Does anyone else out there have a Figo SpeakOut cell phone?

[Reverend Jim]

I've had one for a couple of years. I like it because I only have to spend $25 a year to keep the phone minutes topped up (sometimes more if I use more minutes). It does what I want, which is make and receive calls while I am away from the house.

For most everything else it's a struggle, primarily because there is so little documentation available. The user instructions are pretty much "you'll figure it out".

Example - it (Ultra M50G) comes with 8 GB of memory, and I added another 32 (ish) which I configured as internal storage and set as the default storage location. In spite of this, apps get installed in the main, 8 GB, block, and when that gets close to full I can't install anything else. Pre-installed apps cannot be moved to the SD card.

I have a fitness tracker which required an app called "H Band". My wife has a different type that requires "VeryFit Pro". I can't have them both installed at the same time. I have to remove something else first. Having done this I was still unable to pair the tracker to the phone. The Bluetooth was able to see, and pair, with her tracker, but the app was unable to see it until after several reboots. Then, when I selected the device (with a name that in no way indicates it is the fitness tracker), the pairing timed out and took me back to "add a device".

Again, there is no documentation available either for Android 6, the fitness device itself, or the app on what to do when things don't work.

Incidentally, you can't even set the time without pairing to a cell phone.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. My blood pressure is going through the roof. Good thing I have a fitness tracker.

[rproffitt]

Sorry no, but Android 6 (Marshmellow) is rarely seen today. Smartphones seem to only last a few years and this version of Android came out in 2015 with not all developers opting to support old Android versions.

About user instructions, my first Android phone was from Sprint and had a thick user manual full of errors. That was 2010 and the signs were already there about the end of correct documentation. As time passed we learned that each phone maker alters the UI, apps and maybe Android itself (I differentiate the OS from apps here) and since the changes happen with "updates" there is no to little attempt to keep up the documentation.

About where apps install. That is and continues to be problematic for low memory cheap old Android phones.

Even so, after all this the advice continues to be:

1. Be sure the tracker is fully charged or has new batteries.
2. Try it with a newer phone with an Android OS from the last two years that has been updated. I've run into phones fresh out of the box that have pairing issues then we update and they work.

[Reverend Jim]

I tried it on a newer (Android 7) phone as well. Same story, different problem. I can browse to web sites but when I tru to download the app it just says "waiting for an internet connection". The browsing is through the Chrome app, and I am trying to download the app via Google Play Store. I was able to find the app because I had an internet connection, but not download it because apparently I did not have an internet connection.

I've been in tech for more than four decades, but I have to say, the new tech absolutely sucks. In my day (can't believe I just said that) software wans't released until it was documented, and relatively bug free. Nowadays it's just get it out the door as fast as possible. Or in ad-speak, "We skip the testing and pass the savings on to you".

But I'm not bitter.

[rproffitt]

Some write "everything's broken." I don't want to be dismissive here but 7 or Nougat is still dated. But given the story I'm not ready to call it an OS issue.

I've seen this failure and it's the author or company that hasn't kept their Google Play Store working. You might have to resort to https://www.google.com/search?q=VeryFit+Pro+apk

But sideloading can be yet another adventure or learning experience. For me I did a fair bit of Android app programming so I learned a lot of workarounds and as you expected have run into far too many awful smartphones.

[Reverend Jim]

I don't know what this is but it looks like an app I have to install to install an app. Without any explanation I don't know why I should install it. If it's anything like 99% of the Android apps out there, it comes with no documentation on how to use it. Plust, I'd likely now have to uninstall two apps to get one app loaded.

Remember the original Andromeda Strain movie where the wino says (as alarms are going off all over), "Hell of a way to run a hospital."

[rproffitt]

Sturgeon's rule seems to have two definitions.

1. 90% of everthing is ....
2. If you are bad enough at something you won't know you are that bad at something.

As to the "Hell of a way to..." you can find bad manuals on any topic.

[Reverend Jim]

Number two is Dunning-Kreuger.