Mobile Phones

[plaques]

I'm beginning to think that all this talk of synchronisation between a tablet and a phone, WhatsApp connections not to mention wifi and 4G is an underneath attempt to make me feel inferior. Just when I was climbing out of my dark hole you lot have shoved me back down again. Shame on you.

[Tripps]

Rebuke accepted - no offence intended.

Luckily like nearly all my attempts to get updated on such things - it will all quickly fade away. I'm a sucker for cloud storage too. I find the effort involved outweighs the benefit to be gained. It will be the same this time.

[PanBiker]

Having WhatsApp on computer, (one way or the other) has the advantage of giving you a full sized keyboard and screen, quite useful. On cloud storage I use Google Drive quite a bit, very useful for transferring pictures from the phone to the PC, handy for Ebay stuff. Gallery on an Android phone gives you the option to share to Google Drive. Simple matter then to retrieve on the laptop, actually quicker than hardwiring the phone to a USB port.

[Stanley]

"Having WhatsApp on computer, (one way or the other) has the advantage of giving you a full sized keyboard and screen, quite useful."
Especially when you have bad eyesight and a small screen on your phone!

[plaques]

I'll have to give this WhatsApp / computer business a try. I'm still in the stages of pressing buttons and things disappearing as though they are trying to take revenge on me. I won't let a bit of silicon get the better of me.

[Tizer]

We had problems with that too, Plaques. We set it up on the smartphone then did it on the PC. Went back to the smartphone and it was no longer working. Set it up again there and it didn't work on the PC. Gave up in the end, life's too short!

[Tripps]

I'll have to give this WhatsApp / computer business a try

That's the spirit. Good luck. Conquer it then abandon it. That's my usual method.

Tizer - yes that's how it works,and it puzzled me. My lad said that 'Whatsapp web' enables both to be used at once. i had a quick stab at it, but when the calls are likely to be few and far between, the incentive to defeat it is weak.

I still don't like that I give it permission to look at all my contacts, access all my files and pictures, and to record all my conversations. I've nothing to hide, but why do they want to do that?

If you want to be different, and like a bit of oneupmanship, look at Viber. Based in Japan (I think) - and your friends will be impressed.

[PanBiker]

Mine just works on both, but I have to have the phone on for the computer version to sync properly.

[Stanley]

Your lad was right David and so is Ian. It's Whatsapp web and works fine. Pluggy set mine up for me. And yes, the phone has to be on for the Whatsapp Web on the PC to work, it is a slave to it. (Oops!)

[plaques]

A cri de cœur to all G7 moto phone users. Far some reason my new phone after the initial switch on but before the lock request the boot up period is accompanied with flashing images of the Moto logo. How do I get rid of this irritating display? I know it must have been something I pressed but honestly your honour it was done in all innocence.

[Wendyf]

Don't switch it off.

[Tizer]

I think Wendy is right, they don't expect you to ever turn the damn thing off! I looked in the PDF manual but can't find anything about changing the display on that screen. On the other hand, do you get it when the phone has not been turned off but was simply in locked mode? (If the answer is yes, I've still not found anything to show how to change the display - we need Ian's input here!)

[PanBiker]

If you mean the animated boot up display which has the Moto logo at the start. I only get that from a cold start. I don't go in for screen lock or any nonsense like that, my screen turns off but is re-engaged with a short press of the power button. Some features are Android version dependant so you may have some feature that I don't get on mine, my phone is 6 years old now but still going strong. I also don't subscribe to the never turn it off regime. It gets tuned off when I don't need it, mainly through the night when it goes on charge. The lithium battery will last longer with a proper discharge / charge routine. Charging with it still switched on never gives the battery a rest.

[Tripps]

The lithium battery will last longer with a proper discharge / charge routine. Charging with it still switched on never gives the battery a rest.

Lots of theories about batteries. After owning my laptop for a while, it told me that having analysed my use of the beast it would henceforth keep the charge level at 60%, and adjust the software to achieve that. That's what it does - and has worked well since. Not sure but at least six years.

As for my Motorola I agree - never switch it off. Charge overnight. It sometimes restarts on its own - spooky to hear 'Hell Moto' loudly coming from your left hand trouser pocket.

[PanBiker]

I don't advocate leaving it switched on to charge, it takes a lot longer as it still has to run all the apps on the phone. I have an exception to that in that I may charge it in the car while driving. All battery types fare better when charged independently of load. Auto restart may be when it has downloaded and installed updates.

[Stanley]

I take the boot message as par for the course, never questioned it. Like Ian I always turn it off at night and charge when it drops to about 70% which is perhaps every three days, the battery on my G7 economy is enormous. Very pleased with it... Thanks for putting me on to it whoever it was.

[plaques]

Bought a nice wallet to hold the G7 phone from the internet £5, very pleased with it although the quick action (torch and camera) doesn't work with it closed. Now with it snugly within its new home and with Mrs P on some inside business I though I'd have a walk round to kill a bit of time. Give me a call when you've finished sort of thing. Now about ½ mile away the phone starts buzzing. Panic. open wallet up with wrong hand, its now upside down, brilliant sunshine can't see the screen, swipe the phone but with it being upside down Id turned the call off. Bloody mobiles, or is it me?

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz had trouble with receiving calls when she first got the phone. She kept doing the wrong thing and ending the call instead. She still gets it wrong sometimes. It's partly because she uses it 95% of the time for texts so by the time she receives another call she's forgotten again! Perhaps also the fact she's left-handed and confusing left with right adds to the trouble. And all made worst by the panic when the phone's ringing! (I was simplifying when I said she's left-handed. She's more left than right but is essentially ambidextrous. You might think that would make life easier but in practice it means she's more likely to confuse left and right. Using a screwdriver was made easier when she learned `righty tighty, lefty, loosy'.)

[PanBiker]

No, If mine goes off in my pocket I invariably find that I trigger some random app whilst recovering the phone to receive the call. I don't let it vex me and usually ring the person back that I have just missed, I am a not a slave to the device, although you see plenty of folk about that are. I nearly ran over one the other day who walked straight out into the road without looking as they were entranced by the brick in their hand, and they had headphones on. No accounting for stupid.

[Stanley]

I still couldn't tell you what I do to receive a call.....

[plaques]

G7 phone. By the powers of deduction and the extensive use of trial and error the mystery of the epilepsy inducing stroboscopic Moto logo on boot up has been solved. Removing the security lock function to 'none' also removes the offending boot up procedure. Of course there may be some risk involved if you lose your phone and you do internet banking on it but otherwise you rid yourself of the need to keep entering your pass details every few minutes.

[Stanley]

Can't find security lock on mine, do you mean screen lock Ken?

[plaques]

I used the official 'security lock' term to define the first page after boot up where you enter a pin number or some other entry feature.
Settings > Security > Device security. > NONE. This comes with the warning that you have turned your security to your phone off. Why this should also remove the psychedelic logo prior to this screen I've no idea.

[PanBiker]

It will come down to different versions of Android. I don't have any security pin type facilities running on mine other than the normal time out on the screen. That just reactivates with a short press of the power button. I still have the boot up logo, it doesn't vex me.

[Tizer]

Plaques, as Ian says, it wasn't enabled on Mrs Tiz's Moto phone when she got it. There was no need to enter a code.