When is 4G LTE going away?

[LarrylLix]

I agree.  We have used phones until the battery starts going.  Definitely would want a good battery.  I am guessing a refurbished one would have a new battery but would want to confirm that on any particular purchase.  Then there is the quality of the replacement battery - that's pretty hard to determine.

ON Samsung Galaxy phones, after the S8 there are no replacement batteries. The cases are sealed and any attempt to open them will fracture the rear fibreglass cover into a million shards. They really hurt the skin when you touch them and are hard to remove from your palm. Just ask me how I know.     

 

[wkearney99]

ON Samsung Galaxy phones, after the S8 there are no replacement batteries. The cases are sealed and any attempt to open them will fracture the rear fibreglass cover into a million shards. They really hurt the skin when you touch them and are hard to remove from your palm. Just ask me how I know.     

 
That's entirely false.  I've had two S8's repaired.  One needed a new digitizer due to the glass getting cracked (the screen under it was ok).  The other had a bad battery.  Both were repaired and continued to function perfectly for several years after.   The digitizer one was due to getting pinched in the wife's waist belt pouch (too much stuff crammed in with it), the battery one was unexplained, but probably just defective.

When I talked with the tech doing the work he indicated they have a heating unit that's designed to get the phone apart because it can't otherwise just be pried with plastic spudgers. 

So, can you do the repair without the heating rig?  Probably not, but you've at least testified that you know how it do it wrong.

 

[JimS]

I have considered going to Verizon.  Are most phones these days able to work on Verizon or ATT networks?

 

[LarrylLix]

Most are available "unlocked" now. If not, they can usually be "unlocked" for about $10.
 
My wife just replaced her S9 due to an exploding battery. The sales people were afraid to touch it, told her it was dangerous and to dump it as fast as she could. It sounded like a lot of baloney, as the battery was expanding slowly so I figure after the exploding versions in the past they modified the batteries to allow them to expand instead.
 
S9 was starting to refuse some upgrades due to an old O/S version that wouldn't upgrade anymore, anyway. They want their money every few years and will get it from your wallet, one way or another.

 

[JimS]

Most are available "unlocked" now. If not, they can usually be "unlocked" for about $10.
 
My wife just replaced her S9 due to an exploding battery. The sales people were afraid to touch it, told her it was dangerous and to dump it as fast as she could. It sounded like a lot of baloney, as the battery was expanding slowly so I figure after the exploding versions in the past they modified the batteries to allow them to expand instead.
 
S9 was starting to refuse some upgrades due to an old O/S version that wouldn't upgrade anymore, anyway. They want their money every few years and will get it from your wallet, one way or another.

I understand about locked vs. unlocked.  My question is about phones capability (when unlocked) to work on both networks.  Often on phone sales I see the carrier (ATT for example) in the title along with the model.  From a little reading I get the impression that newer phones are more flexible in terms of having more frequencies and other things that make working on different networks more likely.  
 
Basically wondering if I go with Verizon for a year then want to switch to ATT can I use the same phone?

 

[ano]

I understand about locked vs. unlocked.  My question is about phones capability (when unlocked) to work on both networks.  Often on phone sales I see the carrier (ATT for example) in the title along with the model.  From a little reading I get the impression that newer phones are more flexible in terms of having more frequencies and other things that make working on different networks more likely.  
 
Basically wondering if I go with Verizon for a year then want to switch to ATT can I use the same phone?

Usually today, with phones made in the last few years, they can work on any carrier in the US if they are for the US.  Apple, for example has 6 models, but they are country/region specific.  For example, an iPhone for Canada/Japan, Russia, Macau, and China are all different.  Having said that, each carrier in the US uses different technologies on different frequencies so some phones are more carrier specific than others. The iPhone and most top Samsungs will work on any US carriers. BUT many cheaper phones are made to be carrier specific. Its saves money, and if XYZ has a relationship with one carrier, why should they add extra frequencies for the others?  So you just have to check, and even then, your phone may not support EVERY frequency and band a carrier uses. And this is US only.  

 

[JimS]

Bill,  along the lines of your buy once, cry once I am thinking of going with Samsung A53.  Cricket uses ATT towers so I expected frequencies and such to be the same.  But looking at your link for kimovil site gives different listings for ATT and Cricket.  I was going to post screen shots but it looks like I have to put the pictures on a web site and link to them there?  
 
Another question - if I buy this from Cricket store is it going to be customized in some way that might prevent me from going to another carrier?  I could probably find a cheaper place but it's more hassle.  It looks like Verizon still uses some CDMA so apparently, they are out but otherwise am I going to get caught by some obscure thing like HD audio?  I ran into a situation a few phones back when I bought a phone from Best Buy for ATT that it wouldn't work for some things that the same model from the ATT store would do - think it was wifi calling.  Would just like to avoid any such surprises.

 

[JimS]

It also appears that there is a global version A536B and a North America version A536U.  For the A536U the ATT listing shows for 4G
6 of 9
B2(1900)
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B5 (850)
B12(700)
B14(700)
B66(1700/2100)
 
For Cricket:
3 of 5
B2(1900)
B4 (1700/2100 AWS 1)
B5 (850)