Find a simple phone that actually works on your network
Get your attention back with a phone that leaves you alone.
PlainPhones compares feature phones (often called dumb phones), flip phones and kids' phones sold in Canada, and checks each one against your network, so the phone you buy can actually make calls.
Certified not a paperweight
1 of 8 phones, checked against Freedom Mobile
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Works
Nubia (ZTE) Cymbal 2
A simple flip phone sold by Bell's and Rogers' budget brands, with a hotspot, FM radio and a removable battery. No app store, so no WhatsApp.
- Flip
- No app store
- Wi-Fi hotspot
Calls and texts should work on Freedom Mobile, including over 4G.
from $80
Shortcuts
Who's the phone for?
- Their first phone Calls, texts and a way to reach you. No feeds, no app store. Phones for kids
- My escape from the scroll Keep maps or WhatsApp if you must. Lose the feed. Minimalist phones
- A phone for mum or dad Big buttons, a loud speaker and an SOS key. Easy-to-use phones
- Mud, rain and festivals Tough phones with batteries that last for days. Rugged phones
How we check
Three things decide whether a phone can call
Shops rarely say and networks bury it, so we look it up phone by phone and network by network, and link the source.
2G today
Does the phone fall back to 2G for calls, and does your network still run 2G?
Shared 4G bands
The phone and the network have to meet on the same frequencies.
4G calling
What matters once 2G is switched off, and the thing shops rarely mention.
- phones checked
- 8
- networks
- 10
- countries
- 20
- paid placements
- 0
A note from the founder
The opportunity to be bored was worth the trade-offs.
Why a plain phone?
Doomscrolling was a problem for me (still is when I get the chance to use social media), so I decided to take back my attention and my serenity by switching my primary phone to a minimalist phone. I added website blocking to my iPhone (which now has no data so can only be used on wifi), and let my family and friends know that good ol' SMS would be the way to reach me now.
This has completely broken my addiction to my phone and now I'm setting a better example for my kids and am able to think straight for even minutes at a time. If you're like me and worry about the state of the world and reach for the phone to keep "informed" about what is happening, then switching to a plain phone may be a great fit for you. But first, let's list the pluses of a smart phone and the downsides of a plain phone to see if it is good for you (which is what this is all about, making good choices for yourself and your happiness).
Smart phone pros
- Keep in touch with friends and family
- Can get support and admiration from your social media followers
- Find your way around without a map
- Can get an Uber
- Take photos and video to make good memories
- Use apps for productivity, e.g. banking, language learning, etc.
Plain phone cons
- No way (mostly) to use apps
- Knowing your way around town means you have to think
- SMS messaging is uncool and clunky
- You may be ignorant of what is happening in the world
- No social media followers
- No productivity apps, e.g. Uber, Duolingo, banking
- Being bored while waiting around, self-distraction becomes harder
- Can't sell on Facebook Marketplace
- Can't make good memories with photos and video
With all these pros for smart phones and cons for plain phones, this is not for everyone. But despite all this, for me the opportunity to be bored and to not feel the compulsion to check my feeds for the latest garbage the algorithms want to show me was worth the trade-offs.
Terry, PlainPhones