New (used) phone shopping results in questions…

[thomask]

So long time ago I remember PM had LTE, and yes, after spending some time on the community here I’ve come across a few threads and managed to sus out that they don’t offer it any more.  Herein lays my problem.

I traditionally use older hardware, really can’t argue with cost, and I’m in a refresh cycle as my S5 keeps “ballooning” batteries.  Third one in over a year, and with 99% of the 16GB full, (everything that can be already on sdcard) I’m shopping…

Anyways, I came down to one or two units, figured out what I can do without etc and then before I placed the order I noticed (no radio bands listed here) it stated 2G, LTE only.  

So rather than take a chance and need to return a phone… Im asking here if it would just roll back to 2G (with 3G data?) or should I make sure it’s got 3G?

Thanks

[thomask]

@darlicious 

I've been using a S5, for the last couple years, don’t think I’m overly worried about software updates, especially seeing how often I use it.

That and I’d rather use it as a hotspot for the iPad… larger screen and all.

it’s amazing how many people miss the requirements… 😉

[darlicious]

@Triguy 

The OP already stated...

Ideally free, but yeah… probably under $200.  I’ve been eyeballing the LG G5/6’s and Samsung S7 and a couple others.  Yes, I’d rather stick with Samsung but I’m. NOT. MARRIED to it.

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@thomask wrote:

@Anonymous 

So far its a choice between ...

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B087MZ1GZB/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A1AYA2LE3BV7SY&psc=1

This one was on my list... but the one site makes me a bit iffy on it.  https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06XZRZ12Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?smid=A3K6APZQPJ2QW&psc=1

and the https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079RJVWNC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=AD4EXPY63C25B&psc=1

The only other one doesn't seem to be listed on either site... and to be honest its at the very upper range of the budget. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079RJVWNC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=AD4EXPY63C25B&psc=1

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So I don't think the fact there is only one update forthcoming is that much of a concern. Plus that's why you unlock the OEM.

[softech]

not getting more OS or security updates could be an issue.  but Android 11 is not bad. 

Also, for general user, I would rather recommend and couple years Google Pixel phones than a brand new Chinese phones that partially compatible with Canadian market.  Those phones are new, but most of them won't get any update anyway.. plus, many of them do not have all the compatible bands and very hard to support and troubleshoot

[darlicious]

@thomask 

1. It's not that pink.
2. That's what phone cases are for other than protecting the phone.

[Triguy]

Also the Pixel 3 won't be getting any more OS updates.  Android 11 is the last update.

[thomask]

@darlicious 

I was seriously considering that phone, pixel 3 right up until I saw a dealbreaker.  And it wasn’t the “not pink” colour…

Does or does this phone NOT have a sdcard slot for extended storage?  It’s one of the very few actual deal breakers for me.

it’s one of the major reasons I’ll never purchase a chromebook. (Among many others)

[darlicious]

@thomask 

Pretty decent price at $249.

https://www.amazon.ca/Google-Pixel-Unlocked-GSM-CDMA/dp/B07KSSQQLZ/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=goo...

[darlicious]

@Yummy 

Not pixelated on my end are you viewing on your phone?

Edit:

Oh wait yeah definitely not the same quality.

[Yummy]

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@darlicious wrote:

Just look at the nightsight/astrophotography mode from the other night.....

 Pictures look really great. Unfortunately I cannot see any photo info (speed, aperture, etc.).

And, I assume you shrank it as zooming it in it becomes really pixelated.

I would like to see/have original picture in order to really judge image quality.

[darlicious]

@thomask 

Not that I needed the google pixel 3 but at US$129 ( worked out all in to be about $185 cdn) I couldn't resist a flagship phone albeit a few years old for that price and my one must have/deal breaker is the camera.

And oh boy!! What a camera it has and is my camera. It doesn't even have a sim card in it as I still use my 2017 A320 and new-ish moto g7+ (also from B&H on sale US$119) for my two pm accounts. The A3 has a good camera that I was quite happy with but with only 16GB of memory I had to constantly back up the photos. The moto g7+ has a good camera in ideal light conditions but performs poorly in low light. 

Google has only tweaked the camera in its later generations of pixel phones. It is only the soon to be released pixel 6 that they have made significant changes to the camera and while I'm excited to see its performance the price tag is way out of my league. But I'm very happy to have when first released a $1000+ phone for under $200. It will be quite a few years until I am back in the market for a new phone.

Just look at the nightsight/astrophotography mode from the other night.....

[thomask]

@Anonymous 

I’m extremely cautious of brands that are not the “big three”.  I gave an acer phone as a gift a few years back and sure, part of the problems was user experience, (she moved from a flip phone t9 to smart phone ).

That said, I’ve read that I should stay away from the AliExpress type “brand” phones.  They can iffy.

@darlicious 

Sorry, but this time around unless I can find a really cheap phone on FB marketplace locally it’ll be a Amazon sourced purchase.  Like I said before, I’ve got some existing credit being used.  Between my prime account, yeah, that much of a choice is already made.

it just comes down to the waiting game of finding a price and phone I can be happy with, whether it’s old or not.;)

[thomask]

@cellphoneuser1 

I know they are on the old side, I’m a fairly late adopter due to cost and necessity for the most part.  By the time I had my first smartphone I couldn’t find a flip phone to save my life except the non-sim card I got from a bell prepaid brand… you say it’s not worth the money but when I see anything newer costing twice as much if not more, for features that I do t really need well… I return to habit of looking at slightly aged phones.

I NEED a phone when I’m on the go.  Which is a couple days a week.  Otherwise I work from a home office.

I NEED the ability to hold data.  I tend to hold and not delete.  Every iPad refresh I doubled my space.  128GB and counting and still struggling to keep 10GB free for smooth “creation” use.  my former S3 and my current S5 both had long term storage of 15-15.8GB/16GB filled.  Saving grace of S5 is I’ve offloaded all I can.

I NEED to be able to install on a external memory card instead of internally as much as possible.  Just saves headache later… 

I need a camera, but three different lenses?  I’d be hard pressed to use more than one.  Really.

Otherwise the only features I care about is the GPS and Bluetooth.  I have pretty simple requirements as long as I don’t look at the wish items lol.

[Anonymous]

@thomask 

look for LG G5. and Samsung Galaxy S7 It's very old and for both price is not worth it to buy it,

for Motorola it's ok but i see they Memory: 64GB 4GB RAM,and for that price is higher not worth it to buy it..

but my friend they buy it 2 device of brand umidigi and is it brand new phone  from Amazon and they love it and i love apple device is better to me,

Amazon.ca : umidigi

UMIDIGI Bison Pro Unlocked Cell Phone,

UMIDIGI Official Website

you can review at google more about it if you like it new device and new model... Good Luck.

[darlicious]

@thomask 

B&H Photo can have some great deals on phones the google pixel 3 has been as low as US$129 but is still a good deal at its current price US $165. You will want to unlock the OEM before you set it up.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1636459-REG/google_ga00465_us_pixel_3_64gb_smartphone.html

This open box google pixel 3a xl just came back in stock at swiftronics for $229.

https://swiftronics.ca/collections/smartphones/products/open-box-google-pixel-3a-xl-64gb-factory-unl...

[cellphoneuser1]

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@thomask wrote:

@Anonymous 

So far its a choice between ...

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B087MZ1GZB/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A1AYA2LE3BV7SY&psc=1

This one was on my list... but the one site makes me a bit iffy on it.  https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06XZRZ12Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?smid=A3K6APZQPJ2QW&psc=1

and the https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079RJVWNC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=AD4EXPY63C25B&psc=1

The only other one doesn't seem to be listed on either site... and to be honest its at the very upper range of the budget. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079RJVWNC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=AD4EXPY63C25B&psc=1

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Don't get the LG G5. It's very old and $159 is overpriced and it's worth almost nothing.  It's around 5 years old and that's a used phone. Battery life might not be good.  The software is obsolete and won't get updates.  

[thomask]

@Anonymous 

So far its a choice between ...

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B087MZ1GZB/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A1AYA2LE3BV7SY&psc=1

This one was on my list... but the one site makes me a bit iffy on it.  https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06XZRZ12Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?smid=A3K6APZQPJ2QW&psc=1

and the https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079RJVWNC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=AD4EXPY63C25B&psc=1

The only other one doesn't seem to be listed on either site... and to be honest its at the very upper range of the budget. https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B079RJVWNC/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_9?smid=AD4EXPY63C25B&psc=1

[thomask]

Ideally free, but yeah… probably under $200.  I’ve been eyeballing the LG G5/6’s and Samsung S7 and a couple others.  Yes, I’d rather stick with Samsung but I’m. NOT. MARRIED to it.

I’m personally not a fan of the camera under the flash/camera, and I’m also not a fan of no home button.  Archaic I know, and I’ll likely need to get over it soon, but I don’t NEED cutting edge.  Two year old hard ware I can be happy with, then again, I’m STILL happy with my S5, if it wasn’t just 16GB and ballooning batteries every 6~ months.

[Anonymous]

@thomask 

they 3G is too good, and my advice for new device is better fromused device, just one think about the battery and hardware when you buy it a used device you never know what they battery is it good work or not but for brand new device is much better at least you have a one years warranty, but is your choose and your budget.. Good luck.

[softech]

@thomask   Yes, 3G in fact is VERY important.. for voice calls at least

So you need to buy from Amazon?  No worry, there are good ones there.. but as I said, avoid brands and models that target or made for non-North American market as much as possible.  Maybe share the link before you buy and there are definitely many experts here will tell you if they are good or not.

What is your price range?

[thomask]

@Anonymous 

yeah, that’s something I’ve been taking great care of checking when it’s available.  My knowledge/understanding of the bands and tech is, well, spotty and enough to get me in trouble if I, not careful.

I got a no name from a somewhat reliable source or so I thought and o had to return it like 5 times before we caught on that it didn’t have the BANDS needed.  For Canada.  Period.

It was a Canadian company selling it… haaa.

Well, I’m probably going back to my original considerations, and forgetting some of my wishlist items, not willing to go THAT new for.

and unfortunately my only solution atm is Amazon, as I’ve got some credit piled up there to use. 😉

as for the list on the PM site, the only ones that catch my eye are out of stock tbh.

The larger important issue is LTE but down-throttled but the 3G is still a full requirement, if I understand it better now.

[Anonymous]

@thomask 

Phone Section (publicmobile.ca)

visit Here link, 

Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network. Speed and signal strength may vary with your device, configuration, Internet traffic, environmental conditions, applicable network management and other factors.

Public Mobile uses the following frequency bands:

• 4G LTE and LTE Advanced: 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS).
• HSPA: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz (UMTS).

[softech]

Yes, Amazon is another good sources for phone, but just stay away from those small brands phone that came from non-American market.  While those phones might work, they usually have just limited bands that work on PM and you might experience issue like drop calls or unstable data connection.

[LeePublic]

@thomask You can find affordable options on Amazon. There's lots of phones that won't cost an arm and leg. Like the TCL 20s, Motorola 5G Ace, Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, Nokia 3.4, etc. You can find these at Costco.

[softech]

depends on the budget, Costco has been selling some decent unlocked phones.  Last time I saw they have some Moto and Samsung.

If you are shopping for entry level phone, Samsung A1x  is a good one 

[Triguy]

You could also consider looking at staples.ca, Best buy.ca, or Swiftronics.ca.

[hairbag1]

@thomask...have a look at these to replace your oldster. They are unlocked and come with a 1 year warranty

.https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/phone-section

[softech]

@thomask   You have the link or band and model of the phone?  Maybe we can do some research and confirm 

Usually a phone with LTE will have 2G and 3G as well.  HOWEVER,  even it has 3G, it might not have the proper bands needed for PM.    Also,  PM does use LTE for data, it just does not offer full LTE speed but capped as 3Mbps.   But, you do need the 3G for voice.  Without proper 3G bands, you might not get any voice calls or you might have frequent drop calls issue if the phone has some 3G bands PM uses but not all 

You said the phone just said it's 2G and LTE and didn't have much info list?  Sound like you are ordering it from Amazon or Aliexpress for those non-American phone.  I would avoid those.  While they might work, but many of them does not have all the bands PM needs and hence there will be quite some issue in terms of stability. 

[esjliv · Accepted solution]

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@thomask wrote:

So long time ago I remember PM had LTE, and yes, after spending some time on the community here I’ve come across a few threads and managed to sus out that they don’t offer it any more.  Herein lays my problem.

I traditionally use older hardware, really can’t argue with cost, and I’m in a refresh cycle as my S5 keeps “ballooning” batteries.  Third one in over a year, and with 99% of the 16GB full, (everything that can be already on sdcard) I’m shopping…

Anyways, I came down to one or two units, figured out what I can do without etc and then before I placed the order I noticed (no radio bands listed here) it stated 2G, LTE only.  

So rather than take a chance and need to return a phone… Im asking here if it would just roll back to 2G (with 3G data?) or should I make sure it’s got 3G?

Thanks

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@thomask 

Public Mobile uses the following frequency bands:

• 4G LTE and LTE Advanced: 700 MHz, 850 MHz, 1900 MHz and 2100 MHz downlink and 1700 MHz uplink (AWS).
• HSPA: 850 MHz, 1900 MHz (UMTS).

Always good to check whether a phone will work with any provider, especially Public Mobile. Use more than one source to be sure.

https://www.kimovil.com/en/frequency-checker/CA

https://willmyphonework.net

• 3G: WCDMA 2 and 5 bands makes the phone compatible, which is needed for phone calls, and can also be used for text messaging and data.
• LTE can be used for text messaging and data.

[cellphoneuser1]

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@thomask wrote:

So long time ago I remember PM had LTE, and yes, after spending some time on the community here I’ve come across a few threads and managed to sus out that they don’t offer it any more.  Herein lays my problem.

I traditionally use older hardware, really can’t argue with cost, and I’m in a refresh cycle as my S5 keeps “ballooning” batteries.  Third one in over a year, and with 99% of the 16GB full, (everything that can be already on sdcard) I’m shopping…

Anyways, I came down to one or two units, figured out what I can do without etc and then before I placed the order I noticed (no radio bands listed here) it stated 2G, LTE only.  

So rather than take a chance and need to return a phone… Im asking here if it would just roll back to 2G (with 3G data?) or should I make sure it’s got 3G?

Thanks

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There's no 2g here. Make sure the phone has 3g.

[TheGx]

@thomask :Public does not offer any 2G and 2G only hardware is not compatible with Public network, the minimum is 3G compatible for Public networks.

So, sadly you'll have to find a phone with 3G minimum to use on Public networks.