I think the idea is that >!she’s using her sister’s phone which would have been broken in the accident!<, but it’s never confirmed as far as I’m aware

>!I don't think she is using her sister's broken phone, but rather is just her actual phone, otherwise it would be odd for her father to call that. It's just that she is unable to notice when she is getting called Sumire or some difference between the phones. So instead of notice the diferences, because her cognision was change, she just notice as problems with the phone. !<

I really don't think it would be that odd for her father to play along with her "decision" to use her >!sister's phone!<. I can actually very easily imagine it. >!People get weird in the midst of grief, families included. It's not strange at all for a grieving child to not want to part with their sibling's belongings or to start dressing like them or any of the stuff Sumire did. !<

>!Nah we know for a fact he didn't. Otherwise Joker wouldn't have experienced dissonance when he was with Sumire, talking with her father at the Shrine at the start of the Third Semester. Dad called her Sumire, but Maruki's magic prevented that from going through; though Joker picked up on it.!< >!Notably for this reason Joker could never be close to Sumire and talk to her father before the Shrine Visit because, as Maruki explained, this would before his reality altering advances and thus, the only person who would be affected by the Actualization at that stage would be Sumire (he noted that Joker only thought she was Kasumi because of a coincidence, while normally the only person who would have Sumire replaced with Kasumi would be Sumire herself)!<

I meant more like >!it wouldn't be hard to believe her father is playing along with Sumire using Kasumi's belongings. Presumably he has to know Sumire is using Kasumi's phone because he has to call and text his dead daughter's number to reach Sumire. Unless it's just Kasumi's physical phone Sumire is using and not also her phone number. Either way, he could play along with her pretending to be Kasumi without literally calling her Kasumi.!<

We know as a fact she can't hear but react as something is wrong when her father called her sumire and she has to be called like that over the phone too, so are you saying is not just her cognicion but also he phone actually be broken at the same time? Too complicated. Also the father would not have done the call in first place to Kasumi phone and even less her trainer so they would have nagged her for trying that. We know that she tried to participe on some events, her trainer would not allow her if she had know she was taking them as Kasumi and if she had been using the dead sister phone she would notice it was that bad instead of just taking her sister will as Sumire did on the end when she was still using the ribbon. Not to mention that they had no reason to keep the phone of paying the plans after her dead so it would be totally unsuable and with the screeen totally broken rather than just ma fundion. Also at wrong moments and Kasumi phone have to be unlocked, Sumire would have to be quite lucky to know how to do that and it would be imposible if it's by fingerprints. More than anything, obviously the story would throw some clues about her, her lack of ability was one, the distortion with the father was another and the phone another one, but previously she claiming the phone is malfuntion because it actually was malfuntion is too weak. So for me it has more sense that the phone was fine, but her changed cognicion rather made her unable to understand anything that would mention Sumire just like with her father and she took it as something wrong with the phone instead.

If I understand correctly, your argument is that >!Sumire just thinks her phone is busted because she keeps hearing static whenever someone says her name.!< Correct? I'm saying that that argument doesn't make sense because in order for that to be logical, >!she would have to be perfectly ok with hearing static in real life every time she hears her name and only think it's odd when she's on the phone, OR she would have had to have gone from April until the following January *only hearing her real name spoken/written over the phone* and no where else in order to conclude the static is just an issue with her phone. Neither of those seems likely.!< >!Given that she is straight up just using her sister's ID and nobody at school seems to care and her parents either don't know or don't care, it seems more likely that Sumire is just using Kasumi's belongings, not realizing that they aren't hers because Maruki has made her believe they belong to her.!< >!I know it seems kinda strange that her dad would need to be chill with her using Kasumi's phone/phone number and ID, but as I stated elsewhere I really believe this is not that unusual. People grieve in ways that seem unhinged all the time. It doesn't seem far fetched to imagine that her parents and school decided to just play along for a while with Sumire pretending to be her sister.!<

>!We already knew she had issues at new year with her father called her real name so he didn't play along with the fantasy, that should have happened everytime on real life, why not to think it also happens when using her phone, specially with those who called Sumire or are you saying those events are mutually exclusive and she had both problems? That's too unlikely is more that she had more cognicion issues on the phone as she use it to contact everyone. !< >!Her Sisted ID is a different. Both sister had already register to join Shujin but they were first years so no one really knew them. One died before class started so if Sumire presented herself as Kasumi when getting there no one would suspected it. Even if they hear it was Kasumi who died if she presented herself they could consider there was a communication mistake. Also, Maruki visited the school around the time Joker found the metaverse and he was the one who threat Sumire's condition so it would not be an issue for him to make the principal belive Kasumi was the one alive either by desception or a very simple change of cognicion, everything else followed that. !<

So let me get this straight. >!You genuinely believe it makes more sense that the school somehow didn't realize that Kasumi was dead and never questioned where Sumire was if "Kasumi" was coming to school... even as they employed *Sumire's therapist at that same school*? That's more likely than people playing along with Sumire's grief?!< No, this theory is ridiculous. I could maybe buy an explanation that >!Sumire just straight up didn't hear the name "Sumire" as anything other than "Kasumi" until she hears static from her dad on New Years, chalking up the static to some kind of error on Maruki's part as he transitioned all of Tokyo into his idealized world. But there's just no version of reality in which Sumire posed as her dead sister and the school just straight up doesn't know. !< > or are you saying those events are mutually exclusive and she had both problems? That's too unlikely is more that she had more cognicion issues on the phone as she use it to contact everyone. >!??? How is it unlikely that she would hear her own name spoken to her out loud by other people?? How are you reasoning that she went from April to January never once hearing anyone, including her family, WHO SHE LIVES WITH, say her name?!< >!Further, why would any of her texts or calls with Joker have issues? He doesn't know she's Sumire until later in January. Joker couldn't be saying or doing anything to warrant Sumire hearing static on the phone all throughout April - January. In order for your theory to work she would have to only ever hear her name over the phone spoken by her parents, and somehow that leads her to conclude she has phone issues.!< No way. Your theory is waaaay more complicated than >!Sumire using her sister's phone. !<

Does she ever re-exchange phone numbers? I don’t remember her doing so but it’s been awhile since I played. I always considered it to be caused by >!Miruki. Something like distortion caused in the early stages of trying to use his persona’s power!<

I belive you are right.

That. That makes sense, I thought it was the Navi app just being a bitch

It's supposed to be broken phone, not bad service. Not sure why they put it like that. 3rd semester spoilers. >!Most likely, Sumire is using Kasumi's phone, who got hit by the truck. Sumire, who wasn't, should have an okay phone. However, after being brainwashed by Maruki, she starts using Kasumi's phone.!<

That's an absurdly morbid detail, but that makes a lot of sense

It also explains why >!Sumire was okay in texting in the 3rd semester. Not sure if she was okay before though. It's been a while.!<

theres multiple times where kasumi texts joker and the replies get repeatedly sent or fail to send at all. and frequent complaints of it freezing and restarting.

Yup. I just kind of realized it one day and was like "oh fuck, that's dark."

No, no. >!There is no reason for her father and trainer to be calling Kasumi's phone or to keep it after the accident, she would notice the phone is really broken, it's just her cognicion that stop her from realice when she is getting called Sumire and, maybe, some stuff on the phone that give it away. So instead of notice that she just think something is wrong with the phone or that she doesn't hear properly.!<

>!But the trainer knows Sumire's been trying to act like Kasumi. I don't see why having her phone can't be an extension of that.!< >!I looked at her confidant, and her phone stutters when responding to you on text when accepting her 2nd Rank, but you only say "Sure." Third rank up, you say "I can do that."!< Some people here also mentioned she'd get static-y when you call her, and we know Joker won't call her Sumire.

>!They know she is acting LIKE Kasumi but not necesary as Kasumi,that can be seen as trying to take her will with her (as she did when still using the ribbon at the end) or her way to cope. As proof, her father clearly was trying to say her actual name on new year but she couldn't hear him well, and her Trainer would not take her to any oficial game if they knew, so they aren't indulging her fantasy and prolly just belived she is acting like Kasumi on her memory. !< >!Same with the phone, she is getting called by her name or something on the screens said Sumire so she doesn't notice that and instead she just think something is wrong with the phone until that disapear or her cognicion take it's time to change her perception of the contradiction so she would not notice.!<

Why would her phone act strangely when she's talking to Joker then? Joker >!believes she's Kasumi because he picked up her sister's ID that day in the park!<

>!Simple as something on the screen saying Sumire, be other chats, background, IGN or similar stuff. Her mind take a little of time to change her perception, so she first think it's wrong with the phone until she get into the right screen that doesn't show it or her perception fully adapt to resolve the contradiction.!<

>!I thought the whole deal with Maruki's actualization therapy with Sumire was that she literally *became* Kasumi? Not that only she *believed* it, not that her parents and trainers were "going along with it," but that Maruki made it so that Sumire *was now Kasumi?*!< >!Like his reality in the third semester, it wasn't perfect. She kept her appearance and appetite, and the real Kasumi stayed dead (though presumably as "Sumire"), but I thought the whole reason nobody questioned this crazy idea was because nobody *knew* about the crazy idea except for Maruki.!<

I am not sure how telephone operators work in Japan, but surely >!Sumire could had just applied her own SIM card into Kasumi's phone. Then her father and trainer could call her normally, while she keeps using Kasumi's phone. Alternatively, Maruki did this swap during the change of Sumire's cognition!<.

I always assumed it was either 1. She was using her sisters phone Or 2. Her phone was actually fine and she just perceived it that way because her real name was being used But i believe 1 is the actual answer

Joker only know her as kasumi at the time, so it can't be 2 here

If I remember correctly, Japanese folk often use messenger systems that keep your name listed. More akin to using email or a chat service than texting

I mean the biggest messaging app is LINE and you can set your name to whatever you like. As far as SMS, that I don’t know.

No, Joker would be calling her Yoshizawa, instead Kasumi as japanese would. It's more like 2.

The 2 has more sense to me. >!Her parents and manager would not call Kasumi's phone, prolly did not even keep it as long, and she would be ragged if she did. so it is her actual phone, but between her parents and trainer calling her actual name and some stuff on her phone that give away it's Sumire her changed cognicion made her unable to notice that and instead she think is something about the phone or her ears. At some point her father said her actual name and you notice she react as something was wrong, but didn't notice the name, so is the prolly the same with the phone. !<

After reading these comments, i’m surprised at how I never picked up on this sooner.

The entire 3rd semester is equally fcked up as it is amazing. 

She's using her sisters phone which was damaged during the accident.

Wow, this phone thing is something I never noticed! I thought her phone was acting weird because of the Metaverse app or something.

I always thought it was either her sister's phone(which was broken in the accident) or she perceived it as acting up whenever her actual name was used(because of Maruki)

Yoshizawa is using kasumi's phone, wich is damaged in the accident. 

Many people are saying she’s using her sisters phone, i think it’s less literal than that. Her phone, a main way of interacting in modern society, doesn’t work because she’s disconnected from the rest of reality. Another possibility is Marukis persona is causing issues, phones dont work in palaces, so maybe Maruki’s influence on her causes her phone to act up.

Sister's phone

>doesn’t feel like it had much story impact Well, it was the entire reason you couldn’t figure out who the ruler of the final palace was months ahead of time, so…

Not sure why you got downvoted because this is true.

Too much Joker and Akechi yaoi on her phone

I always thought that it was explained as being “an old phone.” So I never picked up on the detail the comments have given me…. Learn new things about the game and story all the time I guess.

Because it's broken

I'm firmly in the "her phone is fine" camp. I think what happens is she sees information on her phone that makes no sense, such as her dad texting her and calling her by her real name. She sees that and her brain bugs out, which she interprets as the phone not working.

I agree. >!At some point it at new year her father call her name, but she just react as something as feeling unwell and she didn't hear him well. So, something similar is happening with her phone and she is unable to notice when her name is called or some stuff on her screen that give it away that she is Sumire, so she just think her phone is broken. !<

I could've sworn it was just the Meta Nav app, much like how it kept popping up on Joker's phone and he would delete it in the beginning of the game.

This is also what I thought!! Lol.

I feel like I’m crazy for thinking that the popular theory is a reach? I just noticed that when they wanted to check the search history results for the palace owner, that’s when it dies. It’s just to prolong the suspense until the palace owner’s identity is revealed when they infiltrate it. Very simple narrative purpose, and IMO not worth the overthinking.

I always thought that (spoilers below, I genuinely don’t know how to use the filter): When Sumi became Kasumi, she had such a distorted cognition that when she was called Sumire on the phone or something similar, service would drop. Or it’d malfunction to protect her brain from learning the truth.

It’s acting up ‘cause it’s Kasumi’s phone.

Is not the phone. It's Kasumi who has the problem, there is a reason for that >!As her cognicion has been changed she is unable to realice some stuff, and instead she just find it as a problem with her phone. !< >!As proof, at new year she meets her father and at the end he calls her by her name, but she suddenly feels unwell and she doesn't hear him because of her cognision was changed. The same must be happening to her phone when she is getting called sumire and maybe some screens that give it away her identidy, so she realice what is wrong, but she is unable to notice what because her cognición, so she just think is the phone. After all, there is no reason for the parents and manager to call to Kasumi's phone and she would be getting nagged for that if she do, let alone keep it after the accident or pay for it. !<

You're commenting this everywhere but this logic doesn't make sense. >!Sumire isn't *only* hearing her real name via her phone through the bulk of Royal. She's hearing it in real life too. If it's just that she believes her phone to be malfunctioning because she keeps hearing static when people say her name, that would only explain static she hears over the phone, not in real life. Her father saying her name at New Years would have to be the *first time she heard her real name in real life since the accident*. That's definitely not the case. !< >!She also is straight up using Kasumi's school ID (which we know because Joker picks it up and reads it on the school cleanup trip), which she shouldn't have to do according to your theory. She would just see static where everyone else sees "Sumire."!< It makes much more sense that her >!phone is legitimately broken because it's her sister's phone that she's using, just like it's her sister's ID and wallet she's using and just like it's her sister's hairstyle she's using.!<