OnePlus 3 on Public Mobile - Do not hesitate, it's great

[srlawren]

Hi PM Community,

I just wanted to let anyone interested in a OnePlus 3 for their PM service to know that it works wonderfully.  I recieved mine about 26 hours ago and am loving it.  The North American version (the one that the Canadian and US OnePlus online store will send you) is compatible with PM/Telus's 3G HSPA, HSPA+, and 4G LTE network frequencies and bands.  Please enjoy.

For anyone curious, here's a Canadian review from Mobile Syrup:

http://mobilesyrup.com/2016/06/22/oneplus-3-review-canada/

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

[srlawren]

Yes it should be the ESN (equipment serial number) of your OnePlus 3.  However, you don't need to use that field in the port.  Just use your FM account number, your name as it appears on the account, and an alternate contact number.

[Shadab_K]

Hey man, 

Do you know what Old Service Provider Equipment Serial Number is? I am trying to transfer my Freedom number and they are asking for that. It is not the account number.

Thanks 

[srlawren]

@Shadab_K I'm guessing the price you mention was the factory reset, and the thanks is becuase you now have data?  I hope so.  🙂

[Shadab_K]

Hey thanks man! really appreciate the help! i had to pay a price but it was worth it

[srlawren]

@Shadab_K you're not going to like this, but you are probably going to need to do a factory reset to fix it.  This will wipe your device clean so make sure you back up anything you want to keep that isn't already backed up or synced to a cloud-based service before doing so.  But it should resolve the data issue.

[Shadab_K]

Yes! freedom

[srlawren]

@Shadab_K was the phone used on another provider before Public Mobile?  In particular Wind/Freedom Mobile?

[Shadab_K]

I cannot get data connection on my phone. i can call and send messages and it hows the data signal and everything but the data does not work. I cannot google anything when I am using data. It says no connection

[srlawren]

@Shadab_K great news: you have it already! OnePlus 3 shows LTE as 4G or 4G+ as of OxygenOS 4.0.0 and newer.

[Shadab_K]

Does anyone know how I can get LTE on my One Plus 3? I have 4G But I want to get LTE. Thanks

[pmobile]

Perfect.  That was what I was looking for.

I want to use one SIM for data only (LTE) and a second SIM for voice and text (3G).  I just wanted to make sure because on most of the dual SIM phones that I've encountered, if you use data on one (LTE) the second SIM will only be able to use voice and text over 2G - which obviously won't work with a Public Mobile SIM and is not what I need.

Thanks so much!

[srlawren]

@Nico I hope you are able to get it up and running!

@pmobile only one of the SIM slots can be active for data.  You can have calling and texting via 3G enabled on both at once (dual standby I believe it's called, meaning if you're on a call on one SIM you won't receive call waiting on the other--those calls go straight to voicemail).  But you can only designate one SIM as active for data at any given time, regardless of 3G vs. 4G/LTE.  

[pmobile]

Can someone who owns a OnePlus 3 confirm if the dual SIM allows for one sim to be on LTE and the second one to be on 3G (not 2G)? Many thanks!

[Nico]

Thanks for the intel McLaren and srlawren, I really appreciate it. It's possible I'm missing something in the install process, or that the phone's SIM slot is broken... it doesn't feel fully closed, but so close it's hard for me to be certain. The phone came from the U.S.A....
I'll just have to sit down with it when I have some time to take a closer look. Cheers!

[srlawren]

Hi @Nico,

The OnePlus 3 comes with OxygenOS from the factory (except the version sold in China, which has HydrogenOS).  But the OnePlus 1 did indeed come with CM from the factory, and I think continues to run CM officially today.

Is it possible the OP1 you were gifted is from another region, Asia or Europe perhaps?  If so, it might not have the compatible frequencies needed for PM.

[McLaren]

I have a OnePlus one with CyanogenMod 13 stock. Works fine in pm

[Nico]

Hi, I am wondering what Operating System you're Oneplus is on. I was recently gifted a oneplus one, and I've tried both the Cyanogen 13 and Cyanogen 12.1 mods with it, and neither of them have been able to detect my SIM card. Because it's still so new I'm having a hard time finding out if this is just a problem with the mods or a problem with the phone itself. I've read that the new Cyanogen OS has been having issues with reading SIM cards from certain operators, and thought that maybe Public Mobile just isn't compatible. If anyone has some insight, I'd be grateful! It is a great phone (been testing it without the SIM card) and I'd much rather have it working than give it up!

[srlawren]

Oh for anyone that was wondering how effective the DASH charging is, check out the right side of this graph

[srlawren]

@tdotyup Have you received your shiny new OP3 yet?  If you have, just curious how you're finding it thus far.

If anybody else has questions don't hesitate to ask.

[srlawren]

@kav2001c @tdotyup @IWIK  I think I already answered your questions 😉  

The phone ships with a proprietary "DASH charger" wall adapter and USB-A to USB-C cable.  You must use both of these in order to get the quick charging.  You can order additional DASH wall chargers and/or car chargers direct from OnePlus if you need additional quick charging.  

If you are okay with slower charging, you can pick up a USB-B (micro-USB) female to USB-C male adapter/cable and charge the phone using any micro USB charger you may have kicking around.  (Or, a USB-A to USB-C cable, which will be easier to find at the moment, along with any USB-based wall adapter you may have around).  You will not get the quick charging that way, but it will charge.  This is great for example if you charge your phone overnight, where you have plenty of time.

How well does the dash charging work?  Really well.  It's fast.  0-60% in about 30 mins, 0-100% in about 60 apparently.  Also, it keeps the PHONE cool, becuase all the hard work is being done in the proprietary DASH wall charger piece.  So you can keep using the phone without slowing down the quick charging due to thermal issues (like Qualcomm QC2/3 phones will do currently apparently).

Hopefully I answered everything you guys mentioned.  Sorry to do it as one big batch reply but they're all kind of related topics.

[tdotyup]

@srlawren I didn't realize it used a new USB end. It's nice I can use their charger but That means that will be my only charger, I may need a few back ups. Thanks a lot for this info. I will figure it out once I get it. which should be in a few days. Thanks again.

[IWIK]

My 3410mAh battery can easily do 24 hours as seen here I unplugged yesterday at ~9:30am and now its ~9:30am the next day. I imagine OP3 should be able to stretch to 24 hours. Plus the bonus of the DASH charge. Does that take a special charger?

[kav2001c]

@srlawren I am curious at how well the quick charge feature works?

[srlawren]

Latest update:  I've now been off the charger for approx 10.5 hours (just over), and am at 50% remaining, "approx. 10 hrs left" according to the battery settings page.  I've had another short call, exchanged some texts, done a little light browsing, stepped away from the WiFi for 10 mins on a coffee run, etc.

[srlawren]

So it's now an hour after I took those two screen caps and I've barely touched the phone, and have gone down from about 61% remaining to about 59% remaining.  At about 2% per hour, that would mean the phone would last just over 2 full days, assuming it was just sitting there on standby (and doing the usual app syncing, email pushing, etc. that goes on).  I've been connected to WiFi and mobile network over the hour.  Oh I should mention that over the course of the day so far I've had mobile network the whole time (except a few dead spots in my commute), had the bluetooth on for about 15 mins in the car and off the rest of the time, and WiFi on except for about a 1.5 hrs of my commute (the rest on the train and by foot) though at varying times connected or not connected.

[srlawren]

One last point on battery life I forgot:  when you're not using it for lengths of time, the "Doze" mode in Andorid Marshmallow kicks in, and it really extends the amount of time you get on the charge.  If you're a light to medium user and leave the phone out of your hands for longer stretches and aren't constantly one it (like some of us adicts!) then it will do really well.  At one point over the weekend I was using it lightly and it was showing something like 28 hours of estimated time.  The more you use it though, the quicker you will depleat.  I would think if you're a real heavy user or heavy into gaming, you could probably drain from full in 4-5 hours?  I haven't tested this though.

[srlawren]

Hi @tdotyup.  Yes the OnePlus 3 is going to be bigger than those two phone for sure!  For reference, my previous phone was a 1st gen Moto X with a 4.7" screen, which is similar in size to the two you listed.  And I have fairly small hands.  So yes, I was worried about the size too.  So far, though, I've adjusted pretty well!  It's a bit hard to type one handed since you have to be able to reach both sides, but using something like SwiftKey you can set it to 1-handed mode to dock on one side, or floating, etc.  Everything else just casual swiping in your browser or feedly of twitter client of choice is easy enough one handed even with small hands.  So, although the size wasn't ideal for me either, i really love it!  Now when I pick up the Moto X to check something on it, it feels and looks absolutely TINY.  I do like the large screen space.

Battery life is one of those things that's so subjective, but so far has been "good" to "pretty darn good". For example, it's currently about 1PM here in Vancouver, and my phone has been off the charger since about 5:50 AM.  

This is with about 2.25 hrs of SOT (Screen On Time):

This is with mixed use, lots of browsing, twitter, feedly, bbm early in the morning, a short phone call (12-15 mins maybe), a bit of slack, Starbucks app to pay for my coffee, etc.  I've given it a decent workout so far.

I believe it would get me through a full day without issue, but so far I haven't been brave enough to try, and usually top it up once in the late afternoon.

That brings me to one other important point: the phone has a proprietary quick charging system they call DASH.  This thing is SERIOUSLY fast, gets you from zero to about 60% in 30 mins, or a complete charge in around an hour (haven't tried this scenario yet).  The downside is you only get the quick charging using their charger AND usb cable since it's all proprietary.  One of each is in the box, you can order more and/or car charger from them too.  But, you can also charge it with any charger, you just (1) won't get quick charging, even using a Qualcomm QC/QC2/QA3 compatible charger, and (2) the phone has a USB-C connector, meaning to use it with most chargers you may already own or run into while out and about, you will need a micro-USB (USB-B) to USB-C adapter.  Fair warning.

Does that help?  Any other questions?  🙂

[tdotyup]

 @srlawren I have Sony Z1 compact and Moto G LTE, and both are so slow. I'm anxious about the size of the Oneplus 3, it's a much bigger phone than I am used to and probably not back pocket friendly but it's just too good a deal to pass. Can you let me know how you find the battery life so far ? 

[srlawren]

@McLaren thanks!  Battery life so far has been impressive for the size and the power of the phone.  I think the 820 is pretty efficient, and the AMOLED screen combined with FHD instead of QHD probably helps a lot.  If you're pushing it, it will run down fairly quickly, but if you're a light to lightly-heavy user, a full day of use seems to be quite attainable.  I've been off the charger right now for just over 4 hrs and sitting at 84% left with 1 hour and 2 mins of screen on time.  Marshmallow's "doze" feature really helps when you're not using it, it depleats very slowly.

[srlawren]

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@kav2001c wrote:

@IWIK Blackberry has releases slated so not dead yet despite what the joke newspaper investors keep predicting

I'm torn on OnePlus... I admit I really like specs but +1 was good & +2 kind of a failure

+3 too new to tell but I am in love with it for now

I just wish better OS support but OnePlus so far has been indifferent

http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014/12/exclusive-source-reveals-cyanogen-oneplus-fall-months-ago.ht...

---

Read a few OP3 reviews, you'll find they pretty much universally say the OP3 addresses practically every drawback of the OP2.  There's a few things that are contraversial still but they are supposedly being addressed in OTA software update (ETA TBD!), and neither has bothered me so far personally.

Software updates going forward (N, O, etc...) are definitely a question mark.  Hopefully having officially said they are not doing a OPX2 and only focusing on their flagships will free up more resources for this.