Cat S61

Ian M

Thanks Davey. Cat support did eventually respond but the advice given was to reset the settings. It did not work, and my phone didn't even have some of the stated menu options. The fix you suggested did work. The follow-up Cat support feedback survey was screwy. Question 7 was "If you’re happy with our overall service, please can you give a reason and choose all applicable options below:". But I wasn't happy and couldn't (honestly) tick any of the options, yet I was required to tick at least one of them to move on to the next question. I vented with an email instead. Thinking back a bit, I tried several times to subscribe to Cat's email list about a year before I bought an S61 but never got any emails. Why is Cat support so bad? There's not even an auto-responder on new support tickets.

ME

Used to love this phone. Read the reviews to start - not as good as pretty much any other smart phones for speed but conters that with the FLIR. However the issues are now greater than the benefits. CAT help - does not help. Person I spoke said they are agency so had no clue other than the script he was reading from. Shocking was the bill for £14.97 for a 28min phone call their 'no' help centre. Illegal in the UK as premium rate numbers MUST state their charge per minute - they do not. CAT ignoring my complaint for compensation. Screen is sometimes unresponsive. Battery charging issue - CAT have admitted (sent them a screen shot with the battery % as 0%) it does look like there are issue's with the phone which is less than 6 months old. Stated it will take 7-10 working days to repair but may take longer. CAT refuse to refund or replace the phone - will only see if they can repair it. Since the Android update - forced, no option for update later, it just did it. Lost all photos from a family holiday. The reason for going on holiday was with family in which 1 member may not live to see Christmas. Some 500+ photo's gone. CAT do not want to help - completely ignoring the issue. Calls drop out or piss poor signal - talk but only hear every 3rd word. CAT ignoring this issue as well. The company - Billett have outstanding charges against the company. Made some £35million loss last year. It's got so bad I'm only left with legal action - I'm left with a phone that doesn't work and a company not willing to sort out any of the issue's.

Diman

The phone has problem charging, even though I only used the original adapter. Been in a warranty repair once, and after 2 months it happened again. Never expected THAT from a rugged smartphone.

Gabor P

Since the android 9 update the S61 (about 1 weeks ago) the phone functions do not work for a lot of peoples. The Cat support does not help me! Need to buy a new phone and thermal cam (about 1000USD)! The Cat support reaction: "I can understand that this is very frustrating for you and please accept our apologises for the inconvenience this has caused i can confirm that we are working on a fix for this but are unable to give you a specific timescale as to when this will be available." Where is the warranty? Cat Phones are violated the European Union laws. The Cat support can't repair my phone, and absolutly not help me.

Devil

one more thing, flir must have all permissions selected to start working properly

kestismax

I have the same issue with the signal

Netvanfanel

I have the same issue with the signal 📶. And many people in "xda" are posting about the same problem. No move from "Cat". I already contacted them and they answered they are escalating the issue to the technical department. I don't think they will do much if we all don't contact them. I encourage you all to contact them with the problem and threatening to give back the phone as it is still under warranty, like I wrote them too

Vesboy

Since android 9 update, reception issues and calls drops all the time.

Kazha

So I enjoyed my S61 till October 2019 because at that time software update came out and fixed few things for me, like now GPS doesn't glitch out anymore and mystic battery drainage of GPS is gone but now the coverage alll the time drops and i can't reiceve or make calls. I already tested other phones to make sure if it's not the local mobile provider fault.

no cell coverage

there plain old junk

1ronsmith

Similar issue here. I loose internet and cell service all the time and can't make calls.... the main purpose of a phone

Jerre

Same thing here....

Anonymous

Same for me. The lousy CAT support did not answer for a week, not even sent a confirmation for my request. After second time contacting them the told me to soft reset (small button und the SIM-card cover). If it does not work, factory reset. BOTH DID NOT WORK. PS: the softreset, i guess is for nothing as long as you can access the phone and simply restart it. The factory reset nerfs because complete new setup mandatory. Such fools this was my last CAT device. Manly because of very bad service. Also because the S61 is not sadisfing. The distance laser is Kindergarten. Missing fingerprintsensor and wireless charching. Not rootable. Even with pm uninstall through ADB shell it is not possible to completly remove the google search bar. How really needs a FLIR cam I reccomend to buy a stand alone flir cam like the FLIR C2 or C3 and any other phone.

Davey

Go to settings - apps - myflir - storage. Clear the cache and storage. Open the app again. That's how I fixed it.

kestismax

After the update to Android 9 Pie - the phone lost connection and mobile internet

Anonymous

After the update to Android 9 Pie - the phone lost connection and mobile internet. Very bad situation ☹️

Ian M

About a week ago my S61 upgraded itself to Android 9 and it broke the FLIR app. When I now try to use the IR camera, the app goes through the calibration then does nothing more. I have not had any response from CAT support.

Bob

Contact customer services I would say :)

Pat

My CAT S61 has a battery problem.It does charge quickly and does not hold its charge for at least an hour.What should I do?.It is still under warranty.

Zen

Using since February 2019. Actually like camera quality, quite detailed comparing to some Huawei Lites. Sometime camera is sluggish, can anyone recommend better 3rd party cameras? The only problem so far is right upper hard button. It kinda does not feel when pressed.. don't know if warranty could do anything there. Has fallen on the hard floor some times, aluminum case is a little dented, but ok.

Art

I, too had charging problem. I had old USB C fast charger for a 950XL. Plugged S61 into that and charging problem was solved. I suggest you get a new charger - at least 3 amps, with USB C plug (not via adapter).

hansegun

restart your phone before you must turn off silence mode.

Jess

it a battery fault..please replace the battery...then the issue is fixed...i have faced such situations...like you mentioned above....

franco

I have had my phone for 12 months now it was great until the charging problems raised its ugly head , I use my phone to run my business and it is affecting it now phone goes dead without warning the phone is at 0% battery and refuses to charge up , restart it 3 or 4 time it goes from 0% charge to 47% instantaneously , some times it will only charge to 80% and then loose 1% charge every 2 mins Any one out there that has managed to solve the problem , or maybe I have to go back to use my old reliable Samsung Galaxy 8

ITGuyDave

I freakin love this phone. It's not great at photos, but alternative camera apps work pretty well. It survives a whole day of use, with multiple email accounts on constant sync, bluetooth and a little sat nav. I've lost count of the number of times I've dropped it out of my pocket and onto a hard surface, its a little scuffed as a result, but otherwise taken the hit incredibly well. Downsides, its a little sluggish sometimes and camera is poor, but otherwise, its a great phone. Short anecdote: Went to the pub after work with some mates, told the missus I was working... turns out the air sensor hates pubs and gave the game away while i was showing it off to her the next day :(

buddanho29

Nope!

Codeplayer

Just bought a 512GB (Samsung EVO Plus UHS-1 U3) SD-Card today and I can confirm that it works perfectly.

Anonymous

this phone is not made for photos man

Bob

They offer to fix the issue, why cant you sent it in for repair?

Dmitry

Phone has problems with battery and knows it. My phone just stop charging, after a couple attempts (restart phone etc) its charged, but rapidly discharged again, so absolutly dont keeping the charg. And passed only 3 month after I bought it. I tried to install application from google play to monitor battery progress and found that this app and phone as well detectied battery capacity like 1000mah instead of 4500mah, so I send email to cat support about this cause, but manager Anke just advice ne bring it to repaire. Absolutly unacceptable position of Cat, that showing unrespect to their customers. I live far from any repair center and cannot bring or send it to repair, and finally I use this *uking phone...

Jared

I've had my S61 since April, and like it. I can listen to music, watch videos and do calls/texting for my entire day, and when I plug it in at night it's usually over 55% still. The thermal camera is proving to be a useful diagnostic tool, still a learning curve to integrate it to my methods but helpful. It talks to my Bluetooth scanner better than my old phone. It takes great pictures in mixed lighting, like partial shadows. There have been a few down sides- The available screen protectors are soft, my shirt buttons scratch them. The camera lens is soft, and got a scratch on the first week. VOLTE does cause some call quality issues every now and then, but for the most part it's better than my old Kyocera. The vibrate alert died today. It was running funny when the alarm was going off earlier, and now there's no vibration at all.

Anubis

Have you tried with another charger ? I had this problem that my CAT S61 was not charging fast anymore. (Charged fast before, then one day I noticed "charging slowly" on screen while charging.) Used factory charger. My solution was simple - I just changed the chargers cable (not the adapter) and problem was solved. So I suggest try with another cable or charger (or another both)

Codeplayer

The voice problem is actually caused by the phones annoying behaviour to randomly turn on screen while on call. And then your cheek just presses the mute touch button. Just turn off mute and the other party can hear you again.

Anonymous

Cat S61 charging problem. Problem: Phone will not charge. Usage: 2 and half months. I tried turning the phone off and charging, it shows the charge logo but does not charge the phone. Finally the battery fully discharged and now I am not able to charge it anymore. Data is locked and I have contacted service center. I am not okay with getting refurbished device for a phone that I have used only 2 and half month. I am still waiting for the response from service center but this sucks. I bought the phone thinking it is rugged but turns out S61's have battery problems.

Alessandro

I am having the same problem , did you get any solution? thanks

8472

Thank You. Will try the sim card 2.

Anubis

If this is happening only sometimes, it's not the phone - more like a carrier glitch. I have this same thing happened time-to-time with different phones over the years. And it has happened the other ways around too (I don't hear, but the other person hears me) Now I have CAT S61 and it has happened a few times in a year. Both times I have solved this by dropping the call and recalling from other sim card. (I have 2 sims in my phone.) And it works every time - so deffinitely not the phone, but something messing with the current sim (provider) reception. (It can be your location, something interfering or just a weather anomaly)

8472

It is a great phone, no issues since September from last year, but sometimes the phone stops to transmit my voice to the other person. I hear the other but she does not hear mine. Why is that happening?

Speedeye

Compared to my S6 and my kids older iPhones with lesser specs, the Cat S61 takes horrible photos. To get a photo in focus at 10 to 20 inches usually takes more than one try. Even using both hands to steady the phone while taking photos does not help. I gave up and endures the teasing from my kids. Complaining to Cat only got me feedback that the camera is fine. No it is not! The S6 has a delay that gives time for the device to steady after pressing the button. Wake up Caterpillar!!!

Yoyok

fix, I've fixed it myself. the problem is with the battery cable. give the distance between the red, black and white cables not too close together

bob

Have you installed any apps that might be killing your battery? I have a 61 myself and the battery life is great, no heat issues.. try a factory reset and don't install any junk, then see how it is..

Yoyok

Bad battery. Have problem whit battery. More heat problem

Sloky

Hello all i have problem with my cat s61 when i receive call trough internet (whats up , viber , imo or fb messenger) my cat dont have more any sistem sound like keypad or lock phone ring tones any message sound nothing just vibrate... My phone is maxed volume all time.. when i go setup sound coice ring tone when i klik on sound nothing i dont hear ,, when i restart my phone all sound come back till some one dont call me on whats up and yes .. when whats up call start ring he ring just 1 sec after that nothing just vibrate.. any help ?

Ramin

Thank you my dear friend it was useful to me

Anubis

It depends on what do you consider as quality. In my perspective CAT S61 is way better than any other phone. It's strong, waterproof and building quality is great. Screen resolution is 1080 x 1920 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~424 ppi density). Image is sharp and clear and well visible under sunlight. This phone is fast enough - I never have experienced any slowness. Using many apps. For me it has never got warm when using and never hanged or crashed. (Almost a year now) What makes it better than other phones are durability, additional stuff (thermal camera, distance meter, temperature meter, barometer, air quality sensor), and long battery life. (4-5 days easily - I had over 150 hours usage with one charge once. (a bit less active usage) Of course at first the battery lasts a bit less time because you will use the phone more actively right after buying it, and also battery needs a few charging cycles to reach it's full potential. This phone is more of a tool than just a phone. Very functional. If that's what you need, then buy it, if you prefer bling over fuctionality, then iphone.

Ramin

I want to buy it,I need to know does it have a quality as iphone x in resolution and simple workig with no warming in the back,and also its speed,does it hang and cruch?

Phone Reviewer

But can this run minecraft?

hansegun

Thank you for your tips!

Total Noob Sauce

Some up to date info regarding the planned upgrade to Android Pie. I emailed Cat Phones Customer Support and they confirmed that the Cat S61 will be getting Android Pie around the third quarter of 2019.

Anubis

Thermal camera app has a little flame icon - default it is striked through (off) but if you tap it, it will be active and now you can measure temps up to 400C (but sensitivity is lower, so if not measuring extra hot things, deactivate it)

hansegun

I am having Cat S61 also I had used a Cat S60. USB Port and 3.5 earphone hole position is changed and that is good. BUT! BUT!!!! Cat S61 also have USB cover as same as S60. S60 USB cover was the most sucks point and also S61. My S61 is already separated rubber and plastic cover. I don't understand why they use plastic USB cover. Manufacture MUST sell the new USB cover part. Other things are so far so good. Long life battery and good performance. A gaming performance don't know. Rear camera is better then S60. But I have a suspicion for thermal camera. One day I take a picture the flame of gas lighter. And highest temperature is 150℃ not 400℃. And some people say about bluetooth problem, that is true at least on me. Sometimes(Once or twice at a month) disconnect and it need bluetooth off and on procedure. That is all. Conclusion 1. Good for engineer. And useful performance especially battery. 2. Easy separate USB Cover. That is only sucks point. 3. If you want to use a special smartphone then CAT S61 is one of the best option you can buy and use on daily life. 4. Give up using smartphone case. It is enough itself's thickness.

Total Noob Sauce

I have no issues with my Cat S61 connecting to my bluetooth earbuds. Battery is also amazing. Lost 2% in 7 1/2 hours standby.

Len

The rattle is the little card in the beside the sim2/SD card holder

Anonymous

Any update on this issue? My s61 has the same problem.

Anubis

I am S61 owner and what you are saying is absolutely not true for me - so your experience is yours alone. I had also S60 before, but now with S61 (almost 10 months) I can say that everything is better. Bluetooth works fine (I am using bluetooth with my smartwatch every day - had to reset smartwatch first to erase S60 pairing first, then it connected fine with S61) Headphone jack 'should' be waterproof even when not covered (covers are for sand), programmable buttons can be programmed exactly like S60, FLIR is faster and can measure temps up to 400C. Also live feed from FLIR is possible now. And then of course air quality sensor and distance meter that work exactly like they should. And my battery lasts 4-5 days, sometimes 6 days. (with two sim cards, active internet connection and active bluetooth 24/7) So it is not okay to dissuade something based on your personal experience only. I claim the exact opposite. (There are some people who cannot use anything without breaking it or they just can't figure out how things work.)

warning

Dear S61 owners BE AWARE Bluetooth is broken on this phone. It does not connect to audio systems or other household items correctly. It will pair but not connect! Have S60 which works fine with same devices!!!! CAT absolutely failed to deliver quality firmware! Also buttons rattle if you shake phone! Damn rattle phone... Headphone cover is always opening on its own - so warranty will be void as water will get into phone!!!!! Flir camera still buggy and slow as hell!!! S60 was more solid/quality build than this S61! Programmable buttons been modified and dont work as they used to do.... With S60 I was able to double press button to switch torch on on any app (handy when one handed taking pictures), S61 can't and buttons only work with screen locked or when not in the app!!!! Own S61 now for 4 months and its such a waste of time and money! S60 was more comfortable phone. S61 is absolute fail!!! Also battery shows signs of capacity reduction too.... CAT support is not wiling to send new replacement, instead offer repair service which means you will be with no phone for weeks!!!! It like not having courtesy car whilst your car is in repair!!! I think CAT needs to revise how they deal with customers considering that phones these days are vital to accomplish daily tasks and show some respect!!! For anyone considering this phone - it was made to make sales rather than help people....

Mike

my speaker suddenly scratchy and soft even though no water involved. sound is distauted through speaker, any advice please

Anonymous

No answer... But commiserating. The FLIR and air sensor make my crew safer, but it's a dissapointing trade off.

Jameden

The process of charging this phone is too much of a nuisance.

Jonathan

Same issue with battery, charges to 100% in less than 15 minutes, drains even quicker.

Bully

S61 is CRAp. Will not charge

Mowerman

I have the same problem with the air temperature sensor. Left it in a shelf all night, NOT charging, at approx. 15 C. In the morning the CAT claimed 27 C. Rubbish.

kouroupp

It seems really hard to take a full STABLE photo,with that phone...Any suggestions?

Bob

If you look at the specs of the S61 on the catphones website you can see which bands are supported on which version, US version supports different bands, so you need to make sure your network is supporting the same bands

Subbiah

Hi, I use a CAT60 sigle SIM bought in USA with a Airtel 4G SIM in India. It only connects as 2G in Airtel. Phone connection is fine. I tried Vodafone and Jio SIMs and they both connect in 4G. Since it is single SIM, I am unable to put a 2nd SIM of Vodafone or Jio to connect in 4G. As far as I can tell, S61 has all the data and phone connectivity as S60 plus some more additional specifications. So, S61 should work at least as well as the S60 in India as a phone and data, or, better. Right? But, S61 will not work in India is what I read from many web sites. Can you please explain? Subbiah

Anonymous

Even if I shake while holding down the S61 button, I will hear a sound from S61. Just holding down the button got a small sound.

Andy

Can be one of the side buttons, maybe the orange one

Hisa

I shake S61 and I get a rattling noise. What is the cause of this?

Hisa

When I restart,, high-precision setting returns to normal.

Wind

Probably it is because you had your phone in your poket. It shows the real temperature some minutes later.

Diesel

I own my S61 for a week now. I am happy with my choice. It is not the fastest, or the lightest (by far), but for me it gets the job done. It's a different kind of flagship product, so if you expect a posh smartphone, forget about it. It is more of a reliable piece of machinery than a sports car. I make heavy use of the the FLIR camera, so the phone makes my life easier. The ruggedness is impressive but it does not rise to the level of my old Sonim XP7. The only issue Ii had/have with it is the ambient temp sensor. For some reason it shows a distorted ambient temperature, that sometimes is very far from reality. I used a bunch of apps and all show the same value, which seems to be related more to the inside component temp that ambient. Does any other owner have a similar problem? I saw some YT clips in witch the AIR app shows some pretty high values for ambient temp, however no complaints.

Bob

No, so they are not phones for the average person...

Catherine the Great

That's not something the average person needs though

Bob

Does your phone with a case come with FLIR, VOC and laser distance measurement?

Catherine the Great

Honestly, I find these phones useless. You can just get a phone of your choice and get a case (that is just as durable) and a screen protector. Let's be honest, would you really be having accidents (like dropping) with your phone very often?

Bob

S61 is, s60 is not

Anonymous

Is this phone or the S60 wifi calling enabled?

Bill

I work in R&D and I've had a personally-owned and personally-paid-for CAT S61 for almost a month now. I love it; I get days of use between charges unless I do a lot of FLIR usage. 1) This phone is not quite as rugged as a hammer. However, it is as rugged as a good voltmeter (i.e. Fluke). It's more than good enough to smash walnuts with the screen. Mine looks totally pristine after quite a few bumps, drops, dunks, sprays with lathe coolant, and intentional tosses. 2) The wide-range FLIR camera is a wonder-tool. See hot water pipes thru the drywall (well, actually, see the hot drywall). See where the cable conduits go. See that the robot wrist motors are getting kinda hot, why is that, eh? You will never understand how useful Terminator-vision is until you have it in your pocket all day, every day. It's a super-power. Downside: The FLIR sensor sucks power like crazy. 1 hour of FLIRing will take down 30% of my battery. But otherwise, I get days (multiple, like 3 days to get down to 50%) between charges even with heavy screen use. 3) The distance tool ... needs work. It could do so much more. Marry the distance tool to the magnetometer and you could have a single-station transit. 4) The camera works well enough. You want art, buy a DSLR. Actually, it works better than well enough, except it only focuses down to maybe 2" and a tighter macro mode would be sooo handy. Also use the OpenCamera app (free and open source) to get more control modes than the built-in app gives you. 5) Mine is the North American model (bought on Amazon). I have mine on T-mobile GSM. The LTE coverage is great. Haven't tried it dual-SIM. 6) Built-in WiFi works great, both for high bandwidth and as a personal hotspot. 7) The S61 VOC sensor "air" air quality monitor program can go wonky at times. Mine does it about every week or two, it's getting better since the most recent over-the-air update but then again my phone occasionally goes into the machine shop and there's sprays and WD-40 and aerosolized lathe and mill coolant and so maybe it's getting the occasional bit of contamination. 8) How to reset the VOC sensor if it goes wonky (stuck at < 10 PPB or > 4500 PPB): -1- Go to Settings->Apps->AIR - and disable the "AIR" application. -2- FORCE STOP the "air" application -3- Go to Settings->Apps->AIR -> Storage and CLEAR CACHE and CLEAR DATA -4- Go back to home screen. (do NOT restart AIR. We need to have a clean cache) -5- Press and HOLD DOWN the power button until the phone reboots all the way. Do not let up on it until you see the little red cloud of dots as it reloads. Now the AIR program will recalibrate the sensor from scratch. It might take fifteen minutes or so. 9) The frame is aluminium, and is NOT just a rim, it's a "double dish" with a solid center plate which is why the phone is so solid (also this provides a backup strength member to the Gorilla Glass5 display. However the solid center plate would short out the flux path of wireless charging, so it's a tradeoff. But at least the charging is via USB C and the connector itself is waterproof even with the door open. Hope this helps. - Bill

TikoRacer

You are putting it onto the wrong pocket.

wawawa

This phone goes in to my pocket ASAP (if it can fit there) :)

Subi the dog

dude, this is a phone for work and not your average samsung and this isn´t a flagship.

Dan

I have problems with my CAT S61. During the using of phone , it can go to lock screen, and after that the phone losing the GSM signal(data connection), I need unlock the screen and wait for 5-8 seconds for the GSM signal appearing. it can happened some times per minutes, can happened one time per hour. I not sure if the phone working in good condition during the sleeping mode. This is second S61. first phone, restarted itself during using and I send back to retailer.

Anonymous

WTF???!!! why the HEck would you do with slooow and expensive wirless charging? even when you have fast changing? wait wait wireless charging will make the phone that is all ready bulky even thicher (or decreasing the battery size) a Rugged mobile with wireless charging ? how does that sounds like? just go for Doggee and UIfone and wish that it won't lag to death (or explode)

interested buyer

decided not to buy as not wireless charging. the dust cover on case for charger port is too flimsy and too hard to open with my builders fingers. Even my 4 year old samsung was wireless, you would expect a new phone to be wireless charge by now at this top price product.They should ditch the air detector and have wireless charge instead

Ben

I have had my phone for several weeks now and am very happy with the product. I have dropped it numerous times (on purpose) to show people that phones can be durable, and I demonstrated its waterproof functionality by taking pictures underwater. One surprise benefit is the default setting on the air quality sensor is to alert on unhealthy air - which has gone off several times, letting me know that I should leave an area or improve the ventilation. The infrared camera alone is worth half the cost of the phone since I have used it to help diagnose air conditioning problems, and ensure my dryer vent hose wasn't leaking. I have had several friends and coworkers ask if I can come by their homes this winter to look at their windows and doors to identify leaks. Now, it doesn't have the fanciest camera, or the sleek look of other phones in this price range; but I will take the functionality and durability over flashy features any day.

Mithat

Just bought a S61, I have used once in water and phone went blank. I had S60 before didnt have a problem like that before Contact with customer service online and their respond below Eric To resolve your problem, we would recommend that you place your phone for 24h in a bag of dry rice. The rice should drain the liquid and may solve your problem, then, open the SIM slot cover and press and hold for 5 seconds the Reset button

roughing it

I just took the s61 on a trip to Kyrgyzstan - lots of mountains, etc. and I can tell you that the phone performed admirably -great GPS, and absolutely no chinks or scratches in the casing, it is VERY well-built. And yes, it does not have a fingerprint reader - and I AM HAPPY that it doesn't. Usually I don't even use a screen lock anyway. It has a LOT OF SENSORS - great for weather forecasting in the mountains. The camera is very OK, if I really want great pictures I'll use a DSLR. And 4k video that is so-so. The screen is bright enough to be used in strong sunlight. All in all I am extremely satisfied, and I am planning to use it for many things - especially outdoors.

Bob

The range is officially 30 meters, anything beyond that really depends a lot on the conditions. If its 35 degrees outside and you try to spot an object with the same kind of temperature it will be much harden then if it would be freezing and a cow/human is an obvious hot spot in the distance much further than 30 meters

Doublecheese

Can someone with the phone answer these questions ? Can you shoot and post some actual outside pictures taken with the Flir ? If posting is not possible can you tell me how far can you detect and identify an animal or a human outside ? For example if you see a cow 150m (165yd) away, can you detect it ? If yes when can you identify if it's a cow or a pig for example .

roby

A year ago we upgraded wife's Note 3 (only chrome plastic cover worn after multiple drops) to S7 Edge, that was a disaster, that phone is terrible (OS freezing on regular basis (latest version), overheating, child already broken glass display while unboxing, back glass broken couple of month later). It still feels like it was a downgrade. I replaced my Note 3 that I had been using for 5 years (only chrome plastic cover worn after countless drops) with S61. It took a whole day to customize it so it feels the same as I had set up Note 3. But with this phone I feel like I upgraded to a new phone with same functionality as Note 3, but better.

Nick

I want to ask You, can we see a review for this phone here? I hope yes. Thank you.

Nick

I test CAT S61 with 256GB card, it works.

milicijan

I own old cat s40, waranty replaced 2x of those, first fell and broke, another just soaked luke water. Main issue with cat s40 was inaccurate GPS, which loose position very offten, did they fix it on their newer devices?

Nick

I bought it, good quality, solid and fast. Is there anybody that already check it with 256GB SDXC card?

Codeplayer

But much better case, voc sensor and laser.

randomguy

no fingerprint.... :( old FLIR sensor :(

Codeplayer

I had a nice chat with Flir and they confirmed that the phone has 80x60 resolution Lepton module, the same that CAT S60 had. The only difference is, that it is calibrated to allow for higher temperature readings.

Seagon

Sorry, but the FLIR sensor does not have a resolution that high. The highest resolution sensor currently available is 640x480 which would cost you a multitude of thousands of dollars. The Lepton sensor used in the S60 was 80x60, possibly this is the same for the S61 unless they use a Lepton 3 which has 160x120. Since i saw the S61 supports high and low gain mode however, I can only assume they utilise the 160x120 Lepton 3 module.

Keedewee

Hello, your answers are just speculations or imaginations please real numbers. especialy the resolution if the IR capability of the FLIR module..

Anonymous

A note for those who think they can use this to replace professional tools. DON'T Those who need a laser measurer you should get a real laser measurer instead. A good one costs about 100euros

Wulf

The FLIR camera's resolution is 1.440 x 1.080 pixel

raskoljnjikov

Flir lepton has 160x120 resolution i think.

Pokkel

From where did you pre-order because I cant find any stock in South Africa?

AnonD-747836

Has the thermal resolution been confirmed at this point? I can only find speculation as to whether it's 80×60 or 160×120, and CAT seems to be pretty quiet about it. A little concerning since I would say it is the main feature of the phone. I'm a maintenance electrician working in an industrial setting and would really need at least 160×120 to be able to troubleshoot effectively on the more complex systems.

rgloor

Yesterday I received my pre-ordered S61. I must say, I am very pleased with the build quality. - bottons feel much better - rubberized back gives a much better grip - it feels much better in the hand - despite being a bit bigger than the S60, it doesn't feel so - the USB-port cover handles much nicer than the one from S60 Started to move over all my stuff. Will continue tonight.

Anonymous

Agreed. Sonim XP8 is a new rugged phone

Anonymous

weight 250 g

Anonymous

why would you need a removable battery in a secure phone such as this ? whats strange about it

Sugars

If you think about it, trying to make a versatile waterproof phone that can withstand the stuff that this phone can, why ruin chance all of that quality for the sake of removing the battery, I can't think of many reasons a CatPhone owner would want to remove the battery. Well done cat

Anonymous

Strange and disappointing that it doesn't have a removable battery, I would've expected otherwise for a device targeted at professionals.

rgloor

@Quasimodo: Good news for you: The CAT S61 does have dual band WLAN (2.4GHz & 5 GHz) ! Here is how to find reference to it: Go to the catphones press release for the CAT S61 (see following link): At the bottom of the Press Release are the "Cat S61 key features:" The second last bullet point shows you the dual band WiFi. You can also see it on the Spec Sheet. (I will make a new posting for the Spec Sheet. Hoping that it will be published this time.)

rgloor

@AnonD-733422: Well this phone is very rugged, but more over, those parts built in - like the FLIR Lepton Camera Module - are quite expensive. With all that stuff in it, I would say it is quite a good deal, compared to other phones.

rgloor

@mato: DISTANCE: Regarding distance, it is a physical issue. The further away you are, the more the heat radiation is vanished, the higher is the influence of other heat signals/sources and the less accurate is the measurement. The lower the camera resolution and sensitivity is, the higher the above factors are influencing the result. FLIR Camera RESOLUTION: The S60 had an early version of the FLIR Lepton module (to my knowledge, a Lepton 2.0 module), which has a thermal resolution 80 x 60 pixels and a temperature range of -20 to 120 °C. On the official announcement of the S61, it says, that the S61 carries the Lepton module of the S60 with some software upgrades. However, it also says, that it is now capable of providing a temperature range of -20 to 400°C. That would however indicate, that it would be a Lepton 3.x module. And I found a source indicating, that the CAT S61 is actually having a Lepton 3.5 module. But I don't know, how reliable this source is. But this Lepton 3.5 module would have 4 times the pixel count of the Lepton 2 module of the S60 and having a resolution of 160 x 120 pixels. That would be owesome. Here is the link to the source: Hope this helps. Greetings from Switzerland, Rolf

rgloor

@Michael Buzz: The S60 is normaly water resistant up to 2m. Only with the two switches/doors flipped close (closing speaker and microphone, if I am right), one could go deeper to 5m. My impression was, that due to those switches/doors speaker and mic quality was not that great. I actually prefer the new system. (If one really needs to dive deeper, one could put it in a cover/dive bag. Just my 2 cents.)

Quasimodo

Seems to be a really good phone, even better than the S60. I still love my S60, but the S61 with the laser assisted distance measuring sounds very interesting to me. The only backdraft in my opinions is the lack of 5Ghz WLAN..why can't the put in another antenna?

Anonymous

This is surprisingly technically impressive, if they just had a version with the snapdragon 845 I would be all over this.

Anonymous

Totally agree. My main grief with the phone is the lack of wireless charging - everything about it screams for a wireless charging option. I also question the choice of having a hinged lid at the back that is so easy to open, it should use one of those screws with a coin-slot to open, alternatively a regular screw. If anyone needs to open it more than a couple of times a year they have personal problems. Other than that it's very easy to activate apps etc at the edges of the screen while carrying it. That might only be the way I carry it though.

Anonymous

Does anyone know hoe "non removable" the battery really is? I have a Moto E4 plus and for my phone that just means removing a couple of screws and a ribbon cable. I am assuming that because this phone is waterproof that it would be more difficult to get to the battery. Is it possible to get to the battery without having specialized tools or having to deal with glue?

AnonD-753693

I also wished, they would have wireless charging (eg Qi). With my S60, to fumble open the USB cover every day to charge the phone, a little over a year, the Aluminum part fell off. At least the new cover looks like a one-piece-part. Hopefully it will last longer. But especially for such a phone, wireless charging would be very beneficial. (It doesn't need to be fast. I usually charge it over night. But it would avoid the daily opening of the USB cover.)

AnonD-753693

waterproof (for 60minutes): S60: has 2m, and only with the closed mic / speaker cover doors (flip switches) 5m S61; got read of flip switches and now 3m without any doors/covers.

Bob

The covers are to keep dirt out, the ports itself are waterproof

AnonD-758893

The S60 was a great phone but it's weakness is that water resistance depends solely on the condition of plastic lid covers. I hope that new S61 would have better internal protection against moisture similar to some IP68 certified phones that does not need lid covers. Price is not an issue with phones like this. Durability is.

bob

You had an S61? Interesting as the phone isnt even available yet..

DenisB

I had the S61 for one month, had to return it because the door, that prevents water or dust to affect the usb port, was broken, without even doing nothing wrong. This one doesn't look too have a Qi charging , hey guys, we are in 2018, not 1981, even the iPhone have the wireless charging.

Anonymous

+1, CAT, I hope you listening, these are features people who buy this ill want

Tommi_Gone_Happy

Check out some online stores in Asia, it may already be available.

Anonymous

And an angle grinder.

PavelD

I am missing humidity sensor, ambient temperature sensor and laser distance meter.

Rugged Phones

Good day Mo, The aluminium body on the CAT S61 is just as tough as the S41 if not tougher.

Mo, Kenya

I have CAT S41, great phone, hust wondering, with the aluminium body, will that be as strong as S 41?

AnonD-751652

Dont know the exact resolution but its Upgraded visual high-definition (HD) camera and thermal image processing to provide improved MSX image detail and quality. You can check out the flir camera on youtube Txt cat s61 review. The flir looks really good. I have a tk scout monocular and this phones flir looks way better! Im getting this phone for sure.

AnonD-751652

And not to mention that it does have flir technology which isnt cheap.

AnonD-751652

My opinion No this isnt explosion proof. Lol

AnonD-751652

I understand but the cat s60 and the cats61 are the only phones i know of that have flir technology. Flir isnt cheap. So i would say half the money you pay for this phone would be for the flir camera. Just an opinion

HDDARKLORD

Flir technology isnt cheap!

sindy

can anyone tell me is this phone explosion proof or not ?please

Michael Buzz

I own Cat S60 and it is water resistant up to 5m but S61 is resistant up to 3m? I had very high expectations for new caterpillar phone.

Artanis

These is the baby S60 minimized to be user-friendly. Its tough brother S60 remains the better handling.

Andres V

i have a question, if this is a phone for the industry and construction why don you put inside any of your smartphones a magnetic sensor as other brands?, the magnetometer is one of the most important tools in industry and construction, like motorola did, and samsung, and huawei, etc... and does´t came with fingerprint ? and only 4 ram? for a 900 eur, the cat s61 is very short in a lot of features

trial

had s60 from day it came out, really disappointed with CAT with this new release. They made S61 bigger?! they haven't recessed buttons so they will still accidentally press in your pocket and trigger apps etc drain battery. No wireless charging?!!! Again to use them flaps which everyone already complained about. Hope they revised aerial and signal is better on them? Lenzes not alu ring, just plastic? is it budget cutting? Price tag is way out. I think CAT needs to go back to drawing board. not sure if I actually need to upgrade now.

Manny G

Missing a fingerprint reader :(

possibly

dear people complaining about the price of the device. please note that all cell phones take a hit in price because of the industries demand for components such as ram which goes in to video cards and standard ram. the whole bitcoin craze forced prices on components to rise not only in the PC industry but also the cellphone industry. when things cool off and component prices, perhaps cellphone prices will drop too. you can look up apple and samsung rushing to get GDDR class memory before video card manufacturers. google that and you'll see what's up. they have to pay more that GPU to manufacturers to secure the hardware first....sigh....

bob

And an S9 is rugged, has thermal, laser measuring and VOC sensor?

Zubi

Too expensive,, considering that the galaxy s9 is around $700

mato

What resolution does the FLIR camera have and how far can it see, please?

Loggerone

I hope it will be built as durable as the previous model. Yes there were a few minutes minor flaws as to the s60 but I work In a demanding field of work. That phone has honestly saved me from needing to by a new phone countless times. How many phones can be driven on by a dodge diesel while face down on a dirt road and not even have a cracked screen. Not to mention all the other horrible things I did to it. I will definitely buy the new model if this one finally somehow decides to give up on the torture I put it through... not sure that will happen anytime soon at this rate.

AnonD-141584

It is a shame they did not include a stylus, such as the Samsung Note series. A DAB Radio would have been a great unique feature. People brag about internet radio, but it real sucks. I also wish they had a 'call answer' and 'call drop' button.

AnonD-141584

The FLIR (Thermal Camera) is great for personal safety. If you have to walk down a dark street at night, you can spot someone lurking in the dark in the shadows, using the camera. Great for those who go camping and spot wildlife in the dark....

AnonD-742498

I hope they learn from the build quality of the S60. Port covers and speaker grills falling off just shouldn't happen. Very pricy. The S60 price was reasonable, but this really limits it to company purchases for a lot of people. Voc would be interesting for me as I work in the chemical industry, flir has been useful, tape maesure would be useful. I rwally can't justify the cost though, so sticking with S60 until it dies

Tony

I have an old s60 on my test and I can say that the cell phone is full of flaws and the flirt cam is not something special. Frankly, the phone is a junk of the device and explains why and why. As a new buyer came the bumpy, camera was a mute picture, after a while the loudspeaker did not work cleanly but already cracked, on the front underneath the screen of the falling wire covering the loudspeaker, the mask on the back was scratched, when I get a call on the screen I can not answer because does not react honestly the mob is not worth 200euros and belongs to the expensive cell phone. And for the end my buddy was mad at the same model, because every bit of it was broken and advertised as a tough and resistant mob.

gauron

You clearly know nothing about thermal cameras. That module alone is expensive. The build of the phone is another story as well.

wasox

Infra red camera, very, very interesting

Ahmed

900 EUROS? (108000 RS). A 5.2 INCH DISPLAY, JUST A 1080P DISPLAY?! QSD 630?! What is this expensive waste? The only thing favorable is the camera at such price point. It should be 350 euros

Anonymous

Why ? Oh why single sim in South Africa? Pressure from networks perhaps? The dual sim is one of the main reasons I took the Cat S60and I still love it.

Anonymous

And what recharging will be wireless?

AnonD-670709

this phone is awesome.

Highlander1978

I doubt it will be able to replace professional grade instruments that you use.

AnonD-206154

please come to Indonesia...please.. i like travelling and biking, to the jungle, muddy, etc...i need this kind of smartphone...

Anonymous

Will be useful for me since I work in Construction, those sensors/measuring tools are indespensible as I won't have to carry more tools just to do what this phone already is capable of.

AnonD-733422

Great phone,but too expensive.Price about 500$ will be more realistic.

anon

Will buy if come to indonesia even for that price. gotta love the features built in for basic technician work.

Bob

It has improved Flir, VOC air quality sensor and laser assisted measurement tool, so a bit more than just the next S60..

OGn night gard

THIS IS THE TUGHEST PHONE EVER !!! cat have been the best tool manufacturer in THE WORLD after the first PHONE s60 which had a week chip set and low resolution_ brightness screen and a lowend camera this is A HUGE jump for ward probably THE MOST RUGGED PHONE EVER I am a HUGE fan of cat so this is a HUGE deal for me sorry about my English I am libyan

AnonD-564711

wth 900 Euro? well it better be more than a rugged phone

AnonD-709656

I got surprised by the spec sheet until I looked at the price...

Ni

Wow great looking