| Author | Message | ||
     Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 771 Registered: 04-2019 |
On my phone I get the message: Unfortunately, settings has stopped (error) So I googled it and most sites give this advice. ‘Unfortunately, settings has stopped working’ is a very annoying issue but you can fix it. 1. Go to settings > Really! Then people wonder why aliens have never contacted us. | ||
| Glen Poolen Experienced User Username: wgipps Post Number: 178 Registered: 03-2018 |
Its your Govt. They are trying to filter out the idiots going to Area 51. They are digitally tracking people who get past point 1. Dont fall for it. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2890 Registered: 06-2009 |
Try a soft reset on the phone. Web search your make/model and "soft reset." | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 776 Registered: 04-2019 |
Brian I have turn it off and on several times. Now I need to go to step one (I guess  ). 1. Go to settings > Many say to clear the cache, which is from settings. One said to get into factory settings but my phone keeps going to the start up screen not the black screen. So puts me back into the loop of I need setting to fix settings. If I knew the name of the settings file I could delete it and download a new one. Apparently it is just an app. ET Phone Home! | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3398 Registered: 04-2003 |
Mike, A universal mobile phone repair shop as often found in shopping centres should be able to do this for you "on the spot" at a reasonable cost [or possibly no cost] depending on what is involved for your type of phone. | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 782 Registered: 04-2019 |
David I need to extend the life of that phone until it is useless parts. I got a sweet deal some 5 years back for $45 unlimited everything. I have called all over the world free, internet data usage free and kind of unlimited, after 35 GB they slow it down but still works, use to be only 3 GB. So they do everything in their power to get that contract voided, new phone new contract. And not going to be $45 unlimited everything for life. | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Prolific User Username: soviet Post Number: 1520 Registered: 02-2013 |
You are right about the Area 51 loonies Glen. Trespassing on US military forces property because you are nuts over hidden aliens could possibly get you shot let alone arrested. If you tried to do that kind of caper in Russia you would definitely perish. I was in police headquarters in Samara one time and the system to access the police is you call upstairs to state your business on the free phone on the wall just near the sole policeman sitting at his desk with a loaded short version AK47 machine gun. Some fool before me tried to get past the sole policeman, was warned by the policeman to stop, but this nut kept moving to get upstairs. The next thing that happened was the policemen grabbed his machine gun and so the nut got the message and stopped. Just about all Russian police are ex Soviet or Russian military men and you just do not mess with them. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2895 Registered: 06-2009 |
Mike, That depends on two things: 1. Whether your carrier allows you to bring your own device. 2. Whether the device you're currently using has a "fixed" SIM or regular one, that can be removed and inserted in a different device. If you are able to bring your own device and you have a SIM that can be transferred to same, that will probably end up being your best bet. There are scads of unlocked phones available for sale that will function in the US (and many other) markets. I currently have two Xiaomi Redmi models in my own household that are "bring your own" devices that I have on the T-Mobile network. I wasn't about to pay what T-Mobile or any other carrier wants for a new phone when the same specs are available in global unlocked versions at far, far lower cost. Brian | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 802 Registered: 04-2019 |
Brian I have a T-Mobile phone (a thrown away phone), I only use it as a camera (and some music at times). But it usually has bars on it no matter where I am. My phone is a Sprint based phone. Sprint leaches off of the AT&T network and my carrier leaches of Sprint. So it is a leach of a leach. I went to look at some more land today and again had no bars at all, and I could not even send a message. I was stuck in Oklahoma broke down for 2 days in my 18 wheeler truck, because my phone had no service and no one would stop. The only way to send a message was to use the truck computer to send a message, and wait for road service to see the message. The dispatcher never told them I was broke down. In Thailand and Malaysia they can unlock any phone. Mine is not fixed, but I think the T-Mobile must be because I took out the SIM card. It still comes on saying T-Mobile. I looked yesterday at a shop I thought repaired phones, it is a game shop. I have to look some more. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2897 Registered: 06-2009 |
Mike, You are missing the point entirely. If this is a T-Mobile phone on the T-Mobile network (which is its own network, not anyone else's, and Sprint certainly does not use AT&T's network [I used to work for AT&T]), then you have the option of buying any GSM unlocked phone that uses the correct frequency/frequencies for the country in which you intend to use it, popping in the SIM card, and you're good to go. Sprint uses CDMA, not GSM, and I used to have a Virgin Mobile prepaid phone that used Sprint's network. I do not know what Sprint's policy is with regard to purchasing your own third party device. Things will get even murkier in the coming months if the T-Mobile & Sprint merger actually comes to pass, and it very likely will unless the courts block it. Unless you're willing to try, in order, a soft reset, then if that doesn't work a hard reset, then if that doesn't work rooting and looking for a custom ROM [if one exists for your device] you would be much better off seeing if you can transfer your SIM to an unlocked third-party device or one you purchase from Sprint. Smartphones have a definite shelf life. This is even more true now as 3G networks are being phased out. If a device was "brand spankin' new" when 3G was the hot thing it will soon be non-functional anyway. Brian | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 804 Registered: 04-2019 |
Brian as I have said I turned it off and on took out the battery, tried to go into the black factory settings screen and it will not let me. No combination of push this or that has gotten me into the factory settings. (It has 4G.) When I was young I watched satellite television, when the dish was about the size of 2 VW beetles laid on their side, wheels touching and moved back and forth. I was obsessed with legislation. I remember the law suits between SPC (Sprint) and AT&T "In the early 1970s the company began looking for ways to use its existing communications lines for long-distance calling. This division of the business was named the Southern Pacific Communications Company (now Sprint). By the mid 1970s, was beginning to take business away from AT&T, which held a monopoly at the time. A number of lawsuits between SPC and AT&T took place throughout the 1970s, with the majority being decided in favor of increased competition. Prior attempts at offering long distance voice services had not been approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), although a fax service (called SpeedFAX) was permitted." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprint_Corporation Sprint was a local line service, how all of a sudden did they have national and global access? | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 837 Registered: 04-2019 |
Brian I have been thinking about a bring your own phone swap. So all you do is take out the SIM card and stick it into another unlocked phone and you will receive calls on it and be able to call, the phone number switches to that phone? | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3423 Registered: 04-2003 |
Mike - YES but make sure the battery can be replaced easily and economically if it is in its final stages of life. The reason is being sold may well be because the battery cannot be replaced without serious problems or damaging the phone beyond repair. There is a problem with many 4G mobile phones where the battery is in a sealed phone case and replacement is fraught with problems associated with breaking the case whilst trying to unseal it to replace the battery. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2911 Registered: 06-2009 |
David, Just as an aside, it's perfectly possible to do a "bring your own phone" swap with a brand new device purchased from a third party. Both of the phones I have are not purchased from my mobile provider, but from Amazon. My mobile provider does permit "bring your own," though. Some do not, which is why I said one must verify that earlier. You're right about the battery issue, but that's the way phone design is going these days. Both of my "more expensive" phones have non-replaceable batteries while a dirt cheap ZTE Vantage ($29 US - purchased for use as an MP3 player "plus more," but never for phone use) still has a pop-off back and replaceable battery. I hope eventually the direction returns to replaceable batteries being standard, which they had been for years. Mike, the SIM is what carries the phone number, not the phone in which it resides. You can keep moving it from device to device that operates on your provider's network and the moment it fires up the phone number that will make the device ring is the one associated with that SIM card. Brian | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 839 Registered: 04-2019 |
Out of the ten or so phones I retrieved out of the trash, there were many more with broken screens etc, only one I could not get into to take the battery and SIM card out. Of course these were older phones. I have not tried to put my SIM into another phone because of fear of this giving my carrier an excuse to terminate my contract. Which would then cost me much much more. I might stick an AT&T SIM in other phones as an experiment. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2913 Registered: 06-2009 |
Mike, I think with this I'm done: Why don't you just ask your carrier whether you can switch devices, using a third party device? They are going to tell you either yes or no. If the answer's no then it might be worth trying to find a cast-off of the same phone you have that works, but that the person casting it off just didn't want anymore. There are plenty of resales of this type on eBay and Craigslist, where there's nothing wrong with the device but the owner wanted "the latest toy" and/or was changing carriers to get it. You are making this so much more complicated than it is by resisting asking your carrier what the terms are with regard to bringing your own device. If the answer is, "that's fine," which is increasingly common then you just need to buy a new compatible unlocked phone of your choosing that uses the same frequencies as your carrier. The Kimovil Frequency Checker has been very reliable in my experience with regard to the frequencies used in various countries for the different carriers and the frequencies supported by a given unlocked phone. Also, I earlier suggested a soft reset, which did not work, you could also try a hard reset, which should put the phone right back in to its "out of the box" state. You'll lose your data that isn't synced to the cloud, if any, and any apps you've installed, but it has the potential to fix the problem. A web search on hard reset along with the make and model will turn up probably hundreds of step-by-step instruction sets. Brian | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 841 Registered: 04-2019 |
Brian You act like there is some obligation to answer, no one here is holding a gun to your head to post. If you don't want to post, don't. Stop the arrogance card (again). And I have said three times I cannot do a factory rest, I cannot get into that screen. If I call my carrier I am connected to some guy in the Philippines who will give me a code to put into my phone to receive an update, that then screws up my phone again (I have already been through that). If they screw up my phone then it voids my once in a life time contract. That contract is connected to that phone, switching to another phone voids that contract, so that answers the bring your own device. Calling my carrier has its risks. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2914 Registered: 06-2009 |
My obligation is to make options clear for all readers, not just you. And you have been far from clear about just what you've done, for which I have no responsibility. You're on your own, good luck. Brian | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 932 Registered: 04-2019 |
Well my phone turned into a paper weight. First after the message Unfortunately, settings has stopped" appeared I could not get into any settings, then it stopped ringing, then all the apps disappeared, and I could only use the phone and messages. So finally I got into the factory settings and did a factory reset, and that turned it into a paper weight there was nothing but the message Unfortunately, settings has stopped. OK and no one would repair it. So I got a LG Tribute 4G lite. The towers around here are still only 3G so I could not get the internet to work here. Then I switched from 4G lite Automatic to LTE/CDMA and some internet works. (Today finally anyway.) | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 934 Registered: 04-2019 |
Adding to the above, one of the problems was I tether my phone to my computer, which I use a program that is free for a little bandwidth, then stops. I thought the activation code must have been on the computer side as well. It is only in the phone, which is new so no code. While the internet still sucks here, at least at times it worked on my old phone. So I entered the code to activate the app, and I am here for now. I know now, after buying the land, why phone service sucks here. It is because there are boosters in both locations, for another band frequency as T-Mobile etc. so it is causing RF interference for Sprint. Before I bought the land I took my phone with me to test which land had a signal. Only those far enough away from the repeater gave me signal. Even though there I am only less than a quarter mile from a tower. So all this time my bad signal here is due to that repeater up the street. That doesn't seem right. |
