I picked this phone from Backmarket for 70 USD. I cleaned it up and started debloating and slightly degoogling it. The bootloader is locked unfortunately, but you can debug this phone.
It runs very smooth for being 7 years old and running on Android 11 (upgraded from Android 9).
Wifi calling and texting from Delta chat works, i even tried the video calling and suprisingly, it worked really well too. Now i just gotta try out the data.
- Apps being used: (everything except from Trip Plans and Grab are downloaded from Droid-ify)
- Trip Plans: this is the app i gotta use to communicate with my group on my trip. This and Grab are the only “Google” apps on here.
- Grab: Southeast Asia version of Uber
- Mucke: Music Player
- Episteme: Book/PDF reader
- Ciphernotes: Note taking app
- Etar: Calander
- NFC Alarm Clock: setting alarms and timers
- Binary Eye: app to read bar codes and QR codes
- BlockAds: ad and tracker blocker
- GeauxWeather: Weather App
- Cache Cleaner: (not located on screen) this app helps clean out all cache in your system and user apps. Can also be set to remove and delete data.
- Keyboard: AnySoftKeyboard
- Browser: Ironfox
- Ripple( not located on screen) a app to trigger an action to protect privacy, depending on what app it is. Some apps hide/disguise or delete data, etc.
Im going to be using Delta chat for my phone calls and texts, which dosent use a phone number and its not tied to a carrier. Im not going to be using a phone number unless its for emergenices. (Ill be getting a temporary number when buying a physical sim card).
The radio and the band compatibility (2G/3G/4G) has nothing to do with each other, they use two completely different sets of frequencies. I have also checked and this phone would 100% work to where im going when getting an international sim card.
… you do know that mobile data uses radio frequencies?
Yes, i know. My tired ass was talking about the radio (the one you listen to music and the news) and mobile data.
I’m really trying to be super nice here so please give me the benefit of the doubt and read this post in the kindliest voice you can:
The generation of data transmission standard supported is separate from the band of radio frequencies which are allowed in a given jurisdiction. You can do 4g lte for example over several different swaths of the spectrum with no problem as long as the devices are all talking on the same frequencies.
Not all phones allow for transmission across all frequencies. This means that a phone could have a radio chipset that’s band limited in such a way that it can’t function in a different country where the electromagnetic spectrum is portioned up differently.
When I say radio here I’m talking about transmission of data in the range of frequencies used by mobile phone wireless carriers.
I’m, again, trying to be kind and helpful here: if you haven’t already, it may behove you to directly contact the company you intend to buy a sim from (or purchase an eSIM from) and verify by checking your device’s imei or serial that it is 100% compatible with the radio spectrum used for cellular data transmission in your destination.
Manufacturers use the same model number with different radio capabilities or even radio chips all the time.
And like i said, in the last sentence, i have already checked. It is compatible.
Because you bought your phone in the USA, and because “international” phones are not sold by USA carriers because that is how manufacturers create separate markets for smartphones and connected devices, you are very unlikely to have a phone that can work at all in Asia, Australia, half of Europe, South America, and Africa. There are even some incompatible bands between Canada and USA.
What people are trying to tell you is that unless you bought an explicitly “international” smartphone, your phone will be locked at the baseband level, meaning it won’t connect in the above mentions regions over LTE.
That means you’ll be likely restricted to WiFi only in those areas.
US phone users in the US dont have to buy international phones just because someone is visiting outside of the country.
They do work overseas; if you buy the right phone plan. Most of us use the option to buy an international plan from a carrier (Verizon, Tmobile, AT&T).
I can also get a local sim or buy an international esim/sim for data. Wifi would only be for calling. We do have options, we just gotta pay attention to what we pick depending on what we are trying to do outside of the country and what the phone is.
This is annoying, you don’t seem to understand what you’re being told.
Again, the SIM only grants token access, it has nothing to do with your phone’s localization. Your equipment needs to conform to local standards, and your LTE radio is likely locked to certain channels. For example:
These are the LTE bands for North America.
These are the LTE bands used in Asia.
They aren’t the same. If your phone is baseband-locked to the USA, you aren’t getting on certain LTE networks no matter what esim or SIM you have.
I hope you encounter no problems.