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Debloating My CAT S22 Flip Phone

Dumb Phone
CAT
UAD

Hullo,

For the past three years, I had been using a OnePlus Nord 2 and had been eyeing a change for some time. Initially, I was considering upgrading to either the Google Pixel 9 Pro or exploring the uniqueness of the Nothing Phone. However, I stumbled upon the r/dumbphones subreddit—and the rest is history.

In this subreddit, I discovered a niche community of people embracing the simplicity of dumb phones, and I was instantly intrigued. I had been lurking in the sub for a while and had seen a lot of people talking about the CAT S22 Flip Phone. It is a rugged flip phone that supports Android 11. The old school geek inside me immediately knew that I had to get it.

Why the CAT S22 Flip Phone?

The idea of owning a phone that could help me reduce screen time and get back to the basics was too appealing to pass up. For just 100 CAD, I placed the order and eagerly awaited its arrival. The phone comes with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage, so I knew it wouldn't be the fastest device, but I was ready for the trade-off.

After unboxing the phone, although I had good inital impressions, I could feel the phone was a bit slow due to ample bloatware and a low ram. I knew I had to do something about it.

My first instinct was to root the phone since it was an android and I had often heard about rooting a phone to get rid of bloatware. Since I had no experiecne in actually rooting a phone, I obviously searched it up on youtube and came across this guide which promised to get rid of bloatware without even rooting the phone. All I had to do was a) set up the Universal Android Debloater from the github repo on my laptop and b) enable developer mode on my CAT S22.

Here's how I did it:

  1. I commenced by trying to install the UAD software on my macbook from this github repo, but macOS initially blocked the installation due to security settings. Although I found a workaround, I decided to switch to a Windows laptop for simplicity.

  2. Borrowing a friend’s Windows laptop, I installed the UAD software. Setting it up was straightforward—I had to enable Developer Mode on the CAT S22 and run the adb devices command in the terminal to connect the phone.

  3. Initially, I used my USB-C to USB-C cable to connect the phone, but the device wasn’t recognized. After troubleshooting for a while, I realized I needed to use the original USB-A to USB-C cable that came with the phone. This resolved the issue.

Using UAD’s intuitive interface, I removed most of the bloatware (goodbye, T-Series and Google Suite) and instantly noticed an improvement in the phone's responsiveness.

Setting it up for Daily Use

With the phone decluttered, I downloaded essential utility apps like WhatsApp, Google Maps, Uber, and Wealthsimple. I also discovered F-Droid, an open-source app store, which allowed me to install NewPipe, an ad-free YouTube alternative.

To give the phone a personalized, retro vibe, I changed its icon pack. This required:

  1. Installing the NovaLauncher app from the Play Store.
  2. Downloading the PixBit Icon Pack from the browser.

After some configuration, I managed to apply a retro theme to most of the apps. For those that didn’t support retro icons, I manually edited them. The final result is a visually cohesive and nostalgic interface that perfectly complements the phone's design.

Retro Themeed CAT S22 Flip Phone

The Verdict

I’m thrilled with the CAT S22 Flip Phone and am slowly transitioning to it as my everyday carry. I plan to keep the OnePlus Nord 2 for occasional use or while traveling abroad.

All in all, I am super happy with the phone and am looking to gradually transition to it as I ween off from my One Plus Nord 2.