#BlogLife844 - Samsung A16 - Was it worth the dramas?

My previous phone is the Oneplus Nord ce2 lite so I'm going to compare the Samsung A16 to that.

I do actually really love the colour, it's light but it's just a classy green.

To me it's different from the usual dark and dreary blue, black, grey nonsense. 

Unfortunately it's a lil bigger, a lil heavier and oof chunkier. I hate the fiddly sim and memory card removal but I have to do it.

Plus all the app transfers which I might ignore, oh and the updates.

The battery came 50% charged, I just set up the wifi and then it prompted me to restart it.

I had some problems with Googly it said it wanted me to authenticate on a different phone that I don't use, but eventually managed it.

I just tested bluetooth, sound is good. Mobile data seems fine, the real test will be when I'm outdoors and it just fails.

Normally they used to send the settings via text, I wonder if it's automatic or maybe I need to request it?

The sim seems to be working fine, although it's got a different phone number.

I might have to call EE about that also, he did say, your number would remain the same.

It's running android 14 at the moment. I have to remember to make the sd card the default storage, it popped up on the camera which was handy.

Now I'm downloading musicolet my preferred music player with the option to speed up songs.

I need my adblock browser and my games. At some point I have to test the calls and texts, although a text did come through, it must be working.

It's nice that dark mode is an option but I don't like the keyboard being black, I need a good theme.

Even though they have the complimentary samsung store themes, they seem a lil dull.

I prefer Zedge, sometimes you have to watch an advert but the quality and choice is amazing.

I found a way to change the samsung keyboard colour, turning on high contrast, closing the settings, reopening them and picking layout, lets me select, from yellow or blue.

I think I've finished with the apps now, the bus, the games, etc. I can already see a huge difference in the contrast.

Samsung just seems so vivid and sharp compared to the OnePlus.

Plus once I changed the timeout screen to longer, it actually stayed awake, unlike the OnePlus that just turns off, no matter how long you set it.

I need to see how it performs when I'm multi tasking. I usually have several apps or games open.

Plus I don't need to have it on half or nearly full brightness to see clearly.

I think it will definitely be an improvement but we shall see down the line.

Some more observations are that it's really laggy and struggling with the graphic heavy game Looney Tunes World of Mayhem.

It struggled to load, log in and settle. My old phone the A41 has no issue whatsoever.

Maybe I have to fiddle with the settings. It's a bit of a joke for a new phone not to handle a game....

Also what's making this process slow, I am adding the bookmarks manually, I only want the basics and unlike the OnePlus nord...

It doesn't pop up with that prompt, would you like us to use your saved passwords and log in for you?

I keep having to look them up one by one and unfortunately LastPass is hiding them lol.

Ugh I just want the necessaries like email, blogger, discord, twitter, that's probably it actually.

That felt good, I had been putting off changing the recovery/security back up email and as I was logging in on the phone, it just seemed easier to change it.

At first I was going to switch from msn, which I no longer use to the protonmail but then they said something about inactive accounts being blocked or closed and I don't use mine much.

A more realistic one is my phone number which doesn't change.

I just opted for a safety text to recover my account that is so much easier.

If ever I have to use the library computer again, they can just text me the code.

Sometimes there is so much security, I can't even get in, yeesh!

Crikey that was easy, blogger just logged me in and loaded straight away.

Ok strangely enough on my second or third attempt to load up Looney Tunes it seems to work fine. Very odd!

I spoke to EE customer services. Apparently the handset cost was supposed to be £30 but they waved that so maybe that was the culprit for the supposed accessory charge.

He said there didn't seem to be any outstanding costs they billed me for, but to keep an eye out for my next bill just in case.

Also he didn't know anything about the 10% off, he said that might have been the handset offer.

I hope not, I hope it's a reduction for the line rental every month, I guess I will find out later.

Some key differences, the battery is lasting a full day. The screen is staying on, which I am thrilled about.

There is a lock screen that sometimes comes on, I have to disable that.

There's been no crashes while I'm switching tabs and games. Phone calls are fine.

Oh something confusing, shoot, I don't know how to disable voicemail. 

I might have to ring customer services back and get them to do it.

Maybe that's what I did last time, I can't recall. The only other difference is pressing the side buttons to alter the volume or switch the screen off.

It's awkward, it doesn't seem to press seamlessly, takes me a few tries, eventually I will get used to it.

#BlogLife840 - I am buzzing, new Samsung A16 phone incoming :) updated

I am so happy I could do a cartwheel! I'm trying to get things done one by one.

It still seems like there is a lot to do, but the one major thing was getting a new phone and contract as soon as possible.

EE was shafting me on the deals though. I was really annoyed by that, a loyal customer not getting any bargains.

It is ridiculous so as I was on hold waiting to connect, I thought I would be polite but sassy saying EE is not that friendly with upgrades like BT is and they were more prone to good deals.

Well he took mock offence and he said Well you're paying £17, I think it was £19 before but they reduced it.

Anyway I mentioned Samsung phones but not wanting to pay a lot more and he said alright because you're already with us for Broadband, that's a discount for you.

It's going to be a challenge but I'll see what I can do. I had low to zero expectations because every time I called they wanted me to pay double, no way!

Then he didn't mention the A15 and I said wouldn't that be cheaper?

And he said that's now gone, so it's the Samsung A16 and I thought Oh no, that's new, I googlied it and it was released last November.

But then he said Good news, I can give it to you for £20!! Arghh, I know it's not less money but it's not a huge hike either.

Plus he said the yearly cost does not apply or maybe he added it already? I don't know.

Maybe it was £16 before? As that was the charge for the other networks, actually no, that was the A15...

But I know for next year it will be a £4 hike, although who knows maybe another offer will reduce it.

I have no clue but I am over the moon, to finally have a new phone.

I should mention that I did have to pay the delivery fee upfront which was £7 ouch and I did make that sound to him haha.

He said he can't give me a discount and reduce the delivery charge, I mean it is next day tracked but still hefty.

Phones used to be delivered free but it probably took a week lol.

Ha, I want next day and no charge but it is, what it is. I cannot believe for the first time ever, I got to pick colours, it was blue-black yuck, grey, yuck or green yummy.

I just chose the green and he said that was really popular. Why they don't have pink, purple or reds is beyond me.

As though women don't purchase phones pfffft!! I should have asked if it was a smart charge phone.

The rules have changed again, now they send you the contract via a sharing screen and you read and accept it.

Plus they or the courier, dpd, sends a pin and you show that to the delivery person and that's how you get the phone, luckily it's not passports, mines expired.

I used to cover up the date lol. I have to be crafty sometimes. There will be pictures and a review coming or maybe a setup or all of the above..

Sometimes delays turn out to be the best thing, if I had called sooner or upgraded earlier I would have gotten an older phone.

Stress made me wait and because of that I am getting a newer phone, a nicer colour and a cheaper deal.

It was worth the wait. Oh and Mama has begun her holiday abroad, she just texted me, if she had let me know I wouldn't have called her and raised her rates.

I just emailed instead. I don't know what the cost of calling or texting abroad is and I'm trying not to have huge expenses.

Last thing, everything is basically the same. I have a feeling I was getting 6gb of data that I don't use, I have no need for it.

But now I'm getting 5gb it's not significant. I just wanted to mention it.

I only use mobile data for power cuts and outdoor gaming, checking the bus timetables and maybe emails.

I have unlimited wifi at home so need for anything else. It's a nice safety net though for emergencies, in case the router breaks or the laptop dies..

I thought they were going to reduce it to be honest, back ages ago, you were lucky to get even 1gb.

It was horrendously expensive. You know what else is funny? When I won that OnePlus phone and they said pick anyone you want, but be prepared to pay the extra if it's not covered by the £150 I think it was voucher..

I wanted to get that green phone, it was dark green gorgeousness but pricey so no chance.

This green one is light and less pretty. It will be uniqueish though I hope.

Unfortunately a bit bigger too, so even more awkward to hold. He said I should be sent a text with the tracking details which is good as on the website the order page has crashed ugh.

Oh and I had to tell him that I had been trying to upgrade since October and this was the first decent offer I received, he seemed astounded but it's the truth.

EE suck for upgrades unless you have endless patience to hound them for an offer that's semi decent.

Hmm they haven't sent me the pin yet, maybe I am supposed to get it on the day of the delivery or when it's with the courier?

I'm still nervous about this pin code. I've now gotten the 1 hour window from 3.50pm - 4.50pm but no code.

I contacted EE and they said it's nothing to do with them, it's DPD and she gave me the wrong contact number for them.

I tried downloading the app but they have a registration section saying leave the parcel with a neighbour and I don't want to do that, I would never get the phone.

I'm just going to hope that they send it nearer the time. It's only just before 11am now.

The other thing which made me laugh is that they cancelled that complimentary 10% out of contract discount, I was getting every month for some unknown reason.

It makes sense as I have just renewed and then today, they said Oh for staying with us, here's a 10% offer.

Ha, so it's returned the £2 off my bill, I wonder how long it lasts? Instead of paying £20 it should be £18. Strange but helpful.

After all that negotiating and endlessly calling then I did eventually get a double money off multi promotional deal.

I might update this when it's arrived or let you know what happened with the pin drama.

The dpd driver didn't send the pin code, it came just now about 4pmish, 15 minutes earlier than the tracker predicted.

He didn't even ask for the flipping code, goodness me. I was stressing so much he wouldn't hand it over.

But he just said there you go lol. Now there is another issue, I don't know if they craftily charged me for accessories, there is a £25 amount in the invoice.

Sneaky, I will definitely chase that up. I hope not. When I asked him what was included he just said the usb wire, no plug and the phone.

I see a plastic phone cover and this £10 gift voucher for I don't know what.

I'll figure it out later. I even looked for my passport to show him some ID, I was ready to plead.

I was going to show the phone with the texts and the invoice proof but again thankfully, none of that was needed.

Maybe they only make the fuss for the fancy pants phones, like iphones and the newest galaxies...

I just wanted to add to this for a reference when I upgrade again in 2 years.

At least I will know not to panic. I'm definitely ready for a brighter display and better battery life.

I have so many posts stored for later. I'll experiment with the phone a bit and then put a review post out.

It might be next week, I'm not sure.