Old man education on my new 'Smart' phone

Bob6831 · Feb 21, 2019

Just bought a phone and plan from Tracfone. It is a LG Fiesta 2. Have a few questions:'
1) My Customer Support person gave me conflicting info on whether I am able to do voice to text with this phone. Can I do it via some app I can download?
2) I have read that it is best to use WiFi if I can. Can I use my in house wifi with this phone? If so, how do I set it up? And once I set it up (if possible), how can I verify that it is using the wifi vs my cell phone service provider when I am making a call?
3) I have some icons on the top left of my phone that I have no idea what they are NOTIFICATIONS of.
One is a circle with bunch of wavy lines inside, and on is a triangle with 1 end pointing at 7pm and opposite side having a line in the middle.
Thanks for any help you can give this old man new to smart phones.

Dannydet · Feb 21, 2019

https://www.gsm-specs.com/specifications/lg-fiesta-lte/

Bob6831 · Feb 21, 2019

Thanks Danny, looks like some good info at that site......... but really does not answer my specific questions..... unless I am missing it!

lvt · Feb 21, 2019

How old are you?

Bob6831 · Feb 21, 2019

74......... but why do you ask?

Dannydet · Feb 21, 2019

Wifi is mainly for internet, email and other apps... Go to your phone settings, Wi-Fi, make sure it's on and your home wifi should appear, login with your username and password that you use for your computer.
Calls and text messages go through your carrier, not Wi-Fi....

lvt · Feb 21, 2019

Bob6831 said:
74......... but why do you ask?

Much younger than I thought, when I read the post it sounds like 94yo

Dannydet · Feb 21, 2019

Always keep your wifi on, and when you leave your home it will automatically connect to 3 or 4g data signal.
There's a lot to learn but don't get discouraged

Bob6831 · Feb 22, 2019

I do have it hooked up with my WiFi. I had read that it is better to use wifi as often as possible, and I have heard of wifi calling and that some phones/carriers have this option. That is why I am asking about whether my phone/carrier has it.

kate · Feb 22, 2019

Bob6831 said:
I have heard of wifi calling and that some phones/carriers have this option. That is why I am asking about whether my phone/carrier has it.

Tracfone has a recent blog post about WiFi calling but doesn't say if they natively support it:
https://blog.tracfone.com/wi-fi-calling/

They mention using Google Duo for WiFi calls. With WiFi on you can use that app to make calls instead of using the default phone dialer.

lvt · Feb 22, 2019

Bob6831 said:
I do have it hooked up with my WiFi. I had read that it is better to use wifi as often as possible

Only when your Wi-Fi is faster than your mobile data, which isn't always true, especially with the 5G coming.

If your Wi-Fi is shared, sometimes it's better to stay on your mobile data if you have an unlimited plan.

Clementine_3 · Feb 22, 2019

Just a guess but I'm thinking it's not unlimited. And yeah, 5G, don't get all excited just yet.

My friend has a Tracfone, I showed her how to turn data completely off so she only uses wifi at home and knows to turn it on if she's out and needs it. She can call and send SMS with data off and when she's not home, and that's mostly good for her. At home, of course, she can do anything she wants on wifi. She doesn't have wifi calling and, frankly, it would confuse her anyway.

lunatic59 · Feb 22, 2019

I don't think tracfone does unlimited data. If you are on a limited plan then WiFi is always the best way to go. FWIW the phone will always give WiFi priority over mobile data when connected to WiFi, unless you tell it not to.

Nija'd by Clem

Bob6831 · Feb 22, 2019

In regards to my question #3, I received feedback that this is what they meant:
1. The envelope icon is the Gmail application.
2. The “G” is the Google application.
3. The arrow icon is the GPS.
4. The last one is the Spotify icon.

Now my question is how do they get there, what does that mean being there versus if they were not there.

Clementine_3 · Feb 22, 2019

1 - indicates you have a new/unread Gmail
2 - I've never seen that on my phone so not sure honestly
3 & 4 - letting you know that those are running

They are just there to let you know if you have anything to look at (Gmail/text etc.) and they show what's running. You can pull the notification shade down (put your finger on the top and slide/pull down) to see a bit more info on them or tap for a quick open of the app.

GameTheory · Feb 22, 2019

Here's a video that will cover some of the android basics which might be useful to you.

Old man education on my new 'Smart' phone

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