flip phone

[woodbutcher]

I didn't want to hijack the phone topic posted earlier, so I started a new one to try to get recommendations for a new model of flip phone. I tried an iPhone a few years ago after carrying a flip phone for several years, but I couldn't come up with a good way to carry it. Plus, the complication of satisfying the phone that I was the one who was trying to make a phone call every time wanted to use it seemed like an unnecessary hassle. I carry a Samsung with no camera that is supposed to be very reliable, but lately mine has developed some issues that cause it to turn itself off even when the battery is fully charged. Also, there are times when I get the message that I can make emergency calls only. These have come when I'm in areas with good service. I'm looking for a brand that is like an LG I used to carry, but became obsolete because it was 3G.
Butch

 

[JD Dave]

I have a Kyocera Duraxe flip phone. It's made rugged and heavy-duty and is supposed to tolerate rough handling. It's been very reliable. I don't know if they still make that model.

 

[Mark-Ia]

Verizon LG Exalt LTE, the specs: it?s got a 3-inch LCD display with a 400 x 240 resolution. The Exalt includes a 1,470mAh battery, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera (sorry no selfie cam), and 8GB of memory. It also supports Wi-Fi calling. The Exalt costs $168.

 

[runwoolf]

I have a Kyocera DuraPro, it is about 10 years old, been under water twice, dropped many times, and still works fine. I don't know if that model is still available. Does everything I need.

 

[MSD]

My understanding is the flip phones are a thing of the past. With carriers moving to 4 and 5 G coverage, they are no longer compatible. My son bought a flip phone a year ago and Verizon didn't want to authorize it but finally did.

 

[Texasmark1]

I'm not a progressive and am retired. I want something cheap and simple so I don't have to think and remember to use it.....and if it gets lost, it gets lost. Community Cellular fixed me up with a $50 phone and $18 (tax title and license) monthly bill. Simple key pad, large buttons, volume I can hear and all. Couldn't be happier.

On the phone, I was working on my pond bank one day and slipped into the water, phone in my pocket. Got out, popped the back off, the battery out, took it to the shop, blew it out with compressed air, ran a warm hair dryer over it for a bit, put the battery back in and away I went......months ago and still running.

 

[Russ from MN]

I still use a flip phone, it fits in my pocket so well! My wife has a smart phone that I borrow sometimes, but I'm not sure how I would safely carry a smart phone on my tractor!

 

[grizz02]

I only have one flip phone works great jitterbug still advertises them on tv the whole 3 g 4g 5 g has nothing to do with the cell band for a flip phone that is for data streaming on stupid phones don't need it only get a couple calls a week , peace and quit

 

[ztrmowers]

I went from smart phone back to flip phone,smart phone would not fit in pockets when did I would bend it hated it for phone,made great camera thou. I went back to lg flip phone early this year does all I need. they are still available was at the Verizon store 2 nights ago they were on the counter.

 

[Hay hay hay]

About 10 years ago I bought a used Sanyo flip phone on ebay for about $15. Sprint is our carrier. I upgraded to a rugged smartphone 3 years ago, and put my old phone in a drawer. Then,when the battery died in my wife's old flip phone she dug my old Sanyo flip phone out of the desk drawer, took it to Sprint, they installed it on her line for free and it has been working for her for at least a year. Will run a couple days on charge and is pretty rugged.

 

[the tractor vet]

As for me i guess you could call me old school as i have a flip phone and it does what I want and that is to make PHONE calls and receive PHONE calls , we do not do tex, you want to talk to me then we talk , ya want to send me a tex then don't look for a return as i will not respond . My flip phone is a Mil . Spec , it can take a drop on to concrete from 30 feet , it can go swimming down to 30 feet , i have 9 hours of talk time . No camera just a plain old phone . Mine is now seven years old . The War Dept is on her forth phone now since i got mine and her new Smart phone is like you say a pain to use . I was looking while she was getting this new contraption at a new Mil spec flip and it has the camera a little bigger then mine but not bad as it will still fit in a shirt pocket or a belt holster . I have Sprint FYI.

 

[woodbutcher]

Thanks for all the replies. I heard about mil.spec. from a buddy who is retired from the Air Force. Might check into that.

Butch

 

[woodbutcher]

Thanks. I'll check into that.

 

[DR. EVIL]

I was at my Verison store last spring convincing them I needed a new tablet that I access the internet on and that I was just a couple days from my two year contract being over, and the clerk told me my LG flip phone would be obsolete, and not work anymore sometime this past fall. Um. It's still answering and making phone calls, when I can't call someone I'll take it back. Not sure how long I've even had it. Over 5 years, maybe ten years. Been the best phone I've had, doesn't drop calls. I've taken ONE picture with it. I do get texts, my dentist & doctors send text appt reminders. I've gotten texts reminding me to vote for people and I reply in the nastiest way possible to NEVER text me again and usually get an apology back.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Don't care what phone you get or what carrier you use. Do yourself a favor and go to Best Buy. Prepaid phones are cheaper, no contract. Set up prepaid to Auto pay from Credit card.

They do everything, set up phone is worth it
George

 

[woodbutcher]

I'm with you on the "no contract" idea. Haven't used a contract in ten-plus years with consumer cellular.

Butch

 

[CKain(MI)]

same here, no contract, low cost, 6 phones, total $130/mo! nice people, Consumers Celluler, past 15 years.

 

[ne_ranch]

As has been said, old type flip phones are being phased out. Towers and carriers are stopping support for the older connections, some will not activate the older type phones anymore. There are a handful of current flip phones that will work. They need to say something like "LTE" or "4G" in order to work. Since they are in less demand, they are more expensive. Companies like Jitterbug do over a model or so, but you get their service, often it's cheaper, or you get more minutes going with a different company. You may have luck finding a deal on ebay, but that's about it.

Depends what carrier you want. Verizon is the only national carrier where I am, so I will say I have seen and used a fair bit an LG Exalt LTE, and it's got a decent screen, very similar to the old phones, works the same, seems solid. Something more durable, Kyocera Dura (couple more letters on there depending on the carrier, I think XV is Verizon, might be some other difference in models), don't know much about that one, haven't seen it in person. Alcatel has a model, when I was looking into them for someone, didn't get a very good impression of them by reading reviews.

I used a flip around the ranch until a couple years ago, I was afraid I'd break a smartphone. I always had a smartphone for town, getting a new one every couple or so years, at most $50 total. I've never had one fail, they all still work. You can set them up without a lockscreen, so you don't need to verify your identity. The newest one I currently use was also $50 total. It has a fingerprint reader, touch that while picking up and it's automatically unlocked and ready to go. I get a ~10 wallet style case from Amazon for all of them. Flips closed like a book, covers the screen, has a place for cards/money, protects the screen, you can drop them and not worry much about breaking.
I've shopped BestBuy online, the store is 90 miles away, I have been in there once. I prefer online, I don't live anywhere near a big town, there aren't many phones on display to look at anyway (within 70 miles or so), and they are MUCH cheaper finding deals online (although, sometimes the deals are through Bestbuy/Walmart, etc.).

 

[ne_ranch]

I haven't had a contract phone in about 20 years (bag phone through Cellular One). Did Tracfone most of that time. I started looking at other options when Verizon put up a closer tower, only 13 miles away now. Since I can't get DSL or cable, I was looking for Internet options. I'm now on Verizon prepaid, so that I could bundle the now discontinued prepaid jetpack plan with a phone (and get discounts for having more than one line).

If I was not bundling, I'd probably get Net 10 for myself, they are a Tracfone company, single line, $240 for the entire year, 5GB per month with unlimited talk/text. That's enough data to "do stuff" if needed (maps, music, etc.). A different company has it for $200/year. Or, they are out of stock now, but if I'd get less data, they sometimes have $40 for the entire year of service (limited minutes, very limited data, but enough for me with an occasional topup). Another company on Verizon towers has actually unlimited for $25/month/line including hotspot (for laptops/computers etc.).

 

[Elmo]

(quoted from post at 17:02:38 12/21/19) I only have one flip phone works great jitterbug still advertises them on tv the whole 3 g 4g 5 g has nothing to do with the cell band for a flip phone that is for data streaming on stupid phones don't need it only get a couple calls a week , peace and quit

I recommend the jitterbug, I have one and am completely satisfied with it!

 

[ne_ranch]

(quoted from post at 09:02:38 12/21/19) I only have one flip phone works great jitterbug still advertises them on tv the whole 3 g 4g 5 g has nothing to do with the cell band for a flip phone that is for data streaming on stupid phones don't need it only get a couple calls a week , peace and quit

" 3 g 4g 5 g has nothing to do with the cell band for a flip phone"
It actually does, now. Depending on the carrier, they are discontinuing the old service, some carriers are waiting a while. Verizon was going to have it shut off at the end of 2019, but they delayed it. Had it not been delayed, all the old phones would have quit working altogether by the end of this year.

Quote from the link below, and similar can be found elsewhere "Verizon also said that starting at the beginning of 2020, it will no longer allow customers with 3G phones to transfer service from one account to another account, to activate an existing 3G device on an existing line, to swap one 3G CDMA device for another CDMA device, or to roam outside the US. Those kinds of actions are clearly geared to encourage customers with old 3G CDMA phones to buy new 4G LTE ones." https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/3g-hspa/verizon-delays-3g-network-shutdown/d/d-id/753147

Jitterbug uses Verizon's network. Their service is fine, although you can get better and cheaper plans elsewhere on the same towers, perhaps their support is better, and the extras are worth a bit, if needed. https://www.consumeraffairs.com/cell_phones/jitterbug.html

 

[Stephen Newell]

I carry a Pantech phone. You don't text with it and the resolution is terrible on the camera part so it just makes phone calls.

 

[in-too-deep]

Kyocera Dura XV Got one this fall to replace my Samsung Convoy 3. It's a great phone and its 4g compatible.

 

[Dave BN]

I did the same thing then recently switched to Motorola g6. Happy with both but smart phone has much shorter battery life.

Dave

 

[ne_ranch]

(quoted from post at 07:14:00 12/25/19) I did the same thing then recently switched to Motorola g6. Happy with both but smart phone has much shorter battery life.

Dave

I charge my smartphone every 4 or 5 days or so, don't use it much, similar for most I've had, and they aren't near dead when I charge them. But, flips do have longer battery life, usually. If you want a smartphone that lasts longer, you need to look for models that ...have a bigger battery. Examples being Moto G7 Power, or the Moto Z line, like z3 Play, they have a regular small battery, but they support "mods", you can attach a battery pack to the back like it's almost part of the phone. They are more expensive phones, but you can get them cheaper (less than $200). Some sign up for a new line with certain prepaid carriers, then cancel right away, and the phone is unlocked so it will work with any carrier.