31–40 of 127 posts
Since beginning of 2025 big corps turned to be each time more anti consumer. They feel quite comfortable. I wonder what happened for them to feel like that.
> this has been talked about extensively you're just 21
This isn't new behavior. Not by years, but decades.
Is part of US phone cartel. What you expect?
What do you expect them to do, move out of the country for a $10 / mo cell plan?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what way are watches with SIMs (or eSIMs) not just tiny cell phones? Or is you meaning that the modern smartphone is itself a “pile of hacks sitting on top of hacks”?
The main way is that literally zero of these watches actually meet the standards that the cell networks require of a cell phone. Every single one of them has a carrier exemption or a lower standard to adhere to, because it turns out that putting a cell phone's RF package into a watch is super hard, both because of size and the various negative effects of the human body on radio signals. This affects cell phones too o…
Isn't that true for any device? not just watches?
A "regular text" would be an SMS and those use Signaling System Number 7 telephony stack.
iMessage uses application level protocols sitting on top of IP in the standard OSI model?.
SS No 7 only roughly maps into OSI model, the equivalent application layer would use MAP - Mobile application part.
So the author probably could have migrated if he hadn't used a Google Fi phone number for 2FA. Some banks and businesses (such as Uber) will detect a Google Fi or Google Voice number and not let you use them. Other businesses don't do the detection, but the 2FA texts will never arrive. Like the author, I've got some accounts that I was able to set up for 2FA using a Google account, but 2FA no longer works on them.
I've never had a single problem with Google Fi.
We already learned this lesson back in the days before the iPhone when phones had carrier logos printed on them and GPS apps cost $5/month.
Apple Watch Kids Mode is what you want. If the watches cost too much grab a used one.
The author complained about the high price in the original review but they didn’t really spend enough. They bought a crappy telecom knockoff of an Apple Watch. You get what you pay for.
I have a verizon watch only account. I was able to get the new app working, but it was a struggle. I think it worked on the 3rd or 4th attempt. I had to start over and lost all of the contacts that were connected to the watch. Fortunately, there were only a few. Overall, the Gizmo watch has been nice to have, but it leaves a lot to be desired. It's surprising that there are not better products in this market segment.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What do you mean by "carrier exception"? Exception from policies those same carriers set up decades ago?
Not exactly. Early cell watches were not going to meet the existing carrier standards and so they received specific exemptions from the carrier to operate on their network. Over the years the carriers have created requirements that are specifically for these devices, that are less stringent than what they require for a cell phone on their network. They still give specific exemptions if a watch is "close" to meeting a…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A few years ago, I signed up for an Apple Watch eSIM plan (which is a special type of eSIM plan that Apple make cell carriers agree to offer as an add-on to a normal cell subscription for your iPhone, and there is no other way go get an eSIM for it). I then started regularly receiving phone calls (to my iPhone) intended for someone else. At first I thought it was a wrong number or an old number and kept telling them…
Or opportunity for fun Surprises you didn't give that secret number out - could have been fun for yourself (or your close friends or family) to be able to call direct. I wonder if you could even use it for texts or notifications that only go to the watch ?
So the author probably could have migrated if he hadn't used a Google Fi phone number for 2FA. Some banks and businesses (such as Uber) will detect a Google Fi or Google Voice number and not let you use them. Other businesses don't do the detection, but the 2FA texts will never arrive. Like the author, I've got some accounts that I was able to set up for 2FA using a Google account, but 2FA no longer works on them.
It's an abuse of market power primarily used to eliminate competition.