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I'm curious. Do you want to be phone free, pocket computer free, both or something else?

A mobile phone without a SIM card is still useful because you can connect to Wi-Fi when you want and be otherwise offline.

Another halfway measure is just block all incoming calls.

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Many phones dont boot without a sim. I dont have pinephone but it looks promising in this regard

Do you know any examples? I've literally never had or even heard of a smartphone refuse to boot up for lacking a sim. I use several of my old phones around the house as security cameras and all of them work fine without sims.

I think it is common (if not a requirement in some jurisdictions) for phones to be able to make emergency calls even if they don't have a SIM card, or don't have credit. In fact, apparently making an emergency call but hanging up before it is connected is a recommended step in some iPhone tech support guides:

https://www.ukeysoft.com/unlock/bypass-iphone-activation-wit...

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