Recent Moments
Medium Stories
Recent Moments
Changing my phone, twice 📱📱
Communication problems with my in-laws 📡
All my two-factor authentication codes vanished! 😱
My aunt’s new phone appeared faulty ⚡️
Cable shopping on MOT day 🏪
Visiting my 100-year-old aunt 🕰️
Plumbing jobs 🚰
Boosted story surprise 🚀
1. Changing my phone, twice 📱📱
For the last four years, I’ve used a second-generation iPhone SE. I liked its simplicity and small size, but I knew the camera was not the best. Also, I yearned for more storage to hold my MP3 and FLAC music files.
Therefore, two years ago, I got a Samsung S20 Ultra. It had a better camera and a micro SD card slot that solved the storage problem. However, I didn’t use it as my primary phone because I prefer iOS, and I’m tied into the Apple ecosystem.
Using two phones was a pain and seemed extravagant, so I recently traded in my Samsung while buying a used laptop.
A few days later, I made an impulsive choice and got a used iPhone 13 Pro Max. It was my first experience using an iPhone with FaceID.
Unfortunately, it was too big and heavy. Double-clicking on the side button to use Apple Pay or take a screenshot was awkward one-handed.
Why didn’t I check the weight before buying?
Luckily, I had a two-day window to return it.
The initial phone-to-phone transfer from my old SE to the 13 Pro Max had gone smoothly. However, when transferring back to the SE before returning the bigger phone, the SE was excruciatingly slow at restoring apps.
I gave up waiting for the restore operation, returned the 13 Pro Max, and came home with an iPhone 15. It’s close enough to my SE in size and weight that I can live with it. Here are the weights:
iPhone SE 2nd Gen — 148 g
iPhone 15 — 171 g
iPhone 13 Pro Max — 240 g
(Source: knowyourmobile.com/phones/iphone-weight-comparison)
My old phone was still not fully operational when I got home, so I decided against trying a phone-to-phone transfer to the iPhone 15. Instead, I set it up from an iCloud backup.
All seemed well at first. But a few hours later, I realised there was a big problem — more on that later.
I like the iPhone 15, and I’m glad that’s where I ended up. While I miss the third camera and macro feature of the 13 Pro Max, I love the iPhone 15’s increased photo resolution (24 and 48-megapixel instead of 12).
I wish I’d not been so impulsive because I bought a case and screen protector for the 13 Pro Max, which are now wasted.
I usually fit my own screen protectors, but I let the man in the shop fit the one to my iPhone 15. All went well until I saw him use his greasy finger to remove a speck of dust before lowering it into position!
2. Communication problems with my in-laws 📡
Every Saturday morning, my father-in-law picks my eldest son up. But last weekend, when he did not turn up, my son reluctantly phoned and spoke to his gran.
It became clear my father-in-law was not coming because his daughter was visiting. They seemed to think we knew all about it because she’d sent a message!
I opened WhatsApp and found I’d been logged out after changing phones. That’s when I finally saw the missed message from my late wife’s sister.
If only she’d noticed it was unread and tried phoning us instead. It would have saved us waiting for my father-in-law to arrive when he had no intention of coming.
3. All my two-factor authentication codes vanished! 😱
A couple of hours after setting up my iPhone 15, I started logging in to various apps that had kicked me out during the changeover.
I went to FreeOTP, the two-factor authentication (2FA) app I’d used for years, and saw something alarming.
The list was empty! None of my 2FA codes had been transferred to the new phone!
Phone-to-phone transfers brought the 2FA stuff across, but restoring from iCloud backups did not!
Luckily, my old iPhone SE had finally become operational, and its copy of FreeOTP had all my codes!
My daily iCloud backups had given me a false sense of security, and I suddenly realised my backups had been incomplete.
According to github.com/freeotp/freeotp-ios/issues/320, ‘Advanced Data Protection’ needed to be on — and it hadn’t been in my case. But that would only help going forward.
I’d had enough of FreeOTP and switched to Google Authenticator.
I then spent hours logging into every service, disabling 2FA, and reenabling it using the new app.
Google Authenticator stores the codes in my Google account, which has pros and cons. I like that it’s available on all my devices. However, I’m concerned about using a cloud service for something so critical.
Also, there might be a future catch-22 situation because the Google account that stores my 2FA codes also requires 2FA to log in!
I suppose that’s when the backup codes prove essential!
4. My aunt’s new phone appeared faulty ⚡️
Days before visiting my 100-year-old aunt, I set up the Doro 1380 mobile phone I’d bought for her and activated the SIM.
Everything seemed to be working, so I phoned my aunt to arrange a time to visit.
An hour later, I realised the battery was not charging!
“It may not be your fault, but it's your problem.”
— Oppenheimer movie (Source: somethinkofvalue.com/oppenheimer-quotes-movie)
As I contemplated the hassle of returning the phone, I looked online and found others who had similar problems. That made me wonder if a replacement phone would be any different.
Then I tried another cable — and it worked!
Phew!
5. Cable shopping on MOT day 🏪
When my car was having its annual MOT test, I wandered around town and picked up some USB cables.
I wanted to give my aunt a choice of lengths, so I picked up another Micro-USB cable.
I also wanted a USB-C cable for my iPhone 15 because my older phones used the lightning connector. My existing USB-C cables were short ones to charge headphones. They also had thick plastic surrounding the connector and would not fit my phone when it was in a case.
When I couldn’t see the cables I needed, I asked at the counter, and the man grabbed one. It was only when I got home I discovered he’d given me the wrong type: it was yet another Micro-USB cable! 🤦♂️
Rather than return to the shop, I ordered some cables online, and it was a couple of days before I could use Apple CarPlay.
It’s been a while since I’ve bumped into Stephanie in town, but she was there with her two children. It’s funny how, a few years ago, we’d all have been doing things together during the Easter half term, but now our lives are more separate.
(Despite that, I recently booked a holiday for us.)
At least my car passed the MOT test.
6. Visiting my 100-year-old aunt 🕰️
Stephanie came to my house with cakes she’d baked for my aunt, and just before we set off, she realised she’d left her phone at home. The extra stop made us late, and my aunt is a stickler for timekeeping, so I phoned her.
“You’re late!” was the first thing she said upon answering the phone. 😂
When we arrived, we spotted a man working on the roof next door. My aunt was concerned her roof might also need repairs, but Stephanie and I thought it looked okay. (My aunt is housebound, so it’s hard for her to check.)
She was pleased with the phone, and we chatted for over an hour, as usual.
One thing we talked about was food. I’m always interested in what might have helped my aunt live so long — she’ll be 101 next month. (I’m not saying this will help you live to 101, but it may have helped my aunt!)
She likes plain, simple food. And she does not like salad! In particular, she has disliked tomatoes since childhood. For vegetables, she likes carrots, peas, onions, and broccoli.
7. Plumbing jobs 🚰
Recent bad weather stopped me from repairing my outside tap. Well, that was my excuse. Today, there was no rain, so I finally tackled the job with the help of my youngest son.
The tap only needed a new washer, but it was impossible to dismantle. It felt like the pipe would break before we opened it.
Therefore, we bought a new tap and fitted that. Once the water was back on, there was a tiny weep from the joint, so we redid it using more PTFE tape than before. I was relieved it worked!
We thought it was all done, but no! The garden hosepipe would not fit! The new tap was slightly different, and our nearby washing machine drain pipe clashed with the hose fitting.
Luckily, the more compact fitting supplied with the tap enabled the hose to fit.
While still in plumbing mode, we serviced the kitchen hot water tap. There were one or two snags with that, too. But we got there in the end.
It was the first time my son assisted me with household plumbing jobs, and he was a big help.
8. Boosted story surprise 🚀
Several years ago, I published stories about old computers on blog sites that no longer exist.
Every so often, I republish one of them on Medium after a bit of editing. They don’t feel like my best pieces, so I was amazed when Remembering the IBM PC and Compatibles got boosted on Medium last November.
Earlier this week, I republished Remembering the Sinclair ZX81 (mentioned in the final section below). Much to my surprise and delight, it got boosted as well!
I’m glad I added one or two lines about how it meant something to me because of its connection with my late wife.
Thank you for reading 💛
Alan
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Medium Stories
Alan’s Thoughts on Eleven Topics
Music, life quotes, Medium tips, and more
1. If I could change one thing about myself
2. My favourite music
3. My favourite life quote
4. The advice I’d give a new Medium writer
Be patient. It takes time to build a genuine following; avoid follow-for-follow. Having thousands of followers means nothing if they aren’t interested in reading.
5. Why I’m on Medium
6. Medium would be better if…
7. My favourite statistic
8. This makes me laugh
9. My greatest weakness
10. This changed everything
11. My favourite season
Remembering the Sinclair ZX81
Facts, opinions, and personal memories of what was nearly my first home computer
Occasionally, I update and republish one of my vintage computer stories. This time, I chose the Sinclair ZX81.
For Christmas 2009, my wife gave me a ZX81 she’d bought on eBay. It meant a lot because of the way I’d missed out on having one as a teenager.
The Life and Times of an Amber-Handled Screwdriver
One of my old tools has a story to tell you
The topic for this story has been in my drafts for ages, and I finally wrote the story this week. I’d not planned to approach it from the tool’s point of view, but it felt right somehow!
Once Alan got a job, he bought himself a set of new screwdrivers, and I was cast aside. It was hurtful, but I had to snigger when his fancy new screwdrivers were too big or too small, and he came looking for me again. 😂