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Comment by bebna | Hacker News Reader

I still don't get it.

If you wanna do digital detox and still need a phone, get an used Motorola F3.

- It can't do more than talk and same very bare texting (Mudita already got a calendar, something that wants to get your attention and don't get me started on that mediation timer)

- costs almost nothing (Mudita Pure costs >300)

- flat and small, therefore easy to put away in any bag or pouch and forget

- doesn't has any big display where you need to take care of it

- upcycles an old phone for what is likely a, perhaps repeating, but still temporary use case

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Sort of off-topic, but for digital detox I've found that a phone that doesn't at least support WhatsApp, Signal, and a few other Android apps would be useless as a phone for me. I can't remember the last time I've used my phone for something that doesn't involve data, so I would rather detox temporarily with no phone at all.

In case anyone has any suggestions: For a more sustainable long-term detox to avoid extensive screen time, I'm trying to find a very minimal Android device that can preferably be de-Googled (with Lineage or related Roms) but definitely at least supports a few basic Android applications but isn't very comfortable to use for just browsing. It's surprisingly difficult to find a small-display Android device these days...

Agreed. Calls and SMS[0] are the least used features for me personally. Messaging apps would be required, unless you're going completely off the grid.

I think the best/simplest digital detox method is turning off most notifications - nowadays there are quite granular controls. If you want to go completely off the grid while keeping a phone for emergencies, any dumbphone would do.

[0] If you don't count receiving 2FA, delivery confirmations etc.

Try rattlesnake OS I think it is security focused and flashable on latest pixel devices including the 4a.

https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack

I tried it with an S3 mini, u could get a reasonably up to date version of android on it for current versions of whatsapp and co, but most of them had significant problems, especially with the hardware support.

There was the Nokia 1, don't know how well available that still is.

otherwise the kaios devices, I think they do have WhatsApp, but can't remember about the others.

Therefore for everyday I just setup my phone to not annoy me and when I want to shut off completely, I switch to the F3, which gets thrown deep into the bag, just as an emergency thingy next to the basic first aid kit and I don't see it again until I got to go to work.

I would be perfectly happy with this mind of phone if it did support whatsapp and Line. Those are the only applications I use to message anyway. Even better if all the protocols are connected into a single application that just does ‘messaging’.

Maybe check out some of the older devices that are available with the /e/ OS? (de-googled android) https://esolutions.shop/

I interpret this as a phone that can do the basics like agenda and such, but does them in an unintrusive way, and givesyou full control over when and how it's allowed to interrupt you. If so, that would definitely change the dynamics between me and my phone. Basically all apps on ios / android (modulo some positive exceptions) are out to grab my attention all the time, and the OSs make it quite hard to really control that. I guess that would be more sustainable than trying to disconnect entirely.

Besides this, the link here is actually the OS, so this is actually OT.

That os is only for that phone.

There is a quick setting with a bar inside a circle, which shuts of any attention grabbers. If you still need some of those, you can allow them in the app-details notifications settings. Back on blackberry you controlled that similarly by defining important contacts, who are allowed to ignore mute. Even the palm pre had that functionality.

I could already do that on my J2ME and Symbian phones.

Is there still 2G coverage? My impression is they are taking down 3G endpoints now.

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