Tag Archives: iPhone5S

Beyond 1000 Days

22 Jul

I must say I didn’t let go of the Daily Bonus trek when I was traveling to the US. It’s amazing that the chain didn’t break for both the iPad Mini and iPhone XR even with all that different time zones when we were flying. But sadly, the chain broke for the iPhone5S because I did not bring the phone along as a spare. There was no need for it especially when it had all this battery problems.

As for the Daily Bonus pursuit, basically all I did was checked both devices after 24 hours when there was wifi connection. Sure enough, the chain continued! Woo hoo…

So as of today, both are on Day 1064. Crazy….

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Be Silly or Be Happy

11 Jun

Today’s the day we leave! But there are worries, silly ones and several of it…

Silly #1: my cocoon is still hanging on the front tree and it’s been seven weeks since the giant caterpillar morphed into it; way overdue from what I checked online to be at this stage. Why is the moth not emerging? Is the constant rain stunting its metamorphosis? Is it even still alive and okay? I dare not climb up the ladder to check because it’s way too high. Whatever it is, looks like we will miss the moth emerging from the cocoon if it does decide to come out during our time away.

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It’s nice in here, I’m not ready for the world

Silly #2: my 1000 and more Days trek on the Daily Bonus for Candy Crush Soda on the retired iPhone5S will be broken because I am not bringing the phone along. And will the iPhone XR and iPad Mini have the trek broken too being in different time zones? I told myself I should stop this obsession but I just can’t shake it off. Silly.

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Day 1016 for the iPhone5S and Day 1023 for both the iPad Mini and iPhone XR

Silly #3: will Rooney, official pet number one miss us?

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Should I chew on it or not? Hmm…

Silly worries aside, there are some happy reasons too…

Happy #1: the pineapple in the garden. It’s been more than two years that hubby’s been taking care of it, and thank goodness it decided to ripen on time before we leave. Harvested last Friday, the fruit of labor and love weighed a whopping two kilos! Needless to say, the juicy and home-grown pineapple was thoroughly enjoyed.

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Juiciest pineapple ever!

Happy #2: the constant rain seems to be good for the habanero plant for it has thrived well and we had a bumper harvest. So much chillies! I ate a little on Wednesday night and oh my goodness, almost died from the fiery burn. This batch is super duper spicy.

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The spicy level of the reds win hands down over the greens

Happy #3: we will be meeting up with M2 in Amsterdam! Yes, our baby will fly tomorrow from Ireland to meet us at Schiphol. And she will miss a few days of Summer classes which unfortunately can’t be helped. I feel it’s important for her to attend her only sister’s Commencement ceremony, hence the plan as such.

Happy #4: we will finally be seeing M1. The last time the family unit was complete was when she came back for Christmas in 2017, so that’s like a year and a half since we last saw our firstborn in person. The weekly Skype video sessions do not count. Can’t wait. A 12 hours and 40 minutes flight for the first leg, then a four-hour transit before the second leg of 10 hours and 17 minutes flight (hopefully no delays) before the family will be whole again. Yay!!!

I guess with the happy reasons outweighing the silly ones, I shouldn’t be too silly and just be happy.

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Daily Bonus Mess Up, Part 3

3 Jun

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Two weeks ago, when I achieved the 1000 Days milestone for Candy Crush Soda’s Daily Bonus with my iPad Mini and iPhone XR, my retired iPhone5S was not far off too, at 993 Days. There was a mess up on the tracking but I am not complaining. A week later after that achievement, the iPhone5S also reached 1000 Days!

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It’s a crazy obsession. I should stop.

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Becoming Obsolete

6 May

My iPad Mini is slowly becoming obsolete. Last week Pinterest couldn’t update and it riles me to have that number sitting in the corner of the App Store icon for a few days. But I left it as is because there was no mention of needing iOS10 and I could still use it.

However, this morning Pinterest was suddenly being installed although I didn’t do anything and it looked like it was stuck. So I restarted the iPad Mini, thinking this would help. The next thing I knew, my Pinterest icon was gone from the iPad! Yikes.

I then went into App Store to try to reinstall but there’s nothing for me to even click on to download. Why? Why? Why? It looks like arm twisting tactics here to push me to get a new iPad Mini.

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How do I download PInterest when there’s nothing to click on?

Two weeks ago, it was something else. I found out I couldn’t launch iFlix (not Netflix but similar entertainment provider) because it required iOS10 and my Mini cannot update beyond iOS9.3.5. Sigh…

And several weeks ago, it was Skype that couldn’t be used because it also required iOS10. I checked online if there were anymore older versions of Skype (that can run on iOS9.3.5) but apparently, Microsoft no longer support old devices for it. The only solution if I wanted to use Skype is to buy a new iPad Mini, according to discussions on community forums out there!

Gee… I don’t think I want to do this especially when I now have an iPhone XR that is much faster and sufficient for my needs. Anyway, I didn’t download Skype on the phone nor do I want to have the app on my desktop computer. I simply resolved the usage predicament by bringing my MacBook Air to the office for the weekly Skype session with M1. Easy peasy. As for Pinterest, it is on the phone too.

It’s just a matter of time before the iPad Mini will be relegated to being another bedside clock, along with iPod, M2’s old iPhone 5C and my recently retired iPhone 5S. Sigh…

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Creepy Siri No More

7 Mar

I have Siri activated again on my iPhone XR and am so glad that it’s not creepy anymore. Previously on the now-retired iPhone5S, it activated itself without any prompt and at odd hours, it was creepy so I disabled the feature.

The only problem for now though is Siri not understanding my Asian voice command. Am I not pronouncing words right? They sound pretty distinct to me…

I was experimenting and Siri listed ‘ate’ instead of ‘eggs’ and ‘Martin’ instead of ‘mutton’ when I prompted it to write my grocery list. Hahaha… I guess both Siri and I have to get used to each other.

For now, Siri is useful to set my alarm as I don’t have to hold the phone to do so especially when I am horizontal in bed. Mundane but practical. In time, I am sure I can assign it to do more.

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A Lovely Surprise, Part 2

28 Feb

I am really loving my new iPhone XR. Why didn’t I change earlier and subjected myself to such aggravation with the battery issue of the old phone?

The best feature so far for me is the Face ID and swiping upwards to unlock the phone without having to fuss keying in the password. And I don’t miss the Home button, something I once dreaded I couldn’t do without.

Oh… and I don’t have to carry a power bank anymore! No more worrying about the phone dying on me as it can last almost three days after a full charge with my usage pattern. Three days! So cool.

As for the size of the phone, hmm… I am still adjusting to get used to it because this is a like/don’t like issue.

I like it for the big screen size because it makes reading easier. But being bigger, it’s cumbersome to hold. And bigger means heavier, it is not comfortable to keep in the pocket of the pants. And if I wear my Uniqlo jeans, it sits in the most awkward position in the front pocket, poking me in all positions. So most times I put the phone in the handbag but this then adds weight to the handbag. Sigh…

Also being bigger, the phone is now a two-hand operation device. I find myself preferring to use both hands instead of having the keyboard moved to one side to type. Seriously, some adjustments to get used to with this giant.

But generally, there’s more positives––the interface, the battery lifespan and other cool stuff––to this upgrade and I have embraced them well enough. In time, I will forget my old once-reliable iPhone5S which is now retired to the bedside.

I must admit though, there are some nights I find myself holding it out of nostalgia and wonder in amazement how did I managed with this minuscule thing and its screen for the past five years?

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Daily Bonus Mess Up

25 Feb

It was a usual morning must-do routine upon waking up yesterday. I would reach for my devices to launch Candy Crush Soda. The phone was picked up, the game launched and it showed ‘915 Days’ instead of ‘17 Days’!

Strange… Why is it showing this figure on the phone? Typically, not including the gold bar tally, all devices (the iPad Mini, iPhone XR and iPhone5S) are independent of each other for the Daily Bonus trek and rewards garnered.

Then I picked up the iPad to launch the app. There was no Daily Bonus showing! Oh no… It got messed up. Would it break the next day? I got worried even though there were many occasions I wanted to stop this silly addiction.

This morning, with a slight dread, I reached for the iPad first.

‘916 Days’ when I launched. Phew.

And the phone… ‘916 Days’ too! What a weird mess up.

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A Lovely Surprise

15 Feb

It was supposed to be my birthday present this year from hubby but my iPhone5S had other plans. It just didn’t want to cooperate and be good. The battery issue…

When we went back to hubby’s hometown for Chinese New Year, my internet connection was with the phone and data. There was no wifi at the in-laws’ place so this rendered the iPad useless without connection unless I sync it to the phone which was unnecessary.

So using just my phone, the battery problem spiked; I could feel the heat at the back of the phone if I use it too long. So much so, in a day I had to charge several times. I literally had to live with the lightning cable and power bank if I don’t stay put and have the power socket nearby.

My problem started when I updated to iOS12 last year. Prior to the update, when the phone was still on iOS10.3, it was fine. The battery could last a day without any issues or even longer with minimal usage. But after the update, the phone just couldn’t support the newer iOS. Even without usage, left idle after a full charge, the battery would drain to half. When things are not right, it escalates the problem. Sigh…

After holding out for so long, I finally replaced my once-reliable Apple iPhone5S. I must say, it was good while it lasted. Thanks for being such a wonderful device the past five years. But I have to retire it and move on because I cannot take the battery aggravation anymore. And it’s pointless to change the battery because the cost to do so is not worth it.

It’s been a week with me now joining the legion of oversized smart phone users with my spanking brand new iPhone XR. A lovely surprise indeed.

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900 Days

8 Feb

In the midst of celebrating and enjoying Chinese New Year, I was obsessing to achieve my milestone for Candy Crush Soda! The last four days, without fail I synced my iPad Mini to my iPhone5S, using the Personal Hotspot setting for connection to get the Daily Bonus. If this isn’t being obsessive, I don’t know what is.

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Today I hit Day 900! I am trying to convince myself once I hit the thousand mark, I will stop. I think.

I don’t know…

Yesterday our journey home took six hours, which was not too bad considering I was prepared for a ten-hour drive, unsure of the traffic condition before we started. After three hours on the road, there was a stretch that took longer than necessary but thankfully, the drive home was quite stress-free.

We packed lunch to eat in the car so we don’t have to stop and only did one stop for a toilet break.

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You see nothing but paddy fields in the first stretch of the journey

After a good night’s rest, we are back to work today, otherwise the holiday long break is too long and work will pile up come Monday. Better to clear some now and so that the weekend is more enjoyable with gastronomic gatherings with friends and family. And of course, continue on with the next pursuit for the 1000 Days milestone.

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Where’s the Bluetooth Icon?

18 Jan

There are some things in life we take for granted. Like the Wifi symbol, it must show when there’s connectivity or the Bluetooth symbol to show that it’s turned on.

I didn’t realize the Bluetooth icon was dropped (from its usual top right place) by Apple when I updated to iOS12 last year. Maybe because I don’t use it often (syncing my Mi Band2 only once in a blue moon) and the phone automatically connects to my car whenever I get in without me having to fuss over it. So the disappearance went undetected.

It came as a mild annoyance in early January when I discovered that my Mi Band2 suddenly could not connect to my iPhone5S. How could this be? It could connect in December when we were in Penang. Anyway, I must have been having a bad day because I decided to give a one-star on Mi Fit’s Review on the AppStore, highlighting the inability to sync problem. But I didn’t pursue further after that and left it as is.

Two nights ago, the app had an update. And I thought, Aha! They must have read my review and decided to fix the bug. So I updated the Mi Fit app, thinking the syncing would be resolved.

But nothing happened. Hmm.

The Mi Band2 still could not sync and that was when I discovered that the Bluetooth icon went missing. Initially a sense of panic kicked in. Oh no! My phone has developed another illness. Already dying with the battery issue, now this?! I was aghast.

I had done the ‘Forget this Device’ step, rebooted the phone and yet, the Bluetooth icon couldn’t be seen nor can the phone detect the band. It was so frustrating, I even contemplated giving up my Mi Band2 if the problem persisted. The survival of my phone was more critical. Then I read up in forums and learnt that the Bluetooth icon was dropped. Eeesh.

Another last resort attempt…

I deleted the Mi Fit app but not before syncing all the data to the Health app and downloaded it again. Crossing my fingers, I signed in and voila! My Mi Band2 finally synced. Phew. What an unnecessary scare that was.

As for the missing Bluetooth icon, I’ve decided to manually manage its appearance, opening Control Center and swiping it ON or OFF now that I know the little icon won’t be sitting on the top right anymore.

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To have it ON or OFF, that is the question!

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