Going to a flip phone…

[jpmulk]

My wife and I are thinking of going to flip phones and ditching smart phones. (Ya Im a weirdo I got it). One of the larger hurdles for me to commit to this was onx on my phone.

Anyone out there still run a separate gps with an onx chip? If so, any recommendations on a good handheld GPS?

 

[Stillness0039]

Following.

Been deliberating the same, but the need for maps and camera end up making things more complicated or potentially more expensive than just sticking with the smartphone.

The best I've come up with is just using an old an Android with no service plan, for offline maps / nav and camera.

Get the benefits of the smartphone without all the data tracking / ads / expensive plan.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Felix40]

I’d like to do that too but gps in the woods and while driving are too valuable to me. I do use an old $40 iPhone instead of some $500 nonsense financed through my phone company.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

Any chip enabled Garmin will do. I have an 8 YO Montana (629? I believe) and it still takes the ONx chips fine. I always have a backup if my phone takes a dump.

 

[fngTony]

Just get a cheap android without signing it up for service. Use it with wifi at home to download OnX and wherever else. Then buy a flip phone for calls.

 

[wyodan]

I use a dumb phone and a hand held GPS. I'm using a Garmin 62st and a 64st for work. The 64st gets used personally sometimes too. I think having a smartphone leads to doing smartphone things at some point in time, and I hate that they track you at all times. I'm just about to buy an upgraded dumbphone as my other one barely works, but it is convenient to not always be accessible.

 

[dlee56]

Following.
I’ve been thinking the same, but I too rely heavily on maps/onx, bank apps and budget apps etc.

 

[pirogue]

You still see the stand alone GPS units, like the Rino and others on eBay and in classifieds

 

[ScreamingPotato]

Just keep your old smart phone with no service, update your OnX maps and all that on your home WiFi and take that with you for the hunts.

 

[missjordan]

Glad I’m not the only one that’s thought of this. I do love the convenience of being able to check my banking on my phone and maybe emails. I’m not so email obsessed like some people are. It’s the constant social media habit that’s hard. Creators keep making it so it’s a time leech. I really don’t like how reels have became the new thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[h2so4]

I’ve been considering a flip or “dumb”
Phone as well. I’d probably keep an iPhone around for specific apps / camera, so less worried about gps. However,
I’d like to hear which model flip phone your looking at.

 

[Strider]

I have done this and currently just flip between my flip phone and my smart phone whenever I need a little simplicity. Just buy a unlocked flip phone and keep your smart phone. Just switch your Sim card between them. Pop the sim into the smart phone for a hunt then use the flip for the day to day.

I use https://sunbeamwireless.com/.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I love having physical buttons. We came real close to going down middle of a big bay on the coast, all our phones were useless with wet screens couldn't do anything.

What are y'all seeing for battery life on the flips? That'd be a huge benefit for backcountry and remote trips.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

But..... how will you check Rokslide?

 

[IBen]

they make smartphones that only do call/text camera and gps

 

[justinspicher]

I have my old iPhone 8 with no SIM card and it goes to the woods with me. I have downloaded maps on it and the camera feature works well. When I get home I use my WiFi to upload the pics such. I rarely take my actually phone to the woods anymore, I am almost to the point of not taking it out with me at all if I am leaving for the woods.

 

[wingmaster]

I've been on a flip phone for 6 years now, the Sunbeam F1. Great phone which offers many different models depending on what kind of person you are. I pay $8/month for service through US Mobile. They have models with GPS, weather, hot spot, and talk-to-text. Customer service is excellent.

I have the GPS w/ OnX chip, but OnX no longer supports updates for the chip as of 1-2 years ago. I emailed them at the time expressing my disapproval as a non-smartphone user, but they didn't respond. So you have to rely on land ownership data that will continue to get more outdated. This was frustrating for me as I invested in the chip for every western state.

I also haven't been able to substitute the need for the Earthmate app with an inReach. Texting on the device itself is brutal.

So to summarize, I'll fish out the old smartphone from storage for backpack hunts. But it'd be nice to have a sat phone that can actually type well, then I'd consider ditching it altogether. It'd also be nice to see OnX on Garmin watches.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Good luck. I have kids and the don’t call. They barely text. Plus all their activities coordinate through text and FB. In another 10 years, your phone will be your wallet.

 

[EdP]

Like Wingmaster said, OnX no longer supports the chips. Seems to me that would be a killer for the idea of abandoning the smartphone. Here is the notice I recieved on 9/6/2022:

In 2009, we released our first product, the onX Hunt Chip, which enabled hunters to know exactly where they could or could not hunt. This year, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue our Chip product. Going forward, 29 states will no longer be available. The final 21 states will still be available for purchase through Dec 31, 2022. As for new map data updates, we will be updating Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado for 2022. All remaining states still available for purchase received their final update in 2021.

There are a couple of reasons why we made the difficult decision to discontinue the Hunt Chip after 2022. First, we believe that the Hunt App improves the hunters experience in the field and allows us to innovate and continually address hunter needs. Simply put, our ability to quickly push new features and updates as well as address known issues as they arise makes the onX Hunt App a more capable and comprehensive tool for hunters. Additionally, as time has passed, technologies on which our chip depends, such as handheld GPS units, have made changes that make our chip non-compatible. With the fantastic experience that the Hunt App offers, to release a product that has this limitation will not give our customers the experience that we strive to provide.​

 

[5MilesBack]

What flip phone is compatible these days with 5G etc? I was told two years ago that I wouldn't be able to use my flip phone anymore because of that. The funny thing is, my Iphone crapped out on me last month when my battery expanded and almost burnt the whole thing up. So now I'm going through all my contacts on my old flip phone to add them back to my new Iphone.