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Verizon wireless service went down from Seattle to Idaho. Happened at around 9:30 and lasted until about 10:30. I was working and started getting messages from the IT nerds alerting me. Sent out an email to the corporate team and had to call our manufacturing leaders. It was a big deal since most of our company cell phones use Verizon as the carrier and we suddenly had no communication with our people in the region. The local cops were being alerted to the outage by dispatch about 15 minutes after I found out about it.

Internet search today shows no news of the outage. Weird.
 
Verizon wireless service went down from Seattle to Idaho. Happened at around 9:30 and lasted until about 10:30. I was working and started getting messages from the IT nerds alerting me. Sent out an email to the corporate team and had to call our manufacturing leaders. It was a big deal since most of our company cell phones use Verizon as the carrier and we suddenly had no communication with our people in the region. The local cops were being alerted to the outage by dispatch about 15 minutes after I found out about it.

Internet search today shows no news of the outage. Weird.
Wife and I both use pre paid since they got so damn cheap. $20 a month for each line. So comes to $23.13. The ones we have now use Verizon and a few times over the years we lost service due to a tower being down. Made me long ago just get one more line that uses a different carrier. Have one that uses the same service but is on AT&T towers that just sits here. figure that way if one is down the other may work since we long ago got rid of the land line.
 
It's weird that in 2020, the only cell carrier that has a signal in my entire town is Verizon. No other carrier works here.
Sadly means none of the others have put up a tower there then. Could be money as in cost to build. More likely is local "authorities" are being lobbied (bribed) to not allow any of the other big guys put up a tower there. There is a LOT of money behind the permitting of towers.
 
Wife and I both use pre paid since they got so damn cheap. $20 a month for each line. So comes to $23.13. The ones we have now use Verizon and a few times over the years we lost service due to a tower being down. Made me long ago just get one more line that uses a different carrier. Have one that uses the same service but is on AT&T towers that just sits here. figure that way if one is down the other may work since we long ago got rid of the land line.
We're you able to keep your number when you left verizon?
 
We're you able to keep your number when you left verizon?
Wife was when we left using regular monthly phones. That has been like 20 years ago. Back then they had passed law that the phone carriers had to let you do this. Our last monthly carrier was IIRC Verizon then. We first went to Virgin Mobile. Wife got her same # but it took a good while and multiple calls. I tried, gave up, told them just turn the damn phone on with a new #. I can't remember who's towers Virgin used, think it was T-Mobile back then. Later when to Strait Talk. Those phones used Verizon. Wife again got her same # but it was some hassle. I again did not care, just told them activate the phone so got another #. Those lines were about $55 a month each after the taxes. Then one day saw an ad for Tracfone. Said unlimited everything for $20. The phones we had with Strait Talk used to say they were part of Tracfone when they booted up. I thought there had to be some "catch". Looked into it and could not find one so tried one phone with Trac. Again this was for me so did not try to keep my #. It worked the same, uses Verizon towers so bought another one for Wife. She again kept her old #. By now it was far easier, only took her a few minutes. So she has had that same number now through multiple phone carriers.
When I wanted a "back up" phone I just bought some cheap unlocked phone from Amazon. Bought a SIM card from Tracfone that was to AT&T. Put them together and had to call support to get it to work but once it was done its there. The only difference in the Trac and the Strait talk is Data. The Strait Talk each came with 10 or 15 Gig's of Mobile Data. We both used almost none. The Trac for that $20 only come with 1 Gig a month. You can buy more if needed and it rolls over. Last time I checked mine it has around 10 or 11 Gig now since I so seldom use it. So for those who use a lot of mobile Data these probably would not work as a saving money thing.
 
Wife was when we left using regular monthly phones. That has been like 20 years ago. Back then they had passed law that the phone carriers had to let you do this. Our last monthly carrier was IIRC Verizon then. We first went to Virgin Mobile. Wife got her same # but it took a good while and multiple calls. I tried, gave up, told them just turn the damn phone on with a new #. I can't remember who's towers Virgin used, think it was T-Mobile back then. Later when to Strait Talk. Those phones used Verizon. Wife again got her same # but it was some hassle. I again did not care, just told them activate the phone so got another #. Those lines were about $55 a month each after the taxes. Then one day saw an ad for Tracfone. Said unlimited everything for $20. The phones we had with Strait Talk used to say they were part of Tracfone when they booted up. I thought there had to be some "catch". Looked into it and could not find one so tried one phone with Trac. Again this was for me so did not try to keep my #. It worked the same, uses Verizon towers so bought another one for Wife. She again kept her old #. By now it was far easier, only took her a few minutes. So she has had that same number now through multiple phone carriers.
When I wanted a "back up" phone I just bought some cheap unlocked phone from Amazon. Bought a SIM card from Tracfone that was to AT&T. Put them together and had to call support to get it to work but once it was done its there. The only difference in the Trac and the Strait talk is Data. The Strait Talk each came with 10 or 15 Gig's of Mobile Data. We both used almost none. The Trac for that $20 only come with 1 Gig a month. You can buy more if needed and it rolls over. Last time I checked mine it has around 10 or 11 Gig now since I so seldom use it. So for those who use a lot of mobile Data these probably would not work as a saving money thing.
So is it a catch that you have to spend a bunch of money for a phone when you go with a offshoot provider?
 
We had a Verizon outage a few years ago (2018, maybe?) From what I could tell the Verizon servers were being attacked causing Verizon services to go down.
We found out how reliant the City of Seattle is on Verizon, and how little we know about the Motorola radios in our vehicles.
 
So is it a catch that you have to spend a bunch of money for a phone when you go with a offshoot provider?
As far as I know all the "Resellers" offer to let you bring your own phone if the phone is not locked to the original carrier. If you buy a phone that costs say 1K from one of the big names and it's "free" they of course are not giving the phone to you free. Those phones are locked to that carrier. More tech savoy can I hear undo this. I have never cared enough to look into it.
Wife and I have both used Samsung phones for close to a couple decades. Started with the S3. Couple years after it hit you could buy them unlocked for around $100. We both kept using them till Samsung was up to the S8 or so. Couple times would wear one out and buy another. When the "tech" finally left these behind Samsung had started making a "budget version" of their top line phones. They have the letter J in front of the # instead of S. Phones we both have now are J7's. Cost about $100 when we bought them from Walmart or ordered directly. I have played with some S versions of these at work and I can't tell what the difference is. I am guessing there has to be something in there but it's beyond me what it is the 1K phone does that our $100 phone does not. Sure some techno type could show me something the 1K is better at, I would hope at least. These phones can be taken to any reseller carrier as long as we want to use CDMA which Verizon is. They make the same phone in GSM and it of course can move to any reseller using GSM like AT&T.
The back up phone I bought is GSM unlocked. It is made by a place called Blu. I bought one of their middle of the road phones Was $60. They had some that were as low as $30, some that were about twice what I paid. All Smart Phones. After I set it up my Google account copied all my stuff to it without me even asking. Playing with it all my apps seem to work the same to me. So again there has got to be something this $60 phone does not do as well as some phone costing 1K or more, I hope. Again I am VERY amateur at all this. I have never cared about the tech in the phones enough to try to learn. I just want to turn it on and use it so not sure what the ones that cost 10 or more times what mine do, do for that money. Hope this helps a little. I have just never cared enough about phones to try to learn. If it does what I want and lets me make calls that's all I wanted to know :D
 
I'm a 46 year old dinosaur with tech. Hate it. But I like a solid iPhone. Use it all the time.
They (I phone's) too come unlocked. If you want one you of course have to pay full price for it as some carrier is not subsidizing it. They are for sale unlocked and ready to go in either CDMA OR GSM and you can take it to any carrier or reseller you wish.
While back Google was jumping in with some new phone. ads looked really nice and of course no price mentioned. When I looked into one they were like $1500:eek: So needless to say that was as far as I got looking at them. I am sure they are some really wiz bang tech but for what I do it would be a waste of money.
 
Why is an iPhone over $1K?
Becaaaaause...
PT Barnum.jpg
 
I bought a Motorola Power G8 for $179 and use it on Straight Talk/AT&T.
Why is an iPhone over $1K?
Maybe one of the more "tech savoy" people here can explain what they do?? Same thing with the phone Google sells for last I looked 1.5K. The phones of course have to do something better but again I have no clue what it is. May be like Computers? The one I use at home cost $3 or 400. When one dies I take out the drive to destroy, and buy another. Now they still sell many that are as much as 4 or 5 of this one. I am sure they do something that I don't do or no one would buy them. To me if I was going to pay 1K or more for a phone it would have to be able to service me orally, who knows maybe they do? :s0140:
Seriously though a lot of people use a phone like a laptop and some of them must be super powerful. Even the back up phone I paid $60 for is to me an amazing piece of Tech since I so well remember when having a phone the size of a brick that did nothing but make a phone call was the bee's knees :D
 
Be nice now I am sure they do some stuff my phone can't. :D
Co worker used to buy those watches that pair with your phone. Those too used to be more than 5 of my phones. Last time I was looking at some they were about the price of my phone now. Some of them looked pretty nice. I almost bought one but figured I would just break it at work grappling with someone and be pissed. I remember when they were telling us about the new tech where we would soon have a phone we could walk around with most of us thought of Dick Tracy and his watch. Well looks like we are about there:D:D:D
 
I remember when they were telling us about the new tech where we would soon have a phone we could walk around with most of us thought of Dick Tracy and his watch. Well looks like we are about there:D:D:D

Since I can respond to your post on my watch.

A%2F%2Fwww.internationalhero.co.uk%2Fd%2Fdicktracy.jpg







Status overview


 
I so well remember when having a phone the size of a brick that did nothing but make a phone call was the bee's knees
Had one of those brick phones for work in the late-80s/early-90s.
Bought my first personal cell phone in 1994. One of the phones in Motorola's TAC product line. Flip it open like Captain Kirk... "Sobo here! What is it, Spock?" :s0140:

ETA: Found a pic online. It was one of these:
Motorola_TAC_Ultra_Lite_mobile_phone.jpg
Damned thing would eat batteries... :rolleyes:
 
Last Edited:
Had one of those brick phones for work in the late-80s/early-90s.
Bought my first personal cell phone in 1994. One of the phones in Motorola's TAC product line. Flip it open like Captain Kirk... "Sobo here! What is it, Spock?" :s0140:

ETA: Found a pic online. It was one of these:
View attachment 735593
Damned thing would eat batteries... :rolleyes:
Yep Wife and I used to get new cells each year. There was pre digital 2 carriers. Every year we would switch to get the new customer deal. When those StarTac were available it seemed like such a cool thing as they were far smaller. I had to buy a few extra batteries though as each battery only lasted a couple hours per charge. Still seemed like such a great invention back then :D
 
Maybe one of the more "tech savoy" people here can explain what they do?? Same thing with the phone Google sells for last I looked 1.5K. The phones of course have to do something better but again I have no clue what it is. May be like Computers? The one I use at home cost $3 or 400. When one dies I take out the drive to destroy, and buy another. Now they still sell many that are as much as 4 or 5 of this one. I am sure they do something that I don't do or no one would buy them. To me if I was going to pay 1K or more for a phone it would have to be able to service me orally, who knows maybe they do? :s0140:
Seriously though a lot of people use a phone like a laptop and some of them must be super powerful. Even the back up phone I paid $60 for is to me an amazing piece of Tech since I so well remember when having a phone the size of a brick that did nothing but make a phone call was the bee's knees :D

It used to be the camera was significantly better, and there'd be a few things like NFC and Qi wireless charging.
Nowadays, it's all about bench-test results comparing one type of processor to another. Fact is, low end phones like my Moto Power G8 have extremely powerful CPU, 4 cameras, 5,000mAh multi-day lasting battery, bloat-free pure Android and are super reliable for <$200.

I feel like smartphones have hit a wall. How much more resolution can be packed into a 6" display? How much better can the cameras get? Why do all phones look the same now?

When 5G becomes prevalent, a $1500 phone will be able to take advantage of it, but with such a small, handheld device with a small screen, would anyone be able to tell? Heck, my $180 phone does more than I'd ever expect, and I am somewhat tech-savvy.
 

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