Yup, about two weeks early, I was surprised to receive today the world's creme de la creme phone, the now scarce and yes, IMPOSSIBLE to use, iPhone X.
Now granted, I am 72 years old, however, I walked into MacWorld in January of 2007 just as Steve Jobs was finishing his keynote speech announcing the new iPhone. I can remember all of us standing around slack jawed and frankly thinking everyone at Apple had smoked something a little too much. While I hated my Motorola Razr it just didn't seem possible you could get a phone to do all that besides call and talk to someone. I mean, carrying around a computer in your pocket? A trip to Europe a month later proved that it could.
I was number 222 at the Glendale Galleria June 29, 2007 and got my first, the first iPhone with 8 GB of memory. So, I am not a neophyte here. I have been enamored of the iPhone's since they first came out. I spent the next day hitting every button and finding out what it could and could not do. A friend and I attended an iPhone class the following Sunday so I, the old fart of 61, could learn to use it. I knew about as much as the Apple guy as he only had his phone about the same time as me. In fact I knew a few things he didn't! It was wickedly easy to use. I loved it. I did note, however, that each new phone and iOS got harder to use but today .... I am now defeated. I can't call on either my iPhone 7+ or my iPhone X. Nothing is syncing and the things that were on my older phone can't seem to transfer, via my iMac to the new phone.
So ... today, right now I can't do anything because when I connected the "X" it disconnected me from AT&T. So I guess that means a trip to the Apple Store with both phones and see what I can do.
And to make it worse, the backup that has been spinning for over an hour is useless. None of the information backed up from the 7+ has made it ... no music, no photos, no movies and not one single one of the Apps I have accumulated over the past 10 years. All the mailboxes are gone and to make it worse there seems to be no way to get them back either without hours of research and work. Frankly, what was Apple thinking of? I have read that some of the new features take awhile to get used to but I hadn't read anyone saying it was impossible to back-up and restore your information on the new phone. Simply put the only phone is what Apple gives you, a brand new virgin phone. What you had before is lost and it seems gone forever.
This is my last iPhone ... I am sure they will get it to work, maybe not at the level of my iPhone 7+ that I loved and used on trips to take stunning photos. It was a very simple process to go from an iPhone 6 to the 7+. Evidently Apple has chosen the Microsoft way of doing business. You need to be a geek to get it right. The rest of us either stand 10 deep at the Genius bar or wait. The trip to the Apple store is 40 minutes there ... God knows the hours of waiting and 40 minutes home. But, if this is the way Apple is going to make the migration of information work from one phone to another, I am done. I hope the build quality is good because it is going to have to last a looooooong time meaning it will be a loooooong time before I get another.
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| This is Apple's version of the Blue Screen of death. It spins and spins and spins! |
Its been hours now and I don't know what to do. My inclination is to take the new phone back and just live with what I have. It worked. My iMac is totally frozen, I can't go or do anything and I am terrified of forcing it to shut down. I am hoping that they can get the 7+ to work again and unless they can convince me, have their new toy back.
Later Monday Evening...
After one last attempt to back up my iPhone 7+, I packed up both phones and made the trek to the Palm Desert Apple Store to return the "X" and have them help me establish an AT&T connection to my old phone so that I would have a phone, a cell phone being the only phone I use now. (Sorry Millennials, I beat you to that concept years ago). The guy that met me at the door said that he would get someone to help me but I had to wait abit. So ....
They had me wait at one of the tables and soon Eric came over to help. I told him about my experience and that I had had an iPhone from the day they came out but today, well, I was defeated and had given up. He looked at them both and said that he would first like to try a few things before I surrendered the new phone. He tried several things and had to admit the normal ways didn't work as he tried to backup the old phone to a laptop and then restore the data to the new phone. Finally, he suggested we try to buy some more space on iCloud, 50 GB for $1 and sure enough the phone started to work. However, what if one, like I'm sure most seniors, don't have iCloud nor even know what it is, how would you ever know? I resent that you need to add yet another layer to make a phone work. It took us over an hour and once we were sure everything was coming back he said that I could finish up at home without a problem. Shut the phone off, turn on and follow the prompts to keep restoring the phone. They were closing and I had a phone that partially worked anyway. Everything did resume once I got home.
In the limited time I have used it, I find that the facial recognition works even in the dark outside walking my dog. Without a protective case it is the perfect size. Smaller than the 7+ but bigger than my old iPhone 6, the whole front is glass and you soon adapt to not pushing or even looking for the home button. It just opens. Other than shutting down, I can't seem to close Apps but it is fast.
Settings and passwords are not there so you will enter a lot of passwords. Before I could open any of my emails I had to enter the passwords for each mailbox. So, if you haven't, start writing those down. Pairing Bluetooth items is easy though I haven't tried my Mazda yet. The sound is much improved and videos are amazing. I haven't used the camera much yet so will give a rundown on that in another blog. I was more than happy with my 7+ and used it often as my only camera. I have two printed books that show how amazing the camera is. Is this better? Only time will tell.
If you, like me, have a difficult time going from one phone to another, do exactly what Eric at the store told me, "If you fail the first time or two head over to the Apple Store (if you can) and let them help you." Trust me ... I lost an entire afternoon and a good part of an evening. If you make an investment such as this, seniors may need to get some help. Life is too short for such frustrations!
Monday November 13, 2017, One Week Later ...
My phone does most things now, and quite well. However, the back-up of data from your phone or data (read images, music videos, books) is very iffy. It took three tries and hours to put data from my iMac into my iPhone X. It "still" isn't all there. Only abut half of the music that still resides on my iPhone 7+ and on my computer has made the transfer. Clearly there is SOMETHING wrong. All I can ask and wonder is what happened to the elegance and simplicity of the original iPhone? The expression, "You can't go home again," takes on new meaning with this 10th anniversary phone. An yes, to find out how things work that you knew from before, expect a lot of Googling. I have already searched online about three times for actions I used to know.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Finally, after nearly a month I was able to get the last of music and photos on my new phone. While the phone is elegant and I don't have many problems with photo recognition, despite new eyeglasses, there are still things in the iOS that need work.
Later Monday Evening...
After one last attempt to back up my iPhone 7+, I packed up both phones and made the trek to the Palm Desert Apple Store to return the "X" and have them help me establish an AT&T connection to my old phone so that I would have a phone, a cell phone being the only phone I use now. (Sorry Millennials, I beat you to that concept years ago). The guy that met me at the door said that he would get someone to help me but I had to wait abit. So ....
They had me wait at one of the tables and soon Eric came over to help. I told him about my experience and that I had had an iPhone from the day they came out but today, well, I was defeated and had given up. He looked at them both and said that he would first like to try a few things before I surrendered the new phone. He tried several things and had to admit the normal ways didn't work as he tried to backup the old phone to a laptop and then restore the data to the new phone. Finally, he suggested we try to buy some more space on iCloud, 50 GB for $1 and sure enough the phone started to work. However, what if one, like I'm sure most seniors, don't have iCloud nor even know what it is, how would you ever know? I resent that you need to add yet another layer to make a phone work. It took us over an hour and once we were sure everything was coming back he said that I could finish up at home without a problem. Shut the phone off, turn on and follow the prompts to keep restoring the phone. They were closing and I had a phone that partially worked anyway. Everything did resume once I got home.
In the limited time I have used it, I find that the facial recognition works even in the dark outside walking my dog. Without a protective case it is the perfect size. Smaller than the 7+ but bigger than my old iPhone 6, the whole front is glass and you soon adapt to not pushing or even looking for the home button. It just opens. Other than shutting down, I can't seem to close Apps but it is fast.
Settings and passwords are not there so you will enter a lot of passwords. Before I could open any of my emails I had to enter the passwords for each mailbox. So, if you haven't, start writing those down. Pairing Bluetooth items is easy though I haven't tried my Mazda yet. The sound is much improved and videos are amazing. I haven't used the camera much yet so will give a rundown on that in another blog. I was more than happy with my 7+ and used it often as my only camera. I have two printed books that show how amazing the camera is. Is this better? Only time will tell.
If you, like me, have a difficult time going from one phone to another, do exactly what Eric at the store told me, "If you fail the first time or two head over to the Apple Store (if you can) and let them help you." Trust me ... I lost an entire afternoon and a good part of an evening. If you make an investment such as this, seniors may need to get some help. Life is too short for such frustrations!
Monday November 13, 2017, One Week Later ...
My phone does most things now, and quite well. However, the back-up of data from your phone or data (read images, music videos, books) is very iffy. It took three tries and hours to put data from my iMac into my iPhone X. It "still" isn't all there. Only abut half of the music that still resides on my iPhone 7+ and on my computer has made the transfer. Clearly there is SOMETHING wrong. All I can ask and wonder is what happened to the elegance and simplicity of the original iPhone? The expression, "You can't go home again," takes on new meaning with this 10th anniversary phone. An yes, to find out how things work that you knew from before, expect a lot of Googling. I have already searched online about three times for actions I used to know.
Friday, December 8, 2017
Finally, after nearly a month I was able to get the last of music and photos on my new phone. While the phone is elegant and I don't have many problems with photo recognition, despite new eyeglasses, there are still things in the iOS that need work.
Thank you for reading my blog. I invite you to take the time to read earlier blogs where the emphasis is to explore the ways art and design affects our daily lives ... and always has. I share with you what inspires me with the hope that it will inspire you as well. Comments are always welcomed! Be sure to check my re-opened ETSY store ... KrugsStudio.etsy.com. Many of the items talked about here are for sale there!
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