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2/14/2025

Another skipped blog post. Sorry was out drinking... responsibly I swear, but anyway. Day 8 without a phone, but at least it should be my last. How can I be so sure? Well, I gave up wating and contacted the repair shop today. Turns out it appears as though someone tried to tamper with the firmware. I don't actually believe that. I didn't tamper with it, and even though I got it used it ran for months without issue. Regardless of what I believe Google think's it falls out of warranty so getting it fixed would cost about $600. A new Pixel 8a costs about $400. the course of action is obvious. Amazon should be able to deliver it by tomorrow morning so I'll soon have an upgraded phone... yay. There is, however, some benefit to getting a new phone. First off, issues like what I dealt with with my 7a will be less likely. Also the 8a has some features I envy. Notably it has USB-c to HDMI support. As an avid media enjoyer it will be nice to have what ammounts to a mobile streaming box I can plug into a TV. Plus I also love running emulators of my home consoles so being able to turn it into an emulation box as well is a very attractive possibility.

Overall, aside from another dead phone for my dead phone drawer (this makes either 4 or 5 at this point) and spending ~$400 this isn't a tragedy. I seem to have rotten luck with phones. My tablet has lasted a good few years; my Kindle even longer, but phones? I think my record is 2 years? I suppose that makes some sense. I use my phone way more than any other device, but I can't help but feel a little unlucky. Honestly though what really bothers me is that I waited a week an a half to learn I needed a new phone. I gave the repair place my e-mail, but never heard from them at all.I had to reach out to them to hear back.They explained that their automated e-mail system should have contacged me, but when I didn't show up to pick up my phone it didn't occur to them to attempt to reach out manually? I struggle to maintain my anger; I know what it's like to be on the other side of the counter. It's not their fault Google's warranty didn't work in my favor. The failure of the automated system might be their fault, but it could be terrible broken software. Lord knows many organizations use terrible software solutions. So, things should be better but they aren't in ruins