3G Shutdown - Time for a new phone.

[Bill]

Time to retire my iPhone 5S. I bought it in 2014 and it still works great, but I no longer have service at my home address here and many places where it can pick up a signal I can't make or receive calls or texts. The only places where it still works is along the freeway corridors. So, I ordered a Samsung S22+ and will be changing from T-mobile to Google Fi when it arrives. I didn't order an iPhone because I couldn't find a good deal on any of the iPhones except the SE, which is mostly a budget phone that is about 1/3rd of a smartphone by current standards. And, although I think the iPhone is an excellent product, the Apple mentality has really annoyed me over the years. So now I will have to wait for the S22+ to arrive, which, with Google Fi, is probably going to be late next week or the following week because Google is really slow at shipping things.

Explore Samsung Smartphones with Google Fi Wireless

Check out Google Fi's collection of Samsung Galaxy phones to get nationwide 5G coverage as part of your mobile plan for more ways to connect at a variety of price points.

fi.google.com

I also considered the Pixel 6, but there's a lot of reports about network reception issues.

So now I have a perfectly functional iPhone that I guess I will set up to make WiFi calls on if I can find an app that will work on iOS12. If not, I guess I can use it as a spare digital camera.

 

[cbxer55]

AT & T discontinued their 3G service in February. They sent me a new phone before they did so. I only use a flip phone, and the one they sent works great for me.

 

[Bill]

I hate flip phones, but if it works for you, that's great. I like having all the utilities a smartphone has. GPS, camera, calculator, etc. I really don't talk or text much. Texting, for the most part, drives me crazy.

 

[Roert42]

Guy at my work has a 3G iPhone, Verizon, work phone. Was having the same complaints. Can’t update past ios12, and some of the stuff we need to do for work requires aps.

 

[Bill]

Guy at my work has a 3G iPhone, Verizon, work phone. Was having the same complaints. Can’t update past ios12, and some of the stuff we need to do for work requires aps.

I had that problem at the last job I was at and I'm glad I couldn't install the apps. In addition to the expectation that I install work apps on my phone, I think everyone in the group I was working with was Presbyterian, insisted anyone who wasn't Presbyterian was a morally bankrupt heathen, and they all had some app to help give them guidance, or something or other, and I just said, "that app requires iOS 13 or higher and I can't install it." It was really a strange place to work at.

 

[bilbo]

Time to retire my iPhone 5S. I bought it in 2014 and it still works great, but I no longer have service at my home address here and many places where it can pick up a signal I can't make or receive calls or texts. The only places where it still works is along the freeway corridors. So, I ordered a Samsung S22+ and will be changing from T-mobile to Google Fi when it arrives. I didn't order an iPhone because I couldn't find a good deal on any of the iPhones except the SE, which is mostly a budget phone that is about 1/3rd of a smartphone by current standards. And, although I think the iPhone is an excellent product, the Apple mentality has really annoyed me over the years. So now I will have to wait for the S22+ to arrive, which, with Google Fi, is probably going to be late next week or the following week because Google is really slow at shipping things.

Explore Samsung Smartphones with Google Fi Wireless

Check out Google Fi's collection of Samsung Galaxy phones to get nationwide 5G coverage as part of your mobile plan for more ways to connect at a variety of price points.

fi.google.com

I also considered the Pixel 6, but there's a lot of reports about network reception issues.

So now I have a perfectly functional iPhone that I guess I will set up to make WiFi calls on if I can find an app that will work on iOS12. If not, I guess I can use it as a spare digital camera.

I actually opted for the SE last time I was able to upgrade. Mine at the time was company provided. Phones have grown larger and larger over the years and the most popular ones no longer fit in my pockets. At least I could get the SE in my side pocket of my pants. I used to break the glass on the larger phones monthly. The smaller ones seem to put up with my abuse better; this SE finally got a crack in the screen after two years.

The 5s that I had was probably my favorite. Small, glass only on one side, it worked well.

 

[dvdswan]

I don't know if I'm lucky or not, but I haven't had to pay for a phone for at least 5 years. Work pays and upgrades automatically.

I guess it's just a sign of the times, move with the change or be left behind.

 

[Roert42]

We all have a work phone where I work.

Like you said, hard to make someone use their phone for work purposes if you aren't paying for it. don't really get a new one until something breaks.

A lot of people also keep personal phones too (mine is a giant pos, cheapest thing I could find that works with verizon), that way if you decide to quit you can call around for a new job. plus it makes it easier to ignore afterhours call.

 

[Bill]

I actually opted for the SE last time I was able to upgrade. Mine at the time was company provided. Phones have grown larger and larger over the years and the most popular ones no longer fit in my pockets. At least I could get the SE in my side pocket of my pants. I used to break the glass on the larger phones monthly. The smaller ones seem to put up with my abuse better; this SE finally got a crack in the screen after two years.

The 5s that I had was probably my favorite. Small, glass only on one side, it worked well.

I've never broken the glass. I really don't drop my phones that often, and I usually buy Otterbox cases. It saved my phone on the worst drop. I was standing on the edge of a cirque, dropped it, the Otterbox made it bounce from rock to rock. I thought I was going to lose it in the rocks, but then I noticed it sliding on the ice and gradually come to a stop in the middle of the ice. Retrieving it was the fund part, but it didn't have a scratch on it when I got to it. It didn't work and I initially thought all the bouncing broke something inside, but the reason it didn't work is because it was too cold due to laying on the ice. Once it warmed up it was fine. Other than that, it was an awesome solo camping trip at 10,000 feet.

Google Earth

earth.google.com

 

[Bill]

We all have a work phone where I work.

Like you said, hard to make someone use their phone for work purposes if you aren't paying for it. don't really get a new one until something breaks.

A lot of people also keep personal phones too (mine is a giant pos, cheapest thing I could find that works with verizon), that way if you decide to quit you can call around for a new job. plus it makes it easier to ignore afterhours call.

I don't put work apps on my phone. If they really feel I need the ability to check email they can easily set up Outlook Web Access (OWA) or allow their staff to use one of the email apps that are on the phone. I also refuse to bring a work phone with me everywhere I go when I'm not working due to the ability to use the phone's location services to record the places I go. I've had problems with that in the past too.

 

[superj]

those otter boxes are great. my phone fell off my bicycle at 32mph and bounced down the road until stopping on the asphalt face down. i thought it was smashed but nothing was wrong. i put it back in the bag and made sure the top was closed and back to riding. its a motorola g7 power so a large mid-grade phone with a battery that lasts three days on a charge with good amounts of forum time and some video games being played. the camera is horrible though

 

[bilbo]

Every time I've broken mine I just notice it's broken and I can't recall an event that caused it. It's like bruises, they seem to show up and I can't remember what I hit or what hit me that would have caused the bruise. Mine's always in a case and it has survived some pretty bad drops. My theory is that it gets bent or twisted in my back pocket and that is what cracks the glass. I don't remember which version it was, but one of the iphones was notorious for bending. I'm not sure if they ever beefed up the chassis to prevent that with future versions.

 

[superj]

i bet you are right. i think back pockets get a lot of people's phone screens

 

[cbxer55]

I hate flip phones, but if it works for you, that's great. I like having all the utilities a smartphone has. GPS, camera, calculator, etc. I really don't talk or text much. Texting, for the most part, drives me crazy.

My flip phone has all that.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I'm surprised you got this far with 3G. I had to replace mine 3 years ago with a 4G LTE flip phone. Still using it (TracFone, prepaid minutes). Works for me.