Yeah, the in screen finger print reader is the worst thing about my OnePlus 8. I often need to try 3 times to get it to read. The reader on the back of my Essential PH1 was instant and perfect.
Canuck
3656
But the fingerprint reader on the back would also be unusable if you’re driving and you have the phone mounted, wouldn’t it be?
You could use the Smartlock function to keep your phone unlocked as long as it’s connected to your cars Bluetooth.
mono
3657
I use a simple pattern unlock instead of a pin.
I don’t have the phone mounted. It sits in the passenger seat. Charging. But, on the other hand, the charger hasn’t been working last couple of days.
I’d be too nervous that my toddler or my wife would be able to get into the phone if I kept it too simple. It’s a good idea though. Though I think when I had the pattern version of my current pin, it was too hard to get right on the first try, since it involves diagonals. I usually had to try a few times to get it.
:(
You don’t want her posting pretending to be you?
We might like her :)
I could use some device/service recommendations. I thought I had it all figured out, Verizon (because I travel in remote areas and they generally have the best coverage) plus Pixel (I like the lack of preinstalls) plus insurance meant that I could just keep breaking/replacing phones for a nominal fee.
Well, more the dummy me because while I wasn’t looking the insurance went to 17/month from 5, and now there’s a $250 deductible, when all I really wanted was to keep replacing an old-ass Pixel with a slightly less old-ass Pixel. That idea is dead, so I’m fully shopping.
Right now the contenders seem to be straight upgrade, I can get a Pixel 6 for 15/mo for 3 years (do I own the phone after 3? If it keeps performing at a basic level that’s fine by me) or switch to Spectrum, cost is a wash. Or switch over to ATT for internet and phone, which seems doable.
At every stage with every company I’ve been utterly pissed off at all the delays, requirements, and bullshit to where I hate them all equally, though Verizon might be a winner there because most of the things pissing me off could have been avoided if I’d paid attention. Thoughts?
Buy a phone you like the look of from Amazon. Set it up on Google FI. Unlocked device, great coverage, you win.
Seconding Fi if T-Mobile coverage is good in your area. You can pick up a Pixel 5a for cheap on their monthly plan ($15/mo with device protection; less without) and get a new phone every two years.
Just make sure to properly unfreeze your credit at all three bureaus ahead of time, and get confirmation, or you’ll be forever (?)* barred from taking advantage of that deal that @LockerK mentioned. Luckily I got in on a different deal for switching service to Fi where I got three months of the most spendy plan for free ($210 value) which effectively halved the price of the 5a with 5G I paid $400 for.
*honestly, I don’t know how long it’ll be before Google’s store “forgets” that it wasn’t able to pull a credit report from Experian. I hope it’s at most a year or two. Even when I corrected the problem and my credit report was unfrozen temporarily, and deleted my browser cookies etc. the store would automatically decline me (and I know I have good credit).
Huh, interesting. I haven’t done anything credit-interesting in at least a year, and probably five years other than getting pre-approved for a mortgage amount that I never used. Here’s hoping.
I am a big fan of MINT mobile, after a few months of use now. Can’t beat the price. Also uses the Tmobile network.
Just waiting on what Google puts out this year in terms of phones 6A might wait for Pixel 7, that’s my next upgrade.
Maybe not “interesting” but assuming you’ve got a credit card and like me, you’ve been wearing it out during the pandemic paying for things you used to pay cash for like haircuts and local taquería takeout, and paying it on time (or even the whole balance) every month, that’s still something the creditors would want to know.
I froze my credit a number of years back because I lost a flash drive with the PDF of my tax return on it, so now I’m stuck having to unfreeze it every time I want to do something cool like buying a new car in the next few months.
…where the little thingy that holds the excess watch band length is engineered to crack way before the rest of the band does, so like an idiot you have to buy a whole new one for like 30 bucks.
With my Garmin from 2018 (which is still working) I did that once, then the second time said eff that and improvised my own out of a black plastic-covered twist tie. Ubiquitous and pretty much free.
Question: any Pixel 5a owners experiencing this? Namely, I’ll be watching a video streaming from my computer through the Plex app, and suddenly the screen just goes black and by all indications it’s that the phone has locked itself spontaneously, as it would if nothing was happening visually on screen. It’s not a battery life issue either, there’s over half of it left.
I’m chalking it down to Plex for now because I haven’t seen it happen while running anything else. An Android 12 update downloaded and installed today (presume it’s just a security one) BTW.
Looking for some advice on phones to check out because there are just WAY too many.
Preferences:
- Larger screen
- Good image for videos/movies
- Nice sound for music (prefer a 3.5mm jack, but C to 3.5mm dongles are a thing, I guess)
- Not going to break the bank
- Compatible with Verizon
- Not an Apple product
- Decent to good camera
Couldn’t care less about gaming, as that’s what Steam is for.
Thoughts from the peanut gallery?
