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need a new cell phone - have no idea...

Just because a new model comes out on a yearly basis doesn't automatically make the old one "obsolete". Look at our OP who was still using an original iPhone 3 which was released 7 years ago. Apple supports their old handsets longer than any other handset manufacturer out there and IMHO I don't consider a handset obsolete until it's software is no longer being updated...and the iPhone 4S is a great example of that long support - released in 2001 and still fully supported to this day, 5 years later.



Read my earlier reply. You CAN upgrade and keep your plan if you play your cards right. I have the 6 gig plan which hasn't really been available for 5+ years, as well as a fully unlimited canada plan that is also obsolete. Everytime I call to upgrade my handset I get the same song and dance as you did - "You have to switch to one of our current plans in order to be eligible for a new handset". I tell them I want to cancel instead, get put through to retentions...and surprise surprise...I get my upgrade, and I keep my plan.
Fully supported is stretching it, a lot. Does a phone you have/want support 5G Wifi for example; this starts to be a cutoff for me for example on age. Latest phones are getting new features all the time. But many people don't need them all. Still, beyond 3-4 years old and things start to drop off fast.

And PP, when is that last time you did the hardware upgrade through Rogers retentions?
 
And PP, when is that last time you did the hardware upgrade through Rogers retentions?

@PrivatePilot I'm curious as well. I'm a pretty good negotiator, but got nowhere on my old plan. I ended getting a new plan that suits my needs, and was cheaper, but they said there was no way I could get a phone at the price I was paying prior. If I had known then what I know now, I would have just bought a Lumia WinPhone for $150 and kept the old plan.
If you don't need the latest phone, you're always better off byod, imo.

Fwiw, anyone that has a grandfathered plan with 5+gb of data at a decent price, NEVER give it up.

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FYI selective permissions for each app is the way with Windows 8 and 10 mobile phones. Crazy to have it any other way.

I'm quite surprised that people haven't talked more about dual sim architecture. So awesome. You can have a work phone and personal phone all in a single phone. All account aspects are handled separately, including incoming/outgoing calls, text messages, etc. The ability to use a dual sim for visiting another country makes it even more appealing. Keep your home cell # active (for emergencies) but add a pay as you go sim plan for the second slot. Been using a pay as you go sim in Mexico for a while now. It's the future, baby ;) .

That's great & all but how am I supposed to keep the wife from finding the gf?
 
Fully supported is stretching it, a lot. Does a phone you have/want support 5G Wifi for example; this starts to be a cutoff for me for example on age. Latest phones are getting new features all the time. But many people don't need them all. Still, beyond 3-4 years old and things start to drop off fast.

I agree, but the anti-apple crowd like to spill forth the "obsolete every 12 months!" argument.. Google releases a new Nexus every year, Samsung releases a new Galaxy what seems like every few months in one variation or another, but nobody rushes to claim the previous model is "obsolete".

My 17 month old iPhone 6+ is still 100% supported. Yes, the later model hardware introduced more features that my hardware doesn't have (force touch, for example), but that doesn't IMHO make it obsolete, it makes it a previous model.

To use a car analogy, if you went out and bought a new Corvette today and then in a few months the 2017 models came out with a few extra farkles...is your 2016 "obsolete"? Of course not.

And PP, when is that last time you did the hardware upgrade through Rogers retentions?

I'm with Fido which is actually notoriously harder to get any deals from since they are already the "budget brand" arm of Rogers. I upgraded last December just before Christmas to the iPhone 6+ - the most expensive iPhone they carried at the time. As mentioned, with the initial CSR I spoke to I got the usual (and fully expected) song and dance about how I couldn't keep my plan. I said "fine then, I'd like to cancel my line then, I'll go with a competitor". It was 100% a bluff as I protect my 6 gig data plan vehemently, but it's always a bluff they fall for and you'll get transferred to their customer retentions people...and they can make stuff happen that the first line CSR's simply can't do. I've done 3 upgrades over the years all while keeping my 6 gig data plan, all times being told I couldn't do it initially.

It is possible, you just have to learn to play their game. Tactful negotiation via the retentions department is the key - the typical customer service reps are powerless to make these sorts of things happen so you need to threaten to cancel to get through to retentions instead. Even if you don't plan to actually cancel, you need to bluff your way there.

In the end, I probably never would actual cancel as I know I'd be tossing away my 6 gig plan forever and there's never been anything comparable since, but I've never needed to do more than threaten. That 6 gig is important for me however as someone who spends so much time on the road.
 
Thank God I am with Wind & enjoying it. I remember the good old days of spending hours on the phone negotiating a contract. Like if I have nothing better to do with my life
 
I'm with Fido which is actually notoriously harder to get any deals from since they are already the "budget brand" arm of Rogers. I upgraded last December just before Christmas to the iPhone 6+ - the most expensive iPhone they carried at the time.

FYI, it has been well known all over phone forums that Rogers has taken a hard line for many months now in retentions with people who want a new phone subsidized under a consumer contract renewal. Anyone who wants a new phone subsidized has to move to the much more expensive current plans offered, no matter how long term a customer; no grandfathering of old plans. No exceptions. People have pretty much universally posted this experience, and many have noted the other major carriers have followed suit. So there has been little incentive to move over to other major carriers as well.

Now the phone forums have many people interested in or following through with buying a new unlocked phone outright and using it on their existing phone plan rather than negotiating a new contract. For many people it works out to be cheaper than getting a subsidized phone on a notably more expensive new contract plan.

I don't know Fido much at all and what is going on there, but you may be in for a big surprise next contract renewal. Or maybe your plan is already expensive. Or maybe deals are still being had with some discount carriers. RFD has a large thread discussing Fido retention plans, but you have to sort through all the posts to discounts those from other regions of Canada.
 
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My nexus 5 charge port broke and battery was dying so I went to koodo and got a 32gb LG G4 for $0 w/$15/month tab which means you can get that with any plan. The more expensive ones you have to have min. $70/month plan. + $21/month tab. So far the phone is WAY better than my nexus 5.
 
Apple apple forces you to upgrade if anything goes wrong with your phone. They also advertise their iOS updates as an upgrade, when in reality they borderline brick older phones. Problem is you can't go back. They put a lot of effort to eliminate any way of downgrading iOS. I used to like apple because they used to be really good at keeping their older phones going. The 3GS was a great experience, it was a good phone for many years. The 4S became downright ****** when iOS 6 came out, 7 made it better but not great. Reduced lifetime compared to 3GS. The 5S I now have was the worst investment of my life... and that's heavy considering I owned a firebird :) . It's been laggy from day one, with iOS 8. I got a zte grand x plus with my fido dollars when I cancelled my fido. For a device that's worth $100 I like it a lot more than my 5S.
 
Any thoughts on what I should do? I own my Samsung Galaxy S5 outright and my contract with Rogers just expired. Any other carriers I should consider? Anybody work for Rogers on here who might give me an idea of a good plan I should consider?

The Galaxy S7 is nice and the S7 Edge is pretty neat (albeit it gimmicky). Since my S5 is still going strong and it is able to do what I want it to do I don't see the sense of locking myself into another contract just yet. Maybe the Galaxy Note 6 will floor me and I just have to have it. As it is though I am still happy with my phone so I may as well keep it.

So, those in the know. What to do? Stay with Rogers? Anyone work here for a telco and want to help a fellow GTAM member out? :)
 
@Zoodles95 if I was planning on jumping ship (I'm assuming that you don't have a great plan) I would give Wind a shot. They either will work for you or they won't, but if you get in now, and they (if I get the term right) broaden their spectrum, then you may end up with great service at a great price? I would think if their zones get bigger/better/ consistent coverage, then they will raise prices.

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Any thoughts on what I should do? I own my Samsung Galaxy S5 outright and my contract with Rogers just expired. Any other carriers I should consider? Anybody work for Rogers on here who might give me an idea of a good plan I should consider?

The Galaxy S7 is nice and the S7 Edge is pretty neat (albeit it gimmicky). Since my S5 is still going strong and it is able to do what I want it to do I don't see the sense of locking myself into another contract just yet. Maybe the Galaxy Note 6 will floor me and I just have to have it. As it is though I am still happy with my phone so I may as well keep it.

So, those in the know. What to do? Stay with Rogers? Anyone work here for a telco and want to help a fellow GTAM member out? :)
Shop around, you may or may not find a better deal. Just because your contract has expired doesn't mean there has to be a better plan for you somewhere else.

FWIW I believe Fido still have a 10% off promo for BYOD customers.
 
Apple apple forces you to upgrade if anything goes wrong with your phone. They also advertise their iOS updates as an upgrade, when in reality they borderline brick older phones. Problem is you can't go back. They put a lot of effort to eliminate any way of downgrading iOS. I used to like apple because they used to be really good at keeping their older phones going. The 3GS was a great experience, it was a good phone for many years. The 4S became downright ****** when iOS 6 came out, 7 made it better but not great. Reduced lifetime compared to 3GS. The 5S I now have was the worst investment of my life... and that's heavy considering I owned a firebird :) . It's been laggy from day one, with iOS 8. I got a zte grand x plus with my fido dollars when I cancelled my fido. For a device that's worth $100 I like it a lot more than my 5S.
There's currently a class action lawsuit against Apple for the 4S being bogged down by iOS 9, which I can attest to. It was promoted as a performance boost but it's worse, and we're locked in. So, deceptive market practice or whatever legal definition applies. Hopefully the lawsuit allows a downgrade to iOS 8.

In the future I will be very wary of updating old Apple hardware as the same problem occurred on my mom's Macbook with OSX 10.10
 
Well I've been a Rogers/iPhone user for a long time. The old iPhone 4 wasn't doing very well these days. I went to Rogers today to get a new phone and don't know much about them all. I wanted a free phone, with FM receiver, walked out with a Samsung a5. Trying Android this time, the a5 is probably outdated already as it was free. Any thoughts?

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i dont need a crazy good phone so ive been looking at factory unlocked Acer and ASUS android phones. they are factory new $200 for Acer at costco or $275 for ASUS at staples.

I have Asus Zenfone 2 Laser. So much better than my Blackberry Z10. Dual sim, too. ?



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Lots more people are looking to buy new unlocked phones outright and use on existing plans than ever, especially even from just a year ago. And there are some great outright phone purchase options out there. I'm interested to see how much it catches on. I for the first time went with a new unlocked phone bought outright to use with my existing phone plan, which is much much cheaper than the new plans out there (which are forced upon you if you want a new phone subsidized). It has been seamless and I have no complaints.

Imagine, actual OS updates immediately without the one to two year locked phone carrier wait, lol. :)


Well I've been a Rogers/iPhone user for a long time. The old iPhone 4 wasn't doing very well these days. I went to Rogers today to get a new phone and don't know much about them all. I wanted a free phone, with FM receiver, walked out with a Samsung a5. Trying Android this time, the a5 is probably outdated already as it was free. Any thoughts?

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Most phones out there will do the job and do it well unless you are an app junky/14 yr old, at which point only the main players excel at. Android is immensely popular and powerful, without the ridiculous apple proprietary iron grip / ultra premium prices / etc , but it is not as intuitive as IOS/WP. Taking the time Android is just fine to learn and enjoy, and for techies one can exploit its power much more than IOS.

Did you give up your old phone plan? Or are you already on the new plans? And how pricey is the plan... (if u want to divulge)

A5 seems like a perfectly fine phone and notably for free. It depends on your plan and any plan changes to determine actual value.
 
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And bump.

I ended up buying a used iPhone 4s for $100 and it was perfect for me, considering I am pretty rough with my phones due to work. And wouldn't you know it, I was working and ended up getting really wet and the phone got totally submerged. I've tried the drying it out in rice thing and it's done for I think.

So looking for a used phone. For email, basic webrowsing, text, photo/video and 32GB is ideal (or something upgradeable so I can dump my tunes on there). I do go out in the boonies a fair bit, so no wind/fido type stuff. Still looking for a cheap phone because I can't be trusted with a good phone due to my work. I was mistaken about Telus offering me a Iphone 5s for free if I just signed the two year with them - this was only if I changed my plan to their current offering which I will not do because my plan is good. So this also applies to their SE offering.

I prefer the smaller phones, but I'll try something a bit larger and maybe I'll like it. I prefer decent battery life. $300 max

Lumia - which of the cheaper ones are the best bang for buck? I think the 9xx series is too much for my skills.
Nexus 5/5x or Samsung S5 - one better than the other?
 
Have you thought about a waterproof phone?
 
Fido is basically Rogers for all intents and purposes, so don't shy away from them as an option. Same towers, same level of service, same company effectively except the name on the bills...but lower prices vs Rogers.
 
Lumia - which of the cheaper ones are the best bang for buck? I think the 9xx series is too much for my skills.

Lumia 650, $199. Dual sim windows 10 unlocked. https://www.microsoftstore.com/stor...ia-650-Dual-SIM--Unlocked/productID.334960500 The 550 is even cheaper.

Lumia 620 if you can find it is even cheaper and similar to the 650 though only windows mobile 8. Can be found for $50 on ebay and kijiji.

None of the older nokia 9XX series is update-able to windows mobile 10.
 

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