Switching "Obama" lifeline to LG Aristo

MNottaRobot · Oct 17, 2020

I have had an old Obama phone for around 5 years; a friend bought me an LG Aristo 2 at the local PC Metro store; but after I stopped paying for the service, after a certain time period the phone became more useless -i.e. When I plugged it into my laptop via USB the laptop no longer recognized it; so I couldn't transfer anything, nor could I bluetooth.
I suppose I might have been able to use a micro sd card to get the photos/videos off the LG then transfer them to the laptop, but I'm not even sure that wasn't disabled. It was like the PC Metro people sent a kill signal to the phone.
But I found the IMEI (serial number) on the LG and I want to switch my free government lifeline service over to the LG, but am afraid it will fail; I went through a process to "unlock" the phone, and was able to connect to a wifi router; but I keep getting the PC Metro screen telling me I need to update; the government phone uses Virgin Mobile; so, do I need to do a factory reset to get rid of all the PC Metro stuff on the Aristo 2? Anyone?
I will appreciate any advice;

puppykickr · Oct 18, 2020

I dont want to be 'that guy', but here it goes...

That phone is ~two years old, right?
The lifespan of a device is usually 2-3 years or so.

Is is even compatible with the Lifeline service?
Have you contacted them to find out?

Normally, they will provide a list of devices that are compatible with their service in your area.

Even if it technically is compatible 'on paper', it still may be locked by the carrier.

So, now the question really is- is it worth going through all of this for a device that is very likely nearing the end of its useful lifespan?
A device that you already know quite possibly has issues already?

Now factor in that a Lifeline device is replaceable for $25.
(At least that is what it is here, with Q-Link.)

My recommendation would be to get a new device, put a new SD card into it, and then use Wi-Fi to transfer the files you want from the old device to the new one.

I use NitroShare to do this all of the time.

NitroShare (Cross-platform network file transfer) - https://f-droid.org/packages/net.nitroshare.android

You can even use NitroShare to transfer your files to your computer over Wi-Fi.

MNottaRobot · Oct 20, 2020

Thank you so much; I did wind up calling the Assurance Wireless people and was able to get a human being on the line, and for 5 dollars plus tax, I have a Unimax U69 3CL on the way...
The LG Aristo had a 15 digit serial number while the Assurance "Swap Phones" page said to enter the 11, 14 or 17 digit serial number of the new phone; that was the first clue that it might not work...
But, after having had bad experiences calling Assurance -long holds; barely intelligible English on the other end, with what I was saying echoing loudly about a second after I spoke; I was glad that a person answered on a quiet line. I decided to take advantage of their "free replacement" option (that I was eligible for because of how long I had suffered with the ANS UL40 (which is about the size of a small stack of playing cards) and so within 5 to 7 days, I'll have a phone that should work through their carrier, and on their network, and with their service.

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Switching "Obama" lifeline to LG Aristo

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