telefonefix
Hardware
kid-friendly phone
SHOW HN2025
222points
57comments
#280of 3,837 in 2025
Top 8%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
9 positive, 9 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 6 critical, out of 25 comments about the project. Thread score +0.11.
Idea: 6 for, 4 againstExecution: 2 for, 0 againstPricing: 0 for, 2 againstDocs: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Well-documented write-up and useful project
From 3 comments
This is a great project writeup, I did something _very_ similar for my son. (HT802, asterisk, twilio, calling relatives) With all of the NAT involved I could never get sjsip to…
mnutt on HNGreat work! Thank you for sharing this. I'm looking forward to making one just like this too.
winterec on HNI just setup the same HT801 but I used SIP-domains and twilio services/functions instead of SIP trunk and asterisk. I'll make sure to reply again once I have a write up. Nice work!
bryogenic on HN
Fun idea for kids calling family
From 2 comments
I couldn't help but smile when I read about building an international landline system with the patience of "raising a child"! This analogy of complex technology to the process of…
renshijian on HNThis is so cool! Mine is too young but I was planning to hack on something similar when they’re of age. Thanks for the inspiration!
hawaiianbrah on HN
Objections
Toddlers could dial random numbers or call at wrong hours
From 2 comments
... Do you not see a toddler dialing random numbers as anything but a nuisance to the people whose numbers they happened to dial? Or waste emergency services' time? (their…
kimixa on HN> My overseas family had such a long number, stored in a book in my grandmothers handwriting, that theres little chance I would have connected and woken them up. The article is…
dwedge on HN
Twilio account and KYC process is difficult
From 2 comments
One sidenote is that the Twilio part is harder than it looks. Not because of technical factors, but because of the paid requirement. Twilio refused to take my money and upgrade…
jeduardo on HNHardest part of this is getting a twilio account that actually works. One of the worst service providers ive ever had to work with.
throw-10-13 on HN
Requests
Add emergency 911 dialing
From 1 comment
I really like this... except you should add a special case for 911. I strongly believe that all phones, and anything that looks like phones, should be able to dial out in an…
hlieberman on HN
Let kids call friends on this system
From 2 comments
For some reason I thought it was for toddlers to call other toddlers. I think if you were looking for a feature to add, it would be to let kids call their friends. Could lead to…
b_e_n_t_o_n on HNI would love a way to make an IP phone that just lets my kids call their friends on their phones, and no-one else. I will take a look!
robertlagrant on HN
Questions
Why would toddlers need international calls
From 1 comment
uhmm... >>> As a weekend project, I hacked together a physical phone, a Raspberry Pi running Asterisk and Twilio, to let toddlers safely make international calls. how often do…
_ZeD_ on HN
Could it work peer-to-peer without Twilio
From 1 comment
This is awesome! Would it be possible to ditch Twilio and build it as a peer-to-peer system though? Or does that always require a coordination server?
aurbano on HN
Alternatives named
Tin Can kids phone
From 2 comments
I’ve also been looking at setting up a dumb phone for my kids, but haven’t thought to go the rPi Twilio route. There’s an existing product that seems to have some mindshare in…
yojo on HNIf you want this as a ready to go product - https://tincan.kids/ and disable 911 if international.
bombcar on HN
MagicJack
From 2 comments
Or a magic Jack. Cheap as hell
schwartzworld on HNIf you’re in the US just get a magic jack
schwartzworld on HN
Telnyx as a SIP provider
From 1 comment
One sidenote is that the Twilio part is harder than it looks. Not because of technical factors, but because of the paid requirement. Twilio refused to take my money and upgrade…
jeduardo on HN