Samsung galaxy S23 and S23 ultra

[5105973]

Lol well clearly I have been on my S23 Ultra a lot today. Battery life is excellent and I'm doing well on the display.

I'm struggling a little with the fingerprint scanner. Even after removing the bubble infested screen protector. But I am having the same problem on the S22 Ultra screen protector. I've been doing a lot of manual work the last few days and washing my hands a lot so my fingers are swollen and chapped. I'm thinking about trying to register my face, but that's less secure so I don't know. I don't want someone being able to unlock my phone by holding a potato up to it. 🤣

 

[aue123]

I own the 14PM , and made the switch to the Ultra.. seems like a good time to with battery being on par. true I do like the convenience of imessage but how often do I actually send video, once every couple month probably. I sold the watch ultra mainly because it was burning my skin so I had to turn off the heart rate sensor anyways.

I do also international travel and setting up Esim is a pain in the arse with the 14 especially when you need a translator to communicate. I keep the iPhone for the apple card which I'll slowly move over to a better rewards card over the next few months. and a few ios exclusive apps which are dog water on Android.

 

[sunking101]

It's not the spying that's an issue. It's more personal than that for a lot of us. If you've seen lifelong friends and family manipulated and destroyed and friendships torn apart over manipulative algorithms and methods employed to maximize user engagement, even if that engagement is harmful, then you'd understand the antipathy.

I'm not sure why that antipathy isn't felt more keenly in Europe, given that the EU seems more dedicated to protecting privacy.

As far as I know, Google and Apple haven't fostered the same kind of social media engagement as Meta.

Are we talking about Facebook here? I don't use that. Strikes me as a destructive thing that can ruin friendships and relationships (certainly if in the wrong hands).

 

[sunking101]

Lol well clearly I have been on my S23 Ultra a lot today. Battery life is excellent and I'm doing well on the display.

I'm struggling a little with the fingerprint scanner. Even after removing the bubble infested screen protector. But I am having the same problem on the S22 Ultra screen protector. I've been doing a lot of manual work the last few days and washing my hands a lot so my fingers are swollen and chapped. I'm thinking about trying to register my face, but that's less secure so I don't know. I don't want someone being able to unlock my phone by holding a potato up to it. 🤣

I have never got along with any iteration of Samsung's in-disolay fingerprint scanner. I'm thankful that the Z Fold 4 has the scanner built into the power button. It works every time. Thank goodness for old tech!

 

[mjschabow]

I own the 14PM , and made the switch to the Ultra.. seems like a good time to with battery being on par. true I do like the convenience of imessage but how often do I actually send video, once every couple month probably. I sold the watch ultra mainly because it was burning my skin so I had to turn off the heart rate sensor anyways.

I do also international travel and setting up Esim is a pain in the arse with the 14 especially when you need a translator to communicate. I keep the iPhone for the apple card which I'll slowly move over to a better rewards card over the next few months. and a few ios exclusive apps which are dog water on Android.

Funny you say that. When I stopped wearing the Apple Watch Ultra last month, the skin on my wrist under where the sensors would be was all red and irritated... Took a week for it to go away.

 

[Technerd108]

You don’t need to sign up for the $50 plan. I got the $20 flex plan ( an additional $10 for 1 GB data, but I didn’t use any more than what was needed to activate the device ~ 140 MB ) and qualified just fine.

Once activated, took the Fi sim out, reset the device and using it with my TMobile sim.

118 days to go to fulfill the promo (120 day) requirement.

To qualify for the $600 discount, you need to:
Purchase the device or currently be in a group plan with the purchaser.
Activate the phone on an existing full service plan (data-only SIMs do not qualify) within 30 days of the shipment confirmation.
If you do not currently have Fi service and your last day of Fi service took place within the last 180 days as part of an existing single subscriber or group plan, you must also bring/transfer your number to Fi within 30 days of the shipment confirmation email. Numbers ported in must be from carriers that have calling, voice and data services. Fi-to-Fi number transfers are not eligible.
Remain active and in good standing for 120 consecutive days. Pausing, changing, or suspending the account will void the promotion.
The discounted price will automatically apply during checkout. If you do not meet the conditions above, $600 will be charged to your Google Pay account.
Any other details to know?
Offer is valid while supplies last or while the promotion is live and available on the fi.google.com site.
For individual plans, limit one per person. For group plans, limit one per group plan member.
Offer is only available to U.S. residents 18 years or older, and requires Google Pay and Google Fi accounts.
Unless otherwise stated, this offer cannot be combined with other offers.
Discount is not transferable and is not valid for cash or cash equivalent.
If Fi determines that this offer is used in connection with abuse, misuse, or fraud, or if the account used to purchase the phone is not in good standing, the discounted amount will be charged to your Google Pay account.
Void where prohibited.
$600 off Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Get a $600 phone discount with the purchase and activation of a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra phone from fi.google.com. New Google Fi customers must transfer (port-in) your number to Fi from your current carrier to be eligible.

How do I qualify for the $600 discount?
You must be a new Fi customer. A new Fi customer is someone who has never had Fi service or someone whose last day of Fi service took place more than 180 days before making a purchase with this promotion.
To qualify for the full $600 discount, you need to:
Purchase the device or currently be in a group plan with the purchaser.
Activate the phone on a new full service plan (data-only SIMs do not qualify) within 30 days of the shipment confirmation.
You must also bring/transfer your number to Fi within 30 days of the shipment confirmation email. Numbers ported in must be from carriers that have calling, voice and data services. Fi-to-Fi number transfers are not eligible.
Remain active and in good standing for 120 consecutive days. Pausing, changing, or suspending the account will void the promotion.
The discounted price will automatically apply during checkout. If you do not meet the conditions above, $600 will be charged to your Google Pay account.
Any other details to know?
Offer is valid while supplies last or while the promotion is live and available on the fi.google.com site.
For individual plans, limit one per person. For group plans, limit one per group plan member.
Offer is only available to U.S. residents 18 years or older, and requires Google Pay and Google Fi accounts.
Unless otherwise stated, this offer cannot be combined with other offers.
Discount is not transferable and is not valid for cash or cash equivalent.
If Fi determines that this offer is used in connection with abuse, misuse, or fraud, or if the account used to purchase the phone is not in good standing, the discounted amount will be charged to your Google Pay account.
Void where prohibited.
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[5105973]

Are we talking about Facebook here? I don't use that. Strikes me as a destructive thing that can ruin friendships and relationships (certainly if in the wrong hands).

Facebook, yes, but Instagram does some serious damage, too. Basically it's all now Meta. All the power and glory and the money go from these apps to Zuck. I don't want his stuff on my phones, period, if I can help it.

In the interest of honest disclosure though, I can't avoid it because some of the school organizations, as well as my mother's Assisted Living, put very important news and communication on Meta/Facebook. All key dates for different parent organization events are posted only on the FB pages for the different parenting clubs. Once in a great while someone will remember to email members or pass information to people who don't have social media. But it's too easy to miss something.

I think one reason I'm struggling to get the information I need from the Assisted Living administrators in order to change my mom's doctor's is because I am not on Facebook. Their engagement with the families of their residents appears to be primarily through FB.

So, someone has to take the Mark of the Beast (or the Beast of Mark Zuckerberg) for us to function fully in our community. My husband is European American with lots of business and family connections throughout Europe, so it's necessary for him to use WhatsApp; his work even sort of mandates it.

He wasn't allowed to have a FB account by his employer for decades, so to him it's a novelty, but he doesn't post. He just uses it to see what everyone else is doing and to let me know what I need to know about school and Assisted Living.

When I left FB I really didn't like how some people reacted as if I were dead or to be shunned. It felt very much like leaving a cult. I know not everyone experiences it that way, but my association with it felt very dark and negative. My antipathy is therefore very visceral.

 

[torana355]

I wish we had a widely embraced messaging solution in the US that's akin to what you have in Whatsapp. But one run by decent people.

We do have WhatsApp here, but we also have a growing, gradually dawning awareness of the evils of the exploitative nature of Meta's founder's approach to our data. It isn't merely invasive, it's actively harmful how Zuckerberg has structured his empire. It doesn't help the guy comes across creepy.

Lol we have to live with the guy over here and you all don't so maybe the antipathy against Meta isn't there.

If enough people are on iMessage it really does a good job of handling non business group chat needs. Though sadly there have been a LOT of bugs across iOS apps lately.

In Australia, Whatsapp is prominent, most people who own iPhones still use Whatsapp. I hate Facebook (i left it years ago) and really wish Whatsapp was owned by another more trustworthy company however the messages are end-to-end encrypted and i have never had an issue in over a decade of use. iMessage is great but what is the point if it can only be taken advantage of with other iOS users. I wish we had a more universal trusted solution.

 

[majkom]

It is not about messages, it is about meta data with meta/whatsapp

 

[Technerd108]

In the interest of accurate information I called Google Fi to verify some information.

Posting misleading information could get people in serious financial problems and you really should be sure before you say certain things.

In order to qualify for the Google Fi $600 off promotion or any of their current s23 promotions you must activate and port in a number and be new to using Google Fi for at least 4 months.

You must also use the activated device you bought with the Google Fi sim uninterrupted for 180 days. If you take the sim out and use another sim in the promotional device you instantly disqualify and will be charged iother $600. You also can't swap sims into another device using the Fi sim. It must be the Google Fi sim in the Google Fi device for 180 days. Then you can do whatever you want.

You also have 30 days from the shipping date to port your number over otherwise you will be charged.

I have verified this with Google Fi customer service on the phone.

I still think this is the best deal out there. As far as the type of service it just needs to be a data plan but if you pay $20 for the service and $10 for each additional GB it sort of makes sense to get the least expensive unlimited plan for $50 a month. I checked my bill and with taxes it is just under $50. They are adding a $5 discount. So taxes in my area would be an additional $5 without the discount.

Hope all of that helps anyone interested in the promotion and keeps them out of incurring a huge bill later on by doing something that was said in this thread.

The promotion is still ongoing and if you are in a tight budget you can get a s23 for $299 without a trade. Best deal I have seen.

 

[Technerd108]

Facebook, yes, but Instagram does some serious damage, too. Basically it's all now Meta. All the power and glory and the money go from these apps to Zuck. I don't want his stuff on my phones, period, if I can help it.

In the interest of honest disclosure though, I can't avoid it because some of the school organizations, as well as my mother's Assisted Living, put very important news and communication on Meta/Facebook. All key dates for different parent organization events are posted only on the FB pages for the different parenting clubs. Once in a great while someone will remember to email members or pass information to people who don't have social media. But it's too easy to miss something.

I think one reason I'm struggling to get the information I need from the Assisted Living administrators in order to change my mom's doctor's is because I am not on Facebook. Their engagement with the families of their residents appears to be primarily through FB.

So, someone has to take the Mark of the Beast (or the Beast of Mark Zuckerberg) for us to function fully in our community. My husband is European American with lots of business and family connections throughout Europe, so it's necessary for him to use WhatsApp; his work even sort of mandates it.

He wasn't allowed to have a FB account by his employer for decades, so to him it's a novelty, but he doesn't post. He just uses it to see what everyone else is doing and to let me know what I need to know about school and Assisted Living.

When I left FB I really didn't like how some people reacted as if I were dead or to be shunned. It felt very much like leaving a cult. I know not everyone experiences it that way, but my association with it felt very dark and negative. My antipathy is therefore very visceral.

I loathe Meta and Mark Z.

The initial idea was great by connecting people regardless of location and allowing them a place to communicate.

The data harvesting scheme and algorithms used are pure evil.

It would have been much better to charge a small fee for a private user account and make money on a subscription service rather than snooping and psychologically manipulating users for nefarious purposes.

It is a shame really because Facebook could have been used for good and protected user data at the same time but the lure of exploiting people proved too much a temptation to resist.

I use Facebook but mostly because of the friends and family and like you to communicate with school and assisted living.

 

[5105973]

In Australia, Whatsapp is prominent, most people who own iPhones still use Whatsapp. I hate Facebook and really wish Whatsapp was owned by another more trustworthy company however the messages are end-to-end encrypted and i have never had an issue in over a decade of use. iMessage is great but what is the point if it can only be taken advantage of with other iOS users. I wish we had a more universal trusted solution.

I believe WhatsApp is probably as trustworthy as can be. I just don't want to throw ANY support to what's become an evil empire in my mind. I admit I'm probably being overdramatic. I don't blame anyone for having that opinion of me.

I just was affected and suffered too personally due to FB. I lost people I really treasured. The way FB inflames engagement was toxic with people my age or older who were used to a more innocent way of interacting on the internet seemed especially naive and vulnerable. We were the Star Trek kids in awe of this amazing new way of meeting and communicating with people. We didn't know what algorithms are or how they can be weaponized to manipulate people and radicalize them and destroy trust and relationships. We were raised on ideals of journalistic integrity.

We were so ripe for exploitation. I think I was more savvy to what was going on because of work I'd done developing physical security protocols. I was always above average wary.

We all met on AOL or Prodigy (where real names were used) and transitioned to managed list serves and email groups. When everyone finally settled down on FB is when the carnage took place. It wasn't like that at first. I watched changes slowly be implemented that introduced new types of toxicity. It was the old slowly boiling the frog scenario.

I tried to wake people up to how we were being manipulated and turning against each other. That made me the target of so much anger and resentment. I backed off, backed away, then fled for my life, metaphorically speaking.

These were people I loved. People I provided solid material help to through hard times and other things.

A few finally woke up, left, and found me and we are trying to rebuild our friendships but we are all badly damaged.

 

[Technerd108]

I’m with you on that. I take care of my father with dementia, mother with macular degeneration (she can’t see well and can still barely drive), and brother with autism. My father has gotten really bad to the point we are considering putting him somewhere. I’m also, now without a job. But have an interview Tuesday so I’m being hopeful. My tech budget was cut to almost nothing but this s23 will get purchased under a deal so I can get rid of this high payment on the iPhone 14 pro max. The Samsung I can get for $600 and have it paid off through google fi. To add to that I have an auto immune disorder as well. Rheumatoid arthritis. So, not fun.

Thank you for your kind words.

I am sorry to hear about the difficult situation you and your family are dealing with.

There really needs to be more help available financially for elder caregivers like us. We shouldn't have to go into financial ruin just to take care of our family. More attention needs to be given to this issue.

Dementia and Alzheimer's care is not covered under health insurance. My mother had a long term care insurance policy and she forgot to pay it. When I tried to intervene on her behalf they wouldn't let me make a payment unless I sent in paper documentation of P.O.A. which I was not able to send in time before the policy expired due to non payment.

I would not be in the situation I am in if they would not have done that.

There are countless people like us in the same situation or worse and nothing is being done to help them.

As the population ages and more people get dementia related disease this will be a silent pandemic because it is happening all over the world not just the United States but the United States has some of the worse elder care and health insurance unless you have unlimited money.

Putting a loved one in an assisted living facility is one of the most difficult and complex decisions a family can make and is an extreme financial burden.

Here is a resource that helped me a lot to find a good fit for my Mom. You can give them a budget to work with and area of interest. They will then give you a list of facilities that you can go and interview and see which is best for you. An invaluable resource. Take your time and go to each place on the list. Take a tour and weigh your options.

A Place for Mom

www.aplaceformom.com

I wish you the best!!

 

[Technerd108]

I believe WhatsApp is probably as trustworthy as can be. I just don't want to throw ANY support to what's become an evil empire in my mind. I admit I'm probably being overdramatic. I don't blame anyone for having that opinion of me.

I just was affected and suffered too personally due to FB. I lost people I really treasured. The way FB inflames engagement was toxic with people my age or older who were used to a more innocent way of interacting on the internet seemed especially naive and vulnerable. We were the Star Trek kids in awe of this amazing new way of meeting and communicating with people. We didn't know what algorithms are or how they can be weaponized to manipulate people and radicalize them and destroy trust and relationships. We were raised on ideals of journalistic integrity.

We were so ripe for exploitation. I think I was more savvy to what was going on because of work I'd done developing physical security protocols. I was always above average wary.

We all met on AOL or Prodigy (where real names were used) and transitioned to managed list serves and email groups. When everyone finally settled down on FB is when the carnage took place. It wasn't like that at first. I watched changes slowly be implemented that introduced new types of toxicity. It was the old slowly boiling the frog scenario.

I tried to wake people up to how we were being manipulated and turning against each other. That made me the target of so much anger and resentment. I backed off, backed away, then fled for my life, metaphorically speaking.

These were people I loved. People I provided solid material help to through hard times and other things.

A few finally woke up, left, and found me and we are trying to rebuild our friendships but we are all badly damaged.

I completely agree.

I have lost friends on Facebook over stupid arguments that had irrevocable consequences.

People just seem to want to argue and you must agree or you're a bad person.

Gone are the days when you could have a heated discussion and disagree but at the end of the remain friends.

It is a trend I see across social media and forums and it is really disappointing.

 

[torana355]

I believe WhatsApp is probably as trustworthy as can be. I just don't want to throw ANY support to what's become an evil empire in my mind. I admit I'm probably being overdramatic. I don't blame anyone for having that opinion of me.

I just was affected and suffered too personally due to FB. I lost people I really treasured. The way FB inflames engagement was toxic with people my age or older who were used to a more innocent way of interacting on the internet seemed especially naive and vulnerable. We were the Star Trek kids in awe of this amazing new way of meeting and communicating with people. We didn't know what algorithms are or how they can be weaponized to manipulate people and radicalize them and destroy trust and relationships. We were raised on ideals of journalistic integrity.

We were so ripe for exploitation. I think I was more savvy to what was going on because of work I'd done developing physical security protocols. I was always above average wary.

We all met on AOL or Prodigy (where real names were used) and transitioned to managed list serves and email groups. When everyone finally settled down on FB is when the carnage took place. It wasn't like that at first. I watched changes slowly be implemented that introduced new types of toxicity. It was the old slowly boiling the frog scenario.

I tried to wake people up to how we were being manipulated and turning against each other. That made me the target of so much anger and resentment. I backed off, backed away, then fled for my life, metaphorically speaking.

These were people I loved. People I provided solid material help to through hard times and other things.

A few finally woke up, left, and found me and we are trying to rebuild our friendships but we are all badly damaged.

Not being overdramatic at all, people should stand up for what they believe in. I found facebook toxic, people only ever posted the positive parts of life, it gave an unrealistic impression of how life is for most people. I never got into arguments on there however i saw it happen time and time again.

 

[swarlos]

Not being overdramatic at all, people should stand up for what they believe in. I found facebook toxic, people only ever posted the positive parts of life, it gave an unrealistic impression of how life is for most people. I never got into arguments on there however i saw it happen time and time again.

Yeah this is why deleted my facebook and especially my Instagram after I saw a friend from middle school post an image of him in scrubs and saying he had become a neurosurgeon. It depressed the hell out of me cause at the time I saw the post I was 30. Now I've graduated and have a great job as an auditor with a mid size regional CPA firm.

It's always been hard for me to not compare myself to others and social media definitely does not help with that.

 

[torana355]

Yeah this is why deleted my facebook and especially my Instagram after I saw a friend from middle school post an image of him in scrubs and saying he had become a neurosurgeon. It depressed the hell out of me cause at the time I saw the post I was 30. Now I've graduated and have a great job as an auditor with a mid size regional CPA firm.

It's always been hard for me to not compare myself to others and social media definitely does not help with that.

Yeah i deleted my Insta for similar reasons, i only use twitter now as its great when watching sports, i only follow people who follow my team/s.

 

[SteveJUAE]

What you are missing is... iMessage is preinstalled.

It's the snowball effect... once word got out Apple made a better version of SMS, people began to enjoy it and realized why go elsewhere. There's no reason to go to the App Store to download an app... it's encrypted and easy to use.

In addition to that... in the US, carriers made SMS popular compared to other countries where cost is a factor to exchange SMS messages... but US carriers offered unlimited packages. And when you take that into account, exchanging SMS... Apple was the first to enhance SMS on their platform and now we are here.

While I agree with your summation there are a few legacy points that made the US fundamentally different

The US was in fact quite slow to adopt SMS as unlike many countries they had been used to relatively free local landlines and were more inclined to call where in Europe for example sms was seen as a cheaper way to communicate over dialing. In UK 20 years back there was a stage when phones had 1000's of free sms per month and of course later when data was more widespread the Blackberry message system was very popular in Europe

Generally US has always had a slightly different approach to consumerism and services mainly from access to easier and cheaper credit. Many of the US business models simply would not work in far poorer countries

US teleco's had for a time a much stronger control of the markets which something Apple capitalized on in several ways and fueled the Iphone boom. You had to be far more geekish in the US to use alternatives, packages and bundles and so called subsides (not) were marketed far more strongly for Iphones

IMessages introduction to out do Blackberry went along with increased use of sms but it also favored the teleco's as they had a win win, you already paid for included sms/mms and had to have data else you lost 50% of Imesages functionality. The use of a propitiatory and niche app suited all.

Apples clever marketing along with Telecos have ingrained a strong legacy perception with both branding and functionality in the US.

This coupled with Apples spin on security playing to the US strong constitutional beliefs will always out trump for most any of today's logical alternatives to messaging etc be it financial, connectivity and even security

 

[aggie99]

Not so. It isn't a problem for anyone I know. Only people on this forum who I've never met and they're almost entirely American. So it's pretty much an American problem IME.

Sunking101 please use your powers and will the other 330+ million Americans who are not active participants on this subforum to use WhatsApp so iMessage is no longer a problem for us Americans. K, thanks.

 

[drinkingtea]

The battery on the S23U is insane!

 

[5105973]

While I agree with your summation there are a few legacy points that made the US fundamentally different

The US was in fact quite slow to adopt SMS as unlike many countries they had been used to relatively free local landlines and were more inclined to call where in Europe for example sms was seen as a cheaper way to communicate over dialing. In UK 20 years back there was a stage when phones had 1000's of free sms per month and of course later when data was more widespread the Blackberry message system was very popular in Europe

Generally US has always had a slightly different approach to consumerism and services mainly from access to easier and cheaper credit. Many of the US business models simply would not work in far poorer countries

US teleco's had for a time a much stronger control of the markets which something Apple capitalized on in several ways and fueled the Iphone boom. You had to be far more geekish in the US to use alternatives, packages and bundles and so called subsides (not) were marketed far more strongly for Iphones

IMessages introduction to out do Blackberry went along with increased use of sms but it also favored the teleco's as they had a win win, you already paid for included sms/mms and had to have data else you lost 50% of Imesages functionality. The use of a propitiatory and niche app suited all.

Apples clever marketing along with Telecos have ingrained a strong legacy perception with both branding and functionality in the US.

This coupled with Apples spin on security playing to the US strong constitutional beliefs will always out trump for most any of today's logical alternatives to messaging etc be it financial, connectivity and even security

Whatever the origins of the differences are, currently when I speak to people about it the big appeal of iMessage is it's so easy to send photos and videos to another iMessage user. People on FB did use FB Messenger but usually when it relates to something while they're on FB.

Apple has everything set up that you need, that even my dad could be taught to text me photos and videos when he was 84. And now his younger brother who is 81 (I think) can also do it and he's not even a techy like my dad was. Even my mother-in-law could do it. She was a terrible smartphone photographer though. We found so many photos of her feet on her phone! Just her feet. We are sure it wasnt intentional. We hope it wasn't intentional. 😳

With Android you need to pick what you're going to use, is it going to be Google photos? Is it some other service the manufacturer partnered with?

Samsung had Gallery, but they confused even ME when they changed where the photos back up to. I had to sign up to OneDrive to keep something akin to what I was used to with their own service that they discontinued.

So basically we are at the point way past your origin story" to where people don't remember or care why they have an iPhone. But they have it and they're not going to give it up because it still "just works" (though not always as steadily as it used to).

Lol I hope this post makes sense. I got interrupted a few paragraphs ago to have one of those 50's sitcom style heartfelt parental talks with a very upset child. It was a compassionate talk on the perils and pitfalls of procrastination on homework. And speaking of procrastinating, please everyone under my roof, stop hoarding dirty laundry and having Mom (and Dad--he does laundry too) bailing you out of potential unsanctioned nudity at school with these last minute post- midnight laundry emergencies. 🙄🤪

I say that, even though I forgot to gather all the socks from under my side of the bed and put them in the hamper so they got missed when my husband ran our sock and underwear laundry this afternoon. I'm notorious for kicking my socks off before I go to bed and kicking them partly under the bed. Then to add insult to injury, forgetting to pick them up next morning and putting them in the hamper. Mea culpa.

Be better than me, children! Do as I say, not as I do! 😬

 

[M5RahuL]

Don't they count days active on their network with the activated device? If you put another sim and never use it then you haven't fulfilled the promo?

At least that was my understanding. You are saying you can get any plan and basically never use the service as long as you pay for 4 months??

Plus don't you have to port your number as a new customer?

If you're a new customer, yes you have to port in.

You don't have to keep the sim in the new device after activating, porting ( if new sign up ) and once you see the 120 day counter kick off ( Fi account > Billing > fi Savings > In Progress ) I'd wait until the counter goes down to 119 ( usually after 24 hrs post activation)

The key is to NEVER insert the Fi Sim in another device, other than the device it was activated with! Best practice, unless you want to use the Fi service or keep it as a second line, is to store it away with a notation [ do not use and activation date ] and forget it.

Since ALL Fi devices are factory unlocked, feel free to put any sim ( assuming you have another carrier ) and be on your merry way

This isn't my first rodeo with this promo thru Fi, but just my .02

 

[M5RahuL]

Yes,

Don't they count days active on their network with the activated device? If you put another sim and never use it then you haven't fulfilled the promo?

At least that was my understanding. You are saying you can get any plan and basically never use the service as long as you pay for 4 months??

Plus don't you have to port your number as a new customer?

Yes, any Fi plan with data will qualify. I chose the basic plan ($20 for unlimited voice and txt plus $10 for 1 GB data. With taxes I'm looking at ~ $38 per month ) since I only want to fulfill the promo eligibility and then cancel Fi on the 121st day.

I've been using the 23U on Tmobile for about 2 days now and the Fi 120 counter is now at 117 days to go...

 

[M5RahuL]

Bit the bullet and got Whitestone... tried a couple of cheap ones but they didn't work.

$35 for a tempered glass did give me some heart burn, but agh.. it's done.. At least they send you 2 now vs 1 back in the day!!

Had to redo my finger prints but working fine now.

So anyone find a decent tempered glass screen protector for the s23 ultra?

Whitestone Dome is what I am considering but the cost is always a bear. On Amazon it is $35 with tax. Anyone find a better deal or better alternative?

 

[majkom]

funny, this thread is probably best on whole macrumors forum.. and the most awesome thing is, that i am not android user at all, yet I go through every post in this thread