I went almost a year without actual phone service

2022 has been a difficult year for me, although I have never spoken about it openly until now. I found myself without a phone after my Pixel 7 broke, and with so many rising family expenses, I didn’t feel like I could just run out and buy one. What I had was a collection of old working devices from OnePlus and a few other brands that worked fine as Wi-Fi devices but no longer supported the necessary ranges to work properly on any US network.

During this time, I saved up for a new device and relied on a combination of my home network, public Wi-Fi networks, and a hotspot on my wife’s phone to handle the situation.

Granted, it is technically possible for some people to function without phone service in this day and age. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. The adjustment period was difficult, but I must admit that the experience was not bad at all.

Life without phone service isn’t impossible, but it certainly requires adjustments to how you use your phone. This means using alternative methods for calling and texting, and planning your day and week so that a lack of phone service doesn’t slow you down.

I chose to use Google Voice at the time because it allowed me to make phone calls and receive texts without needing a dedicated phone service. Of course, this also came with its own obstacles. The biggest problem with most VoIP services is that two-factor authentication support is usually patchy at best, and many times you’ll find a complete lack of support. In most cases, I was able to overcome this problem by setting up an alternative authenticator program, but in a few cases where other methods were not supported, I had to use my spouse’s number as well.

Another big challenge is navigating from your phone using GPS. As someone who is naturally direction-averse, I rely heavily on GPS to navigate larger cities and less familiar places. The good news is that it is possible to use Google Maps offline as long as you download local data for your area. You can only store so much map data, and it expires over time, but it’s definitely a useful solution.

You don’t get live traffic updates and directions, which means I had to pay a little more attention to where I was going instead of just relying on the GPS gods to get me there.

Now, I’ll admit that living without phone service was easier for me than the average person. After all, I work from home, I live in a smaller community, and the vast majority of businesses and entertainment venues I usually find myself in have multiple public Wi-Fi networks.

For the moments when I know there won’t be Wi-Fi? I also ensured that I had plenty of time wasters on my phone. I learned how to use not only game programs, but also how to use them Kiwi For Mobile (which is no longer available) to download parts of Wikipedia for offline use and save articles at home to read when I don’t have Internet access.

At first, the transition was a little scary. At the same time, there was a certain calm after I got used to the situation. After all, I was no longer constantly bombarded with texts, emails, and app alerts around the clock. It was a level of peace I hadn’t experienced in decades.

As a result, I felt like my digital life was more purposeful. It was my choice when to sign up and when to ignore. Social media and other parts of my digital life became less important as I moved away from constant connection. Over time, I started spending more time on new physical hobbies like rock climbing, kayaking, and just living my life.

I also found that by forcing my brain to use the power of GPS, my own navigation skills improved quite a bit.

Even now, it wasn’t always great. Sometimes I would miss a semi-important call or find myself wanting to look for the best restaurant. I couldn’t do it anywhere; I had to plan access to the hot spot. Still, I feel that without this transition period, I probably never would have been able to balance my digital life the way I did.

About nine to ten months in, I finally got a new flagship phone and reactivated my phone service. My digital life got easier, but I never forgot what I learned.

Even today, I keep my phone in one room. I don’t take it with me every time I go to the store. I chose intention over constant stimulation. I don’t pull out my phone at the dinner table and spend more time on physical and non-digital only things. Some of this may have already happened, but the habits I formed while living without a phone plan definitely stuck with me.

Does this mean I’m recommending others ditch their phone plans? Absolutely not. Of course, some people can probably get away with it, especially if you work from home and have relatively wide access to Wi-Fi when you’re out and about.

However, I think many people could benefit from a short period without constant access to their phone. Leaving your phone at home when you go out with friends, or simply keeping your phone in another room for parts of the day, can help you eliminate the usual constant need to check. In most cases, a few days is enough.