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Help Help Pick a New Phone

lexluthor

Android Expert
May 15, 2010
4,157
402
Hi,

I'm currently on T-Mobile using an LG G3 (VS985). I'm starting to get a little tired of it and it's having some issues lately, so I'm looking for something new, but I haven't found anything that really meets my criteria.

Here's what I'm looking for:
Approx $400 budget
Similar size as LG G3
WiFi Calling (I don't have that now since I have a Verizon LG G3 on TMobile)
NFC
SD Card (if no SD support, 64GB internal is absolute minimum)
Band 12
Replaceable battery (this probably rules out too many phones, so may have to be very flexible on this one, though I really like being able to swap batteries)
Notification light (compatible with LED Blinker or Lightflow)
Rootable (I really want to use Android Pay, so I may not root going forward. I don't want to complicate things further with xposed).
Qi Wireless charging (I do have this now)
VoLTE
Fingerprint reader

Note that I didn't really say anything about CPU/RAM. The LG G3 has pretty much been fast enough in that department, so I'd figure most decent current phones that satisfy most of the above should be fast enough. I really don't care much about the ability to use custom ROMs either.

This is generally in order of preference. I have a pretty poor signal in my house so WiFi calling is pretty important. Think group SMS also runs over WiFi when the phone has WiFi calling on T-Mobile. Group SMS currently kills my phone or messages often come very late when on a bad signal in the house. That's not to say that if something else meets most/all of the critera, but doesn't have Wifi calling, that it's immediately eliminated.

Switching from T-Mobile is not an option.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!
 
You might look into the Nexus 5x. It's really hard to find phones that meet all requirements.

Budget: $400 32 gb
Size: 5.2" very similar
WiFi Calling: Project Fi (not sure about other carriers) (also Fi uses: Wifi, TMob, Us cellular and Sprint towers; might give you better coverage at home and it's super cheap)
NFC: Yes
Sd Card: No and only 32 GB max
Band 12: Yes
Notification Light: Yes
Root: It's a Nexus!
Wireless Charging: No
VoLTE: Capable (i think)
Fingerprint: Yes

That's the first phone that came to mind. If I think of others, will post more.
 
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Nexus 5X with 32GB max with no upgradable storage I think will rule that out.

I'm leaning towards the ZTE Axon 7, I think. There's currently no wifi calling, but there seem to be rumors/promises of it coming and it ticks off most of the other more important boxes. Also a bit worried that I've seen reports that that notification light only supports 2 colors, which is a bit nuts.

I think I pretty much have to give up on replaceable battery to get the other stuff I want.

Oneplus 3 has no hope of wifi calling. Nexus 6P fully supports it, but I think that phone may be just a bit too big and seems like Axon 7 is better anyhow at a similar price point.

Need to order something ASAP as my LG G3 is barely working now. I'm back on an old HTC One S at the moment (surprisingly, it's not so bad for it being so old).

Thoughts?
 
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LG G3 was just losing the SIM too frequently to be used at all. I did do a data wipe and am restoring apps now, but I'm doubtful. I did get up and running on an old HTC One S. It's not too bad actually.

So what do I do now? I have an Axon 7 waiting for me at Best Buy or I could possibly wait and see what the Google Pixel will be. Surviving for month and a half on an ancient HTC One S will be tough though. That's a while to wait for something that might not even pan out for me. From what I read, it does really sound like the Axon 7 is going to get wifi calling sooner rather than later.

Thoughts?
 
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LG G3 in worse shape now. Screen dies once the phone heats up a bit. Back on an old HTC One S (it's actually not that bad for being so old) so need something ASAP.

Anyhow, just grabbed a Galaxy S7 US unlocked refurb from Best Buy for $370+tax. US unlocked version apparently does support Wifi calling and VoLTE on T-Mobile, so I think meets all my criteria and then some except for the replaceable battery, which is dying out anyhow. I know it's smaller than the LG G3, but as I've been thinking about it, I think I'm going to prefer the 5" range over the 5.5" range.

Very happy. Now, just have to hope it really ships. The deal was pretty short lived this morning. They had the edge version for another $60 or so too.
 
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