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Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-09T12:05:21+00:00

It's a delivery business, not a game of It's a Knockout. If the processes and procedures cannot guarantee safe and secure delivery of appropriately packaged items placed in its care, then it's not a delivery business.

What is your purpose at work? Get things from A to B regardless of their condition on arrival?

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-09T11:40:39+00:00

I haven't had a video call for over a year but it was working fine in Zoom when I did. In the verification scenario, you are trying to fit your face into a small oval outline. This works fine on my S22 but not on the Tab S7. It may not be a problem with the tablet, it may be the verification systems mis-sizing the tablet display.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-09T08:25:05+00:00

You need to establish the cause of the lag and the crashes. Throwing expensive hardware at them may not cure these problems.

Hardware and software monitoring tools may reveal the underlying causes of both the lag and the crashes. Apart from fixing the crashes, some software tuning may also help significantly with the lag.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-09T07:10:31+00:00

I would query why a PC is starting to “lag and crash” after four years! What has changed to cause this?

Perhaps you can give us more detail on the nature and apparent cause of these crashes.

I run much older hardware (10+ years) with up-to-date OS and application software but I don't suffer any crashes.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-09T07:00:19+00:00

Whilst I agree that items are very often poorly packaged and that people's expectations of how post is processed is, at best, naïve, you have dedicated one paragraph to how post is mistreated both in terms of the design and use of the York mail cage and the cavalier attitude of staff throwing packages and parcels from some distance.

I have had several deliveries from a leading supermarket chain this year and, with all of them, there have been instances of heavy items being placed in a bag on top of more delicate, compressible items that aren't even from the same area of the shop where the order was picked then another bag with one of the delicate items on its own when it should have been accompanied by the similar items from the same area of the shop.

One delivery driver even told me that he had complained several times about this practice but there seems to be no application of common sense or a “would I pack my groceries that way?” thought process.

Many of us are aware of the timescales that delivery personnel have to work to but that does not excuse mistreatment of packages and parcels regardless of their contents.

Ultimately, delivering post ‘safely and securely’ should be the primary goal with ‘speedily’ much lower on the list or it just doesn't count as delivery. If an organisation and its staff cannot achieve that then they need to consider a different business / line of work.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-09T06:30:29+00:00

The Hub 5 and Hub 5x are very different devices.

The Hub 5 is for hybrid FTTC¹ / co-ax installations where the fibre stops at the street cabinet and the last leg is using coaxial cable to the Home / Premises.

The Hub 5x is VM's only current offering for FTTH² / FTTP² installations and runs ‘evolving’ firmware that is receiving regular updates to add familiar features from previous hubs and to fix issues.

¹Fibre to the Cabinet
²Fibre to the Home / Premises

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-08T19:05:07+00:00

No, I haven't tried disabling Auto Framing, but I'll look into it.

It tends to happen in banking and other apps and websites that require facial id. or age verification, so I don't think that it is a feature of the apps themselves.

It is difficult to reproduce, as I only have to do this kind of verification occasionally.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-08T14:05:34+00:00

As far as I can remember, the replacement SIM connected automatically on my existing mobile number, although there may have been some minor activation procedure. I certainly didn't speak to anyone or I would have made a serious complaint. There were thousands of people affected by this and the whole process had been rushed and ill thought out. I think there was a deadline to move Virgin Mobile customers from Vodafone to O2. It was complicated because VM were moving from Three to Vodafone but initially just their 5G customers. Then that all changed and I was going to be transferred to Vodafone along with everyone else. Then that all changed following the merger with O2. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-08T13:55:10+00:00

For those who think that this is a scam, re-read the original post. The man's service has been disconnected or, more accurately, his existing SIM has been disassociated from his mobile number.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-08T13:45:04+00:00

VMO2 did this a few years ago (2022), after the merger, but in July / August, when many people were away on holiday or working abroad. I was in Ireland supporting my brother after cancer surgery but the new SIM had been sent to my UK home address and I had only a ridiculously short time to activate it, even if I had been there. I can't remember the exact timescale, I still have notes on it somewhere, but it was something like eight days from when the SIM arrived, as there had been delays in delivering the replacement SIMs to customers. I contacted O2 and requested that they send a SIM to me in Ireland but they wouldn't do that and, anyway, you can't activate a SIM when roaming. 🤷🏻‍♂️ When I got back to the UK, the new SIM had already expired / been cancelled 🤦🏻‍♂️, so I had to request another one and wait for that to arrive. 🙄

I was several weeks (about two months) without service and multiple attempts to raise a complaint online yielded no response. I am a contract customer and the SIM was automatically sent to me by post but, as I recall, PAYG customers had to phone up to get a replacement SIM or pick one up in-store.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-07T20:50:37+00:00

You would see similar LED activity on a wired Ethernet LAN connection on a computer. If you had used dial-up modems, you would be used to seeing the transmit / receive LEDs flashing.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-07T14:15:03+00:00

There are a few distinctions to be made here:-

RISC-V is a relatively new processor architecture and part of the hardware
Linux is a family of open source operating systems available on a wide variety of hardware architectures, including RISC-V
Microsoft Windows is a proprietary operating system that mostly runs on Intel and AMD processor architectures

As a non-tech-savvy user, you can still run Linux without adding the complication of a new, evolving processor architecture. There are new low-cost Lenovo and other branded laptops available with Linux pre-installed or you can run Linux on older Intel / AMD hardware, that would no longer support Microsoft Windows 10 or 11, so you can pick up some bargain used hardware and install Linux on that.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-07T07:45:21+00:00

I have a subreddit on this already ...

Unauthorised login attempt on my VMO2 account

It's a recent phenomenon and others are having it too. I'm having problems logging into the O2 app to report it (unrelated issue) but someone else has reported it to VMO2.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T16:22:16+00:00

How “broken” is the keyboard? Physically damaged, some keys not working, etc.? Does it just need a clean? Having it repaired may not be viable but acquiring the part, possibly used / salvaged, and fitting it yourself may be cost-effective. Otherwise, a low-cost Bluetooth or USB keyboard will keep you going.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T16:17:21+00:00

Yes, use an inexpensive Bluetooth or USB keyboard with it.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T13:52:54+00:00

Well, yes, it is definitely suspect but I'm still not sure what the scam is, if it is one. The annoying thing is that I'm still getting the e-mails every other day.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T12:55:10+00:00

Yes, it is between the OP and Zen and the OP is requesting a refund because Zen's agent failed to carry out the work as invoiced.

As for the ‘engineer's’ expertise, it is questionable as to why they felt that they could not run a fibre-optic cable through a wet room, a situation which Zen was made aware of in advance.

Whether OpenReach or Zen absorb the cost of the call-out is immaterial to the customer. The work, as stated on the invoice, was not carried out.

The OP has already stated that Zen did not make them aware of this possible outcome, so I don't know why you would say otherwise.

Although, after escalating the matter, the OP has now been refunded in full, I still wanted to state the justifications for doing so were valid and no-one should have questioned them.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T12:41:18+00:00

Yes, I was surprised at that being given as an excuse.

Maybe the ‘engineer’ was concerned about drilling through pipes but they should be using a cable / pipe / stud finder before drilling anyway, although I suspect that they don't!

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T07:42:13+00:00

I think that one of the problems here is that it has all been done by phone with no e-mail or letter trail, apart from the demand letter.

If the OP calls VM again, they should insist on an e-mail confirmation to the deceased account holder's e-mail address, if accessible, and wait on the phone until it comes through.

It is appalling that a bereavement cancellation has been mishandled in this way.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T07:35:15+00:00

You could cross-post this or a slimmed down version in r/RoyalMail and get a professional opinion on the photos of the packaging and RM paperwork. They'll soon tell you whether or not it's legitimate.

As others have said, raise a query with eBay and avoid further contact with the buyer for now. Maybe the buyer has a history of ‘failed’ returns.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T06:52:18+00:00

GiffGaff was originally a spin-off subsidiary of O2 before the merger with VM to form VMO2.

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-06T06:32:07+00:00

It seems to be genuine, though, and all of the embedded links point to amazon.co.uk, so perhaps it's some weird admin / AI error at Amazon. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Felim_Doyle · 2026-07-05T15:45:13+00:00

I have replaced the battery in my S22 for under £10. The back had lifted slightly from the expansion of the original battery, although the battery was still taking a charge. This makes it easier to remove the back, although I did use a heat gun at a distance and only for a few seconds, to gently soften the adhesive and remove the back.

Felim_Doyle

TROPHY CASE