NFR Finally making the plunge!

Non-fishing related
Flymph

Flymph

Life of the Party
After reading the scam thread I finally made the move to purchase an I-phone Apple 17. We know nothing other than a landline but realize the many times that we could have utilized a wireless phone. We would love to hear the do's, dont's, and the "Make sure you", in preparation.
 
I sure can remember no cell phones or computers, but it’s hard to believe being without them now . For me there are great tools . Social media. , well that’s another topic . But being able to use Google maps , look up information to repair something etc etc . I think in many ways the cell phone has made live much easier . And of course the bad that goes with it , people distracted , driving , walking down the street etc .
 
If you haven't already purchased it, do you really need a 17? They are crazy expensive and previous models (mine is an 11) can be bought for a fraction of the price from gazelle or other online retailers. My 11 does everything I need for now but will probably move to a 14 or so at some point.
 
Be sure to take advantage of some crazy prices available now and in the future e.g. Black Friday. Comparing different carriers is an art/science. They purposely make it difficult!

Carefully look into the data plans. They get expensive for not of additional 'bang for the buck'. We use the lowest priced plan and it is all we need for a family of 4. Do you need the fastest download speed - probably not. Do you need plans with Netflix, Discovery, NFL+ etc. ? 5g is better, faster, and more reliable than 4g IMHO. 5g is also the current standard with 6g in the works. Calculate the phone cost plus 4 years of a data plan. One can get a free iPhone 17 with a high priced data plan. For our family, it saved us over $2k per phone by going with the cheap data plan and outright buying the phone over 3 years at no interest. I used 4 years because it covers paying off the phone plus some... People look at monthly cost and not total cost over time.

Also, look at coverage areas where the phone will have reception. This includes not only your residence but also where you travel to; e.g. fishing or relatives you visit. Verizon used to have the best coverage - primarily 4g though. Verizon is focusing on metro areas for 5g. T-Mobile is the best in 5g and fastest in metro areas. AT&T is just great all around. Side note: For Wi-Fi we tried all three and AT&T was the best and most reliable; hands down. If there is Wi-Fi, there is cell service.

Our family has 3 Apple phones and one Android (mine). They operate differently. I would recommend playing/using both in a store to see which is more intuitive to use. The good news you are new to this realm.
 
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We upgraded to Iphone 16 for $100, so a no brainer. No need for a fancy camera with the quality shots a phone takes unless you are deeply into photography. It also comes with satellite texting capability free for 2 years, not sure of cost after that. But it is nice to be able to text wife where I’m camping, fishing etc.
 
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All the major carriers have satellite connectivity. Some are text only and others are text and internet. They use either StarLink or AST Spacemobile satellites. Each carrier has different requirements for phones and speed. This capability is in its infancy and expanding quickly. It soon will be common place and only get better.

Some carriers have it in their data plans.

Satellite connectivity is great when off grid.
 
Spend some time and enter friends, businesses, associates in your Contacts. Next, set up voicemail. With these two tools, you can pretty much ignore incoming calls you do not recognize (the contacts). It then kicks the call over to voice mail where a message can be left. Screen these CAREFULLY and return only those that have a known caller or purpose. Don't just answer the phone when it rings like the old dial phone days.
 
FishyJere said:
Spend some time and enter friends, businesses, associates in your Contacts. Next, set up voicemail. With these two tools, you can pretty much ignore incoming calls you do not recognize (the contacts). It then kicks the call over to voice mail where a message can be left. Screen these CAREFULLY and return only those that have a known caller or purpose. Don't just answer the phone when it rings like the old dial phone days.
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Great advice.

Lots of scammers and spammers in messaging too. Block them.
 
FishyJere said:
Spend some time and enter friends, businesses, associates in your Contacts. Next, set up voicemail. With these two tools, you can pretty much ignore incoming calls you do not recognize (the contacts). It then kicks the call over to voice mail where a message can be left. Screen these CAREFULLY and return only those that have a known caller or purpose. Don't just answer the phone when it rings like the old dial phone days.
Click to expand...
You can also go into the settings and turn on the silence unknown caller.
This makes it so the caller has to give their name and reason for calling. It will notify you with the name and reason so you can decide to take the call or ignore it.
 
I made the jump from an iPhone 7 to a 16 Pro a few months back.
Likin so far, but then again…it’s basic usage stuff for me.
 
FishyJere said:
Spend some time and enter friends, businesses, associates in your Contacts. Next, set up voicemail. With these two tools, you can pretty much ignore incoming calls you do not recognize (the contacts). It then kicks the call over to voice mail where a message can be left. Screen these CAREFULLY and return only those that have a known caller or purpose. Don't just answer the phone when it rings like the old dial phone days.
Click to expand...
I only answer with HELLO
If it ask…Are you there?
DO NOT SAY ANYTHING!!!
DONT SAY …YES or NO answers.
They are recorded for their future deviant use.
 
FishyJere said:
Spend some time and enter friends, businesses, associates in your Contacts. Next, set up voicemail. With these two tools, you can pretty much ignore incoming calls you do not recognize (the contacts). It then kicks the call over to voice mail where a message can be left. Screen these CAREFULLY and return only those that have a known caller or purpose. Don't just answer the phone when it rings like the old dial phone days.
Click to expand...
This is the approach I use. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer. Many times they won’t leave a message and I will report it as junk and delete. If the voice mail message isn’t legit, I do the same.
 
Over time, you’ll also get a lot of scam text messages that have links. Don’t ever click on any of the links. A current one going around for some western WA folks is that you have unpaid tolls. I’ve received multiple scam text messages regarding this.
When in doubt or you think it might be legit, log into your account with whatever company or organizations website to see if you have a message or alert. If not, that text message is a scam. I also get a lot of scam texts supposedly from Comcast.
You can block numbers, but these assholes are pretty persistent and will use other numbers.
SF

 
Eastside said:
This is the approach I use. If I don’t recognize the number, I don’t answer. Many times they won’t leave a message and I will report it as junk and delete. If the voice mail message isn’t legit, I do the same.
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I agree with your and @FishyJere - I block numbers where I get what I think are phyising (sp) calls. (I don't know if that helps but it feels like the right thing to do.)
 
Flymph said:
After reading the scam thread I finally made the move to purchase an I-phone Apple 17. We know nothing other than a landline but realize the many times that we could have utilized a wireless phone. We would love to hear the do's, dont's, and the "Make sure you", in preparation.
Click to expand...
I guess that leaves me as the only one without a cell phone…..landline still works for me. I’ll agree that cell phones are good for directions. My .02
 
Bambooflyguy said:
I guess that leaves me as the only one without a cell phone…..landline still works for me. I’ll agree that cell phones are good for directions. My .02
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I'm sure it's like a lot of things , you don't miss what you don't have . IMO they are great tool , would not be without mine for many reasons . I am not glued to it like some that carry it around in their hand ,never letting go of it . I am sure there are others that don't have a cell phone , not sure I know anyone that doesn't have one .
 
Flymph said:
After reading the scam thread I finally made the move to purchase an I-phone Apple 17. We know nothing other than a landline but realize the many times that we could have utilized a wireless phone. We would love to hear the do's, dont's, and the "Make sure you", in preparation.
Click to expand...
“After reading the scam thread”…I thought for sure was the lead up to a new business venture😂.

Have fun with your phone. It can be as useful or irritating as you allow it to be.
 
The map program that comes on an apple phone works just fine. I will not personally allow any google software on my phone because of the level of tracking they do seems an invasion of privacy. As to the scammers, about ten years ago we switched from Verizon to tmobile
and close to 100% of the scammers calls are shown "scam likely" on the caller id, which makes it pretty easy.
The iPhones are expensive, but they are really well made and durable. I'm on my third, but not because they were not doing their thing just fine, we just wanted to upgrade the camera for a vacation. Apple gives you some cash back on a trade in when you want to upgrade.
 
Bambooflyguy said:
I guess that leaves me as the only one without a cell phone…..landline still works for me. I’ll agree that cell phones are good for directions. My .02
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For many years I have held the same belief. Now, both the Mrs and I are in our 70s with likely more health issues on the horizon. We both find ourselves saying "If we would have only had a cell phone" for many different predicaments. Some were close to being dangerous while others were costly.

We are looking into $15 p/mth "forever" offer from Boost but will carefully weigh the replies on this thread before making a final decision.
 
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