Cell phone question?

[alwaysFlOoReD]

yeah, going the other way though... and my guess is that since his phone is so old, he will probably have the larger sim card.

AJ

Oops...I wasnt thinking again...

 

[rusty ol ranger]

If im understanding right cricket runs ATT towers, and att uses a GSM? network.....and that cat phone runs on GSM....so i should be good?

My current phone is a 2017 S8 samsung. I dont know which sim it uses.

 

[gaz]

Rusty,

I do not know your intended budget but I have no heartburn recommending a new-in-the-box Motorola Moto Z² Force; originally $900, they are easy to buy online NEW for $160-$180. They are incredibly durable, the screen is garunteed not to break for 24 months. I have one and have been using it since 2017. Though not today's flagship, with 64Gb built in with 4Gb ram 2800mah battery and a decent Snapdradon 835 it has no performance lacking issues.

Motorola sells an auxillary battery pack that snaps on the backside of the phone (magnetic) adding 4000mah. The built in battery with the added battery will last any day . These external batteries originally sold for $150 but are easy to grab new or used for very reasonable.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Rusty,

I do not know your intended budget but I have no heartburn recommending a new-in-the-box Motorola Moto Z² Force; originally $900, they are easy to buy online NEW for $160-$180. They are incredibly durable, the screen is garunteed not to break for 24 months. I have one and have been using it since 2017. Though not today's flagship, with 64Gb built in with 4Gb ram 2800mah battery and a decent Snapdradon 835 it has no performance lacking issues.

Motorola sells an auxillary battery pack that snaps on the backside of the phone (magnetic) adding 4000mah. The built in battery with the added battery will last any day . These external batteries originally sold for $150 but are easy to grab new or used for very reasonable.

160-180 is actually cheaper then the one i was looking at. I might check them out...i just like the cat for its dropping/dust and submersion capabilites. My phone takes a beating when im riding quads.

 

[G8orFord]

I'm pretty sure all of the major carriers are pretty much interchangeable now. I know i can run an AT&T SIM in my VzW Note 20. LTE pretty much replaced GSM and CDMA. There is the issue of the size of the SIM card, but I think most newer phones all use the smaller size.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

My construction buddies use the Kyocera rough use phones. I have pretty bad luck with phones, not jus physically but technologically. I've tried everything but an iphone. My last phone was latest and greatest samsung note 20 ultra. It sucked, and I broke the screen despite a case. My disabled buddy got a free phone from welfare and it worked surprisingly well, so I bought one, and am happy with it. It is the older version of Moto G stylus. Crappy cheap (under$200) phone that works great. by which I mean it is user friendly, minimally glitchy, and things like the fingerprint reader actually work, unlike my previous $1500 samsung.

 

[RonD]

SIM cards have 3 sizes but the "chip" is the same size, so they all come as "standard/mini" size, then have break away rings to change the size to "micro" or "nano" size
Seen here: https://cdn.3g.co.uk/userfiles/guides/e/SIM-Card-Size.jpg?v=0.1

Example of what service providers SIM may look like when you get it: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/811h18YTYOL.jpg

You can see the break away parts, to make the 3 sizes
Keep the rings if using nano size, as your next phone may use micro, the rings are just to position/center SIM "chip" in the phone makers slot/holder

I think I read that the Cat 42 had dual SIM slots, this is mainly used for international travel, so you can have your "home" SIM provider card and then have a "pay as you go" international SIM card so you are not paying Roaming fees when abroad
OR
If you want two phone numbers on the same phone.............................for whatever reason

Some cell phones now come with eSIM cards, a built in SIM, not removable, and also have a SIM slot so are dual SIM capable
eSIMs used to be a bit of a pain to get activated, especially in iPhones(what's new, lol), but its getting better
And changing providers on eSIM can be............................well, a long process, since you have to get BOTH the old provider to release it and the new provider to activate it................................if you like being on hold this is a process you will love

 

[Roert42]

The nice thing about an IPhone is that even the older ones run well. When they update the software, it is designed specifically for the hardware. Unlike an android platform where the software is a one size fits all deal, necessitating more powerful hardware to keep the same level of performance after and update.

I have a S10e and an iPhone8. The S10e has twice the ram and processing power as the iPhone and the iPhone is twice as fast.

 

[Roert42]

Also, if you plan on buying an older model phone. Check into end of life support. I have a friend who has had his aim shut off by Verizon because blackberry was not longer supported model.

 

[97RangerXLT]

If im understanding right cricket runs ATT towers, and att uses a GSM? network.....and that cat phone runs on GSM....so i should be good?

My current phone is a 2017 S8 samsung. I dont know which sim it uses.

my previous phone was a Samsung Galaxy S8+, and it used the small/ micro sim, so you should be all right. and yeah if Cricket uses ATT, any phone from ATT/ TMobile and I think Sprint as well should work on Cricket systems.

AJ

 

[JohnnyO]

iPhone with an Otterbox case.

 

[fastpakr]

SIM cards have 3 sizes but the "chip" is the same size, so they all come as "standard/mini" size, then have break away rings to change the size to "micro" or "nano" size
Seen here: https://cdn.3g.co.uk/userfiles/guides/e/SIM-Card-Size.jpg?v=0.1

Example of what service providers SIM may look like when you get it: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/811h18YTYOL.jpg

You can see the break away parts, to make the 3 sizes
Keep the rings if using nano size, as your next phone may use micro, the rings are just to position/center SIM "chip" in the phone makers slot/holder

I think I read that the Cat 42 had dual SIM slots, this is mainly used for international travel, so you can have your "home" SIM provider card and then have a "pay as you go" international SIM card so you are not paying Roaming fees when abroad
OR
If you want two phone numbers on the same phone.............................for whatever reason

Some cell phones now come with eSIM cards, a built in SIM, not removable, and also have a SIM slot so are dual SIM capable
eSIMs used to be a bit of a pain to get activated, especially in iPhones(what's new, lol), but its getting better
And changing providers on eSIM can be............................well, a long process, since you have to get BOTH the old provider to release it and the new provider to activate it................................if you like being on hold this is a process you will love

Not all SIM cards came that way. Older ones were just manufactured in the larger sizes with no provision to break them into smaller sizes.

 

[RonD]

Cellular antenna sites are not owned by the service providers, they are own by companies that specialize in building and maintaining "towers" and the electronics that go on them
It often a 3 year process in a city to get community approval of a new cell antenna site/tower
In rural sites it usually easier because most of the community wants better coverage, lol

American Tower has the most in the US with almost 42,000 sites, then Crown Castle with 40,500
List is here: https://wirelessestimator.com/top-100-us-tower-companies-list/

These companies lease the rooftop space and pay for the power used, and also maintain the equipment
The cell service providers often provide their own transceivers(cell antennas) to be mounted on the towers

The service providers, of course, must pay a monthly or yearly fee to rent space on the tower and used the electrical power
So they have to have deals with all the different owners of the towers

And that's where "coverage" comes in, how many sites they want to pay for and supply equipment for

Smaller service providers often(usually) make deals with larger service providers to share the services the larger provider already pays for, vs. making their own deal with the tower owners and supplying new equipment

You may think cell service is expensive but there are a lot of "mouths to feed", the property owner where cell antenna is located, the cost of building and maintaining a tower, cost of electricity for each tower, the cost transceivers on the towers, bandwidth cost when cell calls or data goes into and out of "internet"

In Canada is silly expensive, US is very very lucky on cost of cell service

 

[RonD]

Not all SIM cards came that way. Older ones were just manufactured in the larger sizes with no provision to break them into smaller sizes.

Yes, all phones used the same size SIM, was called "standard" size, re-named "mini" when "micro" size was first used, if I remember correctly

Like OBD, became OBD1 when OBD2 came along, lol

 

[fastpakr]

Right. Just wanted to clarify that you can't typically modify an existing card from an older phone to fit a newer/smaller tray. If memory serves, there have been four sizes over the years.