The Punkt MP02 is a $349 cellphone with an emphasis on simplicity. It has a 2 inch black and white display, a numeric keypad, and an emphasis on phone calls and text messages.

First released in 2018, the phone has some modern features that set it apart from old-school dumb phones, including support for 4G LTE and Voice over LTE, but it’s a phone that’s designed to be… a phone, and not a do-it-all computer.

That hasn’t stopped the phone’s makers from adding new features though. The Punkt MP02 has just picked up support for encrypted voice calls and text messages using the Signal protocol.

Signal offers full-featured messaging apps for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux. But while the Punkt MP02 runs a modified version of Android 8.1, it’s not designed for normal Android apps. Instead the phone uses a third-party Signal-compatible app called Pigeon.

The app allows you to make encrypted voice calls or send encrypted text messages over the internet using WiFi or mobile data. You can communicate with other MP02/Pigeon users or folks who are using the Signal app on other devices.

In addition to bringing support for encrypted communications to the Punkt MP02, Pigeon also adds support for group messaging, sharing recorded voice messages, and scheduling messages to be automatically deleted after they’re opened. The app also supports read receipts, message quoting, and typing indicators to let you know when someone else is composing a message.

The Punkt MP02 is the kind of phone where specs aren’t really the selling point, but in case you’re curious it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 210 processor, 2GB of LPDDR3 533 MHz RAM, 16GB of eMMC 4.5 storage, and a 2 inch, 320 x 240 pixel transflective (sunlight readable) display.

It weighs 100 grams, measures 117 x 51.3 x 14.4mm and has a polycarbonite body. The phone has a 1,280 mAh battery that should provide a week or so of standby time or 4.2 hours of talk time. You can charge the battery by plugging it in for about 2.5 hours – it has a USB 2.0 Type-C port and comes with a 1A USB-C power adapter.

The phone has a front speaker for phone calls and a 1.5W rear speaker for hands-free use and/or listening to media. It supports 802.11b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1 as well as 4G LTE networks (it’ll work with AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, but not with Verizon).

The Punkt MP02 has a single nano SIM card slot and the phone is carrier unlocked.

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7 replies on “Punkt MP02 voice phone now supports encrypted Signal calls and text messages”

  1. I currently use this phone I have had it for 6 months now. It’s my only phone. I was an iPhone user for almost 10 years. I really like this MP02. I went through a few minimalist type phone like an old blackberry and the light phone 2 but ended up sticking with this one. It takes a little bit to get used to especially if your used to a smartphone life.

    It has really changed the way I do my own life. As its marketed, (not to sound like I’m trying to sell it here), I am more present in my day to day activities, present with my kids and a meet and talk to all kinds of new people almost everyday. It’s almost forced because theres nothing for you to do with it. I eventually stopped reaching for a phone to look at it. Sometimes I forget I even have a phone in my pocket.

    For anything I need thats internet I use my iPad or MacBook. Mostly iPad.
    And for any of you business owners thinking its impossible to run your business without a smartphone, I run a large electrical contracting company and all our stuff is email, cloud based software communications.

    IMO, its super awesome.

  2. TBH the main reason I like VoLTE isnt quality of voice or how fast the call comes through. Its not dropping to 3G or EDGE now that 3G is shutting down during the call when you have only a single sim with both voice and dataplan 😀 But that doesnt seem to be as big of a problem on this phone 😀 Anyway … im not sure about USA but here just because a phone has VoLTE doesnt mean it will work with the carrier .. usually has to be sold by the carrier … its possible for even the same phone for the same region not to work.

  3. Doesn’t $350 seem kinda high for a phone that gives up everything, but still only gets 7 days battery?

    Nokia is advertising around 27 day battery life on some of their $69.99 LTE feature phones these days.

    1. I’ve had mine for a couple years. I would buy another one if I lost this one. I’ve never seen a cheap Nokia phone last that long, at least since they started outsourcing phones.

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