Tuesday 12 October 2021

Lost boy


Part of my problem is that I am not as scared of technology as I should be.

I have not mentioned the outcome of my car's electrical problems because I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! ALRIGHT?!

I didn't want to talk about it because, £250 later, it turned out to be a defective battery. Before any of you begin to gloat and tell me that you suggested as much right from the beginning, I can tell you that both the original break-down mechanic and the garage which I eventually took it to tested the battery and told me that there was nothing wrong with it. I deliberately did not mention my suspicions about a faulty alarm (which the car itself told me about) so I cannot be blamed for them taking their eye off the ball. It now starts first time, I consider the matter to be closed and I will not enter into any further correspondence regarding it. Speak to my superiors.

Next on the agenda is my epic battle to get my new iPhone connected to the network. You already know part of this story, but to recap I bought the phone (second hand and reconditioned) and asked the shop to transfer all my stuff from the old one to the new. They said they would not do this so I had to do it using iCloud (you can skip this bit, Weave - actually, you may want to skip the lot, like everyone else does).

I took it home and the data swap went like a dream. It was easy... too easy.

I took the SIM (Subscriber Identity Module - I bet you didn't know that...) card out of the old phone and opened up the new one to insert it. Even though it is described as a 'micro' it was too big. I needed a 'nano'.

So I requested a new SIM from my ISP (Internet Service Provider - I bet you DID know that) and it arrived in a couple of days.

I followed all the instructions written on the envelope which came with the tiny little card and - hey presto - found that I had locked myself out of my account because I had inadvertently created a new one.

I had to use the new user-name created by them to get onto the forum to scream for help to get me back into my account. I just want to go home... I sobbed.

About a week later - with the help of a couple of my ISP's engineers and the parting with my innermost personal details, I am back in the world of Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Instagram and all the other intrusive institutions that I never use.

BUT I can make calls again.

29 comments:

  1. Commodore PET - Personal Electronic Transactor. Bet you didn't know that.

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  2. I read all the way to the end …. ATWTTE !!! XXXX

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  3. So many people have the same problems with IT..so you are not alone.
    Isn't that something the boffins and geeks should look at?

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  4. The world has become very complex and even broken in some cases. Know you are not alone when dealing with all the crap. My Modus Operandi is: "Expect the unexpected..."

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  5. As they said here before, you are not alone in this.

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  6. Oh Tom. I love you. It's a good job we are not married because talk about the blind leading the blind. I have a dear friend who is an absolute whizz with anything to do with tv, computers, and all similar mysteries. She is also calm, collected and more than willing to help with things like retuning the television.Without her I would have had a nervous breakdown long ago.

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    1. I cannot remember the last time I returned a television.

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  7. I haven't a clue about transferring data from an old phone to a new, so you sound rather tech savvy to me. I depend on my sons, and also the store where I bought my phone.

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    1. My shop told me to go away and do it myself. I have no sons... not after what they did to me...

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  8. I have had similar problems with digital tech. Tom. They expect you to figure it out for yourself. Imagine buying a car with the same after sales lack of service and advice.

    the young rule the digital world these days.

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    1. Ask John Gray about Tik Tok. He's quite savvy about that.

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  9. I hate this world of passwords, accounts, apps and scams. Why do we have to have all this? If technology had stopped still fifteen years ago the world would be no worse for it and most people wouldn't have to spend hours trying to figure out why they have been locked out of their devices! It's all a way to get your money, either by built in obsolescence or theft. Rant, rant, rant……..

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  10. Avus, if you buy new from the mobile phone shop they do the change over for you.

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  11. I feel with you, Tom - more than you can imagine: yesterday my son informed me that my "old" cellphone (bought new, only 2 years old) now was strangly deformed where the battery sits - danger of fire!!!
    I took the train to Nuremberg, bought a new one - and was so lucky that son did install all those things like WhatsApp, (the whole chat), photos (11.648 !). some Apps - all that he brought over to the new cellphone, which today I can use perfectly.
    I am so lucky - without a cellphone one feels like an alien without connection to the world.

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    1. iCloud installation is child's play - if you can spare an hour or two.

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  12. I have a grandson. Some day he will immigrate to Oregon or Washington (wherever Silicon Valley is now) and finish inventing the world's coolest game. In the meantime, he lives half an hour away and works on my problems for decent wages from me.

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    1. I'll do it for half of what that thieving bastard charges you.

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