Ulefone Power Armor 18T Rugged Phone

This is a substantial piece of hardware, as evidenced by the photo. It's side by side with a Sonim XP8 to give an idea of just how big this phone is. I've been using the 18T for about two weeks at this point, running it on the Verizon network. On initial unpacking, I installed an existing SIM from one of my devices. In order to connect with data, I did have to adjust the settings through Network& Internet to change the APN. After that, the connection to 4G has been excellent. No 5G testing, as it's not yet available in this area. I'll rate the data transfer as excellent with 4G, and connection via WIFI the same. Phone calls in my remote area, and texting have been perfect. Of note, the Gboard is large enough on this phone, a person with small hands could touch type. Initial startup and transfer of accounts was easy, as were updates. Currently Android 12. Also, I installed a Samsung 512 10 micro SD, no issues. I played with the phone a few days to get a feel for it. Once satisfied it was stable, I ordered the case and the endoscope to further enhance the experience. Let's talk cameras. No, this is not an iPhone, a Google phone, or a high end Samsung. It's a Ulefone rugged device, which I feel very satisfied with camera performance and processor performance. Within that context I rate this device excellent. Both front and rear cameras focus and execute images swiftly and accurately. Where this phone shines are the macro and FLIR devices. The macro works better without the cover, as you have to get very close to focus. I've used the FLIR so far on tracing wiring, to image wildlife at night, and it's sensitive enough to visualize the circulatory system on the arm of a thin person. (I'm in the medical field, and was experimenting) I'll call it a poor man's ultrasound via thermal imaging. That's the radial artery on the left arm in the image. It's a very useful tool. The endoscope is as well, to be used mechanically and medically. Let's talk battery. According to the manual, they request you run the battery down the first two or three times. That takes some doing, running the battery down. So far, I have charged this phone three times. The supplied 66W charger is excellent, as is the battery life. Apps installed. There's a ToolBag app with all manner of devices for construction, and they work! Drawbacks? This is heavy, but I can manage it. I'd say from how solid this feels, you could knock someone out with it. If you use the belt clip, either wear a belt, or very tight pants. Overall, I rate this an excellent purchase for the price point. It's early on in the ownership, but I'm still learning the device and it's capabilities, and already it's a big help to me. Far more than a phone. Update July 2024: This device continues to perform reliably, and has been genuinely used. The only failure I've had is the lanyard, which is in no way a reflection of the device. We've made a change on carriers, as T-Mobile offered 5G internet in our area. The only device that gave issue was the lone iPhone in the herd. The installation of the 5G SIM in this device has improved the network experience. The only issue I've noticed is if you're in an area that has spotty or non existent 5G, turn it off, and allow 4G to do the job. Otherwise, you may notice 5G is slow, slow, slow. Overall, I give this device a high score, just remember this is a hefty chunk to carry.

I'll start out with saying this is the 3rd Ulefone I have used, and it is by far the best phone for the dollar I have had the pleasure to put in my hands. I have used a 6E (great phone for a budget phone), I have used an Armor 9 (definitely a step up in performance and capability), and now the Power Armor 18T. This phone is unreal. All using the same SIM card provided through AT&T. Yes, I said AT&T. It worked without any issues. Just a quick notification to their Advanced Technical Department (611) to let them know I switched the SIM to a different phone. I have only had the phone for a little over a week and I think I had it on the charger when I first got it and I have 79% charge on it remaining. Now I will say that I am not one to have it in my hands at all times, my work does not permit that option, but I do play a ton of music through Bluetooth every day. I have tried the facial recognition and the fingerprint ID, and they both work fantastic. I just chose not to use them as I don't need them. The cameras, yes, I say cameras as it also has the Infrared camera as well, they both work great. The High-Definition screen makes photo's I have taken in the past look even better than they did before. The IR camera is so defined I even double checked it with a laser thermometer, and it was within .5 degrees f. of the camera. I must say that this phone is substantial. It is a heavy phone, and the screen is much bigger than any phone I've had in the past. This is another reason I like it, as my eyes aren't getting any younger. The screen saver glass that was provided in the box is great quality and was easy to install, that is if you've done it before, you will have an idea of what is involved in the preparation process. I also purchased the hard case for this phone and compared to cases I've used in the past, It gets a little to get used to not having edging around the top/bottom or either side of the phone. In the little over a week, I have not had any issues with inadvertent button pushes more than once. It even goes into my phone cradles in all out vehicles. I think it may be a little too big for a standard Weather Tech cup holder though. I'm no "Tech Master" or Cell phone Gurue but all in all; Great phone, great price, and features out of this world. Add a Tara-bite of memory like I did, and you'll be in great shape for a long time. Update: This Phone is still working fantastically. The battery life is absolutely amazing. I had an issue with the battery level indication showing 45% battery life left and overnight it went to zero. I contacted Ulefone customer service, and they did a remote check on the phone. Completed an update and now the indicator is right on. I must say, the customer service is fantastic. It is a pain to have to E-mail back and forth, as I'm in Florida and they are in China but, if it's not an emergency, they are the best cell phone customer service I have ever dealt with.

This is not the first Ulefone that we have purchased. It is the second T series phone. It has great battery life of more than one day, functionality i.e., thermal, endoscope, wireless charging, laser measurer). We purchased additional products like the case to protect the phone from falls. The battery life lasts days so you can take it to a remote area where you might not have charging capabilities. The flashlight is really bright. The camera takes great, clear pictures. It is tough but keep it tethered to a lanyard with Caribiner so that it does not touch the ground or water when falling out of a shirt pocket. I think this phone could take a beating and still work fine. It is very heavy but why it is also sturdy. It has a good memory plus the availability of an SSD slot, which most phones have gone away with so this is a plus that you will not run out of memory. Not sure why other phones do not have an SSD slot any longer. That is a huge benefit in my opinion. We did have one issue with wireless charging, but Ulefone's customer service was fantastic. They were very responsive and worked with us to get the issue resolved in a timely manner. The reason we upgraded from the T9 is that there were so many upgrades, such as wireless charging, battery life, camera quality. The T9 charging port was damaged and why it was time to upgrade. Wireless charging will save the port and more convenient. This model T18 also had so many other cool features or upgrades from the T9. In summary, we are tied to Ulefone for future phone purchases, as long as they keep these qualities for future phones: SSD card slot, wireless charging, good camera, fantastic battery life, rugged, etc.

This is a good phone. I like this phone. Checks all the boxes on my list: 3.5mm jack, expandable with SD card, and off-screen fingerprint. The FLIR camera works very well. The flashlight is very bright. And I got to experiment with the endoscope and microscope attachments. But there is one tiny problem with that -- The micro-sized screw that you have to remove/reattach every time you want to use an accessory. It requires a driver tool (included with the accessories), and the screw is, literally, the smallest screw I have ever seen. If Ulefone fixes that problem, I will buy another one and update this rev to 5 stars. It also works with AT&T (US). The only issue, though, is the 5G speed on AT&T -- about 30Mbps down and about 3Mbps up. LTE is fine. Voice is calls are clear. And no issues with SMS/MMS. I never did the "APN hack" I've read about on other reviews. Lastly, this is not my primary phone. I bought this phone for outdoor recreation. The phone is heavy. So if you like "scrolling" in bed before sleeping, you might find that this phone is a bit too heavy for that.

Hi I’m Marcus I’m a professional firefighter in NC i reseny accidentally broke my charger port on the 18T I lost all my fire photos I’ll make another post I’m ruff on phones luckily it’s covered under warranty and thank you. I have been fully testing out the phone thermal camera I have been showing other firefighters how it works and showing how accurate and efficient and durable and reliable the phone system is. During training and while on a active fire scene it has changed my life and prospective on my career this is a breakthrough on how it can enhance our job as a all one tool. I would love to share photos and videos. One of our biggest challenges and problems with the fire service is make sure that the fire is properly extinguished and we have old TIC equipment that barely works and hard to see with and batteries don’t last as long. Thiers been plenty of times that I have proved that our tics are out of date and we need new equipment or everyone needs to elmpiment this tech into their daily life. Thiers hidden fires that are missed from the naked eye heat under ground under straw that hours later could relight or a house fire resulting in more damage. I’m trying to make a point with our chief that this is a break threw and it can change the fire service like say we are in a fire and I take a quick photo or vedio and send it as evidence or as what we are actvily dealing with. I have compared and tested many different tics that the fire service has payed thousands of dollars side by side and nothing compares to what the 18T can do The most biggest problem that I have also recognized while using the 18T is that you can actually see threw glass. With a regular Tic with one camera the thermal imaginger is only looking for heat and it will not see threw a window. The 18t with the multiple cameras will see thew it clearly even with nasty dark smoke. I also like how after taking photos and videos you can revisit the whole scene and pine point different temperatures in the photos and help the investigation. I really love the cold and hot filters cause it will help me find apliences over heating or gas leaks in residents or air leaks on a fire truck. So I love to provide feedback back on the use on the product. I have show some people some funny videos like thier was a firemen standing on top of a hidden fire that he couldn’t see or feel until i showed them it made them all laugh. At night fighting fire or just trying to find tools in the dark can be a challenge I can see a couple 100s feet away we responded to a brush fire that was we couldn’t see at night I was able to stand on the top of the fire truck on a bridge and spray water into the woods guiding our crews to aim in the dark I was able to see the cold water land on top of there brush fire from 100s feet away with clear picture. I also really love the program button I have it programmed to 3 I have options for flashlight, thermal camera, then our cad system pulls up the map for the incident it made everything quick and easy even with a gloved hand. I used the phone in multiple house fires and I stay low to the ground so the phone doesn’t get hot or damaged I take a quick few shots and vedios then I put the phone in my pocket in my turn out gear. Put out the fire and cool the room then I search for victims and life. I also been trying to show that we could do like a private live stream where everyone could see what going on inside the building. Like it would be nice their be like n attachment to hook to our gear or helmet and every person on scene could be recording live and that would fix losing people and be an advancement the technology their. I think that will be the future one day lol Actually the other day my wife said the energy bill was like 300$ the other day and I went around the house looking at everything electrical I found that the dryer was off but it was hot apparently the heating element was stuck in the on position over heating drawing power. The only thing that I could say that I have struggle with sometimes when using the camera is when bright led lights hit the camera or the lights from cars or the fire truck flash the whole secne makes it hard to see. Or another fire fight flash their light at the camera directly blinding the camera and me. Other than that I haven’t found any other negatives most all positive expatially when you guys have fixed a lot of our issues either by accident or on purpose thank you we are very thankfull it has really helped improve job performance. excited on what you guys do next with your technology I’m looking for to your guys advancements