Sim Tray Tool?

[ermghoti 88]

I am going to be swapping my sim card back and forth between my Pro1 for daily use, and a jobsite phone all but impervious to water and impact for when I don't want to risk it. My fingernail will not grip the tray notch. I used a bit of music wire, but it looks like that will damage the door. Anybody have a better solution?

[netman 1,424]

a guitar pick?

[OKSun 103]

Here are some alternative solutions (a bit more expensive, and more like a work around) But might be worth considering: My carrier offers the option of a second SIM with same number for a second phone. I tested and it did not really work for SMS and WhatsApp... Just for calls... So I ended up with another solution: call forwarding on a second number/phone (pre paid). There is an app that works great for SMS & whatsapp forwarding.

[EskeRahn 5,460]

Toothpick? A SIM?

But I would consider the solutions suggested by @OKSun

I'm not sure how many open&closes the connectors can handle, you might try to ask support if their supplier got a number for that, as daily swaps would get into the thousands with a few years of usage. I'm pretty sure the contacts on the sim itself will not stand that, but a sim is fairly cheap to replace. My worry is on the contact pins in the device.

[ermghoti 88]

19 hours ago, netman said:

a guitar pick?

My first choice. Couldn't gain purchase, but I could sharpen one and try again.

17 hours ago, EskeRahn said:

But I would consider the solutions suggested by @OKSun'm not sure how many open&closes the connectors can handle, you might try to ask support if their supplier got a number for that, as daily swaps would get into the thousands with a few years of usage. I'm pretty sure the contacts on the sim itself will not stand that, but a sim is fairly cheap to replace. My worry is on the contact pins in the device.

I'm definitely concerned about the durability of the hardware. I may have been vague, I'm using the Pro1 90%, and using the tough phone for fishing/boating/kayaking etc. I'm trying to avoid getting another line, but if the choices are trashing the phone or paying $40/month or whatever, then I'll have to eat it or not take a phone anywhere with challenging conditions.

[netman 1,424]

3 minutes ago, ermghoti said:

I'm definitely concerned about the durability of the hardware. I may have been vague, I'm using the Pro1 90%, and using the tough phone for fishing/boating/kayaking etc. I'm trying to avoid getting another line, but if the choices are trashing the phone or paying $40/month or whatever, then I'll have to eat it or not take a phone anywhere with challenging conditions.

Where do you live? For less regular use often prepaid plans make waay more sense than anything with monthly payments, and you can then redirect calls to that if not mistaken.

Edited September 5, 2020 by netman

[ermghoti 88]

Massachusetts. So, it's pay-as-you-go? That does make sense.

[netman 1,424]

2 minutes ago, ermghoti said:

Massachusetts. So, it's pay-as-you-go? That does make sense.

The US is a pretty foreign world to me, so hopefully someone more informed can comment 😅 .  The prepaid style of billing I'm familiar with is where you just pay certain amount to get "credit" and then that gets eaten only if you call/text - usually expiring after 12 or 24 months of not using it. In some places it is different of course, in Malaysia for example it seems most carriers have the credit expire depending on how much was purchased. The prepaid plans are usually not advertised much lately, probably more profitable for the companies to take a fixed sum every month.

I vaguely recall @Craig using a prepaid type sim in the US but I could be misremembering.

[ermghoti 88]

Sounds reasonable, I've never looked into it, as I've never heard of anyone using prepaid phones for legal activity. 😆

[Hook 3,021]

Pay-as-you-go, which I have always done (never had a contract) in the US is now a reasonable option finally well supported by even the big telecoms.  The downside of the wide support for it is that it is harder to find plans that allow you anymore to just pay money and take as long as you want for what you paid for.  Most require a monthly reup, although you can let the account go dormant and revive it when you need it-- you will just lose any rollover the account might have.  Investigate the smaller companies (called MNVOs)m such as Ting and many others, as they will offer the best prices.  However, given your use case, check out coverage for where you will be doing all that outdoor stuff.  That may limit what you can use. 

[itsdevilslettuce 85]

1 hour ago, ermghoti said:

Massachusetts. So, it's pay-as-you-go? That does make sense.

Woah hey fellow Masshole 😆 Just kiddin. But, which carrier are you on? T-Mobile way up in the Essex county is really slow and spotty (at least for me). Previously I never had an issue.

But I second the idea of getting a prepaid phone. Or perhaps if you can, look into a smartwatch with LTE support?

[ermghoti 88]

41 minutes ago, itsdevilslettuce said:

Woah hey fellow Masshole 😆 Just kiddin. But, which carrier are you on? T-Mobile way up in the Essex county is really slow and spotty (at least for me). Previously I never had an issue.

But I second the idea of getting a prepaid phone. Or perhaps if you can, look into a smartwatch with LTE support?

I'm on Verizon, which seems to have good coverage everywhere but my house, my girlfriend's apartment, and my workplace.🤬

If you mean run the smartwatch from the Pro1, then no. I had a display on a Samsung S4 crushed in my pocket from getting bounced around in a small boat, and then after I fixed it, drowned in my PFD when it got splashy. For all the great things about a Pro1, they are utterly defenseless from pretty much everything, so I won't take it anywhere near water.

[itsdevilslettuce 85]

well with some smartwatches you can get them with LTE connectivity built-in meaning you can leave your phone at home and use the watch itself as a phone. I think you can even share the same phone number between them. It's good if you need to make and receive quick calls and texts.

[Jacob_S 128]

8 hours ago, ermghoti said:

I'm on Verizon, which seems to have good coverage everywhere but my house, my girlfriend's apartment, and my workplace.🤬

Easy solution: Get a new house, a new girlfriend and a new work.

[ermghoti 88]

2 hours ago, Jacob_S said:

Easy solution: Get a new house, a new girlfriend and a new work.

Brilliant!

[ermghoti 88]

10 hours ago, itsdevilslettuce said:

well with some smartwatches you can get them with LTE connectivity built-in meaning you can leave your phone at home and use the watch itself as a phone. I think you can even share the same phone number between them. It's good if you need to make and receive quick calls and texts.

 Well, I'd like the GPS feature as a backup (just got my friend out of nasty fog when his unit went on the fritz; that was the drowning mentioned above), and I suspect calls on a watch wouldn't go well in wind, waves, and possibly motor noise. Worth a thought though.

[Craig 1,435]

15 hours ago, netman said:

I vaguely recall @Craig using a prepaid type sim in the US but I could be misremembering.

I did once at the beginning of the pandemic.  The sim i normally use has very little data but that's fine.  I had a broadband outage tho and so bought a prepaid sim at walmart with 14GB or something.

Anyways places like WalMart have a whole section of prepaid SIMs.  The walmartfamilyplan or whatever ones are t-mobile, but they have a few other carriers there too.

[ermghoti 88]

So, if I got a replacement card from Verizon, put it in the other phone, and never turn on both at once, that wouldn't work? 

[Hook 3,021]

No.  You could have a second line, but I assume that requires a separate number.  Also, do you have your Verizon sim working in your Pro 1?  If so, lucky you and it may break. I had it working for three months, but it finally wouldn't let me do SMS and I got an AT&T Pay as you go SIM. 

You might take a look at this thread:

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Hook

[ermghoti 88]

2 hours ago, Hook said:

No.  You could have a second line, but I assume that requires a separate number.  Also, do you have your Verizon sim working in your Pro 1?  If so, lucky you and it may break. I had it working for three months, but it finally wouldn't let me do SMS and I got an AT&T Pay as you go SIM. 

You might take a look at this thread:

 

I'm aware I'm playing a dangerous game on Verizon, LOL. If it comes to it, I'll change carriers. So, if I got a replacement card for my old phone, it would be distinct from the previous one, which would then not work at all?

[ermghoti 88]

1 hour ago, ermghoti said:

So, if I got a replacement card for my old phone, it would be distinct from the previous one, which would then not work at all?

Googled it up, that's exactly the case.

[internationaltraitor 84]

On 9/5/2020 at 2:10 AM, EskeRahn said:

Toothpick? A SIM?

 

i would not recommend a SIM, or a SD card.. i broke my SD card trying to open the sim tray.

also a side note.  is anyones SD card slot, rattling?  like it clicks and feels loose when tapping it?  and rattles while shaking.  is this normal or should i contact support?  the signal for my 4gLTE is terrible compared to my nokia 6.1.  .. but i guess  calls still go through and what not. good call quality though.

Edited September 8, 2020 by internationaltraitor

[FlyingAntero 871]

1 hour ago, internationaltraitor said:

i would not recommend a SIM, or a SD card.. i broke my SD card trying to open the sim tray.

also a side note.  is anyones SD card slot, rattling?  like it clicks and feels loose when tapping it?  and rattles while shaking.  is this normal or should i contact support?  the signal for my 4gLTE is terrible compared to my nokia 6.1.  .. but i guess  calls still go through and what not. good call quality though.

On my unit, the SIM tray does make some rattling when I touch it. It does not make any sound if I shake the phone. Signal strenght is pretty much the same that I had with Xperia XZ1 Compact. However, I have noticed that my magnetic flip case makes connection worse. If I don't use it I get better signal.

[internationaltraitor 84]

5 minutes ago, FlyingAntero said:

On my unit, the SIM tray does make some rattling when I touch it. It does not make any sound if I shake the phone

when i shake it, it sounds as if, the SIM card is not tight enough.  i think that is what is ratting inside.  but when i continuously tap on the outside of the sim tray, it rattles the actual sim tray.  two distinctive different sounds.

[FlyingAntero 871]

8 minutes ago, internationaltraitor said:

when i shake it, it sounds as if, the SIM card is not tight enough.  i think that is what is ratting inside.  but when i continuously tap on the outside of the sim tray, it rattles the actual sim tray.  two distinctive different sounds.

I was thinking that the sound during shaking comes from the flat cable that connects keyboard and screen parts. Maybe I am wrong and the sound comes from the SIM card instead?