• sugar_in_your_tea
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    1 month ago

    Yup. I upgraded my phone because it ran out of software updates (had for >3 years). My new phone cost <$400 and has >5 years of software support, if the hardware lasts that long. A $1k device is not necessary and is a luxury item, and you shouldn’t go into debt for luxuries…

    • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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      1 month ago

      Exactly. I started buying my phones at full price unlocked in 2016 when I switched to a mobile virtual network operator and I’ve never gone back to $1,000 phones because losing $1,000 from your Monero wallet hurts bad.

      • njordomir@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I’ve been doing the same. It makes traveling easier too. It costs way less to get a local sim for an unlocked phone you own than to pay the carrier to allow you to use a locked phone overseas.

        At home, MVNOs, for me, were basically what the rest of the world had. The big carriers kept pushing phones, the MVNOs were simpler, quicker, and less scammy. Eventually I found a non-MVNO T-Mobile prepaid plan that gave me unlimited SMS, 100min. Talk, and 5-6GB data (which they deceptively call unlimited 👎, but was more than enough for me)

        The site run by the greedy little pigboy used to have a “nocontract” community for discussing the best plans, they had a big google sheet and lots of research, but it seems someone infiltrated it because they no longer list the best deals.

        • shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip
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          1 month ago

          Yep, me personally, I am on the T-Mobile Connect 5GB plan, which gives me unlimited talk and text with 5GB of data and then no more. But that’s perfectly fine by me since the vast majority of the time I have access to Wi-Fi extremely easily.

          • njordomir@lemmy.world
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            1 month ago

            I haven’t heard of this. Is this plan available still? I’m on TMobile, but like my previous comment I have limited minutes. This works great as an excuse not to talk to people, but I have had to add minutes when I have to deal with someone, for example an insurance company, on a repeating basis. I pay $30 a month which is ridiculously good compared to the plans they advertise. I didn’t think the 100 min limit would be an issue, but it occasionally is. If I could carry over my unused minutes I would be 100% okay.