Smart Device, Confused Device

Yesterday, I got my first smartphone ever. I'm still on my parent's phone plan and we were concerned it would raise the bill. It didn't. Because my mom has a smart phone so she already had data. I hadn't planned on using data. But, after a long conversation with Verizon Wireless, I realized the things I am doing use hardly any data. Checking email and syncing the family google calendar mostly. I also know to try to use WiFi as much as possible.

Josh has a smart phone on our plan. He got his smartphone in July of 2016. So we already have data there. I did go from 1G of data to 2G for his plan. It was $4 more. We can handle that. It was time for him to be able to check his email. It was also time for the family calendar everywhere. It's the same calendar as mine. It syncs in all our tablets, the home computer, and now our cell phones.

I had been nervous about data. It's so easy to go over the data amount without realizing it. I have read that if you pay for unlimited data and use it a lot, they do slow it down. I didn't want any bill surprises so Josh had been banned from data. At least on his plan I can track it when I check daily anyway. My mom and I worked something our for me.

It's also time to think about Zach. In a little over a year, probably around Easter of next year, Josh will be giving Zach his smartphone and finally fulfilling his free upgrade. I asked Verizon Wireless about that too. How much to add a phone line? With taxes about $22 extra a month.

I have updated our budget to reflect that extra cost. I'm testing if we can make it work. Our budget is pretty tight. It's the reason my phone is still on my parent's plan. We can afford food and clothing. We can afford the basics. But, Josh is a head driver for a pizza place. Think about what you tip the pizza guy. He even sometimes doesn't get tipped at all. For us, yesterday was a big deal!

 My smartphone is the Samsung Galaxy J3 Eclipse. When I got to the Verizon store I had asked about Josh's phone. Samsung Galaxy J V3. My phone is the upgrade of his. The sales lady called it a starter smartphone. I pulled out my old phone and she understood. I also got a nice case.

So, my new phone works and is pretty, and now I feel like I am in the correct decade. I had decided to contact Samsung and fix an odd issue with my tablet. All three of us have Samsung Galaxy tablets. Yes, I really like the Samsung Galaxy line and do recommend them. The issue I attempted to fix had nothing to do with the device itself.

My email app has been working weird on it. Starting on 11/29/17 my Verizon email on the tablet wouldn't sync with my account. But, in the exact same link, my AOL email has never had an issue. Recognize that date? It's when the debate of repealing Net Neutrality was happening. I mentioned it in my "Confronting Verizon" blog post before this one.

But, my Verizon email still didn't sync even at home with my Verizon FiOS WiFi. Samsung says there are no carriers for tablets. But, when I went to live chat with Samsung, I saw this: Please select your Galaxy Tab carrier. Sprint was the option for my tablet. Samsung never answered me when I asked why I had to do that to get to them if there isn't a carrier. Like Verizon, the tech support team aren't involved in deciding and acting on any changes post the repeal of Net Neutrality. They may have even forgotten it was repealed. They were never told this might happen and this is why. Because the carrier companies don't want you to know it's happening.

Samsung suggested a few things. Clear the cache, didn't work. Clear the data, didn't work. Delete and re-add the account, didn't work. After all that, shut the tablet off and check it later. That didn't work either. I also checked the sync settings within the app and in the settings app. The settings app says "last synced (current date and time)". It currently says 0 emails. I should have 17.

It's not a big deal. I have my smartphone so I can still check my email in even more places then before. But, this frustrates my OCD because it's the kind of problem that doesn't seem fixable. I'm going to hold Sprint accountable for this issue. I had to choose them under Please select your Galaxy Tab carrier. To me, it's the only explanation why my tablet would be confused about my email. You might start noticing these issues on your tablets too. AOL on tablet, Verizon on phone. Okay, that works for me. But, Sprint isn't off the hook for this one.

Smart device, confused device. My smart phone can do so many cool things. Not just data things. The clock setting has an alarm, stop watch, timer, and world clock. One example of many that my old phone couldn't do.

Soon my dad will finally get his first smart phone. His vibrates but doesn't ring. He's taking my mom's iPhone and she's getting a new one. Zach's getting more and more excited! I doubt I can wait until next Easter for him to get a phone. He walks all the way home alone. The idea that he can call in case something happens has it's appeals. It's not far. But, there is a reason kids in this town get cell phones when they go to middle school. Zach will need time to learn how to use his and how not to use data, at least not much. It's better to do that with plenty of time before he actually needs and but can't use it.

Now it's time to play Soda Candy Crush on my confused tablet. There is also an update on my smart phone. While I type this on the desktop. I'm enjoying this a lot more then I probably should be!