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bagmonkey
May 13, 2003




Grimey Drawer

POCKET CHOMP posted:

Which, btw, is kinda why I don't get why people come in here and are like "hey got my first iPhone so what are some absolute must-dos" or whatever. Just use it for a while and figure out what works for you. Everyone's use case is different.

My dude, what is the point of having a community where you can discuss stuff if you can't ask people about poo poo they've done to make the experience better? There are a bunch of things people have pointed me toward since I mentioned I was switching and I'm glad I've listened so far. But yeah, sure, don't get others perspectives on how to do stuff. Just like, use it and don't ask questions I guess?

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Inner Light
Jan 2, 2020



Combat Pretzel posted:

Jesus Christ, buying ancillary gadgets on Amazon et al is a goddamn pain in the rear end. I'm in for a power bank for my iPhone and maybe iPad, for some pretty long train rides in February. So I figured I'd check Amazon for power banks.

I can't decide whether I should buy one from brand Trswyop, or from brand Pxwaxpy, or from brand Enerwow.

I mean, it's obviously going to be Anker or Belkin, but whenever I search for some gadgets, I'm always getting flooded with that sort of poo poo first. I mean, these items may be workable, but brands that were created by slapping a flat hand onto a QWERTY keyboard don't inspire confidence. Same happened when looking for a rugged case. It took quite some scrolling until brands like Spigen et al turned up. The hell.

I've posted this what feels like many times, perhaps there are some folks that don't know you can do this. Search something on Amazon, select a top level department that applies in the results on left nav. Now you'll have checkboxes for "Seller" on left nav, you can select Amazon.com and it will filter out so much third party seller garbage.

Goons will come out of the woodwork to say "Well even if Amazon sells it they pile all matching SKUs in the same box for the robot", sure that may be true, I have not had an issue with this in a long while. You will still see garbage, but it filters almost all of the fly by night China manufacturers with their third party sellers out.

This option is 100% purposefully non-obvious because FBA is big business, and may be even more profitable for them. I can't overstate how much higher quality search results are with that checkbox on.

Inner Light fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Dec 30, 2022

POCKET CHOMP
Jul 20, 2003

me irl.

bagmonkey posted:

My dude, what is the point of having a community where you can discuss stuff if you can't ask people about poo poo they've done to make the experience better? There are a bunch of things people have pointed me toward since I mentioned I was switching and I'm glad I've listened so far. But yeah, sure, don't get others perspectives on how to do stuff. Just like, use it and don't ask questions I guess?

Sure, that was just my two cents regarding situations where the question is too broad (which is subjective in itself, i know)...it's gonna lead to a bunch of suggestions, often totally subjective, without really knowing how different people use their phones.

...Which then leads to someone calling people Apple fanboys because they actually leave on a setting that he recommends everyone turning off, which is what I was replying to.

It's totally fine to be like "here's what I do and why" but sometimes a suggestion is just like "do this, it will absolutely improve things" like gospel truth, and especially for someone kramering into the thread asking "got phone what do now," it feels like they might not be examining the nuances of the advice or the perspective of the person giving it, but to each their own.

Asking what password manager to use or w/e makes more sense, as you did.

ThermoPhysical
Dec 26, 2007



Inner Light posted:

I've posted this what feels like many times, perhaps there are some folks that don't know you can do this. Search something on Amazon, select a top level department that applies in the results on left nav. Now you'll have checkboxes for "Seller" on left nav, you can select Amazon.com and it will filter out so much third party seller garbage.

Goons will come out of the woodwork to say "Well even if Amazon sells it they pile all matching SKUs in the same box for the robot", sure that may be true, I have not had an issue with this in a long while. You will still see garbage, but it filters almost all of the fly by night China manufacturers with their third party sellers out.

This option is 100% purposefully non-obvious because FBA is big business, and may be even more profitable for them. I can't overstate how much higher quality search results are with that checkbox on.

Someone on Reddit made this which ONLY searches stuff shipped and sold by Amazon.

https://timothy.fries.dev/projects/2020/amazon-search/ I ended up bookmarking it and use it constantly.

It works on Amazon.com as well as co.uk, .de, and .fr.

bagmonkey
May 13, 2003




Grimey Drawer

POCKET CHOMP posted:

Sure, that was just my two cents regarding situations where the question is too broad (which is subjective in itself, i know)...it's gonna lead to a bunch of suggestions, often totally subjective, without really knowing how different people use their phones.

...Which then leads to someone calling people Apple fanboys because they actually leave on a setting that he recommends everyone turning off, which is what I was replying to.

It's totally fine to be like "here's what I do and why" but sometimes a suggestion is just like "do this, it will absolutely improve things" like gospel truth, and especially for someone kramering into the thread asking "got phone what do now," it feels like they might not be examining the nuances of the advice or the perspective of the person giving it, but to each their own.

Asking what password manager to use or w/e makes more sense, as you did.

I actually first posted a very generic "switching from Android to iOS, what are your tips and tricks?" post and got some really good feedback, specifically the advice of leaning on the Tips app to find stuff I had questions about. But it also sparked a few other discussions and there was some quality content in there. I'm the type of person who appreciates being able to come in and ask a semi-generic or generic question and get some helpful answers, as in my experience it's best to lean on people who have experience with a system you're not used to (my job used to entail LOTS of this)

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



I think the main issue with that question is that it comes up frequently, but because this is a single thread and search is off limits unless you pay for it, it’s hard to find the results of what came up the last 10 times it was asked.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Didn't there used to bea setting where you could input how much data you had per month to monitor your usage rates?
I can't find it.

withak
Jan 15, 2003


Fun Shoe
Settings -> Cellular then scroll down a bit. It will show you how much data you have used since the last time you hit the "reset" button.

You can also dial *3282# and it will text you your current usage/remaining on your plan.

Mister Facetious
Apr 21, 2007

I think I died and woke up in L.A.,
I don't know how I wound up in this place...

:canada:
Bummer, I was hoping for something more convenient that would automatically roll over each pay period.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Mister Facetious posted:

Bummer, I was hoping for something more convenient that would automatically roll over each pay period.

Yeah, for whatever reason, apple NEVER implemented this (and at this point obviously isn’t going to). It was a huge pain in the rear end for customers for years. And for people who don’t have unlimited data, obviously still is.

Raymond T. Racing
Jun 11, 2019

Duckman2008 posted:

Yeah, for whatever reason, apple NEVER implemented this (and at this point obviously isn’t going to). It was a huge pain in the rear end for customers for years. And for people who don’t have unlimited data, obviously still is.

It seems like carriers are able to tell the phone when to reset. I just added T-Mobile as my primary line and it now rolls over data usage every month.

empty baggie
Oct 22, 2003

Mister Facetious posted:

Bummer, I was hoping for something more convenient that would automatically roll over each pay period.

Dunno about other carriers, but Xfinity Mobile's app has a widget that does this.

Combat Pretzel
Jun 23, 2004

No, seriously... what kurds?!
I'm looking into Apple Pay things. I'm in Belgium. The drat app lists German banks only. The gently caress, Apple?!

Corb3t
Jun 7, 2003

Combat Pretzel posted:

I'm looking into Apple Pay things. I'm in Belgium. The drat app lists German banks only. The gently caress, Apple?!

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT206637

I actively avoid stores that don't accept Apple Pay nowadays. Boo Kroger, Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot. Yay Meijer, Target, and Ace Hardware.

Ironically enough, I use the Meijer and Target mobile apps so much for picking up orders and "Shop N Scan" that they could probably get away with their own stupid version of "Walmart Pay" or "Kroger Pay" or whatever, but they're actually companies that are consumer friendly and attempt to make their buying experience as frictionless as possible, which is nice.

Corb3t fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Jan 3, 2023

Inner Light
Jan 2, 2020



If there’s a country or store that doesn’t take contactless I don’t blame Apple anymore. They’ve done a lot of legwork with their lobbyists worldwide to make it work as ok as it does. Probably some silly banking regulations in Belgium or something keeping them out of it.

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Buff Hardback posted:

It seems like carriers are able to tell the phone when to reset. I just added T-Mobile as my primary line and it now rolls over data usage every month.

With their own app or widget yes, but carriers can’t access the settings apple app / cell usage as far as I know.

Raymond T. Racing
Jun 11, 2019

Duckman2008 posted:

With their own app or widget yes, but carriers can’t access the settings apple app / cell usage as far as I know.

Seems like it works for me? :shrug:




In fact I no longer have the option to manually reset my usage stats, it’s enforced by billing cycle.

Raymond T. Racing fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jan 4, 2023

withak
Jan 15, 2003


Fun Shoe
I’m on ATT and I just have the manual reset button, nothing about the billing period.

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



Nothing on Verizon. That's neat, though kinda pointless for me since I have unlimited anyway.

Vegetable
Oct 22, 2010

lol this is just a marketing article. it doesn’t actually say anything about what happens if there’s a hack.

EL BROMANCE
Jun 10, 2006

COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬



Corb3t posted:

I actively avoid stores that don't accept Apple Pay nowadays. Boo Kroger, Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot. Yay Meijer, Target, and Ace Hardware.

I always feel like a dork if I have my card in my hand then realize they do Apple Pay and use my watch, but eh extra layer of security so I’ll take the momentary feeling.

Inner Light
Jan 2, 2020



e: nvm

Inner Light fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Jan 4, 2023

American McGay
Feb 28, 2010

by sebmojo

Inner Light posted:

Hmmm crypto (in the sense before all this loving nonsense in the last few years) is kind of elusive to me, I wonder if the IC smart card on your credit card is :goonsay: ackshually

an extra layer of security! The NFC wizardry on your phone has to do its own crypto handshake with the other NFC device, then goes through Apple's systems encryptions, then I would bet another round or many of some type of encryptions by the time it makes its way to any financial institutions.

Using the IC chip on your card is one round of crypto handshake, point of sale provider, then it hits your financial institution with maybe some more encryption, and that's it.

I do work in computer touching but need to do a little more math before crypto makes total sense to me. Kinda like string theory.

Inner Light
Jan 2, 2020



Nooooooooooooooooooo this is like when a man thought .25 * 4 didn't equal 1 but his misfortune was broadcast live on local news, I misread the post and caught it but you were too quick

Please edit your post out good sir

e: I don't think he'll edit it out oh well. I thought he said he used his card instead for some reason but it was vice versa. :)

Inner Light fucked around with this message at 03:42 on Jan 4, 2023

Duckman2008
Jan 6, 2010

TFW you see Flyers goaltending.
Grimey Drawer

Buff Hardback posted:

Seems like it works for me? :shrug:




In fact I no longer have the option to manually reset my usage stats, it’s enforced by billing cycle.

Ok, no lie , mind blown.


Ironic that the first carrier to REALLY push unlimited data is the one with a competent data tracker link to iPhone , but hey this is America baby (and yes in the end all 3 are incompetent).

Raymond T. Racing
Jun 11, 2019

Duckman2008 posted:

Ok, no lie , mind blown.


Ironic that the first carrier to REALLY push unlimited data is the one with a competent data tracker link to iPhone , but hey this is America baby (and yes in the end all 3 are incompetent).

This must be relatively new, as when I switched from T-Mobile to Verizon roughly a year ago, this wasn’t the way my data usage behaved.

edit: according to Reddit so lol, but they claim this has been a feature for years and only T-Mobile has bothered to implement it

bagmonkey
May 13, 2003




Grimey Drawer
I just checked my iPhone 14 Pro and there's a cellular data breakdown under Settings>Cellular at the bottom

edit - Verizon for reference

Question Mark Mound
Jun 14, 2006

Tokyo Crystal Mew
Dancing Godzilla
Are there any apps that can get access to non-Homekit smart home stuff (bulbs and plugs, maybe even cameras too but that seems unlikely) that has a modern style widget that I can put on my homescreen? I exclusively have Tapo (TP-Link) stuff in my house but their widget is still the only pre-iOS 15 or whatever one that has to live at the very bottom of the side-widget screen which is a bit inconvenient.

There's an app called Watt that I can use for more detailed Shortcuts accessing my Tapo devices but it doesn't seem to have a widget.

Corb3t
Jun 7, 2003

Question Mark Mound posted:

Are there any apps that can get access to non-Homekit smart home stuff (bulbs and plugs, maybe even cameras too but that seems unlikely) that has a modern style widget that I can put on my homescreen? I exclusively have Tapo (TP-Link) stuff in my house but their widget is still the only pre-iOS 15 or whatever one that has to live at the very bottom of the side-widget screen which is a bit inconvenient.

There's an app called Watt that I can use for more detailed Shortcuts accessing my Tapo devices but it doesn't seem to have a widget.

Ah the joys of modern tech hardware - what's most important is the software support a few years down the road :sigh:

I think you might be SOL - what are the chances TP Link offers third party API access to their hardware? If they were HomeKit compatible, you could easily download a third party homekit app that adds widgets for homekit gear, but otherwise you're kinda stuck depending on the hardware manufacturer. I've got a combo of Wemo, Aqara, Ikea, and Vocolinc homekit smart plugs (sometimes vendor lock in isn't necessarily a good thing) and none of them have iOS 16 style widgets. In fact, none of my smarthome's first party apps offer iOS 16 widgets - not Ecobee, Hue, Eufy, Lutron, Ikea, August, or Level.

I have too much smarthome gear. All HomeKit compatible, though. If you're smart about it, you can find some pretty good homekit deals - A 4-pack of smart plugs was $30. I've been pretty committed to buying HomeKit gear because it doesn't force my partner to download/install/sign up for any new apps, you can control them from the control center, and the Siri integration.

Edit: Any smarthome nerds ready for even more Hubs? SwitchBot just announced a Matter Hub with HomeKit integration, which should allow users to integrate all non-HomeKit Matter gear into HomeKit. While this isn't really beneficial for you now, I definitely see a future where a nicely integrated hub with slick software (and widgets support!) will finally get us to a point where vendors aren't locking us into their smart-home ecosystem.

Corb3t fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Jan 4, 2023

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



bagmonkey posted:

I just checked my iPhone 14 Pro and there's a cellular data breakdown under Settings>Cellular at the bottom

edit - Verizon for reference

Yes, the cellular data breakdown is there for everyone. What we are talking about is how T-Mobile automatically resets the "Current period" at the start of each billing cycle. Only T-Mobile in the US does this according to the above. My current period goes back to March 24, 2020, which isn't particularly useful for anything.

POCKET CHOMP
Jul 20, 2003

me irl.

Corb3t posted:

Wemo, Aqara, Ikea, and Vocolinc
Ecobee, Hue, Eufy, Lutron, Ikea, August, or Level.

aside from Ikea and I guess... Hue?... lol what the gently caress is any of this stuff, OP

Endless Mike
Aug 13, 2003



POCKET CHOMP posted:

aside from Ikea and I guess... Hue?... lol what the gently caress is any of this stuff, OP

These are mostly extremely common, well-known brands in home automation/IoT stuff. Ecobee, Eufy, Hue, Lutron, WeMo, August, and Level are all available at your local Best Buy. Ikea is available at Ikea (obviously).

POCKET CHOMP
Jul 20, 2003

me irl.
ah, cool. i just use the switches that are on my stuff or on my walls or w/e to turn things on and off, but buying stuff from like 20 different home automation brands with interesting names seems like something to consider for the future. thanks :)

xzzy
Mar 5, 2009

If you're all in on Apple products and getting into smart stuff, buy thread products. It's in the Just Works category. Eve and Nanoleaf are the brands I buy all my stuff from and it all works perfectly. Well, and the logitech security camera for the front porch.

Resdfru
Jun 4, 2004

I'm a freak on a leash.

Question Mark Mound posted:

Are there any apps that can get access to non-Homekit smart home stuff (bulbs and plugs, maybe even cameras too but that seems unlikely) that has a modern style widget that I can put on my homescreen? I exclusively have Tapo (TP-Link) stuff in my house but their widget is still the only pre-iOS 15 or whatever one that has to live at the very bottom of the side-widget screen which is a bit inconvenient.

There's an app called Watt that I can use for more detailed Shortcuts accessing my Tapo devices but it doesn't seem to have a widget.

I'm not sure if this would work for you but you can set them up in Google Home then use this method from reddit to add a shortcut that does stuff. It only would work if you want to turn on specific devices rather than choose from a list. I dont know if Google Home has a widget of its own yet.

https://www.tapo.com/us/faq/73/
https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/pvczus/does_google_home_have_widget_for_iphone/

Corb3t
Jun 7, 2003

POCKET CHOMP posted:

ah, cool. i just use the switches that are on my stuff or on my walls or w/e to turn things on and off, but buying stuff from like 20 different home automation brands with interesting names seems like something to consider for the future. thanks :)

The problem with IoT/SmartHome technology is that every manufacturer wants to lock you into their ecosystem and hardware. Since I mostly try and integrate my stuff into HomeKit and HomeAssistant, I can pick and choose the hardware I want from any manufacturer and not have to worry too much about whether or not they communicate with each other instead of committing to one app and being forced to buy only their hardware. Having a ton of different third party apps is pretty annoying, but HomeKit does automatic firmware updates for devices, which is nice. Google Home technically integrates more hardware, but then you're stuck with Google's smarthome ecosystem, which is still missing lots of functionality, especially if you're into automating stuff.

Most of our Hue lights are automated on a schedule or utilize motion sensors or door/window sensors to turn on and off. Our window sensors will turn off my AC through my EcoBee when a window is opened in the summer, and even send me a notification if one is triggered one nobody is home. I even have random lights trigger when we aren't home to simulate that somebody is home. I mostly buy SmartHome tech that doesn't require a monthly fee and doesn't have somebody else monitoring my poo poo.

Resdfru posted:

I'm not sure if this would work for you but you can set them up in Google Home then use this method from reddit to add a shortcut that does stuff. It only would work if you want to turn on specific devices rather than choose from a list. I dont know if Google Home has a widget of its own yet.

https://www.tapo.com/us/faq/73/
https://www.reddit.com/r/googlehome/comments/pvczus/does_google_home_have_widget_for_iphone/

This is a nice workaround! I'm still annoyed at how many apps still don't have ANY Shortcuts support for their apps. I'm looking at you, Spotify.

Corb3t fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Jan 4, 2023

Binary Badger
Oct 11, 2005

Trolling Link for a decade


https://www.withings.com/us/en/u-scan

The thing you didn't know you needed announced at CES: Piss testing on your iPhone

Corb3t
Jun 7, 2003

Binary Badger posted:

https://www.withings.com/us/en/u-scan

The thing you didn't know you needed announced at CES: Piss testing on your iPhone

Still waiting for an iPhone compatible toilet camera.

tuyop
Sep 15, 2006

Every second that we're not growing BASIL is a second wasted

Fun Shoe

Question Mark Mound posted:

Are there any apps that can get access to non-Homekit smart home stuff (bulbs and plugs, maybe even cameras too but that seems unlikely) that has a modern style widget that I can put on my homescreen? I exclusively have Tapo (TP-Link) stuff in my house but their widget is still the only pre-iOS 15 or whatever one that has to live at the very bottom of the side-widget screen which is a bit inconvenient.

There's an app called Watt that I can use for more detailed Shortcuts accessing my Tapo devices but it doesn't seem to have a widget.

You could use the homekit widget. You'd have to just run homebridge on a spare device to get the homekit hub to recognize your TP-Link accessories.

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Question Mark Mound
Jun 14, 2006

Tokyo Crystal Mew
Dancing Godzilla

Corb3t posted:

I have too much smarthome gear. All HomeKit compatible, though. If you're smart about it, you can find some pretty good homekit deals - A 4-pack of smart plugs was $30. I've been pretty committed to buying HomeKit gear because it doesn't force my partner to download/install/sign up for any new apps, you can control them from the control center, and the Siri integration.
We're a mixed iOS and Android home so I figured no point spending the extra money on HomeKit enabled stuff if I'm the only one getting the benefit. It's biting me now though when I want the ease of use! Tapo was the cheapest set of bulbs and cameras and so on from a reasonably reputable company so that's why I went for them.

tuyop posted:

You could use the homekit widget. You'd have to just run homebridge on a spare device to get the homekit hub to recognize your TP-Link accessories.
I'd started to set up a HomeBridge server on a spare Pi but to access it when outside of the wifi range I'd need to buy a modern-ish Apple TV which I was hoping to avoid. As with the above, I'm a cheapskate (or, well, had just recently moved in with my partner so wanted to save costs where possible)!

Resdfru posted:

I'm not sure if this would work for you but you can set them up in Google Home then use this method from reddit to add a shortcut that does stuff. It only would work if you want to turn on specific devices rather than choose from a list. I dont know if Google Home has a widget of its own yet.
No Google Home widget, but I was considering going the Shortcut route. However both Shortcuts and Google Home I've found to be pretty sluggish at getting things done, so combining them both together is bound to be frustrating. I may end up needing to go this route, though. Plus Tapo's shortcuts system lets me make a shortcut to turn a light on, or one to turn it off, but not to toggle on/off based on current setting. There's another app called Watt that lets me access my Tapo stuff in shortcuts and from there I made an If,Then,Else shortcut to toggle the light, but it's pretty slow vs the old-style Widget Tapo has.

Question Mark Mound fucked around with this message at 18:52 on Jan 4, 2023

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