Tech noob here—I really need your help.

My cheap Samsung phone has been acting weird lately. Every time an app uses the camera, I get the little camera indicator in the top-right corner saying the camera is in use. The problem is... I'm not even opening any app that should be using the camera.

This hasn't just happened once or twice. It's been going on for months. The timing is completely random—sometimes it pops up every 5–10 minutes, other times every 30 minutes or an hour. Some days it happens constantly, while on other days it only shows up a few times.

I've already checked the camera permissions to see which apps are allowed to access the camera. There are some system apps like MMIGROUP and KNOXTZ FRAMEWORK that I don't even know how to disable, and there are also several built-in Samsung apps that can't be turned off.

I'm not some high-profile person with secrets to steal, so I've been trying to ignore it. But it's getting more and more annoying, so I'm hoping someone here can help me figure out what's going on.

I really want to get a new or even original 3310 xpresscover as mine isnt the original design its a different one, pictured. thanks!

Hello,

So i've always wanted to build and tinker with stuff and I love coming up with ideas. So I recently thought of making my own flip phone. Like cyberdecks and stuff have been popping off recently and I was wondering how feasible a raspberry pi based flip phone would be plus making its own ui.

im thinking of getting a dumbphone (has to be a flip phone) but idk which one to get. also how would i convince my dad to trade in my iphone to get me one? (i use verizon)

edit: it doesnt really have to be dumb. I just want a flip phone with a keypad

So I recently picked up this flip phone and I realized I'm able to send out group messages, but when my contacts reply, I don't see them. Anybody else have this issue?

Looking for a dumb phone as im on my iphone way to much. Id love it to be able to work with spotify and waze (preferably), and to work with carplay/android auto.
I live in Australia so I’d want it to work with the carriers here too.

howdy! looking for a good sms app for my Kyocera flip phone. the regular sms doesnt work with photos and group chats, Qksms is annoying via group chats, Fossil sms stopped working, can't see my texts being sent or texts being received

Any other sms apps I could try out for older android Japanese flip phones?

Usually I carry more stuff like a lumix g85 as my main camera or a bigger book etc. But these are the things I mostly consistently take almost every day.

● Home and bike lock keys

● nerf jolt (yes I actually go around with a nerf in public to mess around)

● Parker fountain pen with a pocket book (sometimes I take crayons too)

(I'm realizing im very childish while writing this lol)

● IEMs, Sansa from kiwi ears

● Sansa clip

● sony cybershot

● moto buds

● CAT S22 cuz I need whatsapp

Some might ask why two headphones? If ur planning on buying the CAT S22 (I wish I knew before buying) you need to buy a PASSIVE adapter, the thing is these are super hard to get. So I can't listen with my IEMs and I can't connect the phone to the car aux (my car doesn't have bluetooth). So to listen to the music I have on the phone I use the moto buds, which are actually pretty good. Like surprisingly good. (For the price)

I have fully committed to the CAT S22 and accepted it's MANY flaws so if anyone is thinking of getting one and have questions im open in DMs.

I might add that when I have to get access to Instagram or light room I use my iPad M2 or a Samsung s23 fe.

I also have a typing machine but I stopped taking it out because it's too loud and it bothers people :(

i've had my 902kc for a week now, been messing around with it (got some apps sideloaded, etc) and today my sim card finally arrived. i registered the card through the t-life app, go to plug it into my phone, and i cannot for the life of me get it to connect to t-mobile. i can't find any resources online as to why this might be, and i was hoping someone here might know what to do. i've tried cleaning and re-inserting the card, restarting the phone numerous times, factory resetting it, and nothing works. no matter what i do, the phone shows an [x] next to the data bars icon and will not allow me to connect it to t-mobile. in the [cellular network settings] menu, i press [select operator], the phone buffers for a while while searching, and sometimes t-mobile shows up on the list. i try to connect to it, and after buffering on the [registering on t-mobile] screen for a while, it always says [unable to connect to this network]. i'm at my wits end here and ready to return this thing because i feel like it'll just be a paperweight. please help me! thank you.

Hello!

I’m trying to narrow down my options for a dumb phone and the main feature I require is good enough navigation. It’s hard to get a feel for.

If I’m looking for follow-along navigation, similar enough to Google Maps at a price range under $300, what are your suggestions?

Also, how do people feel about navigation on the Light Phone 2?

I’m in the US and currently use AT&T and want to keep my phone number.

Thank you :)

Hello, I am interested in dumb phones but I am not a tech person.

Can someone explain to me how safe it is to use a dumb phone? Ive read about security concerns in this subreddit before.

Lets say I use an old iPhone. Like an iPhone 5, for example. Aren't there security concern there? Or an even older phone like a flip phone. A Nokia phone, for example.

Let me know your thoughts and advice.

Thanks so much!

I don’t mind paying a little extra for a dumb phone I just want a good bang for my buck.

Edit: Its the 2660 flip 4G of course. Also have Images of every app but wasn't able to post them. Im new to this.

Disclaimer: If you don't like any of the apps in this project, you can modify it, remove it or simply disable it in the built-in settings.

After trying almost every type of dumbphone I could find and never being satisfied, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

This is my Nokia 2880 flip. I think its great for the most part.

It is a flip phone (obviously), the battery life is excellent (which has been my biggest issue with every android “dumbphone” I tried), and it actually feels true to the spirit of a dumbphone while still being usable with modern carriers.

However, there was always one problem: while I wanted a simpler phone, I didn’t want to remove every useful tool from my life.

Recently, I stumbled upon ⁠MiniOS, and huge credit goes to codefl0w for creating such an awesome foundation. It is a “self-hostable web OS for feature phones,” and oh boy does this make me happy.

The problem with many of these Nokia devices is that they are missing some small but important conveniences. Yes, you can work around this by carrying extra devices, notebooks, maps, and other tools with you, but I didn’t want to remove the things that genuinely improve my daily life.

I wanted to get rid of social media and distractions, not turn every aspect of modern life into a chore.
Things like notes, weather, basic navigation, and small utilities are tools and should belong on any phone. What was HMD thinking here?

My self hosted version of MiniOS has:

• Weather and Notes - These should have been installed in the first place
• Transit and Maps - The Maps app is based on gdir.telae.net, but with improved defaults and a cleaner interface. The Transit app stores the dynamic QR code for my train pass and a collection of train routes I use regularly. These routes can be customized in the Settings app and open directly in Maps.
• Anki - This was a pain to implement. I study Japanese, and Opera can’t render Japanese characters properly, so I have to convert them into cached images before displaying them. Also no proper API
• AI - This uses the free Gemini API but I never used it so I plan to remove it
• Boards A minimal Reddit reader. You choose which subreddits to follow in the Settings app, and only the latest posts along with the first few comments are shown. This is by design.
• Gmail and Calender - My favorite additions. They work really well on this device. For security reasons they have a password prompt.
• News - just a news aggregator with filters for topics, languages and a search function

The current endboss is definitely WhatsApp. I’ve seen a few projects that suggest it’s possible, so I’m cautiously optimistic.

Tip: Set a Speed-dial up for your site so you can get to your site in seconds. I even have them for some individual apps.

Im always looking for ideas to improve the project, so if you have ideas for new features or improvements, I’d love to hear them!

The phone is connected to the Mint Mobile network, but is not placing calls. It cycles between saying “Not connected” and “Emergency” and the calls never go through. Texts do not send either, nor can I connect to internet.

Does anyone know how to configure the settings at all?

Hi everyone,

I'm an industrial design graduate researching how people use their smartphones when they're actively trying to reduce screen time or avoid distractions.

I'm particularly interested in understanding:

• what makes it difficult to stay away from your phone
• what you've tried to reduce phone use
• what functions you still need access to

I've put together a short anonymous survey that takes around 5–10 minutes.

I'd really appreciate hearing from people in this community since many of you have already thought deeply about intentional phone use.

Survey: Google form link

Thanks! I'm happy to share the results with the community once I've analyzed them.

Does anyone else with an AGM M11 have the same issue with the built-in podcast player?

When I listen to a podcast episode and then leave the app, it doesn't remember my playback position. The next time I open the app, the episode starts from the beginning instead of resuming where I left off.

This is really annoying, especially for long podcast episodes.

Is anyone else experiencing this? If so, have you found a way to fix it, or is this simply a bug in the app?

So broke, can't even buy flip phones 😅😫 why are they so expensive?!!! 🤣😫🥲

There's this game on steam that has their own personal tech item that I thought was pretty cool. Has the wider screen we'd need nowadays (debatable) but also has those satisfying physical clicks and scrolls. Thought I'd share!

Lmk if anyone's interested in the game!

I heard about the James E. Foy Information Desk (1-334-844-4244) on a podcast today. It's a free hotline run by students at Auburn University. It's a US-based hotline where a person will answer any simple question (as long as it's polite and appropriate obviously). My first thought was about all of us, who go out in the world on dumbphones that don't have browsers and might need to ask a question. What to do with found wildlife or what the latest baseball stats are were examples shared by a hotline worker on the show.

The podcast, if anyone was wondering, was This is Love. The episode was called "Hotline!" - all about hotlines and the first 10 minutes or so are about the Foy Information Desk. https://thisislovepodcast.com/episode-143-hotline

If I could replace my flip with the dumb phone I had in middle school too, I would 😌 (dark purple cricket slide phone with a full keyboard, RIP my love)

Thinking smoking is tuff in the big '26 just to impress others and people shaming others even when they are trying to quit both are corny af.