Mobile Phones

Rick wants to know the difference between dual sim standby phones and dual sim active phones. Leo says that most modern phones now support dual sim active, enabling you to switch between two lines with one phone. Most use two SIMS, but other phones, like the iPhone 11, offers an eSIM option, where you have one actual SIM, but an electronic SIM for another phone line. Dual Standby means both connect to their networks, but independently.

John wants to save SMS text messages. Leo says that in his Android device there is a built-in backup for text messages in the settings. But there's also a ton of apps out there including SMS Backup and Restore. SMS Android Plus. Check out the article here - https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/08/21/backup-sms-text-messages-android/.

Joe wants a good camera for his upcoming train trip. Would a GoPro work or should he rely on his cellphone? Leo says either will work, but he wants to be sure the mobile device has image stabilization. He could get a gimbal for the smartphone too. That'll stabilize the image. Leo recommends the DJI Osmo. 

Micah's friend is going to Guatemala and he convinced her to get a new iPhone 11 for the trip. But her cell phone company won't take the phone unless they buy it from her. Leo says that's not true at all. The iPhone is unlocked by Apple. She may have to reset the APN so that the phone will download the proper network settings from US Cellular. One thing to consider is GOOGLE FI. It uses Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular. It won't work an iPhone on anything except T-Mobile, but it will work with a Moto G7. 

Steven recently bought an iPhone 11 and he's concerned about it getting wet. Is there a good waterproof case? Leo says that Lifecase is a great option. But you want to be sure you get one that it fits in. Don't use an old one. The phone also won't make a call in the lock screen, and facial recognition isn't working. Leo suspects Steven has a lemon on his hands and he should go back to Apple and ask for a replacement. You can also update iOS and see if that fixes any bugs.

Dennis has an original Google Pixel but he's having issues where he has to reboot it. Turns out it's a motherboard issue with is the phone. But the recall has passed and he was never notified. Leo says that he isn't sure companies are required to inform their customers, though they should. Google is also going to retire that model anyway, so it's high time to get a new one. Leo recommends the Google Pixel 3A, and it's on sale right now for around $229. Best deal out there right now.

Mark is concerned that Motorola mobile phones aren't secure since Lenovo, a company from China, now owns it. Leo says that while China has raised the standard of living of most of its people, it's been at a terrible cost of freedom. Also, China has stolen much intellectual property in the last few years. But the ability to manufacture electronics cheaply in China has been beneficial to everyone. But if you're going to use a mobile phone, it's going to be made in China, no matter what brand it is.

Steve is having an issue where someone is sending pictures of him to old girlfriends. How can that happen? Leo says that there's a couple of possibilities. One is SIM JACKING: where someone convinces your carrier that they are you and asks for a new SIM. The other option is that a hacker may have hacked your Samsung backup account. So change your password immediately. It's quite likely an ex looking to embarrass you. 

Chef Guy wants to know if the pure Android experience on a mobile phone is really better than what you get with Samsung's Touchwiz overlay. Leo says that the pure Google Android experience is better, but there are some things that Samsung adds, like their hearing test option, can be beneficial. But for every one of those, there's a Bixby, which is of no help whatsoever. Leo really likes Google's Pixel 4. Unfortunately, 128GB is the max storage and it doesn't come with an external media option. 

Tom has a Motorola Moto G with Google Photos sync. He deletes the photos from his phone, but it continues to download the images back. Leo says there's a setting in Google Photos to delete local copies of the photos you backup to Photos. You won't lose them if you enable it. In fact, it's streaming that image to your phone in Google Photos. So they aren't really there, they're just thumbnails.