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Or instead of going through a bunch of effort in order to risk pissing off border agents with shenanigans, you can buy a dirt-cheap Android phone for travel. Bo

by ashark 10y ago

Or instead of going through a bunch of effort in order to risk pissing off border agents with shenanigans, you can buy a dirt-cheap Android phone for travel. Bonus: then you don't have to worry about it being stolen, lost, or broken, either. It'd be a sensible move even without the border search risk. Incidentally, is this limited to phones? Are they only searching these accounts because they're authed to the phone they make you unlock? Or are they saying "oh, OK, so you're traveling without a phone. Please step over to this kiosk and log into your Facebook account" as well?

jrochkind1 10y ago
do you have a dirt-cheap android to recommend?
- JBReefer 10y ago
  Moto G4
  - funnyfacts365 10y ago
    A Moto E 2013 is still pretty usable... Using one right now.
- ashark 10y ago
  Moto G4 Play if you want something that's not totally disposable but is also sort-of an OK phone, by cheap Android phone standards. ~$130, which is pretty cheap for someone from the US on HN, most likely. You'd be sad to lose it but not that sad. If you want an Android smartphone that's really cheap go to Wal-Mart. Unlocked Android phones south of $60. If you can do without a smartphone you can get a dumb or feature phone for ~$10-$30. There might even be better deals on Aliexpress or somewhere similar if you shop around.
  - jrochkind1 10y ago
    Nice, that's pretty much what I had identified too. I had been focusing on the full Moto G4, which is like $200, hadn't realized the G4 Play could be had for $130 no contract. I would call neither _dirt cheap_ for _my_ budget, but that is what I had arrived at as the cheapest possible that is still usable too. "Dirt" cheap, not for me, or probably most Americans, but what can you do. (FWIW, I think it's no longer possible to get a dumbphone that will work on AT&T for $10-$30, now that AT&T turned off 2G and requires 3G even for voice. More like $60-$80 at the very lowest end that will work on AT&T. Don't know about internationally. :( )
haswell 10y ago
When I'm traveling (which is often), I NEED my "good" phone. Maybe a cheap Android phone would be feasible for occasional recreational travel, but this is not a solution for many. Better to have easily restorable backups and just wipe & configure as a "new" device (not connected to cloud services) before entry. Restore from backup when you get home. This is actually pretty painless these days. Sad that it's necessary.

by ashark 10y ago

jrochkind1 10y ago

do you have a dirt-cheap android to recommend?

JBReefer 10y ago
Moto G4
- funnyfacts365 10y ago
  A Moto E 2013 is still pretty usable... Using one right now.
ashark 10y ago
Moto G4 Play if you want something that's not totally disposable but is also sort-of an OK phone, by cheap Android phone standards. ~$130, which is pretty cheap for someone from the US on HN, most likely. You'd be sad to lose it but not that sad. If you want an Android smartphone that's really cheap go to Wal-Mart. Unlocked Android phones south of $60. If you can do without a smartphone you can get a dumb or feature phone for ~$10-$30. There might even be better deals on Aliexpress or somewhere similar if you shop around.
- jrochkind1 10y ago
  Nice, that's pretty much what I had identified too. I had been focusing on the full Moto G4, which is like $200, hadn't realized the G4 Play could be had for $130 no contract. I would call neither _dirt cheap_ for _my_ budget, but that is what I had arrived at as the cheapest possible that is still usable too. "Dirt" cheap, not for me, or probably most Americans, but what can you do. (FWIW, I think it's no longer possible to get a dumbphone that will work on AT&T for $10-$30, now that AT&T turned off 2G and requires 3G even for voice. More like $60-$80 at the very lowest end that will work on AT&T. Don't know about internationally. :( )

haswell 10y ago

When I'm traveling (which is often), I NEED my "good" phone. Maybe a cheap Android phone would be feasible for occasional recreational travel, but this is not a solution for many. Better to have easily restorable backups and just wipe & configure as a "new" device (not connected to cloud services) before entry. Restore from backup when you get home. This is actually pretty painless these days. Sad that it's necessary.