HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Apple Releases iOS 15.6.1 Download for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Apple Targets Sept. 7 for iPhone 14 Launch in Flurry of Devices

Moto X30 Pro debuts as the world’s first smartphone with a 200MP camera

Android could go 64-bit only in 2023, starting with the Pixel tablet

Fitbit Charge 5 owners struggled to sync devices during widespread outage

From The Forums:

Visible Plans Changing; No Party Pay On New Plans

Did TracFone sell me a refurb when I paid for new?

How do i force google voice to call even if bad connection?

Google Fi compatibility with Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro dual-sim unlocked?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Here’s When Your Samsung Galaxy Will Get Android 13 (One UI 5)

Apple Plans More Ads to Maps, Books, Podcasts, and Even Apple TV+: Report

Florida airline worker arrested after AirTag reveals he stole thousands of dollars worth of luggage

How to Comment to the CRTC on Telus Charging a 1.5% Credit Card Fee

Credit card processing fees are coming for more than just your phone bill

From The Forums:

Please help with Port-in to Tracfone

Looking for advice on buying new phone

Verizon says it will have the best 5G network by EOY 2024

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet - first impressions

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Android 13 arrives for Pixel phones starting today

Here’s the Android 13 Pixel update changelog with 150 fixes

Google's Pixel 6 Pro Gets Huge Discount Before Pixel 7 Launch

Snapchat’s paid subscription is already a hit

Messaging app Signal says a third-party data breach resulted in 1,900 user numbers being exposed

From The Forums:

Question about the mechanics of Porting a number

Ultramobile Site Issues?

Thinking about purchasing S20 Ultra 5G

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Montblanc Summit 3, the second Wear OS 3 watch, doesn’t have Google Assistant

Fitbit app readies Pixel Watch support, seemingly confirms battery life

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro first look: Samsung goes outdoors before Apple

Rogers, Shaw finalize deal to sell Freedom Mobile in hopes of securing merger

Top 10 trending phones of week 32

From The Forums:

need t-mobile SIM for ALCATEL ONE TOUCH Pixi Charm A450TL

Is Iphone 12 a decent phon?

(Rant) I Guess T-Mobile Doesn't Want New Customers

Screen Protectors Still Needed?

Android update

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, August 8th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, August 9th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, August 10th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, August 11th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, August 12th, 2022

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 78 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

So It's True That The Cell Phone Industry Sucks After All

Congrats once again to Clueless Guy for starting our one hundred and thirty-sixth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a monthlong Premium Membership on us. Benefits include ad-free browsing, increased private message count, access to a subscriber-only forum, extra attachment space, a referral/affiliate signature link, the ability to post referrals, and a custom avatar and user title!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung believes foldable phones will outgrow the Galaxy S series in the next three years

Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 announced with sleek design and Leica optics

Nothing Phone 1 brightness rating dropped by 40% while no one was looking

Bell and Telus 5G Speeds are the Fastest in Canada, 39% Faster than Rogers: Opensignal

Competition Won’t Fix Canada’s Telecom Woes

From The Forums:

iphone 11 refurb available at TF

Do I need a 5G phone?

Call records no longer work

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Hands-on: The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Flip 4 are all about addressing the biggest flaws

Official infographics summarize the best Galaxy Z Fllip4, Z Fold4, Watch5 and Buds2 Pro features

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and 5 Pro hands-on: A gem of an upgrade

It's time for the era of big smartwatches

Motorola Razr 2022 arrives with flagship chipset, improved 6.7” foldable OLED

From The Forums:

Combine Balance Nightmare

Any decent smaller budget phones out there for At&t Prepaid or their MVNOs?

Is it normal to be given a phone number from out of state when activating a line?

What is TracFone's Porting Department Telephone # and extension?

Vodafone UK problems roaming in USA?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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Hot off the presses, here are Samsung's foldable phones for 2022:



Z Fold 4
7.6" 1276 x 1812 pixel OLED internal display @ 120Hz
6.2" 2316 x 904 pixel OLED external display @ 120Hz
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor
12 GB RAM / 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage
50 MP wide, 12 MP ultrawide & 10 MP telephoto cameras
10 MP hole-punch & 4 MP under-display selfie cams
4,400mAh battery
Side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor
Colours: Beige, Burgundy, Graygreen & Phantom Black colourways
Price: from $1,799 USD / $2,269 CA



Z Flip 4
6.7" 2640 x 1080 pixel OLED internal display @ 120Hz
1.9" 260 x 512 pixel OLED external display
Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor
8 GB RAM / 128, 256, or 512 GB storage
12 MP wide & 12 MP ultrawide cameras
10 MP hole-punch selfie cam
3,700mAh battery
Side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor
Colours: Blue, Bora Purple, Graphite & Pink Gold,
Price: from $999 USD / $1,259 CAD

Both devices can be preordered today for fulfillment on Friday, August 26th.

Sources: Android Police, Mobile Syrup (1) (2), Samsung Canada

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Here’s where to watch Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2022 launch event for Galaxy Z Fold 4, Flip 4, more

Google starts ‘Get The Message’ campaign to pressure Apple into RCS on the iPhone

iPhone 14 could be delayed due to growing China-Taiwan tension

iOS 16: How to Display iPhone Battery Percentage in Status Bar

Telus to Charge Fee for Credit Card Payments, to ‘Recover’ Processing Costs

From The Forums:

Moto G7 vs G Power vs G power II???

Is there a way to set alerts when text balance is low?

DWR-961 (US Cellular)... SIM Locked...?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

OnePlus 10T review: call it a comeback

Oppo and OnePlus halt phone sales in Germany following Nokia lawsuit

Proprietary USB-C fast charging was once a necessary evil, now it's just evil

What's the difference between 5G, 5G UW, 5G E, and 5G Plus?

Flashback: two decades of fingerprint readers on mobile devices

From The Forums:

Simple Mobile iPhone TF-Verizon SIM

Any flip phones without external buttons

iPhone Unlock

What is quickest & least-expensive way to add a little more time Tracfone

3G Home Phone: All circuits are busy, can't connect…

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

We live in notification hell

Following debacle, DuckDuckGo blocks Microsoft web trackers more often and opens up about blocklist

Tim Hortons Offers a Free Coffee and Pastry for Spying on People for Over a Year

T-Mobile agrees to pay $500 million in class-action settlement for 2021 data breach

Top 10 trending phones of week 31

From The Forums:

So It's True That The Cell Phone Industry Sucks After All

Should I Buy An Unlocked Phone?

change phones

Sell me on Cricket!

Is the 100GB plan truly unlimited?

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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No new briefings or threads of the week from yours truly for the next two weeks, due to a summer road trip across Atlantic Canada — including, I hope, a pilgrimmage to Signal Hill, where the world's first transatlantic wireless transmission was received in 1901.

Business as usual should resume on Monday, August 8th. Happy Simcoe Day to my fellow Torontonians!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, July 18th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, July 19th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, July 20th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, July 21st, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, July 22nd, 2022

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 81 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Novice Seeking Advice On Carriers

Congrats to Clueless Guy for starting our one hundred and thirty-fifth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a monthlong Premium Membership on us. Benefits include ad-free browsing, increased private message count, access to a subscriber-only forum, extra attachment space, a referral/affiliate signature link, the ability to post referrals, and a custom avatar and user title!

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

From The Web:

Google Pixel 6A review: midrange parts, Tensor smarts

Rogers Replaces Chief Technology Officer After Nationwide Outage

Fitbit Luxe is the latest fitness tracker to get 'Find phone' feature

Google gaffes: 9 branding misfires from the smartest company around

Why Doesn't Anyone Answer the Phone Anymore?

From The Forums:

Website down - apparently for days.

MMS group messaging

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

From The Web:

Apple releases new versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS

Google opens Pixel 6a pre-orders in 13 different markets

Flashback: a decade of mini phones

Samsung Galaxy A24, A34, and A54 to launch without depth sensing cameras

Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7 review

From The Forums:

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G - info / discussion thread

T-Mobile reigns supreme in Ookla’s Q2 5G network report

Bell 5G speed tests!

Last day on my long long run $100 5 lines 10GB plan

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Nothing Phone 1 review: something else

Samsung cancels Galaxy S22 FE to boost S22 Ultra supply

iPhone 14 Supply Issues to Have ‘Limited Impact’ on Production Says Kuo

Nova Launcher has been acquired by analytics company Branch

Popular Android launcher, Lawnchair, takes code from Pixel Launcher, not just features

From The Forums:

One year add-on

iPhone AND Apple Watch from to T-Mobile

T-Mo vs AT&T in 2022

Long (visual) voicemail delays

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

From The Web:

Samsung confirms August 10th Unpacked event date with ‘cryptic’ puzzle

Pixel 6a now on Amazon ahead of pre-order with erroneous wireless charging spec

Fitbit updates Charge 5 with handy ‘Find Phone’ feature

Verizon is rolling out faster 5G in more places, but you’ll have to guess where

Canadian Snapchat+ subscribers can now access Snapchat on the web

From The Forums:

Tracfone added credit card information into my account behind my back

Unable to make calls on Verizon SIM

Safelink renew eligibility confused - Can any veteran safelink customers help?

Purchased Phones Automatically Added as New Lines (WRONG!)

Thinking of switching to AT&T

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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From The Web:

Samsung's new AI-enhanced editing app is here to fix your blurry photos

Samsung has teamed up with Starbucks for limited-edition Galaxy S22 cases

Samsung Galaxy A23 5G passes through FCC, 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging confirmed

U.S. needs $3 billion more to remove Huawei, ZTE from U.S. networks, regulator says

Top 10 trending phones of week 28

From The Forums:

Novice Seeking Advice On Carriers

potential class action suit against tracfone

Verizon Testing New Tethering Detection, Making False Positives

iPhone SE 2nd gen does not automatically connect to known wifi

Porting 55plus number out.

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Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
---------

It's time for a new thread of the week, our way of recognizing forum members for promoting valuable discussion here.

Every weekday yours truly posts a morning briefing, including the most popular forum threads—that is, the posts with the most replies—for the previous 24 hour period. For reference, here are the briefings for the past seven days:

Your Morning Briefing for Monday, July 11th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, July 12th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, July 13th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, July 14th, 2022
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, July 15th, 2022

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so all weekend posts are similarly eligible.

In each briefing, forum posts are ranked by the number of replies (from highest to lowest). That's subject to change, of course, so I did a quick recount of replies for all forum posts in the briefings above. With 28 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

T-Mobile Open Signal Study Results

Congrats to daleraver for starting our one hundred and thirty-fourth thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a monthlong Premium Membership on us. Benefits include ad-free browsing, increased private message count, access to a subscriber-only forum, extra attachment space, a referral/affiliate signature link, the ability to post referrals, and a custom avatar and user title!

---------
Andrew Currie has been blogging about mobile phones since 2001, smartphones (depending on how you define them) since 2002 and smartwatches since 2014.
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