topic Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE in Get Support

RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

joyfulrebellion — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 21:43:40 GMT

Hi Community,

One of my New Years “Resolutions” is to shift my experience of the current culture surrounding communication. I am en route to transitioning to an old school flip phone where I can call and hear the people I Love’s human voices and keeping all other visual communications on my laptop.

Has anyone else made this sweet step backwards technologically? And, will I still be able to use a Public Mobile SIM card in this transition?

Thank you for your input!

Be well, be brave, do good

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

bw0 — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 09:51:26 GMT

Just watch that you don't back step too far. There are refurbished and even new off-brand flip phones around that are only 2G. You can't use those with Public Mobile.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

esjliv — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 11:04:17 GMT

Hello @joyfulrebellion ,

Good on you, for reals!

FYI-

Public Mobile uses the following frequency bands:

4G LTE and LTE Advanced: 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS).
HSPA: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz (UMTS).

Please note that this information is indicative only. Your phone's compatibility with our 4G or 4G LTE networks is based on the radio frequencies of your phone. Public Mobile does not guarantee that your phone will work on our mobile network.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

Korth — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 11:17:26 GMT

@joyfulrebellion

I've always been fond of flip phones. Simple software without bloat and lag and distractions. Awesome battery life. Bulkier radio hardware for more robust signal. Bulkier speaker and mic hardware for clearer audio, plus the form factor positions them quite optimally. Real buttons with real tactile feedback. Some models seem nearly indestructible. A few models even have a charging port far more durable than the usual failure-prone flimsy little micro-USB.

Alas, text on T9 keypad is a slow and frustrating experience. I prefer talk but the reality is that most people prefer text so a flip phone just isn't workable. And though I use mobile data very sparingly (when not needed for work), I've found that flip phone internet is too inconvenient for stuff like looking up addresses or maps or prices.

But congrats on freeing yourself from your online shackles. 😁

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

stevenanto — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 12:24:43 GMT

aw man I used to love my samsung flip phones, they were so solid, no matter how many times you dropped them or even threw them nothing would happen to them haha. I also find that they used to have a stronger signals.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

softech — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 12:49:34 GMT

.. haha.. i thought you were talking about those Smart flip phone.. but i guess you are looking for those older "non-smart" phone..

Telus does have some choices like these:

Prepaid ZTE Cymbal 2

Prepaid Coolpad Snap

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

sheytoon — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 12:58:21 GMT

@joyfulrebellion congrats on taking this step! To answer your question, your existing SIM will work as long as it fits. In terms of frequencies, you just need 3G UMTS/WCDMA band 2 (1900 MHz) and 5 (850 MHz).

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

HALIMACS — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 13:57:17 GMT

May the FLIP be with you

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

kselmak — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 15:40:54 GMT

I have a family member who did that and is very happy that way.

What i did once is dug out an old android phone, it's Android 2.x so as your can imagine nothing can be installed on it, so not much beyond talk and text can be done, maybe calculators and disconnected calendar just like the flip phone. On the plus side the older battery was just enough. I did that out of necessity i didn't want to buy anything and i lent my spare Huawei, i knew i would have it back in couple of months

I suggest you go through your drawers.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

darlicious — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 17:03:15 GMT

@joyfulrebellion

I held out as long as possible actively using my flip phone until late fall 2019 after joining public mobile. Once I no longer needed to back up freedoms poor signal with telus' signal because both lines were with pm (telus) I finally put both sims in the dual sim A3 and the flip phone became the back up.

It didnt take long and the flip phone came out for the bf after he lost his phone. It came out a further 5 more times in 2020 as the bf lost, found, dropped, left, recovered, smashed, killed and bought phones like a monthly transit pass. He even lost but luckily recovered my beloved alcatel A392A but he also unfortuately allowed a freshly split chunk of firewood drop on top of it that initially killed it but it rebooted into just a flip phone with a smashed screen its texting days behind it now.

You will likely need a full sized sim card so be on the look out for the original housing that comes with a triple punch sim card. There are plenty of samsung rugby or sonim phones out there if you need a more rugged phone but they still have a great mp3 and fm radio built into them and a camera for basic pics and speech to text capabilities. There's joy to be had in being off the grid so to speak....

There's a few leads here.... https://recy-cell.ca/en/buy/samsung-rugby-3-a997-unlocked-9-10/

Before....1 year ago......charging....After....but still working!

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

a4chiu — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 23:43:37 GMT

May I suggest the new Motorola Razr phone? It is a folding flip phone, but still has android OS.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

computergeek541 — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:32:11 GMT

@a4chiu wrote:
May I suggest the new Motorola Razr phone? It is a folding flip phone, but still has android OS.

For anyone considering this, there have been numerous different models that used the name Razr, some of which are not compatible with Public Mobile. Ensure that your phone has at least UMTS 850/1900MHz compatibility.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

stevenanto — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 11:44:18 GMT

@a4chiu Thats an interesting choice if it suits him. I remember when they first came out they were all the craze because they were way slimmer than all the other flip phones.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

stevenanto — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 11:43:20 GMT

How about the coolpad snap? It seems like it is one of the more reliable ones, has great camera, expandable storage, and battery of course.

Its also much cheaper than the razr. I also find that the razr is cool but upon reading reviews that the hinges creaks and camera sucks it just might not be the best option

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

pkaraa — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 19:27:18 GMT

I have an old Motorola razr unused new From fido. Can I get that unlocked to use with public .... how?

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

computergeek541 — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 19:30:53 GMT

@pkaraa wrote:
I have an old Motorola razr unused new From fido. Can I get that unlocked to use with public .... how?

If this is the original Motorola Razr V3 from Fido, this model is not compatible with Public Mobile. Which Razr generation/model/variant is it?

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

pkaraa — Thu, 07 Jan 2021 19:35:04 GMT

It's from 2008. Don't have exact details. Will msg dad to send me the phone and test.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

darlicious — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 21:12:26 GMT

@pkaraa

Even if it is compatible you would have to get it unlocked through a private party unless you know someone with fido service. As of April 2020 rogers/fido will not unlock their phones unless you have been a customer in the previous 12 months. The phone would have 2G and probably 3G but not 4G LTE.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

computergeek541 — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 23:05:11 GMT

@darlicious wrote:
@pkaraa
Even if it is compatible you would have to get it unlocked through a private party unless you know someone with fido service. As of April 2020 rogers/fido will not unlock their phones unless you have been a customer in the previous 12 months. The phone would have 2G and probably 3G but not 4G LTE.

Unless @pkaraa tells us the exact model number, there's no way to know about compatibility. The original Motorola Razr that Fido sold does not have 3g.

Re: RETURN OF THE FLIP PHONE

pkaraa — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 00:12:47 GMT

@darlicious

with my standby number I was with Rogers till march 2021 then I moved that number to PM.

so I guess I m good for unlocking that phone. right?