3956

I was considering just reinstalling Android from scratch on the S7, but I hadn’t considered pen compatibility, hmm.

3957

My Pixel 7 Pro is the first phone I’ve had where I’m experiencing weird stuff.

Like sometimes switching between apps, the animation of something “minimizing” and other apps “maximizing” happen at a low frame rate compared to the same actions on the Pixel 6 pro I used to have, with the same work flow.

Plus I’ve noticed weird graphical anomalies on certain webpages, like large white parts of pages that flash to black and then back to white. Quick enough that it makes me think “what did I just see?”

I wonder if I have bad sectors of RAM or something equivalent?

3958

Probably just a software issue, did you update to the December patch yet?

3959

Pixel 7 pro just got a new update today that had fixed a bunch of bugs, and has also brought back the free Google VPN. Also some nice be features like clear calling and adaptive sound.

3960

My 7 year old Asus Zenfone 2’s speaker stopped working for some reason. I can hear calls, but that’s the only sound coming out of the phone. Not hearing the ringtone when someone calls is pretty annoying, so I am gonna have to get a new phone I guess. I hoped to stick it out for a decade since otherwise I was fine with it, but alas, it is not to be.

I think I don’t want to spend over 300 euro/dollars, since I only really use the phone for internet browsing, whatsapp, occasional calling and picture taking.

I was looking at Motorola Moto G72 and Samsung A52s or A53. Any ideas on what’s better, any experience with these (or any others around this class)?

Thanks

3961

Ha! Same here with the slip n slide! I am constantly looking for my phone when I’m on the sofa; it nearly always manages to slide between cushions or right to the floor.

3962

Thanks. The update took a long freaking time yesterday, but seems trouble-free so far today. Fingers crossed.

I have noticed also that I’m getting a weaker signal everywhere. Used to be two bars at my house, now it’s one bar or no bars. Used to be 2 bars at work, now it’s one bar or no bars at work. Hopefully that’s address by the software update too, and it’s not that they snuck in a weaker antenna or something in the Pixel 7.

3963

The number of bars displayed is purely a software thing, has you actual reception changed?

3964

There have been times when I have no signal now, yeah, whereas it never happened on the Pixel 6 Pro at these locations.

3965

A question for any phone gurus. My wife’s old Samsung (S7 or something of that vintage) is doing weird things. She picked it up yesterday to check something and it was set to a 2003 date. It had been accurate the day before, and she didn’t touch the settings, but it somehow lost 19 years. It also dropped off the home network and when it rejoined was viewed as a new device.

Any ideas? I’m trying to convince her to upgrade (we’re on Verizon and she’s been due for one forever).

3966

It’s dying dude, time to replace. If it’s glitching/resetting/losing track of basic info like current date/time (which it should be syncing from the cellular network) then I think it’s toast.

3967

This is what I surmised. We don’t upgrade our phones that often, only when we need to, but even cheap-ass me has been telling her this one is due for the slag heap. I mean, in phone years, it’s a Methuselah.

3968

Having a Swiftkey issue. QWERTY is enabled, but it’s totally broken and doesn’t capture the correct keys being typed. I’ve tried switching inputs from QWERTY to others, and then back, deleting the language (US ENG) and re-adding it, and even uninstalling/reinstalling Swiftkey. Any other ideas?

I actually don’t like Swiftkey and am (for the moment) perfectly happy with the stock Samsung keyboard, but apparently it’s the only way I’ll be able to share my clipboard with Windows. Or is there an alternative clipboard sharing method out there?

3969

Anyone noticing that mobile Chrome’s swipe left to go back function isn’t working well? Could just be me.

3970

My USB switcher may not be compatible with my new Galaxy Tab S7 FE. Apparently connecting a USB microphone requires a 4-pin connector, or something, so I have to bypass the switcher and connect the mic directly. Anyone know of a switcher that might work better? Doesn’t look like the ones I’m seeing on Amazon specify, and not sure how else to check.

3971

So we went to the Verizon store today to get a replacement for my wife’s ancient S7. And I mean ancient, in like no updates and zero trade in value, and glitching to boot. Of course, nothing is simple. The first option they had was for a Motorola phone, added about 15 bucks a month to the bill financed (we don’t really have a choice of carrier where we are, as only Verizon has coverage that’s reliable, so we have been with them forever). But, my wife had a bad experience with Motorola phones and nixed that one. She loved the S7 and wanted another Samsung, which is fair.

So, they don’t carry any of the A-series (reviews are split between those saying they are solid mid-range phones and those hating them), which are substantially cheaper than the mainline models. They brought out two, an S22 and a ZFold 3. She loved the folding one immediately, so we went with that. Of course, it isn’t cheap. There were deals on multiline upgrades, though, but that meant swapping my iPhone 12 Pro for a 14. Which I was ambivalent about, as the 12 was fine. But the numbers ended up working out so that when you considered the substantial trade in value of the 12 Pro, plus the “free” Apple Watch they tossed in as part of some package promotion thing, it ended up being overall more sensible to do the double upgrade.

I think. It’s hard to parse all of the gobbledy-gook they toss around. In any event, we now have two new phones which of course do not have any documentation as I suppose that’s all on the Web. Probably for the best as the old style “manuals” in tiny print were useless…

3972

I upgraded from an even more ancient S6. But I went with an S20fe on sale at Costco instead of getting the latest and greatest.

3973

Yeah, I was hoping they would have something that would appeal to my wife that was a bit less pricey but, eh, she really likes the folding thing. I consider it a Hanukkah gift, a couple of days late.

3974

Buying a cell phone can be more complicated than dealing with buying a car – you have all the same elements (trade in, financing, monthly vs. overall costs, sweeteners, etc.). Both basically exist solely to screw you as much as they possibly can. Just reading about your experience gives me hives, and it sounds like yours wasn’t particularly bad.

3975

That phone is good for 200k folds! Make sure she keeps count! :)