The Download

I know we've all had technical problems both with phones and computers, but sometimes I think they are just out to get you.  Don't you just love talking to a guy on the phone who obviously thinks you are an idiot?  It immediately becomes your fault, especially when your WiFi signal is so bad.  Ummm I think that's Verizon towers, NOT me.

When I worked with the IT department, they used to say it was an ID 10 T problem.   Look at that closely and see what it spells.

At any rate, I truly cannot afford both a new computer and a phone.  The phone alone is $939.  If I don't buy it at the Apple store, I lose my 20 plus year old unlimited everything plan.  Yes they do again sell unlimited plans, but they cheat!  If you use too much data, they slow down the rate you can download and upload.

 SO .... stubborn me decided to try and upgrade my phone to iOS 14.  Really, I have no choice because all of my banking apps will not work any more.  That means umpteen trips to town.  As readers recommended, I could go to the Apple store and use THEIR WiFi.  

That's a 45 minute drive one way for me.  Better to put my problem in God's hands and just drive down the street to the Catholic Church.  How appropriate is that?  Maybe I'll have a little help.  Not my picture by the way because I was too busy watching my signal strength. 

I parked right in front and said a little prayer. 

 This is the screen I got.  At first it said 45 minutes, an improvement over the 4 hours at my house.  Then it flipped to 28 minutes and froze ... just like the movie Frozen!!  I wasn't far behind that because it was freezing cold and I didn't want to sit with my truck running the entire time.

 It took 45 minutes to download those 28 minutes.  I'm not sure what clock Apple uses.  I said another prayer hoping the battery lasted long enough.  In no time, my MiFi was hot like a pocket warmer, so I used it to thaw out my hands.

 You can see in the upper right corner of the above picture, I had that much battery life remaining.  In a flash, the battery died along with my download!!!  NOOOOOOO!!!  I frantically searched through my truck for any kind of contraption that I might plug in to.  I never use anything like that in my truck, but low and behold I found a cigarette lighter USB connector and plugged my phone in.  Of course I had to start the engine to get power.

 Then I carefully navigated every screen all over again until I got the download screen.  The church did it's magic and the little wheel was still turning.  Whew!!  That was a close one!!

Finally ... the download was complete and it said INSTALLING.  I sat for another 30 minutes.  It then asked me for my passcode and Apple ID.  Of course I left all that information at home.  On the third try it finally worked and YAHOO I was back in the phone business.  I immediately checked the app store for my Bank download and there it was.  I can't believe I finally got this thing upgraded.

I was pretty ecstatic when I hit the door, only to see my watch doing flip flops on my wrist.  What the heck?  Here's the bad news.  Now that my phone is up to date, my watch is not and it died a quick death.  Really Apple?  Yessirree ... it stayed on long enough to tell me to put it on the charger and begin downloading the update.  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper as the watch went completely black.

So if you need anything, I'll be down at the Catholic Church, downloading the watch update.  I could just scream.

  The OTHER good news is that with the phone upgraded, I was able to make that appointment at the Apple Store to check out my computer.  Not that I will come home with one, since once there, you just talk to them about exactly what you want, then you go online to order it.  

Do I want it delivered to my house?  Would you want a $3,000 computer delivered to your door by UPS or FedEx who will probably drop it six times?  

I might try to download the computer upgrade using my MiFi but I'll have to pay rent on the parking spot at the church.