HoFo Blog

From The Web:

Apple Surpassed Samsung as World's Largest Smartphone Maker in Fourth Quarter

Google Should be Leading in Android Updates, Not Samsung

Google Pixel 5a looks to be a carbon copy of the Pixel 4a 5G

5G in the US is disappointing right now, but it’s going to get better

Telus once again tops ranks in Opensignal’s mobile network experience report

From The Forums:

T-Mobile New Truly Unlimited Plan - Magenta MAX

Hello Mobile ?

Proximity Sensor off and on working

Best Compatible T-Mobile 5G Cell Booster/Amplifier

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

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior 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 26 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

Ice Storm outages in Texas

Congrats to MEDIX1011 for starting our sixty-third thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us!

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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 tech industry is looking to replace the smartphone — and everybody is waiting to see what Apple comes up with

Apple won’t have to allow App Store alternatives on iOS after North Dakota bill fails

In shock move, Facebook blocks news access in Australia

Canada pledges to make Facebook pay for news content

Top 10 trending phones of week 7

From The Forums:

Not seeing N71

My Career outgoing call going via GV and not able complete ?

Merged Accounts but Balance Missing Sometimes?

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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 older Pixel cameras are failing at an accelerating rate

Apple reportedly plans March 16 event with new iPad Pro, iPad mini and AirTags

The country rejecting throwaway culture

Telecom Greed Left Texas Less Prepared to Handle Cellular Outages

Canada’s Big Telecoms Have Lobbied Ottawa Twice Per Day Over the Past 12 Months

From The Forums:

Verizon Texas ice storm

Tello Experience

Tmobile is upgrading Sprints hotspot data only plans. Will tmobile do it for its current customers?

Esim plan with Verizon

My review of T-Mobiles new home 5G internet

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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:

Hands-on: These are all of the new Music app features in iOS 14.5

Google Fi welcomes trio of new Motorola phones, all available free with bill credits

Google Maps will let you pay for parking and public transit

Sonos confirms March 9th product launch, hints at smaller portable speaker

MWC Barcelona expects to host 50,000 attendees with Covid-19 testing and restrictions

From The Forums:

What Are The Current MVNOs With Free (Or Dirt Cheap) Small Amount of Data Plans?

Ice Storm outages in Texas

Made the switch to T-Mobile

5G Connected Car and AT&T Mobility

Visible not receiving texts from some people

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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:

Garmin Enduro GPS Watch In-Depth Review

Best smartwatches for 2021

Facebook is secretly building a smartwatch and planning to sell it next year

Wear OS is making app sideloading much more difficult

Hublot's Big Band e Premier League is a $5,200 Wear OS watch

From The Forums:

hangouts diaer to "Google Voice"

Are there any Esim Hot Spots ? or 5G Hotspots ?

Unlocked Motorola Edge 5G

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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:

iPhone 13 rumored to feature ‘refined matte back,’ always-on display, more

Report: Apple’s upcoming clamshell foldable iPhone will support the Apple Pencil

Five things we're looking forward to in Android 12

T-Mobile preparing to offer free MLB.tv subscriptions starting March 30

Sorry millennials, the crying face emoji isn't cool anymore

From The Forums:

Successfully combined "benefits" to one phone then purchased unlimited service for the other

Att tablet plan, can’t connect with hotspot

Verizon MVNO's that offer wifi calling.

Sprint Killing the Airave

Port out from Freedompop

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

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior 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 29 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

ATT mobile hotspot plan for iPad?

Congrats to skisteven1 for starting our sixty-third thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us!

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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 6

Here’s the top Canadian mobile news from the past week

BlackBerry 5G phone with a physical keyboard to launch this year

Why Huawei’s founder is sticking with premium smartphones even as sales decline due to US sanctions

New Xiaomi smartphone has an extra screen in... uh, the camera bump?

From The Forums:

Where to buy $9.99 cards?

Android 11 for Tracfone LG K31 Rebel

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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:

Xiaomi makes "lite" work of MIUI 12.5 Global ROM as firmware has fewer features and less-effective system optimizations than MIUI 12.5 China

Proposed law in North Dakota may force Apple and Google to allow alternative app stores on mobile phones

Google apps feel strain as firm's privacy standoff with Apple drags on

Google now pays 450 sites to bring you free news, including some paywalled stories

Border agents can search phones freely under new circuit court ruling

From The Forums:

Stacking unlim talk/text on a limited talk/text plan

Understanding 5G Frequencies

Wowie speeds

Phone work with "New AT&T" ??

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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: Release date, previews, betas, and everything you need to know

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is the latest device to get One UI 3.1 update

The Snapdragon 888 vs The Exynos 2100: Cortex-X1 & 5nm - Who Does It Better?

Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei calls for more open US policy towards China under Biden

What is Clubhouse, the invite-only app everyone can't stop talking about?

From The Forums:

HSN/QVC bundle, then back to old phone

Block text messages from all Gmail address's

Your Opinion of US Mobile Wanted

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus camera issues

On $50 plan, 8gb, family plan... any promo data available

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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:

Qualcomm X65 debuts - the world's first 10 Gbps 5G modem

Xiaomi Mi 11 makes its global debut

Sorry, small-phone lovers: The iPhone 12 mini was Apple’s 2020 sales flop

iOS 14.5 lets you set Spotify and others as Siri’s default music service

Samsung is still putting obnoxious ads on Galaxy devices; here’s how to avoid most of them

From The Forums:

ATT mobile hotspot plan for iPad?

Verizon Accelerating Push to Digitalize Sales: Layoffs, Severances and Store Closures Coming

QVC Tracfone

Do plans stack?

Has the "new" H2O service locked my new unlocked Moto G Power 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:

Xiaomi is #3 smartphone brand globally, Redmi Note series reaches 200 million units shipped

Xiaomi Mi 11 makes its global debut

Xiaomi Mi Mix 4 or Mi Mix Fold could cost over US$1,500 of your folding money but is likely to feature under-display camera technology

This may be our first look at Android 12, Google’s next Android OS

7 cool features you can find in Google apps on iOS, but not Android

From The Forums:

HELP! Notifications of any kind not showing up when receiving texts (moto g power 2020)

I have data but cannot call, whats the trouble?

Unknown caller problem

New promo sale

Account Sign Email Verification

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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, February 1st, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Wednesday, February 3rd, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Thursday, February 4th, 2021
Your Morning Briefing for Friday, February 5th, 2021

Remember that the Monday briefing includes forum posts from the prior 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 33 replies as of this posting the most popular thread started last week is:

First New Phone in 12+ years! Where to start?

Congrats to katykatkid for starting our sixty-second thread of the week! As a small token of our appreciation, please enjoy a month of Gold Membership on us!

---------
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:

OnePlus 9 Pro leaks in hands-on images

Leaked OnePlus 9 Pro images show Hasselblad camera branding

OnePlus Band review: The Mi Band 5 has nothing to sweat about

Top 10 trending phones of week 5

Here’s the top Canadian mobile news from the past week

From The Forums:

Tracfone line with 5gb data and unlim t/t just disappeared from my account?

Samsung A-Series Activation Warning

"no SIM is installed"

Cdma/ gsm

Can kick start plans switch over to T-Mobile SIM?

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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:

Chrome alternative: Can Firefox be your Android browser?

Niagara is a minimalist Android launcher I wish I’d had on my bus commute

Pixel phones will be able to read your heart rate with their cameras

Hands-on: iOS 14.5 beta 1 changes and features

Xiaomi’s new Waterfall Display concept phone looks like a sci-fi movie prop

From The Forums:

Can't log into my Verizon prepaid on PC or device browser

3G / 2G Shutdown Dates

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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 smartphones, falling prices: Samsung Z Flip and Motorola Razr get $200 price cuts

WhatsApp tries to ease users’ privacy fears with Status messages

Telegram now lets you import your chat history from WhatsApp

Speedtest now helps you call out your network operator’s false coverage claims

iOS 14.5 tries to solve Face ID’s mask problem with your Apple Watch

From The Forums:

New $40 unlimited lte plan?

Question about auto refill

2gb/$15 plan promo text

Verizon escalates interoperability battle with AT&T, FirstNet

Freedom Device Care App

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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’s next folding phone is coming on February 22nd

Huawei’s HarmonyOS: “Fake it till you make it” meets OS development

Xiaomi has suspended non-GMS phones from downloading Google Services

Class Action Lawsuit vs. Rogers Still Has $8 Million Unclaimed

Apple Card and Apple Cash Trademarks Approved in Canada

From The Forums:

Wifi calling Question

Tracfone/Verizon sim swapping?

Charging batteries

iOS 14.5 Beta Soon-Dual Sim 5G!

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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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Koodo has fallen in line with fellow Big Three second-stringers Fido and Virgin—each is now offering a monthly data bucket of 10GB for a very reasonable (for Canada) $50. And as an added bonus you also get phone service and texting, too!

Virgin Mobile kicked things off over the weekend, with Fido joining in yesterday and Koodo today. It's all to mark the Lunar New Year (Year of the Ox), which begins this Friday, February 12th. Hopefully these offers will stay on the table until then.

Some specifics: Fido is offering up to $188 in bill credits and additional savings, Koodo will give you 888 free long distance minutes to select Asian countries and Virgin bumps up those long distance minutes to an even thousand.

I myself have enjoyed service on all three of these carriers, with cost being my only complaint. When you consider that Bell, Rogers and Telus proper are all now charging $80/month for only 15GB of data (previously $75/month for 20GB), these new year promotions are pretty decent in comparison.

Sources: Fido, Koodo, Virgin Mobile via Mobile Syrup (1) (2) (3) (4)