dumb phone with whatsapp?

the_r_sole · 30 Sep 2018 at 17:28

does such a thing exist?
after enjoying a couple of weeks without a smart phone, looking into ditching it but I use whatsapp a fair bit for messaging...

adidan · 30 Sep 2018 at 17:52

Not quite yet I don't think.

I've been looking as the GF hates touchscreen. Sounds like Nokia KiaOS is probably going to get support (I think it just has in India, not sure) so in theory things like the 8110 will do.

Her older Nokia runs it (support ends Dec 31st though), as do these Nokias https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/s40/21099128

Whether buying one new comes with it still i'm not sure.

Edit: Sorry that was a lot of writing for not much help :/

the_r_sole · 30 Sep 2018 at 20:08

adidan said:
Not quite yet I don't think.

I've been looking as the GF hates touchscreen. Sounds like Nokia KiaOS is probably going to get support (I think it just has in India, not sure) so in theory things like the 8110 will do.

Her older Nokia runs it (support ends Dec 31st though), as do these Nokias https://faq.whatsapp.com/en/s40/21099128

Whether buying one new comes with it still i'm not sure.

Edit: Sorry that was a lot of writing for not much help :/

hah! no worries, that was kinda what I'd come up with from google so good to have it confirmed - at the moment I've managed to get whatsapp on my laptop so that will see me over for a while

adidan · 30 Sep 2018 at 20:12

the_r_sole said:
hah! no worries, that was kinda what I'd come up with from google so good to have it confirmed - at the moment I've managed to get whatsapp on my laptop so that will see me over for a while

Does that work ok then? I'd heard about it, that there's pc whatsapp software you can link it to your phone but i've not tried it yet.

the_r_sole · 30 Sep 2018 at 20:16

adidan said:
Does that work ok then? I'd heard about it, that there's pc whatsapp software you can link it to your phone but i've not tried it yet.

yeah, downloaded bluestacks and then installed whatsapp, used a back up from googledrive and it seems to work absolutely fine, it's just not getting any messages when you're out and about that's the issue but not that bothered tbh

adidan · 30 Sep 2018 at 21:27

the_r_sole said:
yeah, downloaded bluestacks and then installed whatsapp, used a back up from googledrive and it seems to work absolutely fine, it's just not getting any messages when you're out and about that's the issue but not that bothered tbh

Thanks for that, good to know.

May give it a whirl in the future.

Megahurtz400 · 18 Feb 2026 at 13:01

Holy thread revival Batman!

I’m done with smart phones, I find them too addictive and feel like I’m wasting so much of my life glued to it, I’m not present, I need change!

What does the landscape look like for these now?

Would love a qwerty keyboard too if there’s such a phone out there?

whitecrook · 18 Feb 2026 at 13:22

Megahurtz400 said:
Holy thread revival Batman!

I’m done with smart phones, I find them too addictive and feel like I’m wasting so much of my life glued to it, I’m not present, I need change!

What does the landscape look like for these now?

Would love a qwerty keyboard too if there’s such a phone out there?

You don't need a dumb phone. Just uninstall all the crap on your iphone, and stop picking it up all the time. It's OK not to have your phone within 2 feet of you at any time.

Megahurtz400 · 18 Feb 2026 at 13:35

whitecrook said:
You don't need a dumb phone. Just uninstall all the crap on your iphone, and stop picking it up all the time. It's OK not to have your phone within 2 feet of you at any time.

I know

I’ve tried all sorts and it lasts a week or so and then I drift back

I’ll still keep my iPhone at home for baking etc, I just want to feel the freedom I used to feel when I was younger!

whitecrook · 18 Feb 2026 at 13:56

Megahurtz400 said:
I know

I’ve tried all sorts and it lasts a week or so and then I drift back

I’ll still keep my iPhone at home for baking etc, I just want to feel the freedom I used to feel when I was younger!

A dumb phone won’t solve your problem

Orcvader · 18 Feb 2026 at 14:30

There's this coming up but no idea if it'll be available for the UK: https://clicksphone.com/en/communicator

It's still a smart phone though so you'll still need to somehow break the habit from using those addictive apps.

iamgigglz · 18 Feb 2026 at 14:49

We've been looking at dumbphones for my son and it occurred to me that getting a smartphone without any data subscription would basically solve the problem, no?
There are also "safe" sims from various providers that allow for stuff like whatsapp but no social media etc. I guess you'd have to set up a pihole or something for home wifi too.

Kol · 18 Feb 2026 at 14:49

UK is on the list of countries they ship to. Interesting device.

Megahurtz400 · 18 Feb 2026 at 20:03

Orcvader said:
There's this coming up but no idea if it'll be available for the UK: https://clicksphone.com/en/communicator

It's still a smart phone though so you'll still need to somehow break the habit from using those addictive apps.

Like the look of this, although it’s still a smart phone the qwerty keyboard and form factor seems like it would break the habit!