[deanhills]

When I was in Canada and the US in May I discovered that my Nokia 1100 2G mobile phone didn't work with the networks. Apparently all of the networks in Canada and the US have retired the 2G and 3G mobile phones so only 4G phones work.

I don't like smart phones that work with WiFi and Bluetooth. I prefer the very old fashioned Nokia 1100 type phones that are limited to making calls and messages. The Nokia 1100 connect well in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. But in Canada and the US they are as dead as a duck. Do you know of old phones like the Nokia 1100 that will work in North America 4G environment? I don't want WiFi or Bluetooth with the mobile phone. Just an authentic mobile phone that has good SMS and messaging ability.

[youssefbasha]

I only love the battery in the old phones, it can stay for 2/3 weeks without sharing.
I charge my smart phone daily :/

[rudra]

jeesuss christ dean!!

i didnt know they have no 2g and 3g there anymore ! what about backwards compatibility ? what about old phones and people still wanting to use them ? what are they using those spectrums for then ? now that there are no more of those usable signals.

thats really not good if you ask me. 2g was so power efficient. i always have 2g when not using data.

also to answer your query, i have never seen or heard about any phone that works on 4g but has no bluetooth and wifi stack / system. may be you could make a modular custom one as a project. but that will be hugely more costly. you would do better by trying to disable those on a regular phone.

latest snapdragon mobile chips are very powerful and power efficient too. i see people getting couple of days of standby time and 10-12 hr talk time. with newer battery techs and battery packs you should not have much issue.

i have a 1110i nokia.

[deanhills]

jeesuss christ dean!!

i didnt know they have no 2g and 3g there anymore ! what about backwards compatibility ? what about old phones and people still wanting to use them ? what are they using those spectrums for then ? now that there are no more of those usable signals.

thats really not good if you ask me. 2g was so power efficient. i always have 2g when not using data.

also to answer your query, i have never seen or heard about any phone that works on 4g but has no bluetooth and wifi stack / system. may be you could make a modular custom one as a project. but that will be hugely more costly. you would do better by trying to disable those on a regular phone.

latest snapdragon mobile chips are very powerful and power efficient too. i see people getting couple of days of standby time and 10-12 hr talk time. with newer battery techs and battery packs you should not have much issue.

i have a 1110i nokia.

When my 2G phone was dead I was told that it was because 2G and 3G were dropped by the networks, but I still wonder whether that was the popular excuse and that possibly the technology of mobile phones are different in North America. At one point of my searches I discovered that North America works with different bands. So who knows there may be a chance that the real reason my phone is dead is because the technology of the phone doesn't work in North America. There may be an equivalent of Nokia that is made for North America that will do the job. I probably need to do more research about this.

---

Just checked on Amazon and maybe my theory has a good chance of being right.  2G does work, but a 2G that has been designed for the US and Canada - such as below - North America is on a different technology than rest of the world for 2G phones. My 4G Xperia that I purchased in the Middle East however did work in Canada - so I guess 4G is more equal than 2G and 3G:
https://www.amazon.com/New-Nokia-1100-fo...nokia+1100

[Rehan]

The best ever mobile phone company is Nokia.The one and only perfect company with all facilities.In old nokia mobiles the signal quilty and their battery timing was outstanding.A fully charged mobile works for 4 days approx.Now Nokia is updating their mobiles.There are re-creating their old mobile phone models.I think the nokia is the oldest company that is creating mobile that support LTE.

Nokia

[deanhills]

The best ever mobile phone company is Nokia.The one and only perfect company with all facilities.In old nokia mobiles the signal quilty and their battery timing was outstanding.A fully charged mobile works for 4 days approx.Now Nokia is updating their mobiles.There are re-creating their old mobile phone models.I think the nokia is the oldest company that is creating mobile that support LTE.

Nokia

Totally agreed @Rehan - but only the very old Nokias were created to last for ever. My batteries of 2004 in the three Nokias 1100 I bought are still the original batteries and last for a week. And yes the reception is awesome - also depending of course on the network provider to an extent as well, but quality wise this phone rocks. Regrettably the new similar cheap Nokias are not made of the same quality - I've tried them from time to time over the years and given them away. Like they're really cheap Nokias - very difficult to open their plastic back to get inside where the battery is as the materials that the Nokias are now built with are cheap non durable materials that also scratch easy. Some people like the new Smart Nokia phones, but I don't need Smart. I find Smart distracting. I like to use my phone mostly for messaging or to phone if really needed. I may change tomorrow of course if the phones get to be more secure and private, but I like my privacy, and smart phone to me is almost obscene. I get irritated whenever I'm in public there's a person staring into a little square device totally disconnected and sometimes discourteous to those around them by being unaware of them and in their way. They block your path in super markets or outside on pavements. They're completely anti-social and rude during dinner. I'm not signed up to that culture .... maybe yet.

[KGIII]

I'm not signed up to that culture .... maybe yet.

I don't usually give advice about these sorts of things. I very seldom tell people what they 'should' do. I've actually worked pretty hard at eliminating the word 'should' from my vocabulary. (Another topic entirely, but an interesting one - I think.)

From about 1991 until 2007, when I sold my business, I was a slave to my phone. I was always on the road and, as the business owner, I needed to be connected all the time. As phones became smarter, I upgraded and went with them. I'd often use them to tether to a laptop, so that I could be connected back when hotels charged outrageous prices for internet connectivity.

After I sold, probably around 2010, I stopped caring. I just stopped turning my phone on.

These days, I do own a smart phone - but it's just some Windows phone. I actually like it, 'cause it works for me. I use no apps that didn't come with it. At most, I make phone calls and send text messages. If I'm really bored, I'll browse on it.

Most of the time, I don't even know where my phone is - or even if it is charged.

I don't even have voice mail enabled. You can't leave a message. I make them turn that feature off. I'll see someone called and call them back when I'm good and ready to call them back. The ringer is never turned on, unless I'm expecting a call that I want to answer.

Basically, I stopped being a slave to my phone. I stopped being obligated to answer my phone. I don't even reply until I feel like it - and I may never feel like it. The people who know me in real life all know that I'll get back to them when I'm ready to.

It took some time for people to adjust, but they got used to it. They'll ask why I never called them back and I'll truthfully tell them because I didn't feel like it.

It's a nice feeling to have. I quite enjoy life better without my phone bugging me.

A smart phone increases the temptation to give the phone attention. It is a compute device in your pocket. It's a communication device that's always there. It's a great temptation. If you do go with a smart phone, I hope you learn where the volume buttons are and how to turn the damned thing off.

I realize that, for some, turning their phone off isn't much of an option. I doubt that's the majority. Then, there are some people who only have a phone for internet access and have no other choice due to financial reasons or even due to lack of reliable electricity. So, for them maybe a phone is a necessity. Though, I'd like to hope they can at least turn it off while they're on a date or when they're eating dinner.

[deanhills]

I realize that, for some, turning their phone off isn't much of an option. I doubt that's the majority. Then, there are some people who only have a phone for internet access and have no other choice due to financial reasons or even due to lack of reliable electricity. So, for them maybe a phone is a necessity. Though, I'd like to hope they can at least turn it off while they're on a date or when they're eating dinner.

I need to have a phone messaging system as bare minimum for my banking. I don't do banking on my phone, but I get notified on my phone when something happens on the account, which to me is a security precaution. So always keep my phone open for that. I've NEVER been a phone addict. My preference is desktop computer. For me a phone is a tool to communicate important things like arrangements to meet, but not to use it for social.

[Mashiro]

It might be a sad thing to hear but actually the US and Canada are two of the very first countries world wide that have disabled the old network standards. Mostly to save a lot of costs due to cutting support and maintenance for all the old base stations and etc that were needed to operate the old frequencies.

Meanwhile in Germany for example you can still get everything from 4G+ down to GPRS. So if you are in some old building here you still get GPRS or EDGE. I guess in the US in this case you are absolutely out of lack. But we have other issues here due to keeping this legacy stuff online. High costs, absolutely insane prices for small bandwidth packages, no proper flatrates, lack of 4G in a lot of remote areas and etc. Germany atleast is one of the worst countries in Europe in terms of mobile Internet and even normal Internet.

[deanhills]

It might be a sad thing to hear but actually the US and Canada are two of the very first countries world wide that have disabled the old network standards. Mostly to save a lot of costs due to cutting support and maintenance for all the old base stations and etc that were needed to operate the old frequencies.

Sad indeed. I'd hoped for that if I got a Nokia 1100 that was made in the US it would work. But maybe not. I wonder whether this also has to do with the Government wanting to keep their tabs on every one? Cameras everywhere and phones to track? Sorry, I'm probably getting paranoid here.