Mobile Phone Adventures in 2022 recap

Following last year I've decided to experience Google Fi. First step was to port the number from Google Voice and that's where things started to go wrong. After waiting for 5 days the port by Fi was not finished. I checked with Spectrum Mobile to see if they could port in the number. They said they could but... Fi never ported the number in. Spectrum has ported the number in but assigned it to a wrong person and I got a theirs number assigned to me! It took me 3 months to resolve the issue but at the end I got my original number back. I had to contact Spectrum VP offices and I got a special liaison assigned who was indispensable in making the process move forward. But it was quite a battle with countless hours wasted on the phone. I did try out Google Fi and it works great on my Sony Xperia mk3. I got 5G signal, WiFi calling and international accessibility. Then I decided to try it out on my iPhone 12 Mini. That's where Fi falls flat as LTE coverage is quite spotty. I would get interruptions in my streams, and voice call quality was on the borderline unusable. As I frequently switch between phones that was not acceptable for my main line. So for now I keep Fi line for international use. I have the line being "paused". I still have my main number on Spectrum Mobile but soon I will be moving on. Spectrum runs on Verizon network and although the voice quality is much better than T-Mobile it is still not as good as AT&T. So I have got $25 AT&T prepaid line and it has been working well besides being little low on data (8GB a month). I have signed up with Boost Infinite who provide 30GB of data a month for $25. I've been with them for past week and so far so good. I wonder how the prepaid AT&T and Boost will do when traveling to Mexico. Spectrum drops the connection to 3G (HSPDA) and it is barely useable. If I get 3G connections on AT&T and Boost then Fi is definite way to go. With Fi I was getting 4G (LTE) or even 5G connections (in Helsinki airport). And if I am traveling abroad and relying on mobile for anything more than couple days I will invest into local prepaid SIM card which is usually much much cheaper and has larger data allotment. I've looked into AT&T postpaid as I qualified for a "discount" through work and Fiber, but at the end Elite plan was still over $50 and was gonna go up after the credits expired - I did not feel it was worth it. To finish the year with a bang I've dropped my iPhone 12 Mini on concrete and put several fracture lines onto the screen. But even before that I've noticed that the screen was scratching very easily. Conclusion is that Apple's "ceramic shield" is not that hard in comparison to my Pixel phones. I've gotten a used Pixel 4 to check out and it compares very favorably against iPhone 12 mini. Pixel 4 face unlock works in vertical or horizontal vs only vertical on iPhone. Built in rubber bumper of Pixel 4 allows you to use it without the case as there is sufficient grip to hold it comfortably and firmly. iPhone needs the case just to be able to hold it without dropping, and even with the case (Spigen) it shattered on impact. I tried putting on the case on Pixel 4 (Otterbox Defender) but the buttons were too stiff to be able to operate camera comfortably and I could not use "squeeze" functionality so now I use the phone bare. If it broke I would just replace it as it would be still cheaper than replacing the screen on iPhone 12 Mini ($229 at Apple). I think I will just get a screen protector and that way prevent from cracks getting worse. I don't feel them with my finger anyways and screen/digitizer work 100%. At the end you have to be aware where and how you use your phone - if there are the deadzones and how much data you need. Based on that you can find a plan that fits without breaking the bank.