I had been using my sister's "pay as you go" phone but forgot to add money to it before the minutes expired and cannot seem to do so now.

My brother is having issues with figuring out how to get a Covid shot and ID theft. He had no cell phone and doesn't use a computer. Today he went to a T-Mobile store and set us up with some "budget" smart phones. (Sorry Marian.) I have been watching videos which are of no use to me since they all seem to think I understand what they are talking about. I have been going back and forth between the phone and the manual with my magnifying glass (can't see either without it) and getting nowhere. Somehow after moving my fingers around on the screen for about 10 minutes I managed to call my brother but am not sure how (and he did not answer, not knowing who could/would be calling him). I could not duplicate my actions. Then he called me and I didn't know how to answer it.

Hoping somebody can get a laugh out of this!

I definitely got a laugh out of this! Not only because of your apology to me, but your last few sentences sound exactly like what would happen to me in the same situation.

oldbroad, I hate learning new tech! My phone is about the only thing I have a handle on! I have lots of other gadgets gathering dust!

I hear you oldbroad, even though I am great with computers, well Smart phones are another story, I keep messing things up, maybe they come out with an "Idiot phone" for people like myself.

I can build you a computer, but I loathe cell phones! That's what I tell anyone who needs help with a cell phone! Starcom, they actually DO have Idiot Phones AKA old people phones!

Hi Draclvr, do these old people phones! come equipped with a young person who does the dialing, scrolling, etc. for us?

Part of what made me decide it might be time to try to learn how to use a Smart phone is because of more places going cashless, such as Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team). You now need a smart phone to get in and to buy food there. However, in two of the videos I watched, I am under the impression that this particular phone is not capable of that anyway (though I may have mis-understood what I heard).

I didn't intend to actually go anyplace cashless but would like to know how to and have the capability of doing so if I have to.

Hi again oldbroad, from what I read you can also use other Cashless methods to pay for your tickets , food, etc. Below is an excerpt from the Link below the excerpt.

Wrigley Field will be cashless for all purchases in 2021. Payment can include a credit card, debit card or mobile wallet. Reverse ATMs will be available for fans to convert cash to a card that can be used for purchases at Wrigley Field and elsewhere.

https://www.mlb.com/cubs/ballpark/information/guide

Thanks for that link Starcom. My understanding of what I had read, was that you had to have a Smart phone to be scanned (your ticket I guess) into the ballpark and order your food via your smart phone. I don't know how it all works.

https://abc7chicago.com/sports/cubs-unveil-new-touchless-entry-system-at-wrigley-field/10445012/

Whatever the exact method of payment is, it still sounds like you need a smartphone to do it.

My phone has "no NFC for mobile payments or boarding passes" (quote from PC Magazine review). Personally, I have no idea whatsoever what this means!!

I guess you need that MLB Ballpark app and to know how to scan (which I do not).

I am sure their must a Youngster in your family or your area that can help you with the download of the app. And then they can teach you how to use it. Learning how to use an app is not the Hard part for me, it is the D"$n Clicking on it or the aiming of it, Grrrrrrr..
Anyway, good luck and there must be a way to purchase a ticket, I am sure you could do it Online, then print your ticket and when you get to the booth, you put the barcode on the scanner, I know this works for other functions which I used in the past like hockey games, concerts, etc.

Thanks Starcom. I'm not really planning any trips to the ballpark although I used to enjoy going once in a while. It's just the fact that more places are going this route now, especially since this pandemic hit.

I have no youngsters in the family to teach me any of this. I have a young friend in a neighboring state who I emailed some questions to. I also don't have a working printer and wouldn't know anything about "the scanner".
Maybe I will learn something though by fiddling around and from my friend. Keep in mind though, that after almost 10 years of my sister's flip phone, I still had trouble making calls on IT!!

When I tell callers (to my landline) or folk at websites that I don't use a mobile phone, there is usually a shocked silence

But mostly I do then get informed of other ways I can make contact or be contacted.

However, what beats me the most is why so many people seems to feel the need to walk round with a mobile phone glued to their ear in whatever situation or location they might be - and for every minute of the day !!

On top of which, the whole world gets to hear their conversations .... whether they want to or not

Guess I'm just too old fashioned for words, huh ??

I agree with you Mad, I have a cell phone but I use if for car travel emergencies and limited contact. When companies, business, etc. ask me if I have a cell phone # I tell them I don't have one because I know they will use that #, so I tell them they can contact me on my landline. A pain in the buttocks. Now people don't even bother talk to each other ... they just like to text, text, text and on and on back and forth, wouldn't it be just quicker to phone?
Nah, too simple and too Old fashioned, yup, put me in the Old Geezer Category.

oldbroad, I don't live that far from you. If you send me phone model, info, I can figure it out and teach you.

Also, You Tube is good for this. You can usually find a video on You Tube if you put the model in search and perhaps the words how to work... I watched videos when I first got my iphone.. I do better with visuals.

Mad and Starcom, I agree completely. I will not get rid of my landline and I really don't talk much to anybody. Just need the cell phones as a back up because that is the way the world is going. I may try to call an old friend of mine who lives in Florida. I could not call her before because I don't have long distance service on my landline. And my friend in Indiana maybe. My friend in Chicago will continue to be talked to on the landline. That actually covers half of my friends .

I really never cared for people sitting next to me on the bus yakking away on their phone while I was trying to read and relax after a miserable day at work. And I agree talking seems quicker and easier than texting.

Ana, that is nice of you but I think I just need to figure it out myself or it will go in one ear and out the other.

Winfrey, I've been watching but most of the videos seem to assume you are familiar with a cell phone, just maybe not a particular phone. When they say, push the "this" button or the "that" button, I don't know what buttons those are. Or to adjust "this or that", I don't know what the "this or that" is that I'm adjusting. I have that problem with games that have too many options. I don't know what all those options are or mean so I never adjust them. The only game adjustments I like are for volume control and captioning, and with the captioning I can't always tell if it's on or off until I get into the game.

One part of a video I was watching was showing how to change "waking the phone up". I kept pausing the video here and there to try stuff. This part showed what to do so you can just tap the phone two times instead of pushing the button on the side. I find that button awkward to use so I tried this two tap thing. It works only sometimes though, at least for me?? I don't know.

Ah oldbroad, so good to see that I am not the only who curses at this Tap this or double tap this or the Bleep the Bleep bleep.... Swipe, Argh!!!!, are you kidding me, when people see me doing this Swipe thing in the Grocery store they think that I am trying to kill a fly. I really miss my good old Flip phone, no fuss no muss, just flip, dial and talk, finished? close the flip phone and done.

The worst part is that my brother paid double at T-Mobile than what I was going to pay for both the plan and phones at Consumer Cellular, and we are both already considering this a waste of money and time. He tried using it for something he was needing to do and still had issues - not from the phone itself, but from the other end of the call. They are proving to be useless to us so far. I still cannot make a call the same way two times in a row. One time I do it and the next time I do the same exact thing and something else happens. I am so not cut out for this digital stuff. I was either born too early or too late, not sure which!

I actually "fibbed" about not owning a mobile.
I DO have one.
However, it's the most basic of basics and is only switched on when I am out driving somewhere - so I can call family or emergency services if I need to
And no-one but family members have the number

That's how I feel it should be Mad!

Thought I was making progress but NOPE! It all seems to be gone now .

Can't figure it out?

Well, that thing where I should be able to tap the phone instead of use the button to wake it up still almost never works. I don't know why they ask you to "deny" or "accept" everything because if you deny everything, which I did at first since I don't know what any of it is, then the phone won't work. You pretty much HAVE to accept everything so why are you given a choice?

I did finally get it set up including creating a Google account. Then several days ago I put 5 or 6 "contacts" in there. I was trying to figure out how to use them. They were there for those several days. Today, POOF! They're gone. I did, however, manage to dial some number while on "video call" and couldn't figure out how to hang up and get out of it. But, I do know how to dial a number so I can use it.

Such fun!

You gotta love technology, oldbroad!

My husband is a Ph.D. and the smartest person I know, but he cannot get the hang of his phone. If all goes well he can use it to make and take calls, but if by accident he changes a setting or if it updates and something changes, he's completely at sea. I usually have to set it all up for him again.

A younger friend of ours was shocked to see that there were no apps on my husband's phone and added a few that he thinks are essential, but they'll sit unused, for sure.

MY very basic mobile doesn't know apps from naps .... Much like me !!

That's the best one I've heard in a long time, Mad! Must tell my friend who just got a phone and is equally as clueless as you say you are!

Purposely clueless, Draclvr, because I choose not to have my life patterned by endless texts or calls I don't want or need.
That's why my mobile will remain basic

And she intends to remain equally as purposely clueless! She's not interested in texts or spammy calls. She wants it for emergencies if she is down feeding at her barn. She lives alone and cares for about 75 rescued animals by herself at nearly 70 years old.

How wonderful !!

When I first had a smart phone, the scanning/rolling aspect drove me nuts to the point I switched to a flip phone. Made finding a phone number easier, but had little room and not easily adaptable to downloading or playing games. When the battery died, couldn't find a replacement. Got another similar model whose battery died within 6 months and learned no replacement for that one either. Got fed up and went back to smart phone but chose to get one with a small monthly payment plan. I don't use half the icons on it cause I don't understand them, just complicates things for me. I'm sure I don't use my phone for half the things that could be done but I'm okay with that. Long as I can call, text, games and a few photos, I'm happy.

The next time you have trouble getting a battery for your phone, check Amazon, that is what I did because I swear not to God but to somebody that these Phone Companies purposely change the Models slightly and tell you they No longer have batteries for it, ALL this to get you to Upgrade your phone where the $$$$ making scheme is. I would not be surprised that when you try and get a battery for your Smart Phone... Whoops, they no longer have it, Not to worry Sir or Mam, you can do an upgrade.... Arrgh!....

Oh, it's worse than that, Starcom. Most of the new high end phones are sealed and you CAN'T put in a new battery if needed!

Are you kidding me Draclvr, I would definitely Stay Away from those types of phones unless they could Guaranty at Least 5 years minimum battery life.
Wow, thanks for the info Draclvr.

Starcom, that's good to know. Though at the time, I hardly ever purchased anything from Amazon, figured it was faster to go to the store. That all changed with covid. Haven't in much of any store since then.

Well how very BAD is that ????

Actually, i have a very high end Iphone and they will switch out the battery if needed. Samsung (Android) does the same. Fortunately, the batteries last for years and it is rarely needed.

Key word is "they!" To get to my Samsung battery, I have to melt the adhesive along the edges, unplug the fingerprint scanner and remove 6 or 7 screws inside to get to the battery! I don't have a service through Verizon or ATT or T-Mobile. Someone who used to work at an ATT store told me they have to do the same things and hardly anyone will do it. He said iPhones are even worse. But like you say, the batteries last for years and they rarely need to be changed, unlike the old ones.

thanks for the info BrownEyedTiger, the next time I have to get a new phone, err I mean an Upgrade I will look into the Battery life of a phone.

Draclvr: You sure have a Lot of Patience and Skills to be able to Dig out the Old battery the way you describe it, I admire you.

i have a iphone, but the ringtone does not work, i can only use it to call people.

I gave up trying to figure my phone out. It stopped being something funny and just got annoying!

We are probably going to be forced into getting one by the end of the year. Our cell phone will not work with the 5 G network that the provider is switching to next February. I really resent it all, but in all likelihood we won't have a choice, even though we will only use it for emergencies.

I'm sure you won't have any problem with it Marian.

I don't like them, but I think I've finally mastered mine - as long as it's an Android and not an iphone.

finally got my iphone figure out, went to apple at cumberland mall, a lady show me and then my husband show me the flap to lift up to unmute it, my voice mail works, have my wallpaper, all set.

That is good family!

So, a year later and I still don't know how to really use this phone, though to be fair, I gave up bothering with it. However, my landline phone has not worked properly for about three months now and I have not felt energetic enough to deal with it so I had to give the cell phone number out to my one friend who calls me every day. I still have trouble answering it, having to swipe it multiple times for some reason, and also, the phone hangs up on us a lot. I am very careful not to touch anything while talking so I'm not sure why it always hangs up while we are talking. But, I am excited to report the following.

One time when the phone camera came on by accident and I realized it was on, I took a couple of pictures of my cat (really, basically one picture but three times. I think in one of them she opened her eye to ask me why I was bothering her while she was sleeping, so that one is slightly different. I haven't had a working camera for a long time so the only pictures I had of these last cats of mine are from when they were still kittens or no more than 1-1/2 years old anyway, I'd say. Last night I tried for at least an hour to get those pictures into my computer without success. Today, I tried again (another hour or so) and I GOT THEM! So happy, but so wishing I had more of them.

Good for you, oldbroad! My hubby STILL has problems with getting just the right touch to swipe things on his smartphone. But he has been able to get used to it quite well. I absolutely HAD to get rid of the old land line. It rang constantly with nothing but telemarketers and spam and I just got sick of it. It sounds like your connection is blipping out. I have a couple of places in my house where mine will do that too.

The way I get pictures from my phone to the computer is to open up my email on the phone, attach the photos and send them to the email account I use on my computer. Voila! There they are!

Since the earlier posts on this topic, we upgraded our cell phone to a 5G cell phone. We still do not have a smartphone.

We did, however, purchase an Amazon Fire tablet and were pleasantly surprised by how useful it is, including the pictures we are able to take with it, which are quite nice and of very good quality.

Congrats on getting the photos onto your computer, ob!

Thanks.

My phone is a 4G Android. I've often wondered what to do with a tablet and how to use it. I don't have anything to take pictures of anymore really.

For me, the tablet is like having a small television where I can watch Amazon Prime videos and YouTube while I am in bed, winding down before going to sleep. We don't have any working regular televisions in our house (we got rid of those years ago), and I haven't missed it at all. But it is nice to be able to watch the programs mentioned above for an hour or so in the evening. Even better, I am not bombarded with prescription drug commercials like I would be if I were watching regular television.

Wow, no televisions at all. I have a small one in my bedroom that is on almost constantly. I need it to fall asleep. If it is quiet, my mind goes to bad places.

Mine is a 5G Android, but we don't have 5G service out here in the country. But if they ever DO get it here, I can get it. Won't be that useful for me because I don't use my phone for anything but calls, texting and taking pictures.

I had some bad news this evening from the cousin of a friend of mine and while talking to her she sent me something via text. I have never used text but knowing that she sent something I went looking and found it along with a couple hundred others which took me 20 minutes or so to delete. But - now I know where to find text messages even if I don't know how to send one. Such progress huh?

John was always bad with text messages. I finally gave up.

But the most resistant to change is my brother in law, who lives in Southampton. He's now 76, and STILL, to this day, doesn't have a cell phone. He doesn't even have an answering machine. This is a supremely intelligent man, but electronics just defeat him. I've bought a second tablet with a little clip-on microphone so I can Skype him (yes, he still uses Skype only) every now and then. I walk around the house showing him the cats and the view and we can have little visit.

It was awful when I tried to get in touch with him to tell him about John, though. I finally had to email him.

I've never used Skype, Face Time, or Zoom or anything like that, nor have I ever used a tablet.

Me neither, oldbroad .... except for tablets.

I buy refurbished iPads that come with a guarantee and am currently on my second one.

Both have been good buys and lasted very well indeed and without any problems

My husband couldn't text even if I showed him how! The man is 6' 6" tall and has huge hands. The idea of him trying to tap those tiny little keys with his fingers is hysterical. However, he's really good about using his cell phone - probably better than I am. I had to make sure he was comfortable with it before I got rid of the horrible land line. We got so many tele-marketers and spam calls on it, it was impossible to wade through them to find a message from a doctor or someone else. SO glad to get rid of that thing.

I dearly love my Surface tablet for reading every night and for taking with me when we go up to visit my family in Iowa. I can use the internet, do email, post on GB, read the paper etc.

When my mom was still living at home, I set her up with a desktop I built. Her favorite thing was to play pinochle on it, but she could email. At some point, I got her a little camera mounted on the screen and taught her how to Skype. So we could Skype face-to-face every week - it was really nice since I'm 600 miles away. Definitely better than a plain phone call.

We do video chats with the Germans once a month or so using Messenger. That's nice too since they are on the other side of the big pond!

I like having the face-to face of a Skype call -- it's almost like a real visit.

During the last five years of my father-in-law's life John and I would Skype my brother in law Mike and John's father Tony about once every two weeks (Mike lived with his parents until their deaths). Tony was already into his 90's and because of John's illness we couldn't visit in person, so it was a great compromise. I think Tony really enjoyed the calls. He never knew John was sick, so he didn't have that worry, and we'd have tea together on either side of the pond, talk politics, visit with the cat, and tour the garden, if it was summer.

I have used Skype for years with a friend of mine in Portugal as well as to chat with my daughter.

Drac, I get just as many spam calls on the cell phone. That's what those couple hundred texts were that I deleted. But of all the stupid things, I usually delete all those calls off of my answering machine. Well, it just happens that for 3 days I didn't, and wouldn't you know I hear an actual real person leaving a message for me all of a sudden. I had to delete 38 tele-marketing calls before I got to the only real call.

Interesting to see how differently we use our gadgets. Linda and I both read on kindles, and prefer screens not backlit for that, but otherwise she lives on her iPad while I use the a desktop computer (partly because my eyesight is too poor for a small screen).
We still have a landline via fibre with our internet connection (some scam calls but not an oppressive number), but I have a very old mobile for business: good for phone, text, and camera but not suitable for much else as it cannot handle the latest apps!
I only learned to use texts when one of my daughters sent me one while I was on a train travelling to meet her, and it offered me a reply option..., but I still prefer email from a desktop (probably partly because my height and hand size are similar to those of Drac's husband).
Nether of us enjoy films or TV on a small screen so we have a big TV in the lounge with a soundbar for greater clarity of dialogue, and a smaller one in the kitchen, but so far we have not been tempted to add one in the bedroom.

Oh, I get 3 or 4 spam calls a week on my cell phone too, oldbroad. But I immediately block and then delete them. If I hadn't looked at my phone calls and texts for months, I'd have a ton of them too! We were getting a minimum of 15 - 20 telemarketer and spam calls every DAY on the old land line.

I get a couple of scam phone calls on my cell every week, usually in both English and Chinese, saying I owe tax money and the cops are coming to my door to arrest me unless I go out and buy some Bitcoin to pay. It's laughable, except that apparently a lot of recent immigrants and elderly people have been taken in by the scam. At one point it was every day, but our phone companies have started to crack down somehow..

I use my landline a lot.

When I replaced the equipment a few years ago, I got a set-up put in place that won't accept calls from anyone who doesn't disclose the number they're calling from.
And on the very infrequent occasions a cold call DOES get through I can immediately block it from ever getting through again and then delete it.

[As far as I'm aware, many businesses do still have the freeedom to buy and sell phone numbers if they so desire, be they landline or mobile numbers.]

I still like my land line best for calls, and just use my cell phone for texts. I delete the spam calls on the landline daily. We have six TV's , one in each bedroom, one in the kitchen dining area, one in the living room, and one on the porch. The one in the living room rarely gets used.

Yes indeed, technology presents us with new and differing challenges and the telemarketers are taking full advantage off all means of communication...

When I had my landline, NONE of these telemarketers or spammers were legal. They are supposedly NOT to call you unless you have a prior relationship with them. Every one was illegal. I did get one of them charged and fined. I used to report the worst of them to my attorney general's office. One that was persistent was the American Girl Doll company. I reported them several times and saw about a year later they were fined almost $500,000 for making these illegal calls. But the telemarketers and spammers finally over ran the AGO's ability to prosecute. They spoofed real numbers like my bank or my hairdresser or even my OWN number! I finally waved the white flag and got rid of the landline.

"When I had my landline, NONE of these telemarketers or spammers were legal"

I think that is still the case, Draclvr, but why would that stop them ????

It DIDN'T stop them! That's why I finally got rid of the landline 3 years ago. The phone rang constantly, I literally wore out an answering machine and I just got tired of wading through 10 or 15 messages every day to make sure something important wasn't there. SUCH a relief to get rid of it.

Well, I'm very glad not to have had YOUR landline facility then, Draclvr !!
You don't seem to have had any help at all 👎

It's the biggest one in the entire USA! Even THEY were overrun by the spammers and telemarketers. We need help from our legislators to ENFORCE the laws they already passed against this stuff. They talk, but nothing happens.

😱😱😱

I think we get spam calls whether it's on a cell or land line. We have a land line & hubby has a flip phone pay as you go from our major grocery store for emergencies, like when hubby calls from the grocery store saying they don't have Duncan Hines spice cake mix but they do have Betty Crocker, is that OK.

Now, THAT is definitely an emergency! We do get spam calls on both, but 10 - 15 a day on the land line as opposed to 3 or 4 a week on my cell phone is tolerable. Plus on my cell phone, I block and delete immediately. I've noticed if I don't block them, I will get 2 or 3 more calls from the same number very shortly. But if I immediately block, it cuts it down to a very low number that I find at least tolerable.

judith!

I thought you no longer had a landline, Draclvr ??

(Love the "cake" emergency calls 😉)

Mad, that's what I USED to get before I got so disgusted that I had it disconnected.

Ahhh. Well using the "present tense" was confusing, Draclvr

Yeah, should have specified, Mad! I thought since I had said several posts back that this was happening before we got rid of it a few years ago, it would carry through!

Sorry but

HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are you totally SURE you hate it oldbroad ?? 😝😝😝

Anything we can help you with? I hate it too, but have figured most of it out!

To be fair it was not the cell phone so much as my ISP and ALL things digital that set me off. I have an email address with them that I only use for my second Big Fish account so I only access it when I purchase from BF. I bought some BF games Sunday so I went to that email to get my receipt. It was asking me for my cell phone number so they could send me a code. I have NEVER put the cell phone number in there and there was not any other option, like I couldn't say I don't have a cell phone or anything. If I truly did not have one I just would not have been able to access my email account - period! I guess I would have had to call them or something. I did not want to put the number in but since I was already unable to get to the emails I figured what the heck? If I was not able to reply to the code it wouldn't make any difference. (I should say that I thought I would have to put the code into the phone somehow and I wouldn't have known how to do that.)

Well, after I put the number in I waited for my phone to do something, which it didn't, so I went searching and clicked on the text icon and saw it and saw that I was supposed to enter the code in my computer. So, I entered the 5 digit code but it was telling me to make sure I put a 6 digit code in and I got frustrated because I only saw a 5 digit code, so I clicked for them to send another code. Nothing showed up on my phone. I finally figured out that I had to open the text to get the code (and both were under that one text). I guess the 5 digit code was their identifier number or whatever it might be called. While clicking around in there I then found a text sent to me a week prior from my friend's cousin (who had called me with bad news and then sent me some info via text - mentioned in a prior post when I first discovered the text stuff). That second text from her was hidden within the first text from her and only appeared when I clicked on the old text.

I have finally calmed down - for now

Well that all sounded horribly frustrating !! But glad to hear you are feeling more calm, now, oldbroad

Finally got the time set right on my phone. It was 7 minutes fast for a very long time. Also, I've learned to use speaker phone. It used to turn on by accident but now I use it every time I talk because all kinds of weird stuff happens if I hold the phone up to my ear. This way I set it down in front of me and it's all good.

Most excellent OldBroad!

Hubby uses his speaker phone all the time. I just can't because the sound is all strange for me!

I do not like when people have me on speaker phone but...

Since I fixed the time though, now it keeps telling me to finish "set-up" and that a bunch of apps were installed???

On a fairly regular basis, you phone's operating system will install a security update... which you should make sure you do. I would go ahead and tap on the finish set-up and see what it wants you to do. Sometimes mine will think I want some games and all I have to do is uncheck them.

Help needed please!

There is some kind of "group chat" in my text messages. It will not let me delete it. It says to go to the group chat to delete it. I don't have any idea what that is or how to find it. Android phone OnePlus Nord N100.

EDIT. Believe it or not, I figured it out with the help of the annoying assistant. The information it gave me was not quite accurate but I did manage to delete it. How does this happen though? How can I be in a group chat that I have not even looked at?

Group chats can be started with anyone having your cell #. They just add people together. They are a nightmare and I remove myself all the time too if someone does it. Glad you figured it out!

It put me in a panic that somebody might hear a conversation I might have or I'd click something I shouldn't, or who knows what. I hope it doesn't happen again because I can not remember from one time to another how to work things. Every now and then my phone internet goes out (?) and it tells me to connect to wi-fi. It takes me 20 minutes every time to find the right place to connect the internet again.

I agree with Ana - Group chats can be really annoying. Yes, I know it's so much easier to send just one text when letting everyone know about Aunt Ruth's funeral arrangements, but then I get all the answers from other people I don't even know. I also remove myself from them as soon as I read them. So happy you figured out how to get rid of it.

To reconnect to WiFi, simply click on Settings - the gear icon - and then Connections. From there, you can connect to your WiFi. I am not very good with cell phones, but I would be happy to walk you through anything. I've become pretty good at that as I have to do it on my husband's phone all the time!

This was not a text from anybody I know. They all know not to text me. This was a scam text from "USPS".

I don't want to connect to wi-fi. When that happens I'm trying to get my regular connection back so I can actually use the phone, but I always have to re-learn how to get to the right place to do that. Can't remember it from one time to the next. It shuts itself off or something. Anyway, thanks for the offer of help. As you see, I do keep posting here when I have a problem that I want to try to tackle.

I just got one of those stupid USPS texts this morning. I first blocked the number and then deleted it. Dang scammers. The link in that text is malicious.

You must be connected to your WiFi in order to be connected to the internet on your phone. Especially if you have "phone internet" like you say. I keep my phone connected to WiFi all the time, but that's because that's how I monitor my security cameras on the phone app.

I one time put my wi-fi number in the phone but I turned that off. I don't even know why I did that - just to test how to do it I think. My brother is not connected to any wi-fi and has internet on his phone. He uses his phone to watch movies and programs all the time. When it shuts off, I cannot get to movies if I wanted to.

I don't seem to have a way to block texts. I can block numbers of incoming calls very easily (except when my click opens the number and makes it start ringing instead) but there is no "block" option in my text messages area. ???

Then your brother is using his cell phone service's cellular data plan to connect to the internet. I use my phone for those things too using my cellular data plan - I have T-Mobile. So, when you said you have "phone internet," you must have meant that you have a cell phone data plan. That's different and it uses what's called LTE wireless data transmission which comes from cell phone towers. It stands for Long-term-evolution which makes no sense to me! But it is a different standard for wireless communication than WiFi. I have two connection icons in the upper right - the bars are for my cellular data connection and the WiFi icon for connection to my home network.

I have never been able to figure out why I can block some numbers and can't block others. I have always figured it was some way the scammers are trying to get around us blocking them.

Yes, T-Mobile data plans. When the phone shuts off it speaks to me and tells me that I lost my "internet" connection and that I should connect to wi-fi. Its word, not mine. I am just trying to use the regular cell phone data also, not wi-fi. I have no idea what the icons are so cannot tell you what my phone shows.

You will have the same icons as I do. The WiFi icon is the same one you have on the lower right on your computer and the cell data will be the bars. The phone will want you to connect to your WiFi also, so once you do that, you should connect automatically the next time.

I don't have wi-fi on my computer and I don't see "bars" on my phone. I don't know the names of the icons or what they are for and cannot describe stuff. I once tried Googling about cell phone icons but could not find the information that I was trying to find. In the right corner I have a triangle, a battery (I know that one), the words "4 G LTE", and a vertical rectangle with wavy lines on each side of it. On my computer I have something that looks like a monitor.

I don't want to use wi-fi on my phone. I shut that off in my settings on purpose.

So, you connect your computer to the internet with an ethernet cable then? I thought I remembered you got a new router with WiFi... but that's probably my faulty rememberer!!

Ignore the rest, but look at this link just for the first two pictures of the icons on the upper right on your phone. By pulling down on that area, you can find out more about them. The vertical bars are your cell or LTE data and the "fan" looking thing is WiFi.

Phone Icons

If by "fan" you mean the one in the link that starts with a point and has curvy lines going up, I don't have that on my phone at all. If the "vertical bars" are my triangle, that's what I have but I don't see any "bars", just the triangle. The first time I pulled down on that area it didn't show me anything useful. I just tried it again and I do see some names with the icons. The vertical triangle with the wavy lines on each side apparently indicates my phone is on "vibrate" (which is how I set it on purpose).

My computer is not wi-fi capable. My phone router/modem is. I am connected to it with an ethernet cable.

Thanks.

Aha! So, you DO have WiFi in the house then. And yeah, that is the WiFi icon, but you won't have it because you are not connected to your WiFi. Unless you DO connect to your WiFi at some point in time, you will continue to get that prompt. There may be a way to turn it off, but I'm not sure. Curious why you don't have the vertical bars which show your LTE cell connection. The number of bars highlighted indicates the strength of your connection. Oh, well... as long as you can make and receive calls, that's all that matters.

ARGGHHH! This group chat is back and (of course) I can't remember how to get rid of it. I was hoping maybe I had posted the solution here. Assistant is not helpful this time, just telling me exactly what I read on Google, something posted on CNet which I cannot do, and I also saw something from TMobile which I cannot do. The one below - I cannot drag a chat to the left.

"To delete a contact, drag the contact to the left and choose Delete. To leave the group message, choose Leave this group. To Delete the group, choose Delete this group. Choose Done."

This one below - I don't see any chat threads on Google Messages.


"On an Android phone using Google Messages, visit the chat thread you want to leave. Tap the conversation's name to bring up the Group Details menu. At the bottom of the screen tap the Leave Group button. Unlike with iMessage, you can leave chats with as few as three participants.Dec 13, 2023"

Any help? If I just leave it, will it eventually go away? More importantly, is it harming something on my phone while it's going on?

EDIT: Clicking on the chat brought up something (I already can't remember what was on the screen because I get too anxious to get rid of it) but from there I was able to "trash" it.

Glad you were able to get rid of it, oldbroad!

Only took an hour

Thanks!

Sorry! I ran away for a hike in the Indiana Dunes this morning and I just got home in time to go to work!

That was not a reference to anybody here; just to how long it takes me to figure something simple out.

I hope you enjoyed your hike!

LOL! Glad you got rid of that thing. I HATE those! I am able to choose "leave the chat" on my Android phone.