I've been using 2-4 phones for different purposes the past 4 years. Sometimes it makes life incredibly chill, being semi-offline and having devices for certain purposes. Sometimes it's insane juggling so many phones lol.

Most of them are used old iPhones and cheap Androids.

I'm wondering:

1. what other people are running for their cheap, used, vintage smartphones that use multiple phones?? I know lots of people run the classic dumbphone + the smartphone at home.
2. How do you used them and why that phone in particular??

I'm starting to write an article on this and looking for inspiration, people to interview and maybe communities that are doing this together like "2nd phone meet ups."

Just passed the 6 month mark with my 902kc and overall it's been good to me. In the past week though it's suddenly gotten very laggy when opening/ closing (screen remains black or 'frozen' for a couple seconds) and the subdisplay isn't displaying. If I charge to 100% and force-restart the sudisplay will work for a little while, only to konk out again later in the day. The LED light hasn't had any issues.

I'm pretty disappointed because the subdisplay is one of the best parts of the phone. I haven't downloaded any new apps and as far as I'm aware nothing has updated that might cause this issue. I do use a keymapper that runs in the background, and sometimes maps via OrganicMaps but these don't seem to impact performance.

edit: the "open" sound effect plays instantly upon opening, it's just the screen that's lagging. In the "memory" tab the only high-usage program is the android OS, and I'm only using 6.3/8GB of data

I am looking to get a flip phone so I can get away from my smartphone but I cant find any viable options. I need a flip phone that has 4G, Google maps, and a decent amount of storage. I mainly use my phone away from home so I need a good cell connection, and I drive alot so I need a maps app. I also am in several group chats so I need a flip phone that will keep gc texts in a gc and not send them to me 1 on 1. As for the storage, I take alot of photos for work and need to send them to people. Does anyone have any good suggestions?

Hi! So currently i have an Iphone whatever one of the newest ones is, but my parents got it for me. i want a flipphone. im tired of being too distracted to do anything but be on my phone, i havent been creating art for ages.

if i ordered a nokia 2660 on ebay, how do i connect that to my existing phone plan to make sure i can text and call? im kinda confused by all this. my parents said it isnt possible, but i know thats not true.

thanks

Does anyone know if there's a recovery menu for the ky-42c? I haven't had it boot loop or anything yet but I'm trying to do adoptable storage and I dont wish to brick my phone

I know nothing of tech, and I mean NOTHING. If someone could tell me what to look for in a phone, that’d really help! Needs: call, text, take pictures, maybe play music? I’m not about to ask for a smartphone shaped like a flip phone, duh. I just need to know what I’m looking for, system wise or something, help

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to get my first dumbphone, and I'm having trouble finding exactly what I want. With the research I've done, the HMD Barbie phone (US version) comes the closest to what I'm looking for. Only downside is it comes with games pre-loaded, and it doesn't appear you can delete those off the phone. Knowing me, I would still probably spend a lot of time playing those games. Is there a phone out there that has all the other features of the Barbie phone but doesn't come with games?

Some necessities for me: timer/alarm, calendar, notes, and call/text. Internet access is not strictly required, but a light browser to look random stuff up would not go amiss.

Some minor things that I can live without: Bluetooth, GPS, hotspot, email, and QR code scanner. I do need GPS, but it doesn't have to be in the phone. I do have a slight preference for phones with GPS so I don't have to buy a separate, likely expensive GPS unit.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I know almost nothing about phones. I have no idea what the hell I am doing. Please explain this stuff to me in easy to understand terms.

Here is the situation: I want 2 dumb phones for me and my friend. I have an iPhone 12 running on IOS 18.6.2. My friend has a Samsung Android. I don’t know what model he has. But he got some where between 2022 and 2025, it has 3 cameras in a vertical row, and it’s not a flip phone. I need 2 dumb phones that can text eachother but also our main phones. If that makes sense? Also when I‘m texting my friend, I get those little headers that say “Text Message • SMS” and “Text Message • RCS” and it seems to just switch randomly. Also, I’m in the USA.

What I need:

• Can call and text an iPhone, an Android Samsung, and other dumb phones (or WhatsApp compatibility?)
• Can use Google Maps and show locations
• Take photos and short videos (quality doesn’t matter)

What I’d like:

• Can play some kind of music. I prefer Spotify. I’m okay with downloading a playlist (except I don’t know how) or using FM radio.
• Can use some kind of ear buds with it. It doesn’t really matter if it has a headphone jack or USB port. Bonus points if it can use Bluetooth.
• I‘m considering just getting an MP3 player and downloading songs onto there. I don’t know how to, though.
• Weather App would be nice, but it’s definitely not needed.
  

The cheaper, the better. Also please be patient with me, I am not the brightest when it comes to technology. Thank you!

Hi I want a proper dumbphone for my daughter. Not a dumbed down smartphone. The main turn off for her is the clunky t9 key pad. I know that qwerty key pads are no longer a thing. I did wonder if anyone had made some sort of touch screen dumbphone. As in no more capability than text and phone but with a touch screen. Oh and she's ten so it needs to not cost the earth!

Cracked the outer case while trying to peel off the phone sticker with instructions and warnings (no tech issues,just aesthetically unpleasing)

I had no tape so as a last resort used the sticker from a water bottle(blue strand).

Question: when I remove the case can I just use tape on the inside so I can remove the ugly blue "tape" and will it hold the crack enough in order to cause no further damage?

I saw this listing on eBay, and it says it's in mint condition with the original box. I'm a bit skeptical, but I just wanted your thoughts on it. The first thing I noticed is that "megapixel" is written on the V3, and the logo on the back is raised but black. I thought it was supposed to be silver.

I've been following this community for a while, and I've noticed a recurring theme: a lot of people love the simplicity of dumbphones but eventually run into a handful of practical issues that pull them back toward smartphones.

I work at a small company that's trying to make some of those essential services accessible without requiring a smartphone. We don't think we can replace everything, and I'm not here to pitch anything.
Our approach is intentionally dumbphone-friendly: it's just a phone number you can call or text, so it works regardless of what device you're using.

What I'm trying to understand is where people draw the line between useful tools and unnecessary distractions.
For those of you who've used a dumbphone long-term:
1) What are the biggest pain points?

2) What services do you still need a smartphone for?

3) If you could keep access to only a few modern conveniences, which would they be?

I'd love to hear from people who have made the switch, tried to make the switch, or switched back.

the want for it is there, yet when I look them up online… I can’t find any. this topic has been making headlines and yet no product.

I'm pretty new to the dumbphone world, I've had the pleasure of using a Mive Style Folder (the first one) for a month or so and then I bought myself and switched to Cat S22 Flip, although it has much smaller screen than the MIVE I like the Cat's industrial look (also the button response is better for me). But to the point, I've been thinking of buying or making myself some accesories for the phone. I've been looking for case or like belt clips attachements for it to be kinda like pager. There are cases on amazon and they are pretty reasonably priced but I wanted to 3D print myself one to customize it with custom logos and stuff like that maybe. I've looked for accesories 3D printed on the web and found only charging cradle. So my question is, are there any 3D printable accesories on the interned available or am I only limited to the things I can buy on Amazon / eBay?

I’m trying to find a true dumb phone to keep at home for my 4 year old to be able to use to call 911 in case of an emergency. I want no internet features. Truly trying to find the most basic thing. Any tips? Thank you!!!

Hello,

I bought an old Motorola V550 for 10 bucks. I put in my sim card and entered the pin but then it asked for the Subsidy code. Took me a while to figure out what that is and how to get it, but I managed (got it through Vodafone). After I put it in it said get into contact with network provider (original in German: Kontakt aufnehmen mit Dienst Provider). I tried calling Vodafone two times but they don't understand and can't help me. One told me to go into a shop, but from what I've read online they can't help me there.

Does anybody have any idea how to figure this out or what I could tell Vodafone so they can help me? I was really excited to use this phone and don't want my time and 10 bucks to go to waste lol.

What is the best phone for the dumb phone purpose? I prefer to have a source of navigation, Bluetooth, some kind of music subscription, and possibly have it capable for world wide travel. With all this being said I’m with Verizon, how do I make this work?

Hi all,

I want to switch, but I get 90% or more of my news from the phone. I don't have TV.

I'm order to stay updated and ask that what you do? I mean not much point in replacing that smart phone with you just sit at home surfing online instead.

Though using a company is more restrictive than the phone that you pull out every 2 seconds.

Hi, I have been using a dumb phone for nearly a year now, for my incar navigation i have been using an old sat nav unit, I miss haveing live traffic updates for road closures/roadworks and accidents, I know that with some of the higher end satnavs you can subscribe for traffic updates but from what I can tell these use the 2g network which is being phased out. I was wondering if I could buy a smartphone, and a simcard and use this only as a satnav with google maps, I would like to remove or disable all other apps including chrome and the play store, in a way that is harder to enable again than a checkbox in the phones menu, is seems like this can be achieved by rooting the phone? Has anyone done anything similar to this, is the a certain smartphone that would be suited to this (easier to root etc)