I have a dumb question about electronics...

[Jules]

Lots of good advice here.

 

[Murrmurr]

It was done to prevent theft & removing/changing your sim card if the phone has been stolen. In fact trying to remove the battery will result in a flash and burn up. There is a small pin hole that releases the battery if it goes bad and needs replacement, if this happens your store where purchased can open it properly. Don't try to remove it yourself.

Then they should ...ok, wait: Then do they offer two models? One with sim card protection and one without?

If not, then it's scammy.

 

[RFW]

Ok, you reminded me - there are smart-phones and then there are androids, right? Yeah, that video was about Smart-phones. Two types, I think he said.

My phone is only about a year old and came with a replacement battery. I bought it at a Verizon store to replace my old cell-phone after Verizon said they were gonna be cutting off service to older cell-phones.

Smartphone is an umbrella term. I think whether the battery is replaceable or not depends heavily on the manufacturers. Apple is one of those which have always been against the right to repair.

 

[Murrmurr]

Smartphone is an umbrella term. I think whether the battery is replaceable for not depends heavily on the manufacturers. Apple is one of those which have always been against the right to repair.

The guy in the video talked about right to repair, too.

Obviously I don't remember much about the vid (guess I'm watching too many lately), but it reminded me of when my clothes-dryer quit working (years ago) so I opened the back to fix it and found that a sheet of metal had been tap-welded onto the chassis to prevent home-repairs. Really pissed me off.

 

[Nathan]

Ok, you reminded me - there are smart-phones and then there are androids, right? Yeah, that video was about Smart-phones. Two types, I think he said.

My phone is only about a year old and came with a replacement battery. I bought it at a Verizon store to replace my old cell-phone after Verizon said they were gonna be cutting off service to older cell-phones.

Well smartphones are either Android or Apple's iPhone. I believe there are some "non-smart" phones(feature phones) that run some sort of Android software.
About your year old Verizon phone: what is the Make / model of that, if you don't mind? I have a love~hate relationship with smartphones, they are very handy but such a security hole, every app demands access to your data in order for it to function properly...sick-of-it!

 

[RFW]

The guy in the video talked about right to repair, too.

Obviously I don't remember much about the vid (guess I'm watching too many lately), but it reminded me of when my clothes-dryer quit working (years ago) so I opened the back to fix it and found that a sheet of metal had been tap-welded on to prevent home-repairs. Really pissed me off.

Yes. What's worse is it not only applies to us consumers, but also non-affiliated repair shops as well.

 

[Murrmurr]

Well smartphones are either Android or Apple's iPhone. I believe there are some "non-smart" phones(feature phones) that run some sort of Android software.
About your year old Verizon phone: what is the Make / model of that, if you don't mind? I have a love~hate relationship with smartphones, they are very handy but such a security hole, every app demands access to your data in order for it to function properly...sick-of-it!

Samsung. Search engine is Google and it's got Google Play Store. I don't use it as a computer at all.

I turned off the app notifications; I'm not going to download anything. I also haven't ever given it "location permission" or whatever.

For me it's just an expensive phone with a dodgy camera. And an alarm clock, occasionally.

 

[Murrmurr]

Yes. What's worse is it not only applies to us consumers, but also non-affiliated repair shops as well.

I live off a main street and thoroughfare that had 3 very popular repair shops back in the day, a "sew and vac" (sewing machines and vacuum cleaners), an appliance repair shop that also sold used appliances at a discount, and an electronics repair shop, mainly for home computer repairs, that was also a battery store. All types of batteries except vehicle ones. I used to buy watch batteries there.

All those shops were family owned, and all the owners planned to leave the business to their kids. They're just run-down old buildings now. The parking lot of two of them is now a campsite for homeless people.

 

[Mike]

When unplugging or plugging chargers, to phones. tablets,
laptops, in fact anything that needs the small chargers, never
pull them off by the cable, always grip the plug.

I am an electrician and I found out, the hard way that the small
charger cables are very weak, sometimes the wire inside breaks.

Mike.

 

[Pappy]

I’ll just add…yes, it’s happened to me. I purchased a couple of inexpensive chargers and they did not last very long. Got real hot too. Now I stick with Apple chargers for all my Apple products.

 

[Kaila]

I am an electrician and I found out, the hard way that the small
charger cables are very weak, sometimes the wire inside breaks.

I hadn't heard it worded that specific way in the past, and your wording makes it more clear and definite, for me. Thank you, Mike.

 

[Jace]

Further update, the questionable charger is still charging.
Is a mystery.. y it was...what it was...before?!?!

 

[Murrmurr]

When unplugging or plugging chargers, to phones. tablets,
laptops, in fact anything that needs the small chargers, never
pull them off by the cable, always grip the plug.

I am an electrician and I found out, the hard way that the small
charger cables are very weak, sometimes the wire inside breaks.

Mike.

They're reparable, though. It's simple to just strip the wires and twist them back together and then tape over the repair.

I found these neat little clips for repairing wires. You cut the cord at the break, strip each end and flatten out the internal wire a bit, then you insert the flattened ends into each end of the clip where they'll lay on a thin conductor plate, and then just snap the thing shut. You don't need screw-on wire connectors or tape, they're completely safe.