Please recommend an Android phone

[Muse]

Just unboxed the S9 "renewed" from Amazon 3rd party seller, promised to be new condition and work fine. Gotta say, it looks new! Only scratches I can see on it are on the small fingerprint reader and they are minor, though unescapable. Assuming this is pre-owned, whoever had this was super good to it. I turned it on, said "Secured by Knox" and Verizon shows on the screen, then it goes to Let's Go. I turned it back off, haven't set up yet. No SIM in it yet, no SD card. The SIM I have is AT&T, and is in my Windows Phone. The sticker on the phone said "unlocked." The IMEI is on the back and I saw somewhere that a provider can look it up and determine if it's unlocked. I think there are different flavors of "unlocked," right?" They can tell exactly how it's unlocked? I figure I may use AT&T to start, then probably go to Verizon.

 

[Commodus]

Just unboxed the S9 "renewed" from Amazon 3rd party seller, promised to be new condition and work fine. Gotta say, it looks new! Only scratches I can see on it are on the small fingerprint reader and they are minor, though unescapable. Assuming this is pre-owned, whoever had this was super good to it. I turned it on, said "Secured by Knox" and Verizon shows on the screen, then it goes to Let's Go. I turned it back off, haven't set up yet. No SIM in it yet, no SD card. The SIM I have is AT&T, and is in my Windows Phone. The sticker on the phone said "unlocked." The IMEI is on the back and I saw somewhere that a provider can look it up and determine if it's unlocked. I think there are different flavors of "unlocked," right?" They can tell exactly how it's unlocked? I figure I may use AT&T to start, then probably go to Verizon.

I wouldn't worry too much about the carrier you see in the boot animation. As for its unlocked status, generally if it's de-restricted at all it's completely unlocked and limited only by hardware. If it's unlocked, you might only need to pop your SIM in and get going... you'll know quickly if it works or not.

 

[Muse]

I wouldn't worry too much about the carrier you see in the boot animation. As for its unlocked status, generally if it's de-restricted at all it's completely unlocked and limited only by hardware. If it's unlocked, you might only need to pop your SIM in and get going... you'll know quickly if it works or not.

But do I need to get a Verizon SIM to know for sure it will work with Verizon? My only SIM is an AT&T SIM. I should know today if it will work with it, for AT&T of course. I'm going to pop it in and call my AT&T MVNO and see about setting it up.

Question: I have that Elite 128GB microSDXC card in my Windows phone that I bought off Amazon a few years ago. Can/should I test it in the S9? The Window phone? Or directly from a Windows laptop? I want to determine the feasiblity/advisability of using it in the S9. It's supposed to support speeds up to 75mbps.

Silicon Power 128GB up to 75MB/s MicroSDXC UHS-1 Class10, Elite Flash Memory Card with Adaptor (SP128GBSTXBU1V20SP)

 

[Commodus]

But do I need to get a Verizon SIM to know for sure it will work with Verizon? My only SIM is an AT&T SIM. I should know today if it will work with it, for AT&T of course. I'm going to pop it in and call my AT&T MVNO and see about setting it up.

Question: I have that Elite 128GB microSDXC card in my Windows phone that I bought off Amazon a few years ago. Can/should I test it in the S9? The Window phone? Or directly from a Windows laptop? I want to determine the feasiblity/advisability of using it in the S9. It's supposed to support speeds up to 75mbps.

Silicon Power 128GB up to 75MB/s MicroSDXC UHS-1 Class10, Elite Flash Memory Card with Adaptor (SP128GBSTXBU1V20SP)

It's a UHS-I card -- it should be fine! As for the SIM, I don't think you do at the moment.

 

[killster1]

But do I need to get a Verizon SIM to know for sure it will work with Verizon? My only SIM is an AT&T SIM. I should know today if it will work with it, for AT&T of course. I'm going to pop it in and call my AT&T MVNO and see about setting it up.

Question: I have that Elite 128GB microSDXC card in my Windows phone that I bought off Amazon a few years ago. Can/should I test it in the S9? The Window phone? Or directly from a Windows laptop? I want to determine the feasiblity/advisability of using it in the S9. It's supposed to support speeds up to 75mbps.

Silicon Power 128GB up to 75MB/s MicroSDXC UHS-1 Class10, Elite Flash Memory Card with Adaptor (SP128GBSTXBU1V20SP)

setting it up? it should work just putting it in, set it to global mode or to auto, it will autosetup everything for you. as far as verizon sim it should work just fine unless it is a gsm phone and the apn is locked, if it doesnt have a brand when booting like the tmobile or att icon at boot screen its good to go!

 

[Muse]

setting it up? it should work just putting it in, set it to global mode or to auto, it will autosetup everything for you. as far as verizon sim it should work just fine unless it is a gsm phone and the apn is locked, if it doesnt have a brand when booting like the tmobile or att icon at boot screen its good to go!

I called my AT&T provider, Airvoice, they looked up my IMEI and told me they couldn't tell me if my S9 supports CDMA. Eh, I called Redpocket... They confirmed CDMA & GSM!

I decided to go with Redpocket CDMA/Verizon (took that from you, @killster1!), their cheapest plan, $10/mo. They sent a SIM out to me this morning. I decided to skip using AT&T with the S9 and just go straight to Verizon. For one thing, I'm already paying $10/mo for AT&T through Airvoice Wireless. I do have $200 rollover minutes with Airvoice, so I'm losing that, and Redpocket apparently doesn't support rollovers from one month to the next, etc. But so what? I never used that anyway. I was always AFAIK, under their ceilings. Worse:

Airvoice's plan gave me 250 minutes talk plus 250 texts but data was ALWAYS extra AFAIK, 6.6 cents/mb!

Redpocket's $10 plan is for 500 minutes talk plus 500 texts and 500mb free. That's way better! No rollover, and evidently if you hit the 500mb limit data just shuts down. You can contact them if you need more data and for $2 get something, I don't know what. I can get on a $15 plan, $20, etc. if I find my needs increase = lots of data! I'm not gonna start talking for 500+ minutes or texting over 500 times!

 

[killster1]

I called my AT&T provider, Airvoice, they looked up my IMEI and told me they couldn't tell me if my S9 supports CDMA. Eh, I called Redpocket... They confirmed CDMA & GSM!

I decided to go with Redpocket CDMA/Verizon (took that from you, @killster1!), their cheapest plan, $10/mo. They sent a SIM out to me this morning. I decided to skip using AT&T with the S9 and just go straight to Verizon. For one thing, I'm already paying $10/mo for AT&T through Airvoice Wireless. I do have $200 rollover minutes with Airvoice, so I'm losing that, and Redpocket apparently doesn't support rollovers from one month to the next, etc. But so what? I never used that anyway. I was always AFAIK, under their ceilings. Worse:

Airvoice's plan gave me 250 minutes talk plus 250 texts but data was ALWAYS extra AFAIK, 6.6 cents/mb!

Redpocket's $10 plan is for 500 minutes talk plus 500 texts and 500mb free. That's way better! No rollover, and evidently if you hit the 500mb limit data just shuts down. You can contact them if you need more data and for $2 get something, I don't know what. I can get on a $15 plan, $20, etc. if I find my needs increase = lots of data! I'm not gonna start talking for 500+ minutes or texting over 500 times!

no its 60$ for a year not 10$ a month.. they have many different plans just buy on ebay and use a coupon or cashback if you can also.

 

[Muse]

no its 60$ for a year not 10$ a month.. they have many different plans just buy on ebay and use a coupon or cashback if you can also.

I already paid for a month at $10... and they sent me out a SIM today. I suppose I could get on a different plan with them after the 30 days. There's coupons out there? Cash back??? What's that/where?

The $60 plan is 100min + 100 texts + 500mb per month. That might actually work for me. Of course 5x the minutes for 2x the $$$ isn't terrible. But I think I saw that for $99/year in the ebay search, so that would be a little better.

$8.25/Mo Red Pocket Prepaid Wireless Phone Plan+Kit:1000 Talk Unlimited Text 1GB | eBay

1GB 1GB High Speed. UNLIMITED voice services are provided solely for live dialog between two individuals. Essential Plan. ESSENTIAL PLAN. Unlimited Texts. (view the FAQ below to learn how to choose your network).

www.ebay.com

 

[killster1]

I already paid for a month at $10... and they sent me out a SIM today. I suppose I could get on a different plan with them after the 30 days. There's coupons out there? Cash back??? What's that/where?

The $60 plan is 100min + 100 texts + 500mb per month. That might actually work for me. Of course 5x the minutes for 2x the $$$ isn't terrible. But I think I saw that for $99/year in the ebay search, so that would be a little better.

$8.25/Mo Red Pocket Prepaid Wireless Phone Plan+Kit:1000 Talk Unlimited Text 1GB | eBay

1GB 1GB High Speed. UNLIMITED voice services are provided solely for live dialog between two individuals. Essential Plan. ESSENTIAL PLAN. Unlimited Texts. (view the FAQ below to learn how to choose your network).

www.ebay.com

i pay 200 a year for the 5gb a month / unlimited talktxt but i have my kids use the 60$ a year plan for punishment this year! hahah they have sale prices often, ebay offers cashback, and ebay offers coupons (tho its been a while for 5-15% off)

 

[killster1]

the sale is happening now, think its just 10$ off usual price maybe 30$ off usual price. tempted to buy another but suppose to be activated within 90 days of purchase

$20.00/Mo Red Pocket Prepaid Plan: UnImtd Everything, GSMA 10GB(GSMT & CDMA 8GB) | eBay

( 10GB @ The Highest Speeds on GSMA 8GB on GSMT and CDMA ). One GSMA, GSMT, or CDMA high-speed SIM card. Yes it is! GSMT and CDMA get 8GB @ the highest speeds. You may also port in your existing phone number to a new device not currently active with the underlying carrier.

www.ebay.com

 

[Muse]

the sale is happening now, think its just 10$ off usual price maybe 30$ off usual price. tempted to buy another but suppose to be activated within 90 days of purchase

$20.00/Mo Red Pocket Prepaid Plan: UnImtd Everything, GSMA 10GB(GSMT & CDMA 8GB) | eBay

( 10GB @ The Highest Speeds on GSMA 8GB on GSMT and CDMA ). One GSMA, GSMT, or CDMA high-speed SIM card. Yes it is! GSMT and CDMA get 8GB @ the highest speeds. You may also port in your existing phone number to a new device not currently active with the underlying carrier.

www.ebay.com

Looks like a real good price. Don't know how I'm gonna use that kind of data. Good to know that's out there... thanks! Figure to get something off ebay at the end of my one month deal straight from Redpocket. I'm hoping my SIM will come in today's mail.

Edit: Um, why does it say UNLIMITED DATA when it says 5GB?

 

[killster1]

Looks like a real good price. Don't know how I'm gonna use that kind of data. Good to know that's out there... thanks! Figure to get something off ebay at the end of my one month deal straight from Redpocket. I'm hoping my SIM will come in today's mail.

well you can use gps while your traveling, anandtech forums while your bored waiting in lines, few youtube videos on travel tips / booking hotels posting facebook photos of your awesome vacation you are taking.. ;P thats about it for me.. oh and looking up menus' for takeout.. booking helicopter rides.

 

[sdifox]

Looks like a real good price. Don't know how I'm gonna use that kind of data. Good to know that's out there... thanks! Figure to get something off ebay at the end of my one month deal straight from Redpocket. I'm hoping my SIM will come in today's mail.

Edit: Um, why does it say UNLIMITED DATA when it says 5GB?

5gb at full speed, then drops to like edge speed.

 

[Muse]

well you can use gps while your traveling, anandtech forums while your bored waiting in lines, few youtube videos on travel tips / booking hotels posting facebook photos of your awesome vacation you are taking.. ;P thats about it for me.. oh and looking up menus' for takeout.. booking helicopter rides.

Does the S9 support GPS without using data? My Windows Phones did, at least the first one, and AFAIK all of them. "GPS while your traveling," so you're suggesting that internationally (i.e. outside the US) GPS uses data, am I right in that?

 

[killster1]

Does the S9 support GPS without using data? My Windows Phones did, at least the first one, and AFAIK all of them. "GPS while your traveling," so you're suggesting that internationally (i.e. outside the US) GPS uses data, am I right in that?

of course but yo umust download all the maps for offline mode and use them once a month to keep them active (or something like that) travelling like driving inside USA or outside of usa tho your verizon redpocket is not going to work anywhere else

i dont know that you even have 2g edge after the 5gb is gone, but 5gb is plenty (you can always buy 1gb more for 10$?) i almost never go over 5gb of data a month. (i predownload any kind of entertainment im going to be viewing or listening to)

 

[sdifox]

of course but yo umust download all the maps for offline mode and use them once a month to keep them active (or something like that) travelling like driving inside USA or outside of usa tho your verizon redpocket is not going to work anywhere else

i dont know that you even have 2g edge after the 5gb is gone, but 5gb is plenty (you can always buy 1gb more for 10$?) i almost never go over 5gb of data a month. (i predownload any kind of entertainment im going to be viewing or listening to)

Can't claim unlimited then print a cap. Mine is unlimited but drops from 3g to edge if I go over my limit. But I rarely do.

 

[killster1]

Can't claim unlimited then print a cap. Mine is unlimited but drops from 3g to edge if I go over my limit. But I rarely do.

hey you are right, they didnt used to do unlimited for verizon and would cap after the data but they changed the plan i guess ( i didnt even read my own link ) so yea 2g after the 5gb is cool can at least use it painfully slow.

 

[sdifox]

hey you are right, they didnt used to do unlimited for verizon and would cap after the data but they changed the plan i guess ( i didnt even read my own link ) so yea 2g after the 5gb is cool can at least use it painfully slow.

I have 6GB/month on 3G speed, I rarely go over and now that I am working from home, I rarely use mobile data.

 

[killster1]

I have 6GB/month on 3G speed, I rarely go over and now that I am working from home, I rarely use mobile data.

you dont go to the beach or out to have fun? what plan do you have that is 3g only? just a old phone? they always talk about no 3g in the future, verizon said in dec they will cancel it?

 

[sdifox]

you dont go to the beach or out to have fun? what plan do you have that is 3g only? just a old phone? they always talk about no 3g in the future, verizon said in dec they will cancel it?

I am in Canada xd

I don't care to pay more for higher speed. I tend to just visit website when I am out and about anyway.

 

[Muse]

Ordered a Sandisk Extreme 256GB microSDXC card from B&H Foto yesterday:

sandisk extreme 256gb | B&H Photo Video

Shop B&H's in stock, large inventory for fast shipping, great service and everyday low prices on sandisk extreme 256gb. For more info, please call 800-947-4415

www.bhphotovideo.com

Tested my one 128GB microSD card and it was disappointing. Please tell me if this isn't a good test method. I saw a video of a guy demonstrating testing a couple of SD card to see if they are real or fake:

He used a utiity I've used before, but for flash drives: hwtest2.exe ver. 1.4. I already had it on my system. AFAIK, you don't install this thing, you just run the EXE on your PC.

Well, the 128GB card said read speeds up to 75mb/s on the packaging, no mention of write speeds. It was in my Alcatel Idol 4S Windows Phone. I copied all its data to my NAS, did a quick format and put it in an adapter and into this laptop.

Yesterday I run hwtest2.exe on the card and the write speed was maxing out at around 17mbps, which I figure kind of sucks, at least if I want to write video to it. I'm sure 4K video would be impossible with it.

So, I looked up the spec of the S9 and it says:

First, Samsung added support for up to 400 GB of expandable storage on the Galaxy S9. Beyond that, the S9 supports all the latest SD card specs, including class 10, the new U3 UHS speed class, and read/write speeds of up to 100 MB/s and 90 MB/s, respectively.Mar 6, 2018

I shopped Sandisk. The 400gb Extreme, the 256gb Extreme. Took a close look at Newegg. Best prices, but they are through a 3rd party, 3C Experts. I'm hesitant to get a card through an unknown 3rd party source. Neweggs info is that they "generally" warrant 3rd party sourced items, but that looks iffy!

Adorama I don't really know about. Best buy had SOLD OUT going on, IIRC.

B&H Foto, doesn't have the best prices, but not terrible. They are selling the 400GB for $81. I picked up the 256GB for $50. These Sandisk Extreme cards are touted as 160mbps read/90mbps write, which is up to the 100mbps read/90mbps write spec of the S9. I figure I might get 1/2 decent 4K video with it, at least at moderate res ???

One reviewer at B&H said you can rely on their SD cards to not be fake. You bet, I will test it! Probably with hwtest2.exe.

 

[killster1]

Ordered a Sandisk Extreme 256GB microSDXC card from B&H Foto yesterday:

sandisk extreme 256gb | B&H Photo Video

Shop B&H's in stock, large inventory for fast shipping, great service and everyday low prices on sandisk extreme 256gb. For more info, please call 800-947-4415

www.bhphotovideo.com

Tested my one 128GB microSD card and it was disappointing. Please tell me if this isn't a good test method. I saw a video of a guy demonstrating testing a couple of SD card to see if they are real or fake:

He used a utiity I've used before, but for flash drives: hwtest2.exe ver. 1.4. I already had it on my system. AFAIK, you don't install this thing, you just run the EXE on your PC.

Well, the 128GB card said read speeds up to 75mb/s on the packaging, no mention of write speeds. It was in my Alcatel Idol 4S Windows Phone. I copied all its data to my NAS, did a quick format and put it in an adapter and into this laptop.

Yesterday I run hwtest2.exe on the card and the write speed was maxing out at around 17mbps, which I figure kind of sucks, at least if I want to write video to it. I'm sure 4K video would be impossible with it.

So, I looked up the spec of the S9 and it says:



I shopped Sandisk. The 400gb Extreme, the 256gb Extreme. Took a close look at Newegg. Best prices, but they are through a 3rd party, 3C Experts. I'm hesitant to get a card through an unknown 3rd party source. Neweggs info is that they "generally" warrant 3rd party sourced items, but that looks iffy!

Adorama I don't really know about. Best buy had SOLD OUT going on, IIRC.

B&H Foto, doesn't have the best prices, but not terrible. They are selling the 400GB for $81. I picked up the 256GB for $50. These Sandisk Extreme cards are touted as 160mbps read/90mbps write, which is up to the 100mbps read/90mbps write spec of the S9. I figure I might get 1/2 decent 4K video with it, at least at moderate res ???

One reviewer at B&H said you can rely on their SD cards to not be fake. You bet, I will test it! Probably with hwtest2.exe.

Funny, I purchase a lot of the evo select Samsung cards from Amazon, 512gb for 83$ (ur phone will take up to 2tb SD if they will ever have them that size) it only said 400gb because that is the size when phone released. I have used a 512gb in the s9 no problem. Also bandh photo doesn't sell fake cards but u can always test if you like. 17mb sounds like the memory card readers fault not the card.

 

[Muse]

Funny, I purchase a lot of the evo select Samsung cards from Amazon, 512gb for 83$ (ur phone will take up to 2tb SD if they will ever have them that size) it only said 400gb because that is the size when phone released. I have used a 512gb in the s9 no problem. Also bandh photo doesn't sell fake cards but u can always test if you like. 17mb sounds like the memory card readers fault not the card.

Good info, thanks. 2TB! OMG. Well, how did you like those eveo select Samsung cards? Do they use the potential of the S9? Maybe I can upgrade before they ship me...

I tested on this Lenovo P1, which is pretty high end laptop from around 2 years ago. I put the card in an adapter and into the memory card slot in the Lenovo. Wouldn't that support the highest speeds? Will see how the Lenovo does with the card I'm getting soon, should be must faster. In think this is what you got:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MicroSDXC-Adapter-MB-ME512GA-AM/dp/B07MKSGZM6/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1UJ1T5IWXRUM4&dchild=1&keywords=samsung+evo+512gb+micro+sd&qid=1590422623&sprefix=samsung+evo+512gb%2Caps%2C274&sr=8-3

 

[Muse]

Some reviews (from 2019) of that Samsung 512GB card at Amazon said they got fakes. I think I'll just stick with the B&H order.

 

[killster1]

Some reviews (from 2019) of that Samsung 512GB card at Amazon said they got fakes. I think I'll just stick with the B&H order.

Of course I like them that's why I own at least 20 of them (128gb to 512gb varieties) every device i have uses one from sound bars to drones i use a pro class in my dash cameras. I've never got a fake and I test each card. Right now is not the best time for a great deal on cards so u can aways upgrade later