Not-So-Smart-Phone, Part 8

(My parents have both just upgraded to smart phones for the first time in their lives. They seem to be doing well, despite their usual inability to use technology. Two days after getting the phone, my parents call me.)

Me: “Hello?”

Dad: “Hello, Jess! It’s Dad. There’s something wrong with my phone; I can’t hear incoming sound.”

Me: “Do you see the little switch on the side? Make sure it is not showing orange and then press the up button for the volume.”

Dad: “What? I can’t hear you!”

(I repeat my instructions. We try several things before my parents give up.)

Mom: “Hey, it’s not working. Should we go back to Best Buy?”

Me: “I’ll be out in a few days, if you can wait I’ll take a look at it.”

(I frantically look online for errors in software and hard wear being reported online, but little shows up. I’m seriously intrigued. My parents decide they’ll take it to the store and have it looked at. The next day my dad comes out to visit me.)

Dad: “So I went to the store yesterday. I guess the plastic screen protector was blocking the speaker.”

Me: “…you used it like that?”

Dad: “I thought it would be extra protection!”