I can personally vouch for the XZ1 Compact as a great device! Mine still worked (almost) flawlessly in 2022.
... Until US phone providers started shutting down 3G. As I understand it, in order for the phone to work correctly with towers, the 3G signal needed to be verified as sort of an emergency "fallback" in case 4G/LTE wasn't working. As soon as 3G towers were replaced with 5G, the phone started having severe connectivity issues, even with only 4G/LTE enabled. I don't know if there is a way to get around this, as I also believe the hardware modem is a factor.
I'm not thrilled at this aspect of forced obsolescence. Between (lack of) firmware support, locked root capability, frequency band issues, and non-replaceable batteries, devices are not "supposed" to be used for more than 2 years.
Fortunately, it still works on T-Mobile for VOLTE (Voice Over LTE). Apparently AT&T and Verizon never whitelisted the XZ1 models for the feature, despite the fact that they work just fine. Thankfully I use Google Fi so I'm already on T-Mobile.
Location: Metro Detroit, United States
Remote: Preferred
Willing to relocate: Yes
Technologies: TypeScript (Node.js and Angular), Python (currently learning Django), PHP, AWS suite, SQL and NoSQL
Résumé/CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h2FRhye7x365LpoMeOULex8vosQDuuZyRu2soKc7twk
Email: dzmcclur@gmail.com
I am a software engineer with experience as both a Full Stack Software Engineer and as platforms/support/infrastructure for Machine Learning/Data Science. My specialization right now is in cloud/web based architecture (rather than desktop applications), and I am very familiar with AWS and CI/CD pipelines.
I am a huge proponent of test-driven code (BDD or TDD), and I also have enjoyed using automation tools for QA or UI/UX testing.
... Until US phone providers started shutting down 3G. As I understand it, in order for the phone to work correctly with towers, the 3G signal needed to be verified as sort of an emergency "fallback" in case 4G/LTE wasn't working. As soon as 3G towers were replaced with 5G, the phone started having severe connectivity issues, even with only 4G/LTE enabled. I don't know if there is a way to get around this, as I also believe the hardware modem is a factor.
I'm not thrilled at this aspect of forced obsolescence. Between (lack of) firmware support, locked root capability, frequency band issues, and non-replaceable batteries, devices are not "supposed" to be used for more than 2 years.