'Home' devices now 'TOO' smart!!??

[Red Squirrel]

My grandparants had a big console TV too, it just kept on working.  They only replaced it because they ended up getting a flat screen as a present.  But yeah stuff like that was more expensive back in the day but it also lasted.  Now everything is cheap, but we pay with it with our privacy, and it breaks within 10 years.

[RJSV]

I'm actually getting so pissed, w my ANDROID phone on the ATT  scam-line. Swear, if usb connector wears out or something, going to switch out...
   Now, my phone 'gives up' on the ole' reliable house wifi, (with the satellite dish symbol, as phone pathetically attempts a regular cell-tower type of connect. So my music / video gets into limbo...; That's how I know.
   AND NOW, over on left, is a new icon, an antenna with a question-mark, '?', and right next to the 'ATT'.
What's ATT's beef, you ask? Well, ok those lame-ass un-connects, from usual long working WIFI, that's costing me extra money $$$, as my month long use gets shrunk.
   Plus, without sounding so vain: I like my Van Halen, Judgement Day and other songs. Getting to the end of welcome for Google (products), I'm sorry to say.

[bd139]

Android has alway been a complete fucking shit show. I lost a week of holiday photos thanks to an Android handset once due to SD corruption after a crash. Also had three of the damn things (HTC, Motorola, Samsung) just drop dead. The Motorola handset died after only 2 weeks and the official repairer in the UK claimed it was water damaged and sent it back with a £200 bill attached.

Switched to Apple. Never a problem since.

[PlainName]

A client's wife was with Apple. Dropped her phone down the loo (as you do) and then found none of the photos had made it to iCloud (or whatever it is). Of course, probably have had the same problem with Android, but at least she'd've known at the start that they weren't being backed up so could do something about it.

Not sure why they weren't being stored off-phone - every night the broadband link was brought to its knees by her phone transferring something.

[bd139]

My iPhone is IP68. I’d expect it to survive a trip to the porcelain playground 

As for sync it stops if your phone is in low power mode. Lots of people I know run their phones in low power mode all the time because quite frankly they’re either rammed with battery draining shit or have no idea what they are doing. Edit: oh and also their iCloud is universally only the free 5Gb and entirely full of selfies.

[RJSV]

Oh and SELFIES: thanks for reminder:
Gaaawgel is now rolled out the image placing thing:
   Friend's poodle-chiwawa got flagged as a 'white collie'.
Not even close. Tried image lookup, with my girlfriend... (Oops, please try to use, smarter than I do!)

[NiHaoMike]

Gaaawgel is now rolled out the image placing thing:
   Friend's poodle-chiwawa got flagged as a 'white collie'.
Not even close. Tried image lookup, with my girlfriend... (Oops, please try to use, smarter than I do!)

Reminds me of a prototype smartphone I got to play with that gave a "score" of how pretty people are. It was far from perfect but worked surprisingly well considering it did all the AI on the device itself. (That was about a year after Xiaomi released a smartphone that makes people look prettier in selfies.)

[TomS_]

I tried watching this guy, but he came across as too much of a conspiracy nut.

[RJSV]

So I am noticing, pretty consistently, a change, now interrupting a playing video / music, and seems consistent around 2 or 3 minutes in... The interruption involves video pausing / loading more, with the 'wait' circle indicating more download is occurring.
   BUT then, I always notice, the antenna ICON comes on, replacing the (expected) WIFI icon with the (disappointing) Cell Tower dish, as Android phone reverts to simple on-air downloading. The house has always had fine high speed WIFI with coverage outside a few feet into the back yard.
   So what has changed? From my interests, I don't want / like my phone service taking measures that cause my service 'minutes' to be siphoned down, (until my monthly service is used up by the first week.
  Sometimes, I wonder about others, so this thread helps (renew hope). So, 'vad', sorry, but your 'lame' warning, (don't go around suspecting 'KGB')...is just that: Lame discredit, more censorship etc, to stop others' questions.
Sorrry: I got questions !

[bd139]

It sounds like you bought a crappy android handset that the wifi keeps dying on 

[RJSV]

Actually, thanks, I found out the TV / WIFI  dish antenna has shifted (we think), so my problems likely coming from my own local (equipment).
The signal used, by the cable / satellite box is likely compromised, and so causing my phone (on WIFI) to go roaming, for a friendly cell-phone tower.
I don't like that, because it eats up the data minutes I have loaded in, using a grocery store phone card.
This time, my mistake.

[PlainName]

I don't like that, because it eats up the data minutes I have loaded in, using a grocery store phone card.

Why not disable cell data when you're at home? You can either do it manually or use one of the many apps that will do it automatically.

[RJSV]

Yes but..uhh.. isn't 'cell data' minutes what brings in the content being watched / read etc. ?
  I use various music (videos) as headphone 'background' music source.

[PlainName]

How can the cell minutes bring the data in if it's coming over WiFi? And that seems to be your issue - you are using cell minutes when you want to be on WiFi. So just disable cell data (not cell voice) and it can't switch from WiFi. Of course, if your WiFi is really crap then you'll suffer dropouts because the cell data won't be there to catch it, but since that's what you're complaining about I think it's a fair solution.

[vk6zgo]

My iPad is a bit "deaf", so from time to time, it loses connection to our Wifi.
A bit annoying, but tolerable, until recently, when after one of these episodes, it happily connected to somebody's Air Conditioner.

When I went to "Settings" to see what was happening, it showed two such airconditioners.

My first reaction was "Cool, I can mess with someone elses stuff!", but, unfortunately it doesn't work that way-----I can't use the connection to fiddle their A/C settings, or to go on line.

I guess because the connection is "dumbed down" they don't bother with a password, leaving the thing sitting there to piss off unwary Wifi users.

The way to stop that happening is to connect to it, then tell the iPad to "forget this network", but it is a "fiddle" you need to work out, which is something you wouldn't need to do, if they used a password.

[RJSV]

Thank you, dunkemhigh, I think I'm (starting) to get it, this whole process involves learning, while trying various features, (Android in my case).
  Have purchased 'Android For Dummies', so will be getting delivery on that, for some study.
(I've also a copy of 'Neurological Science for Dummies' but that's just a distraction here, lol).

   dunkemhigh: I think you are right about both things:
The WIFI getting into CRAP territory, plus I don't know the basics, what is data, what is voice (anymore).
Drop-outs would be preferred, as I just cannot endure the loss of (emergency type) regular cellphone 'voice'.
The caution, is that my music listening habits could cause:... SUPPRISE!: "You are now stranded, in Baltimore, with no TAXI service"
That's the transportation CRUNCH dilemma, here in the U.S. where every living/breathing creature MUST own an automobile, (for sheer survival). And we actually have decent, modern mass transit, here!
   So, back to the immediate issue, Landlord reset and powered-down the Satellite receiver box (I've been calling that the WIFI controller.)
I asked him, did he sort-of 'JIGGLE IT'?
OR did he, uh, kinda 'WIGGLE' the plug ?
...but that's just a sarcastic joke, taken from a movie.
  But, seriously, in this World today, things can be so 'phaakt-up' that my deliberate jokes WANE in comparison.
   So, I asked, Did he 'wiggle' the dang thing, as a professional troubleshooting, but end result, seems to have fixed the loss of signal problems, at the house.
That was a combination, going into roof to adjust dish antenna aim, plus the action of power down, and back up. I swear, it just sounds so primative, almost superstitious, to interact with TECH devices...
...which is why, sometimes, I just try to tell folks:
   "I'm an ARTIST..."

   But I hope explained the drop-outs a little better, and promise to 'study' Android / on ALCATEL smart phone.
It, seriously, really is a great modern feature, just needs some maturity...