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Sony Xperia XA Vodafone Prepaid $119 @Vodafone (in Store Only)

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Just seen this on Voda website for $119 .

$10 cheaper than Coles promotion earlier this month.
Can’t beat Woolies $99 deal. But still good for 4G phone with notification LED, NFC and 16 GB rom for $119.

Android 7 makes this phone quite stable and good bettery life.

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  • I bought this phone in the coles deal the other week and rate it well above my old Huawei. A bit slow on start up from a complete shutdown but otherwise works fine for the $. I was able to unlock the phone using Vodafone website with no problem

    • Answer was below lol.

    • Does it run HJs shake n win app. My Xperia doesn't :(

  • +2

     Also should have mentioned there was no unlocj fee and I used the lonk below. Some had reported it as hit and miss for working

    aaravindaraja on 04/10/2017 - 15:54
    new
    Thanks op
    got one today and unlocked for free at
    https://unlock.vodafone.com.au/voila/handsetunlock/self-serv…
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  • Can this be used on Kogan without the unlock as its also on Vodafone?

  • +2

    Woolies are still selling them for $99 if you can find any.

    Last week, Plumpton and Emu Plains had 1 left. Has a $50 unlock fee though. But it's probably down to $25 now.

    • any store in MEL they still have it?

      thanks

      • Sorry mate, wouldn't have a clue.

  • -1

    I don't think this device has NFC.

    • +6

      It does.

      NFC Yes
      • Yes your right it does.

        I found a link to it for anyone who wants to see for themselves.

        https://support.sonymobile.com/global-en/xperiaxa/userguide/…

        • +1
          • you're
        • +1

          @WatchNerd: Yes it's there their right to say it does

        • +1

          @WatchNerd:

          Is the your/you're really that important?

          Most people get what it means either way.

          There's a lot worse grammar/lack

          of and vague wording/explanations on here to worry about I think.

        • +5

          @ozhunter68: Haha sorry.
          But it does have two completely different meanings.
          "You're" is 2 words abbreviated.
          "Your" is one word used to describe possession.

        • +1

          @WatchNerd:

          All good.

          You're correct about your words.

          Like yourself, I also like to be correct about Technical Facts and details/specs.

        • +1

          @ozhunter68:

          I don't do it to be a smart arse.
          I have been corrected in the past and appreciated it. I don't make that mistake anymore.

        • +2

          @WatchNerd:

          I usually make an effort to write clearly and correctly, but as many others on here was not born as English as my first language, so not always 100% correct. Also have a few brain farts as well haha.

        • +4

          @ozhunter68: when people use bad grammar/make mistakes it just makes it harder to read. Can be a bug issue when trying to get the next bargain before it expires

  • +4

    Does this have a notification led?

    • +6

      Great question TB and to answer it - yes it does

      • +5

        In before watchnerd. Well done TB.

        • +3

          Thanks mate

        • +2

          I already asked in an old deal post of this model.

          Besides it's in the description anyway, lol.

        • +2

          You asked but did you get an answer?

      • +5

        You know what else it has TB?

        A headphone jack!

        • +1

          Headphone jacks are ancient tech bro.

        • +3

          @Diji1:
          I rather not replace my headphones with wireless headphones.
          Why replace something that isn't broken? ;)

    • +2

      Haha, usually WatchNerd asks that question. Mostly if it does not have one.

  • Great phone, got it at the coles thing and it's a solid performer - makes me doubt the use of the top end phones for 7-8x the cost. Don't forget to do a quick pass disabling and removing the crappy vodafone apps if you are unlocking

  • I wonder if you need to activate the sim card first before unlocking to be successful.

    • +1

      Shouldn't need to. The Voda unlocking site only asks for the IMEI of the phone.

      • +1

        My experience tells me that I was able to unlock 1 of my phones after the sim activation. The other 2 are not so lucky without activation. I guess it's just a coincidence?

  • What's its current security patch level?

    • +2

      5 May 2017 . Android 7. Buld number 33.3.A.0.131

    • +7

      As thsydney said, it's at May on Vodafone. However, Sony's generic firmware (sans Vodafone bloatware) is now up to August security patch (33.3.A.1.97).

      (I used Xperifirm and Flashtool to flash the generic Sony firmware on. Took about 10 minutes.)

      • +3

        Sony fans coming out of the woodwork ;)
        Did the same thing. Get rid of the voda crap.

        • +2

          iOS fanboy here. ;-) Needed a cheap travel phone and for $150, the XA fit the bill nicely.

      • +1

        Any links on where I can get this stuff?

        • +1

          www.google.com

          Certainly isn't hard to find with the information you've been given.

        • +1

          @promethbastard: Yes but usually I prefer a fellow OzBargainers directly link that has been tested working in Oz than trawling through xda devs or some other site, mainly because there's less risk involved.

        • @Jackson: The basics are simple - you need to download the two programs and they work together. It's been a long time but it's a fairly easy process with the two tools. I just wish Sony's EMMA would do it for us.

          Xperifirm grabs and preps the firmware, Flashtool does the grunt work.

        • @promethbastard: did a google search and the first hit was at xda and I immediately thought I have to do this later :-) Will give it a crack tonight and hope you don't mind if I pick your brain if any issues.

        • @Jackson: You can try but there's not a lot left to pick! It's been about a year since I did it but fire away if needed. There's also an older guide on XperiaBlog.net before the programs were made more helpful.

        • @promethbastard: jumping on xperiform most of the XA firmware is labelled as being from different carriers, and the ones labelled internal are the oldest. Will keep looking either way

        • +1

          @Jackson:
          Xperia XA - Tuba - F3115 - Customised AU
          Version 33.3.A.1.97
          August 2017 Patches.

        • @promethbastard: Ah that explains it, I hadn't checked and was convinced that I had a F3111, cheers

        • +4

          @Jackson: Ok, so I thought I'd report back on my findings, because it was so not a 10 minute process. Now that I have everything installed and working, it would be a 10 minute process, but it took many hours to work it all out. Anyway, I finally met success so I thought I'd post about it. The best guide I found was this:

          http://www.xperiablog.net/2016/03/12/install-xperia-marshmal…

          You can basically follow that and it's all right, however I had a few issues:

          1. For some reasons the driver didn't install first time, and I had to do it again after trying to flash
          2. For some reason xperifirm isn't automatically handing over to flash tool to make the FTF file, so I had to manually do that. I followed this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ1mvZ3K4a8 the only issue is he says at some point left arrow when he means right, but he demonstrates it so you shouldn't be too confused.
          3. After flashing, everything looked like it completed but there was one entry that said: WARN - Unit 2212 not found in bundle, not sure what this means, but if anyone knows let me know
          4. Forgot to mention that the guide doesn't tell you what to answer when it comes up with the dialogue box asking if Yes or no to the FSC questions, after some research the better answer is yes
          5. After disconnecting and turning on the phone, the first boot takes AGES. I thought I bricked it at one stage, but eventually it powered up ok

          A final point is that while it no longer has the Vodafone apps, they must have been small because the phone still only has 7.18Gb free (I forgot to check what it was before but I thought it was similar), it's not a big deal as you can chuck in an SD card and then have it become part of the internal drive, but it's not a big difference from what it was with the branding. It will mean I guess that I get updates faster which is helpful.

          Thanks for your help by the way, the first time I checked prior to reading your comment I was under the impression that I had an F3111, that could have been a disaster :-)

        • +2

          @Jackson:

          Thanks for your contribution, that would definitely be useful for someone who would like to change generic Australia rom.

        • +1

          @Jackson:

          Nice one. Thanks so much for that.

          Agree very much with what you said above btw. Fiddling with phones is something I find googling doesn't always work as well as you'd hope, mainly because there tend to be multiple ways of doing things and it can get confusing finding what works due to contradicting information.

          As you said, much prefer getting direct links from people on Ozbargain who have actually done it.

        • @illumination: Yes, tonight I realised that Sony have disabled the feature which allows you to add an SD card as internal storage, so it needs to be enabled using adb. What a waste if time, these manufacturers that deliberately disable features need to have their licenses revoked. When I do it I will write back here.

  • Can anyone tell me if the speaker ok for music, reviews say not so good , also $150 at my local shop

    • $150 is the "buy outright" price (same thing happened for me).
      They need to put it through as a pre-paid phone (with the sim card?) and it comes down to $119.

      • Ahh, thanks, will look again today

  • How does this XA compare to old Z1 and Z2 series?

    • +1

      Not sure but I have a z5, and it compares quite favourably in some areas, it seems thinner, less wide (has the loner aspect ratio) and is lighter. Screen looks fine to me, can't really tell the difference in daily use, and while I haven't started using mine, the camera looks like it's as good apart from the pixel count, and seems to take less noisy low light pics, as other users have mentioned this could be due to not having as high a pixel count.

      So compares favourably even before talking about price. Only downside I can see is slightly smaller battery, helio chipset and no gyroscope (not a problem for most). Really for the money who can complain?

      • No gyroscope.. No working shake and win app!

        • +2

          It does have the cheap version, not sure what it's called but it could be a 2 axis sensor of some sort. It will still flip your screen from portrait to landscape, so not sure why a simple shake and won won't work, but I will take your word for it. One thing that doesn't allow is use of Google cardboard, and so. E games that rely on a gyroscope might not work

        • @Jackson: looking after your health maybe?

        • @Jackson: e games=cardboard games

        • +2

          @Jackson: Probably cost Sony 50c or less to add a Gyroscope. I also use apps like spirit level etc. One of those things you dont know you miss until its not there. Makes it a no deal for me.

        • @tunzafun001:

          And a notification led probably costs less again, yet some phones don't have it.

        • +1

          @tunzafun001: I think we can all agree that the reason these features are left out are more to do with product line differentiation than actually making the product more affordable, or because Sony couldn't afford to include it.

  • I unlocked this for free through https://unlock.vodafone.com.au/voila/handsetunlock/self-serv… (thanks CVonC).

  • That unlock thingymabobby doesn't work. I tried that site, entered the imei on the box and had to pay $50

    • +2

      As in my earlier post it works for some people.

  • Oops, would have to pay $50 I meant.

    • +1

      wait about a week and it'll go down to $25. well that's what happened to my one. or bagman does it for $22 i think.

  • how long does the battery last?

    • +2

      Until the phone turns off :)

    • +2

      Light use does the day ok.

      • +1

        What about if I don't use the light?

        • if i prevent the light from coming on it easily lasts me over 3 days

        • @WatchNerd : I lol'd

  • +2

    One thing that was disappointing was that it lacks a proper gyroscope. You can't use any cardboard apps at all for vr or anything like there. There is a few things you can do if you root that phone but they are still pretty dodgy and most of these have a locked boot loader anyways,

  • Saw this at my local Willie's for $99.

    Need it to work on the Optus network which will require it to be unlocked by the looks of it is a hit and miss for free.

    Anyway it was this or the Optus X smart for the same price although for $160 I could get a Xiaomi 4x 3gb ram and 32gb rom.

    I'm comparing the pair and both have good and bad merits so what is the OzB decision?

    • Isn't the cheapest price for the Xiaomi at the moment $180+?

      • +1

        Email deal from gear best

        • Thanks…just to be sure, we're talking Redmi Note 4X, correct?

        • @elektron: by the looks of it it is the 4x not note.

        • @Hotkolbas: Cool, that makes more sense.

    • which WWS?? thanks

      • You realise that comment was from 2 weeks ago?

  • Hi OZB Mates, I am very excited to buy this as I missed the Coles deal. :)

    Forgive my amateur question, but are these phones brand new?
    Just wanted to confirm that they are NOT second-hand phones used by post-paid Vodafone customers?

    • Yes, brand new.

      • Cool, now if I can only find a store with stocks. So far called 2 stored in CBD and no stocks.

        Tried one store in Zetland where I live, no stock as well…

  • Can't believe in are selling this for 249

    • That's for unlocked and unbranded though.

      • Yes but almost twice or 3 times the price

        • I didn't say it was great alue at that price :-)

          But if you consider that it's RRP is $300, it actually compares favourably with similar spec'd brand-name phones. In fact, even at that price, I can't think of another phone with NFC.

          The pricing for locked phones is completely different as it's subsidised by the carrier, and becomes very attractive if the phone can be unlocked for ~$20.

        • @elektron: Nokia 2 has NFC going by gsmarenas specs sheet.
          I'm going to have a look at my local JB soon

        • @Hotkolbas: Interesting…

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