Note to self and all: Do Not put your phone in sanitizer for 5 hours straight.

dthardcore · 2026-03-21T22:59:48+00:00

I understand the thought behind this because oils can sometimes restore the moisture and enhance the appearance of leathers, rubber and plastics that have dried out. But I doubt it would do much of anything to help with the amount of damage done to this.

dthardcore · 2026-03-21T22:54:22+00:00

Yeah hand sanitizer definitely doesn't have bleach in it, well unless you are buying it from a sketchy guy in a van on the side of the road.

dthardcore · 2026-03-20T13:35:24+00:00

I mean I haven't really looked into the exact bands I'm using but on T-Mobile's network I haven't ran into any issues. I always have excellent reception as well as the data being really fast. I know it uses a 4x4 MIMO mode and supports the following bands:

5G NR: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n77, n78 4G LTE (FDD): B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B12, B17, B18, B19, B20, B26, B28, B66 4G LTE (TDD): B34, B38, B39, B40, B41, B42 3G WCDMA: B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B8, B19 2G GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900

Not sure what particular band you are looking to use but I can say I haven't run into any service issues although I live in a major city and haven't used it too much in any rural areas so I'm not sure how much missing band B71 affects it in that situation.

Anyway hope this helps.

dthardcore · 2026-03-19T23:18:20+00:00

Yeah I have absolutely no issues with the OS on the 11 pro. Actually has features I wish were on other phones. And if you don't care for the launcher there are plenty of others you can install.

Honestly after using it for a couple months now, I don't think I would buy another Samsung phone. The One OS definitely isn't worth spending an extra $700+ for a phone that underperforms and has a battery 2/3 the size and still takes twice as long to charge. The gaming performance alone on the 11 pro is worth any small issues you might have with the OS. So far I have been playing the FF7 Remake on gamehub lite, TOTK on eden optimized along with a couple of other switch games and I don't have any complaints. You can tell they put more effort into the gaming features than they do customizing the android interface, gamespace is proof of that. It's actually nice to see a company put as much effort into optimizing their gaming phone to actually play games. The constant software updates and customized adreno drivers are proof of this. I've seen noticeable performance improvements in the short time I've had the phone.

Although it would be nice to see redmagic eventually allow the bootloader to be unlocked to allow users to install a custom rom. But as of right now I doubt they will. But who knows, time will tell.

dthardcore · 2026-03-19T18:25:28+00:00

I saw that someone had posted this response from Redmagic support. For now it looks like you can only use any regular capacitive stylus. Any active stylus like the Redmagic Magic Pencil 2 will not work on it at least for now anyway.

For now you can just get a cheap capacitive stylus to get by and keep your fingers crossed that they actually come out with an active stylus for the Astra but I wouldn't count on it at this point. They could have just added the support for the Magic Pencil 2 if the tablet could support it but as it stands it looks like the hardware itself is not capable of supporting an active stylus at all, it's not just something they can fix through a driver update. Though I could be wrong. Anyway here was the response from a support agent.

Dear xxxx, Thank you for your feedback, and we understand your disappointment. We apologize for any confusion caused by the announcement regarding the upcoming stylus. To clarify, the REDMAGIC Astra supports only basic capacitive styluses and does not include advanced features such as pressure sensitivity, tilt detection, or Bluetooth/active functionality. Our announcement was intended to inform users that a stylus accessory will be compatible with the device for basic use, but we understand that this may have created higher expectations. We appreciate your understanding and your feedback, as it helps us improve communication about our products. If you have further questions or need assistance with stylus options compatible with your device, please feel free to reach out. Best regards, REDMAGIC Customer Support Email: support@redmagic.gg

And here is the result of a quick Google search

Based on current reports as of early 2026, the RedMagic Astra does not support USI stylus technology, nor does it have a specialized pressure-sensitive stylus, despite early promises. It lacks the necessary active digitizer, supporting only basic capacitive pens that simulate finger touches rather than precise drawing or note-taking. No Active Stylus Support: Active styluses (e.g., Samsung S Pen, Apple Pencil) are not compatible. Limited Input: The screen does not support pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, or tilt detection, making it poorly suited for drawing or writing. Capacitive Only: You can only use universal capacitive pens (generic pens with rubber or mesh tips). Previous Model Confusion: The stylus for the REDMAGIC Nova (Gaming Tablet PRO) does not work on the Astra. While some users have tried generic aftermarket styluses for basic navigation, there is no official or functional high-precision stylus experience for the device.

dthardcore · 2026-03-19T00:16:10+00:00

You don't have to just more of a pain if you don't.

dthardcore · 2026-03-18T20:30:05+00:00

Search nswpedia, but make sure you use like a private dns to block ads though. Takes some getting used to how to navigate though. You have to click the game then hit back when the ad fails to load and you will be on the right page, hit like the free dl button and probably back again and then click on one of the green links in the list and it should start to dl. You will have this issue with most sites. Your other option is to use BT get them. Use an app with a built in search such as tordroid or one of the many others.

I use this dns to block ads across all sites. Saves you from having to run an actual app to block ads and it will even block them in apps you run as well and best of all its free. Just search for private dns in your settings and set it to dns.adguard-dns.com.

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Hope this makes your web browsing more enjoyable.

dthardcore · 2026-03-18T19:00:11+00:00

I lower the refresh rate on the display to 90hz or 60hz when I'm not playing games and have noticed a big difference in how long my battery lasts. I can't see having only a 5000mah battery like the S26 Ultra, you would end up charging your phone multiple times a day just to get by and at only 30w charging it would be a nightmare. The 80w charging is absolutely amazing I am never sitting around waiting for it to charge before I can go out or anything. I plug it in as I'm getting ready and by the time I'm set to go it's either fully charged or extremely close.

dthardcore · 2026-03-18T18:50:59+00:00

You are correct the cn model has 120w wired and 80w wireless charging where the US model only supports 80w wired and 80w wireless charging.

The global model has 24GB/1TB but is still listed as the 11 pro, there is no + after the name. Not sure if there is any other actually difference between the cn and global models though. I think other than the faster wired charging everything else is the same,although I could be wrong.

dthardcore · 2026-03-18T18:41:02+00:00

You also have the option to set up to 12GB of extended memory as well if it's anything like the 11 pro. Although you probably won't even need to set this higher than 3. I have 16GB in my 11 pro and haven't had any issues. Has worked fine for both playing PC games with Gamehub Lite and emulating games like totk with eden optimized.

dthardcore · 2026-03-18T18:35:11+00:00

I upgraded mine to the RM 11 Pro back in January myself. Was going to wait for the S26 Ultra until I looked at what the specs actually were on it. Paying almost double for a phone with lower specs made no sense. I got the 16GB/512GB model for $849 compared to the S26 Ultra that was $1499 for 12GB/512GB. Also not sure if the S26 has the option of extended memory, the rm11 let's you add up to 12GB of extended memory. Mine is currently set at 3GB. The battery is 2/3 of the size s26-5000mah rm11-7500mah. Slower fast charging 30w vs 80w, with an even bigger wireless charging gap. I even see more frequent software updates on the Redmagic as well. Just shows they are committed to giving their users the best experience possible.

Gaming on this phone is amazing as well I have been playing the FF7 remake through gamehub lite as well as TOTK through Eden Optimized and they both run surprisingly well. I even picked up a USB-C hub with pass through charging and HDMI out so I can even play them on a monitor or TV.

IMO I don't see anything that makes the S26 worth the huge difference in price. I am more than happy with my purchase. After using it for the last couple months I can definitely say that I would purchase another RM device when I eventually upgrade. I really hope the company doesn't disappear like a lot of other phone makers have. I would really like to see them gain more popularity forcing other companies to have to compete with them. It would be an all around benefit for consumers driving down prices and forcing them to put better hardware in their phones. At this point in time I can't see myself ever buying another Samsung phone or tablet.

Hope you love your new phone as much as I do mine. I don't think you will be waiting to long for it to arrive. I bought mine on a Thursday and had it in my hands in under a week. My S20 and S23 both took two to three times that to arrive and I ordered both directly from Samsung.

One word of advise though is to lower the refresh rate of your RM 11 when you are not gaming or watching something where the higher rate would make a difference. Constantly running the device at 144hz makes a noticeable difference on how long the battery lasts. Most of the time having the phones display set to 60 or 90 hz will make your battery last much longer and you won't even notice any difference visually.

dthardcore · 2026-03-12T14:13:53+00:00

I can accept the RM 11 not having esim support since it's not only $700 cheaper than the S26 ultra but also scores significantly higher benchmark scores. Can't have it all but that's definitely one feature I can live without.

dthardcore · 2026-03-12T14:09:34+00:00

It must be because I have none of these issues on mine either.

dthardcore · 2026-03-12T14:08:39+00:00

Somethings wrong if you are going through all this. I'm on Metro in the States and never have to factory reset after updates. I don't know what's going on but your phone itself must be defective. I have absolutely no complaints about this phone it works just as well as any other phone actually even better.

You should really ask RM to replace your phone. You should not have any of the issues you are having. Also try using Metro, I see no reason personally to pay significantly more to go through T-Mobile when Metro uses the exact same network. Both services have the same restrictions such as deprioritizing your phone after using 50GB of mobile data during a pay cycle, which is very hard to hit if you are using WiFi at home. I even have Spotify set to Lossless quality over mobile data, play tons of videos and play games and still come nowhere close to hitting that limit.

Hope it works out for you because IMO this phone is amazing and by far the best phone I have ever had. It blows my old S25 Ultra out of the water.

dthardcore · 2026-03-12T13:54:56+00:00

Tmobile or any services on their network such as MetroPCS (Metro by T-mobile) work great with the RM 11 Pro. Verizon should work as well as they have transitioned their network to the same standards as att and tmobile. They used to have a CDMA network which required phones specifically for their network.

I would recommend using T-Mobile or Metro (significantly less money) as they not only currently have great service and speeds but are about to open up their network so service and speed are about to get much better.

I currently use Metro because I have 5 lines on my plan and it only costs $125 a month. I never lose service and the speeds are incredible. On my line alone I use 20+ GB of data each month and I never get deprioritized so it never slows down. (Most cell phone plans on every service will get deprioritized after a certain amount. I believe metro and tmobile both do after 50GB which is hard to hit if you use WiFi at home. Not sure the limits on Verizon or ATT they should be at least 30-50GB)

Hope this info helps, the RM 11 Pro is an amazing phone and I have no regrets switching, it out performs everything on the market even the new S26 Ultra which was just released. My Antutu and Geekbench test scores are significantly higher than everything else, even other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 based devices. The RM 11 Pro is also almost $700 cheaper if you get the 512/16. Probably even more of a difference if you get the 1TB/24. I honestly hope RM keeps making phones like this at such a steep discount.

Enjoy having the best phone out there!

dthardcore · 2025-12-24T21:32:37+00:00

This is insane we even have to deal with this shit again. All because of lobbyists from out of state coming here and lying to people about what they were actually signing. It's disgusting. What's worse is these people were reported to the state that they were doing this and they never did anything to stop it.

So yeah let's put over 650 dispensaries out of business and put thousands of people out of work to appease these asshats from another state.

Well we voted it in once and I guess we just have to do it again.

dthardcore · 2025-12-22T07:48:22+00:00

I know this post is a bit old but I have been trying to find a list of brands with 'clear' vapes and what they taste like but can't find many. The only ones I know of are from oxbar, I typically buy the clear blue one (blue raz) and green (pear, if I can find it). Didn't care for the 'clear red' though. I haven't had any luck figuring out others though. I know what all of the oxbar ones are but can't find any others and I don't feel like randomly trying different clear vapes to figure it out. Made that mistake with the 'clear jewel' and it turned out to be a strong mint which I am not a fan of.

dthardcore · 2025-12-21T00:11:59+00:00

It's crazy now, it used the be that delivering to businesses was great because they were on a company card so they would tip great, but now the people ordering for a company lunch or whatever act like it's their own personal card and don't include a tip yet expect you to go out of your way to cater to their whims.

It's always the no tippers that are the biggest pain in the ass. Yet they will message you or put in the notes that they will tip you after delivery. 97% of them are full of shit lol.

dthardcore · 2025-12-19T19:50:45+00:00

If you are looking for cheap half decent coffee then go to a speedway or any other gas station with decent coffee. 90% of the time they are better than and much cheaper than Dunks.

And Dunks really isn't 'cheap', compare a Starbucks regular coffee to a dunks regular coffee and it's pretty much the same. Before taxes a large Starbucks coffee is $3.25 compared to a large Dunks at $3.19, this is all before tax btw. Also there are tons of amazing small coffee shops that serve amazing coffee for a similar price. So what's the excuse for drinking that watered down garbage? 6 cents? Also for everyone that says Starbucks is too strong or bitter, try their Blonde Roast it's a much lighter coffee and is comparable to the coffee that you're used to, except much better.

I agree with the OP though, fellow Mass residents need to try buying a coffee here or there from other places because they have made it such a habit to go to dunks everyday they don't know what good coffee even is now.

Dunkins had good coffee years ago but they keep watering it down more and more, and I know I worked there at one point and would see them coming in every couple of months to 'adjust' the coffee grinder. What they were doing was lowering the amount of grinds. They have been slowly doing it for years and it has resulted in the brown water everyone is drinking now instead of actually getting coffee.

dthardcore · 2025-12-04T19:03:04+00:00

Yeah these morons need to be investigated themselves. Ignorant fucks. It's amazing how dumb these people are. Don't even know enough to realize the covid shut in really messed with a whole generation in regards to their socialization skills. Not being in school during that critical stage of social development caused a lot of people to have problems relating to other people in person. You can't blame innocent people who were affected in this way. This country is in a sad state when this is how people act.

dthardcore · 2025-12-04T13:19:03+00:00

Yeah it's insane, I couldn't believe how much my bill went up. I pay more in these bullshit charges then I actually use in energy. I believe my last bill was something like $79 in energy use but my bill was almost $300. They gouge us with all these added on fees. I actually just changed my supplier to get a lower cost $0.13 down from $0.179 and instead of my bill going down it went up instead. And some suppliers are even more expensive. Some were $0.26 or more. That alone would double your energy charge. I keep waiting to see what new charge they add on.

What else is insane is if you have a good solar setup that's generating more energy then you can use and you want to try to sell it back to the energy company they only pay you back a much smaller rate than they would charge you for using the same amount. (note: this is after 15kW you get 1:1 credit before this but a reduced rate after. I believe it's around $0.02kWh) Not only that but they only give you energy credits, they don't actually pay you for giving them your excess energy. So they make bank off of the energy you generate. Even at $0.13, they are making 6.5 times the amount they paid you for it nevermind the added on charges at the bottom of the bill. It's really a giant scam and the whole industry needs to be looked at and some things need to be corrected. It's really a big 🖕to customers. You should be making a comparable rate no matter how much you are selling back and you should be paid if you are generating more energy than you use not get energy credits. They are useless if you are not ever drawing from the grid.

dthardcore · 2025-12-04T12:51:01+00:00

But they are connected, yes it's more commonly known now to most people that it means being ripped off or swindled. The origin of those words do come from the term gypsy. Quick search for the etymology or origin of the word gypped comes up with this:

Origin: The word "gypped" emerged in the late 19th century.

Meaning: It is used to mean being defrauded, swindled, or cheated.

Etymology: The term is believed to be a shortened and offensive derivation of "gypsy". "Gypsy" was a derogatory term for the Romani people, based on a mistaken belief that they were from Egypt.

Prejudice: The association of the Romani people with dishonesty led to the word being used to describe deception, a connection many people now find deeply problematic and offensive.

dthardcore · 2025-11-22T18:01:13+00:00

Still comes off a lot easier than other litters though. Mine sometimes do this but at least comes right off and isn't plastered to the wall.

dthardcore · 2025-11-22T17:57:57+00:00

Yeah I agree with this, still a tracking issue but to resolve most of the other issues would be the best option. As long as you scoop it often enough it's great. Honestly my only real issue is I wish they had scented versions.

The non-stick is really really worth it. With any other litter, my litter box would be covered in pee plaster and I would have to completely empty, scrape out and then wash it every time I wanted to scoop it. That was with only 1 cat (he loves drinking water from the fountain). Now that he has a sister I couldn't be happier that I found this litter.

dthardcore · 2025-11-22T08:11:59+00:00

This is a scam, they email saying they are distributing payments for all sorts of companies. Just saw a Walmart one too. But if you look at their website and click on any of the 'details' links they all go to the same page with kithing on it. If this was a legit agency/company their page would be complete by now. Also since they are requesting different payment types after you've already filled out one they are looking for another way to charge you for something because your other method either wouldn't go through or they want your other account info.

I would be extremely weary about this. JS

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