They say you never know the value of what you have until you lose it.
In today's highly connected world it is virtually impossible for anyone irrespective of their age, class or profession to avoid having to use the internet at least once a day. For some like myself it is essential to have not just an average quality but rather good internet connection because of my investment in crypto currency. Hence the minimum acceptable network connectivity for best results is 4G LTE, anything less would be tantamount to torture.
So it was that my travails with internet connectivity issues began on Sunday, 10TH January, 2021. It all began when my 4G device decided to bid me an unceremonious but not unexpected farewell. I had plugged it in the previous night before 'hitting the sack' only to be welcomed by a blank screen upon pressing the power button to wake the device the following morning. I reassured myself that it had probably 'hanged' and a simple reboot would do the trick which I promptly did.
I initially dispelled the thought of it being a hardware issue because the screen had been replaced barely 48 hours earlier due to cracks after the device fell. Unfortunately my hopes were dashed when the blank screen remainedt after the reboot was completed as indicated by the device vibrating as it usually does upon completion of the booting process.
Two thoughts popped up in my head at this point.
Could it be that the replacement screen the technician had installed had suddenly gone bad or was it a fake?
I therefore resolved to pay another visit to the technician at first light on Monday as they wouldn't be available on a Sunday. Upon arrival at the repair shop on Monday morning, I narrated my ordeal to the technician. He collected the device and requested that I give him some time to have a look at it. After a wait of about two hours, he informed me that his trouble shooting indicated that the display I.C. had been damaged and would need to be worked on.
However, there was a cavaet of no guarantee that the issue would be resolved after the exercise was completed. Upon hearing this proclamation, I weighed the pros and cons of proceeding to spend between $11 and $12 (on an activity that might not work) in addition to the $19.63 which had previously been spent on the replacement screen. I arrived at the conclusion that it was time to 'retire' the device and purchase another. The device which I got for about $40.3 had been my faithful companion and had served beyond expectations for about 5 years.
Consequently while I mopped up funds to get another device I was stuck with my other device which had only WCDMA or 3G connectivity and boy has the experience been horrible. Pages that would ordinarily take a few seconds to load now take 'forever' to do so. Sometimes they don't even load at all due to poor connectivity on the 3G network. The difference between my WCDMA and LTE experience is best likened to taking a ride in a city bus vs a Ferrari. Don't mind my seemingly exaggerated analogy as it is intended to drive home the point of the marked difference in connectivity between both networks.
So for about 6 days and counting, I have been at the mercy of the ridiculously slow WCDMA connection. The make matters worse the onset of my troubles was the period when the streets of crypto town turned red with massive losses for some hodlers. Thankfully things are picking up as some lanes have turned green once again. My experience is one I wouldn't wish on anyone. Imagine having to move about in your apartment in search of better connectivity or having to constantly toggle airplane mode with the hope of improved connectivity once network access is restored.
The bitter lesson I have learnt is that no matter how attached you are to any mobile device, always have replacement plan in place possibly before the device becomes faulty. In my case, I probably should have started making provision for a replacement device the moment I had to previously replace a faulty charging port. I was overly enthusiastic that I could get another year out of the device for some reason which I can't quite place my hands on now in hindsight.
Hopefully by the next time I post another article on this platform I should have acquired another device bringing an end to a week long torture by terrible internet connectivity. By the way ,my experience has prompted me to think that it is probably a good idea for Read.cash to have a lo-fi version of the site to accommodate users with low quality internet connection a some of the site's features at present are best enjoyed with good quality internet connectivity.
Shukran
Danke
Merci
Gracias
ขอบคุณ
ধন্যবাদ
Спасибо
for reading.
