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Recommendations for a cheapish phone? My needs are pretty simple, I think. Smaller than my jacked up iphone 7+ Battery that lasts a long time or more importantly doesn't need to be replaced after a couple years Isn't noticeably slow or becomes noticeably slow over time That's basically it, I use the phone for calls, podcasts and browsing. I'm going to just buy it as opposed to signing up to a plan. E: I'm inevitably going to find a way to drop it from a great height somehow, so robust is good. Fruits of the sea fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Feb 10, 2023 |
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Feb 10, 2023 08:33
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Fruits of the sea posted:Recommendations for a cheapish phone? My needs are pretty simple, I think. 13 mini.
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Feb 10, 2023 13:36
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Not at all opposed to a 13 mini since it would make moving phone numbers easier but I had assumed the same feature set can be found in android phones for cheaper? Or are they kinda garbage below that price point.
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Feb 10, 2023 16:09
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A Pixel 6A is a good choice. Currently $299.
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Feb 10, 2023 16:12
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Fruits of the sea posted:Not at all opposed to a 13 mini since it would make moving phone numbers easier but I had assumed the same feature set can be found in android phones for cheaper? Or are they kinda garbage below that price point. I mean, my opinion is you should pick iPhone versus android based on what you prefer. Youre gonna use the thing every day, so a $100-200 difference to get the type of phone youll be happy using is worth it. Both are fine, just a general input.
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Feb 10, 2023 17:08
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Endless Mike posted:A Pixel 6A is a good choice. Currently $299. Thanks, I'll check this out! Duckman2008 posted:I mean, my opinion is you should pick iPhone versus android based on what you prefer. Youre gonna use the thing every day, so a $100-200 difference to get the type of phone youll be happy using is worth it. No worries, I should probably have mentioned that I was OS agnostic.
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Feb 10, 2023 17:23
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Is it worth getting an S23 over an S22? Ive heard the battery is bad on the S22 but I am not a power user, just wondering if the small increase in battery size in S23 is worth it for the extra money (about $300NZD difference)
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Feb 12, 2023 23:24
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I am looking for a phone plan where I can buy a little bit of data service and pay the minimum amount monthly. More detail: I run pfSense on an old PC for my router at home. I'd like to buy a 4G modem that the pfSense setup can use when the cable modem goes down. I anticipate using zero voice service and maybe a couple hundred megabytes per month in a month where my cable internet works especially poorly. I basically want my home automation system to keep working when the cable internet isn't available. I use Tello on my cell phone with 4 GB per month of bandwidth, so if that's in the ballpark of being the best option I'll probably go with them: $5/month for 100 MB/month of data and no minutes or texting, add $1 to be able to send texts. PBCrunch fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Feb 16, 2023 |
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Feb 16, 2023 00:22
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As I ponder between a Pixel 6 or 7, (Non-pro - The pro models appear to be the magnet regarding stuff breaking with every update, for some reason, for what it matters) I've been torn between Swappa or getting a renewed one via Amazon; The Tensor CPU is largely the biggest change between the 6/7, correct? If it is, probably trying for a 6 will more or less be the direction I'd go. As Pixel 6's might be tougher to get new/used, is there any advantage using Swappa over Amazon renewed in this case? I'd possibly even consider SA-Mart as well, if one popped up. E: Oh, and going for either unlocked/Verizon so far as carrier. Killer_B fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Mar 13, 2023 |
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Mar 13, 2023 06:03
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Killer_B posted:As I ponder between a Pixel 6 or 7, (Non-pro - The pro models appear to be the magnet regarding stuff breaking with every update, for some reason, for what it matters) I've been torn between Swappa or getting a renewed one via Amazon; The Tensor CPU is largely the biggest change between the 6/7, correct? If it is, probably trying for a 6 will more or less be the direction I'd go. I would def do Swappa over Amazon, swappa is def not perfect but youre much less likely to have an issue. It depends on the pricing difference. For the normal $100 difference get the most recent. If you find a 6 for $200-300 less used, then sure thats not awful. Assuming you have consumer Verizon post paid, did you call Verizon and ask about trade in options ? To emphasize: mileage varies , but sometimes they have retention offers of $400-700 trade towards the most recent pixel , so it is worth asking. Note: any discounts are essentially a 3 year contract, so thats the trade off there. Verizon sales department: (800) 256-4646 Finally: both the reg and the Pro are fine, if there are known issues with the Pros for either I havent seen them pop up. That said, the regular 6 and 7 arent bad, the Pros just have a higher refresh rate and def a better camera.
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Mar 13, 2023 12:58
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Duckman2008 posted:I would def do Swappa over Amazon, swappa is def not perfect but youre much less likely to have an issue. I haven't checked, though the phone I've currently got likely isn't worth very much so far as trading in, it's a gen2 iPhone SE. (Unless I'm misunderstanding the current concept, anyway.)
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Mar 13, 2023 15:05
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My Galaxy S9 is getting long in the tooth, it's slowing down, not holding charge, etc. Time for a change. I have always hitherto just gone in and gotten the newest Galaxy model whenever I upgrade, but I figured I would poll the goon-mind and see if there are better options Location: US Carrier: Verizon Budget: largely open, I get periodic upgrades on the cheap with my contract and it's been almost six years since my last one so I'm overdue. Mostly I just use my phone for basic stuff: browsing the web and social media, taking pictures and occasionally video, listening to music/watching videos, playing some phone games, reading e-books/PDFs, etc. Features I want include: Good battery life Same size or maybe a bit bigger than my S9 Android for the OS Should last at least 4-6 years without likely hardware failure or end of software support USB-C charging What's the state of the Galaxy line these days? Are there any worthwhile contenders? What new features are Good and Cool and which are dumb gimmicks?
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Mar 14, 2023 17:00
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Slightly Lions posted:My Galaxy S9 is getting long in the tooth, it's slowing down, not holding charge, etc. Time for a change. I have always hitherto just gone in and gotten the newest Galaxy model whenever I upgrade, but I figured I would poll the goon-mind and see if there are better options If staying with Verizon, call the sales department , they may have a $600-800 ish trade in on your phone towards the S23 series. Def good to check. VZ sales: (800) 256-4646 Both S23 series and Pixel 7 series are fine , imo its mostly which one you get a better deal on.
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Mar 14, 2023 17:41
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Broadly, is there a way to not get turbo-hosed if you're just one or two people trying to get a decent plan? Seems like all the networks are "Unlimited plan 2 lines for $160 a month, add 16 more lines for $2 each!" Right now we have Google Fi and it works out because we mostly don't use data at all, we're always on wifi. But I'm considering changing off Android and to iphones, but T-Mobile's network isn't great here as soon as you get out of town, and if we can't roam off T-Mo because of using an iphone on Fi, it won't be such a good option anymore.
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Mar 19, 2023 14:29
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Rescue Toaster posted:Broadly, is there a way to not get turbo-hosed if you're just one or two people trying to get a decent plan? Seems like all the networks are "Unlimited plan 2 lines for $160 a month, add 16 more lines for $2 each!" If you bring your own phone, Verizon is $112 before tax and fees for the premium plan with a 3 year price guarantee (its normally $140), and its $25 less if you happen to be military, teacher , nurse , first responder or student. $125 after tax I would say. Its a valid question and yeah , its tough because they want you to have the 4 lines (since its still a higher monthly, reduces churn, etc).
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Mar 19, 2023 20:33
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what's the most cost effective option to receive a SMS from a new US phone number from inside Europe? my wife and I are living in Europe and each need American, non-VOIP phone numbers to receive a text to enable outgoing Google Voice calls our new phones. Once we have Google Voice going again, we won't need the numbers anymore. So we're looking for two (USA) sim cards that are no-contract and work in Europe. Ideally prepaid/PayGo, but a flat-fee would work if that's the only option. A family member will be visiting next month from NYC, so I can ship the sim cards to them or they can maybe pick them up locally and bring them to Europe. Alternatively, my parents have a T-Mobile account, and maybe they could temporarily add a couple new lines?
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Mar 20, 2023 11:33
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webcams for christ posted:what's the most cost effective option to receive a SMS from a new US phone number from inside Europe? So, this answer can probably vary wildly in real world practice, but in general all US carriers big and small require the SIM or eSIM to basically ping a US tower to program. If you get a bit yet provisioned SIM in Europe , even if service is paid for it wont program. So basically you need a friend / family member in the US to help you by either using their phone, or like you said, maybe parents add you on for a few days to a month and use an old phone to provision it. I would have them help you do it in the US directly and just skip trying to do it yourselves in Europe.
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Mar 20, 2023 12:25
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Duckman2008 posted:I would have them help you do it in the US directly and just skip trying to do it yourselves in Europe. ah that makes sense. so I guess I'm looking for the cheapest PayGo SIM cards available in NYC for a couple SMSs?
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Mar 20, 2023 12:55
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webcams for christ posted:ah that makes sense. so I guess I'm looking for the cheapest PayGo SIM cards available in NYC for a couple SMSs? Yeah thats probably best. $20-30 a pop , checking T-Mobile, Metro or Cricket.
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Mar 20, 2023 13:10
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My mom needs a new phone.. her Samsung 10 is giving up the ghost. She wants to stick with Samsung because she's used to the UI but wants it to be as small as possible.. she doesn't really use her phone except to browse Amazon, Google things and use telegram to text her children and friends. She's used to Verizon... Looks like an s22 is 700 bucks and an s23 is 800 bucks. She's under 1 GB of data a month so there's no monthly discount offers. Im guessing it's worth the extra hundred bucks to get the 23 over the 22 because it's newer and and if you already spend 700 bucks what's another 100? I'm gonna spend time looking at reviews but I thought someone might be able to chime in. I use a pixel 5a and would get her at pixel 7 but I don't think it's worth trying to learn a new UI for her.
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Mar 22, 2023 03:43
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Wendigee posted:My mom needs a new phone.. her Samsung 10 is giving up the ghost. She wants to stick with Samsung because she's used to the UI but wants it to be as small as possible.. she doesn't really use her phone except to browse Amazon, Google things and use telegram to text her children and friends. Call into Verizon sales with her. Ive been in a diff department for a bit , but theyve been offering good trade ins for the S10 towards the S23. No idea if its still going but def check. You are right that she has to go to unlimited to get a discount. Even if she is on the 1GB plan, that plan is $55-60. IF they also qualify her for a loyalty discount , which they likely will, wirh auto pay the unlimited plan is $60. So it might be worth it to go to unlimited. Verizon sales: (800) 256-4646
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Mar 22, 2023 03:50
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Duckman2008 posted:Call into Verizon sales with her. I’ve been in a diff department for a bit , but they’ve been offering good trade ins for the S10 towards the S23. No idea if it’s still going but def check. Thank you I will get with my mom and give them a call. I suspect the s23 is worth it just for the newer phone and better battery and flat back. She doesn't even use the camera she keeps it in a flat folding wallet style case and the bump on the s22 might be annoying. If I understood you, I'll see if we can get a discount by switching to unlimited... She does currently pay 60 for the 1gb limit right now. I appreciate you!
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Mar 23, 2023 00:56
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I'm considering buying a Pixel 6a. It appears to meet my needs in terms of functionality, size and price point. Any showstopper last-minute considerations? Is there some other phone which I should obviously buy instead, or at least consider?
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Mar 23, 2023 23:50
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I've read on this forum (the android thread in this sub forum) that the pixel 6 hardware was kind of a swing and a miss. The pixel 7a is coming out pretty soon I think you should probably wait if you can. Looks like it's expected to drop late July. https://www.tomsguide.com/news/google-pixel-7a Someone correct me if I'm wrong or go ask in the android thread is what I'd recommend. I believe I'll be eligible for an upgrade in July and I plan to go from a 5a to a 7a if it turns out to be decent. My 5a has been great except that time they pushed out an OTA update that bricked my phone and the backup image they had stored also bricked my phone so I had to do a fresh install and reinstall all the apps manually. That sucked. Wendigee fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Mar 24, 2023 |
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Mar 24, 2023 02:39
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Doom Mathematic posted:I'm considering buying a Pixel 6a. It appears to meet my needs in terms of functionality, size and price point. Any showstopper last-minute considerations? Is there some other phone which I should obviously buy instead, or at least consider? Not that I'm aware of. I fairly recently got one for my dad, and I was tempted to give him my 6 instead and keep the 6a. I really like my 6, and the slightly better camera was maybe the biggest factor that made me hang onto it. I liked the size of the 6a a little better and felt like it was easier to hold (especially one-handed), but since I wanted my dad to have a smartphone as easy to handle as possible that also tipped the decision.
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Mar 24, 2023 06:56
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Doom Mathematic posted:I'm considering buying a Pixel 6a. It appears to meet my needs in terms of functionality, size and price point. Any showstopper last-minute considerations? Is there some other phone which I should obviously buy instead, or at least consider? I'm in the same boat. My current phone (pixel 3a) is starting to get a little slow and a bit flaky, and the battery isn't what it used to be, so I want to grab a good deal while I can. I had heard that Best Buy was selling them for $250 - I even confirmed it with a phone call - but when I got there, they were $300 unless you got some sort of activation with it. Basically, just under $300 at Amazon seems to be the best I can do for a new one. That's a little annoying, since I was really hoping for something closer to $200. I also see that the pixel 7 is $450, and it makes me wonder if I should just splurge on that, but I can't imagine it has anything I really care about that's worth $150 more. So now I have to balance the fear of buying it at a higher price than it'll be in a week/month/whatever against the fear of missing out entirely because they won't be selling them them soon. Peristalsis fucked around with this message at 22:37 on Apr 7, 2023 |
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Apr 7, 2023 22:34
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Peristalsis posted:I'm in the same boat. My current phone (pixel 3a) is starting to get a little slow and a bit flaky, and the battery isn't what it used to be, so I want to grab a good deal while I can. I had heard that Best Buy was selling them for $250 - I even confirmed it with a phone call - but when I got there, they were $300 unless you got some sort of activation with it. Basically, just under $300 at Amazon seems to be the best I can do for a new one. That's a little annoying, since I was really hoping for something closer to $200. I also see that the pixel 7 is $450, and it makes me wonder if I should just splurge on that, but I can't imagine it has anything I really care about that's worth $150 more. I think the biggest reason to get the Pixel 7 over the 6a is another several months (maybe a year...?) of security updates
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Apr 7, 2023 23:06
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Ham Equity posted:I think the biggest reason to get the Pixel 7 over the 6a is another several months (maybe a year...?) of security updates Good point. It looks like it's only 3 extra months of guaranteed security updates at this point, which doesn't really seem worth $150. Especially since the phone would have to last over 4 years to get to that point. I've had my current one for over 3 years, but my previous (and first) smart phone only lasted a couple of years and change. https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en#zippy=%2Cpixel-a-xl-earlier%2Cpixel-later
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Apr 7, 2023 23:24
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Peristalsis posted:Good point. It looks like it's only 3 extra months of guaranteed security updates at this point, which doesn't really seem worth $150. Especially since the phone would have to last over 4 years to get to that point. I've had my current one for over 3 years, but my previous (and first) smart phone only lasted a couple of years and change. I swapped a 3XL for a 7 when it first hit on Verizon; with the trade-in, I wind up paying $100 for the phone. I don't know if they'll do a similar deal when the 7a hits in a few months, but if your phone isn't giving you bad problems and you're on Verizon, it might be worth waiting.
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Apr 8, 2023 00:27
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Currently I pay about $55/month for a 5G plan with a 5 GB data cap with Verizon and an employee discount (from my company, not Verizon). In my heart I know I can get an unlimited plan for a comparable price, but where? I'm too stupid to take the time to research this myself. Bonus points for recs for a good Android phone under $400. I'm waiting for another Pixel sale but welcome alternatives. I don't really care about specs as I don't take much photo or video. TY for your help!
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Apr 19, 2023 13:59
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Doc Fission posted:Currently I pay about $55/month for a 5G plan with a 5 GB data cap with Verizon and an employee discount (from my company, not Verizon). In my heart I know I can get an unlimited plan for a comparable price, but where? I'm too stupid to take the time to research this myself. For one thing: call Verizon sales department here to get a quote on plan and upgrade: (800) 256-4646 They likely will offer you Start unlimited for $60 (normally $70), its unlimited data (you can get slowed down at times of network congestion). They may or may not have a pixel promo, Ive seen $540 off no trade in, as well as sometimes an extra $100-200 if you also trade in your phone. Mileage varies. Thats off a Pixel 7 Pro 256GB (I think), so you would get a $1000 phone for $260-460 ish. If they have the loyalty offer. Not sure if there is a discount on the pixel 6A , but you can always ask. Probably not a big one if there is a discount. Any discounts are a 3 year contract.
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Apr 19, 2023 14:04
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Ugh. Okay so, I've skimmed the last 10 or so pages of this thread and see that Motorola is no longer recommended. I get it. But the person I'm shopping for needs a new phone and does not give any amount of fucks about the latest greatest, ties your shoes for you features. It's FRUSTRATING. He currently has my ancient Moto X4 and it is showing it's age. I'd LOVE to throw a pixel at him and go on with life (backup plan) but is there any Motorola phone that is the least lovely for around $300 and under? Sorry. Forgot to add: Carrier: Mint (so unlocked)
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Apr 19, 2023 20:54
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topenga posted:Ugh. Okay so, I've skimmed the last 10 or so pages of this thread and see that Motorola is no longer recommended. I get it. But the person I'm shopping for needs a new phone and does not give any amount of fucks about the latest greatest, ties your shoes for you features. It's FRUSTRATING. He currently has my ancient Moto X4 and it is showing it's age. I'd LOVE to throw a pixel at him and go on with life (backup plan) but is there any Motorola phone that is the least lovely for around $300 and under? https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-moto-g-power-5g/p
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Apr 20, 2023 04:49
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Cool beans. Thanks much!
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Apr 21, 2023 19:45
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I've got a Pixel 4a 5g that's been having touch screen issues for a while that have started getting worse and worse to the point where it won't detect swipes or touches on large bits of the screen. I've run through all the troubleshooting and it seems to be a hardware issue, not a software one, although it is a bit intermittent. Assuming that ends up on the pricier end I was looking for an inexpensive phone that will work well for what I want (browsing forums, playing podcasts, not watching movies. Very occasional pictures) and was checking out the Galaxy A14 5g, that look like a good bet? I've also been looking at alternatives to Google Fi and saw Visible which looked like it'd be a decent option, anything I should be cautious of that I wasn't already aware of with Google Fi (i.e. no customer service)?
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Apr 23, 2023 05:01
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shimmy shimmy posted:I've got a Pixel 4a 5g that's been having touch screen issues for a while that have started getting worse and worse to the point where it won't detect swipes or touches on large bits of the screen. I've run through all the troubleshooting and it seems to be a hardware issue, not a software one, although it is a bit intermittent. Assuming that ends up on the pricier end I was looking for an inexpensive phone that will work well for what I want (browsing forums, playing podcasts, not watching movies. Very occasional pictures) and was checking out the Galaxy A14 5g, that look like a good bet? I dont think the A14 is a step up from the pixel 4a, especially the camera. How I would present it: the pixel 4a you are using had a retail value of $400. So a current phone that is like, $200 wont be the same quality. Pixel 6a is solid and what I would recommend. For carrier: visible is a Verizon prepaid brand, there is 0 customer support that you can call (they have chat support I think), and yeah youll have low data priority. There have been people here that have posted visible was fine for them, but imo I think most people posting on SA would notice the lower data speeds, it seems to be pretty aggressive on data priority. Fyi Verizon regular prepaid is $60 a month with autopsy and has much better data speeds. Whether that is better than Fi or not is a different question, I dont know Fis plans as well. The main prepaid to look at is Verizon prepaid, Fi, and cricket. Fi piggybacks off T-Mobile and cricket is ATT prepaid.
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Apr 23, 2023 12:17
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I just got $800 credit from AT&T towards S23 Ultra, in exchange for a Pixel 5a that wouldn't even turn on. If we are wondering what to do with our old Pixels right now.
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Apr 23, 2023 15:56
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Country/Provider: United States/Verizon Current contract status:Family plan Budget (phone/plan): <$500USD (the lower the better) Features I know I want: SD card slot, headphone jack, (if possible) protective shutter for selfie camera, long-term support. So it seems like it's finally time to retire my old Galaxy S-8 after nearly 6 years of dutiful service. If I could get something with a similar UI without spending a fortune I'd be thrilled (really don't want a google phone.) Performance isn't a huge concern, I'd love to emulate games on it but it's not a strict requirement, just as long as I have the software flexibility of the s8. Otherwise, I really don't like/don't care about features other than an SD slot and headphone jack (use them both all the time). I'm used to a 3 year old battery so anything decent is fine, as long as I can read a screen decently in the sunlight I'll be good (I use mine at the lowest res now for battery life). Whether it's hardware or software I'd love something with good longevity, I hate switching things over and again I don't care much about features. I do not want to trade in my current phone, and if possible I'd like to buy one outright as long as it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to switch on Verizon's end. It would be very nice to use my SmartSwitch backup and keep everything the same. $500 is the top end of my budget but spending less would be awesome. I would be thrilled if I could get something that's repairable/modular to a degree but I feel like I haven't heard of many phones like that these days. Can't stress enough I don't want a disposable phone that will break in 1 year, so leaning heavily away from Apple/Google hardware. I'm not too familiar with phone buying so any and all input is appreciated. EDIT: Is there anything bad about Galaxy A14? It sounds good for what I'm after but I'm not sure if there's anything I'm missing. DildenAnders fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Apr 27, 2023 |
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Apr 27, 2023 15:44
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DildenAnders posted:Country/Provider: United States/Verizon 2022 Moto Stylus 5G? https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-moto-g-stylus-5g-gen-2/p?skuId=781 $250, headphone jack, SD card slot and 512GB of storage. Survivable everything else. The phones that have those features tend to not be the nicest.
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Apr 27, 2023 16:29
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DildenAnders posted:Country/Provider: United States/Verizon Fyi if you are on Verizon postpaid (not prepaid) they have been running promos where you can get $400-800 trade in for phones like yours (towards the S23). Mileage varies but I would check. I get not wanting to buy through the carrier , so up to you, but I would recommend checking for a promo that high. FYI there is a downside, yes its a 3 year contract. But for how long you keep phones I would recommend considering it. Verizon sales: (800) 256-4646 , note just say no to any upsells they shouldnt hassle you too much.
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Apr 27, 2023 18:39
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