29 Jan 2022, 18:14

1425 day 10: Lin helped me look for a new phone

date: 2021-04-25T11:14:22+09:00

title: "Some progress on phone: it's rebooting"

The phone can boot

and reboot

and reboot

and reboot

I found an issue with Android halting when low/no memory so I bought a new SD card but still have the same issue. At least I got a good price on the card.

256GB micro SD with adapter: (5,780 yen + tax) 6,358 yen

Back to phone shop to see if they will make good on the warranty.

13:19 Sunday 25 April 2021 JST

They were not willing to sort me out with a loaner phone.

At first the reason was they could not contact my local shop via phone.

Then when we were like “well there are many other shops near Tokyo” they said they could not give a loaner phone because I am on a 5G contract and they don’t have a 5G phone.

What an incredible reason is that?? Especially given that half the fuckin' time I look at my phone, it is on 4G because we are in the middle of no 5G towers.

20:08 Sunday 25 April 2021 JST

Just called CSR and they will send a new same model of phone to my hotel location. Nice!

date: 2021-04-25T17:36:35+09:00

title: "Finished Day Ten sans Phone sans Walking"

Just to be super clear, I did not have to walk from Sky Terme Shibukawa to Midorinomura camp area.

Lin and I woke up for breakfast at 6:30, packed, then spent the morning driving around trying to get my handset working again.

2021 apr 25 0726 rob breakfast window gunma

Amazingly, the shop staff was able to reboot my phone with a llllonnnngggg press (18 seconds) of the power button. I thought I had “done everything” but apparently I hadn’t done that.

The phone kept rebooting, though, and never could get past the opening screen or so.

Looking up online, I found a Stack Exchange issue of something determining that low memory was causing his phone to reboot. I mentioned this to the staff so they offered to sell me a larger Micro SD card:

  • 64GB for 9,700 yen
  • 128GB for 17,000 yen

I had seen much better prices in Shibuya, so Lin drove to the local Yamada Denki where I got a larger Micro SD card:

  • 256GB for 5,780 yen

I put the new card into the old phone but it still just kept rebooting.

Back to the phone shop to tell them the card did not help. They were super confusing. Here are the responses I understood over the hour we were there.

  • “We can’t help you.”
  • “We can loan you a phone.”
  • “We can probably get you the same model here, today.”
  • “We can’t get the same model.”
  • “We cannot loan you a phone because we cannot reach our sibling shop near your house.”
  • “We cannot loan you a phone because you have a 5G contract and we only have 4G phones.”

Good grief. Anyway, Lin and I gave up with them after an hour of this, plus calling the CSR line who were only able to “Send a phone to my house” and could not interfere with management of the local shop.

We ate lunch, then went to 金島温泉, which was small, cheap, clean(?), and fine, but got about 2 stars from me and low rating from Lin as well.

2021 apr 25 1340 lin rob

We finished around 4pm there which was too late for me to then walk to my place for tonight, so she is joining me in a bungalow at 緑の村キャムプ area.

I am a little bummed because this was to be the day I started walking up mountains, but I am also happy to receive a day off from walking.

Oh, and surprising to me, though my phone is stuck on a screen saying “Just a sec…” it can still receive calls on my phone number. That is a great relief; at least I have connection if people call me. I cannot make calls out, though.

Oh, I was able to print the maps for the next 6 days or so. Tomorrow I plan to start walking using paper maps.

2021 apr 25 1809 rob computer cabin

Here was the plan for Day 10

  • Day Ten (Sunday April 25th *) Part 1:

Drive with Lin to AU Shop to hopefully get a new handset

Part 2:

Walk 6 ~ 10(?)km, From Hotel Tatsumi To Kaneshimaonsen Fuki Hot Spring (169km walked so far)

  • Day Ten (Sunday April 25th *) Part 3:

Walk 10km, From Kaneshimaonsen Fuki Hot Spring To Midorinomura Camping Ground (179km walked so far)

Will turn left at Planet Restroom and Restaurant Planet (closed)

date: 2021-04-25T18:22:31+09:00

title: "Day Eleven will be long"

Feeling

Feeling great right now, and just discovered that I already created a way to generate updates using a Perl script.

Recently

Phone died yesterday afternoon; ended up taking today sans walking as a result. Printed maps at 7-11 and plan to use them tomorrow to walk.

Now

Lin is resting beside me and noted tomorrow is going to be a bit of a long day walking. I am grateful for my day off today! (Day 10)

Coming up

Tomorrow will be a 20km day through the foothills(?) and/or mountains. Yikes stripes am I ready for this?