Tag Archives: iPhone update

My iPhone Issues, Part II

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In February of 2014, I wrote about three issues I was experiencing with my iPhone 5. Now, almost two years later, I have three different issues with my iPhone 5S. However, this time around I am not asking for help. I know what I got to do to solve the minor problems. But, for the sake of a blog post and for the satisfaction of a few people, I will outline my issues tonight.

Can’t View New Emojis – Perhaps I see no character on my phone more than the alien enclosed in the square box. Because I have neglected to update to iOS 9 (or iOS 8 for that matter) I can’t use, access, or view the cool new emojis released in the latest version. Why haven’t I conformed with the times? I have not had the storage available to do so. I know what you are saying right now…free up storage. Easy for you to say. I can’t get myself to go through and start deleting my 7,800+ photos. It isn’t even about losing the photos because I have always known I could just save them on a standard flash drive. You see, the real reason why I have let the images command all the space on my phone is because I have the silly anxiety of not having access to them on my device at any given moment.

I face that anxiety head on tonight. I will soon be dumping my photos on a mass storage device and deleting them from my phone. Not only will I now get to go nuts with the new emojis, I will also appease my friends and family. I guess operating on an old software update really messes up group messages.

I don't go hard on music and apps but I do like to take photos.

I don’t go hard on music and apps but I do like to take photos.

Stock Up on Those Chargers – I was so frustrated last night. I returned to my apartment from Sidney’s house and realized I had left my charger at her place. I depend on my iPhone to do my job, keep me informed, and to get me up in the morning so I knew I had to take immediate action. As Sidney lives 20 minutes from where I live, I went to the Wal-Mart 10 minutes away and bought a cheap $10 cord that would suffice for the night. I plugged it into my computer and watched as my batter life went up about a percent every five minutes.

I wouldn’t have been so mad if this exact same thing didn’t happen a little over a month ago. I left Sid’s to go work a Coastal football game and sure enough I left my charger at her house. Knowing I couldn’t do my job without a healthy charge on my phone, I stopped at the Wal-Mart right next to the university and bought the same model rinky-dink cord I purchased last night. Although I now have charging sources at my apartment, Sid’s home, and work, I am asking for high quality chargers for Christmas. These 3-foot-long cords with no adaptor just aren’t doing it for me.

I used this flimsy charger at work today.

I used this flimsy charger at work today.

Misplaced Apps – Nothing is more confusing to look at than when I take my phone out of my pocket and realize something is a bit off. I get used to apps filling up my screen so it is a bit unsettling when I see an empty spot on one of my home screen pages. Even more infuriating is that I usually can’t place a finger on what app I accidentally deleted.

Do you know what I am talking about? If you activate a command on your iPhone you can make your app icons shake and all that is needed to delete is by pressing down on the one you want to get rid of. Depending on the type of pants I am wearing and what exactly I happen to be doing, I inadvertently delete apps much more frequently than I would like. When I notice I have done such a thing I usually can’t remember which app I deleted until the time comes down the road when I need to use it again. I need to get to the bottom of what pair of pants is conducive to app deleting and stop wearing them!

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So there are my first world problems for you. Please excuse me while I get to deleting some photos. Don’t Blink.

The Hardships of the IOS 7 Update

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When it comes to upgrades in technology and social media, I like to be on the forefront. I like to fall in line with the latest trends and then learn sooner rather than later all the new features and quirks of the new upgrade. So, when Apple came out with the latest 7.01 software (and then 7.02) I had full intentions of updating ASAP. That was the plan, anyway.

However, I quickly realized that I would have to do more than just press the update button to get the new software. You see, in order for the download to occur you needed 3.1GB if available space. I had .07GB remaining. With the daunting possibilities swirling around in my head on what I would have to part with from my phone to achieve the necessary amount of memory to get the new software (coupled with working long hours), I put the transition on ice for about ten days.

Last night I arrived in Spokane for a weekend getaway of relaxation and breathing room. While watching on television my high school alma matter take on our arch rival in the Battle of the Bell football game, I decided to make the necessary adjustments so that I could download 7.02. Unfortunately for me, it was no easy fix.

I spent the whole second half of the game freeing up the necessary memory to satisfy the massive software download. I had to completely delete my entire music library…I am talking every single song. But that just scratched the surface. I then had to turn my attention to my roughly 7,000 photos I had stored. In a painstakingly long process, I went through and deleted photo after photo. I would then look back at my storage information and see that I was still way off of where I needed to be for the download. I would then go through and delete even more pictures only to look back and see that I still needed to do much more work. After about the sixth round of “cutting fat” my device finally met the absolute minimum amount of space needed for the download. I hit the upgrade button.

It took what seemed about two years for the software to download. After all the waiting the progress bar finally filled up and I thought I had successfully downloaded the new technology. Not so fast! A prompt came up and notified me that before the changes could be made I still had to free up 100 MB of space. I had nowhere to go but to my applications. Not even having two pages of apps I had to choose very carefully which ones I wanted to get rid of. I ended up chopping my Yahoo Sports App, my Emoticons, and a picture cropping aid. My phone then went black and another progress bar appeared and it had to fill up two separate times before the upgrade finally kicked in. Long after the high school football game had concluded (my school lost, 10-0) I finally had the 7.02 software update installed on my phone.

I don’t think the new update is terrible. I think, just like with anything, it will take a little getting used to. In fact, I have only had it for 12 hours and I feel I am almost accustomed with it. I will say this and I don’t know if anyone else feels the same way but I think the presentation itself with the icons is a little bit of a step back. To me it seems like the screen I am looking at now is the screen that the iPhone would have had if it existed 10 years ago. But believe me, I am well aware with how the “retro” look is in so maybe that is what Apple was going for.

Sure, the new camera features are pretty cool. Although if I am going to apply a filter to a photo I take I am still going to open up Instagram and go from there because IG has both a better and more vast selection. I also hear the panoramic tool is pretty cool but I am yet to master it. I attempted to take a photo at the restaurant we were at last night but it did not work.

Even though I am not blown away with the 7.02 software, I am glad I finally made the time (and the sacrifices) to update. It is important to stay with the times, especially when it comes to technology. Especially with my profession and with my interests, I need to speak the language and use the current tools of the techies around me. Shame on myself for not getting this taken care of sooner. Don’t Blink.