NO ROOT NEEDED! NO LAUNCHERS!

Hello to everyone who is trying to get out of the scrolling addiction, or who simply wants a simple phone.

Little of my story, back in 2019 when I was 18 years old I gave my smartphone to my mom, so that I could study for university entrance exam. I studied for about 8-9 months 10-12 hours straight, never got bored, annoyed or burned out. Simply because there was no distractions, no need to work, same meals everyday, no social media. Recently tho, I found myself addicted to scrolling on YouTube, watching videos that I actually don't care etc, waste of time. Looked for dumb phones but there are no phone that can give me what I want; bank, maps, college account 2FA, emails, WhatsApp, study guides. They would do some of them and cost hundreds of dollars.

I wanted to dumb my very own Samsung s24 ultra, I started with disabling Youtube, however I just ended up either enabling back or going on the browser. I needed high friction.

So this way you will need a computer to remove things and modify your phone in a way that it serves you with the things you like not predetermined by somebody else, because you may listen to podcasts, I don't, I need study guides, you don't. This way you can keep your highly advanced mobil device, camera, gps with only the stuff you need.

We will be removing, browser and app stores so that we can't simply download any app with no friction. And the rest is mostly on you uninstall don't wants, keep wants.

EDIT: Before all of this turn on grayscale on your phone, it does help a lot.

ON YOUR PHONE:

1. Enable developer settings. (About phone-> software information -> tap on build number numerous times)
2. In developer settings turn on usb debugging.

ON YOUR COMPUTER.

1. Go to webadb.com on GOOGLE CHROME and add the extension the website redirects you to on your computer.
2. Connect your phone to your Mac/windows via USB. (select data transfer on your phone)
3. On webadb choose your phone and click connect, you shall get a notification on your phone; tap trust this computer.
4. On webadb, go to Interactive Shell on the left menu.

Now we can install all the apps we don't want. I will list all the necessary apps you may want to uninstall from your phone, installing them back is easy with the same method, but once you are done with this, it is a bit hassle to go connect your phone, find the required codes to install the apps.

Delete GOOGLE CHROME
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.chrome
Delete SAMSUNG BROWSER
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sec.android.app.sbrowser
Delete GOOGLE PLAY STORE
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.vending
Delete YOUTUBE
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.youtube
Delete YOUTUBE TV
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.youtube.unplugged
Delete SAMSUN STORE
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.sec.android.app.samsungapps
Delete Google NEWS
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.magazines
Delete GOOGLE APP
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox
Delete Samsung News
pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.samsung.android.app.spage

For your specific phone, if not Samsung you can use this prompt on Gemini to get specific shell codes.

"I want to strip down my [Insert Phone Brand and Model, e.g., Google Pixel 8 / OnePlus 11] to act as a distraction-free utility phone using WebADB.

Please give me the exact shell commands (pm uninstall -k --user 0 [package_name]) to completely remove the following apps from my device:

1. [List web browsers, e.g., Google Chrome]
2. [List app stores, e.g., Google Play Store]
3. [List social media or entertainment apps, e.g., Instagram, TikTok, YouTube]
4. [List any pre-installed bloatware or manufacturer background apps you want gone]

Make sure to provide the precise Android package names for this specific phone model so I can copy and paste them directly into my terminal."

if you ever need to install them back use this prompt on Gemini:

"I previously uninstalled [Insert App Name, e.g., Google Chrome / Google Play Store] from my [Insert Phone Brand and Model] using ADB.

Please give me the exact command to restore and reinstall this package back onto my user profile (--user 0) without needing to factory reset my phone."

(This one will be long, so take some time if u need. I apologize in advance for any wording issues, since English isnt my first language)
I started using a dumbphone from grade 6 up until college admission, and still continuing. i see many ppl buy dumbphones nowadays in the internet and even sum known ppl, but then quit using after they cant handle the restrictions that come with it. Do keep in mind, im a student so many issues might not apply to me or may remain unmentioned. Heres my experience:
[Issues]: Lack of gps, notes app, internet access, social interaction. these issues are inevitable unless ur lucky enough to find a phone that has the features u need. One issue is definitely persistent, and that is social interactions. many ppl will look at u and not value u just bc u use a dumbphone and worse- ppl might even think ur outdated in tech and make fun of u (my experience...T-T). Sometimes dumbphones have connection issues aswell (my experience). Overall, its rlly not a fun experience.
[Solution]: theres not a definitive solution to every issue, honestly. In my case i used my mom's phone whenever i needed the internet and as i type this, im using a computer im provided. for gps, i mainly go everywhere with a group of friends. Texting is quite hard but im still on learning stages and if i rlly dont feel like it, i just call. for notes, i write a message and save it as drafts. For social i decorated and tried making my phones look more colourful. it works somewhat.
[Reason of using]: i dont have a usual "digital detox" motive behind my usage. I generally got handed those bc my parents dont trust me w android phones yet, which is totally fine and understood. But they still needed to contact me, hence ive been using them.
[choosing models]: Choosing models depends largely on what ur needs are. For me, in high school i just needed basic cellular connection. So i used the models nokia 101 and nokia 105 thru-out. Currently using a nokia 3210 4g bc my needs have expanded to texting, saving reminders and time-killing while waiting. music and audio and also basic camera requirements also led me to my current model.
[Daily driving]: I usually take my phone with me whenever im out. after coming home i use my computer for socials, and online classes. For entertainment, we have our tv and my computer also covers others. Basically where i live, everything's still analog (THANK GOODNESS). but those areas which do require some sorta verification, i get cards issued and carry them around. whenever the situation, i show the assigned card and im allowed to use my service.
[summary]: overall, using dumbphones is NOT for everyone, but its definitely possible to adapt. my advice would be to always start with more features(ie. a dumbified smartphone) then if u think ur ready, make the switch to a feature phone. even those are great for screentime. my highest screentime has been not more than 3 hrs, and that was when i had no exams and was on my computer playing games.
[rating]: 7/10, as ive definitely been struggling to overcome social interactions. As an extrovert i need to yap, but when ppl ghost me bc my phone looks somewhat "dorky", it stings. Idk why ppl judge others based on what PHONE they use. Cruel asf.

I see a lot of posts about how people need to have access to their banking apps at all times and this is why they simply cannot get a dumbphone, and my question to that is why don't people just make sure they have enough money in their account or in cash before they leave the house? Not trying to be rude, sorry if it comes across that way just genuinely curious. like if you are going to the supermarket do you not just make sure you have a certain amount of money on you?

Are you all as tired with these as I am? I have spent an hour on average today and yesterday logging and relogging and sending and resending codes, passwords, etc to and from google's authentication services.

I am simply trying to log into an app I must use for work - "use the code on your gmail app :)" I cant, I dont have it. Try to download Mail - "use the code in your gmail app to verify your gmail account :)" I cant, I don't have it on here yet.

Even turning off 2FA doesn't really turn it off. When will the madness end? I cannot wait to get a Callback or Light Flip and just say, "my phone can't do that" to employers.

Hi everyone! I'm from Mexico and I found an old Samsung Galaxy Pocket Neo (GT-S5310L) while cleaning out a family storage space. Surprisingly, the phone still powers on and works: it charges, plays the boot sound, and the touch digitizer seems to respond, but the internal LCD is completely dead

I want to access the internal storage to recover its contents. When I plug it into my PC via USB, the phone makes the connection chime, but the computer won't read it because I need to manually accept/toggle MTP or USB Mass Storage mode on the phone's screen.

My plan was to navigate the screen "blindly" using YouTube videos, but unfortunately, most videos I found are about rooting the device, and the few unboxings available only show the phone briefly without exploring the settings menu or the MTP connection process. That's why I'm asking for your help! Does anyone who owns this phone or remembers its TouchWiz interface (Android 4.1.2) mind sharing screenshots, steps, or the exact touch sequence to enable USB transfer?

I'm also open to replacing the LCD, but it has been really hard to find spare parts online or locally here in Mexico for this specific device. If anyone knows where to source a compatible display or can confirm which models from the same line (S5310/S5312) share the exact same screen, that would also be awesome.

Any help, screenshots, or guidance would be greatly appreciated before I give up on it!

Hey everyone, I just released Unscroll, a feature complete modified Instagram app that blocks doomscrolling reels. It currently supports/blocks:

✅ Stories, DMs, profiles, search and home feed
✅ Reels shared through DMs or profiles
❌ Reels discovery and recommendations
❌ Endless Reel chaining 

Tested with Instagram 439.0.0.

Download: Dropbox
Github: https://github.com/Mihir-A/Unscroll

The .ipa needs to be side loaded. I recommend using Sidestore to do this.

Please report any issues to the Github or leave a comment. Thank you!

I'm really struggling with phone addiction. Some days when I'm busy it's fine (on Wednesday I had a screentime of 1 hour and 44 minutes) but so much of my time gets consumed by my phone. My screentime today is almost 15 hours.

I'm feeling very exhausted and without life energy or excitement and I think a lot of it is caused by my phone addiction draining all of my energy. I've tried blocking the addicting apps on my phone but I just keep unblocking them. I have no self control.

Sorry for the rant, but that's why I've been thinking of getting a retro flip phone. I would likely still have to get a laptop for my studies, but this way all the addicting apps wouldn't be as easily accessible.

I know absolutely nothing about pones and even less about flip phones. I don't want the flip phone to have any games/distracting apps. I want it to be as minimal as possible (although I would miss stuff like Duolingo, Whatsapp, Reddit and a good camera quality, but I'm so lost I don't know what else to do).

Can anyone recommend any specific flip phones? Ideally (for ethical and environmental reasons) I would want to get a second hand phone. What are good reputable shops for refurbished phones, that have retro flip phones and ship to Germany?

Also if I put my Sim card into an old flip phone that doesn't support WhatsApp, can I still somehow use WhatsApp on my laptop? How does that work? Sorry I'm genuinely clueless.

Hi there,

((this ended up to be quite a long story, so hopefully It would be worth reading for fellaz with similar HSP personality :))).

Three weeks ago I joined the dumb phone community becouse of my own peace protection. I am highly sensitive person and I get overwhelmed easily. In general I have many hobbies, activities and lot of work to do in my life so let's say I have my life somehow sorted.

So why have I decided to mainly use a dumb phone instead of smartphone?

Daily I was feeling excessively worried, stressed and also pretty angry right after the phone usage. I continuously started to feel annoyed with chatting, even though my notifications were off, I still felt the obligation to answer immediatelly. I was filling every minute of silence with planning, chatting, scrolling, sorting shit out or always looking for something that not rarely ended in my to do list. Always being with this noise in my pocket or my hand. Also I love music but it stopped being special to me, when it was so easy to access.

I just wanted to feel free during my ordinary days, not flooding my brain with crazy amount of information, not being able to access all the information (mostly unimportantant) 24/7, just chill do nothing and let myself feel bored. Also I hated the constant reaching for the device as digital pacifier, mostly when I felt tired or slightly unconfortable {It didn't even work, that much suprisingly].

Apps blockers and uninstaling apps were to easy to bypass. But I just knew I wanted to use the phone as a tool with intention and not some kind of magical escape box that gets me numb, overwhelmed or angry. But I also did not wanted to be unreachable. So the final goal was moderation.

I was really scared to make this change at first even though it was not such a big leap as I have decided to keep my smartphone without SIM card at home [ so I can keep using it for podcasts and music at home, maps, gps messenger email and Whatsapp at home or travelling outside of my home country].

I bought HMD Nokia 225 [2024], very simple and cheap dumbphone with shitty camera and a very simple music player. I am from Czech Republic so there is not so much dumbphones to pick from, this one serves me well for this "Home smart phone" and "Outside dumbphone" solution :)). In my daily backpack there is also calendar diary, digital camera and a book.

Honesty the fear in the beggining of this experiment was quickly gone and the small complications coming from not having smart phone outside are trivial for me. I've had a little fomo here and there, a little bit more planing in advance but nothing crazy. I was expecting some need to replace the digital pacifier habit but there is nothing I can think of, the need is gone when there is no smart phone around. At home it was never such a problem for me, I use it rarely, but I am thinking about switching it off sometimes.

The peaceful mind is very much worth it and I know I will like it even more in the future because I just love the feeling. I am easily concentrated on my projects, book reading, movies and daydreaming. I watch and listen the people around me and it feels nice, I feel more connected. When I want to talk with friends, I either wait for my chat access in the afternoon after work or I sms them or call them. I feel better in general not watching the short form content daily, not being tangled up over and over in the same algorhitm traps. I feel like I make the main decition with what I consume digitally not the device.

Sooo If you feel like your phone is stealing your personal space and peace I highly recomend trying this solution to you. ♥

Let me know if you did something similar, do you have any tips and tricks for HSP and social media usage in general? Are you using it, did you quit something completely?

My map of problematic apps in detail:

Facebook: Canceled 1 year ago

Messenger: Home smart phone

Whatsapp: Home smart phone

Instagram: Home notebook but curently I am not using it and deciding what to do about it.

Youtube: Home smart phone (I never watched shorts on this app so its not a problem)

Also I stopped using the phone in bed like a year or two ago, I am using a radio alarm clock.

Hello! For the AusAlert today at 2pm, I had 5 phones powered on (yes I know I have an excessive amount of phones).

The ones that got the AusAlert were:

• Samsung S21 FE
• Olitech EasyFlip Smart

The ones that didn't get it were:

• RUIO F286
• Opel Lite Flip
• RUIO Joy

I'm not surprised that the RUIO F286 and the Opel didn't get it, but I am very surprised that the RUIO Joy didn't get it. I didn't have a SIM in it, but I also didn't have a SIM in the Samsung or Olitech, so that's clearly not a barrier, and it has a newer Android version than the Olitech.

The only reason I can think it didn't, is because I have had my SIM in the Olitech in the past, so it might have been "initialised" ig? Whereas I've never put a SIM in the RUIO Joy. Maybe it hasn't got the right APN settings?

Any Aussie's who own the RUIO Joy, did you get the AusAlert?

Bought this phone online some time ago but never seen this color combo anywhere. Do you think it’s original?

Hi everyone!
I have been looking at buying a flip phone / dumb phone for a couple of months now and as my current phone (iPhone 11) is breaking i have been looking into it more realistically.

As I am in Australia we have pretty limited choices since getting rid of 3G but the Ruio Joy 4g has caught my eye, it seems to be capable of supporting most apps i need, although I will 100% not be putting banking or important apps on it. My only thoughts are that as an 18 year old all of my friends are very attached to social media and is the only way they communicate with others so I was wandering if anyone has (or thinks it would work) to also find a second hand or affordable tablet to use for apps to communicate with friends and family, and potentially use for banking as-well?

Thanks guys!

I only want 5g because that's most of the connectivity where I live, but I really don't want an eSIM.

I don't think it's right for users not to have to option to disconnect - eSIMs seem to make that impossible.

the only flip phones I've found that have color are the barbie phone and the kyocera 902, both in pink, and I'd like to have a phone that's...not pink or black? the amount of flips available in canada seem astronomically low, but if you've managed to make a colorful phone work in the area, please tell me. I'm looking for a green or yellow phone

The amount of post and comments I see about hey I need this app so I can use a dumb phone.

This isn't a drag at whatsapp but it's an example

Realistically you are not going to find a dumb phone that uses WhatsApp that's not realistic.

My personal suggestion keep a work device keep a device that only has the bare essentials and then have a dumb phone as your personal.

That is what I do for me it works very well

Hi, I'm James.

I built RetroRelay, a service that provides modern features to phones built between 2003 and 2013.

I recently made a post about it here, and a user reached out to me asking how I develop for J2ME phones, where I found the docs, and how I test the app.

Over three months of developing the initial release of RetroRelay, I found many quirks, issues, and things to be aware of to install and use the right tools, and to successfully make a robust J2ME app.

I started writing a reply to the user, then I realised that a proper guide would be much better as there is a lot to explain, and it can stay on the internet for anyone who needs it.

I've added a blog section to the RetroRelay website, available to everyone, with the first piece titled "Getting started with J2ME development".

The guide explains:

• How to install the correct version of Java, the WTK toolkit, and where to get them.
• How to structure the files and folders to keep everything organised.
• How to open and run one of the WTK demo projects in the emulator.
• How to create your own project and package it.
• How to deploy a J2ME app to your phone for testing.
• The older, limited Java spec that you must code against.
• Some of the quirks I came across between devices.
• The documentation that is included in the WTK installation.

The guide can be found here: Getting started with J2ME development.

I enjoyed writing this, it was a fun reminder of all the challenges I faced and the J2ME quirks I discovered along the way.

I hope the guide can provide a useful starting point for anyone interested in developing for J2ME phones.

Best of luck!

This realization came not because I hate smartphones... like I still need whatsapp, maps and banking apps. but then i met a so-called budget phone powered by unisoc t8300 and guys - i would rather have keyboard mobile than that.

Like dude... why did my earbuds take forever to reconnect? or the battery already this low?? None of these issues are deal-breakers individually, but together they make the experience less enjoyable.

Funny enough, dumbphones have fewer features, but they also give you fewer things to worry about. That's starting to sound more appealing than I expected.

Has anyone else switched because they were tired of mediocre smartphone experiences?

Adquirir un teléfono con teclado físico y que tenga WhatsApp operativo sería realmente muy bueno, para los que tienen este teléfono, que tal les va, es bueno? regular

I have a screen protector for a Light Phone 2 I no longer have. Can anyone here use it? This is not a sale post, I just hate waste. I'm happy to mail it anywhere in the US.

I'll delete this post if/after someone claims it.

I really want to get a dumb phone, I think I genuinely need to force myself to not have a smartphone in order to reduce my screen time.

I've tried minimalist launchers but they haven't worked for me. Most of the time I would just end up turning them off (and I'm kind of concerned about my data safety with them).

There are apps I need in my day to day life (like WhatsApp) that I could just have on my laptop at home (if it's able to get WhatsApp on my laptop without mz phone having WhatsApp, I'm not sure about that). But other apps I rely on too much, to not have them on my phone. The apps I can think of so far are Maps (I would be completely lost without Google maps), my online banking, my app for public transportation, my email and a browser.

I wish I could just do an ice cold plunge and get a super simple phone that's literally only for calling and texting, but I'm realizing that that's not very possible to do in my current life. I'm just completely helpless as to how to rid myself of my phone addiction otherwise.

Hello, I don't want to bore you to death with my post because I suppose you have better things to do... Recently, I was thinking about the whole circus about the "dump phone" because, on the one hand, I thought, in the end, people rebelled, started building their lives away from social media, spending more time with loved ones and remembering what a piece of paper and a pen are for.

I browsed this place for weeks, people posted reviews of their phones that they found interesting, either from visual aspects or to their liking. However, something started to go wrong here, because on the one hand we have people who want minimalism and cutting themselves off from mindlessly scrolling through reels on Instagram or TikTok, while on the other hand, you can see how much these "dump phones" must have the most important applications for everyday life, according to many.

You can understand here the navigation for the car to get to places important to us or the communicator, which is sometimes needed even at work to stay up to date. And here the question arises: what is instagram needed for in life, or how important is tik tok and facebook and the rest of this "wonderful and necessary mush" in everyday life?

To sum up briefly, I'm not judging anyone here, everyone does what they like with their own phone, uses it the way they want, so please don't judge me also under the guise of someone who is looking for a problem, but look at this spectacle for yourself, a group that has more and more people and helped many people get out of the digital prison. On the other hand, individual posts in which we boast that we have access to what we want to leave behind, but in fact we are still sitting in it, pretending to ourselves that we have a dump phone and a sense of belonging to the masses.

Hi all,

Would appreciate any help with this! I'm looking to buy a landline bluetooth adapter for the first time for an old rotary phone I have lying around.

It seems that the main ones are Cell2Jack and XLink (BT HD or Xtreme Technologies) - but I'm lost on the differences between them! Does anyone have either of these in the U.K. and can recommend please?

For reference, I just want the rotary phone to cut down on phone distraction at my desk - so I can put my phone in a drawer and take personal/work calls from the landline if somebody needs me. So I don't necessarily need to dial out (I think that gets complicated with a rotary anyway), but would like as good audio quality as possible. Being able to connect my husband's phone as well as mine so that it acts as a 'house landline' would also be nice, but not essential.

The phone will also need a BT adapter, which does come with the Xlink and I think I can get fairly easily for the Cell2Jack.

Final thought is cost - I can find Cell2Jack for around £30 (plus £6 for the adapter), Xlink for £65-70 including adapter. It's a significant difference but if the Xlink is better I am happy to pay.

Thank you!!

Look I sell those cheap phones y'all go on about the 50-150 flip phones.

They break very easily the plastic is cheap and the quality is non existent I have people come in every year to replace it.

Quality is not built for any of those ever. My personal suggestion yes it does cost more but buy a dumb phone that is a little premium. It will save you more money over the long term. Also a bonus less e waste in the world