3g switch off

[oldagepensioner]

I currently use an old Cubot king Kong pay as you go phone on 02(i don't use it enough to justify a contract).Recently i have noticed that when i go onto google that about 50% of the time the news stories that come up before you search for anything are unreadable.The headlines come up fine but the actual stories come up as a series of odd shape blocks instead of individual letters.The phone itself is supposed to be pretty much indestructible but in the last few days i have managed to break the camera lens.Also they are about to shut down 3G in this area within the next few months and are being encouraged to shut it down even sooner.Like i said it is an old phone possibly up to 8 years old.Any ideas anyone.The phone is 4G ready but the sim is only 3G.

[FourWheelDrift]

oldagepensioner said:

The phone is 4G ready but the sim is only 3G.

Ask o2 for a new 4G sim making sure your number is transferred to it.

[Hoofy]

I feel like you're subtly asking if you should buy a replacement phone.

If that's the case and you just want something cheap that works, then try the Moto G31: https://amzn.to/3AMMU4i

I wouldn't risk anything lower eg a Moto E20. I have one and it's really bad - I think it's to do with the entry-level OS, Android Go, which means that things like taking videos fails to save, Google Maps crashes, and sometimes the phone crashes for no reason and when you reboot it you see that you've lost 50% of your battery.

In contrast, the G31 is 99% reliable. The only thing I've noticed to go wrong is when I try to get Alexa to play LBC and it just crashes the phone and requires a reboot. Clearly too right wing for Alexa. It does stuff like make videos, play music, edit videos, upload videos, view the usual SM apps all fine.

I also bought a G53 which is better in every way but it's also a third thicker and heavier so I'll use it when the G31 starts to fail.

[Lucas Ayde]

This looks like quite a good SIM-free option 'Honor Magic 6 lite':

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3418778

.. 5G, Dual SIM (2x nano), 6.8" AMOLED screen, no microSD but 256gig of built in storage ... all for £250

[Ham_and_Jam]

Not exactly sure what outcome you are wanting OP. I get that your phone is old and failing & you are using an old 3G sim. Based on that the following is probably what you need -

1. A decent new 4/5G smartphone can be had for £100-150, second hand less. A couple have been linked already in posts above.

Low use 1 month / no contract sim only deals are available for £5-10 per month, which would be more than enough for your use. Something like this, Smarty (O2) 20Gb £6 / month -

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/sim-only-deal/941a...

[oldagepensioner]

Hoofy said:

I feel like you're subtly asking if you should buy a replacement phone.

If that's the case and you just want something cheap that works, then try the Moto G31: https://amzn.to/3AMMU4i

I wouldn't risk anything lower eg a Moto E20. I have one and it's really bad - I think it's to do with the entry-level OS, Android Go, which means that things like taking videos fails to save, Google Maps crashes, and sometimes the phone crashes for no reason and when you reboot it you see that you've lost 50% of your battery.

In contrast, the G31 is 99% reliable. The only thing I've noticed to go wrong is when I try to get Alexa to play LBC and it just crashes the phone and requires a reboot. Clearly too right wing for Alexa. It does stuff like make videos, play music, edit videos, upload videos, view the usual SM apps all fine.

I also bought a G53 which is better in every way but it's also a third thicker and heavier so I'll use it when the G31 starts to fail.

Your probably right but the thing is however rubbish i am with tech (this was after all one of the reasons for my redundancy) i am still a bit curious about it and wondered what would cause these symptoms in terms a non techy like me would understand if possible.

[Hoofy]

oldagepensioner said:

Hoofy said:

I feel like you're subtly asking if you should buy a replacement phone.

If that's the case and you just want something cheap that works, then try the Moto G31: https://amzn.to/3AMMU4i

I wouldn't risk anything lower eg a Moto E20. I have one and it's really bad - I think it's to do with the entry-level OS, Android Go, which means that things like taking videos fails to save, Google Maps crashes, and sometimes the phone crashes for no reason and when you reboot it you see that you've lost 50% of your battery.

In contrast, the G31 is 99% reliable. The only thing I've noticed to go wrong is when I try to get Alexa to play LBC and it just crashes the phone and requires a reboot. Clearly too right wing for Alexa. It does stuff like make videos, play music, edit videos, upload videos, view the usual SM apps all fine.

I also bought a G53 which is better in every way but it's also a third thicker and heavier so I'll use it when the G31 starts to fail.

Your probably right but the thing is however rubbish i am with tech (this was after all one of the reasons for my redundancy) i am still a bit curious about it and wondered what would cause these symptoms in terms a non techy like me would understand if possible.

"The headlines come up fine but the actual stories come up as a series of odd shape blocks instead of individual letters." This is down to you using an old browser that can't handle ultra modern websites with fancy whatever tech they're using these days. Even my 10 year old Galaxy tablet struggles with many modern sites in terms of speed and layout, and can't handle new browser apps very well. It won't even install the latest YouTube app so I can only view YT in a browser. I still have it as a spare.

I think you need to upgrade your tech every 5 years to keep up with whatever's going on if the tech interacts with the external world - if you've got an old Acorn Electron or Sega Megadrive and just play old games then you don't need to "upgrade" (replace) it.

[oldagepensioner]

Hoofy said:

oldagepensioner said:

Hoofy said:

I feel like you're subtly asking if you should buy a replacement phone.

If that's the case and you just want something cheap that works, then try the Moto G31: https://amzn.to/3AMMU4i

I wouldn't risk anything lower eg a Moto E20. I have one and it's really bad - I think it's to do with the entry-level OS, Android Go, which means that things like taking videos fails to save, Google Maps crashes, and sometimes the phone crashes for no reason and when you reboot it you see that you've lost 50% of your battery.

In contrast, the G31 is 99% reliable. The only thing I've noticed to go wrong is when I try to get Alexa to play LBC and it just crashes the phone and requires a reboot. Clearly too right wing for Alexa. It does stuff like make videos, play music, edit videos, upload videos, view the usual SM apps all fine.

I also bought a G53 which is better in every way but it's also a third thicker and heavier so I'll use it when the G31 starts to fail.

Your probably right but the thing is however rubbish i am with tech (this was after all one of the reasons for my redundancy) i am still a bit curious about it and wondered what would cause these symptoms in terms a non techy like me would understand if possible.

"The headlines come up fine but the actual stories come up as a series of odd shape blocks instead of individual letters." This is down to you using an old browser that can't handle ultra modern websites with fancy whatever tech they're using these days. Even my 10 year old Galaxy tablet struggles with many modern sites in terms of speed and layout, and can't handle new browser apps very well. It won't even install the latest YouTube app so I can only view YT in a browser. I still have it as a spare.

I think you need to upgrade your tech every 5 years to keep up with whatever's going on if the tech interacts with the external world - if you've got an old Acorn Electron or Sega Megadrive and just play old games then you don't need to "upgrade" (replace) it.

Thanks for explaining this in a way that i understood.It has confirmed my gut feeling.Funny you should mention the tablet thing because i too have an old alcatel tablet which i bought before the phone and that has the same issue with youtube.

[Hoofy]

oldagepensioner said:

Thanks for explaining this in a way that i understood.It has confirmed my gut feeling.Funny you should mention the tablet thing because i too have an old alcatel tablet which i bought before the phone and that has the same issue with youtube.

It's annoying - it just says something like "This app is not compatible with your device." I don't know why they can't create a cutdown version of the app that works on older devices and does something simple like just display the video, comments and suggested videos. They can do it for numerous different smart TVs.

There's nothing inherently wrong with my old tablet - it is just as "fast" as it used to be. It doesn't crash etc. Just that some apps can't be updated as that version of Android is no longer supported.

[Ham_and_Jam]

Hoofy said:

I don't know why they can't create a cutdown version of the app that works on older devices and does something simple like just display the video, comments and suggested videos. They can do it for numerous different smart TVs.

Apps are horrendously expensive to build and maintain.

They will also need to have two version, one Android and one iOS (Apple). A additional simple version of each would be four apps.

Bite the bullet, do a bit of research and find a good smartphone within your budget. Ask here and you will also get some good advice too.

Not all new tech is difficult to understand. I would say some of the newer stuff is actually more user friendly.

[Hoofy]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Hoofy said:

I don't know why they can't create a cutdown version of the app that works on older devices and does something simple like just display the video, comments and suggested videos. They can do it for numerous different smart TVs.

Apps are horrendously expensive to build and maintain.

They will also need to have two version, one Android and one iOS (Apple). A additional simple version of each would be four apps.

Bite the bullet, do a bit of research and find a good smartphone within your budget. Ask here and you will also get some good advice too.

Not all new tech is difficult to understand. I would say some of the newer stuff is actually more user friendly.

Well, the thing is, do I just bin an old but working piece of tech and screw the environment? Or maybe a billion dollar company could do something to avoid working tech ending in the bin. Just a thought. I'll be dead without kids before the world gets much worse.

[oldagepensioner]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Hoofy said:

I don't know why they can't create a cutdown version of the app that works on older devices and does something simple like just display the video, comments and suggested videos. They can do it for numerous different smart TVs.

Apps are horrendously expensive to build and maintain.

They will also need to have two version, one Android and one iOS (Apple). A additional simple version of each would be four apps.

Bite the bullet, do a bit of research and find a good smartphone within your budget. Ask here and you will also get some good advice too.

Not all new tech is difficult to understand. I would say some of the newer stuff is actually more user friendly.

Did this this morning and have opted for an S23 Ultra 4G 5G On android 13.Not quite the latest i know that i believe is 14 but to give some indication of how old my current phone is it operates on android 7.Thanks for all the advice.

[Ham_and_Jam]

Wow! Fantastic phone.

I’m an Apple user myself, but the S23 Ultra is a very good phone and will hopefully give you plenty of years of good service.

My father who is in his 80s has exactly the same phone and loves it.

Edited to add - You can update to Android 14 very easily from the settings in your new phone.

Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Friday 6th September 16:12

[oldagepensioner]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Wow! Fantastic phone.

I’m an Apple user myself, but the S23 Ultra is a very good phone and will hopefully give you plenty of years of good service.

My father who is in his 80s has exactly the same phone and loves it.

Edited to add - You can update to Android 14 very easily from the settings in your new phone.

Edited by Ham_and_Jam on Friday 6th September 16:12

Well i got the S23 Ultra but with hindsight if i had known how good the S23 was supposed to be the price alone should have been a red flag.I am fairly sure it is a Chinese knock off(it was certainly made in China as are most things these days)The screen was supposed to be 7.3 inches at best it was 6.25,it would constantly switch to roaming data and drain all my credit, It managed to use £30 in 3 days and it comes with a thing called an S pen which you charge up by sliding it into a port in the top of the phone/This one was a dummy just a hollow tube with a rubber tip and a pocket clip.So if you see this for sale by <zhongh5100> avoid.Instead i now have a Motorola G4 but have yet to get the voucher i need for the first top up.

[MesoForm]

oldagepensioner said:

Well i got the S23 Ultra but with hindsight if i had known how good the S23 was supposed to be the price alone should have been a red flag.I am fairly sure it is a Chinese knock off(it was certainly made in China as are most things these days)The screen was supposed to be 7.3 inches at best it was 6.25,it would constantly switch to roaming data and drain all my credit, It managed to use £30 in 3 days and it comes with a thing called an S pen which you charge up by sliding it into a port in the top of the phone/This one was a dummy just a hollow tube with a rubber tip and a pocket clip.So if you see this for sale by <zhongh5100> avoid.Instead i now have a Motorola G4 but have yet to get the voucher i need for the first top up.

That's a crappy thing for the seller to do - make sure you raise a stink with eBay but if this is the advert - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235709840983 - they may point out it doesn't say 'Samsung' anywhere on it.

And I don't think that Motorola is any newer than your old phone.

[oldagepensioner]

MesoForm said:

oldagepensioner said:

Well i got the S23 Ultra but with hindsight if i had known how good the S23 was supposed to be the price alone should have been a red flag.I am fairly sure it is a Chinese knock off(it was certainly made in China as are most things these days)The screen was supposed to be 7.3 inches at best it was 6.25,it would constantly switch to roaming data and drain all my credit, It managed to use £30 in 3 days and it comes with a thing called an S pen which you charge up by sliding it into a port in the top of the phone/This one was a dummy just a hollow tube with a rubber tip and a pocket clip.So if you see this for sale by <zhongh5100> avoid.Instead i now have a Motorola G4 but have yet to get the voucher i need for the first top up.

That's a crappy thing for the seller to do - make sure you raise a stink with eBay but if this is the advert - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/235709840983 - they may point out it doesn't say 'Samsung' anywhere on it.

And I don't think that Motorola is any newer than your old phone.

That should have read G14.the old phone was G4 ready but on Android 7 whereas the Motorola is Android 13.

[mikey_b]

Hoofy said:

Well, the thing is, do I just bin an old but working piece of tech and screw the environment? Or maybe a billion dollar company could do something to avoid working tech ending in the bin. Just a thought. I'll be dead without kids before the world gets much worse.

The thing is, it isn't a working piece of tech. If it was, you wouldn't have a problem running more modern versions of apps.

[oldagepensioner]

mikey_b said:

Hoofy said:

Well, the thing is, do I just bin an old but working piece of tech and screw the environment? Or maybe a billion dollar company could do something to avoid working tech ending in the bin. Just a thought. I'll be dead without kids before the world gets much worse.

The thing is, it isn't a working piece of tech. If it was, you wouldn't have a problem running more modern versions of apps.

The seller offers free returns but the only returns address is the royal mail returns address on the outer packaging.I have never had to return anything on e'bay so do i just repack it in the packaging it came in and not add any postage to it.

[mikey_b]

oldagepensioner said:

The seller offers free returns but the only returns address is the royal mail returns address on the outer packaging.I have never had to return anything on e'bay so do i just repack it in the packaging it came in and not add any postage to it.

You’ll need to use the messaging feature on eBay to contact the seller who sold it to you. They will tell you how to return it.

[Kermit power]

Ham_and_Jam said:

Hoofy said:

I don't know why they can't create a cutdown version of the app that works on older devices and does something simple like just display the video, comments and suggested videos. They can do it for numerous different smart TVs.

Apps are horrendously expensive to build and maintain.

They will also need to have two version, one Android and one iOS (Apple). A additional simple version of each would be four apps.

Bite the bullet, do a bit of research and find a good smartphone within your budget. Ask here and you will also get some good advice too.

Not all new tech is difficult to understand. I would say some of the newer stuff is actually more user friendly.

It's not just two or four versions though. There are multiple versions of Android and iOS in use, varying levels of hardware spec and the like that create many more permutations that need to be supported. There comes a time where developers have to drop support for little used older combinations or they'd drown trying to accommodate them all.