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5G, BBC Radio Suffolk, Covid19, Gadget Man, Interview, James Hazell, Matt Porter, Radio, Radio Interview, Technology, The Gadget Man

Gadget Man – Episode 169 – Ofcom orders Phone Networks to Stop Locking Phones + Advice and Tips about Switching Networks

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In this episode, I chat to James Hazell on BBC Radio Suffolk about the ban on locking mobile phone handsets in the UK.

Mobile phone companies will be banned from selling ‘locked’ handsets, under a range of new rules from Ofcom that will make switching even simpler.

Some companies – including BT/EE, Tesco Mobile and Vodafone – still sell mobile phones that can’t be used on other networks unless they are unlocked. But this is a potentially complicated process which can also cost around £10. Ofcoms research shows that more than a third of people who decided against switching said this put them off.

Switching between mobile networks should now be simpler following Ofcom ruling
Switching between mobile networks should now be simpler following Ofcom ruling

Almost half of the customers who try to unlock their phone have difficulties doing so. For example, they might experience a long delay before getting the code they need to unlock their phone; the code might not work, or they could suffer a loss of service if they did not realise their phone was locked before they tried to switch.

So, following consultation, Ofcom has confirmed that mobile companies will be banned from selling locked phones. This will allow people to move to a different network with their existing handset, hassle-free. The new rules will come in from December 2021.

Amazon, GPS, Review, The Gadget Man, tracking devices, Vodafone

Half Price Alert! Vodafone V-Multi Tracker, a Multi-Use Lightweight GPS Tracker with Bluetooth and Data Connection

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This is a bit of a heads up for those of that are prone to putting things down and forgetting them, those that might be carrying around valuable items and usefully, those who are flying drones and would like to be able to track a fly-away!

Vodafone V-Multi Tracker
Vodafone V-Multi Tracker

The Vodafone V-Multi Trackers keep an eye on your possession using a simple iOS or Android app. I reckon the current price of £22.50 + £2 per month for your data plan is a no-brainer.

The tracker also gives you speed alerts if your things start moving and will notify you through the app on your smartphone.

There’s also an emergency SOS button which can be set up to notify a loved one of the trackers current location.

At just 39mm wide, 12mm high and weighing less than 20g, it can be attached to items using the variety of included accessories, such as USB charging cable, Hard case, Carabiner, Pouch, Clip and built-on V-Sim.

Setup was reasonably painless using Vodafone’s V app and TrackiSafe’s app.

I’ve tested it and can confirm it will send the current location using the built in Vodafone data connection and will use with GPS, WiFi or Cell Tower triangulation to get the coordinates, which it sends back to the app and shows on an interactive map.

You can purchase the Vodafone V-Multi Tracker for £22.50 (until the 31 January 2020) using this link or the link below!

BBC Radio Suffolk, Facebook, Gadget Man, Matt Porter, Podcast, Technology, The Gadget Man

The Gadget Man – Episode 149 – Virgin goes from EE, via BT to Vodafone, Britbox launches and Drone Registration is now compulsory

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Welcome to Episode 149 – It’s all go again with the mobile phone market in the UK, the confusion surrounding Mobile Virtual Network Operators and actual network operators becomes confusing again! Virgin Mobile is currently carried by EE which in turn is owned by arch-rival BT, so now Virgin is moving to Vodafone. It shouldn’t affect your service, but you should check your coverage as EE and Vodafone may differ!

Britbox has now launched in the UK, although it was launched in the USA some time ago. Britbox offers BBC and ITV material and will also offer Channel 4 and Channel 5 stuff to in time.  It becomes confusing when much of the material is still offered on BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4 and My5, you can even pay for some of these services to remove the adverts with ITV Hub+, 4+. I’ve signed up to check it out, so more on this later. I’m not terribly sure it has room to operate alongside global players such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV.  Time will tell.

UK Drone registration is now compulsory for anyone flying an aircraft over 250g.  Operators have until the end of the month to register their drones. It requires the payment of a £9 annual fee and you must affix your Operator ID to any drones you choose to fly.

Listen in to the stream to find out more,

Matt

BBC Radio Suffolk, Blog Post, Gadget Man, Gadget Road Trip, Radio Interview

The Gadget Man – Episode 148 – Better Late than… Matt got cut off, Three was down, Vodafone had billing problems and Samsung’s Fingerprint Sensor was bust

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Yikes!!! From a few weeks back! Here is Episode 148 where I spoke to James Hazell about Three, Vodafone and Samsung… Oh, I also got cut off from Facetime during the conversation.

All the issues are resolved now, but it should make informative listening.

From Thur 18th October 2019

Image Credit: By comedy_nose under CC BY License