Category Archives: SmartPhones

My Journey Through Mobile Technology: A Retrospective

Posted on by
Reply

A Look at Every Phone I’ve Owned and Their Technological Evolution

Introduction

Over the past few decades, mobile technology has evolved at an astonishing rate. From the bulky devices of the 90s to the sleek smartphones of today, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing this evolution firsthand. Here’s a comprehensive look at all the phones I’ve owned, detailing their technology, launch prices, adjusted prices for inflation (2024), operating systems, capacities, speeds, and overarching capabilities.

My journey through the evolution of mobile technology has been a fascinating one. It began with the sturdy Nokia 232, a relic of the AMPS era, and has led me to the cutting-edge Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, a marvel of GSM’s 5G capabilities. Along the way, I’ve witnessed the transition from the monophonic ringtones of the Motorola StarTAC to the high-fidelity soundscapes of the HTC series. Each phone, from the Qualcomm QCP-820 to the OnePlus 8 5G, has been a stepping stone in the ever-advancing river of innovation, marking my personal milestones with their technological leaps.

Continue reading →

iPhone 14 Upgrade Issue and Resolution

Posted on by
Reply

A summary of the experience with upgrading an iPhone 14 to iOS 17.5 and how I fixed the problem.

Issue

  • I had an iPhone 14 with insufficient storage to upgrade to iOS 17.5.
  • I used a MacBook Air to download the update and transfer it to the phone.
  • The phone entered an endless loop of trying to boot up and finalize the update.
  • I tried to reset the phone by pressing the up button, down button, and power button for over 5 seconds, but it did not work.
  • I called customer support, but they only suggested the same reset method.

Resolution

  • I plugged the phone into the MacBook Air and saw the option to enter recovery mode on the phone.
  • I chose to update the phone again, but it failed and entered the same loop.
  • I entered recovery mode again and chose to restore the phone instead.
  • The phone was upgraded to iOS 17.5 and restored from a backup that was saved on the MacBook Air before the update.
  • The whole process took about two hours, but I was able to use the phone with the latest iOS release.

HTC 10 Wi-Fi Calling not enabled (T-Mobile) [Fixed]

Posted on by
Reply

Updated: 2019.01.08

I am a long time HTC user, and still own an HTC 10 (a bit old for today’s’ standards). Upgraded to Oreo earlier this year, and lost a very nice feature; Wi-Fi Calling.

Wi-Fi calling helps on lowering costs when traveling overseas, as while on Wi-Fi, any calls to the US or received, do not incur any additional costs. It also allows to send/receive text messages when there is no service due to location (like inside basements).

I searched trying to find out how to solve the issue and found no answers. I had the option available and I ensured it was enabled, but had no luck. I also checked for power settings on Wi-Fi Calling to ensure that they are not optimized, but had no different experience.

A couple of days ago I decided to try a SIM card from a different provider. Used it for a few minutes, and then swapped it with my T-Mobile SIM. I realized that the Wi-FI calling icon fired up. I thought it was a glitch, but after 2 days of normal operation (e.g. going out and using LTE, then back to Wi-Fi), I still see the Wi-Fi calling service active.

Seems that the solution is to switch to a SIM card from a different operator, using it for a few minutes, and then inserting the T-Mobile SIM back. Of course, turning off the smartphone before ejecting and inserting the SIM cards.

Wi-Fi Calling is back!

Update:

Every 3 to 4 weeks, the Wi-Fi calling feature gets disabled. I am yet to discover why is this happening. The only way to revert the situation, is by swapping in a non T-Mobile SIM card, and then rebooting. 

HTC One S Battery Drains quickly after Jelly Bean upgrade [workaround]

Posted on by
4

I was very happy to see that the Jelly Bean upgrade was available for the T-Mobile branded HTC One S smartphone. I promptly downloaded and installed. Little did I know I would be having battery drainage issues.

A few days later, when I lost very important calls due to the lack of battery, I decided to ask for a replacement phone. This was after I read mixed reviews which made me think that I somehow had a faulty device (I read somewhere else that the upgrade should be performed with a battery almost fully charged to avoid a “memory effect” from the new OS – haven’t proved that it’s true though).

I opened a support ticket, and fortunately some folks have found certain work-arounds to reduce the battery usage. The same ticket was featured on the TMONews blog.

There is no official fix, however this is how I managed to reduce the power utilization (thanks to several folks that contributed):

  1. Completely Disable Wi-Fi calling.
  2. Disable Google Now, updates and cards.
  3. Disable Google now location report.
  4. Reboot your phone.

You can optionally tailor the background sync of your applications to reduce battery usage. For example, I allow automatic sync for Gmail, contacts, calendar and tasks. The rest is disabled.

It’s disappointing that Wi-Fi calling needs to be disabled as it was working flawlessly on this version; allowing me to go around the house and not losing a call.

HTC One S Battery Usage after the work-around

HTC One S Battery Usage after the work-around

Someone else has suggested a workaround that avoids turning off Wi-Fi calling. I have not confirmed a power saving effect yet though:

  1. Disconnect your phone from Wi-Fi (mobile network only).
  2. Go to Settings > More (under Wireless & Networks header) > Usage…
  3. Make sure “limit mobile data usage” is checked (set the data limit to whatever you’d like), and “show wi-fi usage,” as well.
  4. You will find IPService and IMS Service in the list of apps/processes using Wifi data.
  5. Open each process and enable “restrict background data” on both of them.
  6. Since Wi-Fi calling is by definition is on Wi-Fi, these processes don’t need background (mobile) data. The user hasn’t had any problems making calls or checking voicemail with Wi-Fi calling so far.

I expect T-Mobile/HTC addressing these issues and work on a patch to reduce power consumption. Funny this update was being beta tested since December of 2012.

Update: Seems that T-Mobile has acknowledged the problem, and is working towards obtaining a resolution:

 

Battery Usage right after the upgrade:

HTC One S Battery Usage after the work-around
IP Service consuming the most power
Android OS consuming the most power
While in 2G, less battery was used. Green means charging.
IP Service consuming the most power
Android OS consuming the most power
How fast the battery was depleting. Green means charging.

Your Smartphone. What if you lose it? [Security]

Posted on by
Reply

Ever thought of that scenario? Not yet? Better start thinking about it now. If you work for a large corporation you might already be backed up by an enterprise level security system, but if you are not, then it’s time to get something in place to protect your information.

Work/Personal email, text messaging, sensitive documents, Facebook, Twitter, personal banking applications; you name them. An stranger can get access to them very easily (with banking application might be trickier, but at least they can try).

I use two products to protect my Android based phone in the case it gets lost or stolen.

  1. Protector, an application that allows to setup a pin to access certain applications (fully configurable). This is very useful when you want to lend your smartphone to a friend for them to search but not allow them to open your email inbox for example.
  2. Lookoput (available for Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry). Protects your phone from viruses and backs up your information to their systems (calls, sms, etc). If you pay you get the premium options to locate, remote lock and remote wipe. These last 3 are the most important features for me.

Lookout

Lookout

There are several other products out there you can try yourself.

Good Luck!