Best Rugged Smartphones (Unlocked) 2019

I have Conquest S8 Pro for almost 6 months – bought with Chinavision.com – but it was a mistake (explanation at the end).

Pros:
Battery looks strong – that was my main reason for buying, charging takes time but lasts also loooong.
In general the phone is ok: it may be big but is solid, it is very fast even with this CPU which people say it’s low spec.
While the phone is really big, the screen size it’s smaller than the one in iPhone 6s Plus but the phone is 3 times fat 🙂 – Mostly due to the rugeddness.

Cons:
First issue I’ve notied just after unpacking was when it got some humid inside, on the screen. I could see a nice small fingerprint at the
very middle of the screen FROM THE INSIDE. I think the quality of production leaves some field for improvement.
I had also an issue with Walkie Talkie when antenna was connected – PPT button did not workd correctly. This was fortunatelly fixed with the OS update.
The power button is getting loose with time, but haven’t felt out yest for those few months.

The factory screen protector looks like if it was sticked by a child – it is uneven and skewed, there was a dust under the protector like if this was sticked on Beijing streets, not a clean factory.
The socket charger is a standard $0.50 charger which actually smells like if it was burning inside when plugged – never will use it again.
One of the features Conquest advertises is the stand charger, for powering the phone without opening the waterproof claps. Actually it is a cheap piece of plastic which does not even fit the phone.
The phone just immadietely jumps out of it and is not charging.
The camera spec says “13Mpix” which is true but the phone takes worse pictures than 5Mpix iPhone 4S’ camera.
There’s no cards hotplugging – when you insert a SIM or a SD card you need to reboot the phone.
Thermal sensor shows rather the main board temperature than the exterior one.
I have not tested the waterproofness yet – I’m a bit scared to drown the phone with this quality but people online did it and seems fine.
It did fell once once and not broke, however it has shut down and I had to power it on manually.
The phone has a few chinese apps preinstalled, eg. QQ, the bootloader is in chinese so you might need to use Translate with camera to find the right option (like factory reset).
It also seems that after the last system update Google Play Services stopped working so App Store in unusable and I have to copy APKs from other phone.
There are a few glitches which could work better (eg. handling of the home button) but one can live with that.

And here goes the best one: the model I have has a serious problem with the GPS.
The signal strength of the sattelites is way weaker than measured with any other Android phone – this might be due to ruggedness but also poor technical design of the GPS module.
If you put other phone next to S8 they more sattelites (including GLONASS).
After the phone gets the fix on the sattelites – you need just to shake the phone to loose signal of all of them; if you do it twice it will be permament and a reboot is required.
So this “outdoor” phone is not fit for running or driving a car with use of the GPS.
What’s more when you get the fix the attitude reported is totally wrong and the gauges show that you’re walking when you are standing still.
And the last but not least – GLONASS support is a lie – S8 never showed me any russian sattelite; shows however chinese sometimes (without getting fix)
It could be related to the previous GPS issue but I have sent the phone back for repairs twice and Conquest says it did fix those issues – so maybe that is the way the phone is build?

The OS seems to be the only reliable part of the phone – probably because it’s almost raw Android so it’s not manufactured by Conquest.

I have sent the phone for repair and it seems the manufacturer either can’t understand English neither videos with reproduction steps.
I did sent the phone for repair twice (!) and while the producer said it has fixed the issue – it did not. Only new OS compilation was introduced – not even the seals were changed.
So if get no luck as I did you might not have your issues repaired what does not say a good word about Conquest.

And finally, unreliable Chinavision.com – I had to send the device two times, as first they have send me back the device in exact same condition.
I have sent it once more, after providing them a few videos with the GPS problem reproduction they said they will send me a brand new one – of course they have sent me exactly same broken device back,
unfixed and did not even had slightiest decency for reimbursing for the costs of 1st return. They have explained that they rely on the producer tests after repairs while
they state on their page they perform a Quality Control before sending back, and that seems to be a lie.
I do not recommend using they services as I have never been treated so badly by a seller.

This experience does not show in a good light neither Conquest or Chinavision.
I see in the Conquest page they are preparing next model – S9 – but excuse me- I won’t take the risk.

Hey there, I´m searching for days now for a smartphone which survives my clumsiness, a lot of different weather, but as well has a really good camera. I found lots of good rugged phones by now, for example the AGM X1 is one of my favorites.
But one of the most important features for me, is a relly good camera.

Does anyone have a tip for a rugged smartphone with a good camera?
And by the way, does anyone know the release date for the AGM X2?

Thanks in advance.

Sina

I love the ruggeds one: but Got myself a a new AGM A8 couple month ago; High PPR, and the phone get on same par with other famous brands. And sooo an affordable price for that specs :O now i m checking out the new x1 18k gold edition … good to know that the ruggeds are becaming a popular choice!

Compared a Dogee S60 and AGM X2 – The Dogee S60 ONLY HAS A PLUS POINT ON the wireless charging. Even though the Battery says Li – Po battery .
Depends on how fast the battery drains and take’s a full cycle charge. All the rugged phones with Mediatek process takes Min charge time on 45min to 1 hour. If your well on a budget side the Dogee S60 will be a better option. Ensure to have Shutapp installed on your android it avoids all the cached and background process running . ( On coolicool website it seemed to be the cheapest @ $300 USD ) . I personally would prefer the Dogee S60 as the location and GPS is much stable without the updates on the phone. the AGM X2 comes is 2 variants : one with a 6000 mah battery and the other with a 10000mah battery . Check these website to get a better deal ::: Bangood.com , chinavasion, coolicool and tinydeal.

I have a BV6000S. I put it in the sea for 1 minute. After that it went ruined. The salt water ruined the inner parts. I tried to contact the manufacturer more times but did not answer anything. Never again Blackview!!

When purchasing a rugged phone .
First we got to check the LTE Band is supported in our respective regions .
Second will be call quality on Speaker and on the ear piece.
Most of the phone manufactured ship with Mediatek ARM Mali processor which is either Octa or Deca Core.
Few of them have SnapDragon processor. While using a specific app for a longer time it heats up the region near the ear piece.
Battery charging is something will be the main concern not all support fast charging .
Best to buy the spare’s along with the phone , as support is limited to only a few countries.
If your looking at a budgeted phone – BLACKVIEW BV9500 PRO , DOOGEE S50 /60 , vernee active should do the job.
If your looking at a higher budget without lag and performance – AGM Models would be the best – CAT Phones are too pricy.
I currently am using 2 phone AGM X2 and Doogee S60 – I have never had issues with these.