Well its been a full month with TMO and I am happy with the service and my plan... Now that I have it all straightened out that is. The salesman that set up the account made to many errors for being on the job without supervision. 5 errors to be exact. But I got that fixed and we are running like a clock. I have yet to talk to a tech (on any network) that is worth listening to, but the customer service I have received over the phone has been top notch. My bill was as expected no hidden fees or any of that crap. Reception has been awesome as well. I haven't traveled out of my city and wont for a while yet to do a test on roaming. I am surprised by the small amount of roaming data that is allowed with my plan (50MB) but I don't think it will be an issue as there is Wi-Fi everywhere now a days. I am still waiting to hear if the option to move apps to the SD card will be included in the 4.3 update that is coming on the 18th of the month. As I am not updating this blog as often as I use to (been a tad bit busy at work) I will try to give an update when the 4.3 hits my device. I plan on getting a smart watch but am waiting to see which I like better the Galaxy Gear or the Google watch that is being rumored about. Either way it will have to come after I get new glasses... First I must be able to see the watch...right?
So until my next update, may the bad in life roll off you like water off a Ducks back ;-)
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
The good, the bad and the ugly of my first Two days with T-Mobile
All things must change and I can not help but have a little sadness in switching from U.S.Cellular (USCC) to T-Mobile. I have been with USCC for 91/2 years, and still am. I have only pulled my main line and my best friend over to T-Mobile. But I fear it wont be long before USCC is no more. When a company is doing good and making advancements they get left alone by the sharks. As a company makes more and more mistakes and starts losing business the sharks begin to swarm... Well they must be swarming around USCC by the dozens.
Over the past 3 months or so they have been trying to fix their billing system... but it looks to be a hole that can't be plugged. I went and talked to T-Mobile a few times and checked their coverage in the areas I am in the most. All looked well, so on Tuesday I took it a step further and asked to get a price on start up. Well it was a tad cheaper than I had thought. After getting one S3 and one S4 with 500MB and unlimited data respectively with trade in T-Mobile owed me $37. Now this is with their 4G LTE. Now they don't have LTE in all areas here in Bend but they have it where I spend most of my time. Then I drop down to their regular 4G, which is still way faster than the 3G I have with USCC.
So on with the good: I have really fast download and upload speeds (24.84 down and 7.95 up) Which beats the crap out of 1.35 down and 0.79 up. Call quality has been great as well. Watching videos or TV shows on the device has been seamless as well. At the store we were in and out in minutes. That was do I think to the fact that when the guy said he was going to train us on the devices we both chuckled. I mean we had just turned in 2 devices that were exactly like the ones we got. Then Carla (My best friend in the whole world) in formed him that I have a side business of teaching people how to use their new phones.
The bad: The sales rep failed to add my name on the account and also failed to put in my zip code for the porting of our numbers. So when I called to find out what was up they wouldn't tell me crap-o-la! So I got ahold of Carla and we got the account all figured out and the numbers ported... and all was fine....So I thought.
The ugly: This morning I am setting at Starbucks as I do on my days off, having coffee and decided to start moving my apps over to the SD card. I use an app called "Superbox Pro" with just a click it will give me a list of apps that can be moved over from internal to external storage. I don't move all the apps over as some work better in the internal storage, so I picked an app and went to move it over and guess what.... No option to move it over. I try another one... Same thing. So I call and talk to a rep at T-Mobile, she in turn passes me off to a tech. The tech tells me that only a few apps can be moved and to try moving "Need for Speed" over as she has that one moved on her phone. I tell her I don't have that app. She says I do, it comes pre-loaded on the device.insert eye roll here So she then tells me that I will need to do a factory reset to get the option to move apps. I ask her if she is sending me an update to the phone so the phone will have the program needed. She says no its already in the phone..... I bite my tongue and am being polite as I can when I tell her "I will bet you money that, that wont do a damn thing but cause me a few hours of work setting up the phone again." Her answer was "Sir I am a tech, this will work" Guess what.....
I'm sorry but I have yet to get a tech in the last year or so that knew which way was up, I'm sure they are out there but I haven't had the pleasure of meeting one.
Now after all this I tell her that I teach people how to use their phones and trouble shoot issues... She then hangs up on me. To make it better I go online to see if anyone else has had this issue with the T-Mobile phone, guess what.. T-Mobile hasn't done the apps to SD card update yet... But that tech told me she had an app moved one hers? Maybe she has a test phone who knows... well she doesn't obviously.
Over the past 3 months or so they have been trying to fix their billing system... but it looks to be a hole that can't be plugged. I went and talked to T-Mobile a few times and checked their coverage in the areas I am in the most. All looked well, so on Tuesday I took it a step further and asked to get a price on start up. Well it was a tad cheaper than I had thought. After getting one S3 and one S4 with 500MB and unlimited data respectively with trade in T-Mobile owed me $37. Now this is with their 4G LTE. Now they don't have LTE in all areas here in Bend but they have it where I spend most of my time. Then I drop down to their regular 4G, which is still way faster than the 3G I have with USCC.
So on with the good: I have really fast download and upload speeds (24.84 down and 7.95 up) Which beats the crap out of 1.35 down and 0.79 up. Call quality has been great as well. Watching videos or TV shows on the device has been seamless as well. At the store we were in and out in minutes. That was do I think to the fact that when the guy said he was going to train us on the devices we both chuckled. I mean we had just turned in 2 devices that were exactly like the ones we got. Then Carla (My best friend in the whole world) in formed him that I have a side business of teaching people how to use their new phones.
The bad: The sales rep failed to add my name on the account and also failed to put in my zip code for the porting of our numbers. So when I called to find out what was up they wouldn't tell me crap-o-la! So I got ahold of Carla and we got the account all figured out and the numbers ported... and all was fine....So I thought.
The ugly: This morning I am setting at Starbucks as I do on my days off, having coffee and decided to start moving my apps over to the SD card. I use an app called "Superbox Pro" with just a click it will give me a list of apps that can be moved over from internal to external storage. I don't move all the apps over as some work better in the internal storage, so I picked an app and went to move it over and guess what.... No option to move it over. I try another one... Same thing. So I call and talk to a rep at T-Mobile, she in turn passes me off to a tech. The tech tells me that only a few apps can be moved and to try moving "Need for Speed" over as she has that one moved on her phone. I tell her I don't have that app. She says I do, it comes pre-loaded on the device.
I'm sorry but I have yet to get a tech in the last year or so that knew which way was up, I'm sure they are out there but I haven't had the pleasure of meeting one.
Now after all this I tell her that I teach people how to use their phones and trouble shoot issues... She then hangs up on me. To make it better I go online to see if anyone else has had this issue with the T-Mobile phone, guess what.. T-Mobile hasn't done the apps to SD card update yet... But that tech told me she had an app moved one hers? Maybe she has a test phone who knows... well she doesn't obviously.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Lets call this a camera test... yeah thats the ticket
So I took a little trip up to see my grandkids.. and I guess their parents as well. All my carry on was tech gear, as I planed on taking a few photos while I was there (and I did). Some didn't turn out so well and some turned out very well. I will post a few here in a minute.
While I was out in the middle of nowhere Washington I was roaming on Verizon towers. I was running with a signal of -104dBm while in the house and had no trouble making and receiving calls and text, although I could not send picture messages, but I was ready for that. I had "Text now" installed and used that through the Wi-Fi to send a few pictures. My daughter was so impressed with my phone that she is nw planning on getting the Samsung Galaxy S4 herself. She just loves the pictures it takes. So now I will show a few that I took while I was away.
This was the "WTH" photo. I have never had this happen while using "Drama shot" on my phone. I call this one "2 1/2 Gabes"
Everyone loves a good panorama shot..here's mine from the trip.
This one was taken at the same place as the photo above.
Grandpa and his buddy
Getting ready for the game!
All smiles playing with grandpa.
Fallowing in grandpas foot steps.(took me 3 hours to get the camera to work right again...)
The only photo in this post not taken with my phone. My favorite family, miss them bunches already.
This photo is saying "You better like this post!"
Thanks for visiting, come back again soon.
While I was out in the middle of nowhere Washington I was roaming on Verizon towers. I was running with a signal of -104dBm while in the house and had no trouble making and receiving calls and text, although I could not send picture messages, but I was ready for that. I had "Text now" installed and used that through the Wi-Fi to send a few pictures. My daughter was so impressed with my phone that she is nw planning on getting the Samsung Galaxy S4 herself. She just loves the pictures it takes. So now I will show a few that I took while I was away.
This was the "WTH" photo. I have never had this happen while using "Drama shot" on my phone. I call this one "2 1/2 Gabes"
Everyone loves a good panorama shot..here's mine from the trip.
This one was taken at the same place as the photo above.
Grandpa and his buddy
Getting ready for the game!
All smiles playing with grandpa.
Fallowing in grandpas foot steps.(took me 3 hours to get the camera to work right again...)
The only photo in this post not taken with my phone. My favorite family, miss them bunches already.
This photo is saying "You better like this post!"
Thanks for visiting, come back again soon.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Taking a trip, and leaving the farm
Well I am heading North for a few days. Going up to spend sometime with my grandkids and I guess their parents too, but really to see the grandkids. I will be testing the roaming reception which should suck ass not expecting much really as even they have bad reception out in the middle of nowhere Washington. Good thing is they do have Wi-Fi so all should be good. My daughter has started a "Daddy-do" list that I am hoping to complete while up there. So far nothing to big. A shelf, repair some sprinklers and such. I hope I can squeeze that in between playing with Gabe and Melissa....
Still waiting for my carrier to release the Moto X and my phone bill. It is not looking good for them and that's a shame. They were the best out there for me... But they are sinking like a stone. I would hate to see how many customers have dropped them over the last 2 months. I look on their fan page on Facebook and just shake my head. It all comes down to changes they had to make to sell one type of phone... And it has bit them in the lower 40. Iphone lovers I'm sorry but the apple business practices are going to be the death of this company. I will stop there as I really don't want to go on, on how apple runs its business.
I will do a post from my grandkids place but it will most likely be pictures of them.. I will call it "Testing the camera on the S4" That works for me :-)
Still waiting for my carrier to release the Moto X and my phone bill. It is not looking good for them and that's a shame. They were the best out there for me... But they are sinking like a stone. I would hate to see how many customers have dropped them over the last 2 months. I look on their fan page on Facebook and just shake my head. It all comes down to changes they had to make to sell one type of phone... And it has bit them in the lower 40. Iphone lovers I'm sorry but the apple business practices are going to be the death of this company. I will stop there as I really don't want to go on, on how apple runs its business.
I will do a post from my grandkids place but it will most likely be pictures of them.. I will call it "Testing the camera on the S4" That works for me :-)
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
New toys are on the way
So we have a ton of new toys out and coming soon.
The Nexus 7, LG G2, HTC One Max, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and a host of Motorola's. There are a few new tablets that are making noise that aren't from "Brand name" makers. Some that look interesting, some that make me want to say WTF?
If you could pick any device to have, no matter pricing and carrier (if that would apply) would you have, or would it be more than one. I myself would love to have the new Nexus 7 and the LG G2. Leave a comment on which you would use and why.
The Moto X is at USCC and a host of others, I plan on checking that phone out today and giving a review on it later this week.
Update on the issues that USCC is having on their billing... Nothing has changed really. I have yet to receive my bill. Call times are still 20 minutes+ and complaints are many. To many of my friends have had it with them and are looking for "Options" I am hanging in there for now, hoping that things will clear up soon. I want to see what these new plans they are going to roll out look like. They will need to be pretty awesome to save this sinking ship.
The Nexus 7, LG G2, HTC One Max, Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and a host of Motorola's. There are a few new tablets that are making noise that aren't from "Brand name" makers. Some that look interesting, some that make me want to say WTF?
If you could pick any device to have, no matter pricing and carrier (if that would apply) would you have, or would it be more than one. I myself would love to have the new Nexus 7 and the LG G2. Leave a comment on which you would use and why.
The Moto X is at USCC and a host of others, I plan on checking that phone out today and giving a review on it later this week.
Update on the issues that USCC is having on their billing... Nothing has changed really. I have yet to receive my bill. Call times are still 20 minutes+ and complaints are many. To many of my friends have had it with them and are looking for "Options" I am hanging in there for now, hoping that things will clear up soon. I want to see what these new plans they are going to roll out look like. They will need to be pretty awesome to save this sinking ship.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
The cost of change
Just a quick (I think) post.
My carrier USCC has switched to a new billing system. As with most tech switches there has been a few hiccups. Things haven't gone very smooth and as one would expect to complaints are flying like a flock of geese. I understand customers want their bill, they want service. I want those things as well. I am willing to ride the storm with minimal fuss. But as with all things each persons length of rope is different. The fan page on Facebook has been rot with complaints, and the people have that right. USCC has for the most part been absent from that page. Only commenting here and there.
I say give it time people, let things run its course. Complaining will only raise your blood pressure. It wont get the fix in any sooner. After they get the fix in, lets see what USCC has to say.
Give peace a chance
My carrier USCC has switched to a new billing system. As with most tech switches there has been a few hiccups. Things haven't gone very smooth and as one would expect to complaints are flying like a flock of geese. I understand customers want their bill, they want service. I want those things as well. I am willing to ride the storm with minimal fuss. But as with all things each persons length of rope is different. The fan page on Facebook has been rot with complaints, and the people have that right. USCC has for the most part been absent from that page. Only commenting here and there.
I say give it time people, let things run its course. Complaining will only raise your blood pressure. It wont get the fix in any sooner. After they get the fix in, lets see what USCC has to say.
Give peace a chance
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Hello, its been awhile..Sorry bout that.
Well yes I have been MIA from here for a bit. Work has been keeping me pretty busy lately. Long hours and 6 days a week make for a tired old man. That doesn't mean I have been out of the loop though and I have a few things I am going to touch on here today.
First up is my poor carrier, They switched to a new system. Now normally one would think that was a good thing. But.... They were down for 4 days and when they came back online things went a miss. I have been getting reports of phones being activated but not actually coming on until the midnight hour, some not at all. Billing has been a nightmare. I have yet to receive my bill as have many others. I am hoping that things come together soon as customers will not wait for long. Its different when we the customers make an error, but when its a company we pay money to we tend to be fickle. Lets hope thing get better soon.
Next up, SD cards. I picked up a class 10 32GB San-disk card last week. I loaded 1100 songs on it then copied said songs to another SD card then loaded them into my two phones. The one that got the new card then started doing something a phone has never done to me before. It would randomly shut off. Not reboot mind you, but just flat out shut off. Some time s it would do it twice in a day sometimes only once. Now I never panic so I monitored this for a few days, I just forwarded my calls to the other phone so I didn't miss anything. After a few days I finally pulled the card and stuck another one in. The phone has been perfect (once again) ever sense. I will be returning the card for replacement today... if the rain lets up. Which brings me to the next subject.
I live in central Oregon. the area is called "The High Desert" We don't get a lot of rain here, on average we get 10"Which we got last night in the storm from hell The rain came sometime during the night, not exactly sure what time it was as I was dead asleep from a LONG LONG day. But the thunder woke me a few times, but only when it was loud enough to shake the whole house. Then the rain came down in buckets. I would of loved to gotten up and watched the rain fall but my body said NO! So I stayed in bed and listened until I went back to la la land. When I woke the rain was gone and I was ready to start my day. My day off always starts at Starbucks. So off I went. Now here I am with my laptop in tow and just a light jacket. You will never guess what its doing outside...SMDH Its raining and has been for the better part of an hour. I am trying to wait it out but just how much coffee can a guy pour in him?.. I will update you on this when I find out.
Next, I have not forgotten the "Knox" feature I promised. Just haven't had a lot of time to be gathering all the info I want. I did stop into the Samsung store that is now in my local Best Buy store. I asked the guy about Knox and the look on his face told me before his mouth did "I have heard of it" I looked at him and asked "You are supposed to be a Samsung specialist aren't you?" He didn't answer but he did Google it....Again SMDH. I will get said info and post about it soon.
And the other post I promised is just about done, I have a few more pics to do and then I will let that one out to the public.
Get some rest and get ready for the weekend peeps something tells me there is a ton of tech news coming this month!
First up is my poor carrier, They switched to a new system. Now normally one would think that was a good thing. But.... They were down for 4 days and when they came back online things went a miss. I have been getting reports of phones being activated but not actually coming on until the midnight hour, some not at all. Billing has been a nightmare. I have yet to receive my bill as have many others. I am hoping that things come together soon as customers will not wait for long. Its different when we the customers make an error, but when its a company we pay money to we tend to be fickle. Lets hope thing get better soon.
Next up, SD cards. I picked up a class 10 32GB San-disk card last week. I loaded 1100 songs on it then copied said songs to another SD card then loaded them into my two phones. The one that got the new card then started doing something a phone has never done to me before. It would randomly shut off. Not reboot mind you, but just flat out shut off. Some time s it would do it twice in a day sometimes only once. Now I never panic so I monitored this for a few days, I just forwarded my calls to the other phone so I didn't miss anything. After a few days I finally pulled the card and stuck another one in. The phone has been perfect (once again) ever sense. I will be returning the card for replacement today... if the rain lets up. Which brings me to the next subject.
I live in central Oregon. the area is called "The High Desert" We don't get a lot of rain here, on average we get 10"
Next, I have not forgotten the "Knox" feature I promised. Just haven't had a lot of time to be gathering all the info I want. I did stop into the Samsung store that is now in my local Best Buy store. I asked the guy about Knox and the look on his face told me before his mouth did "I have heard of it" I looked at him and asked "You are supposed to be a Samsung specialist aren't you?" He didn't answer but he did Google it....Again SMDH. I will get said info and post about it soon.
And the other post I promised is just about done, I have a few more pics to do and then I will let that one out to the public.
Get some rest and get ready for the weekend peeps something tells me there is a ton of tech news coming this month!
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