A desecration of flip-phonery

Topic

New Reply

The new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 smart phone is a desecration of flip-phonery. Samsung should be ashamed of themselves for calling this phone a “flip phone”, because it is not.

What is a flip phone?
* First and foremost, a flip phone has actual buttons; it does not have a virtual keyboard.
* A flip phone is simple. If all you want to do is make or receive a phone call, you don’t need to be a geek!
* The primary purpose of a flip phone is to make a phone call; the secondary purpose is to send a text message. Everything else is extra.

The flip phone is one of the last refuges of us old fogies. Samsung, please don’t take this from us by calling your smart phone a flip phone.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

1 user thanked author for this post.

Charlie

Reply | Quote

Replies

A flip phone model from the late 1990’s on is also small; fits in a pocket. More recent models can also send and receive email and text; it’s like an advanced and enhanced realization of the Dick Tracy wrist-phone, but for the pocket.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

A flip phone can be opened with a finger. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip3 need both hands.

Reply | Quote

So you are saying its a phoney flip phone?

BTW is the Flip3 a Flop 2 ?

Now if some one GAVE me one…..

OK I would do Ebay or CL

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

1 user thanked author for this post.

MrJimPhelps

Reply | Quote

First off, I’m a Flip Phone user and I completely agree with what MrJimPhelps said above.  I have recently been told by my cellular phone company that I had to buy a new phone that does 4G.  I was positive they said the last phone they made me “upgrade to” in 2016 was a 4G.  No, turns out or appears that it wasn’t so they say.

So now I have a new 4G flip phone that looks pretty much like the old phone I have that worked fine and did what I wanted it to – make phone calls for my convenience and/or in an emergency (telephone booths are practically non-existent here in the U.S.A.).  The only reason they gave for this upgrade was that “3G is taking up space on cell towers and needs to go to make room for 4G and 5G.”  No matter that my first flip phone ran perfectly and did all I wanted on 1G or 2G.

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

2 users thanked author for this post.

wavy, MrJimPhelps

Reply | Quote

Charlie _ I’m in the same predicament (and no doubt others are too) and would like to continue with another flip phone if possible. There don’t seem to be but a few choices still available in flip phones now. If you’re thus far satisfied with your new 4G flipper, pray tell what model it is, whether GSM or CDMA (or both), and whether it’s unlocked? TIA!

/Chuck

Reply | Quote

All I know is that it’s a Consumer Cellular Link II.  I paid $35.00 for it and it has 8 Gigs of memory.  I’ve been happy with Consumer Cellular and their service is very good.  If I might, (I don’t work for them) I’d suggest you visit their website and check out what they have.  They do show a few different types of flip phones and plans to suit your needs.

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

Reply | Quote

Charlie,

I have heard of Consumer Cellular, because it has been recommended more than once in Consumer Reports (no relation). I looked into it years ago and their coverage around where I live was not great. So maybe I’ll have a look at that again.

My main interest in changing to another service is that my cell phone company is AT&T and, as the reminder (at least in name and in spirit) of the Bell system that started with a company founded by Alexander Graham Bell, is still very much the “Telephone Company”, some half century after the airing of the famous Lily Tomlin’s “Laugh-in Show” skits where she was Ernestine, the telephone operator, that would tell a complaining customer phoning her company about some problem with their service: “We are The Telephone Company! And we don’t care!”:

https://vimeo.com/355556831

https://www.facebook.com/FlashbackComedyVideos/videos/lily-tomlin-as-telephone-operator-ernestine-mr-veedle/1261076793948330/

Typically, it still has, in the envelope provided to mail the monthly check I send them to pay for their “Mobility” cellphone service, in the little rectangle where one should stick the postage stamp, the stern warning that they don’t pay for the postage, so I better do.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

CC offers no contract plans from basic with a certain amount of minutes per month up to unlimited talk and text time.  They have various flip phones and also smartphones that are all made easy to use.  I’ve been with them since 2010 and have not had any problems other than the phone upgrades which is not really their fault.  They have to keep up with technology I guess.

I used to watch Laugh In on TV in the 60’s and loved it.  One Ringy Dingy, two ringy dingies, is this the person to whom I am calling?

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

Is it easy to find a shop of Consumer Cellular where to go if there is some problem with a cellphone to see if they can fix it? Or for any other reason when it may be preferably to talk to someone there in person?

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Oscar, you can buy damage insurance with Consumer Cellular, but there doesn’t seem to be any way of getting them to fix it other than that. They sell a flip phone for $35. Not worth insuring, because it would be cheaper just to buy a new phone if it breaks.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

The two places I remember that handle Consumer Cellular are Sears and Target.  I don’t know whether they will fix your phone or not, and Sears is out of business now.  They might do relatively simple repairs, but I’ve always dealt directly with CC over the phone so I’m not sure.  I’ve never had any problems with the phones I’ve used.  In fact, two of them are sitting in my chest of drawers and still work fine except that I can no longer make any calls other than emergency (911).

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

Will do, Charlie … thanks very much.

/Chuck

Reply | Quote

You just reminded me of a message I got from StraightTalk last week re needing to upgrade to 5G. I had neglected to follow up.
I had a flip phone that worked for quite a while after I got one of those upgrade to 3G or else messages. Now a days I will not take a chance at being w/o a phone.
Maybe we need another thread on what smart phone to buy.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

I had an LG Cosmos 3 slider phone – that is, one with a full size keyboard that slid out when you needed it. Excellent when you wanted to type a text message, or when you wanted to enter a new name into your address book. Alas, it was 3G, so Verizon turned it off at the end of last year.

After going through various other companies, I came back to Verizon and got the Kyocera DuraXV Extreme. This is a 4G flip phone which has everything you could ever want in a flip phone – excellent camera, wifi hotspot, wifi calling, superb speakerphone, bluetooth connection to your car stereo. And the best feature of all – you flip it open to answer it, and you flip it closed to hang up! The one thing I wish it had, but doesn’t, is the ability to connect to a bluetooth keyboard – I emailed Kyocera and they told me that it doesn’t have that feature. If it did, I would consider carrying a miniature bluetooth keyboard with me in order to type long text messages. But in fact, I am learning to type pretty fast on the numeric keypad. (Actually, I am learning to type shorter text messages!)

AT&T has the Kyocera DuraXE Epic, which looks like the same phone. I don’t believe T-Mobile offers this phone.

Quite frankly, I got tired of cheap-quality flip phones; I wanted something that was rugged and good quality. That’s the feeling I have about this phone whenever it is in my hand.

If you are a flip phone person, you will love the Kyocera DuraXV flip phone.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

Reply | Quote

Text to speech works pretty good for me and I mumble a lot.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

A well programmed flip phone also does not need to rebooted so often. This Galaxy Z Flip3 is expensive even if the cellular phone company or Samsung trade-in subsidy is claimed by the buyer, but the placement of the dual cameras and the screen beside them is a nice touch.

Reply | Quote

Charlie wrote:

is this the person to whom I am calling

Have I Reached The Party to Whom I Am Speaking
and various others along those lines. Great skits, thanks for the remembrance!

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

I had a 3G flip phone from Tracfone and was told I needed to upgrade to 4G. I didn’t want to do it, but I’m glad I did. I still didn’t want a smartphone so I got an LG Classic Flip for $30. It’s much faster in phone conversations and doesn’t have an irritating lag time between when one person stops talking and the other starts. It’s also a lot easier to handle texts, which in this day and age, no matter how much I dislike texting, is something I’ve been forced more and more into doing, either from friends or what I’ll simply lump together as business concerns. Tracfone has a variety of talk, text, and data plans and you can generally roll over unused minutes. The phone can be used as a wifi hotspot and has a functioning browser, although the latter is sort of a pain to use. I last checked tracfone’s website about 5 months ago and they had a couple of other flip phones.

I haven’t had any problems with them but I know someone who thinks their customer service is a bit lacking and that their website for renewing minutes is a bit flaky.

All in all it’s probably worth looking into (and they do sell smartphones: iPhones, Samsung, Motorola, etc.)

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote

I have an LG Classic Flip and am a big fan of it. It truly does have a solid and classic feel to it. It is available from Tracfone and maybe other providers. I had gone through several other brand flip phones that I found to be junkier and did not feel nearly so well made as the LG Classic Flip.

1 user thanked author for this post.

DrBonzo

Reply | Quote

I was reading the comments about the LG Classic Flip…
https://shop.tracfone.com/shop/en/tracfonestore/phones/tf-lg-classic-flip-l125dl

One poor guy named Erik said that he bought his phone around June of 2020, and that he really liked it; but alas, Verizon had purchased TracFone, and now he was going to have to get another phone, because the LG Classic Flip was 3G and was going to stop working at the end of 2020!

Robert from TracFone answered him: “We have had successful negotiations with our network partners to allow our customers to remain on the current network for a while longer.”

Apparently, based on your experience, they are still allowing TracFone customers to use the LG Classic Flip.

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

1 user thanked author for this post.

wavy

Reply | Quote

I have also an LG that now is only good for 911 calls, because as part of the transition to 4G, AT&T has already removed it from the phones that can use their network, except for that emergency purpose.

I was sent a new flip-phone to replace, branded “AT&T”, that came without a battery, so now I have to go and get one from the AT&T shop in my area. Since I have a land-line and an Internet connection, there is usually many people waiting to be attended at the shop and Covid is once more on the rampage, plus I have plenty to do these days that I can do without a need for a cellphone, I have not done that yet.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

I am pretty sure that the LG Classic Flip was introduced first half of 2020 so hard to believe that it would be incompatible so soon. My understanding had been the LG Classic Flip is 4G LTE and also capable of VoLTE.

https://tracfonereviewer.blogspot.com/2020/05/tracfone-lg-classic-flip-phone-l125dl.html

I have not gotten any warnings from Tracfone about needing to replace. But yes, that one reply to Erik certainly says that.

The LG User Guide for the LG Classic Flip LG L125DL describes icons for both 4G LTE and VoLTE.

https://www.lg.com/us/support/product/lg-LGL125DL.ATRFPLH

Not sure what to make over the conflicting accounts.

Reply | Quote

I can’t document this right now (and probably won’t make an effort to do so) but I believe there may be more than one version of the LG Classic Flip, or that a carrier can regress a Classic Flip (or any phone for that matter) that has 4G capability to only function at the 3G level.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that the LG Classic Flip I bought last March from Tracfone is 4G LTE capable and that it functions at that level. Tracfone leases from ATT, Verizon, and T-Mobile and their lease agreements may vary depending on location. It’s possible that in one part of the country a lease from one major carrier may preclude certain functions while in another part of the country the predominant lease may be from a different major carrier that allows a different set of functionality.

I’m speculating a bit here but I have had Tracfones for the last 15 years while living in two widely separated areas of the country, and the major lease carrier was different in each location. I have also had Tracfones the manual of which listed certain functionalities that were in fact not supported by Tracfone.

My suggestion for any phone and carrier is to check what functionalities are supported in the geographic area in which you will be spending most of your time.

Reply | Quote

Castiel and DrBonzo: I have had the LG flip-phone (that looks pretty classic to me, whether that is with a capital “C” or not), for more than five years, from before I had even heard that 4G was coming, so it is an older model. Glad to know LG still is making phones. Mine, by the way, had a tendency to add some distortion when I was speaking, so I sounded weirder than usual.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Ditto that my LG Classic Flip from Tracfone shows as operating as 4G LTE. Also shows on CDMA network (Verizon) and if I look in Call Settings it shows that Advanced Calling is Enabled. Verizon refers to VoLTE as Advanced Calling. Apparently different carriers refer to VoLTE by different names.

What I will say is my LG Classic Flip is very well made and very responsive (fast) compared to other inferior 4G flip phones I have tried. It also appears to hold battery level very well.

I suspect as noted that things may be different for different geographical locations and best to check.

Reply | Quote

wavy wrote:

You just reminded me of a message I got from StraightTalk last week re needing to upgrade to 5G

I did read that ATT is shutting down its voice carrying 2g/3G networks in February 2022.
See https://www.androidcentral.com/volte. for some info on VoLTE.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

I might add that the shut down of 2G/3G networks means VoLTE is needed for voice not just 4G/LTE.
VoLTE is sometimes call HD Voice but HD Voice does not always mead VoLTE. This carrier lingo is no less confusing than ever.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

Wavy, you wrote: “I did read that ATT is shutting down its voice carrying 2g/3G networks in February 2022.”

If ATT = AT&T, then no. My 3G cellphone, a flip one of brand LG, became restricted to being used only for 911 calls over a month ago, then I received a new 4G phone. Maybe AT&T is doing this only to phones of certain makes and models at a time, gradually kicking out non-3G ones in this way. If so, then next years’ deadline is the date by when the change over to 4G shall be complete, with no 3G phones users getting service anymore, because all have been moved already to 4G.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

various locations may have been excluded previously but shut down sound final to me!
And no not moved to 4G moved to VoLTE over 4 G . VoLTE is the voice part of the new 4G spec.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

Wavy, thanks, but I think we all either knew or got it already by reading your previous comment: “4G” is shorthand for the whole thing. And AT&T is shutting down gradually, not all at once, while sending new 4G phones to those whose 3Gs are being dropped, except for making 911 calls.

Disclaimer: that I express an understanding of why at my telephone service provider they are acting as they are, does not mean that I endorse the idea that ever moving up to higher and higher bandwidth is a great way to go, at the cost of using more and more energy still coming mainly from burning fossil fuels. People who want to play even more realistic multi-player games, stream ever higher definition video, and enjoy doing ever more energy-intensive recreational things, in a world quickly approaching a point of no return in the worsening climate crisis, and by “people” I mean all of us, should really be rethinking what truly matters, what is needed, and what is not. Before there is no more choice, other than to knuckle under in the face of overwhelming reality. Not using more bandwidth, except where absolutely necessary, is not going to save us in and of itself, but it would be a decent start.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

1 user thanked author for this post.

Charlie

Reply | Quote

OscarCP wrote:

“4G” is shorthand for the whole thing.

No not at all LTE 4G is not the same as VoLTE. In some instances it will be concurrent.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

Well, then, it is my shorthand. Freedom of expression and all that included, wrapped in silk and tied with a bow.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

thanks for more confusion, it is more than confusing enough.
the question is will our phones work well next year.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

2 users thanked author for this post.

SueW, Charlie

Reply | Quote

“the question is will our phones work well next year.” (Wavy)

My old LG slider phone works very well as an alarm clock! I haven’t yet taken the time to figure out how to use my new flip phone as an alarm clock, so I continue to use my LG slider phone for that purpose.

I turn it off when I wake up in the morning, and turn it back on when I go to bed at night, so the battery lasts for about two weeks before I have to charge it!

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

1 user thanked author for this post.

wavy

Reply | Quote

Anyone here knows about this one?

Is the 4G I got from AT&T to replace my 3G LP, that now is only good for 911 calls, until February of next year, and then that’s it for evermore for it.

https://www.pricepulse.app/att-cingular-flip-4-smartflip-iv-u102aa-4g-phone-f_us_17255739

“ Description

The AT&T Cingular FlipTM IV makes having a flip phone cool. With cutting edge technology equipped to handle your basic everyday communication needs, while providing you with enhanced Google features. Watch YouTube on the go, get directions from Google Maps, and keep it simple with Google Assistant for voice commands. With its high-resolution video playback of 1080p, the AT&T Cingular FlipTM IV makes smart simple!”

“Features

Complete with At&t Sim card and SimBros sim key!
ANDROID TECHNOLOGY
LONG BATTERY LIFE
YOUTUBE ON THE GO!
FOR AT&T ONLY!
SMART FLIP ”

Price: US$90.

AT&T gives it to users of their network for free.
(Well, AT&T it not about to get exactly poorer by doing this.)

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

OscarCP wrote:

Glad to know LG still is making phones.

LG doesn’t make phones anymore.

https://www.engadget.com/lg-smartphone-production-ended-183050001.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAD86s5u9wRw426IUq_8btpVQeunjzb9dVhcBmrLG45_wc7ZSGsMOEd_fNLtpeEbFSTEMUQXAWDL-IgZisd30p0RcnUs-1mFcICH5UN-CPofDqAqSWyyLU5sN-CquTQAWAO3DoiRFVhHjdgBSQj3hNjjLlGEjaUIZ4zUNujkD56_6

LG has taken an important step toward shutting down its mobile business. The last LG phones have rolled off the production line and the company will no longer manufacture handsets after Monday, according to Asia Business Daily. Engadget has contacted LG for confirmation.

The company announced plans in early April to wind down its phone business, but it kept making handsets for a couple more months to fulfill contracts with telecom companies. A factory in Vietnam where LG built many of its smartphones will be converted into a household appliance manufacturing plant

2 users thanked author for this post.

OscarCP, castiel

Reply | Quote

Thanks Alex5723. That is a key piece of information about LG that I had been blissfully unaware of. I thought I had found my long term flip phone, but guess not. Maybe these posts about flip phones will uncover a new gem.

Much like Windows adding features, I do not really see the need for phones either to be in constant upheaval. I just want a small mobile device that fits easily in a pocket that I can make phone calls and text. There are a gazillion smartphones and more showing up all the time. Do we all really need all that?

2 users thanked author for this post.

OscarCP, Charlie

Reply | Quote

MrJimPhelps wrote:

but alas, Verizon had purchased TracFone

Oh news to me. It was some Brazilian co.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

Reply | Quote

I just setup my new cellphone, a 4G one, because the previous one has been retired by AT&T, it being an OK and still functional phone, but a  mere 3G. Both the new and old one are flip-phones. This one has a keyboard that is a bit larger and the keys and numbers on it are correspondingly larger as well. Nice.

Fine, so I put the bits and pieces together and then started to get the thing setup to make and receive calls, which included being able to enter a number and rub off mistakes; plus also receiving and sending text. Nothing else at all.

Except for two problems:

Problem (1): the instructions are all online and say nothing about dialing a number (or keying it in, or whatever) and, of course, nothing about what are the non-numerical keys that one may use for what, or how to clear wrongly entered digits in a number one wants to call.

It goes on, the online “manual”, mostly about telling me all about making my own hot spot, doing email, watching TV or all those other things cellphones, or phones of any kind, are for as well not chiefly for.

So I had to dig deep into the Web until I found a PDF with a manual of how to use a cellphone by the same name, looking more or less like the one I have, except that the keys are different, in different places, the menu is not the same, etc. But I garnered enough information to figure out the ruboff key!!! (*)

Problem (2) The thing started talking without my finding any obvious means of making it shut up, and, while still talking, it would not let me enter a number to call until it was good and ready and done explaining things I did not really needed to have explained, and I could not find anywhere in the so-called online “Manual” how to make it shut up and let me use the phone!

So I started hitting keys this way and that, here and there, until on the screen popped up the icon of a speaker crossed out. I hit on that, and the thing went silent, at last!!!
(Probably is still talking, only I cannot hear it; if so, that my reduce faster the charge in the battery, but that is most likely a very small price to pay for being left in peace.)

I have, just in case, turned the phone totally off, then on again. Still not a word out of it. So, maybe, I have this finally mastered? We’ll see about that.

And since you did not ask, the phone is an AT&T Cingular Flip IV (U102AA).

I got it from Ma Bell the Second as a free replacement for the old one, so I suppose it serves me right.

I thank you for your attention.

(*) Subsequently, I have found a PDF manual that seems to correspond exactly to the version of the phone I actually have. So that is progress.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

You have my sympathies Oscar.  I didn’t have many problems adapting to my new CC phone, but I still have not been able to find a quick shortcut way to make a Capital letter.  Holding the letter down until it changes to upper case doesn’t work on my new phone.

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

Reply | Quote

Try the asterisk or pound key. My current flip and my previous one used the asterisk key; the old one had an upward pointing arrow on the key, my new one actually says ‘shift’. IIRC I’ve seen flips that use either key and sometimes 2 quickly repeated presses of the key.

See if you can find the manual for your phone either from the manufacturer or your service provider. I’ve been able to find pdf manuals for many phones.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Charlie

Reply | Quote

DrBonzo, Thanks for the tip on using the key with the asterisk.

I mentioned in my previous comment, in a footnote added below the comment proper, that I have finally found a PDF manual exactly for my cellphone make and model.

My lingering complaint is that the online manual says nothing about certain things that are not really very important such as: how to turn off the voice of some kind of assistant to the blind, or for helping people with some other big problems, to use the phone, because I do not need, like, or want to hear it. And it prevents me from using the phone until it has ended describing the screen of the phone in full detail, every time I flip open the thing to make a call. Al missing is how to erase characters one has typed incorrectly, and other such insignificances.

The online manual, it would seem, has been written expressly for people who do not need to read manuals. Or maybe who cannot read manuals, but like to look at those funny little squiggles in black spread across the white screen background..

I have, with some effort, succeeded, I think, in dumbing down this thing enough that now it is just a phone one can carry in a regular-sized pocket, and also that can be used to receive and send text messages.

Until it surprises me with some other interesting enigmatic, hidden thing that used to be in plain sight in olden times.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

My flip has ‘Menu’ on the home screen (screen you see when you open it). Press Menu and there should be a ‘Settings’ entry. Go there and you should be able to change all sorts of things. Might have to play around a bit. Just make sure you remember what a setting was set at before you make a change so you can at least get back to where you were.

Reply | Quote

DrBonzo: Mine is a far more advanced implement than yours, so it does not have a Menu button. It has an OK button, because everything is OK with it and the phone likes to be told that clearly and often.

My phone in all its splendor:

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Well, what happens when you press the OK button?

Your manual should have a description of what every key on your phone does.

You could go to your local AT&T store and ask them to show you how to do certain things.

Reply | Quote

OscarCP wrote:

Mine … does not have a Menu button.

It has two in your picture.

1 user thanked author for this post.

PKCano

Reply | Quote

If you’re referring to what are labeled the left and right menu buttons, then yes, there are two menu buttons in OscarCP’s photo. I haven’t used his phone or his phone model, so I can’t say for sure what those two menu keys do on his phone. However, on every flip phone I’ve ever used those buttons correspond to what shows on the screen immediately above them – in his case according to his provided photo that would be ‘Notices’ and ‘Contacts’ – but they do not activate what I would call a genuine inclusive Menu. It’s possible that on his phone a menu becomes available after getting to Notices and/or Contacts, but I tend to doubt that’s the case.

I’m not arguing, just stating what my experience with flip phones has been.

Reply | Quote

DrBonzo, I think your description is correct.

In very general terms, and with only a limited understanding at this point, I think that one of the “menu” keys starts an action on something, for example finding which messages are waiting reply, calls missed, etc., and these are then shown on the screen by using this key; using the navigation flanges around the OK key one takes the cursor to one of the items,  the OK key can be pressed to select the item, the other menu key ends the action.

More or less, sort of. Charlie has the same model of phone and has been using it, so he might clarify this point further.

There is an explanation in the PDF Manual, but, is scattered across several sections and there is no a general characterization of the keys, but a description of a whole bunch of quite different uses they have, without outlining first a general pattern than can make all this material easier to absorb.

It reminds me of the three-ring-binder user’s manual of a system geeks like to build, but then hate writing the manual, so don’t take enough time, or even care to put together something others can easily find informative. “It’s all there!”

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

1 user thanked author for this post.

DrBonzo

Reply | Quote

Mine is the pound key. It works but not very fast. Good thing I don’t do a lot of texting.

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

Reply | Quote

It opens a place with the icons of “apps”, but the screen does not look then as advertised. To fiddle with the settings one has to  start from the “Apps” “app”, the icon of which is shown in the nice photos as “right there” when one opens that window, but in reality it is not and one has to navigate past numerous icons to get  to it. Then some of the options are bewildering and sometimes sticky: I could not get out of a dialog I had wandered into to set the Google Assistant to help me do whatever. I had to turn the phone off to  get out of there.

Also the “OK” button has four tiny, tiny flanges where on is supposed to press to navigate up, down, left, right, and it is awfully easy to push on the big central button instead, with unexpected and probably unwanted results.

But slowly, slowly, I am getting on top of this.  I think.

It was easier to crank the magnet to buzz the operator in her station, so she would know to plug one’s line to her switchboard, to which she had her headphones also plugged in, move the chewing gum out of the way and ask for the number of the party one wanted to call.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

Reply | Quote

Oscar, the picture of your phone above looks almost exactly like mine!  I can press the Back/Clear button to correct mistakes.  I also have a speaker On/Off button and a Camera button that you don’t have.  I also got a quick start brochure and a user’s manual included in the box from CC.  So I might be able to help you with some your questions since our phones seem very similar.

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

1 user thanked author for this post.

OscarCP

Reply | Quote