s/DumbPhones
Discussion about all things dumb phone, digital detox, etc.
Posts
Are there any good dumbphones with VoLTE and good global band support (B1/3/8/20/28 etc.) with hotspot or USB tethering support? I love my Nokia 3210 but the lack of any sort of internet sharing seems like such an oversight on Nokias end...
💬 3 comments · Mar 06 · 2 months ago
The Perfect Phone is a Midwit Phone — 'Smart' phones: Comically oversized. Digital locks. Usage restrictions. Advertising surveillance hell. E-waste on tap. 'Dumb' phones: Save a few bucks to be twenty years behind expected modern functionality, or pay a premium to be ten years behind expected modern functionality. Gimmicks. App support hell. Hope you like SMS! Break out the hardware GPS. And the hardware MP3 player. And the hardware camera. The Chad Midwit Phone: Size of an iPhone SE....
💬 10 comments · 2 likes · Jan 20 · 4 months ago
— skyebound.gay/posts/flipphone.gmi
One year dumbphone anniversary — I recently celebrated one year with my Nokia 2780 Flip. Moving to a dumbphone was actually a lot easier than I expected, and I'm glad I made the switch for my mental health and my attention span. I wrote a short gemlog about my experience - what went well and what I still need to move away from - on my personal site: On an unrelated note - I'm thinking about moving to an AGM M9 if...
💬 1 comment · 2 likes · Jan 18 · 4 months ago
I've been on and off dumbphones for couple of years now. Similar to my smoking habbit really. My current set to fight the online/sharing/being noticed is: I have an old Nokia e71 and a new Nokia flip that I use away from home. I bought an old digital camera and a bus card and do my banking on laptop. I've a smart phone at home that I use as a hotspot and to check signal messages. To ensure, or atleast make it more likely, I have degoogled and dumbed down the smart phone. I have only Rosy crow,...
💬 9 comments · 2 likes · 2025-08-24 · 8 months ago
Dumphone - w/MCU hello. I wanted to ask if anyone was interested in building their own dumbphone...? And thought maybe this is a good place to ask, and maybe we could a community around that. I myself would focus only on these things: - Calling - Texting - Music And probably the hardest: - Navigation I don't think linux or anything is needed for that, and would only make it more complicated, just a low end MCU. Maybe that could make it better in other qualities like battery and...
💬 17 comments · 2025-07-12 · 10 months ago
Dumb tricks for dumbphones - running Buran Gemini client on my dumbphone. (a smarter trick: don't buy a dumbphone that has no touch input in the first place, if you want to run this app.) I installed the Buran gemini app by adb: $ sudo adb install corewala.gemini.buran_13.apk But I can't access the fields using the D-pad! I tried to set it up using virtual touches from adb, but was unsuccessful: $ adb shell input tap 20 20 I could use my phone as a bluetooth mouse, e.g. using...
💬 1 like · 2025-06-24 · 10 months ago
Kind of a weird/niche question, but: is there any known Gemini browser for J2ME-compatible phones? The ony loosely related thing I could find is Pocket Gopher, a gopher client for J2ME. Would love to browse the geminispace with my dumbphone, but I guess web proxies are my only chance right now.
💬 43 comments · 2 likes · 2025-03-14 · 1 year ago
how much are you guys paying for service for your dumb phones I switched to a smartphone years ago because I was paying more for my dumb phone service than the rest of my entire family's smartphone service...
💬 4 comments · 2024-10-03 · 2 years ago
I went a good three weeks with my dumb phone until a work trip. I kept my android around just in case but rarely needed it. all my smartphone necessities were satisfied in about 10 minutes when I got home from work. I plan to switch back when I return.
💬 6 likes · 2024-08-23 · 2 years ago
So I bought a dumb phone again. it's been maybe 8 or more years since I downgraded for a time. I wanted something that wasn't super inconvenient but wasn't a low end smart phone. one could argue the one I picked is basically that, but I see it differently - there's no app store. The phone is also a "high end" dumb phone, so it costs a bit more than the cheapies. considering how much smart phones cost, I think it's a good trade off to detox for a bit. I got the Sunbeam F1 Horizon Bluebird....
💬 11 comments · 6 likes · 2024-07-26 · 2 years ago