It would seem to make sense, although I know little about the variable involved. I would guess battery standby times would be affected by screen size, display specs, CPU, GPU, RAM specs, and more. So battery size does matter when it comes to standby times, but not absolutely.
Crash and burn! New account, new [to AliExpress] credit card, same result. Maybe it was the addresses which were the same as in the on the old account. Seems it's eBay now. I hope I don't have similar problems there!
I see on eBay different discounts on the various Umidigi models: 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, etc. The A3S is 10% off ($72) until sometime around midnight PT. Since there's a 2 week shipping, I have 6-7 weeks to get the phone. Does anyone think I can wait or better order it now? I don't see a better price in the last 4 months:
https://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBidsLogin&item=174173952647
If that includes free 2 week shipping then I'd probably be okay with it.
Remember that the $59 AliExpress price means up to 7 week shipping delay. Most people would spend the extra few bucks for faster receipt of the merchandise.
As a committed cheapskate I'd rather wait, and wait, and wait-- just so I could brag that I got mine for $59.
I'm not normal and never will be. You should try to be normal and order it for $74.
I think you'll ger your phone faster. If you order today it says 'Free Shipping, to United States via AliExpress Standard Shipping. Estimated Delivery on 07/21'. And IIRC 'AliExpress Standard Shipping' is a bit faster: 2-4 weeks?
I'm a committed cheapskate too! I'd love to order the phone at AliExpress. But it seems AE has flagged my address and won't allow any accounts with that address to place an order. And eBay's faster shipping won't do me any good. The phone will be sitting in my house until 6-7 weeks from today...
I tried paying the orders on the AliExpress accounts again. Same error. So, I ordered it on eBay. I used the same credit card that I used on the AliExpress account I opened yesterday. Payment was fine. $72. $76.5 with tax. $11.7 higher than AE. Oh well...
Thanks for all your help friends!
My A3S came in the mail today. Very pleasantly surprised:
- it comes with a case
- it comes with an adhesive screen protector
- IT WORKS ON VERIZON POSTPAID AND XFINITY MOBILE !!! (I think voice is only VOLTE, not CDMA)
I spoke too soon. There is only partial functionality on Verizon. Incoming text does not work. Also, I can't get data to work on Xfinity although data does work on Verizon. Changing the APN to COMCAST.RSLR.VZNENTP also seems to make the signal unstable.
Since it's dual SIM with dual active LTE, mine is going to be T-Mobile postpaid with a FreedomPop data-only SIM.
If I travel overseas it will be T-Mobile postpaid with my Piranha Mobile SIM.
bingyee, I was just coming back to ask if you had tested text!
I've been playing with an A3S as well, hoping for Verizon functionality.
The active SIM I have is Tracfone/Verizon.
I have the same issue with text not working. I've gotten outgoing text to function, but it sometimes takes 2 tries. Incoming text has so far been a failure.
VoLTE voice seems fine, as does data.
I know we're pushing outside of the expected/promised boundaries in trying this phone on Verizon. I have found the APN settings themselves to be unstable (not just Verizon), but it's possible that it's happening because I've been pushing virtual buttons trying to get VZW to work. (I have FreedomPop in the second slot: even though FP's APN had been previously set and selected, it changed back to AT&T NextGen, where it didn't work-- and the option to add an APN on SIM 2 was gone entirely until I got switches for SIM preferences, and SIM Data, adjusted in a certain combination.
Re: Verizon text: As far as I can tell, text is not an APN function. It's something more akin to registering the phone with the network. The outgoing text registration can be updated/refreshed via dialer code access ##4636## -- but I've read that there is no simlar user adjustment/tweak/inspection for incoming text.
New-fangled CHAT function doesn't complete verifying my number as of yet. I'm going to try disabling Chat features.
FWIW, I currently have the SIM set on LTE only. (Through the same dialer menu above.)
On a more general note, mine definitely has below-average WiFi reception.
No incoming texts seems to indicate it is a phone that requires cdma-less to be added for it to work properly. This was a common problem with some phones eg oneplus 6t that need to be told to work over LTE only to work properly. They can't use the CDMA radios for verizon. It can't be done on the phone it has to be on the backend. Unfortunately verizon doesn't let many MVNO do this. I think US mobile, xfinity and possibly total wireless allow it. Probably visible too since it is LTE only anyway.
Xfinity requires supported phones to work properly I think which may be why there are issues trying to use this one.
I have also wondered if CDMA-less provisioning might provide a solution. Even if a carrier 'can' do it, it seems unlikely that they'll do it for a phone that isn't white-listed for Verizon use.
The Tracfone SIM I'm using is not from a CDMA-less phone. One possibility might be to swap my phone to one of the few CDMA-less models: I believe the Alcatel flip phone is CDMA-less. (but I don't have one.)
I find it ironic that Verizon is still planning on shutting down CDMA at the end of the year, but doesn't want customers to be able to do it yet. Why do I feel this does not bode well for a smoother transition?
Back to the Umidigi: If it's just needing CDMA-less provisioning, is it likely to suddenly start working for text -sometime- in the next 6 months?
I ordered the Umidigi A3S from AliExpress on June 15th. To minimize cost I chose shipping from China instead of the USA. I paid $59.99 plus sales tax for my state. Shipping was free.
It arrived on July 7th and was delivered by DHL.
It's a surprisingly good phone despite only being quad core and having 2GB/16GB.
Since it's stock Android with virtually no bloatware the 16GB of storage goes a bit farther than most similarly spec'd phones.
I like that it comes with a phone case, which saves the extra expense of having to buy one after the fact.
My only surprise, so far, is how heavy it is. I think the glass back adds additional weight that most phones don't have.
It's not obnoxiously heavy, just noticeably heavier than it looks.
I like the phone very much. Not quite as much as my LG X Charge phones that I've got on T-Mobile and Boost, and not as much as the ZTE A7 and 10 phones that I have on Visible, but almost as much.
With the few aforementioned exceptions it rates higher than the other phones in my "collection".
As time permits, I'll start rotating various SIMs though it, in the coming months and see how it works on various networks.
"My only surprise, so far, is how heavy it is. I think the glass back adds additional weight that most phones don't have."
Heavy with glass back, indeed. I have the Umdigi A_3 Pro and that is the first thing I noticed. But for $50+ still a good phone, and when it's thrown at someone the extra weight will come in handy.
The comments about the weight remind me of the story one of my coworkers had of when he got a phone that was both very different in weight and smoother than his previous one. First time it rang while he was driving he answered it as he was pulling it off his belt...and then threw it in the back seat because it slipped out of his hand when he swung it up to his ear.
Extra weight makes for a sort of flip phone. I image police officers have seen a few phones conveniently slipping out of driver’s hands when their presence has been noticed.
6150mAh Battery will get you some long life. At $180, the UMIDIGI Power 3 is not a bad deal. But I wonder how much it weighs with the large battery.