HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Qualcomm’s new always-on smartphone camera is a privacy nightmare

I’d rather have Qualcomm’s always-on camera than not

These are the best smartwatches for Android

Apple Awards 15 of the Best Apps and Games its ‘App Store Award’ for 2021

Apple may have a problem with iPhone demand as well as supply

From The Forums:

HSN bundle unlocked - but how do I check?

Lycamobile US SIM in India

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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:

Snapdragon Sight: Qualcomm's new 18-bit ISP is made for the 108MP, 8K future

Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon 8 Gen 1: Flagship SoC for 2022 Devices

Samsung One UI 4 review: It's the (very) little things

Wearable tech in numbers: The stats behind the devices

Flashback: Toshiba TG01, the first smartphone to hit 1GHz is now mostly forgotten

From The Forums:

Tracfone Order Forkup

New 5g phone, questions

How to Stop ATT Notifications About Payment

Pixel 2 XL and no data

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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:

Google Play Store names best Android apps and games of 2021

Many T-Mobile customers report they can’t call Verizon, AT&T, or other T-Mobile numbers

Bell, Telus Seek Taxpayer Compensation if Huawei Gear Needs Removal: Report

​Huawei Watch D with blood pressure set for December release

The 5 Best and 5 Worst Things About Xiaomi Smartphones

From The Forums:

New Google Voice Number with Whatsapp?

How long can I wait before activating a HSN bundle

Cheapest smartphone plan

FreeUP Mobile silent on AT&T migration

Samsung s21+ Ultra update A12 battery dies and hard to charge up

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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, November 22nd, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, November 23rd, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, November 24th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, November 25th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, November 26th, 2021

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 49 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Refurbished Tracfones?

Congrats to drooper for starting our one hundred and third 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:

Top 10 trending phones of week 47

Online spending on Black Friday decreased for the very first time

Apple Becomes No. 1 Phone Brand in China for First Time in 6 Years

Galaxy Note is dead; Samsung reportedly ending production on Note 20, no plans for 2022 model

Garmin vs Fitbit: Trackers, watches and features compared

From The Forums:

Cheapest international calling rate to Philippines from USA

Is anyone else’s gUDP appearing as a 4GB plan in the My Verizon app?

How long does it take to ship a Tracfone?

is it possible to use Tracfone(Verizon SIM) to send a text from the US to a foreign mobile number?

How to switch to 8GB annual 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:

The best Black Friday 2021 phone deals

The best Black Friday Android phone deals

The best Black Friday deals on smartwatches and fitness trackers

Here are the best Black Friday deals in Canada so far

Amazon Canada Black Friday 2021 Deals Now Live

From The Forums:

Refurbished Tracfones?

Just got the Nokia G300 on TracFone

T-Mobile can no longer call itself America’s most reliable 5G network

Legacy Sprint customer migration considerations

Off Topic... Happy Thanksgiving!

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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:

Apple Warns Activists They Are Being Watched by Spyware

T-Mobile to pay $20M after outage led to failed 911 calls

T-Mobile can no longer call itself America’s most reliable 5G network

Verizon and AT&T offer to temporarily lower 5G’s power to avoid aircraft interference

Telus Urges CRTC to Block Rogers-Shaw Deal, Merger Would Reduce Competition

From The Forums:

Full power C-band use delayed until July 6th

Looking for hard-shell case for Galaxy A51

Can a $40.00 annual 1200 sim be used to unlock a new Tracfone phone?

Can't Add Device To Account

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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:

Google explains why the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro charge so slowly

You can now buy Asus' latest ROG gaming phones in the US

Samsung adds Pro Mode support for Galaxy S21 Ultra telephoto camera via Expert RAW app

These are the best Android smartphones [Late 2021]

Apple reportedly switching to its own iPhone modem design in 2023

From The Forums:

Does Galaxy A51 or any other TF branded phone run Android 11?

Strange behavior porting to AT&T Prepaid

am I allowed to move Tracfone/Verizon SIM card from one unlocked iPhone to another unlocked iPhone?

lost service on VZW boyd sim

New phone battery capacity less than specs.

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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:

Motorola Edge 30 Ultra, Moto G Stylus 2022 5G and Moto 'Austin' renders leak

Samsung set to announce new $17 billion advanced chip plant in Texas

Apple Cedes 10% of Smartwatch Market Share to Samsung in Q3 2021

FCC approves $6 billion Verizon-Tracfone acquisition

First day of CRTC hearing on Rogers-Shaw merger emphasizes need for expansion to serve Canadians

From The Forums:

Verizon applauds FCC approval of Tracfone Acquisition

Verizon officially owns Tracphone

Help Picking Unlocked Phone

Someone Managed To Use 95 TB Of T-Mobile Home Internet Data In A Single Month

New iPhone 13 - Getting Not voLTE Compatible Message from Tracfone

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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, November 15th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, November 16th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, November 17th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, November 18th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, November 19th, 2021

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 45 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

I need help as I don't understand

Congrats to boomer92266 for starting our one hundred and second 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.
---------

From The Web:

Google Pixel 6a renders reveal Pixel 6-like design, no headphone jack

Samsung Galaxy S22: Everything we know so far about Samsung's 2022 flagships

Android Messages update handles Apple iMessage reactions properly

Top 10 trending phones of week 46

These are the loudest phones of the year

From The Forums:

Page Plus Cellular TF phone Questions

Coverage in Puerto Rico

Moto E4 No Cellular Service/No Cellular Data

Sprint to T-Mobile sims Phone are not able to move to T-Mobile?

White list just an extortion plan to get you to buy THEIR phones?

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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:

Spotify launches lyrics feature globally for free and paying users

Motorola Moto G Pure review: an easy bargain

The Moto G200 5G sports flagship specs for a mid-range price

Should you clear your app cache on Android?

Android 12: The Ars Technica Review

From The Forums:

Recommendations for 1GB data unlimited talk and text

Questions about terms of service

can I use the $49 365-day 3gb Tracfone SIM card in my iPad?

How ipad helped locate plane crash?

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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:

iFixit Lauds Apple's New Self Service Repair Program, Calls It a 'Remarkable Concession'

Apple’s AirPods (2nd Gen) Just Dropped to $128 (CAD), Save 28% Off

Freedom Mobile include big discounts on iPhones and Pixel 6

The best Android phones in 2021

Motorola Moto G Power (2022) announced with 50MP camera and Helio G37

From The Forums:

Text 'Transfer' to code 611611 Questions

Sim Swapping Article

Redpocket - GSMA - International calls vs Lycamobile

VZW Business / Google Store purchase

T-Mobile aims for 300M by 2023 with 2.5 GHz

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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:

Moto Watch 100 gets official with $99.99 price tag, all-new Moto OS with 2-week battery life

Motorola teases a Snapdragon 888 Plus-powered smartphone

Surprise Google Pixel 6 system update seems to improve the fingerprint scanner

Linux Smartphone News Roundup: PinePhone Keyboard, PinePhone eMMC speed hack, and more

Let’s chat about RCS

From The Forums:

Why is Verizon Always Number-One?

Mint Black Friday offering, likely to be better?

Do I need to replace ancient SIM when moving to 4G?

Smart phone to Alcatel My Flip 2

Need advice on unlocking

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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 12 is now available on these devices, with more coming soon

The best Magic Eraser alternatives if you don't have a Pixel 6

T-Mobile hits its goal of 200 million covered by ‘ultra capacity’ 5G a few weeks early

CRTC to Proceed with Rogers-Shaw Hearing, Denies Requests for Delay

Canada has no choice but to bar Huawei from 5G mobile networks, security experts say

From The Forums:

Help Choosing a Carrier and Plan

VoLTE Compatibility of MotoE XT2052DL with Tracfone/AT&T SIM

Switch SIM between phones

Will the AT&T Samsung Galaxy A02 work on Consumer Cellular?

---------
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, November 8th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, November 9th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, November 10th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, November 11th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, November 12th, 2021

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 41 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

ATT BYOP triple minutes

Congrats to cwshop for starting our one hundred and first 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.
---------

From The Web:

Top 10 trending phones of week 45

Xiaomi to launch Redmi Note 11 series globally in Q1 2022 with Snapdragon chips

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE fully revealed thanks to leaked marketing materials

Huawei has a new plan in the works to sidestep US sanctions

Moto Watch 100 specs leak ahead of imminent launch

From The Forums:

I need help as I don't understand

What generation of wireless (to date) had the most complete blanket of coverage?

The carriers' mobile apps - to stay logged-in or to log-out each session?

What happens when they drop 3G

Int’l Data Roaming - Cellular Watch

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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:

Google Fit ‘early access’ testing camera-powered heart rate, respiratory tracking on Pixel 6

Pixels don't run 'stock Android' and Google needs to give its software skin a public name

Apple’s unexciting 2021 Mac and iPhone software prove it should take a break from annual OS updates

This is how much your used Android phone will sell for in 2021

Samsung Mocks Apple, Offers Cleaning Cloth that’s 50% Larger–and Free

From The Forums:

Red Pocket Flash Sale

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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 Galaxy S21 FE hits Geekbench with Exynos 2100

Google accidentally sends Verizon-only Android 12 build to some users worldwide

Google worked on face unlock for the Pixel 6 duo, but it missed the deadline

OnePlus' special Nord 2 Pac-Man Edition comes with a glowing back and some software tricks

Google celebrates Veterans Day with Doodle honoring the diversity of service members’ civilian lives

From The Forums:

Unlocking Tracfone Samsung A51 (S515DL)

TF Alcatel Zip A576BL GSM/AT&T Phone Questions

Convert RedPocket Sim to eSim?

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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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