How to turn your Android phone into a dumb phone?

Remove the distraction apps, switch to the minimalist launcher, and customize your home screen for calling and texting to turn your Android into a dumb phone. You can make your mobile phone like a simple flip phone with a few intentional changes. 

Turning your phone into a dumb mobile is ideal to reduce screen time and social media addiction. In this article, I will guide you step by step to transform your modern Android into a minimalistic full dumb-phone. 

Core Setup: Strip Your Phone Down to Only Essentials

Here are the steps you can follow to turn your mobile into a dumb phone. 

Customize your home screen

The apps and the notifications on the home screen trigger you to check your phone. It's essential to get the minimalist approach. Simplify your home screen with a list of text-only items. 

Delete the tempting apps, or hide them so you aren’t reminded of the For You page. 

Set your Android to grayscale

It's a step to turn the colored icon of your phone to black and white. In the Android Accessibility Settings, you can enable the grayscale feature. It prevents you from being distracted and lets you focus on other things. 

You can go through the following settings to enable the grayscale on Samsung and Google models. 

• Go to Settings and click on Accessibility.
• Tap Colour and motion, and Colour correction.
• Now enable the Grayscale. 

Keep the essential apps only

It might be hard for you to disable the entertainment apps, but it is the point. Have you ever got addicted to the weather or a calendar app? Of course not. Social media apps are the most time-consuming and addictive apps.  

To turn your phone into a dumb phone, you essentially need to disable the non-essential apps, or if you dare, uninstall the apps.

Disable the Android phone notifications

You can turn off the notifications on your device to avoid the app being disabled. You can turn off the notification of the app, which significantly reduces the distraction. Here are the steps you can go through. 

• Open the Settings app. 
• Move to the notifications and App Notifications. 
• Select the app and toggle to turn off the notification. 

Block the web page

Set up a DNS content policy to select categories to block. There are around 200 categories you can select, depending on how restrictive you want. You can also block the sites for parenting control. 

Similarly, you can block specific domains and URLs with some extensions to block sites containing disallowed content.

Additional Steps to Turn Your Device into a Dumb Phone

If the following steps are not enough, you can follow the steps to turn your mobile into a dumb phone for free. 

• Disable the WiFi or the mobile data to keep your phone away from the connection. 
• Set the time limit on the app for scrolling.
• Use the third-party apps for calling and texting, and avoid the addictive apps. 

Does an eSIM Work in Dumb Phones?

If you are a flip phone user, unfortunately, eSIM is not for you. However, if you are switching your eSIM-compatible device into a dumb phone, it works perfectly. It is the ideal and secure solution to access the connection during travel. 

It offers a data connection with smooth calling and texting. But not all eSIMs offer calling and texting. If you have bought data only plan, you can’t call or text. Here, I recommend the Phonico eSIM, which offers different services in a single plan. 

You can buy an eSIM data plan for travel to the USA with unlimited calls and text services. The carrier offers a plan without any strict contract.