Alcatel SMARTFLIP 4052R | 4G LTE | 4GB Flip-Phone | Bluetooth, WiFi, Big Buttons | Carrier locked to AT&T. Phone is not unlocked – Volcano Black

Best flip-style phone out there
Looks like an older flip phone, but is way more advanced. This phone has a 4G connection, can play videos, browse youtube and the web, run Google maps and assistant, connect through wi-fi, bluetooth and can even be used as a wi-fi hotspot using tethering (although so far have not got the hotspot to work properly). It has a FM radio and some other surprising features. I first bought a Nokia 2720 which is very similar but found the quality of the materials seriously lacking and it cost twice as much.But, the main reason I like it is that it has better privacy, doesn’t run Android or IOS (Apple) it runs on a system called KaiOS which has their own app store, of course nowhere near the number of apps for Android or IOS but every app you install adds to your privacy risk, so I minimize what I download/install. You don’t have to sign into Google or even the KaiOS store to run anything on it or even download and install new apps.It is fairly fast, even browsing the Internet although the screen is obviously not great for that. And the camera is not great but works but if you want good pictures get a real camera and if you want to watch a lot of youtube use a real computer. This is mainly a phone and a good one, not a computer or camera.Texting using the keypad is obviously more difficult than a smartphone with a QUERTY keyboard but with this phone you can easily speak into the device to compose a text and it works pretty well. Call quality is good as well.Highly recommended if you want to get away from smartphones and much of their spying.UPDATE:With a software update Google Assistant has disappeared. Apparently Google and KaiOS’s relationship has changed. It still has Google search, and Youtube. Google had invested money in KaiOS but maybe they decided they don’t want to continue as they were. Not a big deal to me, I avoid Google anyway and once you get used to texting with the number pad it gets easier, not much slower than a touch-screen querty keyboard. Texts were meant to be short messages (SMS means short message service) and I hate long discussions via text.Still a good phone for what it is.

Works, highest call volume is too low
Bought this flip phone for an older friend who doesn’t want to deal with a smart phone. Just uses for calls, not even messages or any of the data features. This is the same Kai OS as her old phone, so she is similarly familiar with it. (The old phone is about 6 years old and worn out).Unexpectedly, this came with a SIM in it. But just took that out and put in the SIM from her old phone and she was up and working on her long time number. No need to talk to AT&T about it.Anyway, the phone functions as it needs to for her, except that the maximum regular volume on a call is really not loud at all. Have to put the speaker on unless your hearing is good and you are in a quiet environment. So I had to teach her to automatically push the OK as soon as she opens the phone to answer a call, thus engaging the speaker function.There aren’t many useful flip phone options anymore. If you need one for AT&T, this one works.

Contacts menu won’t work with 5G simcard
Love this phone so far! Buttons are big, very tactile, pleasing to touch and see. Easy to text once you disable the predictive autocorrect text functionality. Phone call audio quality sounds just fine, def not 5G crystal clear style, but solid 4G quality.Runs on Linux Kai OS v 2.5.2, wondering if it can update to current v3. It has Google software preloaded on it, but it probably doesn’t phone home unless you run them. The KaiOS store app doesn’t seem to have an uninstall feature for the preloaded Google stuff. Had to replace my simcard at the AT&T store. They installed a 5G simcard on my device, which caused the device to hang when using the Contacts feature. This didn’t happen when the stock “in the box” 4G sim was in the device, so use the original sim that comes with the device if you need a new sim card, or get a 4G sim specifically. I have to use the phone call log as the main way to “access my contacts”.Doesn’t seem to have GPS, think it might scan for Wifi AP’s to figure out your geographic location? I’m probably wrong about that. You can have just calls enabled with data turned off, no Wifi, no Bluetooth. The browser is so unattractive and clunky that it makes accessing the web completely unappealing, but this is a huge plus, as it was a the main feature I was looking for. Perfect phone for distancing yourself from being on the internet all the time.If they updated to current KaiOS kernel, added the ability to remove preloaded Google software from the device and fixed the 5G sim bug, maybe a few more ringtones that are practical for alarms, this phone would be a masterpiece for 2022. Love it!

Flip phone
Excellent phone for elderly people.

Yo compré el teléfono por qué al menos una persona dijo que si funciona en redes mexicanas y no es así. Lo puedes llegar a usar para algunas cosas con wifi, el dispositivo no es malo solo “NO FUNCIONA CON REDES MEXICANAS”