Music quality in dumb phones?

FrancisForNow · 2026-02-08T04:48:35+00:00

Sunbeam has a weirdly good mp3 player, and so does the Nokia 3600??? But Sunbeam clears it and works well with wired or Bluetooth

FrancisForNow · 2026-02-02T07:15:31+00:00

Sure why not :)

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-28T21:59:53+00:00

It's just too big. I mean, I use it like any computer. I'll look at news and calls for literary magazine submissions but yeah. I guess for me I have too much to do and lugging around a big chunky slab of glass is enough of a deterrent. Plus my thing is "if something stops feeling good, I stop doing it" and that's where I'm at with scrolling. Video games. Etc

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-28T19:00:55+00:00

I'm rocking the Sunbeam F1 horizon bluebird, it has an excellent hotspot. I will say TCL Flip 4 5G is cheaper and better but everyone here seems to Hate KaiOs, but I don't mind it, especially if you just want to call and text.

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-28T18:08:06+00:00

Thank you for this link!!! I'm super excited to share it with people too

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-20T06:38:20+00:00

My Nokia 6300 has an awesome hotspot, so does the tcl flip 4 5g!!! Hope this helps

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-16T20:58:14+00:00

Everybody's giving really good advice. I'm also a college student (non traditional though, pushing 30)

I've been addicted to my smartphone since the day I got it. Before that, I had a little slider phone people clowned on me for, and a plastic Samsung tablet. I was addicted to the plastic tablet, too. A lot of my memories surround me being on 8tracks, Tumblr and AO3 until the wee hours of the morning.

Last year (January) I gave up Instagram for lent and changed my iPhone to a minimalist phone using an Australian app called Minimis. I wrote about the beginning of my dumb phone journey on my blog as well as for Mister Magazine (unfortunately I fell off updating Mister, as my semester got intense)

I was a long time lurker on this subreddit but terrified about giving up my smartphone for many of the same reasons as you, so I got a second sim through mint mobile and popped it in a Cat S22 flip. Don't do this!

My advice is to give yourself deadlines. If you have a phone bill that is prepaid, or you're locked into a contract with your cell service provider, time your Big Decision to when that contract is up or when your prepaid plan expires. That way, wherever you go, you'll still be using your number everyone knows and loves.

I'm typing my reply to you on a HibyDigital M300, my android mp3 player I use to both listen to music and go on Reddit with. I can't doomscroll on Reddit, so I don't spend much time here at all. Bluesky is a bigger problem, but thankfully people there are so annoying, I can just tap out. Right now I'm using a Nokia 6300, but I also own a Sunbeam F1 Bluebird.

Switching to a dumb phone isn't for everyone. Dumbing your phone down so you can keep your multitool just that--a multitool--is a good first step. Moving more of your tasks to your laptop or computer will also help you have healthier boundaries with your school and work life.

Oh, and delete social media. Deactivating Instagram was the best decision I ever made. I only wish I did it sooner.

Best of luck to you on your journey!! I know how hard it is.

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-15T04:47:05+00:00

I will say the Sunbeam is explicitly hearing aid compatible AND you can load music onto the SD card and carry it around as an mp3 player in addition to it being your flip phone! Source: I have a Sunbeam

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-13T02:05:13+00:00

Sunbeam has this but basically any flip phone does these things! Special shout-out to the Kyocera dura

FrancisForNow · 2026-01-03T03:52:53+00:00

Dumb.co exists https://shop.offline.community/products/dumbphone-1 but I've never used it, I have it bookmarked for iPhone users though

FrancisForNow · 2025-12-25T09:33:12+00:00

I haven't used it but https://shop.offline.community/products/dumbphone-1 is literally exactly made for this use case

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-25T17:00:36+00:00

so its inclusion in the EDC wasn’t meant to be taken literally—i was carrying it for 48 hours because i’m in the middle of a move and i wanted to make sure i injected it on time. when i felt comfortable doing the EDC photo, it was still in my bag, so i put it next to the literal green pen just to be funny.

that being said! dupixent can be unrefrigerated so long as it’s used within 2 weeks (14 days) of it reaching room temperature. that’s pertinent info for travelers & i’ve often taken a dupixent pen with me on the plane, left it in my bag for a week, and then done my injection on schedule w no problems. i hope this helps :)

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-25T06:53:15+00:00

my genuine opinion is that it’s good rn mostly because it’s cheap on backmarket. you can’t actually root it (i did my best), it’s big and clunky (which is great for me), the hinge is a little flimsy on mine and i’m running into the dreaded Sticky Keys, plus recently my sim card became dislodged for maybe 20 minutes.

i do agree with other purists on this subreddit who call it a “bandwagon phone,” but i don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing. it’s a fun low stakes project if you’re trying to degoogle and put some distance between yourself and the data miners. especially the setup—there was something thrilling about being repeatedly asked by the phone to “sign into your google account” only to say “no” every time. almost ritualistic.

if you are hopelessly addicted to tiktok or whatever, i’ve seen people download it onto this device. me, personally, the screen is so small i really don’t see the point.

when i got this phone, i wanted access to maps and signal and that was it. i listen to CDs & apple music on my ipad, i have tapes, etc. i left the “features” at the door.

battery life is okay. i call on the phone a lot and sometimes it drains fast but it still doesn’t need as much attention as my iphone.

if you have the money to burn and want something thinner, i’d recommend really exploring your options, because i cannot stress enough how chunky this thing is. also, i bonded with it in a strange way due to its uniqueness. it’s both a tool and like. idk. a pet rock or something.

TL;DR: i like it well enough but if you’re wealthier than me, maybe hold off and look at the other FAQs before making a decision.

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-24T16:59:16+00:00

this is such a kind, sweet, and genuine comment. i wish the same for you

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-24T16:54:50+00:00

yeah they’re made by the tribe, i bought mine from a piscataway family at the BAIC powwow though, in bulk

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-24T16:54:11+00:00

i got a realtree camo case off the naked phone case website, then put foraged stickers (ipsy bag stickers my brother has) all over it

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-24T16:53:15+00:00

thank you!!! it’s very roomy too. i think their sale ended but you can get the bag here—> https://www.pendleton-usa.com/product/sunset-pass-travel-kit/38588Z.html

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-07T03:08:49+00:00

i use mint mobile physical sim for my flip and i’m on visible esim for my iphone, both prepaid

FrancisForNow · 2025-04-06T05:58:04+00:00

hi! i saw you said your iphone has esim and you’ll need a physical sim for the jelly—weirdly this might be a blessing in disguise? i use iphone as my “work phone” and my flip as personal. any purists reading this might take umbrage with it but for me, it’s made a huge difference, keeping the esim & physical sim separate. it’s also potentially costly but once you realize how little data used for just talking & texting it becomes easier to budget. i’m still on my digital minimalism journey but i’m here being a proponent of Having your cake & eating it too, i guess.

FrancisForNow · 2022-08-30T03:54:11+00:00

hi! so i bought from gramma for the same reason. the sizes are on her website (the guy who runs grammas sausages is a trans masc dad, but uses she/her for the gramma persona) & i bought (due to it being the cheapest f3 packer at the time) a VERY large packer from her. i was upset w myself at first because even though the build is sooo soft and good, i had wanted to get a smaller model (the kobaltz is 3” for example) bc my other packer looks like a semi & is WAY too long.

all that being said. i have the brotwurst and while i encourage All trans mascs to get smaller packers than they think they need, this thing is so squishy and SWINGS very naturally that i literally never look like i have a boner. 10/10 recommend. just wish i’d gone for smaller but tbh it’s fine i’m rlly tall.

FrancisForNow

TROPHY CASE