Android Phones For The Backcountry?

[TexAg09]

Hey gang, my Nokia XR20 is on it's last leg, so I'm slowly researching for my next phone. What phones are y'all taking into the backcountry? Ideally I'm looking for a phone with some sort of waterproofing and at least 4500MmAh battery. The Motorola Edge looks interesting. The Samsung offerings seem to have either too small of a battery or they want $800+. Any suggestions? (And no, I have an iPhone for work, and prefer Android.) Thanks for your time!

 

[Perlodid]

I'm also interested in what people will recommend for this question, but I wanted to mention that it's worth comparing more than just battery capacity when you are trying to get an idea on battery life. I have a pixel 8 (4575 mAh) and my battery life is abysmal. This is a common complaint and people have done head to head tests with different phones and found that some phones/brands are much more efficient/have lower battery drain rates despite their actual capacity.

 

[Nuts]

Galaxy xcover7 pro. $600 is my vote mainly because it is offered through tmobile. You can then add SAT fairly cheaply. If that doesn't interest you. Ulefone Armor X16. 10k MmAh and its $200ish according to when I just looked it up. They make some pretty indestructible phones and my buddies often works when mine does not.

 

[Bonasababy]

Battery life info is readily available, but antenna strength or "reach" has never been. Carrier reach in the area varies widely as well. I know Motorolas used to be known for greater reach, but dont think that's the case anymore.

The increased arrival of 5g has greatly degraded reach in many areas as well...so in comparisons going back too far will not necessarily be accurate today.

 

[Irrelevant]

if you go with T-mobile you can get satellite access

https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/satellite-phone-service

 

[buckbull]

Yep, t-mobile uses starlink satellites as cell towers when cell towers are not available. Im considering switching myself. Even here in illinois I deal with dead zones where I live.

 

[Nick87]

Yep, t-mobile uses starlink satellites as cell towers when cell towers are not available. Im considering switching myself. Even here in illinois I deal with dead zones where I live.

Good to know.

 

[buckbull]

Good to know.

Well, that's only true if you pay for SAT coverage.

 

[Nick87]

Well, that's only true if you pay for SAT coverage.

Cqn you take it on or off whenever you want? Might have to make the switch from at&t.

 

[Bowmannate2000]

I had a Moto Edge a few years ago. The screen went bad on it after maybe 2 years. I've had several other cheaper Moto phones and had no issues with them.

 

[buckbull]

Cqn you take it on or off whenever you want? Might have to make the switch from at&t.

I'm not sure about that.

 

[ccc23454]

I have s25 ultra with tmobile satellite, awesome set up. This reminds me I need to sell my Garmin mini...

 

[GigiBobert]

My Res-Q-Link battery just died and I'm trying to make a decision with the rapidly changing tech. I currently have a Motorola G Plus android with Consumer Cellular and believe I would be better off just buying a new phone with satellite capabilities and switching to T-Mobile or a different provider? Should I even consider an In Reach or Zoleo, or just wait for the rapidly changing technology to make the In Reachs , etc. obsolete?

 

[TexAg09]

Anyone else really happy with their Android phone in the backcountry? (I'm probably not going to switch providers until satellite technology gets a little more sorted out, so that is irrelevant at the current moment.)

 

[crock239]

I'm not sure about that.

I recently switched to t-mobile and have a Samsung S25e...t mobile website says u can add Sat service for $10/mo, and yes you can start/stop Sat service as needed.

Caveat, I haven't actually tried it yet.

 

[Nuts]

I have it. to be clear. Only certain apps can have it. Works to text. I am not sure about ONX. I always have offline maps. Like any satellite device it can be finicky. I sat in a remote tree stand and texted with it for 2 days straight. Day 3. Nope. Zero signal. I got to confident after 1 day of great SAT texting ability and did not have the InReach with me. It was left at camp.

 

[ccc23454]

You guys considering tmobile do research but here's my experiance. If I have cell signal things work as expected as I leave signal (I use it daily in GYE) I lose all signal for about a minute then I get a notification I have switched to sat and are limited in service. While I am in sat I can only use data on a handful of apps onx, Google messenger and accuweather all work fine (there's a list) i can make phone calls on What's App or use it a a text service. My wife sees me whole time on Google maps while I am using device since I have Google sharing turned on with her. It does draw little more battery and forces gps on to aquire sats. While clear line to sky helps I get texts and calls within my pocket all day. I havnt experianced any outages or issues yet other than some sluggishness when in transition or sending numerous pics. Sending pics, texting, getting real weather forecast and talking to wife in backcountry is pretty nice and honestly I can't believe not more people have jumped on yet. Hope this review helps, swapping after 21 years from Verizon was best choice I have made in long time.

Also I have a inreach mini for sale, pm me

 

[Redmt]

We live in the back country. The nearest tower is 10 air miles away. We have had pretty good luck with Motorola. I just got a pixel 10 which uses the Motorola format and Verizon towers through Xfinity. It will switch to an SOS mode when out of tower range. So far so good and no complaints.
Edit,, Verizon is the only signal that reaches us.