(T-Mobile) LG G6 or unlocked Galaxy S7?

[midnight growler]

I'm on T-Mobile I've had my eye on getting a new Galaxy S7. Even though I could afford the S9, I just don't use a phone that much to justify spending $250 more for it ($480 vs $720). I'm on a good prepaid plan, so I can't finance.

My problem is that I probably waited too long and now the S7 is out of stock on T-Mobile. The rep recommended the LG G6 as a comparable phone. However, Best Buy has an unlocked S7 and I'm wondering which would be the better choice.

The largest caveat is that I need wifi calling. I live in a valley and most of the time, can't get a working signal without it. I know it would work on the G6 since it comes from T-Mobile, but I'm not sure about it working on an unlocked version without T-Mobile's software.

The G6 has two camera lens, one does widescreen shots. I sometimes do photography outside so maybe the G6 is better.

The other choice is between Samsung Pay vs Android Pay. Samsung uses technology to mimic a magnetic swipe, so it can be used it places that don't have NFC payments like Android Pay set up. Seems like the S7 wins there, especially when so many places here don't even have their microchip readers working yet.

$550 for the G6 at T-Mobile vs $470 for the S7 Unlocked at Best Buy.

Am I missing anything / Blowing anything out of proportion?

 

[lopri]

WiFi calling is not guaranteed on unlocked phones. Go with the G6. Or wait a bit for Snapdragon 835 phones to drop in prices now that Snapdragon 845 phones are released. Battery life is A LOT better on S835 than on S821.

 

[lsd]

I'd pick up a used S8 plus for the price of that S7. The s8 plus is a huge upgrade over the S7e and you can find mint condition S8's on swappa or ebay.

 

[Red Storm]

I'd pick up a used S8 plus for the price of that S7. The s8 plus is a huge upgrade over the S7e and you can find mint condition S8's on swappa or ebay.

This.

 

[midnight growler]

I've thought about that, but I'm probably going to have this phone for a few years and I'm not sure if the non-replaceable battery life on a used phone is worth the lower price.

 

[lsd]

Trust me it is worth it. I went from a s7e to s8+ and back to a s7 while I waited for my s9+ to arrive. The difference is dramatic and well worth the price difference. The s8+ battery is suppose to wear slower than the s7's battery. Or if you want you can find a new s8+ in the $500+ range on ebay.

 

[Raduque]

Wifi calling works fine on the US Unlocked S7e on T-Mobile.

 

[spdfreak]

I picked up a 2 mo old G6 (Verizon) on ebay for less that 250.00. They are probably the best deal in used flagship phones right now. There are usually plenty of carrier specific phones and T-Mobile seems to be some of the cheaper ones. Also look at the V20 if size is not an issue. They are really cheap and have good cameras and media features.

 

[killster1]

s7 on ebay for 140ish! crazy to spend 400

 

[midnight growler]

I decided to bite the bullet and got a new S8, and with it, a slew of problems. Half the time, wifi calling doesn't work even at home.

When I'm away from home, I still can't make a call with a regular connection.

My old S3 seemed to work fine in the same areas. I've already replaced the sim card once on the S8. I'm wondering if the phone itself has a problem, I've got one more day to return it and I'm seriously considering it.

What could be causing this? The phone, T-Mobile's network or do I just have the settings messed up?

 

[PliotronX]

I decided to bite the bullet and got a new S8, and with it, a slew of problems. Half the time, wifi calling doesn't work even at home.

When I'm away from home, I still can't make a call with a regular connection.

My old S3 seemed to work fine in the same areas. I've already replaced the sim card once on the S8. I'm wondering if the phone itself has a problem, I've got one more day to return it and I'm seriously considering it.

What could be causing this? The phone, T-Mobile's network or do I just have the settings messed up?

Is it showing any activity on band 12?

 

[ZGR]

Sounds like messed up settings. I had to properly configure my exynos Note 4 to accept all AT&T bands. Your local T Mobile store should do it for you.

 

[midnight growler]

Too late, I returned it. Back with the old S3 until I decide on the next step:

New unlocked S7
Used S7 from Swappa (+price, -battery life, -slight chance of a suddenly-blacklisted phone)
New J7 (+price, +money to spend elsewhere, -everything else)