Reliance on Cell Phones

[ivinsfan]

Agreed. I don't have a single appliance etc that is tied to my cell phone. I see no need for it

I think the idea is it's supposed to help with the diagnosis if the machine goes wonky...

 

[Sunset]

.....

What I've noticed is that every time we turn around, we find out you have to have a smart phone to DO almost everything (including a home test for Covid.) I see no reason for "living" my life plugged into a phone. I'm not cool with connecting everything about my life to an App. It's clear that - even when you PAY for a service, YOU are still the product in today's App-for-everything world. SO far, I'm not buying in though I'm certain we are approaching a world where you either App or you don't (fill in the blank - fly, drive, buy, enter, probably mate.) .....

I really like my phone and what it can do.

But, I do see (especially since I don't have data on my phone) that people without a phone or too old to learn, are being left behind.

Example: lots of grocery stores force people to login, click on coupons individually, to get better prices for stuff, don't have a phone or want to click on 50 things, pay more as you don't get the sales.

Soon I'll have to pay for data instead of paying $3/mo for my phone, I'll be paying ~$20/mo. so companies can track me better

 

[Koolau]

I really like my phone and what it can do.

But, I do see (especially since I don't have data on my phone) that people without a phone or too old to learn, are being left behind.

Example: lots of grocery stores force people to login, click on coupons individually, to get better prices for stuff, don't have a phone or want to click on 50 things, pay more as you don't get the sales.

Soon I'll have to pay for data instead of paying $3/mo for my phone, I'll be paying ~$20/mo. so companies can track me better

Now you're getting it!

 

[travelover]

This thread is living proof that no matter how personal, trivial, or inconsequential, no topic is immune from petty bickering.

Wait - you needed more proof?

 

[Sue J]

I think the idea is it's supposed to help with the diagnosis if the machine goes wonky...

Yes, the email from my washer tells me that no issues have been detected with the water supply, the drain performance or the spin performance. And it has the diagnostic thing to connect to if I ever have a problem.

I bought the washer for the brand, features and price. It my first washer that has a chime signal and also an alert to the app when it's done. That is very handy. The app works on my ipad, I never put the app on my phone. The app also lets me see the progress of the load and I think the newest update allows me to pause the washer, I haven't tried it.

All these frills are nice touches but you can still operate the washer just fine without a phone or ipad or the app.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Because I had no idea they required a cell phone.

When I bought the action camera there was nothing in the description, or even in the reviews, that indicated it wouldn't work without a small range of compatible cell phones. I wouldn't have wasted my time or money on it otherwise.

The thermostat came with my mini-split. I didn't buy it individually. It wasn't till I went to use it that I discovered I had to use my cell phone to change anything other than basic settings. So it's basically useless for me.

I bought my home stereo for it's sound quality, inputs and outputs, etc. While it doesn't "require" a cell phone, there are some options that are difficult to set without a phone. Again, this isn't made clear until you've already bought the thing and start using it.

OK, makes sense. As to the stereo I just bought a new AVR and I understand how it will work just fine without a cell phone but that a cell phone can unlock some features and options that aren't readily available with the remote that came with the stereo.

I can also access the user menu of the stereo from my PC by typing in the internet address of the receiver (assuming it's on the local wifi network.) You might look into this.

The point is there are no other options. Manufacturers just assume you have a cell phone that works with their device. It also assumes I want to have a phone in my hand all the time. I don't.

Funny story, depending on your viewpoint.

I have a friend (retired) who has a PhD in physics and has resisted buying a cell phone. He's completely technical savvy, has been using computers since the 70's. He's just resisted getting a cell phone. Recently we went (drove separately) to an MLB game and the parking lot that we use no longer had attendants to take your money at the entrance(s). Instead, they have "stations" with QR codes where you scan the QR code with your phone, enter your vehicle's license plate, your name, and a credit card number to pay for your parking. No phone, so he was screwed. After the game he had a "parking notice" under his wipers which asked him to pay the parking fee plus a $10 penalty.

i asked him when he was getting a cell phone and he said he would be forced to get one when his Tesla he ordered got delivered, sometime next spring.

 

[sengsational]

Second "BS" Phone

Like the OP, I'm also annoyed by the data-grab aspect of requiring a cell phone for unrelated things like A/C or cameras. Does anyone else keep a second "BS cell phone" for such things? I know one person (my daughter), plus myself, who have factory reset an old phone and use that for many of these BS uses. I had a BS phone with a real phone number in the past, but let that lapse, so it's wifi only, currently. It often is good enough, but might now work for everything. You add a "Joe Dokes" google account get your camera or air conditioner running, and you never check the email after the setup. If you don't have an old phone, you can get one on eBay without spending much. You can also get a phone plan for almost nothing*,** if you only use it very occasionally to complete some BS setup process. The examples, below, might not be optimal, but just to show there are some really cheap ways to have a BS phone at the ready.

By the way, if someone has a better name for a phone used in this way, I'm all ears.

* For example, $10 set-up and it looks like $0 monthly (but "taxes" are a question) will get you 10 text messages per month and 25Mb of data per month. https://www.freedompop.com/plans/free-plan

** For example, $10 pre-pay will allow you to do SMS at $0.05 per SMS (sent or received). The annual on this one is $30, I think, because although the money carries over, the 'line' must be renewed every 120 days. https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/10-standard-pin/

*** Here's another possibility: https://textfree.us/ It looks like you load an app, they give you a phone number, and you're off to the races.

 

[Koolau]

Like the OP, I'm also annoyed by the data-grab aspect of requiring a cell phone for unrelated things like A/C or cameras. Does anyone else keep a second "BS cell phone" for such things? I know one person (my daughter), plus myself, who have factory reset an old phone and use that for many of these BS uses. I had a BS phone with a real phone number in the past, but let that lapse, so it's wifi only, currently. It often is good enough, but might now work for everything. You add a "Joe Dokes" google account get your camera or air conditioner running, and you never check the email after the setup. If you don't have an old phone, you can get one on eBay without spending much. You can also get a phone plan for almost nothing*,** if you only use it very occasionally to complete some BS setup process. The examples, below, might not be optimal, but just to show there are some really cheap ways to have a BS phone at the ready.

By the way, if someone has a better name for a phone used in this way, I'm all ears.

* For example, $10 set-up and it looks like $0 monthly (but "taxes" are a question) will get you 10 text messages per month and 25Mb of data per month. https://www.freedompop.com/plans/free-plan

** For example, $10 pre-pay will allow you to do SMS at $0.05 per SMS (sent or received). The annual on this one is $30, I think, because although the money carries over, the 'line' must be renewed every 120 days. https://www.pagepluscellular.com/plans/10-standard-pin/

*** Here's another possibility: https://textfree.us/ It looks like you load an app, they give you a phone number, and you're off to the races.

Looks like a possible way to deal with the BS but so far, I'm "resisting" and refuse to play their silly little game. At some point, I suppose, I'll probably have to give up and play. Right now, it just means I lose a coupon or two and maybe I can't take a Covid test. I'm okay with that for now. We'll see when I need a phone to fly or rent a car.

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[disneysteve]

A health care provider has a portal that has added much value to my life so I use that application.

Great example of the value of our phones. My wife was recently in the hospital for 19 days and my mom was also in at the same time for 6 of those days. Every time either of them had a new test result, I got a notification and could immediately see it on my phone. That made everything incredibly better and more efficient as I could address any concerns immediately with the staff.

 

[disneysteve]

Agreed. I don't have a single appliance etc that is tied to my cell phone. I see no need for it

Same here. Our dishwasher does have wifi capacity but we've never connected it. We have no reason to do so. That's the only "smart" device we own.


The one device that we do use our phones for occasionally is our TVs but I love that option. We have Roku TVs. We can use the Roku app as our remote. We can also use it to play the sound through our ear buds via the phone. That's a great feature when I want to lie in bed and watch TV but DW isn't watching the show with me. That way I don't have to disturb her.

 

[disneysteve]

Excluding 14% of Americans from (say) heart monitors and at-home Covid tests

Why would you need a phone to do a home COVID test? We've used home tests numerous times. There was no phone involved. You do the swab, mix the solution, and wait for the result. Pretty simple process.

 

[athena53]

When I complained to CVS that their COvid home test required a smart phone they said "Well, it's right on the box that you need one." I looked at the box and, yes, it did say that. It wasn't quite "small-print" but it was buried in the glowing verbiage about how great the test was. It was the only test they had and they couldn't keep them in stock - so I bought one before they were gone again. I just did NOT expect a home test would need a cell phone. I am certain that the test could easily be made to be used WITHOUT a cell phone.

Is it a "proctored" test? The freebie government tests don't require a phone at all. The ones I took requiring a phone were for travel because you uploaded your ID and someone watched you swab your nose (Eeuw) and verified the results. I'm sure if I thought hard enough I could figure out a way to fake it with a swab from a friend known to have tested negative, but the process is designed to make sure it's you doing the test.

 

[calmloki]

My gal uses her Iphones HARD and rarely doesn't have one in hand - and in bed goes to sleep with podcasts muttering in her ear. We fondly remember her Mom asking her to do something on her celltop - a great portmanteau.

I'm not a huge fan of my cell - have it set to flash and vibrate as well as ring as I'm a wee bit deaf - gotta say it is real exciting to have a buzz in your pants when working in a hot electrical breaker panel - and it's your honey calling just to ask "whacha doing?".

I've replaced Iphone batteries a number of times, a fiddly shaky pawed task for Mr. Cheakskate - we use the Iphones for a number of things after retiring them from telephone duty - the afore mentioned podcast players, music transmitting players, security cameras.

I've found the phone real handy - a friend was having issues with his aircooled VW engine: I was able to use the phone camera to shoot the #1 cylinder sparkplug hole and reveal a backed out plug repair insert. Also used it to shoot the ID label on a water heater that was stuffed into a small cabinet - boom, was then able to expand the picture and read the model and serial numbers. Used it the other day to shoot the price/model data on some refrigerators in HD and Lowes for price shopping.
Sometimes I even call on it and reluctantly text.

 

[athena53]

And.... I had a new garage door opener installed and just for the "cool factor" got one that can be controlled by my phone. It was installed last week and the guy went over all the push button controls but didn't mention the smartphone app. I know they don't want to sit there while I download an app and poke through menus and connect to the Internet but.. I just found out I need to take the front off the unit to get access to a QR code and a button. Would have been REAL nice if he'd told me that during installation.

So, when I get motivated I have to back the car out, put the ladder up and pull the front off the unit.

Fun.

 

[Koolau]

Why would you need a phone to do a home COVID test? We've used home tests numerous times. There was no phone involved. You do the swab, mix the solution, and wait for the result. Pretty simple process.

My question exactly. Why would you need a phone to do a home test? But the only home test I could find required a phone app. to get your results. As I suggested above, I assume you do the test and it tells you "something" which you then must input to the app and find out yea or nay. Why? I assume they want your name and phone # to eventually try to sell you something but I don't know. And that would be the optimist's point of view. YMMV

 

[RunningBum]

My new fridge has wifi, not the full blown kind where you can leave messages to others in your family or somehow use it to help decide what groceries you can buy, but just a more basic monitoring function. Or so I thought. I can change the temp of my fridge, freezer, or "flex" drawer, but I can't see the actual temp. Someone already pointed that out on some review and a Samsung rep replied that the temp would be whatever you set it to. Yeah, right, unless it isn't working right, like my last fridge. The only good feature I see is that it will beep a notification if a fridge door is left open too long.

 

[grasshopper]

Great example of the value of our phones. My wife was recently in the hospital for 19 days and my mom was also in at the same time for 6 of those days. Every time either of them had a new test result, I got a notification and could immediately see it on my phone. That made everything incredibly better and more efficient as I could address any concerns immediately with the staff.

When I broke my big toe(open compound) the ER doc wanted to give me a tetanus shot. I knew I just had one for a trip to Africa. So I signed into my GP's portal and found my vaccination records. Not a big deal, but the ER doc was impressed.

 

[Katsmeow]

I bought my home stereo for it's sound quality, inputs and outputs, etc. While it doesn't "require" a cell phone, there are some options that are difficult to set without a phone. Again, this isn't made clear until you've already bought the thing and start using it.
/QUOTE]

I do agree with you that they should be clear about whether and how something will work without a cell phone.

As for some features (but not all) requiring a cell phone I think it is all in how you look at it.

I have some solar shades in my sunroom that work in 3 different ways. I can use a remote. I can use Alexa commands and I can use an app on my phone. Now, there are things you can do with the App and with Alexa (which requires the app) that you can't do with the remote. I can raise the shades to a specific percentage for example.

The remote does a lot of stuff but not everything. However, some functions just require software to allow you to do certain things. If you aren't using that tiny handheld computer (your smartphone) then the physical device simply can't do those functions. The computer or smartphone adds features that literally could not exist in any other way. In those cases, then it doesn't bother me that they do that.

It does bother me when I don't have as many functions using my desktop as when I use the smartphone. This is so even when using a web browser. The reality is that it is not worth their while to do the programming for every browser when the vast majority of their traffic comes from mobile. I wish it wasn't that way, but I understand why it is.

 

[ivinsfan]

Great example of the value of our phones. My wife was recently in the hospital for 19 days and my mom was also in at the same time for 6 of those days. Every time either of them had a new test result, I got a notification and could immediately see it on my phone. That made everything incredibly better and more efficient as I could address any concerns immediately with the staff.

I hope everything is OK with your DW and your Mom . We are lay people but I can't tell you how helpful the Epic charting platform has been for us. My DH was in the hospital for 8 days in 2018 for very serious issues and being able to see and double things that we didn't process the first time was game changing on our stress levels.

 

[Graybeard]

Well stated. It's not being a Luddite to prefer choices. Also, not everyone has a cell phone (and even fewer have smart phones.) Newsweek claims that 1 in 7 Americans do NOT have cell phones. Excluding 14% of Americans from (say) heart monitors and at-home Covid tests because they don't have a cell phone is inappropriate IMHO. I called the Covid test provider and asked if I could download their app to my computer. NOPE! Can ONLY use a cell phone. What the heck! And why do you need to give your data to someone else - especially HIPPA guarded stuff? Do the Apps follow HIPPA? I don't know and I'm betting most folks don't know. How well do they guard your info? I don't know.

End of rant and YMMV.

1 in 7! I thought I was the only person in the country that does not own a cell phone (smart or not)!

One day watching TV there is a tribe of Masai out in the wilds of Kenya and I'll be damned if they aren't using cell phones! At that point I thought I was one of maybe 1,000 people on the planet without a cell phone! At that moment I felt like I was living on another planet and totally out of touch with reality. I came to my senses and realized I really don't have a use for a cell phone and won't buy one just because the rest of the world has one permanently attached to the palm of their hand. I won't go into the myriad of reasons, the list is too long and I don't feel like spending the time to enumerate them just to be poo pooed.

 

[ivinsfan]

1 in 7! I thought I was the only person in the country that does not own a cell phone (smart or not)!

One day watching TV there is a tribe of Masai out in the wilds of Kenya and I'll be damned if they aren't using cell phones! At that point I thought I was one of maybe 1,000 people on the planet without a cell phone! At that moment I felt like I was living on another planet and totally out of touch with reality. I came to my senses and realized I really don't have a use for a cell phone and won't buy one just because the rest of the world has one permanently attached to the palm of their hand. I won't go into the myriad of reasons, the list is too long and I don't feel like spending the time to enumerate them just to be poo pooed.

Actually pew research says cell phone use is around 97% and smartphone use is around 85%. So it's not 1 in 7 for cell phones. But cell phones can text for things like 2 steps log ins and such. I do wonder if babies born today will see old telephone poles and lines and ask What do you use that for? I see it coming!

 

[RobbieB]

I can't answer mine now because I'm in the house and I left the phone in the car.

Which I usually do because I like Android Auto which will take me to any place by spoken name and route me around traffic as needed.

 

[ivinsfan]

Nope, not the same. The OP complained that a four year old phone did not perform a simple function because the software had been superseded. New features on cars don't render older cars nonfunctional. That is the difference.

Actually if you bought a cheapie low end phone 4 years ago it could be several models older then a new one it might be 6 to 7 years old.I guess if you want to buy phones less often and have them keep working by a newer model even if it cost a little more money.

 

[explanade]

I do find smartphones handy for a few apps. It very helpful when traveling (though I do also bring along a tablet and/or small laptop for major app/typing usage). I do not get folks who seem to constantly use it for games, but that is just me.

I just wish, as we become more reliant on cell phones, they would make them more efficient. But that is a pipe dream. Perhaps it is just my IT background, but it seems they are built more for "marketing" than efficiency. Some things that cause me to view it this way:
- The operating system + provided apps take up so much memory (one could argue more than mainframe operating systems). My 32GB memory cell phone came with only 5-6 GB free memory.
- They come way overloaded with apps you never use but cannot remove.
- Even though you can add SD card storage, very few phones or apps allow you to move then to the SD card.

These and other related things impact dealing with relying on these phones.

Sounds like an old phone, most new ones stopped supporting SD cards or removable storage a few years ago.

 

[explanade]

Hmm... That would be helpful in our situation. Do you have more info on getting/sending SMS text messages over wifi? Of course, I'm betting my four year old phone is too old for that sort of thing.

For instance on iPhones, the iMessage app has your SMS and just IP-based chat come through in the same app.

The text bubbles have different colors depending on which.

My iPhone is using Wifi calling otherwise I have a weak T-Mobile signal inside my home (though if I walk outside and go about 50 feet, I get a great signal.

SMS can be slow sometimes. That could be the carrier or that could be for instance a bank sending a 2FA code.

In general, I use Google Voice number for 2FA because SMS can be vulnerable to SIM-jacking. But some banks won't let you use GV though out of all the financial institutions I deal with, maybe one or two make me still use SMS.