Need a cheap android phone to try out meshtastic with

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I want to try meshtastic, but I’m an iphone user. I’m looking for a cheap android phone that is compatible with the t beams and meshtastic. I’m finding some on ebay for about 15 each, which would be a great price range for me. Are any of those cheap phones on ebay good for this, or will I be asking for problems?

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Recent discussions landed with the recommendation that any android device should have Android 6 or newer. This is due to BT improvements that occurred in Android 6. (Current Android is version 11). When looking for a device, it could be a tablet instead of a smartphone, so the Amazon Fire tablets etc might be a good option too, depending on the use case.

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Here is the recent forum thread I was referring to: Recommended min android version and cheap (but good) devices

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Thanks! I read through the thread you linked, and I found these:

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-3856584/amazon-fire-7-tablet-7-in-display-16-gb-2019-release.jsp?skuid=17585192&CID=shopping15&utm_campaign=PREM%20ELECTRONICS%202&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=google&utm_product=17585192&utm_campaignid=9733267168&gclid=CjwKCAjwsO_4BRBBEiwAyagRTbTwMCK951t5dK4kNgIfN5DEY2jBkaPoMdzZZvBWOKQ_rVxEBJLcYRoCsUAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’m not well versed in android stuff. Do you know of any reason these older ones wouldn’t work? They’re from last year, so I imagine they’re still able to run the current version.

I’m pretty set on the t beam, so I wouldn’t need the GPS in a phone.

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Do you have XCode installed? Would you like to try the iPhone app?

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@Anelito
I don’t know what XCode is. But hell yes I would love to use my iphone if at all possible. Is there an iphone version of meshtastic in beta or something?

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I am currently developing a cross-platform app and looking for testers. It’s at an early stage and needs to be compiled locally on a mac with XCode to be deployed to an iPhone.

For casual usage I suggest Android.

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@Anelito I have XCode installed and would like to try but found the github iOS repository was empty. How do I go about getting and compiling this ( I’ve only used the arduino IDE, platformIO and VS code to programme microprocessors but imagine this isn’t much different)?

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I’m a PC user. Yep, I swing both ways lol.

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Hey, I have Xcode and would love to test your app

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I think the app just was placed on the amazon App Store so it can be used on kindle fires if you don’t need gps, they are around $50

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Does anyone know if the Amazon Fire 7 will work? They’re on sale right now for 35.

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-3856584/amazon-fire-7-tablet-7-in-display-16-gb-2019-release.jsp?skuid=17585192&CID=shopping15&utm_campaign=PREM%20ELECTRONICS%202&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=google&utm_product=17585192&utm_campaignid=9733267168&gclid=CjwKCAjwsO_4BRBBEiwAyagRTbTwMCK951t5dK4kNgIfN5DEY2jBkaPoMdzZZvBWOKQ_rVxEBJLcYRoCsUAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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I plan on trying it as soon as my t beam finally gets here. I think I read in the post that geeksville has tested it and it works. He didn’t actually say the model he used but did mention $50 so it is probably the kindle fire 7 like the one you posted.

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yes that will work fine. that is my ‘target’ Amazon device that I test against.

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15

Let me know if you need some more testers. Happy to try it out.

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I am using a sony xperia z5 with android 6.1 and Meshtastic works great. On ali express now they cost 60 ~ 70 €. I leave a link of Sony XZ Model slightly newer than z5.

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Check out the Motorola G3 phones. They come with Android 6 (at least mine does) and are somewhat waterproof too. I got a couple of slightly damaged ones (one a cracked screen and the other 3G but bluetooth/Wifi work) for £10 on ebay that I use for unattended outdoor timelapse cameras. I think that they can be easily upgraded to the latest Android OS too.

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