Positive experiences using dumbphone for calls/texts on VoLTE?

December 6, 2022 12:03 PM

Tell me about your dumbphone / "feature phone" that connects stably to 4G so that calls can be made over VoLTE! My combo (Nokia 225 + tello) is supposed to work, and did briefly, but now falls off the network constantly. I'm willing to switch networks but need a very cheap monthly rate as the phone is only used occasionally. Any Jurassic technology users out there?

My middle schooler has a Nokia 225 on tello (t-mobile MVNO), just for making/receiving calls and texting. We're trying to delay the smartphone addiction her parents have succumbed to -- don't worry, she has plenty of other ways of going online. It all worked fine until t-mobile switched off 3G last summer. So we changed a few settings and it struggled along for a bit, but it hasn't worked for a month or two now -- the phone randomly falls off the VoLTE network and can't make or receive calls, and nothing will get it back on. r/dumbphone suggests others have had the same experience with this handset/network, so I am looking for a new combo.

We need:

- reasonably low cost handset
- lowest possible monthly rate for the plan
- good battery
- reliable connection to 4G
- no smartphone stuff: no browser, youtube, facebook etc. (tho maps would be fine!)

We live in a major urban area so surely there is something that will work?? I looked at recent questions but didn't see any reports of positive experiences...

posted by ogorki to Technology (10 answers total)

i have a cingular flip 4 on at&t.

it has browser that is so terrible i dont use it except for emergencies. maps too, and similar. no games. comically bad camera.

but t9 text and calling works great and it was $65, and i just walked into the store and asked them what they had available.

applaud you for trying to prolong her lifetime without the smartphone addiction.
posted by wowenthusiast at 12:09 PM on December 6, 2022

I also have Flip 4's on ATT for my middle schoolers, they work fine for the exact purposes you want
posted by Dr. Twist at 1:25 PM on December 6, 2022

Response by poster: Thank you both, the Cingular does look like what I'm after. I'm not used to looking at phone plans (I have a postpaid phone) so maybe I'm not seeing them, but it seems like AT&T's cheapest plan is around $30/month. Tello has talk and text only for $5/month so this would be a bit of a jump in monthly costs. And it seems like these flip phones each only work on one network, argh
posted by ogorki at 2:11 PM on December 6, 2022

I'd try a Nokia 6300. It has band 71 support, which is important for T-Mobile's network, and which your current 225 lacks.
posted by kickingtheground at 2:33 PM on December 6, 2022

Have you tried the NUU F4L that Tello sells? I got that one for my mother and, as far as I know, she hasn't had any problems with it on Tello.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 3:29 PM on December 6, 2022

definitely worth asking at the tmobile store what they have for dumb phones. i'd be shocked if they dont have the one that works
posted by wowenthusiast at 3:39 PM on December 6, 2022

Response by poster: The NUU is probably the top contender, thank you for the user report still_wears_a_hat. Ugly tho! The 6300 is less of an imposition on a style conscious 12 yr old -- if it works. tello refuses to confirm or deny...
posted by ogorki at 4:37 PM on December 6, 2022

Best answer: We are on Tello (still the cheapest voice/text plan I know of) and have used:
- Blu Tank Flip - worked ok, but call quality was not always great and eventually the charging port melted (may have been caused by a wet usb cord)
- AGM M6 bar phone - terrible predictive text, could only type in all caps, loud but poor-quality audio
- iPhone 6s with the parental controls locked down as much as possible. We have almost all apps including the browser blocked. Cost around $60 and works way better than the featurephones. Highly recommended.
posted by sibilatorix at 5:23 PM on December 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: That's an idea, sibilatorix! I currently use a 6s which I could pass down. Locking it down like in this description I guess?

I think that's the most practical (and cheap) suggestion for my situation. It will only cost the $600 for a new, highly addictive phone for me ;). Thank you all for your reports, they've been very useful!
posted by ogorki at 6:01 PM on December 6, 2022

Just wanted to say the Nokia 6300 4G is great. While it does have a couple of the features you want to avoid (browser, YouTube, Facebook), they are so annoying to use that it's as if they're not there at all. This ends up being a great compromise, at least in my eyes - the internet is there if I absolutely need it, but otherwise I avoid it. There's Maps, though I haven't tried using it.
posted by nightcoast at 6:33 AM on December 7, 2022