Apple Watch - 2nd Charger Died

 This will be a quick post about:

My 2nd Apple Watch charger died.  I bought it mid-March (March 12, I think).

WTF.  It was an Apple product.  I ordered it from the Apple Amazon store.  It wasn't cheap, either ($27).

So, two Apple-branded charging cables died.  The first one came with the Watch and died 5 months later.  The second one died after 1.5 months.  The charging cables are used at my bedside, so they're not being abused.  They're not being pulled.

They worked fine but just stop working after a time.  That cable and a USB-C to Lightning cable for my iPad were using a 20W charging adapter.  The other cables I've used with that adapter have been working fine.

I bought a new charging cable and it is non-Apple (and cheaper).  I figure, if Apple can't get their shit together, I'm not going to lock myself into spending $27 for repeated failures that shouldn't be occurring.  We'll see how long that cable lasts.

Solved - Apple Watch Stopped Charging

My Apple Watch stopped charging three weeks ago (first week of March).

I couldn't determine why.  I only had the one charging cable that came with the watch (there was no need to have more than the one that it came with).

Keep in mind that this watch is relatively new.

It just ran out of juice, which made it difficult to troubleshoot.

I ordered a new (Apple brand) charging cable on 13 March, and it arrived 14 March.  It immediately started charging.

So, the cable went bad.  I've no idea why.  I didn't abuse the cable.

It was very frustrating because the reason I'd bought this watch was because the Fitbit Sense had a similar issue, and then died (due to a battery issue).

This watch was NOT cheap.  This post is a reminder that the "you get what you pay for" mantra doesn't always apply.

Verizon Mifi

I mentioned earlier that I've a few new toys.  One of them is a Verizon Mifi.  I got the 890L, which is the black top and red bottom device.

I went to get a new holster for my phone...mine had recently broken.  While at the Verizon shop, the salesman looked at my account and offered me a plan refinement, which I took.  The adjustment allowed me to purchase a Mifi...in fact, I cut off $50 when adjusting the plan (employee discount helped a ton there), then I used the $50 to get the Mifi.  I also got a $50 rebate, so really, I got the Mifi for free.

It uses my current data allocation and I can use it when I go on vacation when there's no internet.  I can tether my iPod to it, or my iPad.  My wife can tie her Kindles to it.  My daughter can tether her Nook to it.  I've warned them to not stream videos and music when tethered to the Mifi, though...I don't want them using all my bandwidth.  I can also use it for work when I'm traveling on business (or if I need to do some emergency work while on vacation).  I can use it to access the internet using my iPad when I'm at autocross meets, too, which I actually welcome.  I can tether up to 10 devices to it.

The Mifi is extremely easy to tether to.  I gave it a test run while at work, tethering it to my iPad since I can't get a wifi connection from my cube.  It worked quite well.

I also can use my existing Verizon phone's charge cable to charge it (basically, it can use any micro-usb charging cable).  I've no idea how long of a charge it has and how long it can keep a charge with a tethered device connected to it (without the Mifi charging).  We'll eventually find out, although I do NOT want to hit my bandwidth limit.

Another thing:  I can update my data plan to 4GB if I have to, for only $20.  I'm on the 2GB plan now, and my data usage trend is 1GB/month on the average, so if I find I'm toeing the limit, I'll get a notice on my phone, then if I have to, I'll either stop using the Mifi for that month or upgrade to the 4GB plan.

I'll keep you informed of my Mifi usage and the positives and negative.