Well I hope you enjoy your new phones! What a process! Great deal though. I still have my iPhone 8 Plus and I’m lucky that it actually runs 15.2.1 as of today.
Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 12, 2022, at 3:53 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > > This message may run a bit long, but I’m not really asking any questions > here. Rather, I’m just making several observations about the process of > upgrading my iPhones. > > My reason for upgrading: I believe I mentioned before that, while I did > indeed have some newer iPhones, I was using my older first generation iPhone > SE and my iPhone 7 as my primary phones, intending to run them to see just > how long they would last before their batteries finally died. However, when > the Walmart delivery from store came to my area, including delivering > perishable groceries, I was very pleased. Thus, when Walmart had their Black > Friday promotion where they offered the E-gift cards if one upgraded their > phone, I jumped at the chance to do so. True, one had to sign on with a > carrier and choose one of their unlimited data plans and pay a $30 upgrade > fee per line, but I already was on an unlimited plan with AT&T, anyway, so > that wasn’t a problem for me. And while I had to enter into the installment > agreement, the AT&T terms and conditions did say that I could pay off the > installment agreement at any time. > > The upgrade process: it was actually pretty straightforward. I started my > purchase in the Walmart iPhone app, but then was directed to the Walmart > website to finish things after I selected the phone and carrier I wanted. > There were several screens of terms and conditions I had to go through, and > then the phone got added to my cart and I could check out. I actually ordered > one phone on November 22, and then I ordered the second one on November 25 > right after I received the first phone. Yes, believe it or not, FedEx > actually delivered that phone to me on Thanksgiving Day. > > Activating the phones: I was told when I ordered the phones that they would > be coming with a SIM card, but since I didn’t recognize the type of SIM card > they mentioned, I wasn’t sure if the phones were coming with an E-sim or > regular one. But when I tried to activate one of the phones and was told that > it needed a SIM card in order to be activated, I took the SIM out of one of > the phones I was then using and put it in the new phone and activated it, and > then I did the same thing when activating the other phone. And wouldn’t you > know it, it was only after both phones were activated that I thought to take > one more look in the box. And, sure enough, I found a SIM card for each phone > in its respective box. > > Since one of the conditions for getting the gift cards was that the phones be > activated, I wanted to make sure that they were activated with their correct > SIM cards. This was especially true when I checked in the settings for one of > my new phones and there was no 5G option, which didn’t really surprise me as > this SIM card came with the AT&T iPhone 6S plus I purchased from Apple in > 2015. So I went online and was able to activate the SIM card for one of the > phones, the one that originally had the old 2015 SIM in it. However, I had > put a SIM card in the other phone that I had obtained in August of 2019, and > I’m guessing since it already showed the 5G when put in the new phone, that’s > why I was told the phone was already activated. Thus, I had to call AT&T to > get the phone to work properly with the new SIM card, as it just said > cellular no signal when I put that new card in the phone until I called. > > Transferring the data from my old phones: that actually went well using the > quick start feature or whatever it is called and just transferring from one > iPhone to the other. You might recall, though, that my only internet here is > provided by my cell phones, thus I quickly learned that I couldn’t use the > hotspot feature on the phone which I was transferring the data from to get it > to the new phone, so I had to remove the SIM from one older phone and put it > in another older phone to get the process to work. > > No home button and Face ID: as of right now, I think I am better with the > gestures that replaced the home button than I am with Face ID. Also, to me > right now, using the home button just seems so much faster than using the > Face ID. In the daytime, though, Face ID does seem to work for me about 80% > of the time, while it works much less than that at night when I’m in bed and > reach for my phone. > > Using the internet and personal hotspot: this does seem a lot faster to me. I > couldn’t believe how fast apps downloaded from the app store, for example. > Web pages seem to load faster as well. And I just love being able to back up > my phone using cellular data as well as being able to update the iOS without > having to put my SIM in an Android phone to do it. > > I did run into some issues using personal hotspot though. First, although the > hotspot feature works just fine with my computer, I did have to turn on the > maximize compatibility setting in the personal hotspot settings to get it to > connect. Second, although I’m not quite sure of why, but the personal hotspot > feature now no longer works with my Braille Sense U2 Mini on these new > phones. The U2 sees the phone, but it shows the encryption type as WEP rather > than WPA2PSK and just doesn’t connect. However, if I remove the SIM from the > new phone and put it in my iPhone 7, then the hotspot works with my U2 > without a problem. But since, the one time I did this, I couldn’t seem to get > my iMessages to then work properly on the 7, I’ve just kept the SIM card in > the newer phones. > > A couple of side effects from no longer being able to get my email on the U2 > Mini: it forces me to learn much more about getting email other ways like > with my iPhone and with the Outlook included in my Microsoft 365 subscription > or with the mail app included with Windows 10. And second, grin, since I’m no > longer using an outdated U2 to get my email, I’m saved from having to reset > my U2 most every time I receive an email from Richard T when coming from this > list. Of course, other than the word I said to myself as I pressed that reset > button on the U2, I didn’t complain since I was the one using the older > equipment, but I never could figure out why I had problems with his messages > on this list but not usually with messages he sent to other lists. > > Obtaining my gift cards: that turned out to be kind of a process. I admit I > was a little concerned when there was nothing in the body of the message > about the gift card for my order on November 22, but there was for my order > on November 25. I finally did receive one E-gift card on December 18, but I > had no idea for which phone. And when I called Walmart customer service on > December 23 to ask about the matter, I was told that the gift card was for my > first order, the iPhone 13 Mini, as there was a picture of the phone with a > gift card beside it in my delivery confirmation email, but there was no such > picture with the delivery confirmation email for the iPhone 13 I ordered on > November 25. When I pressed the issue and told him the body of that second > order specifically said I would get a e-gift card within 25 days of the phone > being shipped, he finally said he would forward my inquiry to the gift card > department and to call back if I hadn’t heard in 48 hours. > > When it had been a week and I had heard nothing back, I called Walmart > customer service again, and they gave me the gift card department phone > number. And I was finally told by that department that the gift card issued > was for the iPhone 13 and not the iPhone 13 Mini and to contact Walmart.com > or my carrier to find out the issue. I then called AT&T and was told things > were fine with my account, and not wanting to deal with customer service > again, I looked on Google and found an email address for Walmart and sent an > email to them explaining my issue. Then I got back an email saying that the > email address to which I sent my message was no longer being used, was given > a website to use for future, but was told they would forward my inquiry to > Walmart customer service. And believe it or not, just two days later, I got > the other E-gift card, got the email and they also put the card in my account > this time. I can’t tell you just how pleased I was to receive that other gift > card. Sure, I would have survived without it, but it was also the principle > involved, meaning only having 14 days to return the phone but having to wait > 20-25 days for a gift card and then be told it wasn’t coming without > explaining why. So I was really impressed and ecstatic to get the thing. > > The iPhones I have now: my main phones are now the iPhone 13 Mini and the > iPhone 13, as those are the two I purchased and was required to activate them > and enter into the installment agreement and unlimited data plan with AT&T to > get the $300 e-gift card for each. Walmart actually had a limit of three, but > I just have the two phone lines and don’t want any more. My two backup phones > that I keep updated and ready to go are the SE 2020 and the iPhone XR. As for > my first generation SE and my iPhone 7, I’ll figure out something to do with > them. And as for my iPhone 12 Mini, the one I ordered on the first day I > could and never even took out of its shipping box, seeing as I now have the > 13 Mini and I hadn’t given my sister-in-law an iPhone in a while, she now has > that phone for a few minor considerations, as I just couldn’t completely give > it away, what with it never being used before and having AppleCare and all. > Actually, I originally thought to just try the iPhone 13 to confirm it was > too big for me and then give that to her. However, what with the 13 not being > quite as big as the 8 Plus that I didn’t like, the longer battery life in the > iPhone 13, and it’s a little fuller sound, not to mention my problems with > getting the gift card, I decided to keep the 13 for myself and continue with > its installment agreement for now. And I didn’t offer her the XR as I didn’t > figure it would be much of an upgrade from the 8 Plus, and I didn’t want to > part with the SE 2020 as I may want to use touch ID from time to time. The 13 > Mini is generally the one I carry in my purse with me and take most calls on, > while the 13 is used more for YouTube and the AT&T DIRECTV app and the like. > > All in all, I’m quite happy with how things turned out. I have my new iPhones > that no longer require me to have an Android phone to update them or back > them up, my iPhone 12 Mini has a new home, although I guess she will have > some adjustments going from the 8 Plus to the 12 Mini although I did ask her > several times to make sure she wanted to do this, and I have my two $300 > E-gift cards in my Walmart account so I can do some shopping without having > to get into my bank account. > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/022301d8080f%249179cd40%24b46d67c0%24%40gmail.com. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/viphone/163289D4-EA05-4DE4-80C9-F2936F8B6BB1%40gmail.com.
