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   alt.internet.wireless      Fun with wireless Internet access      55,960 messages   

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   Message 54,966 of 55,960   
   Robin Goodfellow to Jeff Liebermann   
   Re: How do you easily tell which network   
   07 Oct 21 04:54:38   
   
   XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone, comp.mobile.android   
   From: Ancient-of-Days@Heaven.Net   
      
   Jeff Liebermann  asked   
   > Android keeps a record of traffic summaries dating back to when the   
   > phone was activated.  I don't recall right now how to dig out that   
   > info, but I can find out if you want.   
      
   That's OK. I got the phone for free from T-Mobile around that time frame.   
   It's interesting how much more data I'm using on cellular now that I leave   
   cellular on all the time (I used to leave cellular off most of the time).   
      
   > I just tried the install.  If it destroys my phone, it's your fault.   
      
   It's a rather nice utility. I like it a lot. It tells us how much data we've   
   used on cellular and on wifi from the beginning, and for each app. Nice.   
      
   It doesn't do what I asked - but it's still a damn good app nonetheless! :)   
      
   > You goofed during the install.  The 2nd page, after allowing the app   
   > to have access to your data, it asks you to add it as a widget.  You   
   > don't need to do that.  It says:   
   >   Tip:  Swipe to the left to see more device usage statistics.   
   >   You don't need to add the widget to have this app count your data.   
      
   I saw that when I installed it and figured that was just part of the demo.   
      
   Thanks for letting me know I don't need the widget as I like to keep my   
   homescreen clean and well organized, where unfortunately widgets don't   
   reside (for some reason) inside of folders.   
      
   They have to be on the homescreen.   
      
   Hence I only use widgets when I am forced to, such as that neat huge yellow   
   lightning bolt icon you see in my screenshots when I'm plugged in to power.   
       
       
      
   My tired old eyes can't see the miniscule lightning bolt in the corner of   
   the top right screen when the phone is powered up (only kids can see it).   
      
   When I'm driving, for example, and the charger cable comes loose, I hear it   
   beep (a custom sound) and then the indicator on the screen instantly goes   
   out - and when the charge comes back on - I hear a different beep - and then   
   the huge charging indicator goes back on. I could have added the battery   
   charge level also but I just wanted the instantaneous charge direction.   
      
   Here are some examples of how I'm seeing the instantaneous charge indicator   
   and battery capacity on the homescreen in large icons in the same way I'd   
   love to be able to see the cellular & wi-fi data transfers instantaneously.   
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
      
   > I didn't add the widget and it does a nice job of showing monthly,   
   > weekly, daily, yearly, and total usage, nicely broken down between   
   > mobile and wi-fi.  For total, I'm showing 1.12GB mobile and 16.55GB   
   > total.  Nice.   
      
   Having personally tested probably a thousand apps over time (I'm guessing at   
   the number), I agree with you that this is a very nice "keeper" utility.   
      
   Just as with most battery charging apps, it's not what I asked for as it's   
   the integral and not the slope; but it's a very nice integrator indeed.   
      
   The trick now is to find an app that shows wifi & cellular signal slope   
   (not the integral).   
      
   > However, when I dive into the Settings, I find under "The secret   
   > settings":   
   > "Show app icon for pro version (paid version only)."  I think this   
   > means we're stuck with using the widget unless we pay for the app.   
      
   I saw those "secret settings" too but I didn't understand why they were   
   called "secret" since there were only two, one of which is grayed out.   
   1. Remember tab (last visited tab and pages will be opened)   
   2. Show app icon for pro ver   
      
   Looking again, I saw in the "Notification settings" the options to:   
    Show notifications (on or off)   
    a. Internet speed meter (on or off)   
    b. Widget refresh (on or off)   
    c. Widget in status bar (on or off)   
      
   All are on by default on my setup but I don't see the widget in the status   
   bar (it might be there but anything in the status bar is already too small).   
      
   > However, that's not what it's doing.  Even though I didn't create a   
   > widget, it still put an icon "Data counter widget" on my desktop.   
   > However, when I click the icon, it takes me to its "Add widget" page,   
   > which is easily bypassed.  I did a "forced stop" from   
   >    "Settings -> Apps -> Data Counter Widget"   
   > and it again sent me to the "Add widget" page.  It seems that the   
   > author really wants users to create a widget.  I wonder why?   
      
   I don't know why the author wants a widget, but AFAIK, on Android, if   
   something is a widget, it's an app which is "always running" (AFAIK).   
      
   Maybe the author wants the darn thing to always be running in the bg?   
      
   > As usual, I had to disarm all the notifications (except for the   
   > notification dot).  However, I wanted to see what "Widget in status   
   > bar" did.  So far nothing has appeared on the status bar.  Weird.}   
      
   Ah, I'm responding serially, so you are seeing EXACTLY what I'm seeing.   
   I'll reboot so we can see if that matters for the missing status bar widget.   
      
   Hmmmmm..... I don't see any difference in the status bar icons yet...   
   Ah. I found the problem.   
      
   1. Bring up the app GUI & press "More..." on the bottom right.   
   2. Press "Pro version" on the top which gives you a checklist.   
   3. Notice the "Status bar widget" doesn't exist in the free version.   
      
   Likewise with the "Status bar Internet speed meter."   
      
   > So, I gave up and created a widget as instructed.  Oddly, on the "Add   
   > Widget" page, it now shows:   
   >    Data Plan   
   >    Billing cycle   
   >    Monthly, the 1st.  Current cycle started October 1   
   > What data plan?  The one with my cellular provider, or something that   
   > the authors contrived to bill me?   
      
   I took that to mean when your cellular bill rolls over.   
   I set mine to the 11th of the month (which you can see in the screenshots).   
       
      
   I think it's innocuous.   
   I think it just means the calculations of data are based on that date.   
      
   > I looked through the reviews again,   
   > and there's no indication of any kind of scam, so it must be my   
   > PagePlus Cellular data plan, which does NOT start Oct 1.   
      
   I changed mine when I installed it as it was _asking_ me explicitly.   
   I'll check if that billing-cycle date can be changed after the fact.   
      
   > I couldn't   
   > find any place to change the billing cycle.  Oh wait, I found it.  In   
   > the middle of the first page, there's a "configure widget" button.   
      
   Yup. In the "Device usage" tab, middle of the page below the data rainbow is   
   "Configure Widget" whose first item on the list is "Billing cycle."   
      
   > That brings up some settings with includes the billing cycle and some   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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