The end of simple mobile phones

BADGER.BRAD

BADGER.BRAD

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I only have 1 network which works in my village which is Vodafone ( I use ASDA MOBILE piggy backed on Vodafone) The other day they sent me a message saying they were switching off 3g in the very near future. I then looked for another network which I can use on my old phone ( which does me fine) but found out it is Vodafone which is switching off 3g and then at some point 2g. This sadly means that all my old phones will now be scrap/e-waste.

here an article from the BBC

2/3G SWITCH OFF
 
I think that's what I'm going to have to get Jonathan, It's just a shame it makes all the older phones redundant, I do have some 4g/5g phones knocking about the house but they are all the size of a brick have poor battery life and are very fragile with their large screens, I've killed far to many for that to happen again ! I should get a couple more years out of what I have using 2g only.
 
There are phone cases designed for phone killers. https://www.otterbox.co.uk/en-gb/shop-cases

JCB used to make a toughphone but I think there are alternatives now with strong glass screens so they're harder to damage. This CAT brand one might be good but it's not very cheap.



I always put a new smartphone straight into a case as most of the phones seem to be made with a wet soap slippery finish. It's the only reason I don't drop mine. Leather type hard case goes straight onto the phone before I use it.
 
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I too got txt's from my network supplier saying I wouldn't be able to use my phone as there were going to be changes. This new phone is the biggest I've ever had and they are now IMO not trouser pocketable.

In all this we have to remember that we're no longer the customers, we're the products. Complete harvesting of data and complete control await us.
 
Just to make things worse I've just asked my lad if he uses 4g in the village he said occasionally but it is really patchy and his phone selects 3g most of the time there is no 5g for at least 10 miles in any direction and even then it is really patchy, I think I'll have to get the family to get their Radio Ham Licence at least I get good signals on that !
 
woof woof said:
not trouser pocketable.
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This is one of the problems I have , If I cannot fit it in my pocket and close the pocket then the phone falls out and I end up losing or breaking it , Cycling seems the worst activity for this but I have also dropped them from a height when getting in or out of Trucks or plant machinery. I've leaned on then a number of times and broke the screen whist working on machinery. On the positive side I still have an old phone from the 90's which works well despite much abuse and the battery lasts two weeks. Sadly it will not work soon.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
This is one of the problems I have , If I cannot fit it in my pocket and close the pocket then the phone falls out and I end up losing or breaking it , Cycling seems the worst activity for this but I have also dropped them from a height when getting in or out of Trucks or plant machinery. I've leaned on then a number of times and broke the screen whist working on machinery. On the positive side I still have an old phone from the 90's which works well despite much abuse and the battery lasts two weeks. Sadly it will not work soon.
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My phone is uncomfortable in my light jackets too. I have to carry so much stuff that wont comfortably go in a pocket if it'll go in at all now that I often use a man bag.
 
This subject has just been on Central News where they mentioned most care alarms work on 3g so if you do know anyone that uses one just check for them ! Something which I though a little strange was I've now had my phone set on 2g only, I get full signal strength on 2g and only 1 bar on 3g and also I was led to believe any internet traffic would not happen yet I have been recieving and sending photos, text messages an voice notes on Whattapp without problems , I had always thought Whats app to be internet traffic ! I have probably done 2 mouths worth of phone use in a few days.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
This subject has just been on Central News where they mentioned most care alarms work on 3g so if you do know anyone that uses one just check for them ! Something which I though a little strange was I've now had my phone set on 2g only, I get full signal strength on 2g and only 1 bar on 3g and also I was led to believe any internet traffic would not happen yet I have been recieving and sending photos, text messages an voice notes on Whattapp without problems , I had always thought Whats app to be internet traffic ! I have probably done 2 mouths worth of phone use in a few days.
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You're definitely using data then as WhatsApp absolutely requires data to function.
 
O.k so I just looked it up and there is data at a slow speed using the Packet radio protocols I used to play with in the early 90s with Ham radio. So really at this point for me 2g is still a usable medium exactly as 3g was for at least a few more years until that goes , I will have to leave it a few months and see if 4g becomes more reliable here or even 5g is installed to use it as a hot spot for my internet access though !
 
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I did a few more experiments with one of the more modern smart phones we have knocking about the house ( far too big for me) First I checked 2g and 3g which I found to be full signal strength everywhere in the village including inside my house. The transmitter site is on top of a ridge with a deep river valley to one side and then a deep valley at the other so is sited really well to cover the village. 4g has no signal inside my house so I went and sat under the mast where unsurprisingly I got full signal strength proving there is a signal there ! At either end of the village there is a very sketchy signal in the two valleys it is non existent. As far as I can work out the only possible block to the signal to my house or garden is some trees separating the end of my garden and the house at the bottom, when these trees have no leaves I can see the mast from my attic at about 1/4 of a mile away. The only thing I can think of is they are using a much higher frequency for their 4g transmissions which is attenuated by moisture in the air and my rather old and solid house or maybe running much lower power. I will have wait and see if they improve this when 3g is switched off in a few weeks.
 
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