Eerie Update
Last week my son sent a text showing how the new iOS 13.1.2 Apple update would provide me with a Memoji sticker. I had just been discussing how an improvement to Bitmoji would be the ability to add the detail of a nose piercing, so of course I pressed start.
Some time the next day, I realized when people called me or I called them, we couldn’t hear each other. Since I could still play music on my phone, it took only a moment of consideration to realize that no phone calls is a blessing. In fact, no verbal conversations is my daily goal when my phone is in normal working condition. But when my doctor’s office called with test results and I couldn’t hear them, I started to waiver from that notion. I was finally forced into action when I went on a run and couldn’t hear my headphones. Cardio while hearing gasps for air just isn’t my kind of work out.
Googling how to fix microphone problems on an Iphone 7 brought me to numerous accounts of the new update causing issues. When it comes to cell phone problems, everyone has a suggestion on what to try and, believe me, I gave it a good go for one solid day. I traveled the path of soft resets and downloading ’til I finally reached out to ‘The Maker’ through the Apple Support app. We had a nice little chat late in the evening until it was decided that I had a hardware problem and needed to visit a tech for help.
Others hearing of my dilemma knew the rabbit hole I was entering, but I still had hopes of saving my oldish, yet mostly working phone. I made an appointment at the Genius Bar on my lunch break. While checking in, it was kindly suggested that I save my time. A “grayed out speaker button” had never been fixed and it was recommended that I buy a new phone. I was assured that downgrading from 13.1.2 was not an option. Insistent to surge ahead (and excited to have an hour or so away from work), I kept my appointment with the tech.
The determination of ‘The Genius’ was that the upgrade (which I only wanted for a texting sticker, let me remind you) must have enhanced a problem that was already existing in my phone. When I pointed out that I had never had any problem with talking on the phone before, I was told since all IPhone 7s weren’t having this problem, we couldn’t blame the issue on the upgrade. This logic was coming from an employee of a company ran by people intelligent enough to consider this argument prior to releasing their phones and updates, while ruling the world simultaneously.
My friend who used to work for one of the giants of the data service industry suggested that I start blowing up Apple’s social media about the issue. Before wasting my time, I realized even if others empathized or sympathized with me…no one really cares. After joining the world of iTunes and iPhones, it is as hard to leave as exiting a cult. (Having never been in a cult, I can only assume that it is hard to leave. Let me just make the point that it is extremely difficult to jump the Apple ship.) As in Jerry Maguire, even when exiting the corporation for all of the right reasons, the followers are few to none. Hell, to be honest, I can’t even leave. I shudder to think of the time and money required to convert things out of an already bursting-at-the-seams cloud. A little math and shifting calculated that a mere $15 a month would provide a brand new phone…so the rest is history.
The first morning with my new phone, good ‘ol Siri suggested an article that I might enjoy reading: How to downgrade from the iOS 13.1.2 update. As if that wasn’t comical enough, this all began with a quest for a computer image of me with a nose ring; I officially lost my real-life nose jewelry in the depths of my car on Thursday night. Waiting a few weeks post update launch before giving it a whirl is now on the list of lessons learned. In the meantime, I hear I have a ton of options to explore that somehow make pictures like the one above even more adorable.
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