's about the same size as a 50cent piece. I find the people at TechRadar do a pretty good review. Here (https://www.techradar.com/news/best-mp3-players-techradars-guide-to-the-best-portable-music-players#section-the-best-mp3-player-overall)is their review. The #2 recommended Sony looks nice. You may find one you like more that is on Black Friday sale. Good Luck!