All three US carriers shut down their 3g infrastructure this month. Millions of customers don't have a 4g compatible phone. A lot of them got a free phone from their carrier to tide them over.
I got an AT&T Calypso. It has an entire gig of RAM, lags when opening the keyboard, and honestly it's unpleasant to use. But it has Android 11, it can call and use Google maps, and it's technically usable. There are several on Ebay for $20-30.
I highly recommend asking around for a used phone. A lot of people have one sitting in a drawer that they can't be arsed to list on Ebay. If you need to use it for a while, there are smartphones in the $50-150 range that will perform better.
They make a decent backup/burner phone, and might be worth having if you need to visit a high crime area. I don't recommend using one as a daily driver.
February 26, 2022 at 09:40PM
