Living without a cellphone of any kind. Is it possible?

[Smithfield]

Basically, there pretty much is nothing a phone can do that a laptop cannot do. So, I was wondering, why not get rid of the cell phone and use my laptop for absolutely everything? If I get a recent smartphone, I will expect far too much out of it and scoped storage is still a problem even on rooted devices! If I intentionally gimp myself with an older flagship phone, I will get a myriad of unsolvable issues with no way to fix them such as inability to make and receive any phone calls or even not paying attention to the bands supported and not being able to connect to any existing cellular network. With a "feature phone", I will screw it up by hacking it and putting games on it, and nowadays possibly even PSP games. So yeah, I hate cell phones.

 

Another solution I looked into was either a laptop with a built-in cellular modem, but found those to be stupidly overpriced, or buying a cellular modem that plugs in via USB into an existing gaming laptop, but once again, these cellular modems are stupidly overpriced!

 

Not only that, but my parents now make me pay for my phone plan. So, I was wondering, is it worth saving money by not buying the prerequisite cellular hardware required to then have to pay for a phone plan anyway?

[whispous]

19 minutes ago, Smithfield said:

Basically, there pretty much is nothing a phone can do that a laptop cannot do.

Calls and SMS.

 

  

19 minutes ago, Smithfield said:

If I get a recent smartphone, I will expect far too much out of it and scoped storage is still a problem even on rooted devices! If I intentionally gimp myself with an older flagship phone, I will get a myriad of unsolvable issues with no way to fix them such as inability to make and receive any phone calls or even not paying attention to the bands supported and not being able to connect to any existing cellular network. With a "feature phone", I will screw it up by hacking it and putting games on it, and nowadays possibly even PSP games. So yeah, I hate cell phones.

"I hate phones because I keep deliberately breaking them"

[Levent]

I turn off both of my phones start 17:30 Friday and dont turn them on until monday morning. I have even went as far as 30 days without touching a phone, it was just fine.

 

Dont throw money at your problems when all you have to do is to train your behaviors.

[Smithfield]

10 minutes ago, whispous said:

Calls and SMS.

There are overpriced cellular laptops for this. Well, I guess my family (read: parents) will stop having to make any calls or SMS. They will need to use email to contact me from now on.

 

Actually, there exists some VOIP providers that theoretically can provide phone calls and SMS/MMS over the internet without requiring any cellular hardware whatsoever, but apparently you need a company in order to use that.

Edited January 15 by Smithfield
specified parents, as I do not have any kids of my own

[Smithfield]

5 minutes ago, whispous said:

"I hate phones because I keep deliberately breaking them"

Yeah, it was totally me that implemented scoped storage into Android! It is also my fault that applications I need don't fully exist on Android!

[Spotty]

What phone do you currently have? How much does your phone plan cost per month? Is your phone plan just for the service or does the plan also include the device?

 

22 minutes ago, Smithfield said:

If I get a recent smartphone, I will expect far too much out of it and scoped storage is still a problem even on rooted devices! If I intentionally gimp myself with an older flagship phone, I will get a myriad of unsolvable issues with no way to fix them such as inability to make and receive any phone calls or even not paying attention to the bands supported and not being able to connect to any existing cellular network. With a "feature phone", I will screw it up by hacking it and putting games on it, and nowadays possibly even PSP games. So yeah, I hate cell phones.

What's scoped storage?

As far as I know there's no date set for when 4G will be phased out. 3G is still being slowly phased out in some areas. As long as the phone supports 4G networks, which should basically be any flagship phone from the last 10 years, it will still operate for many years to come.

If you're worried about breaking your phone by doing dumb stuff to it, don't do dumb stuff to it.

[Smithfield]

15 minutes ago, Spotty said:

What phone do you currently have? How much does your phone plan cost per month? Is your phone plan just for the service or does the plan also include the device?

 

What's scoped storage?

As far as I know there's no date set for when 4G will be phased out. 3G is still being slowly phased out in some areas. As long as the phone supports 4G networks, which should basically be any flagship phone from the last 10 years, it will still operate for many years to come.

If you're worried about breaking your phone by doing dumb stuff to it, don't do dumb stuff to it.

I actually have to switch between three different phones in an attempt of "usability". I used an old HTC ONE M8 which I then installed LineageOS 14.1 on and then found I could not make or receive any phone calls on it at all. SMS/MMS and data still worked fine. I bought the HTC ONE M8 as it is a 32-bit-only device, so I wasn't going to expect too much out of it like I ended up doing with my other two devices. I also bought a Pixel 7 Pro. This device has been rooted but root access isn't enough to be entirely free of scoped storage, unfortunately. Lastly, I bought a OnePlus 6T and installed Mobian on it and experienced firsthand why Linux devices are not a replacement for Android devices, and no, it actually isn't the app catalog, it was actually because of either crappy hardware or in this particular case, (still) crappy hardware support. Not to mention, system updates would cause bootloops, but that was also a problem on my Pixel 7 Pro because I have to reroot it after every system update.

 

Scoped storage basically makes your device unusable as you can no longer expect to have full access to the Android external storage (/sdcard, /storage/emulated/0, /data/media/0, etc.) for all applications. This was a massive problem. See this reddit thread: https://old.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/j3zgmm/managing_files_in_the_androiddata_folder_on/

By the way, this is still a massive problem, even with root access!

 

Oh yeah, my devices are paid for separately from my phone plan, which I will likely cancel soon.

 

Edited January 15 by Smithfield
scoped storage isn't fixed even with root access

[PcBeExpensive]

47 minutes ago, Smithfield said:

Basically, there pretty much is nothing a phone can do that a laptop cannot do. So, I was wondering, why not get rid of the cell phone and use my laptop for absolutely everything? If I get a recent smartphone, I will expect far too much out of it and scoped storage is still a problem even on rooted devices! If I intentionally gimp myself with an older flagship phone, I will get a myriad of unsolvable issues with no way to fix them such as inability to make and receive any phone calls or even not paying attention to the bands supported and not being able to connect to any existing cellular network. With a "feature phone", I will screw it up by hacking it and putting games on it, and nowadays possibly even PSP games. So yeah, I hate cell phones.

 

Another solution I looked into was either a laptop with a built-in cellular modem, but found those to be stupidly overpriced, or buying a cellular modem that plugs in via USB into an existing gaming laptop, but once again, these cellular modems are stupidly overpriced!

 

Not only that, but my parents now make me pay for my phone plan. So, I was wondering, is it worth saving money by not buying the prerequisite cellular hardware required to then have to pay for a phone plan anyway?

its doable quite easily. You can make calls through internet with websites or even stuff like Skype ETC. Will it be easy? No. That's the difference between a phone and a laptop, phones are easily portable. They are not meant to have all the features of laptops they are only meant to have the important things. Heck I was living without my phone or access to a laptop (other than school ones) from monday-friday just a few months ago but I'm only 13 so I don't have people relying on me.

[whispous]

3 minutes ago, Smithfield said:

I actually have to switch between three different phones in an attempt of "usability". I used an old HTC ONE M8 which I then installed LineageOS 14.1 on and then found I could not make or receive any phone calls on it at all. SMS/MMS and data still worked fine. I bought the HTC ONE M8 as it is a 32-bit-only device, so I wasn't going to expect too much out of it like I ended up doing with my other two devices. I also bought a Pixel 7 Pro. This device has been rooted but root access isn't enough to be entirely free of scoped storage, unfortunately. Lastly, I bought a OnePlus 6T and installed Mobian on it and experienced firsthand why Linux devices are not a replacement for Android devices, and no, it actually isn't the app catalog, it was actually because of either crappy hardware or in this particular case, (still) crappy hardware support. Not to mention, system updates would cause bootloops, but that was also a problem on my Pixel 7 Pro because I have to reroot it after every system update.

 

Scoped storage basically makes your device unusable as you can no longer expect to have full access to the Android external storage (/sdcard, /storage/emulated/0, /data/media/0, etc.) for all applications. This was a massive problem. See this reddit thread: https://old.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/j3zgmm/managing_files_in_the_androiddata_folder_on/

By the way, this is still a massive problem, even with root access!

 

Oh yeah, my devices are paid for separately from my phone plan, which I will likely cancel soon.

 

Again: Your devices are broken because you keep breaking them.

 

Stop breaking them.

 

You say that laptops are better than phones - so STOP BREAKING YOUR PHONES. your inability to stop deliberately breaking your phones is the reason your phones keep being broken.

[Smithfield]

1 minute ago, whispous said:

Again: Your devices are broken because you keep breaking them.

 

Stop breaking them.

 

You say that laptops are better than phones - so STOP BREAKING YOUR PHONES. your inability to stop deliberately breaking your phones is the reason your phones keep being broken.

You are acting like I bricked them. They are still able to boot into Android (and in the case of the OnePlus 6T, Mobian Linux) and can still be reflashed. They are technically functional in the state they are in.

 

Oh, unless you are referring to me having been the one the created scoped storage in the first place. Well then, I guess you caught me, if angry Android users want to assassinate someone for having introduced scoped storage, I am your guy.

[Erioch]

5 hours ago, whispous said:

Calls and SMS.

Fit in your pocket.

 

Take pictuers in public without looking like a douche (I'm looking at you iPad, people).

[da na]

There are 4G/5G broadband cards for laptops, even 3G if your country still has those networks up and running. If you still want SMS/calls then that'd be the way you would want to go. Or yknow just ditch everything phone related entirely.

[Lurick]

14 minutes ago, Erioch said:

Fit in your pocket.

 

Tape pictuers in public without looking like a douche (I'm looking at you iPad, people).

Quickly and easily make an emergency call for example when stuck in the middle of nowhere and a busted car

[Rocketdog2112]

2 hours ago, whispous said:

Again: Your devices are broken because you keep breaking them.

 

Stop breaking them.

 

You say that laptops are better than phones - so STOP BREAKING YOUR PHONES. your inability to stop deliberately breaking your phones is the reason your phones keep being broken.

Actually, the root problem is mommy and daddy quit supporting his phone habits due to his destructive behavior of trying to modify the operating systems. 

[Erioch]

I've had a cell phone since some time in the 00's and I have never once broken a cell phone.  WTF are you cell phone breakers doing?  

[Erioch]

3 hours ago, Smithfield said:

Not only that, but my parents now make me pay for my phone plan.

Oh, never mind.  Time to grow up.

[LAwLz]

3 hours ago, Smithfield said:

there pretty much is nothing a phone can do that a laptop cannot do.

I guess that's true, but it's true in the same sense that a bicycle can do everything a car can do.

Even if they do the same thing, the way they do things is different and as a result, they are more suitable for various things. I would argue that trying to do everything on one device goes against "the right tool for the right job".

I guess you could carry a laptop with your in a backpack and use its webcam for taking pictures, but it's extremely awkward and the result won't be as good.

I guess you could try and get various 2FA programs onto your computer, but it won't be as secure as having them on your phone, and it will be awkward to use.

 

 

3 hours ago, Smithfield said:

If I get a recent smartphone, I will expect far too much out of it and scoped storage is still a problem even on rooted devices!

How is scoped storage an issue?

What are some situations where you have had an issue because of it?

I have personally run into an issue with it once on my TV, and then I figured out a workaround that solved the issue.

 

 

3 hours ago, Smithfield said:

If I intentionally gimp myself with an older flagship phone, I will get a myriad of unsolvable issues with no way to fix them such as inability to make and receive any phone calls or even not paying attention to the bands supported and not being able to connect to any existing cellular network.

Why do you think that an old smartphone can't make calls?

 

3 hours ago, Smithfield said:

With a "feature phone", I will screw it up by hacking it and putting games on it, and nowadays possibly even PSP games.

No you won't...

[Stahlmann]

Theoretically, a laptop can do most of what a cell phone can do. That doesn't mean it's practical though. Other people already made some examples, like a phone fitting in your pocket, quick emergency calls, etc.

 

Why does everyone use cell phones?

Convenience.

 

So yes, you can live perfectly fine without one. It's just less convenient.

[Avocado Diaboli]

This whole thread screams "I've made up my mind, but I want third party confirmation". It's ok if you want to try to live without a cellphone because you can't be trusted to not mess them up or because you don't want to spend your own money on your phone plan. But don't ask of other people to agree with your assessment just to make yourself feel better about your choice. You do you. Report back how you like living without a cellphone. 

[WiscoMetro]

I've been phone-lite and laptop centric compared to most people for years but I wouldn't want to give either up. I've been using the same 3G(now only 2G) phone since the end of July 2013.

 

Since the phone browsers have been out of date forever I've even recently taken my laptop places to 2G hotspot to the laptop to upload critical time sensitive things or just check email, it was still preferable when the phone browsers could handle it themselves but even that thin wisp of data has proven invaluable multiple times.

 

The route I'll soon begrudgingly be going is to a Lumia, that'll give me high speed hotspotting back, even if you only use phone data for hotspotting I think that's a more reasonable approach than buying a cellular ready laptop just because.

 

If my house was on fire and I could only find my laptop or phone before I ran out of breath: getting my laptop every time, but they both have their purpose.

 

Desktop - for gaming

Laptop - web/light power efficient use

Phone - Calls/texts/maps/ & enough internet to look up phone numbers

Digital camera - to be taken with when I expect to want to take pictures

GPS watch - to calculate length and speed of runs

 

I really hope by the time in a few years that I've worn out the Lumia's battery that a good Linux phone will be ready!

[wONKEyeYEs]

5 hours ago, Smithfield said:

Actually, there exists some VOIP providers

I don't own a cell phone.

I can live without texts.

Magic Jack VoIP gives me a phone that doesn't need a computer, just an ethernet connection,

for $50 a year.

It's not perfect, a couple times a year I might get a dropped call, but for the price.

[BrandonLatzig]

2 hours ago, Erioch said:

WTF are you cell phone breakers doing?  

the only time i ever broke my phone was when it slipped out of mypocket when I got out of my car.
Like it landed face first on the pavement

[BrandonLatzig]

2 hours ago, LAwLz said:

No you won't...

here is a question. isnt there emulators on the app store?

[WiscoMetro]

33 minutes ago, wONKEyeYEs said:

I don't own a cell phone.

I can live without texts.

Magic Jack VoIP gives me a phone that doesn't need a computer, just an ethernet connection,

for $50 a year.

The thing is though texts are like the universal message platform that you can almost depend on everyone having. Otherwise do you not end up like Luke says juggling many different messaging platforms for different people? I mean there's also email but it's much less instant a communication. Without a phone app nor sms what do you do for 2FA though?

 

Though you got me on price for sure, even my bargain basement 1gig+unlimited talk and text plan is $120 a year.

 

2 hours ago, Erioch said:

WTF are you cell phone breakers doing?  

The only time I've "broke" a phone it fell out of my backpack and got run over by a 6000 lb forklift. With some new parts from a blacklisted parts phone was able to miraculously keep using the motherboard from it for some time

[wONKEyeYEs]

1 hour ago, WiscoMetro said:

2FA though

The most important ones give a voice call with a recorded voice giving the code.