cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/50312445
Assuming i never had to call anyone more than a few miles from me anyway, how practical would it be to stop having a phone altogether and just use MeshCore or Meshtastic for short range communication? What troubles would i run into from not having a phone?
I figure i could even buy radios for people i need to talk to and with no phone bill this would pay for itself in about a year.
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As a thought exercise, it’ll probably be extremely difficult.
As a money saving action, mate - there are $10 phone plans out there. Assuming US here - Ting or US Mobile.
you really wouldnt want to do that.
you can’t do 2fa. if your area isnt saturated enough, you may end up with “islands” where your message won’t get through to the intended party. if your area is too saturated, you may use up all the hops before it gets to your intended party. if you live in a hilly or wooded area your range will be diminished. if your home internet and/or power goes down, you will have no access to the internet via tethering. sometimes i have trouble with 2 nodes in the same room not seeing eachother. most devices ive seen are very low spec and can be very glitchy.
meshtastic is very cool, but it is nowhere near a replacement for a cellphone. give it some years and some iterations and maybe we can develop a robust communication alternative, but i dont think we’re there yet.
that said, yeah, get a few nodes, give them to your friends, and see how you like it. maybe i’m wrong. also the more people using it, the more likely it is to grow into something more usable.
2fa could be a big issue. I think the only thing i need it for is my Gmail, which i log into maybe a couple times a year.
I use a dumbphone so a lot of the issues here are things i already deal with. If my home internet goes down and i desperately need to check my email or look at fresh pictures of cats, i take my laptop to the public library because i don’t have a hotspot.
I will get a couple nodes for friends and family, and see how reliable they are. Currently it seems like i’m the only person in my city using Meshcore or Meshtastic, so i’d be starting the mesh from scratch. But someone has to. And you’re right that more people using this will help.
I wish people wouldn’t assume everyone has a (smart)phone. I was totally without a phone for a few weeks last year and it was nice.
Meshcore doesn’t solve all of that, but it definitely is an improvement over meshtastic.
Messages deliver more reliably, and you get 16 hops at minimum instead of 7 at max.
Mesh towers, repeaters, service team, power, maintenence, ect. Mesh and cellphone are just radios.
Unless you are: running HF or VHF/UHF amateur with a repeater, or GMRS with a repeater, the best you could expect is a mile, maybe more with line of sight.
It’s not feasible unless everyone in your group had access to a repeater (ham or GMRS) which requires a tower. Even more, reception can be hit or miss (inside a building, handheld vs mobile, RFI)
Mesh is not evem at this point yet. You’ll sink a ton of money for sonething a cellphone does well in.
I love how you are using your thinking cap and encourage to prove me wrong. I suggest finding a cheap MVNO (tracfone, boost, mint, visible) as a lot have lowered prices and “good” servce.
Money is just one part of it. I don’t like that there are only 3 companies making phones work here in the USA and every other carrier is just reselling that service. I do like that that Mesh* is encrypted.
You’re right that this would be a lot of work. Not just setting up repeaters, but explaining it to people, convincing people to use something new and less convenient than SMS, more stuff that i’m too tired to think of just now.
I hope i can prove you wrong. I don’t use my phone a lot. There are a few people i regularly text, and about one i call often. I get my work schedule texted to me, but i can get that via email instead.
I want this to be possible.
I want this to be possible.
It’s not…
Deal with the fact you need a phone to be a functional part of modern society.
Or go off grid, and give up most modern conveniences of staying connected to friends, family, and the world at large.
You wouldn’t be able to get calls from doctor’s offices or banks.
I cannot afford healthcare (USA) and i don’t think i’ve ever recieved an important call from my bank.
What about those stupid two-factor authentication codes? We all know banks are stupidly old institutions and still use SMS two-factor authentication instead of the much more secure time-based one-time pads.
It makes me real confident in their security, let me tell you. /s
Don’t worry, more and more banks are going to apps where they “outsource” all security to Apple and Google on their respective phone OS security implementation. At least on android, the apps will detect if accessibility functions (and developer’s options) are turned on and will refuse to run the app. Who even needs accessibility right? Like there’s no less able bodied people using smartphones. And what’s that? It’s your phone? No, silly customer, we banks must protect you from getting scammed by policing your device. It’s the bank’s property. You bought that phone on financing anyways, so it really isn’t your property.
I am definitely not angry at this outcome. I bought my phone fair and square
