I've been considering getting a non-smarthphone to switch to if tracking and privacy tyranny gets much worse, and to just have as a backup, but I can't seem to find any decent ones that aren't Chinese bullshit. Right now I basically just use my phone for coming here, banking, navigation, and playing locally stored music, so a non-smartphone with expandable storage that can do some if not all of these things would be nice, but primarily I'm really just looking for something to get me out of the current Apple/Google monopoly. I have T-mobile currently (looking to ditch that too if there are better suggestions) so GSM for voice and LTE for data is how I believe the radio networks are setup currently.
EDIT: Not to be rude, but I'm looking for actual suggestions, not responses telling me why my question is wrong. Yes I know how cell service works.
I've been considering getting a non-smarthphone to switch to if tracking and privacy tyranny gets much worse, and to just have as a backup, but I can't seem to find any decent ones that aren't Chinese bullshit. Right now I basically just use my phone for coming here, banking, navigation, and playing locally stored music, so a non-smartphone with expandable storage that can do some if not all of these things would be nice, but primarily I'm really just looking for something to get me out of the current Apple/Google monopoly. I have T-mobile currently (looking to ditch that too if there are better suggestions) so GSM for voice and LTE for data is how *I believe* the radio networks are setup currently.
EDIT: Not to be rude, but I'm looking for actual suggestions, not responses telling me why my question is wrong. Yes I know how cell service works.
I have a Kyocera duraxv (old school flip phone) with no data plan or internet. Ditched the smart phone 3 months ago, best decision I've made in a while. Plus the bill is half the price.
I'm thinking about going back to a land line only, with no cell phone at all. Just waiting for my phone to finally die. It's been going strong for 8 years.
A non-smart phone isn't the only option, check out the Fairphone.
just search for it. you have three options:
Buy a non-Android/Apple smartphone (these do exist, just look it up)
Buy a modern "dumb" phone (look online for international models as these are usually dual SIM-capable i.e. India model)
Buy an older used phone
if you want to live off-grid then ditch the phone
Can't reccomend any current model, but can say to stretch your mind when looking at battery life.
If you're really getting a phone without a giant battery-eating screen, and 30+ times more computing power than 1GHz PCs had around the year 2000, then you might easily be looking at devices benefitting from modern battery technologies but having no concomitant yuuge drain.
Off-charger batt life of quality dumb phones now can run like 9 to 14 Days. (!)
Don’t know if you listen to the No Agenda podcast, (if not definitely check it out: https://www.noagendashow.net/) but Adam, one of the hosts, uses an Alcatel. I’m not sure which exact model though. There is an OTG section in the show notes which is usually updated with each episode. He’s not completely OTG either; sounds like he did the same thing that you want to do.
https://us.alcatelmobile.com/alcatel-go-flip-3/
There are literally dozens of us!!!
Yep, if you're on the cell network, they know where you are.
Never said I was looking to go full greyman and live off the grid. Just something that can't have contact tracing or other apps force-pushed into the phone.
Device position can be determined to be in 1 of 2 places while you are around 2 towers, and an exact position can be determined if you are around 3 towers.
And, speaking of someone who has developed extensively for the cellular platform, believe me when I say the power savings are insane. A majority of the time when your phone is in sleep mode, the cellular modem is powered off, coming online only once every 2-3 minutes to keep the IP mapping alive with the tower.
Well, yes, generally you could if you dedicated some time to actually looking at an individual user and trying to figure out how they were moving (seeing if one of the proposed positions was along a footpath or road for example), but this kind of processing proves difficult if you're actually tracking the masses
Yes, of course, that is part of the Google Maps geolocation API. The caller can provide nearby & connected cell towers and their RSSI, as well as nearby WiFi SSIDs to determine location very accurately even without a GPS. This can get within 1/4 of a mile.
You're not hearing what I'm asking.
Thank you for your time, but I'll be looking elsewhere.
You can be tracked on any modern cellphone, even the dumb ones, via gps. Just get a prepaid phone with cash and use a VPN to go online.
Hey brother! Switched to the Alcatel flip phone about 12 months back and have never felt better. There are sacrifices but it's all worth it in the end. You deserve to unplug. There are dozens of us!!!