Now in fairness I bought my phone unlocked from apple. I could've purchased from Visible and paid no more for the 13 pro but I wanted it unlocked.
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Kelly Pierce Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2022 12:39 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: my upgrade experience My carrier was very clear in an e-mail it sent after I ordered my iPhone 13 Mini at the cell phone store. I must activate the SIM card included in the box with the iPhone as the phone and cell phone network is coded to recognize my SIM and IMEI number together. If I wasn’t sure how to do this, I could go back to the store and they would be happy to activate with the new SIM card. Kelly On 1/13/22, Dennis Long <[email protected]> wrote: > I upgraded to a 13 pro from a SE 2020 I am happy with the upgrade. > > > > From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of > [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 6:53 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: my upgrade experience > > > > 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] <mailto:[email protected]> . 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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/00ed01d808c7%2435ca8ad0%24a15fa070%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/CAOQRLb8n%3Dcz3rWHYx0ENwpzDpFw-nxn7aREokerQUHUBvkFO9g%40mail.gmail.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/002201d809d4%24f2885f90%24d7991eb0%24%40gmail.com.
