What r/dumbphones is saying: week ending Oct 25, 2026
The biggest practical topic on r/dumbphones this week was group texts: two people describe missing group messages after leaving a phone with RCS. If you text in groups, sort out iMessage and RCS before you move your SIM, and check the specific phone's group-messaging support before you buy.
We're not affiliated with r/dumbphones; quotes are short excerpts linked to the original threads. This issue covers posts from Oct 18 to Oct 25, 2026, read on Oct 25, 2026.
Group chats that stop arriving after you switch
Thread: Every RCS group chat fix I've found after switching to a dumbphone (Sunbeam Horizon F1) - ranked by most helpful by u/ev3362, Oct 22 · Setup tip
Around the 30-day mark after turning off RCS, when Google removes you from RCS group chats, I stopped receiving messages in some group chats because those threads were stuck in RCS.
Our take: This is the most useful post of the week. u/ev3362 reports that 1:1 texts kept working and that only some group threads got stuck, and ranks several workarounds that worked for them. The fixes are their own experience, not something we've tested. What we'd take from it is the order of operations: turn off iMessage or RCS and deregister your number with Apple or Google well before the SIM moves, and tell your group chats to text you 1:1 for anything urgent while things settle.
In the picker: The Sunbeam F1 Horizon isn't in our catalog. Its sibling, the Sunbeam F1 Pro, is.
"It literally just needs to do group texts"
Thread: Recommendations please! It literally just needs to do group texts by u/stereo_radio, Oct 22 · Recommendation
I could send SMS in group chats, but the messages sent to me were sent as RCS (which I could not receive).
Our take: u/stereo_radio reports this happened on a TCL Flip 4 5G on Mint Mobile after a month, and that the messages arrived once they went back to their iPhone. That fits the thread above: the phone itself may handle SMS and MMS fine, but group threads that started in RCS can stay there. Asking every group to start a new thread is the reliable reset, but it isn't always realistic. Waiting for a phone that supports RCS is the other route they mention.
In the picker: The TCL Flip 4 5G is still a draft in our catalog, so we don't have a page for it yet. Group-messaging support per phone is on our fact-check list.
T-Mobile DIGITS may stop delivering texts to a paired phone
Thread: T-Mobile DIGITS Going Away by u/Top_Insurance477, Oct 24 · Two phones, one number
If you use DIGITS, then you'll only be able to send texts/etc from your 2nd / paired phone, but it won't be able to receive any texts.
Our take: u/Top_Insurance477 reports getting an email from T-Mobile about the change and says they've used DIGITS to carry a Light Phone 3 day to day while keeping a smartphone at home on the same number. As of Oct 25, 2026 we couldn't find the change on T-Mobile's own support pages, so treat it as one user's report for now. If a two-phone setup on one number is your plan, ask T-Mobile directly before you build around DIGITS.
In the picker: The Light Phone III is listed as compatible with T-Mobile on Light's compatibility checker (checked Oct 24, 2026). DIGITS isn't something our carrier check covers, and our Fact Checker is looking into it.
Sunbeam F1 Pro Walnut and Poplar
Thread: Sunbeam F1 Pro Walnut and Poplar by u/No_Assumption_3169, Oct 23 · New release
I just logged onto the sunbeam website and their new phones will now have video! It'll apparently have rideshare and Dewdrop/signal
Our take: u/No_Assumption_3169 reports these features from Sunbeam's site. We haven't confirmed video, rideshare or Signal on the Walnut or Poplar, so we're not listing them as features. What we can confirm is that Sunbeam's F1 Pro page names both as "Advanced Messaging" models, and that both were out of stock when we checked (Oct 24 and Oct 25, 2026). Wait for reviews and Sunbeam's own spec sheet before choosing one of these over a model you can buy today.
In the picker: Sunbeam F1 Pro: from $359, most models in stock, Walnut and Poplar out of stock; Sunbeam lists Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile as working (all checked Oct 24, 2026).
A Nokia flip shows up early in an HMD app
Thread: HMD accidentally spoiled their new flip phone by u/ArtTolst, Oct 21 · New release
HMD Global just released a new app called Family Assist, and in it is our first look at a yet unreleased Nokia flip phone, the Nokia 2360 Flip.
Our take: Treat this as a leak, not a launch. HMD hasn't announced the phone, and there's no price, carrier list or US release date yet. It's worth watching because the Nokia 2780 Flip is no longer sold new at Best Buy.
In the picker: The Nokia 2780 Flip is listed as discontinued: Best Buy no longer sells it new (checked Oct 24, 2026). We'll add the Nokia 2360 Flip once HMD publishes specs.
"Check the IMEI before you buy" is still the best advice
Thread: Carriers for the Alt Mive Style Folder? >,< by u/Vanilladoughx, Oct 24 · Carrier issue
Normally I use mint but I checked the imei and it said not compatible.
Our take: u/Vanilladoughx reports buying the phone from a reseller and only afterwards finding that Mint's IMEI check rejected it. The carrier's own IMEI check is the answer that counts, so run it before you buy, not after. Mint runs on T-Mobile and says phones without VoLTE lose service.
In the picker: The Alt Mive Style Folder isn't in our catalog. Our phone list shows each phone's Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile status with its source and date, and the Verizon guide covers the phones we can source for Verizon.
The phone you already have, locked down
Thread: You probably already have the best dumbphone. by u/iDex831, Oct 23 · Setup tip
You can have it the best of both worlds keeping all the apps you want with none of the ones you don't.
Our take: u/iDex831 reports running a restricted iPhone 14 Pro and says the size is the only thing they still dislike. It's a fair point: if you need banking, maps or WhatsApp, a locked-down smartphone costs nothing to try before you buy new hardware. The trade-off is that the limits are only as firm as the passcode, and whoever knows it can turn them off.
In the picker: Lock down the iPhone you already have is in the picker as a $0 option. The step-by-step setup is in our iPhone Screen Time guide and Android Digital Wellbeing guide.
What we're checking next
- Whether T-Mobile has confirmed the DIGITS texting change, and when it takes effect.
- What the Sunbeam F1 Pro Walnut and Poplar actually include, from Sunbeam's own spec sheet.
- Group-messaging support (SMS, MMS, RCS) for each phone in the catalog.