Cell phone prob, Need new?

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Peanut

Peanut

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I was sitting at a funeral few days ago. Had my cheap android phone in my shirt pocket. It was on, I’d taken a couple pics. Suddenly it got really hot, left a red mark on my skin.

I turned it off, figured it had fried. Later at home I turned it on, booted normally. Gave me time to copy data. In about 5min it was hot to the touch. Turned it off, it began cooling right away.

Funny thing… it was not hot at the end with the battery. It was hot by the lens of the camera. Hmmm?

Yesterday I figured what the heck, it’s lasted 5 years. Probably time for a new one so burn baby burn! I turned it on, plugged it into the charger and set it on a trivet in the kitchen. No problem, nothing happened. It charged normally then sat all day still plugged into the charger, still turned on. It never got hot.

Last night I cleaned out all the junk, deleted photos, all the histories I could find, messages and browsers. Cleaned out my address book. I ran the system maintenance, cleaned the storage, memory and ran the battery test. It preformed perfectly, never got hot.

Left it on the charger over night laying in a cast iron pan on my stove. It was cool to the touch this morning. I opened it up, battery looked fine, no signs of over heating.

“Its a Miracle!” “It’s been healed!” What the heck? In my career I’ve seen electronic gear do some strange things... this ranks up there. Anyone seen a phone do this?

I’m counting on buying a new one since I can’t trust this old one. I have no cell reception here at home so I only use a smart phone for emergency when I drive, sometimes a pic.

So, anyone have a phone suggestion? I looked at some androids running linux about 6 months ago, reasonable prices. I’m looking for cheap unless I can get one w\ a good camera without breaking the bank. I need a decent back up camera. That rules out the latest greatest I-phone or any thing top end.

Maybe Zelda "Tangina" Rubenstein is responsible for the phone starting to work normally...

Tangina Zelda Rubinstein 1024 b01.jpeg
 
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The technology exists for someone to hack into your phone and track, monitor etc. It also is likely that entity can take information off of your phone and boost the output power. All of these would probably make it work harder and get hot. However a person would really have to be of special interest to bother unleashing such resources.
 
I'll be following this thread Peanut. Hubby and I both need new phones since they are both 3G and will be discontinued at the end of the year. They barely work now.....no service in the house anymore. Mine is an LG flip phone (which is all I need) and he has an android. It's wayyyyy smaller than the ones they have out now and he prefers a smaller phone that easily fits in his pocket, which is why he hasn't gotten a new one. That.....and he hates going shopping. I'd prefer to get phones online instead of in the store if I can find a good phone at a decent price. Although, I'd probably have to still go to the store to get the data transferred to his phone b/c I don't know how to do that.

ETA: That overheating issue would scare the crap outta me! I think I'd call it a day and get a new one if I had that problem. It's not worth a major catastrophe to push the limit.
 
I don't trust it either... can't leave it charging where I normally do. The fire risk is too high. I have an 8inch cast iron skillet. Thats where this phone will stay in the house temporarily.

I'm unsure which way to go, the cheapest piece of junk available or a more expensive model with a good camera. I like the idea of linux running the phone.
 
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Oh, and for the heating problem, do you know what apps you had running in the background? Even on my computer, some apps (e.g. accuweather.com on it's "minutecast" page), it makes my computer get very hot. My PC will sit here all day without the fan running. Put it on that page and the fan runs full blast within 5 minutes.
 
zoomzoom said:
If you have an old 3G only (no 4G) phone and are on Verizon, I'm pretty sure they're giving flip phones to those customers. It's a slow roll out by Verizon to get them to everyone but if you call, you can get bumped up the list.
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Just giving away 4G phones? I paid $50 for my 3G flip phone years ago. I don't want a 'free' phone from Verizon if it means you have to have a 2 year contract with them, and that's usually the only time they give away a phone. That's why I buy my phones outright.....I don't like to be under their thumb. However, I'm not well versed in the new phones, so I'm not really sure what to get hubby.
 
Peanut said:
I don't trust it either... can't leave it charging where I normally do.
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What brand phone? ATT has or had a deal they would give you a new Samsung phone taking your old one in trade.
 
Its a samsung J3. I'll stop by the att store next time I cross the river. See what they offer.

Until now it's been a good phone, tough too. It survived being trampled by cattle. Once my horse found it and decided to play a game of "Fling the Phone". You'd be surprised how far a horse can fling a phone. :rolleyes:

I'd like one with a better camera though.
 
Peanut said:
Its a samsung J3. I'll stop by the att store next time I cross the river. See what they offer.
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Pretty sure that's the same phone I have.
I was in the Verizon store last week looking at new phones. I asked the sales guy where the "cheap" phones were and he pointed me to that section in the store.
So, I'm looking at the $200-500 phones. The sales guy asks me what I have now and I pulled out my phone. He told me the phone I have now (J3V) is better than all the current offerings and I'd be disappointed if traded it for a new one.
 
Well, finally bit the bullet and got a samsung galaxy a13 5G. Seems to be a good phone. Everything I've tried works so far.

I bought it for the cameras, it has 3 of them. The main camera has several modes. One for taking pics of food... or in my case it makes good close ups of plants.

My biggest complaint about my old phone and both my cheap cameras. They rarely focused on the object I was interested in. Exp... a pic of a group of weeds. They focus on everything in the field of view but the one plant I wanted.

The A13 allows me to pick the focus point so I get the one plant I want to see clearly in the picture. I tested this on a range of objects and lighting, always worked.

Anyone has experience with finger print readers? The A13 has that option but it seemed to suggest my print is stored else where, not on my phone. I may be wrong on that. Just want to be sure of the details. A finger print is a lot easier than typing a long password.

More to follow as I put this new phone through its paces.
 
zoomzoom said:
If you have an old 3G only (no 4G) phone and are on Verizon, I'm pretty sure they're giving flip phones to those customers. It's a slow roll out by Verizon to get them to everyone but if you call, you can get bumped up the list.
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They gave me one! :D
You just have to be hardheaded (fortunately, I am gifted at that😁) and ignore the months of them mailing you offers to sell you a new one.
They eventually cave and mail you one without even asking you. :thumbs:
 
Had to get a new phone recently after I fell in to the river. I guess they aren't water proof. So much for being a "smart" phone. At best I get an intermittent signal here at the house. Usually I have to go up the hill to use my phone. Early mornings between 3 and 6 am I'm able to get online with my phone, if it's clear outside.
 
I know I'm a bit late on this thread, but I use a $60 AT&T Cingular. Stays charged for days.
 
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