So, after being on flipphones since 2006,
both with Sprint and Consumer Cellular (CC),
I decided to give dumbphones another try today,
only because the mechanical buttons on my flipphone
are getting harder and harder to push.

The last time I tried a dumbphone was in April 2019.
Of course, it was physically impossible to use: it did not respond
to my fingers at all. It was an Avid559. I returned it in less than an hour.

Well, CC shipped me a dumbphone (Motorola Moto G Pure) today.
I called CC to activate. Was on phone with CC agent.
To my utter amazement the phone ACTUALLY RESPONDED somehow
to my fingers on the screen. I was able to enter a WiFi password.
I first attempted it with the tip of a pen, then tweezers, to press on the tiny tiny
letters + numbers. But the dumbphone did not respond to those.

I used my fingers, and amazingly entered the WiFi pwd correctly on the first try.

Then we get to a screen asking me for a Google account.
I told the agent I wanted to skip that. Told him I do not have a Google account.
Not interested in internet access at all. Just want to see if this thing would work
as an ordinary cellphone to make and receive calls.

TO MY UTTER HORROR, THIS ARROGANT FUCKHEAD AGENT TOLD ME
I NEED A GOOGLE ACCOUNT TO ACTIVATE THE PHONE.
IN ALL THE HOURS I'D BEEN ON PHONE WITH CC ABOUT THIS
NEVER ONCE DID CC EVER TELL ME I NEED TO CREATE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT
TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS PHONE.

Then came all his BULLSHIT that just because BLAH BLAH BLAH somebody ELSE
some OTHER company some OTHER model SOME OTHER SOME OTHER SOME OTHER
is this stupid and dumb that that is some sort of "justification" for THEM to be this
stupid and dumb.

My flipphones have always worked as a cellphone WITHOUT REQUIRING ME TO
SET UP ANY ACCOUNTS WITH SOME THIRD PARTY!!

So, CC had promised me that they would reactivate my flipphone.
But, ARROGANT AGENT told me that it would take 24 to 72 hours to reactivate
flipphone. I told him I just wanted him to send me a SHIPPING ENVELOPE
AS CC HAD PROMISED, so I could ship this dumbphone back ASAP and get my money
back on it ASAP.

I told him I will worry about upgrading my Doro flipphone to a Link II flipphone
only after I get my money back on the dumbphone.

It is BAD ENOUGH that they require a google acct to be able to access the internet.
I have been on Comcast from my desktop since Fall 2002.
NOBODY REQUIRES I HAVE A GOOGLE OR APPLE ACCOUNT TO ACCESS THE INTERNET.

But, it is INFINITELY worse that CC says they require a google acct JUST TO USE THIS DUMBPHONE AS A CELLPHONE! My Doro flipphone does not.

So, my question: with all this GARBAGE BULLSHIT LIES about "technology moving fast",
I challenge ANYBODY to find me a dumbphone or tablet or device
that I can use as a cellphone THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE I CREATE AN ACCOUNT WITH THIRD PARTIES LIKE GOOGLE OR APPLE.

Yes.... my flipphone requires I have a CC account, obviously. But, I think, even my flipphone does not require I set up a CC account online. I have one, but strictly, it's not necessary.

Let's see if we have the TECHNOLOGY to perform this AMAZING IMPOSSIBLE PHYSICAL FEAT. Liars scammers like Elon Musk or Larry Ellison surely MUST be able to do this if they are supposedly such "tech geniuses".

Usually, a smartphone requires either a Google (Android) or Apple (iPhone) account, but a dumbphone (by which I take it you mean an old-style, non-smart cellphone, that just does voice calls and SMS text messages?) only needs an account with a cell provider.

I think one of the old classic Nokia phones has recently been re-released for people who just want a basic mobile phone instead of a smartphone? That should work without a Google account.

Update: here it is, the Nokia 3310:
https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_gb/nokia-3310?sku=A00028120
(That's UK version but I assume also available in the US)

No. I am calling "smartphones" dumbphone.

A flipphone from Consumer Cellular does not require I have a Google account or Apple Account. Hence smart.

A "smartphone" requiring me to have a google account or apple account
just to use it to make and receive phone calls is incredibly dumb.

Or, even to access the internet. I have Comcast as my ISP and I access the internet
WITHOUT a google or apple account.

Thank you. But, for which cellphone companies?

My current cellphone company is Consumer Cellular.
So far I have not found another.

Fair enough - in the UK, "dumbphone" is casual slang for a traditional non-smartphone, there's been a bit of a craze for retro tech, especially among people who aren't bothered about Internet access on their phone and just want very long battery life.


But if you use a modern version of Windows presumably you'll have a Microsoft account?

Personally I like the phone being connected to my Google account, amongst other things it means if I put it down somewhere in the house and forget where I left it, I can jump on the PC and put "find my phone" into Google, and it gives me options to make it ring at full volume (even if it's on silent) so I can find it. That's a very useful feature. Plus if it gets stolen I can remote lock it, erase its data, etc.

I figured a long time ago that any illusions any of us might have about privacy are just that, illusions. Everything and everyone is tracked at all times, the only reason people still manage to occasionally surprise the authorities (whether with protests or attacks) is that there isn't yet the ability to properly process and analyze all the data already being collected. But that'll come soon enough.

The Android phone operating system was designed and created by Google and is licensed to phone manufacturers. It's written in Java overlaid on a Linux kernel. All android smart phones are Google-licensed, just as all IOS mobile devices are Apple products. To use an android phone, you have to have a gmail account. End of story.

It's pointless to be concerned about what Google/Apple is doing with your info while ignoring that your mobile carrier already knows & tracks exactly where you are located at every minute of the day, your speed/direction when in motion, and the identities of who you call and/or text, even with a flip-phone.

The privacy ship sailed decades ago. Even if you don't carry a mobile device, the entire rest of the world does and those billions of devices are always watching, listening, triangulating, identifying. every square inch of civilization is covered in security cameras, listening devices, and radiation detectors now. Spy satellites cover every inch of the earth, even the empty deserts and arctic regions. Either you roll with it or you go live in a lead-lined bunker somewhere. There's no middle ground. (note, your lead-lined bunker will arouse suspicion just by existing and will be watched carefully)