Topics started by mr_l84

17 Discussions

M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Just for fun

I've been thinking of migrating to Tello after 22 years with T-Mobile... ☹️

Things are getting tough financially as rent and insurance rates keep going up and up. So I’m looking to save money anywhere I can. The 4-lines of Essential Savings I’m paying for now end up being $129 per month, so I took off one of the boy’s lines and now it’s a total of $112 per month, a total savings of $17. But taking off another line and going to only 2 lines will apparently still cost the exact same.I was thinking of going with a prepaid plan with T-Mobile and only two lines for $40 a month, which doesn’t include any data. But I’m not sure if that $80 will be like my $90 I’m paying now, which is actually $112.I keep seeing adds for Mint Mobile. But they don’t have calling to Mexico apparently. I want calling to Mexico, and data would be nice but not necessary.So I found Tello, which has unlimited minutes and texts for as little as $8 per month.I am concerned a bit with coverage, as I need a Cell Spot or Wi-Fi calling to have a conection with T-Mobile in my house. I’m not sure if

3
M
1 month ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Just for fun

Wife's Phone Broken, now she doesn't want a smartphone.

Well, yesterday my Wife’s Google Pixel 7 Pro (That I got her last May) fell and the screen cracked. It’s still kind of useable, but nearly the whole screen lights up to a pale greenish white.Well, she immediately said she’s had it with owning a smartphone. In May her Pixel 3a XL had also fallen and the screen stopped working. So we got this phone, and again the same thing. On both phones we tried getting a very good phone case and put on a solid screen protector. The one on the Pixel 7 Pro even has a curved edge that follows the curved edge of the phone’s own screen. I love my wife, but she is kind of a clutz, and this isn’t the first time she’s dropped her Pixel 7 Pro either.When we saw that for just the part on iFixIt costs over $200 she became even more upset and has decided to break out our emergency flip phone and call it a day.Sadly, things are getting tough economically. And to be honest, $200 and some dollars right now would be a bit hard to cough up. With rising prices of ever

3
M
1 month ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Android

What are the chances that T-Mobile will start carrying the Motorla G Play 2024?

Ok, I’m pretty stingy. I’m not actually looking for a phone yet, as this phone I have is working just fine (Unlocked Google Pixel 4a, 4G LTE version). But while there are a couple of things I really dislike about my current phone, and the Motorla G Play seems to have the things I like. These are things I’ve seen, at least in reviews on YouTube:Up to 1TB SD card storage 3.5mm headphone jack FM radio.I so hope these kinds of phones keep sticking around, because if my current phone suddenly needed replaced, these are the features I’d really want. I’ve disliked my Pixel ever since I bought it. In some ways it has been absolute worst phone I have ever owned. But I’m determined to keep using it until it’s no longer useable.

0
M
1 month ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Other Devices

How do I unlock my ZTE Cymbal Z320?

I got a friend who’s phone died and he sent it off to be repaired. It looks like it’s going to be a while before he gets it back. I told him he could borrow my flip phone, but he has another carrier and the phone needs to be unlocked. How do I do that? Any suggestions? It’s a:ZTE Cymbal Z-320.

1
gramps28
Pillar
5 months ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Android

Nokia G310: IS this my dream phone???!

Things I would like in a phone:1TB storage (lots of videos) Headphone jack FM radio Good DIY repairability.What the Nokia G310 5G has:SD card slot with support up to 1TB (plus 128GB onboard storage) Headphone jack FM radio (I hope that’s the USA too. It appears it could be!) Is marketed by Nokia as easy to repair. iFix it says that battery, display and charge port replacement are all in the “moderate” difficulty level.It does only have USB 2.0 and 20W charging over USB type C. But those are the same specs as the iPhone 15. I’m not looking for a gaming phone. About the only, possibly processor intensive thing I would want to do is run an SDR on it. I would be trading in my Google Pixel 4a, that I don’t really like because of the limited storage and lack of FM radio.

8
M
6 months ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Just for fun

Trade in our phones or carry a separate FM Radio?

Finally my wife and I both made the jump into buying our first brand new smartphones (before we always had used ones). In 2019 we got a Pixel 3a XL for the wife and then in 2020 I got a Pixel 4a. The plan was to take care of these for at least 3 years and then change them out for something else after they’re worn out or something else becomes a must-have.But we’ve come to the realization that there’s one feature that these phones don’t have and now we see as important… FM Radio. The valley where we live is fed by a single data cable that feeds all internet, all cellular towers and even all home phones across all service providers, not just T-Mobile. And during the past year this data line has been cut twice rendering our town out of communication for several days. Depending on where you’re at in the valley, it’s 60 to 100 miles over treacherous mountain passes (especially in the winter) to the next place where there’s a connection.When that has happened the only way to get any informat

18
M
8 months ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Android

Pixel 3a XL screen died. Where to fix?

My wife’s Pixel 3a XL got dropped and now the screen won’t turn back on. We’re trying to find repair options.We tried using Repair - Google Store but it won’t accept neither the IMEI nor the Serial number saying, “Your device wasn't found. Make sure to enter the case-sensitive IMEI or serial number correctly, and try again. If you can't find your IMEI or serial number because your phone won't turn on, Contact us”So we tried Ubreakifix, but they want us to ship it to them by dropping it off at a UPS store. But there isn’t a UPS store anywhere near us.Any thoughts?

13
M
10 months ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Just for fun

A small complaint about text to email.

T-Mobile is great! I can’t complain much about the company and service. Except maybe this one small thing.Background:In the past we’ve had outages in our valley that have affected all phones, both home phones and cellular service, as well as all power and internet. Sometimes these outages have lasted for days. So in view of this, I’ve recently decided to become a HAM, also known as a ameteur radio or short wave radio operator.One of the perks to being a HAM is you can send emails via radio (called Winlink). The best way is, of course, to send them through email to text. People are more likely to respond to a text than to an email.The complaint:Now I can send emails via short wave (HF) radio to T-Mobile numbers just fine. But I can’t receive any replies back. The problem seems to be that T-Mobile sends both a picture and a sort of file. Email via short wave radio is quite limited, so I never get the emails.I don’t have this problem with AT&T or Verizon numbers. With those I get a si

1
S
10 months ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Accounts & Services

Bought 1GB on phone but doesn't connect to interenet?

I don’t have internet normally on my phone, but I purchased a 1GB, 1Week pass for $10 yesterday. But so far I still don’t have any internet. I need internet tomorrow in an area where there’s no Wi-Fi. I’ve restarted the phone (Pixel 4a) many times but to no avail. What should I do next?

23
H
Community Manager
11 months ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Just for fun

Is the Sonim XP3plus the only phone with FM radio available from T-Mobile right now?

I decided to go back to using my Google Pixel 5a recently after using my ol’ flip phone ZTC Cymbal Z320 for a whole year. But I’m really missing that FM radio again as I don’t get any Wi-Fi or data at work. That, and I’m paranoid and want an FM radio on me, but I haven’t found any portable radio that fits in my pocket along with my phone, wallet, keys and everything else in those pockets.Is there any new Android phone (or iPhone, but I know there’s no iPhone) with an FM (and AM and Shortwave and ATSC) tuner right now from T-Mobile?

13
M
1 year ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Just for fun

What flip phone to get Grandpa?

Grandpa fell in a ditch and ruined his Alcatel Go Flip 2. That phone wasn’t the greatest anyway and we liked his ZTE Cymbal Z320 a lot better.Now there are 4 flip phones available!?TCL Flip Go for $96 SCHOK Flip for $96 Sonim XP3Plus for $210 Sonim XP3Plus (non-camera version) for $210I also tried finding a used ZTE Cymbal Z320 but could only find one that I was sure was the T-Mobile version for almost $77.Trying to choose a phone is a bit difficult to say the least. What is the difference between these other than the price and that one doesn’t have a camera?I mean we don’t care if it has Wi-Fi or a camera or text messaging because he’s not going to use any of that. But how do we know what phone is easy to use? The Alcatel he had was a pain and we would have sent it back if there were another flip phone available at the time. Is there anyway to try these phones? Is there a better alternative?The idea is to put his T-Mobile sim into a phone that works and isn’t a smartphone because he’l

7
F
Pillar
1 year ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Android

Does the Google Pixel 6a have a 3.5mm headphone jack?

When I look at outside information it says the Google Pixel 6a doesn’t have a headphone jack:Digital Trends article:Does the Google Pixel 6a Have a Headphone Jack?Of all the new upgrades Google mentioned for the Pixel 6a at Google I/O 2022 — including the Tensor processor, longer battery life, sleeker design, and robust camera features — it left out the headphone jack. But when I look at the specs on the T-Mobile website it says it does:New Google Pixel 6a: View Prices, Specs & Colors | T-MobileBattery Description 4306 mAH Ports 3.5mm, USB Type-C Connectivity Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and 6E (6GHz) with MIMO, Bluetooth 5.2, NFCWhich is true? Or does only the T-Mobile version come with a headphone jack?

5
gramps28
Pillar
1 year ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Coverage & Signal

Why don't I get any text messages from my wife?

This isn’t about spousal problems.My wife and I are on the same phone plan. We both have T-Mobile phones. Her’s is a Google Pixel 3a XL. Mine is a ZTE Cymbal Z320.A couple of weeks ago I stopped getting messages from her. We have tried and tested it time and time again. I can get texts from anyone else. I can send text to anyone including her and she receives them just fine. She can send texts to anyone else. But when she sends them to me I never get them. I have no clue as to why.This includes both SMS and MMS texts. I can send her pictures, or just pain texts, but nothing will come back even though her phone says the text is sent.Any suggestions?

3
M
1 year ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Other Devices

How do I turn off Amber Alerts on ZTE Cymbal Z320?

This is starting to drive me nuts. Not only will an Amber Alert go off at 2:00AM like it did this morning, but sometimes the phone will glitch and the Amber Alert sound will sound off every 10 minutes with no way of turning it off without doing a complete factory reset of the phone.Sometimes I just want to kill my phone with a hammer because of this.

0
M
1 year ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Other Devices

Would getting a network switch with QOS help with CellSpot call quality?

I notice that my CellSpot, which normally works fantastic, doesn’t give me a good call when the computer or other device is downloading, uploading or streaming while I’m on the call. It’s not every time, and with some things there are ways of turning down the download and upload speeds of other processes that helps solve the issue.But still, instead of having to manually fix what ever is hogging the internet at my house to use my phone connected to the CellSpot, it would be nice to have an automatic way of it changing. Any ideas?One thing I saw but don’t know much about is a network switch with QOS (quality of service). From what I read, it’s a device that prioritises certain network data packages, or something like that. So I could hook up the modem to it and then the CellSpot and router to the QOS network switch, and it will prioritise the voice traffic over the data traffic.Right? Maybe?Thanks!

0
M
2 years ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
asked in Other Devices

How to sync just to SD card on ZTE Cymbal Z-320?

I’ve ran in to kind of a snag when using Windows Media Player to sync MP3 files to my ZTE Cymbal Z-320.I have an 8GB SD card installed.When I plug the phone in the computer I can go into Windows File Explorer and see both the internal and SD card memories on the phone.The first time I synced with WMP it did go partially to the phone and then stopped. I disconnected the phone and tried again and it didn’t recognize it as a device it had previously synced to, so I had to set it up again. The good thing is it did sync to the SD cardThis happened again so I restarted the computer. This time it synced to the phone’s internal memory and not the SD card. The phone’s memory is very small so fills up quickly.I’ve tried erasing and restarting several times but it keeps syncing to the phone’s memory now and not the SD card.Any idea of how to get WMP to sync just to the SD card and not the phone’s memory?

1
M
2 years ago
M
mr_l84Speaker
posted in Just for fun

Any reason not to get the LG Aristo 5? Or should I get a used phone?

My LG G3 just died and I can’t get it to work at all. I’m thinking it’s a hardware problem. (There’s no response whatever I do. I took out the battery, held the power button for 15 seconds and popped the battery back in. Nothing. I tried holding the power button and down volume buttons. Nothing. I’ve tried all three of my spare batteries. Nothing. I’ve tried charging it for several hours. Nothing.)Anyhoo, I decided to start looking for another phone.The things I like about my G3 that died:Headphone jack. FM radio app that’s acutally a radio. Being able to change batteries. I have one app that is Android only.I can’t seem to find a phone with FM radio and changeable batteries. I think the LG Aristo 5 should work for me, but I don’t know what I’m not getting with a more expensive phone.Any suggestions or am I on track?

11
snn_555
Pillar
3 years ago
25,366
Topics
102,641
Replies
1,291,276
Members

New badge winners

Show all badges
Terms & Conditions