by "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
Published 04/06/2017 at 10:48
by "Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
Published 04/06/2017 at 10:48
Tags: Tech
STARS: 2
Ummm...so you know when I was supposedly getting off Verizon, getting a cheap phone and profiting off it in the end? Well, that didn’t quite happen...
As some of you know, my parents were kicking me off their Verizon plan and I owed Verizon somewhere around the tune of $400-$500 (I forgot exactly how much I paid already) for the Galaxy S7 I already sold. I sold the 6P, paid off Verizon, and I had my sights set on MetroPCS. But, I needed a new phone!
Well, the first phone I picked up was a Nextbit Robin for $130.
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
But, as it turns out, I may be over my depression a whole lot more than I originally thought. I mean, we’re talking getting back into my hobbies hardcore .
I ended up buying a new Honor 8 for $250.
Then I got some car parts for my latest electrical modding project for $20, and a can of orange Plasti-Dip for the same project.
Then last night I accidentally got an iPhone 6 Plus for $80.
The iPhone might actually become my daily driver. I have a whole host of hardware mods I plan on doing to it. Or technically, I could do the mods and sell it for like 6x the price I paid for the phone and the parts (modded iPhones sell for way more than stock ones do).
Oh yeah, I’m definitely back into my hobbies!!! Screw you Depression, I’m driving now!!
Have a Dodge Slingshot for your time. Oh and fun fact, the Dodge Slingshot was based on the smart roadster.
It even had some of the smart’s dash parts!
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
04/06/2017 at 10:53, STARS: 3
Good morning, my Love! Thank you for that harlequin Golf. That’s a favorite of mine.
"djmt1" (djmt1)
04/06/2017 at 10:53, STARS: 1
Nice to know I’m not the only one who buys cheap Chinese phones alongside SIM only contracts. Why pay £60 a month for a new phone with 8GB of memory for two years when you can buy something dirt cheap from China and get an !UNLIMITED DATA! plan for £20 on 1 month rolling.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 10:56, STARS: 1
Good morning!!!! They’re so gorgeous! I wish more automakers did things like that today.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 1
Oh my, it’s even worse over here. The only usable plans for me from the big carriers will run me about $150 after “renting” a phone from the carrier.
Uh yeah, so I just decided to do my eBay wizardry and got a few unlocked phones. I’ll get a SIM from MetroPCS (T-Mobile) with unlimited data for a flat rate of $50/mo. For what I need, that’s like a rock bottom price!
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/06/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 0
I’m actually planning to go for an Android phone upgrade some time in the near future, but will probably be staying clear of the Chinese ones. My Kyocera Hydro XTRM is slowly dying after some four years or so - outer screen crack, intermittent mic connection issues... and of course the camera and internal storage have always been turrible. What initially drew me to it (shock resistant, waterproof) has been pretty essential, but it’s becoming tired.
Do you know a good Toughbook-esque Droid phone that doesn’t cost
meellions of dollarrrrss
to recommend?
"facw" (facw)
04/06/2017 at 11:14, STARS: 1
Our pre-paid plans are nowhere near that good, but you can still end up with something better than most post-paid plans, especially since those generally no longer subsidize the phone.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
04/06/2017 at 11:16, STARS: 0
I found a pseudo-harlequin Ford Tempo the other day. At least 3 shades of blue and 2 red doors. Pretty sure it didn’t come from the factory like that though.
"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
04/06/2017 at 11:24, STARS: 1
You see, this is why I limit myself to buying the high end flagships. That way I am only tempted to buy them at a rate of about 1 every 18 months. Doesn’t mean I don’t have a stash of old phones though. Now if you will excuse me my old G4 has a date with the toaster oven.
"CalzoneGolem" (calzonegolem)
04/06/2017 at 11:26, STARS: 0
Do we have any opinions on the Nextbit Robin? It looks like such a lovely phone.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/06/2017 at 11:33, STARS: 1
The $50 MetroPCS unlimited plan downgrades your streaming video to 480p and has no ability to do mobile hotspot. But...it’s only $10/month more to get those things. That $60 plan still defaults to downgrading your video to 480p but you can get around it by disabling “Data Maximizer” in your account settings.
"avalonian" (avalonain19)
04/06/2017 at 11:34, STARS: 0
How do you get an iphone 6s plus for that price?!! TEACH ME YOUR WAYS!!
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 11:34, STARS: 0
Thanks for the heads up! I never watch HD video on any phone (Verizon has never been too good with HD streaming in my area) so that isn’t a worry...but I do like my mobile hotspot feature.
"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
04/06/2017 at 11:37, STARS: 0
What mods do people do to iPhones besides jaimbreak?
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
04/06/2017 at 11:40, STARS: 1
Awesome, I am happy to hear you are having fun and doing fun things again. It is good to hear. I know quite a few people that struggle with depression. Especially being in the LGBTQAbcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz community and it is just so good to see people leave that depression behind or even just have a good day. So here is to many more days and hopefully forever depression free *cheers*
On a side note Miss Mercedes Phone, how hard is it to replace a S7 edge glass?
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 11:40, STARS: 1
Yes! It’s basically a Nexus 5X in a cute little body...but they aren’t without their headaches. Some earlier builds (which, any one you get off eBay/Amazon is going to have an earlier build date) have interesting build quality quirks. Like some with build dates prior to May 2016 had batteries that got hot enough to warp the body of the phone.
Phones with build dates from May 2016 to July 2016 had an issue where too much silicone was used behind the screen, leading to bright spots (thankfully I was able to fix mine by pressing my finger on the screen then moving in a circular motion). Some other build date months have issues where the screen pops out.
They finally got the build quality under control with the latest builds, but it kinda sucks as Razer is only servicing the phones until July, after that everyone is on their own. And there aren’t any replacement parts for it either.
So, it’s a great great phone if you buy it with the thought that if it breaks there’s no way to fix it. :)
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 11:44, STARS: 0
Huh...Now that’s a decent challenge! I’m not well versed in tough phones (mostly just waterproof ones). Samsung’s Galaxy Active series are pretty good phones and I’m sure you can probably find one for cheap. Though if you’re looking for really rugged, there are more options:
https://www.toughgadget.com/best-rugged-smartphones-unlocked/
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 11:47, STARS: 0
It’s actually just a standard iPhone 6 Plus. :) But basically I scrape the bottom of the eBay barrel. I look for phones that are practically destroyed, but have a clean IMEI and no iCloud lock. I mean, I look for the worst of the worst, phones that have been run over by cars, dropped from buildings, or soaked in fresh water.
I can rebuild the phone to factory condition for dirt cheap. The example I bought last night is in apparently very good condition, so I can mod it out and sell the original parts. Just gotta make sure I don’t break that fingerprint sensor...
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/06/2017 at 11:50, STARS: 1
I don’t watch a ton of HD video on my phone but occasionally a movie trailer or some random facebook or instagram thing, and generally I just hate looking at grainy video. The hotspot is more important though.
I learned the hard way from being on Cricket that with the super cheap plans there’s often some kind of hidden restriction. In the case of Cricket I had their $55 (after $5 autopay discount) 10 GB plan but didn’t realize until after I signed up that they limit your download speed to 8 Mbps and while technically you can add hotspot, you can’t if you BYOD.
I switched back to Verizon because I needed international roaming on my honeymoon a few weeks ago, and I get an employee discount through my current job. I’m paying $72 for their 8 GB plan after the autopay discount. Verizon actually gets signal inside my favorite grocery store, unlike when I was on Cricket where the signal would totally die inside there and I’d have to hop on the store’s janky wifi. Not that I do a ton of internet usage at the grocery store but just to be able to text my wife to check if she needs something, that’s handy.
All this will go out the window whenever it’s time for my wife to get a new phone. She has a cheap ZTE ZMAX 2 that is actually very decent for a basic phone. I have her on Straight Talk’s $45 5 GB plan, which has no speed limits or hotspot restrictions. Really the only downside is no visual voicemail. I could set her up with YouMail but so far she’s been fine with the old-school dial-in voicemail. But if I want to add my wife to Verizon, the only option for a higher plan is their unlimited plan, because they ditched their “XXL” 16 GB plan. For 2 lines, the unlimited plan would be $140 and is ineligible for employee discounts.
Interestingly, Straight Talk now has a 10 GB plan for $55, which wasn’t available back when I signed up for Cricket. If it had been available I would’ve chosen it over Cricket and done YouMail.
I like some of the MetroPCS and T-Mobile plan options but their network is too thin in WI.
"avalonian" (avalonain19)
04/06/2017 at 11:51, STARS: 0
damn, you got some skillz. I might have to try this out
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 11:53, STARS: 0
Jailbreaking isn’t really what it used to be. Apple has further locked down iOS and they poach the jailbreaking community for new features anyway. No matter, the iPhone aftermarket never gives up.
So instead, people now do this and get mirrored glass or frames anodized in colours not offered by apple. That isn’t a screen protector!:
I like to do one better and do these same mods, but also fix some deficiencies in Apple’s designs. For example, the iPhone 5 had notoriously bad camera seals, I’d seal it up. I’d also reinforce the buttons where possible and other tweaks.
"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
04/06/2017 at 12:02, STARS: 0
Oh. Cool. I like that blue. Can/does anyone mod things like a better battery or more power? I figure that’s not really possible without some serious reprogramming
I always use a case so I never really care about the color as a result. My current case I’ve had since I bought the phone and it’s all dinged up.
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
04/06/2017 at 12:04, STARS: 0
On a completely different note, I parked next to a blue ForTwo at the airport this morning and thought of you, I don’t see many that color.
"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
04/06/2017 at 12:08, STARS: 1
I did not know that there were any Ford Tempos that had not already self-destructed. Those were some of the most wretched cars ever put on the road.
"Chuckles" (chucklesw37)
04/06/2017 at 12:12, STARS: 0
I’m always amazed when I see one now. It seems like 15 years ago they were still everywhere, despite being out of production for a decade or so. Now, it’s a rarity. I like the multicolor aspect of this particular one. I’d buy it for a few hundred bucks just for the novelty factor if it was for sale.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/06/2017 at 12:14, STARS: 0
I mean, the Kyocera isn’t *that* tough. I did find a way to break the internal screen without breaking the case - drop directly only the corner from 4' up, onto concrete. Fortunately, whole eBay spares for that phone are available all day every day for $49.
Anyway, it’s an even trickier challenge than it sounds like, because I use a CDMA network partnered with Verizon, and a lot of the tough phones are GSM only. It kind of looks like the best option may end up being (drumroll, please)... a Kyocera again. This time, a Brigadier.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 12:34, STARS: 1
I hate depression so much. It’s a leech on everything good in life. Gah, it sucks so much! But thank you for your awesome words!!
As for the S7 Edge, the curved Samsung screens are some of the hardest to replace. If you want to stomach paying $250+ for a new LCD, you have to take apart the entire phone to get to it. Otherwise, you can just buy new glass and do this:
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
There’s not even a written review on how to do it. And IMO, replacing the glass only often leads to a bad looking screen. Dust and other particles almost always weasel their way in. :(
"Lokiparts" (lokiparts)
04/06/2017 at 12:46, STARS: 1
How about the CAT phones? Yes,as in Caterpillar. Even though they’re not the nighest end specs and internals they look damn near indestructable. Plus they have a version with a built in FLIR camera... I’ve been trying hard to resist the urge to buy one just for that reason.
https://www.amazon.com/Caterpillar-S60-Dual-SIM-Unlocked-Smartphone/dp/B01GVCWNX2
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/06/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 0
Huh, I might actually go with straight talk now then. That’s actually a way better deal than Metro!!!
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
04/06/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 0
I was gear-lusting the S60, yes, but I’m using a CDMA network, which they’ve only ever supported once, badly. (S50C)
"Lokiparts" (lokiparts)
04/06/2017 at 13:03, STARS: 1
Ahh, yeah that does limit your options. Sorry I missed that part.
"CaptDale - is secretly British" (captdale)
04/06/2017 at 13:29, STARS: 0
Well damn.... That sounds awful over all....
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/06/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 1
Which is the better deal depends on what you want.
Straight Talk - AT&T network
$45 - 5 GB + no video/speed restrictions + hotspot
$55 - 10 GB + no video/speed restrictions + hotspot
(If you want visual voicemail you need to use YouMail)
MetroPCS - T-Mobile network
$40 - 3 GB + 480p video + hotspot
$50 - unlimited data + 480p video + no hotspot
$60 - unlimited data + HD video if you disable data maximizer + hotspot
"Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street." (demon-xanth)
04/06/2017 at 13:40, STARS: 0
Here’s to the future looking up for you.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/07/2017 at 10:58, STARS: 0
Thank you so much for that information!!! That’s actually pretty competitive, and unlimited data is compelling considering how much I use my hotspot for Miss Tesla.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/07/2017 at 11:26, STARS: 0
The MetroPCS hotspot on the $60 plan isn’t unlimited. You get unlimited on your phone but 8 GB for hotspot. Still a lot of value for $60/month though.
I wish the T-Mobile network were better here in Madison and the rest of WI but it’s just too spotty for me to use it. AT&T is acceptable but Verizon is noticeably better.
Straight Talk is a Tracfone brand, and there’s another Tracfone brand called Total Wireless that uses Verizon’s network.
I’m considering flipping to Total Wireless. Verizon only lets regular Verizon post-paid customers access VoLTE features like HD voice, but the Total Wireless 8 GB plan is $57 after autopay discount vs. the $77 I’m paying for the Verizon 8 GB plan. I can’t say HD voice is worth an extra $20/month.
If I got my wife a Verizon-compatible phone, Total Wireless has a 12 GB 2-line plan for $80.75 or a 15 GB plan for $95, either of which would be a good savings over the Verizon unlimited plan for $140 for 2 lines. I know the 15 GB plan would definitely work for us but I’d have to check her usage to see about the 12 GB plan.
"Mercedes Streeter" (smart)
04/07/2017 at 11:34, STARS: 0
I noticed that while researching their site. That’s okay with me! With the hotspot through Verizon, the data counted against our entire plan as opposed to being separate. We were on a four line data plan with each phone having a hotspot. The fourth line was a literal hotspot device (you can tell my parents have no idea what they’re doing with tech).
4 devices sharing 14gb of data. Couple that to the fact my parents have no idea how to use Wifi (instead defaulting to turning on their hotspot in their own wifi enabled house) and we peg the limit each month. And of course, I get blamed for “going over”. I mean yeah I used 6 GB of our data, but we’d be within our plan limits if you know, you used your wifi and your hotspot. On no planet should Facebook be taking nearly 10GB of data a month.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/07/2017 at 12:21, STARS: 0
This is what you should do to that hotspot:
