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There is basically no such thing as a working dumb mobile phone any more. All the old 2G and 3G ones are now bricked because the networks all cut over to 4G/5G. Otherwise what can I say, just avoid stuff with connectivity when you can help it. Also buy corded tools and appliances unless the convenience advantage of cordless is too great to do without. Otherwise you stuck trying to replace overpriced and sometimes hard to find batteries.
If something is completely FOSS then the software angle is less of a pain in my opinion. I'm still using a beat-up Thinkpad X220 that was made in 2011, but running Debian Bullseye on it. I'll update it to Bookworm or Trixie when I get around to it. Point is that I can do that, while any phone from 2011 is a hopeless dinosaur.
There are totally still working dumb phones that use 4g. Just be prepared for giant buttons, as the target group is mostly elderly people.
Got a link? I don't know of any with no internet.
This one for example. Don't know whether it technically has internet, but the smartest function it seems to have is FM radio.
That looks interetsting but they won't ship it to the US and it's unclear if it works with US carriers. I see some similar ones on amazon.com that might be worth looking into, though they are on the expensive side and most have unrecognizeable brands that make me a bit queasy. No-name 2G GSM phones were often below $20, and some were tiny.
Anyway thanks, that was valid answer. I had mostly looked at Nokia and similar models that had Facebook and stuff like that.
My sibling has this and it's a fine device. TCL Flip 2
Thanks, but that is literally an Android phone:). I guess my use case for a dumb phone has decreased though. It's now just disappointing that even "dumb" outs are bigger, more expensive, and power hungrier than old 2g phones were. It seems like a technological regression. :(
What do you mean by dumb then? You can't get any other apps on it, and the smartest thing in it is a browser. I wouldn't really know though, I wasn't old enough to have a phone when flip phone were popular.
Browser = excessively smart! And why would it run Android if you can't other apps on it? My original flip phone only did voice calls. No SMS. That came later. I don't remember if it even had speed dialing, but it's still in a drawer someplace, so I might check. 2G phones had voice and SMS but no internet of any sort. No browser, for example. They were great. Some were as small as cigarette lighters. Maybe there are smart watches now that can make phone calls independently though.
I spent a while searching for a super-dumb phone for the sake of a guy I knew who got hopelessly confused by his Android phone, but it's now no longer needed.
Also dumb phones are more spyware then you would think, there have been documented cases of dumb phones using sms for background communication to spy or scam
Yeah there are some dumbed down minimal function "grandma" phones that just make calls and maybe have a panic button that calls 911. I think one is called a "Cricket" or something similarly cute. But they have operating systems and I doubt that one would work for 20 years.
They are generally locked down to specific carriers too.
A 20 year cell phone isn't happening though. The networks change out too often. I still have perfectly solid 1g, 2g, and 3g phones that are useless because the networks they used are gone. 4g still works but for how long? 5g will be around for a while, but 20 years? Dubious.