Help me with a tech issue? (iPhone users, please come in)

divinemsbee

So, I finally got a smart phone about 3 weeks ago. Woohoo-ish. But I'm having a text crisis.

Background: H and I are on a phone plan with my dad because it's cheaper for the three of us to be together. My dad doesn't have internet at home (yes, weird, yes, I'm hoping he gets it soon). H and I have internet and a wireless router at home, but since our house was built around 1920, it's got incredibly thick (8 inches on average) walls that are not drywall but are solid concrete with years and years worth of (some lead-based) paint. Add to that the more boxy/less open floor plan and the fact that there are only two cable outlets on the first floor (and the one in the living room is used to hook up the DirectTV), and we get internet connection really well only in about 1/3 of our house. This is also why we don't Netflix or do a lot of things through the internet, our signal just isn't strong enough, we can't even get the DirectTV On Demand to work because it needs a wifi signal and it can't get enough of one in the living room. We only have 1GB of data usage a month, so I am trying to keep the data turned off unless it's needed.

So, I turned on iMessage when I started getting texts from other iPhone users, the problem with that being that then I was only getting texts when I was in wifi range. So if I was in our living room (where I get the very smallest arc on the wifi on my phone, just the little dot) and my phone went to sleep and I got texts, it wouldn't recognize that it had wifi when it woke back up (to get wifi in the living room on a phone you have to go close to the source and then walk into the living room), and I wouldn't get those texts until I went into the dining room or kitchen and the phone realized it had wifi. So I wasn't getting texts for long periods of time. And I couldn't get any text when I was out and about since I don't turn the data on every time I leave the house. I've now just turned off iMessage (also, I had to change my apple password and my iMessage won't let me input the new one, so it just constantly says waiting for activation and won't let me input the new password) and am using the regular texting, but that also means that I can't receive any photos in texts.

Also, I can't send photos in texts, even with a strong wifi signal, unless I turn on the cell data, which is irksome. My old phone (Blackberry a few years old) would just turn the data on itself, send the picture, and turn it off. With my iPhone I have to manually do this.

From everything I've read, it's that one thing I need to do is make sure that all of my friends/family with iPhones have their settings done to where they can send iMessages as regular SMS when a person's iMessage isn't connected, but it sucks to have to ask everyone else to do this when I feel like it should just happen. Why would you not want to send a message you were going to send anyway? I feel like 'send the message anyway' should be the default.

I also realize that this is obviously being designed because the makers of cell phones simply believe we should have our data on all the time, and I'd love to if my limit was higher or if we could afford it to be unlimited.

I guess my question (besides the general venting) is, did anyone else deal with this? How? Did you just up your data limit? Or ask all of your friends to make sure to change their settings? Or do you just not have the walls of a prison in your house and are able to use your wifi in the bedroom (sounds like heaven)?

 
Also, why did my phone come with so damn many apps? I wish I could delete pretty much half of them, I don't need a 'stocks' app.

divinemsbee

Thank you that is brilliant. I already turned off the data to them, so they won't run by themselves, and apparently you can't delete the ones that come with your phone anymore, but moving them all to one screen at the back is genius.

baloneydisc

Lurker here, but on the iMessage to SMS thing, your friends and family shouldn't have to change any settings. I have a friend who turns off her iMessage from time to time and if I try to text her (I don't turn my iMessage off ever) it starts trying to send as an iMessage and then if it fails you click the "send as text" right next to the message and that becomes the new default for messages sent to your phone.

OnceInLoveWithAmy

Joy2611 said:

divinemsbee said:

 
Also, why did my phone come with so damn many apps? I wish I could delete pretty much half of them, I don't need a 'stocks' app.

I can't answer anything else but this one.  You can have multiple "screens" of apps.  So, I put my messages, my camera, and my photos on one screen.  When I swipe and move to the next screen, I put all my silly apps like Facebook, SEPTA transit and OpenTable.  I swipe again and have all my games.  You get the idea.  I put all those stupid Apple apps that I never touch on the very last screen so I never have to swipe there and look at them.

this.

also, after reading about your 8 inch concrete walls, I am not hating my 1923 plaster and lathing walls so much.   OY.

evalyn24

I don't think I know how to fix the messaging thing, but sending and receiving messages isn't using your data anyway so you should just turn off the iMessaging. If someone with an iPhone messages you it will return to them and say 'message failed to send' My husbands does this to me all the time because he has iMessaging turned off. If this isn't working then I would go to an Apple store and ask them about it like PPs have suggested

chaysefaith

We have something attached to our modem called AirPort Extreme. I have no idea what is or how much it was to buy it but it extends our wifi to the entire house plus the basement. It also doesn't slow down our Internet connection to have the computer, laptop, 2 iPhones, 3 tablets, and 1 normal cell phone using our wifi at the same time. It sounds like you might benefit from this, look into it!

traversity773

I would leave your data on, you use a LOT less than you think you do.