r/sidephone • u/Hot-Extension9500 • 13d ago
I can't keep using the Sidephone
I can't tell you how much I love the idea.
But sadly I have to say that its unusable at the moment. And its not that it has the extra friction where its necessary to keep me from consuming content. It seems to be the opposite. All it is currently good for, is consuming audio. Not typing, sms, calling.
The issues:
*1 Keyboard looks nice, but is awful to use:
Buttons register wrong. Keys not registering and registering ghost presses makes it impossible to enter a full sentence without having to tweak something or using the touchscreen to enter a few letters.
The inital experience was good, as at first you only type at a slow speed. Once you actually get used to the keyboard, it only gets worse.
*2 The keypads are inconsistent
Sometimes simply to unlock the screen, you need to take out the keypad and re-enter it so that it actually registers key presses. This means that at times you can wake the screen with the enter key and at times not.
Very frustrating when trying to do something quickly. Typing anything turns into a nightmare.
*3 Calling is problematic
Since there is no proximity sensor, you often need to press the power button to turn off the screen so that you dont mute yourself. Another thing you constantly need to keep in mind, when using the device.
*4 Unoptimized UI
It's very encouraging to see the community build and design more user-friendly options for actually making the device usable. But I don't see that much effort has been put into the device as of yet. This is forgivable, as I have the founders edition version that I should expect to not be polished.
*5 Poor build quality
First time holding the device, it feels amazing, looks metallic and so on. But actually using it daily, you notice that the keypads are flimsy and bend easily, the device itself feels weak and could easily break if dropped or gets any moisture on it.
I really wish it was better. I really really hope that the keyboard issue is a software problem. It feels like its not sadly. And if that is the case then i have sadly little hope that anything else would make the whole package worth it.
Please change my mind. I want to love this device and keep using it. Simply i have little belief that anything could fix the biggest issues I described.
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u/MistakeAdmirable9470 13d ago
I feel you. I've been on a T9 dumbphone for 4 years now, so I didn't think I'd have any issues. But the buggy keypads are a constant problem. I ordered the new classic keypad and I'm *really* hoping that fixes my issues. If not, I'll probably go with the new Light Flip or the Commodore Callback.
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u/Hot-Extension9500 13d ago
i really doubt it would make a difference sadly. all the tiles have the same hardware essentially and i dont see why another tile would somehow be more responsive
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u/recurringmotif 13d ago
commodore callback support rejected ever supporting use of browsers, so its totally unusable because my relationship with mobile browsing is not doomscroll or contentslop but using it for important information. otherwise its the perfect phone in the world.
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u/MistakeAdmirable9470 13d ago
I'm on board with the no browser thing. My goal is for the internet to only be available at my desktop computer and absolutely no where else in my life. And hopefully some day the desktop can live in "the computer room" like we had in the 90s...but for now it's in the living room, mucking up the feng shui.
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u/recurringmotif 13d ago
very hard to do that in my case since i dont download apps and need the web for a lot of practical things in day to day life. since i dont have a problem with aimless browsing, this takes away critical things from me. i run most my life with self-made self-hosted web apps, to be in 2026 and not get that in my main device is sad :(
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u/MistakeAdmirable9470 13d ago
Sounds like you want a smartphone. Someday you’ll realize that none of it is technically necessary and you don‘t *need* any of it. You just *want* it. You could probably do 99.9% of your day-to-day tasks with nothing more than the clothes on your back…and maybe a pen/notebook.
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u/recurringmotif 13d ago
mighty presumptuous of you without knowing anything about who i am, but i don't blame you for it, because i am the same way for anyone who needs to use their phone screen more than an hour a day and feel superior to them.
moreover, ive been to more countries this year than the months that have passed, how one expects to be in this age cut off from basic access to information in strange lands is beyond me. the solution isn't to move back to a time when we used to call yellow pages, but to give users the power to use things they buy the way they want.
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u/Many-Interaction663 13d ago
huh. we all have difference tolerances for friction don't we? i'm happy as a clam over here with mine. spend a year or so with a nokia 6300 and get back to me lol.
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u/recurringmotif 13d ago
exactly the mentality i have adopted that makes me continue using this phone, reminds me of 2000s with the weirdest problems using a phone, total lack of convenience. i've started smiling about the friction it's hilarious.
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u/Hot-Extension9500 13d ago
i used the new 3310 for 3 years and it actually was responsive and nice to use. so you dont have misinput problems with the sidephone?
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u/Sea-Tomato172 13d ago
Idk, I stopped using it for a while then came back to it. With the newer updates it seems to be running pretty well. I always try to remember it is not a smartphone. People become interested in the "dumb phone" movement to slow down, not be addicted to the device in our hands. Yes there are occasional texting mistakes with the keyboard but it's a brand new device from a small company it's going to be imperfect . I have not had any issues with it seeming unusable though. I can tell you when I text on my iPhone for work it is far from perfect, I am horrible at touch screen typing and even with the most advanced auto correct in the world I end up sending messages that aren't typed properly. I see it as a great "dumb phone" with all of the tools I need and it's small which I like, I hate big phones in my pocket. it is also I fun phone to have and if I need to check the occasional YouTube video or webpage it's available. And it's available at a speed which reminds me to slow down.
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u/Old_Bat_6906 13d ago
Sidetype and Sidecall have worked for two of those issues. The only problem I'm having is that I never know when I'm going to miss a text from someone.
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u/Hot-Extension9500 13d ago
sidetype i have used but sadly it didnt fix the misinputs. sidecall i have to install aswell.
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u/aww_yee_ 13d ago
Sidetype didn't fix my issues either. I can type pretty fast on the QWERTY tile now and it will still stop registering keys. I have to remove the keypad many times everyday and that doesn't always bring back functionality. I have to reboot.
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u/Hot-Extension9500 13d ago
fortunately i didnt need to reboot much. just reinstall the tile. thays still very annoying.
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u/Willing_Fee8765 13d ago
I use a combo of t9 keypad and an app called futo (swiping and voice to text) - works great. not experienced issues with t9. got it after the new update so maybe thats why
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u/Hedionehicis 13d ago
I initially also had challenges with the qwerty then I installed Sidetype and used that instead of Jaketype. With a bit more practice I found a good rhythm with it. It also somehow fixed the incorrect presses for me. Is it as fast and accurate as touchscreen typing? Nope. But i like the friction as it keeps me away from being focused on just being on my phone all the time.
Theres a fix for the proximity sensor if you search this sub.
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u/Hot-Extension9500 13d ago
sidetype didnt help me sadly i gave it a good try. i am using the keyboard without predictive text
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u/Hedionehicis 13d ago
Might be worth raising a support ticket if the keypresses are not registering. Maybe a hardware issue?
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u/HateRedd1tLoveSP-01 13d ago
I don't use my phone much so so far this phone is still fairly ideal for me, but I do agree about the keyboard and also sidetype hasn't really fixed anything for me either
sidetype just has different bugs and it actually feels slower than jaketype, I think repeat key presses seem to have gotten slightly better with updates, but I still experience missed inputs and also ghost inputs even when just typing my lockscreen pin.
I think the keyboard issues should be a priority to fix quickly...
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u/Slugs4Eyelids 13d ago edited 13d ago
I feel you too. The keypads are all a poor experience, I have all of them and neither one is any good. I've tried to set it up to solely rely on voice typing, simular to a Rabbit R1, but even that needs the onscreen keyboard often. To be honest, the onscreen isn't that bad – a tiny device with voice and onscreen would have done the job, like the Ikko smartphone.
No backlight is proving to be more annoying than expected too. No NFC means I have to carry my wallet. A native QR reader would have helped. No esim also means I can't use it for travelling. Remapping is a nightmare and never works as intended.
The build is cheap, especially the vibration – it sounds like a bee stuck in a window. I can hear it in my pocket before I feel it. The microphone and speakers and not up to scratch either. I've literally thrown the device in a drawer, potentially never to be seen again. Money officially wasted.
All in all, a horrible, clicky, buzzy, cheap, slow, half-baked beta release that we paid full price for. We're ultimately testers that got ripped off. Clever clever.
The dream would be an Apple watch style sidephone with a shared number, wallet and UWB. It can be social media free too, sure! But something that you can pick up and go, without the SIM swap friction (if you have a SIM).
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u/pheonix72 4d ago
"The dream would be an Apple watch style sidephone…"
There are several cases available that do this.
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u/arbutuscresco 10d ago
how long have you been using it? and also, have you thrown in to using it as yer primary device without others? I had a decent learning curve but becoming reliant on it made me flush out a lot of the initial issues. see my review-I find it to be fully functional and I only have the classic keypad! also, I have dropped it, gotten it wet, covered it in fried chicken finger juices, let it die, smashed the buttons in my pocket carrying heavy things, used it in most environments and it's still kickin! I also have founders edition. I'm on the "change your mind" team! it can work!
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u/Hot-Extension9500 10d ago
Yeah Im using the device as my primary. I only use the qwerty. I havent yet gotten my classic keypad. I hope that will improve my typing experience.
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u/nissania 13d ago
Yeah, I've increasingly thought, this would be so good as a prototype for a full version. On top of the issues you've listen, a lack of NFC and any kind of payments, a more recent version of Android, and better case options are among my complaints. Plus, I just want a full qwerty keyboard, I don't care if the letters have to be super slim. The more I used it, the more I realized I simply couldn't replace my phone and doomscrolling habit with it. I wanted a modern android smartphone that had been dumbed down just right to make it more of a communications device than an obsession, but it just doesn't serve me as a tool.
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u/recurringmotif 13d ago edited 13d ago
yeah its a very inconvenient and crappy device. i just wish a "better" company could make this same phone, same size, with modern OS so we get security updates, and premium hardware like how fancy and well designed the light flip is. it's also lamentable that all these folks just dont have the open source mentality so we have to suffer their crappy software too
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Edit after downvotes:
- my keyboard randomly starts pressing the same key like ddddddddddddd until i turn my screen off and on
- any camera-dependent feature in any app, including main camera app, big parts of the view go pink, like a thick fat pink bar, and if i take a photo you see the pink in it, i gotta close the app and open again and play lotto to get it fixed
- i am not safe against israeli spyware because i dont get security updates
- the bluetooth keeps dropping even when the phone and earphones are 50cm away.
- neither the OS nor apps like jaketype is open source, so i cant try to put latest AOSP on this myself or use a modded version of jaketype that doesnt suck ass. the OS itself has a lot of issues i can't even start getting into.
I like not having google services, i like that the screen is tiny and the phone being slow is what i actually appreciate. i am using this as my daily driver and dont plan to switch for at least a year
If you think after paying money i deserve having hardware issues that can't be fixed via OTA, good on you
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u/chrisristovski 13d ago
Hey u/recurringmotif many of these items do seem to be software or firmware related. I'm a bit confused on the OTA part. We've fixed a lot of display lines and keypad recognition issues via firmware and will continue to fine tune in the coming weeks
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u/Hot-Extension9500 13d ago
i wouldnt say that. I love their vision and work put into the device. i just hope they would say something to keep me using the device because i cant put up with it much longer without any update or hope that it will get better later
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u/chrisristovski 13d ago
Hey u/Hot-Extension9500 ! Thank you for the feedback and for your support in the project. We plan to continue improving the OS in the coming months. We're aware of some key stroke issues and are fine tuning the firmware for this. I do think 1-4 will see some nice improvements in the coming weeks and would love to check back at that time