What phone now?

[DBdude]

. Are they desperate? Thats like 1250 bucks worth of free shit if I get the Iphone 8 plus.

i have been on ATT for years because I got an IPhone from an employer. 150 a month for five or six years makes it worth their while

[DBdude]

No replaceable battery.

just sucks...

but the newer IPhone are "water repellent"

[Gepeto]

No battery swap-ability pisses me off

Blatant built-in obsolescence for 1000$ Alex

[riser4]

No replaceable battery.

You been under a rock for most of the 2010s?

[RShea]

So after spending the last three hours going to all the cell joints in town, it appears prepaid is out for me. Every network either can't guarantee I'll have good enough data speeds in crowds (verizon), straight up lesser network (att) and sprint/tmobile as I already mentioned are out due to service issues.

So I guess that leaves me with Verizon vs ATT postpaid plans. Seems to be exactly the same monthly costs at probably 150 a month all in. My wife is apparently getting 50 bucks a month towards her phone from her job, so that helps.

ATT also seems to be having some pretty dope BOGO deals, which the wife wants iphone with portrait mode and is pushing hard for. They'll also hook it up with an Ipad for 100 bucks assuming I get service on it at 20 a month. That is basically two years of cell coverage on the ipad for free in effect vs buying just an ipad at 350. ATT will also waive all the bs activation fees and such if I put it on my business. Dude claims Id be saving 90 bucks. And I get HBO for free on an app. Theres some shit with DirecTV as well but I'm not going there. Are they desperate? Thats like 1250 bucks worth of free shit if I get the Iphone 8 plus.

Verizon pretty much has jack shit to offer in terms of sweetners. So the answer becomes, just how different is ATT from Verizon coverage wise?

Every Cell joint in town probably is the top 4 carriers, the bigger exclusive Boost, Cricket, etc. type of stores that are single branded prepaid, and not every MVNO represented out there. Howard Forums is a better source for wide variety of prepaid carrier as all the stores of course love to sell their most expensive and flagship product of post paid or what was contract. I can live with a few times having to wait a few seconds for something to load up while saving about $15 to $40 per month that post paid would cost me on Verizon post paid.

[RShea]

Rshea's comments are spot on.

I'll add: though I don't have any roaming on Total Wireless, I have not found that to be an issue because of the good coverage on Verizon's own network. This is even with usage across Nevada and eastern Sierra.
I was able to keep my Google Fi data down in the 600-800mb range most months, but with conscious effort to limit data usage until I had wifi access. For about the same monthly cost, I switched to TW and gave up international roaming in exchange for much better coverage and a ton of data that I don't have to worry about.

Of course for international there are some options that work- prepaid on T-Mobile for the month you are gone, or just research and get a prepaid sim for the country you will be going to if needed and wifi and a small bit of international data for calls over VoIP or the like apps out there to call on a data connection.

[MarcusBrody]

Well my power button is cracked and intermittently turns itself on and off. I'm not that interested in replacing the button, though it doesn't look like a difficult part to solder, this phone is wearing out.

Anyone have thoughts on a pixel 2 or pixel 2 XL? I have an old Nexus and I don't really want to bother with manufacturer skins of Android again. I'll keep the phone for a decently long time excluding some unforseen stupidity on my part so I don't mind paying a bit more for a phone but I don't need top of the line necessarily

I've had the Pixel 2 running on Project Fi for the past 6 months. I had the Nexus 5x before and my wife now uses it, so I have a pretty good comparison point.

The Pixel 2 is better in every way, though the 5x was a perfectly capable phone. It's faster, takes better pictures, and seems to get slightly better reception. I also like that it is certified to a higher water resistance spec as I get caught outside in the rain semi regularly (though the 5x has survived one substantial dumping since my wife inherited it though I had to disassemble and dry it).

I like the esim. It makes things easy. I'll see how easy it is to reactivate the Fi esim abroad soon though when I'm back where I'd get service. It was as easy as any other phone to just pop a local sim in.

The only thing I don't like about the Pixel 2 is how slippery it is without a case, but I use a light case anyway so it isn't a big deal for me.

[MarcusBrody]

No battery swap-ability pisses me off up

Blatant built-in obsolescence for 1000$ Alex

Me too sometimes, but replacing a battery is kind of the "Mount your own fucking skis" for the phone crowd. It's usually not that hard or expensive. Just takes a little bit of guys to start opening up your phone.

[AdironRider]

Every Cell joint in town probably is the top 4 carriers, the bigger exclusive Boost, Cricket, etc. type of stores that are single branded prepaid, and not every MVNO represented out there. Howard Forums is a better source for wide variety of prepaid carrier as all the stores of course love to sell their most expensive and flagship product of post paid or what was contract. I can live with a few times having to wait a few seconds for something to load up while saving about $15 to $40 per month that post paid would cost me on Verizon post paid.

Yeah, I'm on fi now for all those reasons. But now have a business where coverage is pretty damn important. In my case I gotta pay for the plans and not get throttled or not have access to certain towers. Sucks but at least wifey gets 50 bucks towards the deal.

[reckless toboggan]

You been under a rock for most of the 2010s?

Had my Galaxy 4s until about 2 years ago. That would be 2016.

Non swappable batteries is a fucking travesty.

Taking out the battery is the only way you can know that your phone is 100% disabled. Read up on the potential privacy and security implications, particularly in light of the recent Facebook/Google etc. "revelations".

Swappable also makes for continuous or extended power when you don't have a plug in near you, or you are immediately heading back out and don't have time to wait for a full recharge.

You been under a rock for most of the 2010s?

[riser4]

Had my Galaxy 4s until about 2 years ago. That would be 2016.

Non swappable batteries is a fucking travesty.

Taking out the battery is the only way you can know that your phone is 100% disabled. Read up on the potential privacy and security implications, particularly in light of the recent Facebook/Google etc. "revelations".

Swappable also makes for continuous or extended power when you don't have a plug in near you, or you are immediately heading back out and don't have time to wait for a full recharge.

You been under a rock for most of the 2010s?

Heh. Turnabout is fair play. My point is that non swappable batteries have been a thing for quite a while now and that swappable batteries have become are rarity. Glad you had a good run with your Galaxy 4.

[jono]

I made the removable battery my single most important criteria and managed to get a decent phone as recently as 2017. But even LG seems to have capitulated now. I wasn't in full 1984 mode, but what RT mentions certainly carried some weight.

[billyk]

yea yea apple sucks, iPhones suck, whatever.

who's got an iPhone X? thoughts?

I came close to getting one, but didn’t like the idea of no home button. Got the iPhone 8 Plus, and $700 towards another one for my wife from T-Mobile. Plus we qualified for their 55+ plan which made it $70/month for both lines combined, unlimited (if you go over 50GB, you get prioritized lower). With the Verizon “unlimited” plan we were on before, prioritizing kicked in after 20GB, and we were paying $155/month. The only question is coverage, but haven’t had any issues yet.

Not quite ready to make the switch to prepaid plans. My wife almost switched to a company called “Patriot”. What a waste of time. She went around and around trying to get someone to set up her phone to be able to reuse her existing number. Customer service was non-existing, and I know very little about how to set up phones. We were able to return the phone, but what a hassle that was.

[MarcusBrody]

I also don't like the lack of swappable batteries, but I have an external battery pack that charges the phone quickly and is good for 2 or 2.5 charges and isn't too big. I've comes to terms with it for hiking and places with likely extended power outages. For the latter, it's actually more convenient.

[RShea]

I came close to getting one, but didn’t like the idea of no home button. Got the iPhone 8 Plus, and $700 towards another one for my wife from T-Mobile. Plus we qualified for their 55+ plan which made it $70/month for both lines combined, unlimited (if you go over 50GB, you get prioritized lower). With the Verizon “unlimited” plan we were on before, prioritizing kicked in after 20GB, and we were paying $155/month. The only question is coverage, but haven’t had any issues yet.

Not quite ready to make the switch to prepaid plans. My wife almost switched to a company called “Patriot”. What a waste of time. She went around and around trying to get someone to set up her phone to be able to reuse her existing number. Customer service was non-existing, and I know very little about how to set up phones. We were able to return the phone, but what a hassle that was.

Patriot is not one of the better known prepaid companies out there. Some offer a savings for experienced users by not having telephone support and only chat or email. And the support could be from reps outside the USA if they do have call centers. Not certain on Patriot's support options and really have not heard much discussion about them. Local dealers also can be of benefit if you need things like a phone activated and fully set up along with data transferred.

[riser4]

I also don't like the lack of swappable batteries, but I have an external battery pack that charges the phone quickly and is good for 2 or 2.5 charges and isn't too big. I've comes to terms with it for hiking and places with likely extended power outages. For the latter, it's actually more convenient.

Ya, for the power issue, I'd rather hook up to a juice pack than open my phone. The real issue is being able to make sure your phone is really off.

[Ted Striker]

Anyone have a oneplus code they could PM to me?

I know they're all over the net, but I'd rather one of you kooks got the credit.

[Danno]

Just found out that Fi codes their credit card charges not as a cell phone service provider but instead as "Cable, Satellite and Other Pay TV/Radio". Why does this matter, you ask? Well, I get 5% cash back from my credit card on cell phone bills. And have been using that card on Fi, assuming that I was getting 5% back. But no. Fuckers.

[DBdude]

Anyone have a oneplus code they could PM to me?

I know they're all over the net, but I'd rather one of you kooks got the credit.

which one are you getting? I have been looking at their phones for a couple of years now

[Ted Striker]

The 6 (prolly 128)

I'm pretty sure they completely sold out of the US 5T.

[Skidog]

The 6 (prolly 128)

I'm pretty sure they completely sold out of the US 5T.

Would love but no big red support. Fuckers.

Sent from my XT1650 using TGR Forums mobile app

[My Pet Powder Goat]

I made the removable battery my single most important criteria and managed to get a decent phone as recently as 2017. But even LG seems to have capitulated now. I wasn't in full 1984 mode, but what RT mentions certainly carried some weight.

I was willing to trade that for being waterproof-ish.

I'm counting the days till the note9 comes out in August
Sent from my SM-G955U using TGR Forums mobile app

[Ted Striker]

Would love but no big red support. Fuckers.

Yeah, my job puts me in a fairly unique situation re:carriers. I'm with t-mo as long as I stay with this company, and the dual sim could come in handy. If I change jobs, I'll go over to att (mrs po's carrier) for a multi-line plan.

re: the big V, yeah, their coverage is the best, but the whole thing about 1+ is that compromises are made to hit a price point. I'm guessing cdma, and licensing were considered to be too expensive.

[mud]

Samsung shits in the bed again.
Sending out photos without permission to your contacts.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...pdate-messages

[My Pet Powder Goat]

Samsung shits in the bed again.
Sending out photos without permission to your contacts.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbrea...pdate-messages

I s actuality affected by that in an embarrassing way.

I was sending my friend a link on Messenger about a large grow-op tent; "check out this 98x98 bad boy!"

I'm at work, so not really paying attention, when I get a 'thumbs up' from a unrelated friend when I realize I sent out the txt/link to about 15 recent contacts including my aunt peg, and aunt Jean. [emoji50] [emoji28]

I told them all "wrong number" and joked with a few.... My aunt wanted to know what I'm growing. Lol

Later, my phone sent about 1000 gifs to the poor kid I was talking about the tent with. Fucking weird.


Sent from my SM-G955U using TGR Forums mobile app