Sonim XP5s

This phone is nearly indestructible. No regrets for dropping the smart phone, I can use my tablet for emails and research. Great volume, battery life and service. Texting is challenging but keeps me from sitting on the phone, I just make calls instead. Highly recommended for basic phone needs.

Got sick & tired of the iPhone/Samsung smartphone rat race (12 years), decided to get a phone that will be only for voice calls, texting, and casual documenting photos and videos. After researching and pondering, I bought the Sonim XP5s, didn't even hold or handle it because my local stores did not have them on display. I did not want to use wi-fi nor data (I eventually had Verizon block it). PROS: Better voice quality on both ends, better than any of my smartphones. Battery life is great: I leave it on 24/7 and the charge so far lasts 12-14 days. Menu and settings are fairly easy, simply because not too many options available anyways. No protective case needed, it is bulletproof and waterproof. Replaceable battery and access is nice. Speaker phone is extremely good, much better than my previous phones. CONS: Thicker and slightly heavier than my previous smartphones, but I'm fine with it. No 1/8" phones out for earbuds, need an adapter (but I don't use phones for music anyways). Taking a photo (click) takes a split second longer than my previous phone. Overall, I love the Sonim. I can hear better on calls, and other callers have noted the quality of the sound on their end. Texting took a little while to get used to (Flex T9), but it is decent enough, I'm not writing paragraphs or novels. There are complaints about the size of the buttons, and it might be true for the navigation arrows, but otherwise I have zero problems with it. I have no need for the PTT function, disabled that button. No more Google apps, GPS, etc. Garbage I don't want ever again. It is nice to unplug somewhat, and this phone is perfect for that.

Works and lasts. This is my second Sonim phone, my last was the previous version of this phone. Had my 1st sonim for five years. Everything I expected is what I got with this phone, love it!

After realizing the exorbitant amount of time I wasted every day on my smartphone, I took dumb phone plunge. Tried the flip phone option first with Kyrocera DuraXV LTE, a good choice if flip phone is the way you want to go. Wanted to try the "bar" phone style and landed on the XP5s. So glad I did. The XP5s does everything a basic phone is expected to do and does it very well. It excels in call quality and battery life. It's rugged build won't appeal to everyone. It's heavy and built like a brick. I wouldn't be surprised if it's bulletproof. The keys are a little scrunched together, but not hard to navigate with a little use. All in all, everything a basic phone should be.

My friend had this phone and it was so good I just had to switch over. Unbelievable calling quality and I was able to call all the way across the United States. Was very durable and I am able to use it at work.(I work as a plumber)

This is a great basic phone. One of the achilles heels of basic phones is the cumbersome text message input. This phone supports bluetooth keyboards. So you can carry a folding BT keyboard with you for texting. My previous phone was a Kyocera DuraXV which is overall a great phone but the texting was killing me. Good reception. Excellent battery life. The phone can be from really soft to extremely loud so you can hear it in a noisy environment. Good battery life - I usually go 1-2 weeks between charges - depending on how much I use it of course. I'm attaching a screenshot showing >9 days on a charge The only downside is that the Bluetooth keyboard support is buggy. I contacted Sonim customer service about it and they flat out said they were not going to fix any issues , even though BT keyboards are listed as a supported accessory in the manual. The phone has a proprietary case and headset. You can use standard bluetooth headsets but if you want a wired headset you will have to get the one from Sonim because the connector is proprietary. They're a smidge pricey but good quality so I do recommend getting those.