Big savings just from switching telcos! Proof!
EFTM - Tech, Cars and Lifestyle
EFTM - Tech, Cars and Lifestyle Sep 23, 2025
Big savings just from switching telcos! Proof!

Big savings just from switching telcos! Proof!

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The EFTM Podcast. Talkback Technology. Got a question about tech? Trev's here to help. Not
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Great, heavy company. Welcome to another episode of the EFTM Podcast. Cracking away at this
for a very long time and we appreciate you joining us. It's always great to connect
with people and help them with their questions and that's what we'll do again today. We've
got NBN speed upgrade questions. We've got feedback on previous advice. People wanting
to buy phones. There's a lot to get to. So yeah, keen to get to all that and we'd love
you to be part of it. If you have purchased something new and you are wanting to brag
about it, I'm happy to talk about it. If you want me to shop vicariously for you,
I can do that as well. We'll help you out with whatever we can. EFTM.com. Click
on Ask Trev. Use the EFTM app. Click Ask Trev. You can WhatsApp. 047657657 or you can send
a text message to 047657657 and we'd love to talk to you. The magazine is, well, underway.
I've got like 10 days to finish it. I got to a really big percentage number in Berlin.
We're like at 45%. But that still means 45% still needs to be written. So I've got
a bit of work to do. That's what's really clogging up my brain right now. So just focused
on that. Hopefully very soon, if I haven't already published it, there'll be a website
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And we'll make that all available in the coming weeks. So it's not until the magazine
will come out second week of November for Black Friday. It'll be distributed once again
through the Gamesmen and I'll post out a bunch of copies as well. Being printed once again
down in Victoria and really looking forward to getting that one out once again. And we've
got a big launch event for PR and tech companies to come along to, which will be wonderful.
So looking forward to that. I'd also love your thoughts, by the way, on things
you want me to give away. I actually don't have a competition yet for the magazine. That's
what I've got to do. Urgent. I kind of didn't want to just do a hodgepodge of things again.
I wanted to come up with one or two really great things. So any advice on what we should
give away in the magazine? Big competition, let me know. And also little competitions.
What are the little things you'd love to see us give away? Because I've got to
do it more. And you know, it could be something that producer Rob gets tasked
with to earn some extra hours. Because it's just a back end. We're going to log on to
our website and add competitions to the app. Yeah, I want to give stuff away. I want to,
I would love to have a competition every week, frankly, if not every day. There should
be something to win every week is the goal. So let's make that a goal for 2026. And let's
start moving that muscle in 2025, that there's something to give away every week on
the EFTM app. Makes it makes it a reason for you to open the app. That's obviously the reason
we're doing it. Yeah, trying to engage you that way. So I'd love to know what you want.
We go away $250 JB Hypo voucher a few weeks ago. That was fun. But I don't just want to do
the same thing every time. So let me know. Let me know what you think. Send us a text,
send us an email, whatever you want. We'd love to hear from you. With all that in mind,
let's get cracking. And let's do the EFTM podcast.
We'd love to have your company, whatever you want to talk about, you want to brag about
something you bought, I'm here, I'm here for it. I'm absolutely here for it. Or if you want
some help with something. Also happy to help Liam's on the longer day, Liam.
Very well, my producer Rob thinks I'm out of, I'm probably out of practice.
But I can still remember the SMS number, O477657657. So that's good. Let's go. What can I do for you,
buddy? Thanks to your, I guess, articles earlier in the year. And after 21 years with Telstra,
I have left them and switched to Kogan. Wow. And enjoying being much cheaper.
What, what, I mean, that's a big call, mate. A lot of people struggle with that, that simple
movement. What, what do you think was the catalyst? What was it that, you know,
straw broke the camel's back? Definitely the tie up with using Optus towers.
Having that confidence of more Optus towers around me compared to Vodafone's ones.
Definitely with it. So you were kind of aware that Optus had
towers and coverage around you and you thought that the Vodafone coverage, therefore,
was going to be better. Now what did you do? Did you do a little test first or did you
go all in? No, I did a lot of testing. Sounded a good phone app called OZ Phone Towers,
which grabbed starter from Akma on a plot on a map so you can see where all your towers are
near you. So I saw Optus towers, not many Vodafone towers come late-chan. And obviously,
all the Optus towers started showing as Vodafone towers as well. And then, yeah,
not long ago, just went online, downloaded the Kogan ECM, struck it on the phone,
just left it there for a month, didn't activate it, didn't pay for a plan,
and just had a look at the coverage and could see, yeah, sometimes it was better than Telstra.
Because you, you can download the SIM and it sits there and shows the bars of coverage,
but you can't use it. It's just active as a SIM. But if you tried to use data,
it would come up nothing. And if you tried to use calls, it'd say, you know, plan. And,
and you're able to just look at the bars of coverage to see how much that's genius.
Yeah, it's left it there. And yeah, it was good. And actually, you know, sometimes it was
four bars and Telstra was five. And other times it was five and Telstra was three. Yeah. And
you know, I'm in a regional center in Geelong. And you know, it's very big area, but you
know, Vodafone wasn't good. And all of a sudden, Vodafone's looking good now.
So Geelong as an area. I don't think I've been, no, I have been to Geelong or maybe Avalon. I went
to a go-kart track there a couple of years, but you just talked me through Geelong because I've
not been there in that sense. Is it like the Central Coast of New South Wales in that,
you know, it's a bit of a drive from the city, but then it's its own kind of thriving area
you don't need to leave. It's a, it's got everything you need. Absolutely. But you
felt like the Vodafone towers were under servicing the area.
Yeah. I tried Vodafone many, many, many moons ago. And even in the CBD, Geelong was no network. So
kind of went, okay, I'm stuck with Telstra for a while forever. But yeah, the opt is tie up. I was
like, okay, cool. All right. So what were we spending a month with Telstra?
That's 70.
Right. And did you pay for a year with Kogan?
I did 150 for the year with their end of financial year sales.
Was that a medium plan or a small plan with the end of the financial year?
I think it was medium.
So do you feel confident you're going to have enough data?
Yep. Absolutely. Yep. I worked from home, but you know, I'm out a little bit, but
I've looked at my usage in the past and, you know, I don't see why I'd ever need 70,
80, 100 giga month, you know, really five and two, five to 10 giga per inch is all I need.
And look, the thing is, you know what, even if, even if you run out, you just top up earlier.
Essentially, you're just topping up earlier than you would normally have.
Yeah. So, you know, you're good to go. That's, I mean, it's crazy. So you've
gone from spending $840 a year to spending $150. It's a good saving.
Mate, that is epic. That is absolutely epic. Well, mate, good on you. Well done. I'm glad.
I love your, your process more than anything else. Using the app to analyze the area.
And then the cunning part of your plan is definitely the eSIM without activation
to see the bars of coverage. That is genius. And $22 to do it.
So you said to buy the SIM. Did you read that somewhere?
No, I just was going to do it. And I noticed when I installed it, I didn't need to activate
it straight away. So I'm like, okay, I'll just leave it and not buy the voucher yet.
Outstanding. Well done, mate. That's very, very good. I'm loving the savings.
What are you going to put the savings towards all the streaming costs going up?
Yeah, probably, probably.
Oh, good on you, mate. I appreciate you sharing the story, mate. Really, really appreciate it.
No, thanks so much. And congratulations to you and Steven on $700.
He doesn't know this yet, but I've made some graphics for the studio. So there's a bit of
party, there's a party atmosphere coming when the show looks.
I look forward to watching it.
Good on you, mate. Thanks, Liam.
Oh, see you, Trove.
So, mate, no worries. So that's very good, mate. What about that saving?
$840 a year with Telstra. Now paying $150.
That's insane. That is, that is almost record savings.
And, you know, what just goes to show, it sometimes is just a little thing you need to tip you over
the edge. And, you know, they've got to find the double the coverage thing.
You can look at it however you want as marketing, but it's, it's true.
They're in some areas, they've picked up a whole bunch of extra coverage.
And there's Liam who's done the research and it absolutely is better than it was.
The EFTM podcast, thanks to Swan, Home Security to Connect, Detect and Protect.
Great heavy company and happy to help wherever I can. 0-4-7-6-5-7-6-5-7 the numbers.
Tex, Jenny's on the line. Good day, Jenny.
Hi, how are you, Trove?
Very well. What can I do for you?
Well, I was trying to find out a little bit about the
the faster speed coming through. And I was wondering if that was in September.
And we're with the Macym and we were just wondering if they were going to go through to the
using the faster speed as well. We're going to offer it.
So do you know what plan you're on now with the Macym?
Currently we're just on the 50, but we're thinking about grading it to 100.
But we can do that if they weren't going to offer the faster speed.
Do you know what technology you're connected to?
Fibre to the home. Fibre to the node.
So you've got the copper phone line, yeah?
I think so, yeah. So when I go one and search my address it says Fibre to the node.
Okay, perfect. Now, let's keep the very simple then.
You're not eligible for, you can't get speeds over, well, probably 80 or 100.
But you may be in an area that is eligible for the Fibre upgrade.
And here's the thing. What the NBN will do is they will upgrade your home to Fibre to the
premises. So they'll roll, they'll dig a trench or they'll run a wire and it'll be fiber right into
your home, no more copper line. And all you, you don't have to pay for that installation.
You don't have to pay for that public works. All you have to do is firstly be eligible.
So you go to the NBN website and you search your address.
And then secondly, once you're eligible, you then need to order from your telco.
So in your case from a Macym, the faster speeds. Now I can tell you that a Macym
is offering the faster speeds. The NBN 500 is there, is there, is the plan I would probably
suggest you jump up to, that's, you know, 10 times faster than what you're getting now.
And it's, it's about $80 a month. Is there their book price? I think they offer a first
two month discount, but I don't know if that'll offer that to an existing customer.
But essentially you just need to commit to a Macym that you're going to spend
the $80 a month instead of the, I mean, you're probably spending $75 now
in reality. Think about this. You're spending $75 a month and for $5 more,
you'll be able to get 10 times faster speeds. That is remarkable stuff. So I,
I am absolutely fingers crossed that you, that your home is eligible for the update.
So I don't want to obviously do it while we're talking on air because people find it
your address, but it's very easy to do on the NBN website. You just type your address.
And critically on the NBN website, you don't just want to, you don't just want to
check your, your address. You want to, you want to check the eligibility for the upgrade.
It's just going to, I'm just going to pop in a random address. I know what suburb you're
living. So I'm just going to put in a random address in that suburb and I'm going to click
check residential. So it says, start your journey here. And it says, great news. You can upgrade your
NBN technology to the reliable fast speeds. Okay. Excellent. Technology upgrade available
in your area. There it is. Boom. Now, now it could be that your street is different to the
one I put in. So I don't want you to get too excited, but bottom line, I feel like it's
highly likely given that you don't live in a, you don't live in an area that they think about
this way, a suburb that has some people that live in the mountains and some people that live in a
normal sub, you're, you live in a normal everyday suburb. I'm confident your entire suburb is
eligible for the upgrade. And contact the Maysim or first thing you do is just check on the
NBN website that you are eligible and make sure you get that big green light that
says technology upgrade available in your area. And then you ring a Maysim and you say,
hey, I would like to order the NBN 500 plan. And they'll say you're on fiber to the node,
you can't do that. And you say, I want to upgrade to fiber to the premises. It should be free.
And they'll hopefully process your order. Now, let me tell you this. If they don't
essentially jump at helping you do that, switch telcos, ring someone else because
you'll get a better, if, if they're not willing to, you know, push to get you this upgrade,
find someone who will call Aussie broadband. They will, they'll order it for you in an
instant. So I'd be amazed if Maysim wasn't the same. I'd be amazed if they weren't
desperately, you know, trying to get people upgraded. Because once you're on fiber,
they've got you on this, you know, $80 a month, right? So they've got an extra
five bucks a month out of you. That's good. But you're also then a potential
for them to earn more because you might then go, wow, this is really good. We want
even more and you'll, you know, potentially order an even faster speed.
What do you think you want the fastest speeds for?
Well, it's just so that people in our family can use the technology all at once and
be able to, yeah. Your kids?
No, grandkids will be coming along.
Now the grandkids, grandkids will be just firing up all the devices on high-speed
Nanna's Internet. I love it. That's the way it should be. So, okay, so two things to do, Jenny.
Firstly, check your own address at the NBN website, very easy to do, nbnco.com.au.
And then secondly, if technology upgrade is available in your area,
go to Ringham Asim and order faster Internet. Now it might, because of the demand on this,
it might take some weeks or even month or more to do the upgrade. But once it's done,
they'll be able to deliver those faster speeds to you.
That's fantastic. Great. Great news.
Good on you. Great to hear from you.
Thanks, Trim. Okay, bye.
There you go. And look, it's a fascinating thing because I felt weird over the last week talking
about these upgrades because it's 9.8 million homes that are eligible for these faster speeds.
But there's no way 9.8 million homes are connected to Fibre or HFC, Hybrid Fibre Co-Actual.
But the fact is, if you've wanted faster speeds at any point and you haven't been paying attention to
the rollout of the Fibre, then you mustn't have wanted much because I know some people
that are just refreshing the website every week to see what's happening.
So yeah, all you got to do is check your address and if you're eligible,
order a better speed. Nice and simple. Good luck, Jenny.
Tech, cars, lifestyle. This is the EFTM podcast with Trevor Long.
You can text Trev now, thanks to Vodafone on 04777657657.
Do it now. If you've got a question on your mind or you want to buy something,
you want some advice, happy to help anytime, just send me a text or go to the website EFTM.com.
Tony's on the line today, Tony.
Yeah, really good, mate. What can I do for you?
Mate, I've got a TV problem. I'm trying to set up two TVs. So I've got a 60-inch Samsung smart TV
in my TV room which backs onto my patio and I want to put my old 50 out there so I can
have a TV outside as well. But the old one's not a smart TV. So I put a Chromecast into it.
But there is probably a 10-second delay between the smart TV and the Chromecast.
And I'm just wondering how I can sync them together.
Oh, so what you're doing is what are you watching, KO or one of the
free-to-air apps?
Yeah, it's probably more than likely, probably something Fox sport,
you know, watching the footy or something like that.
Are you using KO or the Foxel app?
No, the Foxel app.
Okay. So that is a massive challenge because honestly, there's no easy answer.
It's not like the old days of free-to-air where it was just broadcast and it was all
synced up, you know, five TVs on the house, couldn't you?
And they could all be running the footy on seven or nine or whatever it was.
And it'd all be perfect.
You go from room to room and never miss a thing.
But you could be watching in the patio, walk inside and miss a goal.
So that is a real problem, mate.
I don't think there's a solution, my friend, because the way streaming works is it's
really just you make a request and it comes back.
The different platforms would use different, what we call codecs,
which is kind of technology to decode and actually display the picture.
So they'd be a slightly different, what I'm saying is I don't even think buying
a Chromecast for your newer TV on the inside is going to make a difference
because it's more about, you know, when you press the button.
Like it's a funny thing when I watch like the news at night on nine now,
it comes up with like a preview of what's happening, which is the news.
And then when I click watch live, it kind of stops, opens up and then goes to where I was.
And I'm thinking, but I've already seen this a few seconds.
So I feel like I'm now a little bit behind.
All you can do is try and actually manually sync it by essentially pausing the game
that is in front.
I do this with the Formula One.
And when I'm using the F1 app, they have a really cool app for timing
so that you can see the lap times and everything.
But it's it's so almost real time that when I'm watching on KO,
it's probably 15 seconds or more behind.
So what I do is I, as soon as I see on the timing screen,
which is always going to be first, I see the kind of the green light go, I hit pause.
And then when I on the TV, I see the green light go, I hit play on the iPad.
So they're broadly in sync.
The only thing you can do is pick the one that's in front and
hit pause for a second or two and then hit play again.
Yeah. Yeah.
One of my mates suggested that and I have tried that because the smart TV is the one that's in front.
Right. Pain in the arse.
Well, it's, yeah, look, it is.
I mean, you probably need to have the volume down on one of the TVs
because you'll never get the talking right.
But you can get the picture pretty close.
You can get within a few seconds of the the actual field,
which is probably the right solution there.
I mean, so it's out in the patio, you want to be most,
but then you want to be able to walk back in and, you know,
be in the kitchen or whatever it is when and still see what's happening on the other screen.
Maybe you, maybe you just, you're, as you say, you pick one as your primary source
and pump up the volume of that one or get a sound bar or a Bluetooth speaker for that one.
So for example, the smart, here you go.
So I'm just going to say the smart TV is all speaker outside anyway.
So I can just leave, I can just leave that one on and just turn the volume down on the other one.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a pain, it's a pain, but you've already,
you're already across the only solution.
There is my friend unless someone miraculously tells me that there's
another solution or a better solution.
You're already on it, Tony, but I'll, we'll let you know if we hear anything else.
All right, thank you.
No worries, mate. Thanks for getting in touch.
Okay, buddy. Thank you.
Sorry, saying cheers.
And it's, it's a modern problem. It's, it's a 2025 issue.
The same as, you know, going to the footy and it used to be,
you'd have an AM radio or an FM radio and you'd listen to the call.
It would be absolutely live.
And I know that SCN and I think even 2GB now have like a, this call sync feature.
But I, I don't know.
And I'd love to hear from you if you've used the SCN app,
because I understand they've got a, like a live stadium sync feature.
I don't know how that works because there's always digital encoding required.
I saw a great, hilarious TikTok the other day of a dad with his son.
And so it was like a selfie video.
And he's like, oh, there's, they've just scored a goal.
Sorry, mate. I forgot to turn my notifications off.
And the kid rolls his eyes and then he pivots the camera around
and they're inside a stadium and a goal is scored.
And it's this, it really, the video mucks with your mind because in your head,
you're like, oh man, turn off your notifications.
But then you're like, wait a minute, that was live.
Like he made that up. Obviously it was a joke.
But it actually mucks with your head.
You think, oh, that is annoying.
But then you go, that didn't happen.
Can't happen.
But yeah, I don't know what's your, what's,
because I can't, I can go to a, maybe to a race track
and I can kind of enjoy motorsport
as long as there's a big screen in front of me.
But even watching rugby league and definitely AFL,
I need, I need radio.
I need to know what's happening.
I need someone to describe the action.
You know, when there's a panel and you don't know why, I want to know why.
I can get away with baseball.
I can sit and watch a baseball game, no dramas.
The funny thing about a baseball game in a stadium in America,
something I remember in 2018, we went to, as a family,
went to the national league divisional series at Dodger Stadium.
They were playing the Brewers and something happened.
And I went, what the heck just happened?
I turned to the kids and the guy next to me,
the American, you know, local next to me goes,
it was an intentional walk.
And that was when I learned about the intentional walk.
And so he explained to me what happened.
I don't know that I needed the radio coverage for that,
but it was kind of cool to have an interaction
with a human being next to me there,
which gave me the description.
So, you know, maybe that's the way we do it.
Anyway, no solution for Tony other than pause and play.
Tech cars, lifestyle.
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Anything you want to talk about?
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Troy's on the line.
G'day, Troy.
G'day, Troy.
How are you?
Yeah, good, mate.
What can I do for you?
Mate, just ringing over about the new iPhone 17.
So I've got my daughter, her two birthday coming up
in the end of September.
And I knew the watch of the new iPhone was in September.
So we just wanted to know what recommendation
will be the best for a 15-year-old.
What birthday number are we at?
15?
Oh, 15, 15, 15, yes.
Mate, my daughter wanted a iPhone.
I'd tell her to pay for her own.
My daughter has a hand-me-down iPhone from her mother,
which is as good as she's going to get
probably for another year.
What have you got a budget in mind,
as she indicated anything specific in terms of her needs?
Look, we're basically on the same page as what you are.
She's got a hand-me-down as well.
And she's been busting our balls to say,
can I need a new phone?
You know, she wants to keep up with the peers.
So look, basically a budget is out the window.
So I'm happy to spend whatever.
Father of the year.
So there's a funny thing with the iPhone.
And look, I respect what you say.
And I can't remember.
So I have to think about when we gave Jackson his phone
because it was a lot of the phones.
So my wife, I buy her a phone every couple of years
and that's the one that gets hand-me-down.
But Jackson at some point, who's now 18,
at some point I bought him a phone.
It was an iPhone 14 Pro.
Because I knew he wanted, he did photography.
I thought he'd want the extra lenses and whatever.
So I'm going to say it must be now two years.
So maybe he was turning 16.
Maybe.
Yeah, I think turning 16 because he's turning 19 this year.
So what I said to him at the time,
and I'm not trying to give you parenting advice,
but what I said to him at the time is,
this is the last phone I'm giving you.
Like this is it.
Because this is going to cost me whatever.
Mate, by the time this thing's of no use to you,
you should have a job and whatever, whatever.
So I go into it with that thought
because otherwise there's that kind of feeling of,
you know, oh, dad will get me a phone every year, won't he?
But here's the cool thing about the iPhone 17 range.
Now, I'll say this very cautiously to you
because I trust you, Troy.
Yes.
At the date we're recording this conversation,
I'm under strict embargo and can't tell you anything
that I know from my usage of the phones.
However, this podcast won't go out
until after the embargo has lifted.
So as long as you and I can have
a very quiet conversation amongst each other
and I trust you, we'll have a conversation
as if the phones are already on the market
because I have been using the iPhone Air
for the last four or five days.
And I got to tell you, it's a beautiful phone.
I think it's just, it's beautiful.
It's remarkable.
It's so thin.
I just, today the phone I'm calling you from,
the phone I use in the studio is a Pro Max.
It's the last year, it's a 16 Pro Max.
I picked it up and went, oh my God, that's heavy.
That's so big.
So I literally, it was noticeably big.
The iPhone Air is just noticeably thin
and light and awesome.
So the first thing I'd say is in terms of that,
you know, peer impression and all that stuff,
the iPhone Air will be the hero product of the year,
no question.
And it does everything you could want.
It's beautiful to look at and use and hold.
It's only negative is that it has one camera on the back.
Now.
There you go Trevor, and that's the thing
that's got a down silhouette for me.
Correct, because does your daughter do Snapchat
where she does these 0.5 selfies and stuff?
Correct.
And the phone she's got now has got one lens camera
on the back of it and it's like,
Dad, I've only got one camera on the back.
Right, right.
Interesting, because.
I know it's only a cosmetic thing.
No, but it's not cosmetic because there is a function
to the 0.5.
I don't think most adults without a teenage daughter
like you and me can relate to what we're about to say,
but they literally get Snapchat out
and they take a 0.5 selfie like them and their mates
and they do this kind of, you know,
two finger like the old peace sign
and it's a really close photo.
But it's a wide angle, right?
And they love it.
Now, the only thing I'd say is,
and I don't know whether you can show her some of these things
because the birthday will come after the reviews all come out.
I want her like, I'm going to show my daughter this.
I wanted to see the new selfie camera.
The new selfie camera can do not ultra wide,
but a lot wider.
And I'm trying to get my daughter to explain to me
whether or not that might actually be a pretty good use
of the selfie camera.
However, in Snapchat at this point in time,
it's not natively supported that you can get the wider screen.
So I don't know, mate.
Honestly, I'm off the air for that reason
and it sounds ridiculous to say it.
Here's the good news.
Good news is for $1,399,
you can buy the standard entry level iPhone 17
in one of the one of the cute colors it comes in,
whether she's a lilac green or blue gal or white or black.
And it has it has an ultra wide camera
as well as the massively enhanced standard telephoto camera,
standard wide, which does have the ability to do a two time zoom.
It's kind of an optical crop, but it's still totally awesome.
Plus, it has all that cool stuff I just talked about with the front camera.
Yes, plus it's got a really powerful chip,
which makes it, you know,
excellent.
So it's got Apple intelligence.
Plus, it has double the storage that last year's model have
and the price didn't go up.
Yes, it starts at $250.
So, mate, you can get a lavender if she's into purple.
She can get a purple 256 gigabyte storage iPhone
for $1,399, mate.
I think it is the best value iPhone in 2025.
Yeah, okay.
I think you've signed me on that one and it's got the two cameras.
As you said, it has the two cameras on the back.
And you know what you should do is then give her a voucher
for the Apple store to buy herself a case.
They've got these new cases that go over the shoulder,
like the strap.
So the phone hangs down beside you, very funky,
very hip, very cool.
That'll be the thing that gets her over the line
that she didn't get a pro.
She got this.
It's still a great phone.
Trust me, awesome phone.
We'll last her three or four years easily.
Oh, it sounds good.
So they've been handing me down for dad then.
But maybe think about the color choice.
That's all I'll say.
For sure.
No, that sounds awesome.
Trevor, I think that'll be the one.
Or the purple iPhone 17, I think.
Yeah, you've nailed it.
Good stuff.
All right, Troy, good luck.
Awesome, Trevor.
Happy birthday to your daughter and happy shopping, mate.
Good one.
Thank you, Trevor.
Cheers, buddy.
Thanks for getting in touch.
I mean, I do love secretly shopping through people.
I hope my daughter never listens to this show, though,
because I'm just convinced
man to buy his daughter a brand new phone for her 15th birthday.
And I did not get my daughter a phone for her 15th birthday.
But yeah, honestly, it's a great phone.
The 17, I'll just repeat, the 17 entry level now has double the
storage of last year's phone.
It now has the A19 processor.
It now has 48 megapixel cameras.
And it has the center stage front camera as well.
I mean, it's fantastic if you want to talk about paying for your buck.
I genuinely think it's an absolute cracker.
So don't rule out getting that one.
Don't be bent only towards the air or the fancy pro.
They're great.
But gee whiz, 17's a cracker.
The EFTM podcast, thanks to Swanbuddy4K,
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0477657657, send us a text or a WhatsApp.
Lisa is on the line.
Good day, Lisa.
What can I do for you?
I heard you talking with the two Murray's.
This was when they were on air.
Oh wow, I was going to say that's like six months ago now.
Yeah, it's been a while.
You were talking about iPods that you can use at hearing aids.
That's right, Apple AirPods, yep.
Oh, is that what they are?
Apple AirPods and where can you get them from?
So, but have you got an iPhone or a Samsung?
That's the first big question.
An iPhone.
Excellent.
What model do you know?
It's 11.
I just need to check whether or not Apple Hearing Test Compatibility.
I just want to check that you can do it on 11.
Now, iPad iOS 18, so you just need to run the latest software.
You should be fine.
So what you need to buy is the AirPods Pro 2.
Now, they have just been superseded by a new model,
but actually probably a good time to buy the AirPods Pro 2
because, you know, they're probably going to go on special.
AirPods Pro 2, you can get them at JB Hi-Fi right now for $310,
which is about $80 less than they normally are.
And so what you do is you got AirPods Pro 2.
Pro 2, yep.
Right, so you put them in and then you, on the phone,
you have to go into the settings of the AirPods
and you go to the hearing section.
And there's a hearing test and it will conduct a,
that takes between five and 10 minutes, a hearing test.
Just exactly what it would expect it to be.
It's a little beep.
And when you hear the beep, you push the screen.
When you hear the next beep, you push the screen.
And, you know, the beeps get softer
and they're different frequencies
and all those different things.
And after the end of the test,
it gives you an assessment of your hearing.
And if your hearing is such that it requires some assistance,
it will then create a sound profile in those AirPods
that not only makes music sound better for you,
but then they can be worn out and about as hearing aids.
So it will amplify the people speaking around you.
It will make the world around you sound better.
Is this for you or someone else in your life?
No, it's for me.
Yeah, it will be a game changer.
Because you can even taking calls,
just everything you do that is to do with hearing
can be made better through AirPods Pro 2
with the hearing test.
Have you had a hearing test done at all, the clinical one?
Yes, I have.
And you're able to tell me how severe the hearing
concern is or hearing loss is?
I don't think it's that bad,
but I know it's getting, it's like getting that way.
Great. So yeah, I was only saying that
because there's levels, right?
And the highest level of hearing loss
obviously requires a much more, much different solution.
I think Apple say these are for mild to moderate hearing loss,
you know?
So outside of this, you talk about getting proper hearing aids
and there's a whole range of solutions.
But look, the great thing is that for $310,
you get an unbelievable set of headphones
that play beautiful music and great sound
and they're excellent headphones.
They just happen to also offer you the ability
to do the hearing test and then if needed,
act as a hearing aid.
So they will be great.
And also you can't see them either, can you?
Well, I mean, they are white.
They're in your ear, the little stalk sticks out.
It's not horrible, but people will know you're wearing them.
And I think that's the biggest challenge will be when you're,
I don't know, at a gathering with other people,
they'll be like, why are you wearing the AirPods?
You'll be like, actually, they're my hearing aids.
I can hear you better because of them.
I know though, I'll have to explain it to everyone.
They'll think you're ignoring them
and listening to music and podcasts, won't they?
That's what I'm telling you.
But you know what?
If they work, who cares?
What you have to say to people, Lisa?
It just, if it works, it works.
So I hope it works for you.
So JB Hi-Fi, AirPods Pro 2.
Yeah, they're a game changer if they can work for you.
Thank you so much, Trevor.
Really appreciate it.
My pleasure.
Let us know how you go.
Okay, thanks so much.
No worries at all.
Yeah, and look, it's funny
because when I reviewed the AirPods Pro 3 last week,
I did the live translation test
and I was able to demonstrate it.
Fascinatingly, that feature is also available
in the AirPods Pro 2 and the AirPods 4 with ANC.
It's not exclusive to the AirPods Pro 3.
It's one of those things about Apple.
They come up with new things.
They say this is new and you think, oh, you've got to buy that.
But actually, it's backwards compatible to older products.
The probably the biggest thing that the AirPods Pro 3 do,
that AirPods Pro 2 don't do,
is they do have better noise cancelling.
They have a better acoustic profile
and they do the heart rate monitoring in here.
So those things are not available
and they won't be available
through software updates on AirPods Pro 2,
but they are most certainly available
in the AirPods Pro 3.
Great to have you company and love to hear from you.
If you've got a tech question,
go to the website eftm.com.
Just click on Ask Trev.
Brian's online today, Brian.
Yeah, how do you Trev?
Mate, what can I do for you?
Yeah, all right.
So I've got this dilemma with the old home network,
looking at getting a mesh system.
And it's like a myriad of options out there.
And I was looking at the, should I go for Wi-Fi 6?
I see Wi-Fi 7's out now.
Need to future-proof, blah, blah, blah.
It's just amazed.
It is.
And there's a lot of cost involved as well.
Talk to me about your home life.
How many people in the home?
So there's three of us, two kids.
So fairly heavy use.
What age are they at right now?
Well, so 18 and early 20s.
So that's going to be proper use.
Absolutely extreme use.
What about smart home things?
Got any cool light bulbs and those kind of things
happening or are you pretty much just on tablets,
computers, phones and TVs?
Pretty much just, there are a few smart devices
like light bulbs and things.
But yeah, the normal, lots of wireless usage,
you know, with TVs and Google Chrome and all of those things.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Look, you could spend up to $4,000 on a mesh system.
Let's be real about it.
It can get very expensive.
But, you know, in my mind, you don't need the Wi-Fi 7
or the mesh for $4,299.
I just, that's just not where I'm at with your usage
and what you've described.
Do you need Wi-Fi 7 would be the next question.
So just looking at Netgear's product range,
because it's one brand,
so we can step through their different products
before we find a solution.
But they have that $4,000 product,
then there's a $2,000 product,
and then there's a $1,000 product.
Now, both the $1,000 and $2,000 products are three packs,
which means one router sits next to the NBN device
and then the other two are satellites
that sit within the home.
At, you know, designated points to ensure
that they get the best connectivity
and you get the best speeds all throughout the home.
They are both Wi-Fi 7
and they are both what we call tri-band.
So honestly, again, it would come down to just the sheer amount
of devices connecting to your network.
And for that reason,
I think you don't need to even go to the $2,000 model.
So I'm back now at the,
okay, I'm at $9.99 for you right now, okay?
Yeah.
I think that's your upper end.
I think $9.99 is your upper end.
There are some Wi-Fi 6 products
still out there on the market.
Totally fine, you know, $7.99, for example,
for an Orbi Wi-Fi 6 product that is a three pack.
So there's another $200 saving.
But you mentioned future proofing
and personally, I do love the idea of going,
this is an investment in this home.
And even if it's,
even if you think you might move in three years,
remember the mesh system can come with you.
It's not wired into the house.
It's just a PowerPoint.
So it can move with you.
There's no issue there at all.
A Wi-Fi 7 system is going to give you
better performance on newer devices.
That's a good thing.
It's going to be capable of more.
That's a good thing.
How big is your home, just broadly speaking?
So it's a four-bedroom house,
but it's a bit of an odd shape.
So lots of corners and passages and things.
Is it widespread?
So single story and is it spread out reasonable amount?
Yeah.
So it's single story and it's, yeah,
fairly spread out, I'd say.
So I would definitely want you going for the three-pack.
I was just going to say,
because there's obviously a two-pack as well,
you can get.
So it's just a router and one satellite.
You know, that's like $799.
You know, totally, totally fine.
Yeah.
But here's the thing, $799 for a two-pack.
And to add a single satellite is $649,
which takes you to $15.
You may as well buy the,
right now it's actually on special,
the Wi-Fi 7 for $999.
So right now it's actually a very good deal
to get the Netgear Orbi Wi-Fi 7 for $999.
You'll find it at JB Hi-Fi.
I feel like that's the optimal solution.
If you feel like that's pushing it a bit,
then probably the mid-range would be to think about,
you know, Netgear does have a Wi-Fi 6 system
for $399 at JB Hi-Fi right now.
It's discounted again.
That's very, very competitive price.
That will offer you the speeds that you need
across the whole home.
It's only dual-band, so there's a potential
for small amount of conflict on the network.
And, you know, will that affect things like gaming and stuff?
Maybe.
So that'd be my only concern.
But it would, I don't, look,
I think that what you'll get from the $399 product
is ticking every box you've got today.
I think what you'll get from the $999 product
is ticking every box for the next four years, five years.
Right, okay.
And in terms of the actual router,
I mean, I've got one of these Telstra boxes.
What sort of NBN do you have?
Do you know what the technology is?
Yeah, I've got fiber to the home.
Then the Telstra box can go in the garbage.
Right.
You don't need it.
You plug your Wi-Fi system, whatever you buy.
So let's be clear.
There's Amazon, there's TP-Link.
There's a bunch of great brands out there.
I'm just talking about Netgeek because I know them well
and they're a sponsor and I've used them for years.
But Amazon's Eero, TP-Link,
there's some great products out there.
As long as you're getting the same like-for-like
as what I've compared,
so Tri-Band, Wi-Fi 7, those things,
then go for your life.
But see, by having the Wi-Fi system
and then the modem, the Telstra modem,
and then the NBN, you're creating a,
just another place where things can go wrong or slow down.
Yeah, I would remove the Telstra modem from the network.
I would plug my new mesh system directly into the NBN.
And because you don't need a motor,
one of the, so of the three boxes you get
when you get a three-pack mesh system,
one of them's a router
and that's what gets plugged into the NBN box.
The other two are what's called satellites
and they just get plugged into a PowerPoint.
Right, okay.
Oh, that's, on to that question for me.
I think you're on a winner
and as I said, mate, if 3.99 is your budget,
you won't be disappointed.
I genuinely believe that,
but if you can stretch it to a thousand,
then the 9.99 will be a really good investment for your home.
Yeah, okay, all right.
No, that's brilliant.
Tri, that sounds good.
Mate, my pleasure.
Any time, let us know.
Here you go.
I will do you.
Thanks a million, mate.
Thanks, buddy.
No worries at all.
Okay, cheers.
Thank you, cheers.
Very good.
And it's going to be in demand.
There's going to be a lot of people
buying Wi-Fi systems,
because they're going to get this new speed upgrade
and they're going to go, why is it not,
why is it so slow over there?
Why am I still on 150 here
when I'm paying for a thousand or 2,000?
Because your Wi-Fi is what's lacking.
Genuinely, it's going to be a problem, trust me.
Anyway, we're happy to hear from you
and try and help you if we can.
The EFTM podcast, thanks to Swan,
home security to connect, detect and protect.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for downloading another episode next week.
And hopefully another episode the week after,
but I'll be in Italy, so we need to get your calls.
Otherwise, a week off for producer Rob, which is fine,
but he still works hard bringing together the content.
It's okay.
But yes, lots to get through and we'll take your calls.
Again, next week here on the EFTM podcast,
thank you for listening.
Thank you to Vodafone for supporting
the text line 0477657657
and to Swan for their support of the EFTM podcast.
Let's do it all again next week, folks.
Simple as that.
This is the EFTM podcast.
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