Most basic phone possible

[sgi02]

Hey [H], I realize this may not be the best place to ask but I thought it wouldn't hurt. I am looking to "downgrade" from my iPhone 4 and get the most basic cell phone / plan possible. I'm not looking for another smartphone or switching to Android / BB / WP et cetera. Ideally I would like a phone that handles calling and thats it, I have no use for txt / games or any other features.

Ive looked into this a bit on my own, and it would appear that the John's phone is a pretty good match for what im looking for. The only thing about this phone I don't care for is its high price and some build quality issues noted in reviews. The other phone ive considered is a Nokia 3390, its iconic for its reliability and great battery life, but im not sure if it will be completely compatible with carriers id like to use in the US.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a handset that could work well for me? My only stipulation if that is has to be unlocked / easily unlockable and operate on GSM. Thanks for any help!

 

[CHANG3D]

I don't know why you need a basic phone (a burner phone to contact the mistress perhaps...), but one the first thing to note is that carriers like AT&T are killing certain radios that would disable backward compatibility to 2G phones. The iconic phones such as Motorola Razr and the Nokia 3390 like you mentioned would not function in 2017.

Choose the phone with the least number of moving parts with adequate protection. Flip phones are great for protecting the keys and sometimes the screen, but the hinge could fail, etc. One of the coolest feature phones out there is that Nokia slider phone from the movie Matrix, but reviews showed that that slider don't lock in after a while. A candy bar phone such as the Nokia 3390 is great, but it's also known for pocket dialing.

Depending on carrier, some phone manufactures are great with US GSM due to their patented antenna designs. Motorola > Nokia >> Kyocera >>>>> the rest. These phone are also known as feature phones if you're having a tough time searching online. I'm recalling all of this from my memory of 2006. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY an LG or Samsung basic phone.

[Unimportant to the OP, for CDMA, it's basically Kyocera (used to be Sanyo) = Motorola > Nokia >>>> the rest]

I don't know how long you want this phone to last, but due to the 2G ending restriction, I would seriously just get a cheap Windows Phone or instead. A Nokia Lumia 520/521 could be bought for $50. Or if your budget allows, Moto G. Just don't use any of the "Smart" features. Turn off everything except for cellular. Turn off GPS, BT, wifi, and disable data. Your phone should last for days. I did this on an old Samsung Focus (WP btw), and I got over 7 days on standby with me playing a little bit of games.

 

[devman]

Samsung A157V

Cheap.
GSM Quad-band.
About as basic as you can get while still supporting UTMS, meaning when AT&T kills 2G it will still work.

The only catch is that you need to use it for 6 mo. on ATT GoPhone before ATT will unlock it. After that, though, it should work anywhere in the world that uses GSM. I realize this doesn't completely meet your requirements but I thought I'd throw it out there.