Solved An annoyance about smart phones

rk911 · 2026-07-01T20:22:16-0400

OAT said:
I had this, a full 3 watts of power at $2 a minute ( + $40 a-month-charge) with real two way communication.
Charger mount in the car took a bit of space but sound quality was superior than that of today.
Plus I was young... Circa 1993.

View attachment 175699

We bought a pair of Motorola V710s when we retired in '05 amd were going to hit the road in our motor home for up to 3-mos at a time. They were pretty nice phones.

FrancoDT · 2026-07-01T20:28:39-0400

rk911 said:
We bought a pair of Motorola V710s when we retired in '05 amd were going to hit the road in our motor home for up to 3-mos at a time. They were pretty nice phones.

I remember having a Motorola Razr flip phone before the smart phones appeared. Back then I think I had a 200 a month text limit. Wasn't long before I kept exceeding that Lol.

antspants · 2026-07-01T22:01:12-0400

FrancoDT said:
Motorola Razr flip phone

My fav phones of all time

pseymour · 2026-07-01T22:15:27-0400

This was my favorite phone. Good times.

Steve C · 2026-07-02T02:08:24-0400

Also Hargreaves a major UK financial site only allows one phone number for 2FA login so if you have a phone problem there is no alternative way to login. I complained ages ago but they have done nothing to improve their login.

cheaterslick · 2026-07-02T04:27:51-0400

TraderGary said:
My smartphone is a powerful pocket computer that I know how to use, and I wouldn't want to be without.

It's not for everybody, though... -- :think:

TraderGary · 2026-07-02T07:27:59-0400

cheaterslick said:
It's not for everybody, though... --

Obviously! :eyeroll:

XxXxX · 2026-07-02T10:57:03-0400

Patsy1011 said:
Not EVERYONE has one...me for one or two or more. This morning in attempting to log on to a site, I was required to scan a "I'm human" code to log in. Well, can't do it. No smart phone so now I'm locked out of this site. I wrote the site people that I need an alternative method of sign in - Hope to hear. But, bottom line is -- because not EVERYONE has a smart phone, alternative log in methods really should be provided. Is that such a big deal?? Just a little gripe. Thanks.

have you considered using a browser extension 2FA Authenticator
its available for most Browsers, you can then scan the code from within the Authenticator then use 2FA to sign on with
it also password protected and has a back up (export) settings so you can save a password protected backup

this link is for Microsoft Edge

Authenticator: 2FA Client - Microsoft Edge Add-ons

Make Microsoft Edge your own with extensions that help you personalize the browser and be more productive.

microsoftedge.microsoft.com

best of luck Steve ..

Patsy1011 · 2026-07-02T11:09:47-0400

Hey Steve - thanks for that. I have not used Edge - always FF. I will give it a try. I report back.

Patsy1011 · 2026-07-02T11:15:42-0400

Hmmm. Sounds like users have a lot of trouble with its stability. Went to your link and it came up with reviews - mostly negative. If I could find it I may give it a try in spite of all that but don't see where to get it. I'll do another search. Thanks again.

cheaterslick · 2026-07-02T13:05:53-0400

XxXxX said:
this link is for Microsoft Edge

I don't want to use Edge. It may be needed on other browsers, though...

TraderGary said:
Obviously!

I won't have my life revolve around a smartphone. They're like cigarettes. You think you're in control of things but you're really not.

Patsy1011 said:
Hmmm. Sounds like users have a lot of trouble with its stability. Went to your link and it came up with reviews - mostly negative. If I could find it I may give it a try in spite of all that but don't see where to get it. I'll do another search. Thanks again.

I used to use it for work and it sucks. I used to wind up calling the help desk all the time to get in. It's total garbage.

XxXxX · 2026-07-02T13:16:13-0400

Patsy1011 said:
Hmmm. Sounds like users have a lot of trouble with its stability. Went to your link and it came up with reviews - mostly negative. If I could find it I may give it a try in spite of all that but don't see where to get it. I'll do another search. Thanks again.

here is the link for the Firefox 2FA extension. i have used this extension for several years and have yet to have any problems
i use it in Firefox and my main browser Vivaldi.

Authenticator – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

Download Authenticator for Firefox. Authenticator generates 2-Step Verification codes in your browser.

addons.mozilla.org

edit to add this, Proton Authenticator which you install to your computer.
they do proton for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

Authenticator app download: Get Proton Authenticator | Proton

Download Proton Authenticator app for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Protect your accounts with secure two-factor codes. No ads, no tracking.

proton.me

best of luck Steve ..

OldMainframeGuy · 2026-07-02T13:20:32-0400

This has been an interesting "discussion" (???) concerning smartphones. Sometimes whether you want one or not isn't an issue. I need one to do my job (Okta Verify on my iPhone to validate mainframe connectivity). If I didn't want to use my own phone my employer would provide one but that's its own can of worms.

cheaterslick · 2026-07-02T13:37:38-0400

OldMainframeGuy said:
This has been an interesting "discussion" (???) concerning smartphones. Sometimes whether you want one or not isn't an issue. I need one to do my job (Okta Verify on my iPhone to validate mainframe connectivity). If I didn't want to use my own phone my employer would provide one but that's its own can of worms.

Oh yeah, I used to have to use one for work, but that's it. It had MS Authenticator (junk) on it and we had to use it in case we needed to do some work at home.

A simple flip phone for personal use is good enough for me.

I have 2FA enabled on some websites. I log in (on my laptop) and it sends me a voice mail on my flip phone letting me know what the code is to get in. That's how I set it up. That's how I do it when I run into those sorts of things.

Or if need be, I pick up the phone and call the help desk and they'll help me sort it out. That doesn't happen very often, but I'm not afraid to talk to someone on the phone like many people (especially young people) these days are.

And no, I don't expect everybody out there to do it the way I do it. That's just me and how I do it. -lol --

neldog · 2026-07-02T13:46:08-0400

My First Cell Phone, (I think) - if my poor memory serves me right.

2003, Nokia 3589i, wasn't she a beauty, lol.

trevo · 2026-07-02T13:48:30-0400

cheaterslick said:
I won't have my life revolve around a smartphone. They're like cigarettes. You think you're in control of things but you're really not.

Nonsense.

cheaterslick · 2026-07-02T13:49:25-0400

trevo said:
Nonsense.

Not at all.

trevo · 2026-07-02T13:51:24-0400

cheaterslick said:
Not at all.

So smartphones are like cigarettes

, okay, you win.

cheaterslick · 2026-07-02T13:56:55-0400

trevo said:
So smartphones are like cigarettes , okay, you win.

Ta --

SlicEnDicE · 2026-07-02T14:02:42-0400

TraderGary said:
My smartphone is a powerful pocket computer that I know how to use, and I wouldn't want to be without.

Same here. My smartphone is more powerful than my laptop (see system specs). Has less RAM though (12 vs 32GB)

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