Here's another small piece of data I found out. Ting, which resells the
Sprint network with simple and fair pricing, also allows free voice
roaming on Verizon towers. So, it might be a good alternative to get
cheaper pricing and still get my operation in the boonies that I want.
It's not worth it now for me to buy new phones if I don't have to, but
it's something I'm keeping in mind. If you have a phone that uses 500
minutes of voice, 100 text messages, and no data, the charges on Ting
would only be $ 18 / mo. Also, if you wish, you can use a smartphone
and still cap your data usage at any amount you want, even zero. If you
do that, the phone can still use data when it's on wifi.
Sincerely,
Ron
On 4/6/2014 12:23 PM, Ron Frazier (TECHC) wrote:
Hi guys,
I thought I'd pass along an update.
Someone on the DC404 list (where I'm also discussing this) said he'd had good
success buying refurbs from Amazon, EBay, CraigsList, etc. I said good point
about refurbs. I'll consider that if I have to buy one. I may have gotten a
break though and resurrected the old phone enough to keep using it.
I did all of the following. Something made things better than they were
before. I don't know what.
a) I powered down and removed the battery for 2 minutes. (hard to believe that
fixed it)
b) I found an area with a strong signal and I did *228 send then option 1 to
refresh provisioning data. I did this again.
c) I did *228 send then option 2 to refresh the roaming data. I did this again.
Regarding *228, I believe *22899 send does 1 and 2 automatically. I've been
told or read somewhere that this is not necessary on 4g devices and not to do
it on 3g smart phones as it might screw things up. I don't know if that's true.
d) I talked to a phone rep, and they resynchronized the phone with the switch
(whatever that means).
e) I found a store with tech support on site on Northpoint Parkway in
Alpharetta (unlike the one in Cumming). They reflashed the firmware for me.
Something worked. I've now made 70 test calls to from the phone and 20 to the
phone and it seems to work. Gonna test it for a while and see if it's reliable
enough to keep using. For now, I've got better things to do with the cash than
replacing a phone I don't need to. Of course, if we have to buy one, we will.
Sincerely,
Ron
--
(PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very quickly.)
Ron Frazier
770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
linuxdude AT techstarship.com
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