HoFo Blog

From The Web:

US phone carriers make empty, unenforceable promises to fight robocalls

Apple releasing iOS 12.4.1, likely includes jailbreak vulnerability fix

DPReview Reviews Latest iPad Pro From a Photographer’s Perspective

Fairphone updates its ethical smartphone for 2019

Uh-oh: Silicon Valley is building a Chinese-style social credit system

From The Forums:

Moto G7 power international

iPhone and TracFone?

Total Wireless.... LTE gone. 3G only.

Nationwide T&T old account

My own phone number was spoofed, even after Stir Shaken was implemented

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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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Here's the latest collab between Twitter leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer and Indian tech blog Pricebaba: the OnePlus 7T, due for an official unveiling in India on Thursday, September 26th.

Like the current non-pro OnePlus 7 it has a teardrop notch on its front display instead of a pop-up selfie cam; like the current OnePlus 7 Pro it also has three camera lenses on the back. A Snapdragon 855 processor and FHD+ Optic AMOLED display are also expected.

No confirmation of a OnePlus 7T Pro just yet but everyone seems to think it will happen, along with a McLaren “Senna” Edition—which means there might be up to three phones upstaging the first OnePlus-branded TV.

For more unofficial renders see the first link immediately below.

Source: Pricebaba via XDA

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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 10? Google is trying to grow up and it's really, really hard

Samsung, be better and hire better people

Don't just buy any 45W+ PD charger for your Samsung Galaxy Note10+

Oregon becomes the 16th state to oppose Sprint/T-Mobile merger

1% of US smartphone buyers think headphone jack is top-three feature

From The Forums:

No VoLTE calling and no 3g network

Moto G6 with promotional minutes for $130 at HSN

Samsung Galaxy S7 Unlocked (sm-g930u) vs T-Mobile (sm-g930T)

How ATT prepaid works?

Is there a more cost effective way to get onto the VZW network?

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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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If you were a Public Mobile subscriber on Monday, August 19th at 23:59 Eastern Time then you should be getting an SMS notification like the one above sometime today. The free GB is to be applied to your account after Wednesday, September 4th—provided, of course, that you're still a PM subscriber on that date as well.

This one-time, 1GB bonus is yours to enjoy until it's all used up. According to iPhone in Canada the speed of your free gigabyte will be the same as the data on your existing plan. That seems fair, and it's a refreshing change to see existing customers getting something back for their loyalty.

Let us know if you got the text from PM!

Sources: iPhone in Canada, reddit

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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 deserts desserts: Android 10 is the official name for Android Q

Samsung made some cringeworthy GIFs to help you fight iPhone users' blue bubble elitism

Apple Readies Camera-Focused Pro iPhones, New iPads, Larger MacBook Pro

This could be the OnePlus 7 “T” with a circular camera bump

U.S. consumers are now keeping their phones for three years or more

From The Forums:

Is your phone suddenly using more battery?

Hotspot/Tether provider that works with Xbox Live & Playstation?

Tello Pay-as-you-go Minimum Upped To $20!

Can a phone number be broken.

Finally HD voice between T-mobile users

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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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If you're in the market for a Galaxy Note 10 you should know that today is the last day that Samsung is taking pre-orders for it. More importantly, some notable perks that come with your pre-order are officially off the table as of tomorrow.

USA-specific Perks:



Americans can get a Samsung gift card worth $100 USD with their Note 10 or $150 with their Note 10 Plus / Note 10 Plus 5G. Also on offer is six free months of Spotify Premium (if you're not already a premium subscriber). The Verge is additionally reporting up to $600 off of your purchase with an eligible trade-in, and has published a separate post detailing available offers from carriers.

Canada-specific Perks:



Canadians can get a free pair of Galaxy Buds—a $200 CAD value—with any Note 10 order. Note (sorry) that the four months of ad-free YouTube is not directly tied to the Note 10, but is a separate promotion that runs under February 29th of next year (in this country, anyway). I'm unfortunately unable to confirm the availability window for Canadian trade-ins, or how much you can get for which device. And carrier deals? Yeah, good luck with that.

Sources: Samsung Canada / USA, The Verge (1) (2), WhistleOut

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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:

Foldable Motorola RAZR coming in December for $1,500, report claims

Nokia working on 'value' 5G phone set for 2020 release

Apple health team faces departures as tensions rise over differing visions for the future

Fitbit will supply ‘free’ trackers to Singapore’s public health program

Humans Listen To Your Voice Recordings. Why Don’t Tech Companies Just Tell Us That?

From The Forums:

Pandora Plus promo is ending

Driftless Wisconsin

Did Sprint raise the throttle limit on AT&T roaming?

Q5 Interface Help

Grandfathered UDP Advice

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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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OpenMedia, a digital rights nonprofit that I used to volunteer for, is asking Canadians to submit their worst carrier nightmares via a new survey. Here's the pitch:

Complete the survey and make your voice heard at the public hearing in Gatineau, Quebec next January.

Source: OpenMedia via iPhone in 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:

Hey Google... Please finish one of your music apps

Should you buy an Android tablet in 2019?

Fossil Gen 5 Smartwatch review: Wear OS at its finest

Casio WSD-F21HR finally adds a heart rate monitor

Ikea goes all in on smart home tech

From The Forums:

What Smartphone will you be buying this summer or fall 2019

Mobile carriers throttle online videos almost all the time, study shows

How Many Cell Phone Operating Systems Are There?

Prepaid in CT? Pageplus vs.... US Mobile etc?

Best place to get a good deal on a Sprint Upgrade

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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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... But not for long.

Security researchers discovered over the weekend that Apple mistakenly unpatched a security vulnerability in iOS 12.4. What is now effectively a 100+ day exploit means that for the first time in years users can jailbreak their iPhones again—that is, those models running the A7 to A11 chipsets. If you wanted to jailbreak your iPhone XR/XS/XS Max or your 2019 iPad Mini/iPad Air then you can pretty much stop reading here, as those devices are all powered by A12 chips.

As an Android user who insists on unlocked bootloaders and root access I am all for taking control of your technology, even if iOS isn't my specific area of expertise. This dude seems to know what he's doing, though:



If you wanted to take the plunge yourself—and understand the risks—there's also this step-by-step guide on Lifehacker. If you were wondering why you'd even want to bother, here are some use-cases via the comments on iPhone in Canada:

Of course, if you didn't want to jailbreak and are just worried about your phone being vulnerable, hang tight for a few days. Apple will almost certainly release iOS 12.4.1 and re-patch the vulnerability.

Source: VICE via iPhone in Canada
Image source: Lifehacker

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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 US government’s battle with Chinese telecom giant Huawei, explained

Should Canada ban Huawei from its 5G networks?

Freedom Mobile Testing LTE in Courtenay-Comox, Campbell River, Kamloops

Public Mobile Gets Rebranded with New Logo and Tagline, “We’re For You”

Desperate teen tweets from wifi-enabled fridge when her mother takes phone away

From The Forums:

Trouble porting number from Red Pocket to AT&T Prepaid

Frustrated and disappointed

How To Use Free International Text and Data?

is there a good flip phone or dumbphone that can work with Tracfone/Verizon SIM card?

Republican State Attorney General Jeff Landry supports the T-Mobile-Sprint Merger

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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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An exclusive report from Reuters this morning reveals that for the past two years Google was offering anonymized user data to carriers around the world. The good news is that they've stopped; the bad news is that they did it at all, especially without their users' express consent.

From the source:

For the record, Facebook still offers a similar service to carriers, and in the USA carriers themselves have only recently stopped selling customer location data to third parties.

Source: Reuters via reddit
Image source: Android Police

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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:

Huawei granted temporary reprieve from US import ban, suppliers and clients relieved of havoc for now

Huawei may challenge Google Maps’ dominance with its own mapping tech

Trump says Tim Cook made ‘good case’ that trade war helps Samsung over Apple

OnePlus, Google See Big Smartphone Sales in the US in Q2

Buying a new phone every year is actually kind of crazy

From The Forums:

How Far From Shore Will Total Wireless And AT&T Tracfone Work In Alaska?

many tv stations in Raleigh/Durham relocating 9/6/19

Band 12 vs. Band 71 Range?

Double data promo on $40 plan

Microsoft "YOUR PHONE" app allows notices from phone to desktop.

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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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Pretty sure that I'm late to the game on this one, but a spam text from the Conservative Party of Canada has finally made its way to the phone numbers used by my girlfriend and I. These texts have been sent all over the country from different phone numbers; if you've also received one I feel obliged to remind you that the worst thing you can do is reply. This helpful editorial from a newspaper in PEI spells out why it's a bad idea:

Unfortunately there's not much else you can do to combat these kinds of mass texts, apart from getting a new phone number. Canada's anti-spam legislation stipulates that text messages from commercial entities are opt-in only, but political parties aren't commercial entities.

Links: Government of Canada, The Journal Pioneer via Narcity

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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:

Redmi K20 Pro Review: ‘Flagship Killer’ Reimagined

Asus ZenFone 6 review: a neat flipping camera, but the battery life is better

iOS 13 beta hints at an Apple iPhone 11 event on September 10th

Verizon 5G spanks Sprint's in new Speedtest.net performance report

Samsung May Adopt Graphene Batteries for Phones in 2020

From The Forums:

Wifi calling on Verizon MVNO

Finding North American iPhone

Possible to block incoming calls except for GV calls?

Good reason to choose and keep Verizon Wireless

There's no more money in my Lucky Mobile account, there was $35. in my account, why?

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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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I know, everyone uses Speedtest (and thanks to peer pressure, I do as well) but it's worth mentioning that Telus has also been crowned Canada's best carrier in OpenSignal's August, 2019 Mobile Network Experience Report for Canada. That's certainly a mouthful.

Nationwide Telus came out on top in four out of five categories:

4G Availability
Video Experience
Download Speed Experience
Upload Speed Experience (tied with Rogers)
Latency Experience

Regional Results are as follows:

Calgary
4G Availability - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Telus
Upload Speed Experience - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Latency Experience - Telus

Edmonton
4G Availability - Bell/Telus (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Upload Speed Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Latency Experience - Telus

Montreal
4G Availability - Bell/Rogers/Telus/Videotron (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Telus
Upload Speed Experience - Bell/Rogers/Telus/Videotron (tie)
Latency Experience - Telus

Ottawa
4G Availability - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Upload Speed Experience - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Latency Experience - Telus

Toronto
4G Availability - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Upload Speed Experience - Telus
Latency Experience - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)

Vancouver
4G Availability - Bell/Telus (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Upload Speed Experience - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Latency Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)

Winnipeg
4G Availability - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Video Experience - Bell/Telus (tie)
Download Speed Experience - Telus
Upload Speed Experience - Bell/Rogers/Telus (tie)
Latency Experience - Telus

If you're shopping for a new carrier in any of the above markets, hopefully OpenSignal's results will be instructive. Be sure to check the source immediately below to verify what I've copied and pasted above.

Source: OpenSignal via iPhone in Canada, Mobile Syrup

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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:

Huawei delays Mate X launch beyond September

Huawei Starts Researching 6G in Ottawa; Bell Confirms Talks with Partners for 6G

What 5G phones are available now?

FCC chairman Ajit Pai supports Sprint/T-Mobile merger, brings deal to home stretch

Case maker expecting ‘iPhone 11’, ‘iPhone 11 Pro’ and ‘iPhone 11 Pro Max’ brand names

From The Forums:

FreeUP: Is it time to plan what next?

Why is Verizon pre billing me on a post paid account?

will Tracfone unlock iPhone after 12 months if used with their eBay $49 1-year plan?

How long to port out?

T-Mobile Signals That Cheaper 5G Phones Are Coming

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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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For anyone interested in the Apple Card, here's an FYI courtesy of BuzzFeed: Making payments on said card will require your iPhone, or at the very least some other iOS device. This will very much be an issue if you've got a payment due and your phone suddenly goes missing:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Source: BuzzFeed

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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 reportedly in talks with Apple to integrate with Siri- 9to5Mac

Spotify got rid of its convenient Android home screen widget

OnePlus unimaginatively calls its smart television ‘OnePlus TV’ after year-long naming competition

US delays tariffs on smartphones, other electronics until December, thus saving your holiday shopping

Huawei's new HarmonyOS operating system is coming to smartwatches first

From The Forums:

Looking for Pay-Go with International Roaming

Is harvesting HSN’s phones worth it any more?

Court rejects FCC exemption of 5G small cell site reviews

How do you unlock a fully paid TMO version phone?

Replacing home internet with unlimited hotspot or phone plan with tether? (128k min)

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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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