So, I just learned about this the very, very hard way. After buying a second hand S10 and finding american ones can’t be unlocked, traveling 4 hours to buy another one after much research, much annoyances to unlock it (samsung requires you to be online, which I didn’t know) and testing multiple ROMs, I finally read this page more properly https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/beyond1lte/ which says “known quirks: IMS”. I thought it was just something like dolby sound.
What it means is that it doesn’t suport VoLTE and most currently used phone systems. Samsung made their proprietary mess, unlike most other developers, which means it will probably never have an open source version.
And that applies to ALL modern samsung phones. I had samsung phone before with a custom OS, but didn’t realize because VoLTE wasn’t mandatory back then. Now it is here in Australia, and many countries. So if you ever plan to buy a samsung phone to degoogle it, know that it won’t make phone calls. SMS and mobile data also doesn’t work.
I don’t know how I missed this. It should be talked more often given how popular samsung is. There should always be a warning “YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO MAKE PHONE CALLS IN THE FUTURE IF YOU CONTINUE”.
S10 was the last decent phone ever made (for me). Not too big, SD card, headphone jack (one of the most important things for me), good camera, etc, etc… That’s why I was so persistent to find one to degoogle.
So I’m stuck with my amazingly shitty pixel 5 (and other ones are even worse for me). And considering the possibility of a life without smartphones at all, since this is a losing battle. Mainstream doesn’t care and evil companies have every incentive to kill freedom. It has been getting really bad and it will just get worse. But anyway… this post is not about this.
Be warned, if you care about freedom don’t ever buy samsung again. Not because they are evil (they are), but because you won’t be able to make phone calls on your “phone”.
OC writeup by @guismo@aussie.zone
My last Samsung was the Note 4. I decided back then to never get another Samsung phone. It was the second Samsung in a row that had to be replaced because the GPS and Bluetooth quit working after a couple months.
Don’t use a smart phone for calls. That era is over. Get a basic, simple, trustworthy, and dependable flip phone with a hotspot feature and a separate mobile computation device.
Yeah but if you carry it around with the smart phone in your pocket, the phone you have just a data-connection on (or even if you don’t and just use some WiFis), it’s not gonna be hard for any sufficiently interested authorities to pair those two devices together as having the same user.
And granted, while it’s not gps accuracy, having any wireless phone can be located (roughly) with triangulation.
But it’s just like, how much privacy do you need/want, just pointing out things cause I have to keep distracting myself from having a bad day.
Which phones with those features are even available? My first thought was the Nokia dumbphones, but it looks like they are exclusively compatible with T-Mobile, not AT&T or Verizon.
I would also like to know if anyone has any recommendations for US Verizon flip phones with hotspot built in.
I have a Samsung and have been very disappointed in this too. It will certainly be my last, if not my last smart phone ever. I’m over the enshitification of everything and might just go fishing instead.
S10 was the last decent phone ever made (for me). Not too big, SD card, headphone jack (one of the most important things for me), good camera, etc, etc… That’s why I was so persistent to find one to degoogle.
Can use a headphone jack just fine with any modern smartphone. Just plug this bad boy into it:
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mw2q3am/a/usb-c-to-35-mm-headphone-jack-adapter
If it requires an adapter, then it’s a downgrade. And an unnecessary one. The only reason the headphone jack and sd card were removed was to increase profits.
Cool. So anyway, its $9 to use your 3.5mm headphones with any phone on the market’s USB-C port. Bonus, it works on any desktop, laptop, or tablet.
You’re either trolling, very dumb or just enjoy getting fucked over by corporations. Having the headphone jack does not make the product worse in any way. You’re advocating for a change that only makes the product worse for the consumer (aka, you).
Its not a big deal to me at all. Im able to use any phone now and not limited to only using phones that require a 3.5mm slot.
So number 2 and 3 then, gotcha.
Oh man, if you think you aren’t, I can help point out some things if you’d like. It won’t be a pleasant conversation.
Those adapters are awful to use.
You first have to plug in the adapter to your phone, and then plug the headphones into the adapter.
If you keep the adapter plugged into your headphones, it doesn’t recognize the headphones when you plug in the adapter.
And then there is the matter of losing said adapter.
Weird. Mine works fine if my earphones are plugged in the adapter before plugging the adapter into the phone.
$9 more than it used to cost. How about connecting it to a second pair of headphones? Worse: what if it’s time to charge?
I know you already cant be convinced but for other people who want to know, there are splitters.
Edit: I have no dog in this fight, I just wanted to flag this as an option. Personally I want a headphone jack but I’m not willing to give up on camera specs.
So we can spend more money on top of spending more money for something that used to be free. It’s pure greed and enshitification.
One splitter is $50. So that’s $59 of heavy adapters dangling off a USB port.
Now let’s imagine I want to plug my phone into something in a different place. What now?
I miss the dedicated headphone jack at times, but I also now have both Bluetooth and USB-C headphones, plus I have a nifty little adapter that converts the lone USB port to a USB-A, 3.5mm, and a USB-C so I can plug in a MIDI keyboard and headphones so I can play music on the go all in one dongle.
A USB port can be turned into anything. Yeah, you have to buy an adapter once, but then you have it. A 3.5 jack is always just a 3.5 jack.
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This problem exists with any phone, even if they have the 3.5mm slot.
“Buy a dongle”
Okay. Sure. Dongle purchased. I have two places where I want to use my phone to play music. What is your recommendation there?
And what’s your recommendation for when I want to charge my phone in either situation?
If you need both solutions simultaneously, then get this:
Belkin 3.5 mm Audio + Charge Rockstar
😔
OK. Noted.
