More Technological Trauma

If the saying is true that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, then I should be able to lift – oh, at least the rear-end of an old VW Beetle by now!

I have been procrastinating, for well over a week, about changing out the SIM card to switch my cell phone service from Sprint to xfinity Mobile. On the surface, it seemed like an easy task, but you know what ‘assuming’ does. Part of me wanted to wait until my upcoming visit with my beloved brother, but a little part of me wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

The beginning was easy, all done online. I got all of the information ready, even digging out the old scratchy notes I took from when I first contracted with Sprint. These notes provided me my Apple icloud address and security code as well. Off I go…. breezing through providing the right information for my billing from Sprint so it could be verified.

Success! Now it’s time to activate the phone by changing out the SIM card. A little tool was provided, and it took me several attempts to get the part of the case open, but I finally got it done. I was careful to focus on the exact layout of the old card as I took it out so I’d be sure to put the new one in the same way. Closed the little door and restarted the phone.

More success! I was feeling pretty empowered and proud of myself!

I now understand the phrase, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.” After turning the phone back on, I got an “Activation Lock” screen requiring my Apple ID and password. However, I kept getting a message telling me that the ID or password was incorrect. Since this is my only Apple product, I knew I had the correct ID. I finally got on the laptop and went to Apple support and changed my password. That didn’t work, even after restarting the phone.

I wouldn’t go through every detail of what transpired next…suffice it to say that I was on the phone with the new carrier, who couldn’t help me. I chatted (after a 20-minute wait in queu) online with Sprint to verify that my phone was, indeed, unlocked. I got onto Apple support. $50 and 2-1/2 hours later, between my initial agent and a specialist, we were finally able to get the thing unlocked!

So, was I successful? I guess the answer is yes… as long as I don’t think about the $50 ($10 of it was a bonus I was able to tack onto my review of the initial agent), who was so patient, or the fact that I spent 4 hours’ time to make myself successful.

On the bright side, I’ll be able to enjoy the time with my brother this week without us having to deal with this task. And, on the bright side, I’ll be saving $40 a month average with this switch, so with the costs to get it done, that means I’ll break even the first month before I start saving $40 a month.

Now, all that is left to do is call Sprint and cancel. Again, I don’t like not having the option to cancel online, but it’s one more phone call…. And then, all of the technology I planned on upgrading/changing will have been completed and I won’t have this stress in my life for a while!