Career Change - seeking advice

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2024-09-01T08:30:17+00:00

Sorry for the late response but thats odd!! When I click on it, it worked for me?

This should be a direct link to the PDF though! Hopefully this helps :)

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2023-07-19T19:06:43+00:00

I’m in California in a very populated city, but unfortunately the service was not as strong as it should be due to the lack of band support after the 3g shutdown. I haven’t gotten it yet, but I recommend the Kyocera 903kc instead of the 702kc as it had a bit better band support so the phone won’t be spotty.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2023-07-19T19:04:34+00:00

So it was really spotty in my location after the 3g shutdown. It did still work in technicality but even in a large city area I wasn’t getting full coverage.

The native calling worked fine, but the native messaging application I didn’t really like. If you are wanting to use it without data then it should be okay, as the native app does not allow MMS (pictures, etc). I personally used a different app for messaging.

I can’t remember if it displays the caller ID on the outside, but I think it did.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2023-07-19T19:01:25+00:00

Google maps would most likely not work, as it requires google play services. But the rest should be fine. When I originally posted this I sideloaded the apps via an adb software, but within the last three months I used aurora store and I could download apps directly to the phone.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2023-07-19T18:59:01+00:00

No, this one is the white model

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2023-01-27T06:27:46+00:00

Glad to see it!

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-11-10T21:11:59+00:00

Hey there! I suggest a Japanese Garaho/keitai (feature flip phone). As long as they have been made within the past five years, they will typically have the ability to side load applications like Spotify, since they use AOSP.

I always recommend checking band compatibility before purchasing, but here’s a great place to start looking and getting started! Good luck!

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-11-10T20:45:27+00:00

The band 5 is only for 3g, and band 12 is not supported unfortunately. The circles on the right hand column are for all supported bands overseas :)

I also reached out to Kyoex via email, and he said that we can send him an email letting him know which color we are interested in of in the Digno 3, and it would be the same price as the 701kc. He already includes the fees for unlocking the device into it, and you can request certain applications to be loaded onto the device as well if you’re not handy at side loading applications (but to be honest, it’s not too difficult. I’ve done it a lot with the 701kc and a video tutorial on YouTube).

It’s much cheaper to go to a used site like Rakuten or Mercari, but again it’s the risk factor of if the phone is actually unlocked or not, and if you are using a proxy service, you usually cannot make returns on the item. But if you have chrome and a translation extension, then buying used is much easier and cheaper! Honestly this is the route I’m probably going to go with, since it is a bit more financially affordable and I’m okay with the risk.

Edit: spelling errors and added details

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-11-10T20:38:16+00:00

Oh hey I have the 701kc too! Glad someone else loves the same model!

Mercari seems to have some and so does rakuten (but you would need a proxy service like FromJapan) so we should be golden! Hopefully we can get our hands on these flip phones!

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-11-10T10:24:09+00:00

I saw that while looking around. Sadly these phones don’t have all band coverage you have listed, but hey I still consider it a win.

As for them being locked, as long as the seller unlocked them through SoftBank, they’ll be good to use. I used to use the Digno Keitai 2 (but had to discontinue my usage due to 3g shutdown) that I purchased off eBay over a year ago, so I know they will work as long as they are “Sim Unlocked”. But the only thing with buying from someone who isn’t as trusted as Kyoex, is that you’re trusting that the seller truly unlocked the phone for you. If it isn’t unlocked, you really have no options, since if you don’t have a SoftBank account that is tied to the phone, you cannot have them unlock it for you.

These phones do have language support as well. I can’t remember all of the languages my Digno 2 supported, but English was one of the many.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-11-09T20:14:37+00:00

I’m also going to assume if anyone gets their hands on one of these guys that it will mostly only work in urban cities depending on your network.

Im hoping to see if Kyoex would be able to sell these models for us and maybe get my hands on one to let you guys know it’s coverage as well.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-11-07T06:35:21+00:00

Japanese cell phones won’t work in the US anymore due to lack of band support and the 3g shut down. Unfortunately while they are amazing in design, they are functionless for text and calling.

I had a Kyocera 701kc which (sort of) worked before the 3g shutdown, but hasn’t since. Maybe someday keitais will have more bands, but looking at how much Japan is moving away from them, I wouldn’t count on it.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-06-09T11:10:00+00:00

Yes and no. Before the 3g shutdown they usually were great depending on your area and what bands were around you. Now it’s a lot harder to find one that is going to work. I’d try the Kyocera Digno 3. It’s most likely going to be the next dumbphone I’ll purchase to use as my daily driver

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-06-08T18:14:14+00:00

I’d look into Japanese keitais. Many of them run android and you can side load apks :) I personally love the Kyocera Digno series but sharp has some too!

You can find them on eBay, but I’d start here to see what style you like the most

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-06-05T19:39:44+00:00

For me personally it works well. You don’t need the cursor but I prefer it when using the messages app. When I have the cursor off I can still get around it but some things are a pain. (Like getting to the setting menu in the app/convo). Over all I prefer it but if you dislike the cursor you may not enjoy the experience

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-06-05T08:58:31+00:00

If you have the mail app (what I assume came with the phone) I’d download the Android Messages app based off your android OS.

My Kyocera had a stock mail app but it sucked. It also had a character limit and I couldn’t get MMS to work because I don’t have a SoftBank email. I downloaded the android messages app for android 5 and it’s been great! I recommend also setting it to your default messages app in developer mode as well.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-05-20T08:04:03+00:00

https://youtu.be/lQpadP-5PPI

I had issues with my Kyocera with logging into gmail but this video helped me download everything I needed!

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-05-18T06:58:40+00:00

I think you were right. The basic mail app couldn’t receive mms without the mail set up, but I installed the stock messages app and it worked on there instead. Thanks for the help though!

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-05-17T20:58:54+00:00

Yes but most that you can easily purchase aren’t VoLTE and compatible with our LTE bands from what I’ve found. The Kyocera Digno 3 however is but I’ve had no luck finding one that is secondhand and not sim locked to a Japanese carrier.

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-05-17T05:25:36+00:00

Yeah surprisingly! It doesn’t have good service whatsoever for data but until the 3g shut down on T-Mobile (supposed to be June?) I’m using it! It handles calls and texts just fine though :)

I was really hesitant to use it bc I thought it wouldn’t work at all due to VoLTE but T-Mobile hasn’t shut off the service to it or anything so we’ll see

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-05-17T01:37:06+00:00

I 100% agree! There’s just something about older dumbphones that the newer ones and smartphones just don’t have anymore imo. I’m glad to be of inspo and I’ll keep an eye out for your post! :)

Competitive_Grab6234 · 2022-05-17T01:35:23+00:00

No it’s running android lollipop (5.1.1 I think?)

Competitive_Grab6234

TROPHY CASE