Smartphone Recommendations?

[Gansangriff]

Your situation with the Iphone 5S sounds like Apple being dodgy as usual with technology, that they don't want to see around anymore.

For work, I got some dated Android phone of a college, which is a 4G-capable phone. The 3G mobile network is already shut off in Germany to save costs. So this smartphone uses 4G plus 2G as a fallback in rural areas, as this is what is available for now. So that smartphone is operateable, despite not being a brand-new 5G thing. Of course 4G will bite the dust sooner or later in your area, when the telecommunications companies are satisfied with the 5G network.

Maybe you could take the SIM card out of the Iphone, go and meet someone in your local town who sells a phone so that you can test it beforehand... however the SIM card size must be the same.

 

[TrevMUN]

 

12 hours ago, Mr.Scienceman2000 said:

well few years you and others will complain from 5g shutdown since 6g is out and few years 7g is out and everyone will complain from 6g shutdown and then 8g comes out and closes 7g but you are no longer allowed complain from it for your benefit because big corpos know it better.

Hence one reason why I am so interested in these alternate phones. Probably the most frustrating thing about smartphones is that they lack the upgradeability of a traditional PC. This is also problem that exists in most laptops, although some companies like Framework have been working to address that. But even the phones designed for sustainability and repairability don't appear upgradeable. I can only assume that the modem for a smartphone is soldered onto the phone's SoC board or motherboard. It'd be so much nicer if you could swap them out and update drivers like you would a video card.

I hate generating e-waste and generally I only get rid of hardware when it's absolutely beyond help. Even when the iPhone 5S no longer can be used on a network I'm still going to have the thing on hand for using Apple Store apps where I can, and as an emergency fallback. Apparently you can still use iMessage to text people over Wifi in addition to using the phone as a WiFi-only device. I have a friend from Denmark who told me that when he went to Canada (where is phone doesn't work at all) he was still able to get by through connecting to public wireless, so at least that option is there.

12 hours ago, Mr.Scienceman2000 said:

Supply chain shortage is our own fault and cannot be blamed on covid.

That's actually the reason why I called it a "clown show" and didn't reference the pandemic, but I didn't want to open a whole new can of worms by expanding on that sentiment.

8 hours ago, Gansangriff said:

Of course 4G will bite the dust sooner or later in your area, when the telecommunications companies are satisfied with the 5G network.

Yeah, that's my concern as well. Predictions are that the 4G network will last for at least a decade from now, but I don't have a whole lot of confidence.

I don't know if anyone sells these alternative phones in the area, or has one on hand. I think most people just go with the mainstream phones and whatever's offered by providers.

[Mr.Scienceman2000]

On 10/31/2021 at 1:23 AM, TrevMUN said:

Yeah, that's my concern as well. Predictions are that the 4G network will last for at least a decade from now, but I don't have a whole lot of confidence.

I don't know if anyone sells these alternative phones in the area, or has one on hand. I think most people just go with the mainstream phones and whatever's offered by providers.

"Just upgrade to new wasteful toy one more time and we promise wont shove new broken standard down your throat again". I am tired of that. This need to stop. Only reason is to milk customers. Sure consumertards love that. They love artificial short lifespan and wasting money.

I was serious about going to HAM radio on day 2G closes. I will use google voice if need call and do rest of comms on ham radio. Maybe you need to start making long term decisions too. I cannot rely operators for rest of life. HAM radios been same technology wise forever and could buy old unit and use it just fine with newer ones.

[TrevMUN]

So the past week I've been talking with some other folks I know about this situation; they're of the opinion that even the less expensive alternative phones in this list aren't worth it. They recommended that I just get a unopened Android phone that's a couple of years old and then "de-Google" it by installing a different operating system.

I was pointed to some alternative smartphone OSes like LineageOS, and also found out about a fork called /e/ which aims to "de-Google" while still allowing access to Google APIs through free and open source implementation.  Though, /e/ has a very limited set of devices on which you can easily install it.

What do you guys think? If I went down this route, are there other operating systems I should look into trying instead?

[jaclaz]

3 hours ago, TrevMUN said:

 They recommended that I just get a unopened Android phone that's a couple of years old and then "de-Google" it by installing a different operating system.

That is not a recommendation, that is vague, generic advice.

When (if) "they" will give you a small list of suitable devices and tested, easy to follow specific instructions, then it will become a recommendation.

About "alternative" Operating Systems they tend to be - usually - "poor", i.e. their functionality is severely reduced on most (of the very few supported[1]) phones.

So you have to choose (on trust only) one of these alternate OS's, then choose among the list the specific device that is reported to be the most functional, then procure the specific device.

At this point you have good probabilities (but NOT certainty) that you'll manage to root/sideload/whatever the chosen OS on the specific device you have following a complicated sequence of steps (usually very poorly detailed, contradicting or however very much NOT clear for anyone already familiar with the processes involved), with the concrete risk of bricking the device unintentionally.

And once you hopefully succeed you will have a smartphone with quite a few missing capabilities.

The above is not at all to put you down, but you need to be aware of the limitations and possible caveats, this is something (IMNSHO) that you should take as a (fun) project to learn new, strange things rather than a sure path to google-freedom. 

jaclaz

 

[1] LineageOS namely has a long list of devices that are not supported anymore (why?) and for which you need to build yourself the OS (what?), given the amount of these devices you have no guarantees whatever that the specific device that you choose and are able to procure today won't be "abandoned" tomorrow.

[dencorso]

I use a dumb mobile for day-to-day use, and it goes with me everywhere. It's a Nokia C2-01, which I keep in Silent mode, unless I'm waiting for a call or want to be reachable to the wife (say when at the supermarket/grocery/bakery/etc.).  For banking and analogous things, and what'sapp (for work mainly) I've got a very plain-vanilla Samsung J2 Prime (Android 6), which never leaves my office-cum-workshop... for uses like these, I'd suggest nowadays the cheapest possible Samsung which comes with Android 9, not degoogled nor rooted and with just the needed banking applications, maybe what'sapp if unavoidable, cpu-z, total commader and a full-fledged blocker application called Mr. Number. Nothing more. And to move around the city, a good old city map/guidebook (which, for São Paulo reaches 450 pages!) remains the best option and never fails one! Of course, I'm a brontosaur who thinks gaming means playing cards or shooting biliards or pool, with real balls, cues and table! So, YMMV.

[XPerceniol]

Same ... I trust my dumb phone [LG Flipphone] so I feel like magnum PI

Don't ever plan to get a smart phone as I don't need one. When I get a call, I don't even say anything now, I wait utnil they say something first. When the ask for me, I say "Who wants to know" Lol

Sorry

<OT>

 

[bphlpt]

3 hours ago, dencorso said:

... and a full-fledged blocker application called Mr. Number....

Unfortunately,  https://hiyahelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019692533-What-is-Mr-Number-Premium-for-Android-

Quote

Mr. Number is now a Premium service only from Hiya.  Mr. Number now requires a monthly or yearly subscription to use for all users. 

Mr. Number provides the world’s most comprehensive caller ID and spam protection service. As the volume of robocalls have exploded worldwide, the cost of providing our service has also grown substantially. Our subscription model allows us to continue delivering our best-in-class service in a sustainable and cost effective way.

For users interested in our current free services and app on Android devices, please use our other app, Hiya.  

though at the google app store it still looks like it's free??? I'm confused.

[dencorso]

I'm sure Mr. Number 4.0.3 is free and adds-free. It's old, so not the one one'll find at the Play Store. But I'm sure it's findable somewhere... and while I cannot point you to a reliable source right away, I'm confident our good friend @jaclaz can help us with this.    

[bphlpt]

I have NOT checked these, but I found links here - https://www.apk20.com/apk/5239/v/135362/ and here - https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/hiya/mr-number-block-calls-spam/mr-number-block-calls-spam-4-0-3-release/, and they do seem to be identical, so...

[jaclaz]

12 hours ago, dencorso said:

I use a dumb mobile for day-to-day use, and it goes with me everywhere. 

Great minds : tend to think (and behave) alike.

I have a Nokia 1280 as daily driver and a 7 inch[1] tablet at the office.

12 hours ago, dencorso said:

I maybe what'sapp if unavoidable,

Well, only as a single data point, I managed to live a relatively happy life without it till now.

jaclaz

[1] any "normal" sized  phone has too tiny keyboards, that I either cannot see properly or cannot type on decently. 

Edited November 13, 2021 by jaclaz

[Mr.Scienceman2000]

On 11/13/2021 at 11:03 AM, jaclaz said:

Great minds : tend to think (and behave) alike.

I have a Nokia 1280 as daily driver and a 7 inch[1] tablet at the office.

that like brand new compared to mine. Nokia 6110 from 1997 (old photo)

[jaclaz]

5 minutes ago, Mr.Scienceman2000 said:

that like brand new compared to mine. Nokia 6110 from 1997 (old photo)

Sure it is, what is the problem?

For the record I paid for it (the Nokia 1280)  new some 25 or 28 Euro including 15 Euro worth of calls on the SIM circa 2010 or 2011. 

jaclaz

 

[Mr.Scienceman2000]

2 hours ago, jaclaz said:

Sure it is, what is the problem?

nothing. It is good phone. Just funny how long end handsets kept similarities for long. There has been mostly slight modifications for series 30 UI. I actually got 1110 from 2004 or 2005 that shares same UI as that phone. I guess Nokia had perfect design for basic phones OS wise. That phone got horisontal UI scrolling while newer ones did vertically and new one got different battery and signal indicator but under hood share similar code and functionality.

2 hours ago, jaclaz said:

For the record I paid for it (the Nokia 1280)  new some 25 or 28 Euro including 15 Euro worth of calls on the SIM circa 2010 or 2011.

that was good price cut from 2005. Low budget phone before that was 1110 that was around 50 euros here when came out. 1280 was one of few last phones on market that did what phone supposed, make and recieve phone calls. Also monochrome screen is superior on dark and bright environment and makes battery last longer which is why 3330 and 6110 are my favorites

Edited November 14, 2021 by Mr.Scienceman2000

[TrevMUN]

Wanted to give a bit of an update on this topic; after a lot of deliberation, I wound up going with the Fairphone 4 and installing /e/OS on it. I'd spent the past few months doing a lot of research into my options, and I think this might be the best option for me moving forward. I like /e/OS' philosophy of minimizing exposure to Google's data harvesting, and Fairphone's approach to giving users the ability to repair their own phones and replace the battery when required.

Of course, by going this route, I was making a reeeeally expensive gamble. Both in trusting that the phone would work on a carrier of my choosing, and that I wouldn't screw up installing /e/OS and bricking a brand new $688 (at least when I bought it, ha ha inflation) phone. There's also the non-trivial issue that Fairphone only ships within Europe (and /e/'s own Murena version of the Fairphone 4 is similarly Europe-only) but I found a British company, Clove Technology, that sells the phone and ships to America.

Based on Kimovil's report regarding the Fairphone 4's frequency compatibility with American cellular services, it looked like if I went with somebody who uses T-Mobile or U.S. Cellular, I would have the best odds of success. Which is serendipitous because right now it seemed one of the better deals, similar to what I had with Boost Mobile, is with a T-Mobile service called Mint Mobile. And they've got a pretty detailed coverage map that even details signal strength for varying bands for a given location. It looks as if everywhere I typically go, even on cross-country trips, will have good or fairly good coverage in the bands used by this phone. Fairphone 4 being relatively new, Mint Mobile doesn't list the model at all in their compatibility checker and the site will tell you it's not supported if you check by IEMI. However, given they do support the Fairphone 3 and also offer a low-cost week trial, I figured I'd test my luck that way.

Well, I'm happy to report that not only did I not screw up the installation process for /e/OS on the Fairphone 4, but Mint Mobile's SIM card worked without a hitch! I've been able to make calls no problem and coverage seems good. With Fairphone 4 being a 5G phone, this should hopefully last me for as long as the 5G network does.

Given the way /e/OS works, I haven't been able to install all the apps I use on my iPhone 5S, but that's why I'm hanging onto that phone. I've found some things to try when my iPhone is no longer able to use those apps.