@CurtisD64 wrote:
I would offer a second choice to this thread and it is available at several retailers. The ASUS ZENFONE series, In particular the ZENFONE 3 was easily the best unlocked smartphone I've ever purchased. It was super tough ( I work construction and end up smashing my phones on a regular basis) withstanding cruel punishment such as falling out of my car (long story ) at 80 km/h onto the highway and besides a few deep gouges in the edges of the metal case and a cracked screen, continued to work for the rest if the summer before falling out of my pocket into a hole being hydrovac'd and sucked up into the truck, lost forever.
I bought mine at Staple's for $200 and their no questions asked return policy is unbeatable
I would say that Asus over the past few years has produced a bunch of pretty good entry to mid level devices. However, I believe that some of the Asus models' software has been called iinto question when it comes to updates to Android 8.1 and whether or not data services would work (due to APN setting lockouts).
Staples, Costsco, and Walmart all do have very good return policies and all do sell unlocked cell phones that do work at Public Mobile. Amazon also has a bunch, but I do see some more models that aren't compatible with Public Mobile (especially from third party sellers). In addition, even when purchasing directly from Amazon, the return policy itself is pretty good. However, sometimes Amazon does charge a return shipping fee if you tell them you're returning the phone because you changed your mind or don't need it any more.
