Turn Galaxy S3 into a DumbPhone for my Daughter
April 12, 2015 5:40 AM Subscribe
I have a Galaxy S3 I'm upgrading this week, and want to be able to brick it so that my 10 year old daughter can use it for the basics (calls, texts, calculator, etc.) without all the extra Internet and games that will turn her into a zombie at school. I've seen the dumb phone app and similar, but they are all time limited. I want to brick the dang thing permanently. Any advice? Different OS? Ways to block she can't get around? A phone plan with no data?
When I was a kid my dad used timers and other "tech" to keep us from watching TV when we got home. My siblings and I could easily get around it all. I'm hoping we can keep my daughter from doing the same.
All we want is a phone for her to carry for texting and phone calls. Advice?
When I was a kid my dad used timers and other "tech" to keep us from watching TV when we got home. My siblings and I could easily get around it all. I'm hoping we can keep my daughter from doing the same.
All we want is a phone for her to carry for texting and phone calls. Advice?
I agree with dawkins_7. It's easy to turn off my son's data from my phone but he can still access wifi from just about anywhere.
posted by myselfasme at 6:08 AM on April 12, 2015
posted by myselfasme at 6:08 AM on April 12, 2015
Yeah. I'd sell the S3 and use the money to buy a dumb phone. You could buy a prepaid phone if you don't want to go with a plan.
You can get plans with no cellular data (Republic offers one but you have to buy their phone, there may be others). But that doesn't really solve the whole problem and kids are very good at getting around filtering/limitations.
You could have a dumb phone to send to school with her and then a smart device at home where you can monitor use and reward with good behavior.
posted by selfnoise at 6:09 AM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can get plans with no cellular data (Republic offers one but you have to buy their phone, there may be others). But that doesn't really solve the whole problem and kids are very good at getting around filtering/limitations.
You could have a dumb phone to send to school with her and then a smart device at home where you can monitor use and reward with good behavior.
posted by selfnoise at 6:09 AM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
I believe you need to think about your time investment versus your return.
No matter what you do, she IS going to figure out a way to do at least one of those things that you don't want her to do.
Is it worth being hyper vigilant just to make sure she doesn't spend time on Instagram or Facebook, or is it a teaching opportunity to speak to her about these apps, about internet privacy, about what to post and what not to post?
If you are bound and determined, I only know iPhones, but a few ideas could be:
1) Delete all extra apps.
2) Disconnect from Google Play store, so she can't buy or download any additional apps even if they are free.
3) Pick a few games you DO approve of - Solitaire, Tetris, Bejeweled and install those to offer a healthier alternative, as nature abhors a vacuum.
4) Maybe have surprise spot checks of her phone to make sure she's abiding by your phone rules.
Again, I think that you could turn this into something better than the dumb phone nuclear option, but do what you feel is best.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:17 AM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
No matter what you do, she IS going to figure out a way to do at least one of those things that you don't want her to do.
Is it worth being hyper vigilant just to make sure she doesn't spend time on Instagram or Facebook, or is it a teaching opportunity to speak to her about these apps, about internet privacy, about what to post and what not to post?
If you are bound and determined, I only know iPhones, but a few ideas could be:
1) Delete all extra apps.
2) Disconnect from Google Play store, so she can't buy or download any additional apps even if they are free.
3) Pick a few games you DO approve of - Solitaire, Tetris, Bejeweled and install those to offer a healthier alternative, as nature abhors a vacuum.
4) Maybe have surprise spot checks of her phone to make sure she's abiding by your phone rules.
Again, I think that you could turn this into something better than the dumb phone nuclear option, but do what you feel is best.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 6:17 AM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure there are parental controls apps that will do what you want for you.
Here's an article to begin your investigation.
posted by Quilford at 7:13 AM on April 12, 2015
Here's an article to begin your investigation.
posted by Quilford at 7:13 AM on April 12, 2015
Buy a dumb phone, like the Nokia 100. They're surprisingly cheap, and the battery will last for a week or more unlike a locked-down S3.
posted by richb at 7:31 AM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by richb at 7:31 AM on April 12, 2015 [1 favorite]
All we want is a phone for her to carry for texting and phone calls. Advice?
I'm going to echo the other posters, and say find a cheap dumbphone that's compatible with your carrier, or alternately look into the lowest end of TracFone's offerings.
Tracfone has a few models at $10. Some of them at that price do list "browser" as a feature, but the web experience on a Tracfone is both underwhelming and self limiting, as using data uses up the prepaid minutes, fast. One $10 model that they offer, the Huawei H110C, doesn't even list browser or internet on its specs.
Ultimately, it comes down to how much you value your time. Trying to lock down the S3 will probably take quite a bit of time, whereas getting a dumb phone is going to set you back probably $30 at the most.
And the dumb phone is far more likely to actually do what you want it to do, whereas locking down the S3 is likely an exercise in futility. Case in point: Back in 2012, the One Laptop Per Child people had a project where they distributed locked down Motorola Xoom tablets loaded with learning software to illiterate children in a small village in Ethiopia, no instructions, to find out just how much the kids could learn in that kind of situation. In 5 months, the kids had bypassed the software lockdowns on the devices, to be able to use them to take photos. Your daughter has access to a much wider set of resources than the kids from the village had, so I'd say she could probably accomplish the same in about a week or two.
posted by radwolf76 at 9:46 AM on April 12, 2015
I'm going to echo the other posters, and say find a cheap dumbphone that's compatible with your carrier, or alternately look into the lowest end of TracFone's offerings.
Tracfone has a few models at $10. Some of them at that price do list "browser" as a feature, but the web experience on a Tracfone is both underwhelming and self limiting, as using data uses up the prepaid minutes, fast. One $10 model that they offer, the Huawei H110C, doesn't even list browser or internet on its specs.
Ultimately, it comes down to how much you value your time. Trying to lock down the S3 will probably take quite a bit of time, whereas getting a dumb phone is going to set you back probably $30 at the most.
And the dumb phone is far more likely to actually do what you want it to do, whereas locking down the S3 is likely an exercise in futility. Case in point: Back in 2012, the One Laptop Per Child people had a project where they distributed locked down Motorola Xoom tablets loaded with learning software to illiterate children in a small village in Ethiopia, no instructions, to find out just how much the kids could learn in that kind of situation. In 5 months, the kids had bypassed the software lockdowns on the devices, to be able to use them to take photos. Your daughter has access to a much wider set of resources than the kids from the village had, so I'd say she could probably accomplish the same in about a week or two.
posted by radwolf76 at 9:46 AM on April 12, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks to everyone for your answers. Our daughter has an iPad and a laptop, so we're not too worried about her access to stuff on the Internet.
Really the issue is that I don't want her walking and staring at the phone. The Internet is fine with us at the library or at home, but not when crossing busy streets.
So, I guess we'll take everyone's advice and buy a dumb phone. Thanks!
posted by nathanrudy at 12:58 PM on April 12, 2015 [2 favorites]
Really the issue is that I don't want her walking and staring at the phone. The Internet is fine with us at the library or at home, but not when crossing busy streets.
So, I guess we'll take everyone's advice and buy a dumb phone. Thanks!
posted by nathanrudy at 12:58 PM on April 12, 2015 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by dawkins_7 at 5:57 AM on April 12, 2015 [3 favorites]