Hey folks, my wife and I use Pixel phones, but we’re starting to think about a phone for our kid, really just to be able to call 911, probably wouldn’t even get data. We’re looking for cheap and boring, the fewer features, the better. Also open to smart watches, tho we have no experience with them.
Are there any devices that fit the bill? I’m thinking something like an old Nokia brick from 20 years ago, but of course with VoLTE/VoNR.
Thanks for any help this community can provide!
Nokia still makes dumb phones now, with 4G too!
Check out the Nokia 225 4G and 6300 4G.
Thanks, didn’t realize this was a thing!
The banana phone (Nokia 8110 4G) is also a fun dumb phone.
just putting it out there: giving them a cheap android phone will steer them away from android forever as they will be conditioned to think that all android are as cheap and terrible as the ones they have been given
Yeah give em a first gen iPhone SE. It works ok for now, plus they’re cheap. But since support ended they’ll soon start having some issues. That’ll definitely make them want an Android >:D
Totally fair, tho we don’t need it to run Android. Some locked down OS that only does phone calls might be okay.
Perfect case for a shitty iphone 6 with a cracked screen!
Google needs to make the three Little Pigsels, a series of special starter Pixels for children. The three Pigsels come in Straw, Wood, or Brick, and feature a stock Android UI and a standard Pixel camera to get your child started on the correct path.
Say no more, OP.
Rotary Un-Smartphone.Haha, that’s awesome. I love the ringer!
I‘d also go the parental controls route, you can relax that gradually as they grow older instead of having to buy new phones.
Excellent point. Yeah, we already use Family Link to manage screen time and it’s working well
If you have any of your previous devices laying around, there you go. Otherwise you can always purchase the cheapest of the cheap like a $30 walmart phone. Data and apps can be limited but at that price point internet might be so frustrating to use that it’s a deterrent as is.
If you’re truly just after 911, Even a deactivated cell phone would call that in the US.
We ended up getting the kid an Apple smartwatch with LTE. The monthly price when it’s not bad it’s like 10 bucks. The upshot being he could call us with it we could call him with it and find my iPhone can locate him at any time.
Thanks! That would be an option, but we don’t have any Apple devices, so I’m guessing it would be tough to provision it, plus not sure we could use find my iPhone. Would be happy to be wrong here, tho!
I’m sure there are cellular Android Wear watches where the same concept could work, but you’d probably need to be a lot more careful about battery life.
I know they specifically said they want it to be able to call 911, but they probably also would like for it to be able to call them (the parents) as well as any other relevant adults. Your Apple Watch idea is a really good one and it’s also probably less likely to get carelessly lost by a kid.
I’ve seen kids with smartwatches as a solution to this
Yup, that’s definitely an option. Thanks!
I bought this one for my youngest brother. It works fine and it comes with a years worth of service. Bought it so he can call me during emergencies. https://slickdeals.net/share/android_app/fp/829226
Lowend Android phone with parental contols and no SIM wouldn’t work?
Do you still have an old android phone sitting in a drawer somewhere? Perhaps giving the child this with parental controls might be a useful solution. My rationale
- You can still use an app such as Signal or WhatsApp to communicate with them
- You can also use “find my device” (relevant android police article on this topic)
- This is cheaper than buying even a cheap dumb phone since you already own the device, and you can argue better for the environment since you’re re-using something instead of creating more e-waste
- Particularly if the Android phone is still updated, it is more secure than a dumb phone these days.
Any phone would do just that. Get the cheapest dumb phone you can find. That way it also doesn’t break the bank when it eventually breaks.
I got a gently used sonim phone for $50 on eBay, they have industructable feature phones with great battery life.
Plenty of basic flip phones available for cheap, Tracfone has a Nokia for 20 bucks. Could look at phones targeted for seniors, like the jitterbug flip, if they’re really young but that would be more expensive than a basic flip phone.
Thanks! Wouldn’t have thought of a senior type of phone. I’ll take a look!
Just be careful with the Jitterbug or lively phones because he will very likely end up with police at your house or school because he pressed the urgent button. And trust me when I say they can’t remove that function even if it’s cancelled. There are other elderly phones like through tracfone more appropriate for a child. Definitely avoid any phone with an emergency button as I’m sure he’s old enough to know how to dial 911.
Thanks, that’s good advice!
I would say go with an older Apple phone. Their stock parental controls tend to be a bit better than what you can get on Android without modding, and (let’s be real) it will probably be supported for longer. When they get older you can disable the features to their maturity level.
No, stay away from Apple. Their parental controls are godawful, (granular, but awful) because it randomly disables itself. I’ve watched it happen with my own eyes.
Pinwheel, Gabb, Bark, MMGuardian, and others sell cheap Android phones with custom firmware tailored to kids with backdoors for parents to control and monitor them.
So far I’ve only given my kids Samsung tablets and no phones yet, but Google’s Family Link has pretty solid features and usability.
That’s an option, but once again do you know if I can provision and use parental controls if we don’t have any other Apple devices?
