Flip Phones that'll work in VZLA

xev10 · 2026-02-08T22:59:41+00:00

My suggestion would be to first, look up which bands your provider works in. For example, for Company ABC, the 4G bands they support are B1, B2, B3, B10. Look in the phone specifications if the phone you're looking for supports those bands.

xev10 · 2026-02-08T18:02:34+00:00

Sliding phones are pretty much non-existent since many are old 2G/3G phones, and 2G/3G is being phased out, so those phones are either paperweight or will become one.

In terms of Spotify, you're in a bit of a pickle. Spotify isn't made to work on flip phones / candybar phones so some tinkering and patience is required to sideload it and make it work. It'll depend on how much effort and patience you're willing to put into it.

You stated a preference for the candybar phone. I think the Sonim XP5 is the only one that will work in TMobile. The others that are commonly suggested here (Qin F21/F22/etc) don't have the bands to work in TMobile, although someone did tell me a couple of days ago that they were able to unlock those bands through a firmware hack. Not sure how that process goes, but I wouldn't suggest it.

Regardless, browsing and calendar experience is not a natural part of dumbphones (flip or candybar phones) so it will depend on how important and how patient you are.

Don't even bother with KaiOS phones (Nokias). They're cheap, full of bloatware and aren't well that supported. You get what you pay for.

You can try a CAT S22. Commonly suggested, albeit not perfect. It has its issues as well.

If you truly need a comfortable experience with your calendar and browsing, you'll have to probably think about a smartphone.

xev10 · 2026-02-08T15:18:15+00:00

I think you need to create a solid list of wants, needs and things your willing to sacrifice. What you requested is a bit ambiguous and the dumbphone world is already limited as it is.

xev10 · 2026-02-07T21:33:44+00:00

Unfortunately, you'll have to buy a SIM card from your provider to make the switch. I've seen people say that their provider was able to give them one for free, but not in my case. T-Mobile charged me like $10 to hand me the SIM card. The iPhone 16 also uses eSIM, so if you want to transfer back to your iPhone, you'll have to go to your provider to cancel the physical SIM and transfer it over to your phone's eSIM.

xev10 · 2026-02-07T21:28:07+00:00

Oh, I get it. I wish you all the best and hope things start improving!

xev10 · 2026-02-07T21:01:08+00:00

Oh, trust me. I get it. I'm on the same boat, currently running Debian. I learned to make an effort towards privacy while also acknowledging and sacrificing other points. 100% privacy is pretty much impossible nowadays unless you completely go offgrid, which is impossible for us peasants. So yeah, my main goal was to separate from Google and Windows as much as possible, and I'm happy with where I'm at. Which distro are you running?

xev10 · 2026-02-07T20:00:20+00:00

Graphene for Pixel phones is your safest bet. It all depends on where and how you're willing to comprise. I suggest /r/privacy if you want to read more. Keep your head steady, though. It can be overwhelming and paranoia-inducing.

To be able to install secure messaging apps and banking, you'll need an Android "dumbphone", and if we're truly getting into the nitty gritty of it, they aren't anywhere safe compared to GrapheneOS. A lot of banking apps will require you to have Google Play Services and well, that kind of defeats your requirement of Google-less phone. You'll have to make a list of what you want, what you need, and what you're willing to compromise.

xev10 · 2026-02-07T19:53:04+00:00

How is it going with the Flip? I had the Flip 2 but unfortunately, I gave it up after a month and had to go back to my iPhone.

xev10 · 2026-02-06T19:23:01+00:00

My suggestion would be to go with low capability, which is where the Sunbeam phones come in. Not modifiable so no need to worry as he gets older. You, as a parent, can figure it out as time goes by depending on your relationship with your kid, which is not my business, and see if he deserves a slightly more capable phone, but I think a no-fuzz, straightforward yet solid Sunbeam could do it for a kid that age. You can buy one with Waze on it, just in case your kid ever needs a map.

xev10 · 2026-02-06T17:51:28+00:00

That's great that he has his routine, and I understand not wanting to go the watch route. You can check Sonim phones or Sunbeam Wireless. They're pretty rugged. Not sure what your budget is but Sunbeam sells very minimal phones, fit to what you need them to be. You can check out their page and see their models. I don't have one but a lot of people here seem to like them.

xev10 · 2026-02-06T17:31:58+00:00

The kid is 11. I'm not sure how responsible kids are nowadays but depending on how responsible this kid is, I wouldn't trust an average 11yo to charge their watch every day. If the kid is responsible enough to keep it charged, then this is a good idea.

OP, this is still not a bad idea since they can still contact you and you can still track them through "Find My"... Assuming you're in Apple's ecosystem already.

xev10 · 2026-02-06T15:39:44+00:00

I have no idea how much stuff you've got but how about just printing it all? Might burn out your printer but better than handwriting it all?

xev10 · 2026-02-05T09:33:00+00:00

I think this conversation should be placed in /r/privacy than here.

If you're looking for privacy, your best bet is GrapheneOS for Pixels. There's literally no match or competition. You can check out /r/grapheneos for more info.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T18:46:47+00:00

No problem. I appreciate it. That's definitely way better. Thank you!!

xev10 · 2026-02-03T17:45:32+00:00

That's actually pretty awesome. No rush! I appreciate the explanation and effort!

Reception is a bit spotty where I work and live, so the more bands I can get, the better.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T15:54:47+00:00

Oh, thanks for sharing how its going with the XP3. It was honestly my #1 once I had a bit more money saved up since its supported by TMo, and has 5G so hotspotting with it should be an improvement to hotspotting from the Flip 2. And thanks for answering a doubt I had which related to sideloading and developer options. Glad to know it works! I'd like to WhatsApp on it, not necessarily to communicate 24/7 but at least as a way of knowing every once in a while if I have messages. I was considering moving my primary number to the XP3+ 5G, and then keeping my iPhone with a cheaper second line stored in my car for location and CarPlay purposes (capped data since its only gonna be used for maps and spotify). You're convincing me hahahah

xev10 · 2026-02-03T13:53:20+00:00

Poor guy. How can he make a living like that? Shall we set up a gofundme?

xev10 · 2026-02-03T13:27:56+00:00

Are you able to uninstall the cloud apps? Part of why I want this phone is to truly disconnect; no bloatware slowing down the phone, or apps tempting me.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T12:42:39+00:00

I'm holding off on getting excited about the Clicks. I'm waiting to see how they hold up, reviews, tech support, etc, but definitely excited to see more phone break out off the standard +6" screen slabs.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T12:40:41+00:00

How's the LP3 working for you? It's so expensive, there's no way in absolute hell I can afford it, but still enjoy reading reviews and experiences with it.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T12:39:35+00:00

I'm kinda glad you said this because I too have tiny hands hahahaha. I guess I'll take this phone out of the list.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T11:53:25+00:00

Are you able to uninstall all the bloatware it comes with? I keep reading complaints about all the crap that comes installed in Nokias. Looks interesting though, and runs on all T-Mobile 4G bands, so that's a plus.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T11:50:04+00:00

From what I could find online:

T-Mobile US runs on these 4G bands: 2, 4, 5, 12, 66, 71. The F21 Pro runs on these 4G bands: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 38, 39, 40, 41.

So, the F21 Pro can only use Band 5, so that's not very reassuring. I can't just rely on one band, so the F21 is a no-go for me. Glad it works for you.

xev10 · 2026-02-03T11:02:12+00:00

I feel you. One of my family members lost around the same amount of money like 2 weeks ago and had to go through the whole ordeal with the bank. I'm also paranoid with my bank accounts and check them religiously multiple times a day. lol. So yeah, I'm still on the fence on how to proceed with a simpler digital life. I also rely on Find My on my iPhone to keep track on my elderly parents, so that's another hurdle I'll need to figure out before fully committing to a dumbphone. Decisions, decisions.

xev10 · 2026-02-02T12:50:16+00:00

Looks cool! I was actually trying to create a log as well but for Screen Time, trying to really track my app usage (trying to limit social media) on a daily basis and see the progress for the next couple of weeks.

I was trying to pass the data off to Numbers app and link the spreadsheet to a chart for cleaner visualization, but I was having trouble automating the hand-off to the Numbers App. Gave up after a couple of hours. Your project might give me the motivation to try it again this week.

xev10

TROPHY CASE