Because of reasons, I need to find a mobile phone that has absolutely no features whatsoever but operates on the 4g network.
A burner phone for areas where I’m not allowed any fancy modern electronics.
No camera, no GPS, no apps, nuffink. Calls and texts only. Sim free.
Needs to be rugged enough to survive the rigours of a manky construction site.
My normally reliable google-fu is not functional today.
I can find phones that are dumb enough but are 2g only but none that are 4g without any of the stuff Im not allowed
Bonus points if it’s a red one like the Batphone
Nokia 105 4G edition?
Any of these? Simple phones aimed at, well, the elderly
https://www.doro.com/en-gb/products/mobile-phones/
Did not know that the Nokia 105 came in a 4g version. Thanks, might be the answer if I can find a sim free version
and, well, I am a bit elderly these days.
It also comes in red.
Refitting a nuclear sub base?
Refitting a nuclear sub base?
If I told you, I’d have to kill you etc. etc.
You're a spy!! You're going to tether your 'dumb' 4G device to another concealed device (probs up yer bum) and stream secrets directly to China! 😱 😱
I've got a Nokia 105 4G that lives in my riding pack for emergency use when I don't want the added bulk or hassle of the smartphone. £10 from Argos (currently £13.50).
They really are basic, plasticky things though. I wouldn't want to use one on a daily basis, and I'm a big advocate of dumb phones.
I've got a Nokia 105 4G that lives in my riding pack for emergency use when I don't want the added bulk or hassle of the smartphone. £10 from Argos (currently £13.50).
Is that Argos one tied to Vodafone? I bought a second hand one for that price from ebay recently. The new ones were all ~£25. Doesn't seem particularly rugged but this replaced a previous one that was lost not broken and survived a year in a 12 year old's school bag.
I can find phones that are dumb enough but are 2g only but none that are 4g without any of the stuff Im not allowed
So why do you need 4G? If it's just for text (I assume SMS) and calls...
Has someone caught you using AI to count bricks?
I vaguely recall watching something about nuclear power stations or something where all the staff had to use really locked down phones on site for security reasons but they were provided by the employer.
If you are a contractor, would you be able to expense such a thing if not provided?
Litephone2 might fit the bill?
uk.pcmagDOTcom
/first-looks/122546/light-phone-ii
If you can live with a camera (or paint over the lens to knobble it), JCB make ruggedized 4G feature phones.
https://jcbphone.com/products/jcb-tradesman-2f
Is that Argos one tied to Vodafone?
Is that still a thing? I thought we legislated out that nonsense years ago.
So why do you need 4G?
Not every network provider supports 2g anymore. Three dont have 2G at all and O2 are phasing 2G coverage out already in some areas. Other networks will be switching 2G off over the next few years
If you can live with a camera
No camera. No GPS functionality. Otherwise those JCB type rugged phones would be ideal.
I've just had some of my team suggest this for us. We work in schools, and the increasing paranoia about anyone having a camera with data anywhere near kids is growing.
One of my team was told that they needed to have their car searched last week to remove any dash cams(!) and any 'hidden' cameras. She was accused of 'hiding' her work phone in the glovebox, even though she had put it there as the school have strict 'no phones or cameras' rules...
Another staff member in September triggered a school calling me the boss to ask why someone had a phone on them - even though they were handing it in to office on arrival (common policy) or turn it off and leave in bag (common policy also). I was kind of puzzled why in 2025 anyone thought it unusual that someone would have a phone on them...
So some of my team are now discussing dumb phones being issued!
Thread derail, apologies, but kind of relevant (maybe). Twenty years ago, if you worked on offshore oil/gas rigs, you had to hand in your cellphone before flying out, and collect it when you flew back to the beach. What happens now?
Sounds like the schools have enough Dumb already.
So why do you need 4G? If it's just for text (I assume SMS) and calls...
Probably because that gives the option of 3G as well. Despite the mobile industry talking about culling the 3G networks, there are many places where 4G just doesn’t exist, but there’s a 3G connection, which is useless with a smartphone, but allows a basic dumbphone to make and receive calls. I’ve just checked my signal, I’ve got two bars of 4G, and I’ve got a tower about 100 metres away, which used to be O2, but is now Vodaphone.
Walking home from town, about a mile, there’s about a quarter of a mile without even a 3G signal on O2, and this is in a town with a population of over 40,000 people. Bath is just as bad. Chippenham has very recently got 5G in the very centre of town, to my amazement, but there’s hardly any 5G anywhere between Swindon and Bristol even now!
Thread derail, apologies, but kind of relevant (maybe). Twenty years ago, if you worked on offshore oil/gas rigs, you had to hand in your cellphone before flying out, and collect it when you flew back to the beach. What happens now?
I'm probably allowed to say it now, but I used to do tech support for a Norwegian company which I won't name. . they were still running lotus notes at the time lol!
Anyway.. They all had company laptops running Matlab and other engineering type software and so we totally turned a blind eye to the pornogaphy unless it was the bad kind, gaming accounts such as Wow, battlefield etc.
It was all 'tolerated' within reason, but not specifically allowed.
When you are stuck on a Rigg for months at a time, certain allowances need to be made IMO.
So we worked on an 'if it's not a problem, then we won't make it into a problem' basis.
It wasn't about that; it was related to oil company confidentiality, and the alleged risks of e.g. accidentally triggering explosive charges being loaded into the drill string.
@sl2000 - The Argos website says it is but it's actually unlocked. There was a stipulation that you had to buy £10 Vodaphone credit if buying in-store, but the Hotukdeals thread I heard about the offer on just said to order for home delivery or pickup from Sainsbury's and they don't enforce it. The same Hotukdeals thread also had a post by a user saying that phones aren't allowed to be sim-locked in the UK any more due to E-Waste legislation. Not sure if true but it makes sense.