HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Japan and Netherlands are joining the US in chip restrictions on China

Apple beefs up smartphone services in “silent war” against Google

AirTag trackers and travel: Cybersecurity expert weighs in

“A day of hypocrites”: Bell Let’s Talk Day skewered for double standards

Film outlining BlackBerry’s rise and fall to premiere at Berlin International Film Festival

From The Forums:

Do I need to take new iPhone out of the box and turn it on to complete the activation?

Removing Phone Number from Kin Phone

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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.com reveals Galaxy S23 series pre-order period and perks

iOS 17 details leak, don't expect many visual changes, just a focus on stability and efficiency

OnePlus’s first tablet will finally debut next month

MPs question how Rogers picked Vidéotron as fourth competitor

Smartphone sales are so bad even the holidays couldn’t help, says IDC

From The Forums:

You need data to activate an iPhone?

Best method for transferring service.

$99 yearly triple-bucket refill cards still available for old Tracfone TMFL SIMs?

The Motorola Edge 2022 Is Free With Budget Trade-Ins At T-Mobile

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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:

Microsoft Teams and Outlook back online after a four-hour outage

Apple issues security update for the almost 10-year-old iPhone 5S

Does Mint Mobile have 5G?

Rogers, Shaw and Quebecor: Minister Now Must Approve Spectrum Transfers

Globalive plots return to Canada’s wireless industry with bid for Xplore Mobile

From The Forums:

Iphones and dual sims

Switch from VZ Prepaid to an ATT MVNO?

"Set Wallpaper" data usage

Verizon turns corner in Q4 with 217K postpaid phone net adds

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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:

iOS 16.3 is now available with a big focus on security

Google’s Find My Device app gets its long overdue Material You refresh

Moto G53 to launch internationally, appears in live photos

Samsung Galaxy M54 5G renders show out revised design

Surprise, surprise: the cell carriers didn’t get rid of passwords

From The Forums:

Red Pocket won't turn service back on

Can I get his old Tracfone flip phone unlocked? It's a LG Classic Flip purchased from Tracfone 2021

5g speedtest what does it mean and why is fast.com download so slow compared to ookla download?

Received new AT&T sim for dataconnect pass replacememt 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:

Galaxy S23 Ultra unboxing leaks alongside low-light and camera zoom samples

Amazon follows Apple in increasing music streaming prices

How to easily share your Wi-Fi password on Android and iOS

Wearable tech trends 2023 – as told by the big brands

Top 10 trending phones of week 3

From The Forums:

Old Various Verizon Contract Phones --- Locked?

Still no January 2023 Pixel update for my BYOP Pixel 6a using Tracfone Verizon

Question Regarding throttled Data & Iphones

RedPocket Verizon Wifi Calling available?

Changing carriers for ACP 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.
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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, January 16th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, January 17th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, January 18th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 19th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, January 20th, 2023

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

Very laggy HSN Moto G Stylus phone purchased in April of last year. Any helpful tips to speed it up?

Congrats to diddlydudette for starting our one hundred and fifty-eighth 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:

T-Mobile reveals 37 million accounts got their data stolen by a hacker

Teksavvy asks CRTC to block proposed sale of Freedom Mobile to Videotron

Twitter officially bans third-party clients with new developer rules

Google is the latest tech company to lay off thousands of workers

Check out this Google Bluetooth tracker concept with a totally (in)appropriate name

From The Forums:

weird experience trying to transfer number to new phone on Total Wireless

Verizon line prompted to get a new SIM

What Do I Have To Do To Upgrade To A Nokia 5G21?

Here we go again, new data breach

Can T-Mobile unlock iPhone over Wi-Fi?

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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 S23 series to use a customized Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 with higher clock speed

Samsung Galaxy S23 will stick with same US pricing after all, leaked carrier info shows

Telus workers prepare for potential job action

Mozilla Firefox 109 adds Manifest V3 support, but it’s not the end of ad blocking

Google Podcasts disappearing from Search results as it goes on life support

From The Forums:

Very laggy HSN Moto G Stylus phone purchased in April of last year. Any helpful tips to speed it up?

Promo codes

Flash SMS or class 0 sms spam

T-Mobile smokes Verizon, AT&T in 5G Speedtest

"No Network" vs. "No Service"

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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:

New Samsung Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ leak leaves little to the imagination

Samsung is now offering self-repair kits for Galaxy S22 phones

Google strips more features from older Fitbit smartwatches

Spigen and Caseology quietly release new Pixel Watch covers and straps

Apple reportedly shelved its plans to release AR glasses any time soon

The next iOS 16 update will include two big iPhone fixes

From The Forums:

Trade In Rewards Phone to Google Fi?

Calls going directly to voice mail - Moto G Power

Does Wi-Fi Calling Deduct Minutes from My Balance?

Auto Pay

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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 finally catches up to iPhone 14 Pro demand

Google reportedly working on ‘Grogu’ tracker to compete with Apple’s AirTags

Bell, Virgin Plus Voice Calls Not Working in Ontario

Samsung Galaxy A34 and A54 leak in official renders ahead of launch

Samsung will let you try Galaxy S23 early at these locations starting February 1

From The Forums:

Callingmart for Auto Refill w/ Page Plus - Your Experience?

unlock oneplus nord n200

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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:

Why are Canadians' cellphone bills higher than other countries?

Ontario woman tracks down her missing suitcase using AirTag but Sunwing won't let her get it

Third-Party Twitter Apps Such as Twitterrific, Tweetbot Stop Working for Reasons Unknown

Top 10 trending phones of week 2

How to use your phone to find hidden cameras

From The Forums:

Tracfone/VZW "Cellular network not available for voice calls"

Gen Z loves the flip phone

Need help. Hope this ends my home internet frustration

Merge an existing line is back

ATT will be pairing financed devices to accounts prevent use on any other 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.
---------

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, January 9th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, January 10th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, January 11th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 12th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, January 13th, 2023

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

Experiences with combining balances on Tracfone lines

Congrats to jet1000 for starting our one hundred and fifty-seventh 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:

Apple’s Tim Cook Takes Rare CEO Pay Cut After Pushback

Apple again rumored to forego actual buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max

Air Canada customer battles airline after AirTag tracks missing bag stuck over 8,000 km away

Samsung Galaxy S23 series appears in leaked high-res colorful images

Samsung Galaxy A14 goes on sale in the US for just $199.99

From The Forums:

Using Rewards Points

T-Mobile in talks to buy Mint

Unlocked phone

Roaming icon with TravelSim in a Moto G Play

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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's upcoming eSIM tweaks put users in control, not carriers

31 new emoji hit Google Pixels with Android 13 QPR2 Beta 2

Nokia opens new office in downtown Toronto as it looks to grow in Canada

Parler owner laid off 75% of staff and has only 20 employees left, report says

Nothing Phone’s US “beta test” targets people with more money than sense

From The Forums:

Temporary iPhone SIM Swap

Network outage

What to do about spam text messages

Red Pocket 100GB plan discontinued, max is 50GB again

SIM card for T-Mobile wifi hotspot

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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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https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/11/2...ed-by-t-mobile

From The Web:

Apple is reportedly making an all-in-one cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth chip

AirTags are a must-have for travel, and not only for finding lost luggage

Don't Get Fooled Into Paying $7.99 a Week for ChatGPT (Which Is Free)

Bell rolls out 3Gbps speeds and 5G+ in Atlantic Canada

Let Rogers and Shaw merge, then let AT&T and Verizon in

From The Forums:

Trac AT&T SIM into unlocked TracFone Moto G Play

Adding data to TracFone with no data or wifi

Percentage off with rewards for phones

Experiences with combining balances on Tracfone lines

AT&T discontinuing the $34.99/month prepaid iPad unlimited data 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:

Camera hardware still matters when it comes to capturing the best smartphone photos

Samsung accidentally confirms Galaxy S23 series launch date

Motorola Moto G72 review

Apple Maps now offers parking information in Canada

Apple has reportedly canceled the next iPhone SE

From The Forums:

Red Pocket, Verizon, Iphone 12, 5G NOT Working

$100 Android phone with camera almost as good as a Samsung S22?

5G Moto Mod

Activating new SE 3rd Gen with physical SIM, TracFone says IMEI1 is the eSIM and won't activate??

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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 1

New wireless standard Qi2 announced with magnetic chargers in mind

Android one-ups Apple’s satellite SOS with general-purpose satellite SMS

Google takes its RCS fight to CES 2023

More than 200 million Twitter users’ email addresses leaked by hackers

From The Forums:

Red Pocket wont work.

Cox Mobile sparks national launch, confirms Verizon as MVNO partner

lWhere Do You Purchase DATA ?

Unable to make calls - Network changeover?

Transfer Movies / Cartoons from PC to iPhone XR by Sim card ?

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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, January 2nd, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, January 4th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 5th, 2023
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, January 6th, 2023

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

Goodbye Tracfone

Congrats to cv91913 for starting our one hundred and fifty-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!

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