Phones should have FM radio again

corbin@infosec.pub to Technology@lemmy.world – 1082 points –
Phones should have FM radio again
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You can buy one right now.

You mean like a 20 year old one? Would it even work?

Yeah. It'd probably still have charge too.

I found one in the back of a drawer a few weeks ago, it turned on straight away. I didn’t have the right size SIM card to try and use it fully sadly.

Come the apocalypse there will just be cockroaches and old Nokias.

You cold dredge one up from the bottom of the ocean and it would still pick up a signal.

If a signal exists. Those blazing fast 2g towers ain't super common nowadays

Wasn't it like 2g cellular?

Many operators around the word are ditching 3g but still keeping 2g.
It is main/backup connection in so many iot and older automation devices that it won't be going away anytime soon.
And yes, both my 2110 and 3310 I alternate in my cars glove compartment can still call emergency services number without sim card.

Even when they shut down 2G access it will probably just be commercial use but they'll keep it for emergency service. It still has excellent coverage and the infrastructure is more trouble to remove than it's worth.

Well it is a Nokia so...

The device itself is not the concern as much as the network connectivity

Depending on where they are in the world 2G networks might still be active. In Europe they're still on for a few more years in most countries.

No. I don't know of anywhere that a 2G network is still available to use. Some still operate it for emergency calls but that's it.

You can deploy your own 2g base station with openbts and some cheap software-defined radio hardware. Don't crank up the signal though so you won't run afoul with the government agencies that regulate radio spectrum in your country.

It's anybody's guess but if the battery hasn't crapped out it probably would.

I have a bunch of old Nokia's whose batteries puffed up and I can't use them anymore but I also have some that are still ok.

Oh and they'd have to also find the charger for it.