I just wanted to share my experiences with my new phone so far. The T-Mobile MDA (I'm not sure what version it is, it's the only one for sale at T-Mobile right now) is an awesome phone.
Just today I learned how to listen to streaming Sirius satellite radio, and I enjoyed the sounds of dance music by the pool from Windows Media Player on my phone.
The things I hate about this phone are the battery life (it's horrible, especially if I have Bluetooth on all day for my Bluetooth headset or am listening to streaming music), the bad Outlook syncing (I don't know how to set contacts in a group like Personal and ONLY sync Person contacts with my phone), the GPRS connection is bad... I guess when I don't have service it disconnects itself or something, I don't know how to always keep it alive. Also, downloading things from this forum from my phone doesn't work, it downloads the file download.php when it should be downloading the actual file instead.
Are there any solutions to my problems?
How to keep your GPRS alive
1) Go to the following registry entry:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\ConnMgr\Providers\{7C4B7A3 *****}\Connections\GPRS*****\"
2) Change "Always On" 0 into 1.
Thanks, is there anything wrong with keeping it on all the time?
Any battery saving enhancements or longer lasting batteries?
Battery
I am still looking into that GPRS issue myself.
I am not sure Kenny, but I read that there are two battery versions
for MDA vario. The standard version that is included with your device, and one that is a little bit more expensive, but will give you 50% extra power.
Please do a search on the net.
Tried this... my device will auto disconnect anyway.
JaySea,
Please try again,
It should work.
If it disconnects then something else is blocking it.
And even when it disconnects, it will connect by itself again,
about 2 minutes after disconnecting.
JaySea said:
Tried this... my device will auto disconnect anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do a soft reset, then see if it works...
I'm a total n00b with the T-Mo MDA so please excuse the question.
To view the registry entry must you connect to a PC and access from that or is this done in the phone itself?
Thanks.
Viewing the registry...
You can check/edit the registry on your handheld device with (for example) Resco Explorer or Total Commander...
okay, I'm confused. Is this the right version of Total Commander? MDA has an xscale proc, right?
Sjaakman: Thx so much for the tip.
My MDA has excellent battery life, much better than my previous iMate jam.
WiFi drains your battery life quickly. Set your backlight to the 2nd lowest level and make sure it is set to turn off after 1 min - if it's on all the time that takes a lot of power.
Maybe your battery is bad, see if you can get it replaced.
I'm a newbie in this subject on PDA phones, I just acquired the new MDS Vario T-mobile and don't know many of the great features that some of you mentioned here. If there is any way that I can find more information about the usage of the phone, please send me a PM to guide me through in my initiation. Every bit of advise will be much appreciated.
I'm a newbie in this subject on PDA phones, I just acquired the new MDS Vario T-mobile and don't know many of the great features that some of you mentioned here. If there is any way that I can find more information about the usage of the phone, please send me a PM to guide me through in my initiation. Every bit of advise will be much appreciated.
question how did u get serious radio
Yea how DID you get sat. radio? i mean we all have wifi/gprs/edge...so where do u go to listen?!?!
thanks
Kenny Pollock said:
Thanks, is there anything wrong with keeping it on all the time?
Any battery saving enhancements or longer lasting batteries?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:lol:
thanks
Kenny Pollock said:
Thanks, is there anything wrong with keeping it on all the time?
Any battery saving enhancements or longer lasting batteries?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:lol:
Battery Good overe here
My battery is good it last a long time for a device of this magnitude, also I foud a thread on here about increasing frame rate of the cam from 10 to 19, well i did this then enabled the frame rate counter, it stayed at 10.06 or so. But yesterday I turned the fram rate enabled thing on again now its showing 30-38 frams a sec for video and 15-16 for Pics!!! I dont know y, anyone experience this!!!
Web Access via Wifi or GPRS/Edge
Hello, I am new to TMobile and the MDA; I have had it for 4 days. For the life of me, no matter what I do I cannot get the phone to access the web. Here is what I have done:
1) At home, my PDA (ipaq 4705) and previous phone (imate Jam mini) both connect to my home wireless acess pont with no trouble. The MDA shows my access point in the Network Cards Settings, but it will not associate with it at all. The battery is fully charged, the mode is set to performance, woreless is on, the acess point shows up in the Settings Wireless status screens, but it will not associate. The access point is a b/g one and it is set to mixed mode.
2) I have set up the GPRS settings exactly as per TMobiles web site with the access point (wap.voicestream.com), the proxy, the 8080 port number etc. When I try to go to a website (any web site), the GPRS/Edge modem successfully connects, but Internet Explorer just indicates 'Locating' and I never see a web site,
I have phone service plus the full internet package at 29.95 per month.
Nothing on the phone makes me think it is broken. For those that may have all this working, is there some magic to it? I'm trying not to call TMobile as the 3 or 4 times I have spoken with them I have not seen very good technical knowledge at all.
I have searched quite a bit but have not seen any mention of these problems. I'm hoping I am doing something wrong. Any experienced TMobile user out there that can give a few suggestions?
Regards,
Bob
Related
Hi I have a O2 XDA II and a Orange M1000, the XDA will appear to hold a gprs in sleep state for quite some time, the orange unit drops the gprs connection after 1 min,
This creates problems when trying to access web mail as by the time you have taped out a email and you hit send the connection has been droped, on re-connection the web host sees a new IP and considers it to be a new connection and asks you to sign in again !
Is there any way i can change the time out, or make it behave like the O2XDA2
I should add in both cases i am using a orange sim
First let me say hi and welcome to the forum on xda-developers.com.
Try to always use the search facility here on xda-developers.com first, before making any requests, as this seems to be a well documented problem, depending upon your rom/radio version.
However, I felt compelled to reply, as I have experienced exactly the same problems initially, setting my machine up to check for mails, have MSN Messenger running, and getting MMS to work properly.
I suggest getting GPRS Monitor (I don't really think it is freeware - do a search - else go to handango.com) and GBTweak.
I found GB Tweak very nice, as it allows you to stay 'online' with you GPRS, as well as disconnecting for saving you battery (not that much - but anything seems to help when you are running low on power :wink: ).
You can find the link to the latest version here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/vie...postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=gprs+tweak
Hope that helps...
Regards,
Gnuig (a newbie to this forum as well )
Hi All - My previous O2 PDA - an XDAIIi - used to connect using GPRS and retrieve my emails ..and it stayed connected..which was ideal for me as I hate the 'dialup message box' popping up whilst I'm working.
My new XDA Exec seems to disconnct after retrieving emails, which is a pain. Does anyone know how to stop it doing this and stay connected?
Thanks
Steve
Answered my own question...
Open up a registry entry program such as Resco Registry that comes with Resco Explorer 2005. Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Comm\ConnMgr\Providers\{7C4B7A3 8-5FF7-4bc1-80F6-5DA7870BB1AA}\Connections\(GPRS connection name)\AlwaysOn". Change the value from 0 to 1. The above setting is i-mate JASJAR specific, but it is reported that on other WM5.0 devices, the string betwen providers and connections varys slightly. The first seven digits (guid) of the string is the same, but the rest of it ight be different. If it doesn't work exactly search for alwayson with your registry program and report back the results and you should find it.
Not sure where I got this from...but thanks to whoever originally posted it
S
does the battery last less long when using this tweak? I can imagine it will drain a bit faster.
if someone has some experience regarding this, could you please tell me what the decrease in standby time would be?
Thanks
Always on...
Good point! My XDA Exec is new and I'm absolutely paranoid about the battery life (my previous device - an XDAIIi had poor battery life too)
I'm not very technical, but I assumed that although it was connected, it wouldn't drain much juice if nothing was being downloaded (a bit like a modem on my PC when nothing is going on)
I love my MDA more and more now. But after my first week or two i was begining to think i had made a mistake buying it. Thanks to the kind and helpful folk around here and other forums, i now have it doing everything i wanted it to do and in the way i want it to do it.
I use it for TomTom, playing DIXed DVD's, music, podcasts, games, the usual email/web duties and more. And thanks to the great WiFi 'G' reg hack i can now stream my large lossles FLAC files (with the help of fantasitc Conduits Pocket Player) right into my Hifi system, just like my Squeezebox 3 media player. It's actually much better than an ipod (albeit with less storage when out of the house - although i could access my music at home from a hotspot). A fully fledged media streaming device for free! (well, a small fee for Pocket Player and a 2.5mm to 3.5mm jack adaptor).
Not only does this hack also enable 'g' speeds, but i can confirm that it also massively increases performance on 'b' speed networks too (which mine is limited to due to being an 'adhok' network).
Sure, a faster proc, better camera and maybe even 3G would be nice. But i have no wish to ever make video calls or use Skype (i'm the geek of the group and no-one else i know uses it).
I understand there will always be better third party software (Media Player is an utter waste of space for example) but why should we have to make techy and annoying tweaks to the registry, just to get the best from the unit? Why the hell do we need to hack the reg just to make a basic settings change, such as hiding SIM contacts (which is an option in just about every mobile from the last 5 years).
Is it just bad planning? Poor thinking on the manufactures part? or is there just a genuine reason for 'hiding' these settings and not making them accessable from standard menu's?
The older i get, the less time i have to mess around so much. I have better things to do these days to be honest.
Surely they would have more to gain by activating the performance increases themselfs, rather than us more tech savy types to figure out how to alter the registry. Half the things this device has been slated for in reviews can actually be sorted, but the average (make that normal) buyers of this device will be feeling a bit short changed if you ask me.
I guess the only thing left for me to do now is dump the T-Mobile ROM and use a more slimline one. Or maybe i should just figure out who to lose some of the crap from my existing install?
What is it with these companies? Don't they know when they are on to a good thing? Or maybe, just maybe it to keep us coming back for more and upgrading year after year? Hey ho...
/rant over.
Dom
Very interesting topic, well put and one which I'm sure will be relevant to me very soon...y'see my Wizard arrives in two days and it was reading posts such as yours which helped me take the plunge.
I don't mind messing about with PDAs, phones, PCs etc to get the the best performance but (as you rightly point out) we shouldn't have to. However, given the thousand of threads and posts on this (incredibly good) site, I am somewhat confused about what to do first with my Wizard.
So, could you please take a few minutes to post what changes, hacks etc you have done to get yours where you (almost) want it to be?
Many thanks in advance.
Mos
mosgeo said:
So, could you please take a few minutes to post what changes, hacks etc you have done to get yours where you (almost) want it to be?
Many thanks in advance.
Mos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first things i would always do after a hard reset (format), after syncing back all my contacts/callender of course...
Reg hacks (main ones, i have forgot a few) -
*Hide SIM contacts (so the dont appear pointlessly twice)
*Enable 'g' speed Wifi
* Disable the annoying 'you are about to go online' message. You will understand when you get yours, VERY VERY annoying - you get it even when you are online and just switch back to PIE.
* There are some good performace tweaks to, which i forgot about.
Essential software i could not be without (some free, some not - unless you are naughty. Don't be naughty now )
*TomTom (Sat Nav)
*Memory Map Pocket Nav + GPS and the O.S. maps i use for walking
*TCPMP - The best video player
* Conduits Pocket Player - the best music player IMO (Streaming, gapless playback and OGG/FLAC support - nice). costs a few beer tokens, but free good alternatives are available.
*Resco File explorer and Reg editor.
*Opera Browser - Renders pages faster than PIE, handles java script etc better and Tabbed browsing makes GPRS speeds much less of a pain.
*Memmaid - for cleaing up temp files, dead registry entries etc.
*Storage tools - for formating and sorting out MiniSD cards - WM5 can't even format a bloody memory card!
*Wififofum - for finding WiFi networks (more for fun than anything).
*OMAPclock - for a bit of overclocking (more for fun again, i rarely feel the need is that great)
*And of course registry wizard for the good people of these forums
Thats about it really for me, but i am finding more cools things everyday to play with but those are my must have ones - i have had to install
A few must have games include, AOE, UFO, 3D pool and Soduko.
Personally i dont use a today plugin. I have not found one i like yet and most have icons etc that are to small on the MDA's small screen or just make clutter rather than really help me. A well organised start menu is enough for me.
Oh, and of course you can flash the ROM. But i have not done this yet. T-Mobiles version does not seem that bad but i hear the O2 version is a real dog and well worth doing. I just worry about lost Wifi and GPRS functionality i have heard about some people having.
Really wasn't expecting a reply so soon, and certainly not such a comprehensive one. Thanks for your time. I may be back with more questions once I actually get my mitts on a Wizard. Cheers!
yes I agree , it is great post, specially for new people like me, I got mine (Qtek 9100) just on Friday, and I am still figuring out its functions.
But I have question - if you have time to answer - I really don't know about WiFi function -which is in the device- , if I want to connect to the internet I should have a wireless router connected to my main PC, is that right ? I have read some of posts in here, that they can connect to the Internet - through their PPC - when they are outside or walking or traveling from area to another, by scanning for the nearby Connection, then they can use it to visit websites, does this cost money when they connect to the Internet using the WiFi ? And how can I do the same if it doesn't cost m money ? Can the "WiFi Fofum" program do this o is it only to scan any available connection nearby ? How can I connect to the internet (through WiFi) when this programm finds connection? And if it is really totally free..
I know this are bunch o Questions But I really want to use this function - if possible - specially that I work outside my city and I have to spend couple of hours travelling almost everyday. I appreciate any comment.
Wireless router at home if you want to use it wirelessly or if you do what I do now and then..... connect via the USB cable to your PC. Out and about you can connect for free if someone has a wireless network within range that has no WEP security enabled
There are wireless spots around the country but you have to pay for the main ones via an account you have to set up (kind of pay as you go) Cloud is one company that runs WiFi hotspots on a PAYG basis.
If you leave your WIFI scanning it will tell you if you are within range of a network, it will also tell you if it is secured or not, if it isn't then 9/10 you can just connect and use it
I have been meaning to make a post just like the OP. You are on the mark, IMO! This situation really begs the question, how can this thing be so feeble out of the box?
Thank you XDA and all of the kind people on this forum. You have been the best!
Thomas1234 said:
if I want to connect to the internet I should have a wireless router connected to my main PC, is that right ? I have read some of posts in here, that they can connect to the Internet - through their PPC - when they are outside or walking or traveling from area to another, by scanning for the nearby Connection, then they can use it to visit websites, does this cost money when they connect to the Internet using the WiFi ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case, my service provider (Cingular) offers a service called GPRS/EDGE, which lets the Wizard access the Internet through the cell phone connection.
I use the WiFi when I don't have a good connection. Most of the time, for browsing mini-websites and sending e-mails, there isn't much speed difference between WiFi and GPRS. I don't think the Wizard is fast enough to process more than a few 100 kbps of data.
If you don't want to (or can't) pay for a GPRS service, it's possible to "war drive" for access points. The Wizard will find them, although its WiFi reception isn't as powerful as a laptop's.
On my phone, if I enable WiFi, the phone will automatically use WiFi instead of GPRS when WiFi is available. If you don't want to pay GPRS charges, you might want to configure the phone so that it doesn't use GPRS.
can you explain 'wardriving' please? is it just freely using wifi points without paying? bit confused
Thanks
Jamie,
You are correct in your assumption !! You would be amazed at the number of 'unlocked' WiFi routers out there....
Ever tried running Bluetooth detection in a pub and seen how many phones are out there too ?
If you can find an unlocked WiFi router running DHCP - 'Fill your boots' !! Sometimes it's even possible to guess IP addresses of other PC's on the network, access em and leave a kindly note to thank them for their hospitality but warn them of their folly and the potential for disaster......I know I have but then that's me: Mr Altruism
Ok how can I get any internet connection through WiFi ? Should I just enable my WiFi and it'll scan for any available connection nearby ? I did but nothing happened, it wants from me to fill form which I really don't know anything about it... Or do I have to use a program to scan for connection ? And if yes, should my WiFi be enabled ? What is the best program for scaning ? I wish if someone explains me all that and how can start using WiFi to get a connection and an access to the internet but slowly, will be thankful.
Im new to all of this, but what can you do with the registry wizard and how do you install it? I foud a zip file for it, but cant get it to load.
Thanks!
i have a question too if you have the time mate,
I don't exactly want to use the edge since i dont have an unlimited plan or something.how can i delete these settings and do you think any problems will occur?(sending recieving mms)
basicly i don't it to connect to edge(gprs)auto.is there a way to fix this
thanks so much.
I have an unlocked Cingular 8525 on TMOBILE. I have TZONES plan. I have it set to check my gmail/hotmail every 60minutes....also have NewsBreak to check RSS feeds 2 times a day.
The problem is that my connection stays on once it is started on its own. Since phone is in my pocket i cant tell till i take it out and then i have to manually close the connection.
So is there a setting or .cab or app to close innactive connection? Anything that wont affect me while im browsing or chatting MSN.
I tried search but could not find the answer, also i suck at searching...sorry.
Thanks in advance!
adam we need a bit more info.
Please could you add the info about your device (ROM, Radio version etc...) into your sig, and also fill out your country and carrier in your profile.
An updated radio stack might fix this.
Having a cab that would turn off inactive connections would be very useful. Hope somebody finds the answer, same thing occurs with my device, I have to manually turn off after finished using. It is possible that the connection will terminate on my device when inactive, I have never trusted it to happen. If it is possible with my current radio is there a way to set the amount of time till disconnect. Maybe you know the answer Mrvanx.
With Comm Mgr Pro you can set to close idle connections for a X quantity of senconds..... (this is, connections that havent data traffic during x seconds)
How can i check my ROM and Radio version? Ive only had my phone for 2 weeks.
The apps connect on their own thru my TZONES GPRS data plan. When they are done getting new mails/rss feeds the connections remains open untill i manualy close it....this eats up my battery.
Where can i get Comm Mgr Pro? HOw much?
danielherrero said:
With Comm Mgr Pro you can set to close idle connections for a X quantity of senconds..... (this is, connections that havent data traffic during x seconds)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, I haven't put that on my device as of yet, just waiting to see some additional feedback. I just looked at the post and it seems that there is plenty to read there now, I will read over the course of the day and likely install. Will let you know if I find any issues.
o0adam0o said:
How can i check my ROM and Radio version? Ive only had my phone for 2 weeks.
The apps connect on their own thru my TZONES GPRS data plan. When they are done getting new mails/rss feeds the connections remains open untill i manualy close it....this eats up my battery.
Where can i get Comm Mgr Pro? HOw much?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Free
Discuss from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299070
Download from www.commmgrpro.com
Here is the thread for comm manager pro.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299070&highlight=comm+mgr+pro
Gracias Daniel!
Hopefuly this solves my issue and i dont have to close my connection manualy many times a day!
o0adam0o said:
Gracias Daniel!
Hopefuly this solves my issue and i dont have to close my connection manualy many times a day!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My connection is on 24/7 (alot of the time in UMTS mode) and i havent had to charge it up yet since upgrading to the new radio.
GPRS might be attached but its not ALWAYS transferring.
mrvanx said:
My connection is on 24/7 (alot of the time in UMTS mode) and i havent had to charge it up yet since upgrading to the new radio.
GPRS might be attached but its not ALWAYS transferring.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point mrvanx, i always thought the radio was just for wifi
Im going to look into what radio i have and whats the newest one i can upgrade to....and HOW to do it...lol Im a newbie for PPC phones....Ive had 3
S60 Nokias before my 2 week old Hermes. So i got ALOT to learn.
o0adam0o said:
Good point mrvanx, i always thought the radio was just for wifi
Im going to look into what radio i have and whats the newest one i can upgrade to....and HOW to do it...lol Im a newbie for PPC phones....Ive had 3
S60 Nokias before my 2 week old Hermes. So i got ALOT to learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you wait for about 10 mins im updating my "radio upgrade guide".
The radio stack just controls the phone and GPRS stuff, wifi and BT are part of the OS.
BTW the latest version (1.40.30.00) works great, no complaints of battery drain, shogunmark has had his device on for over a day and is around 50% on battery life.
While you are waiting you might want to safeguard your device against a potential Brick (knackered device) by Flashing HardSPL to your device
If connection is staying on like mine did, it's worth checking data transfer icon is still active on Comm Manager
Hello,
I am owning a HD2 since 2 days now (and love it) and have a question about data connections. Maybe you guys can tell me more or help me. If you think this should be placed somewhere else, feel free to transfer it to the right category
I changed connection to gsm because 3g/hsdpa can drain battery life hard and i cannot charge it at all places...
Now, if I am using Google Maps or refresh the weather (to it on my own, not automatically) the Phone uses GPRS, right? Dont know much about this, it is my first phone (also windows mobile phone) which I am using with a "internet flatrate"... But I know with 3G it would be all faster...
My problem is that I dont want to change the settings everytime I want to use something which needs a better data connection like gmaps or surfing in web... So is there a program which I can setup for specific programs and functions (gmaps^^, browsing and so on) and which automatically changes to the better connection? And after closing the program it automatically changes back to the normal GSM connection?
I searched a little bit around but doesn't found anything like this.
I just want to save battery life if I am not using the phone (like I am sleeping or when it is just in the bag) because than it doesn't need a good connection...
I just found something called Bandswitch... Is this what i mean?
I hope you understood now what I am wanting. And just sorry if there are some mistakes in the text. I am just trying to improve my english knowledge every day
Greetz from germany, love your board!
best regards
Preforx
AFAIK, if the connection is idle, battery drain doesn't change much between EDGE and 3G.
It's when you actually use the connection that the battery drain wil go higher.
When I'm connected all day long on MSN, with nothing else really using data, I don't see a difference when I'm on EDGE or 3G.
If I'm browsing a lot, then yes 3G drains more - but that's simply because as the connection is faster, I end transferring more data than I would on EDGE. For the same mount it doesn't matter much.
Check this out.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=478519
Thank you very much, will give it a try... Seems that this is what i want