Does anybody know if the roms we are putting on our phones allow for this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G1fNjK9SXg
I'm not really paranoid so much as I am curious. Okay... maybe a little paranoid... but it's not paranoia if they really are out to get me
Not surprising. I am fairly certain the cell carriers have to give access to the datastream, and its not OS dependent. Any phone authorized on the carriers network is a potential microphone.
doesn't it have to be a modified handset or something? i thought I saw this story getting debunked on one of the other forums here a while ago. Somewhere in "general" maybe? anyone remember?
TBH when I hear something on fox news without even any squeak of an indication of a source; I tend to take it with an even bigger pinch of salt than I take the mainstream corporate media in general (that's a lot of salt.)
Phone needs to have gps equipped in the phone..But it can...why i know this.. i know someone and not a friend of a friend that was tapped by local atf agents thru his cellphone... Luckily for him he lived out of service. Usually when they say gps enabled phone... They're triangulating between three towers hence triang... Anyway from what i thought the mda doesnt not have a gps chip in it so were safe.. Unless im retarted and then i was right about everything until the last statement...
Ask me how i know?? Google it damn it
Actually, they don't need to triangulate on a gps-equipped phone. If they have your cell number, they can work with your provider and you can be triangulated based upon your signal strength and proximity between 3 cell towers. GPS has nothing to do with that.
Yep, my brothers a cop and they tracked a murder suspect through his cell phone and it was just a regualar cell phone. It's the same way that if you dial 911 they can track you to within like 10 feet of your location if I remember right, it might be even closer than that. If you have a cell phone, then they can track you if they need to. The only way to get around it is to not have any service at all or to turn your phone completely off.
By the way, they have to get a court order to do that, well that is unless you work for Bush's homeland security and then I guess you can do whatever you want whenever you want.
all cell phones sold in the US as of 1/1/06 have to be equiped with a gps chip that can be activated by your service provider or emergency services. i worked in cell phone sales when this law took effect.
i think that you are all little bit paranoid and would actually love that this can be true but it can't.
It's easy ...how the f can they locate a turned off phone when the network can't find it..cos it's turned off, right ?
In order to activate the microphone and send pretty big amounts of data, that would be impossible if you have no network coverage....remember, the phone is off. Maybe they can radio control the remote mic in order to turn on ...but still...really really hard to swallow.
And one more thing...why the hell would the us gov would spend that kind of cash to listen to your calls ? Stupid is one thing but this is totally a waste of money...so don't worry guys. The mob phones that they were talking...they can exist but only if made custom.
UK Listening
A technician i met from BT ages ago mentioned this wasy possible and used quite often even more so now.
Triangulating on your phone location, that very well possible. Getting a normal phone to send signal when it is off, is rather.. technological impossible. From what it seems, the only way these FBI is able to do that is to swap your phone with a modified version (e.g. like the movie 'Enemy of the State').
However, if you are REALLY paranoid, you can do a simple test. For a mobile phone to send any major signal out, it will causes big interference. Example, putting it next to a speaker, a TV, and it will give your speaker / TV some form of distortion. If your phone where to be sending out any form of signal, you ought to able to detect it in such way.
As how to activate the microphone when the phone is off, that's another story. The best possible way to do this, without being very obvious, is to act passively, like an old fashion pager, that sits and receive instructions. However, to do this, one will need a hardware that is switch on, on this *modified* phone. If your phone is authentic, then it needs to be done if on any exploitable bug within the phone firmware, and that ought to be phone specific.
Conclusion, it will be safe for most of us. Anyway, I would wish this technology is real, and if that's case, all those terrorist will have been caught very easy.
My question is if the phone is really completely off when it's powered down. Has anyone measured to see if there is any battery drain while the phone is powered off? If there's none, then there wouldn't really be a way that I can think of for this to be possible. If there is a drain, then it gets closer to the realm of possibility.
I think I'd be a bit careful with the idea of giving up freedoms and liberties for the illusion of security. It's a good idea to be critical of any Government asking their citizens to give them up for any reason. In a perfect world, only terrorists and "bad guys" would be negatively affected, unfortunately innocent people always end up being caught in the crossfire.
That would be easy to track unless you use Cingular...
THEY cannot even get a connection to you phone sometimes (J/K)
You could easily tell though because you think what happens when you turn wifi on your battery goes down so fast its the same when there listening in cause your phone is sending and recieving data all the time. The tracking technology has been around for quite a bit theres a public version for parents to track the kids and stuff but they cant track them when the phone is off.
Uhm ... News like this can see in Austria too ... but its more like Hacked Blue Tooth Headsets they use for Spying. If FBI switch you Phone to any Spymode ... the Batterie Drain is very high!
spying with your phone
i know there is software available which NEED TO BE INSTALLED on your phone.
after installation you can call the phone and use the mic to listen what is said in the neighbourhood.
this piece of software is often used by woman or man who wants to catch their cheeting partner
Related
Is it true that you have to do the flip-and-rotate dance everytime, when you have to receive the call(or make the call) & when you dont want to use the speakerphone ??
I leave my phone in the closed clam position, got Microsoft Voice which tells me who's calling, so all I have to do is push the red or green on the side to ignore/answer the call...
jmdrizen said:
I leave my phone in the closed clam position, got Microsoft Voice which tells me who's calling, so all I have to do is push the red or green on the side to ignore/answer the call...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but what if you are in laptop/clamshell mode?
then do u have to do the flip and rotate dance?
If you are laptop/clamshell mode, you can just answer with the buttons on the hinge, and answer the call with it shut. You probably wouldn't want it unnecessarily rotated, since you'll get face grease on your screen.
If you want to see who's calling, a quick lift and shut is all you need.
Cheers,
Steve.
imate blows
I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that my experience thus far has been really ****ty as far as using this unit as a phone. the reason I say this, is that despite having updated my unit to the latest ROM upgrade , I'm still experiencing missed calls!
This despite my repeated attempts at contacting the clowns at the live online service at imate. Their email service has been better, but has yet to offer resolution to this immense problem. I say immense b/c I have paid around a grand for a pda with a phone which is completely unreliable as a phone.
Bear in mind, this is my imate experience.
hope this helps.
Re: imate blows
edved said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that my experience thus far has been really ****ty as far as using this unit as a phone. the reason I say this, is that despite having updated my unit to the latest ROM upgrade , I'm still experiencing missed calls!
This despite my repeated attempts at contacting the clowns at the live online service at imate. Their email service has been better, but has yet to offer resolution to this immense problem. I say immense b/c I have paid around a grand for a pda with a phone which is completely unreliable as a phone.
Bear in mind, this is my imate experience.
hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL you paid how much? you must be one of the unlucky ones. since I got my device, I've not really had a problem with the phone part, just the camera at the moment, which seems to be rom related.
Re: imate blows
edved said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that my experience thus far has been really ****ty as far as using this unit as a phone. the reason I say this, is that despite having updated my unit to the latest ROM upgrade , I'm still experiencing missed calls!
This despite my repeated attempts at contacting the clowns at the live online service at imate. Their email service has been better, but has yet to offer resolution to this immense problem. I say immense b/c I have paid around a grand for a pda with a phone which is completely unreliable as a phone.
Bear in mind, this is my imate experience.
hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL you paid how much? you must be one of the unlucky ones. since I got my device, I've not really had a problem with the phone part, just the camera at the moment, which seems to be rom related.
Re: imate blows
edved said:
I can't speak for anyone else, but I can tell you that my experience thus far has been really ****ty as far as using this unit as a phone. the reason I say this, is that despite having updated my unit to the latest ROM upgrade , I'm still experiencing missed calls!
This despite my repeated attempts at contacting the clowns at the live online service at imate. Their email service has been better, but has yet to offer resolution to this immense problem. I say immense b/c I have paid around a grand for a pda with a phone which is completely unreliable as a phone.
Bear in mind, this is my imate experience.
hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL you paid how much? you must be one of the unlucky ones. since I got my device, I've not really had a problem with the phone part, just the camera at the moment, which seems to be rom related.
I have never had any problem with the phone. But I have taken a couple of actions:
1. Disable the video phone component, it is bloaty and if you dont use video phones saves 3mb of operating RAM
2. I extended the time it takes to go through to voice mail from 10 seconds to 30 seconds
3. I dont vet any calls, if available, I just answer from the hinge whilst close, so I dont do any flipping to see first
4. My phone always answers at the beginning of the second ring, that with a 30 seconds to voice mail works fine
5. I never let my phone go below 15mb of available ram so it doesnt slow down.
So as a phone, its fine, as a pda its brilliant.
how d'ya do that
1. Disable the video phone component, it is bloaty and if you dont use video phones saves 3mb of operating RAM
is this an easy thing o do?
cheers.
very easy, its posted on WIKI.
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Universal_Registry
States
To set or remove the operator phone skin
The setting is at 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Security\Phone\Skin'
The 'Enabled' DWORD value can be set to '1' to show the operator skin or '0' to show the default skin
For example, to show the default skin
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Security\Phone\Skin\Enabled = 0
You should try the link to view many of the registry hacks for the universal.
There is also a maintained forum on hacks with downloadable cabs here
http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Universal_Registry
Re: imate blows
LOL you paid how much? you must be one of the unlucky ones. since I got my device, I've not really had a problem with the phone part, just the camera at the moment, which seems to be rom related.[/quote]
Can't say I use the camera much, except perhaps for the strange or abnormal chest xray I may see at work. Otherwise useless.
Yes, I ended up paying a grand for this thing. Impulse purchase. What did you pay jojo?
I paid $1500 AUD, about $1100 USD.
I have always bought my phone outright for an unlocked phone that is not dependent or tied into a phone network.
Plus there are extended taxation benefits....
I love mine as a phone, best reception on both ends I have ever found with a phone.
Like everyones said, you can essentially answer a call 4 ways.
1. Default (clamshell shut)
2. Open it and flip it to portrait mode
3. Open it and use it in laptop mode w/speaker phone
4. Bluetooth headset.
personally the idea of Microsoft Voice Command sounds good cos I like to know whos calling, have it tell me would be pleasent
In any case, despite the ringtone not kicking in till the end of the second ring, I have scarecely missed a call. Actually short of not having the phone in an audible radius of me I dont think I have missed a call.
Its always good to have system memory but I dont notice a change in the phone service when my ram dips below 15mb.
Re: imate blows
edved said:
LOL you paid how much? you must be one of the unlucky ones. since I got my device, I've not really had a problem with the phone part, just the camera at the moment, which seems to be rom related.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't say I use the camera much, except perhaps for the strange or abnormal chest xray I may see at work. Otherwise useless.
Yes, I ended up paying a grand for this thing. Impulse purchase. What did you pay jojo?[/quote]
I paid £150.00 for mine
so u mean i can answer a call with clamshell shut ??
is that true?
The answer to your question is yes. You can answer the phone with the clamshell shut.
Cons:
You will not be able to see who is calling.
You will need bluetooth or wired headset to answer the phone.
Caller ID numbers are available but not the caller name on Bluetooth devices like the BT800.
Personally, I use my Qtek 9000 more as a PDA than a phone.
It's a much better PDA than it is a phone. The keyboard and the screen on the Universal are the main reason why I bought it.
My advise, if you're planning on using it more as a phone than a PDA, then consider other devices. As a phone, it's heavy and bulky. As a PDA, I can only sing praises (except for the occasional soft resets that I have to do).
FYI, here are the main uses that I use the Universal for:
1). Streaming music while I'm driving
2). Watching avi files while I'm on break
3). Daily planner
4). Going online to check on info
5). GPS device with software and an external bluetooth GPS receiver
6). MSN messenger while I'm on road trips
Hope that helps in your decision.
I don't know how much you'll be paying for the Universal. I did pay a lot for it (since it's not available in the US with any cellular companies) but I consider one of the best investments I've made in a PDA/Phone.
modem_man said:
The answer to your question is yes. You can answer the phone with the clamshell shut.
Cons:
You will not be able to see who is calling.
You will need bluetooth or wired headset to answer the phone.
Caller ID numbers are available but not the caller name on Bluetooth devices like the BT800.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect, the phone will answer perfectly well if you just pick it up and press the green button on the hinge. The three holes on the right of the case are for the sound to come through and the mic is at the bottom on the left of the keyboard.
This is a well thought out device.
If you have personalised ringtones for most of your contacts you should have a pretty good idea of who is calling anyway.
thanks everyone for blurring away the doubts
PReDiToR said:
modem_man said:
The answer to your question is yes. You can answer the phone with the clamshell shut.
Cons:
You will not be able to see who is calling.
You will need bluetooth or wired headset to answer the phone.
Caller ID numbers are available but not the caller name on Bluetooth devices like the BT800.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Incorrect, the phone will answer perfectly well if you just pick it up and press the green button on the hinge. The three holes on the right of the case are for the sound to come through and the mic is at the bottom on the left of the keyboard.
This is a well thought out device.
If you have personalised ringtones for most of your contacts you should have a pretty good idea of who is calling anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or... Get Microsoft Voice 1.5, and the fantastic patch by R. Works A1 on mine, I keep the phone clam shut in a zip case. And get a "Call from X" loud and clear telling me who's calling... no need to open or owt, just red/green on the hinge... fantastic...
Very strange occurrence the other day...
I'm in a meeting with my Director and Deputy Director. My Director gestures to my 8525 and tells me to call one of my co-workers who's across the country so we can include him in the dialogue. I phone his cell, hit Speakerphone, and hand my device to him.
After a few mnutes of conversation, his blackberry starts to ring. He hands my phone back to me to take the other call, and disappears into his adjacent office. The Deputy Director asks for my phone so he can continue the conversation with the other guy.
Two minutes later, my Director emerges from his office with an astonished look on his face. He says " I can hear THAT conversation " (pointing to my phone) "on my line."
I tried to find out if the call he received on the blackberry was actually a call, or if the only thing he heard when he answered was my cellphone's conversation, but the only thing he said was "it came up as a private number". FWIW, my own number is not blocked. He's not an easy man to speak with, so I dropped the questioning there.
Anyway ... has such a thing ever happened to anyone else here? Can anyone provide any explanation? This one has me baffled ... and obviously somewhat concerned about the security of the calls I make/receive.
Thanks to anyone who can provide an explanation,
-pvs
That is really strange. The only thing somewhat close to that, that has happened to me was many years ago on a wireless landline and my neighbors wireless landline. Whenever I'd be on the phone speaking with someone, he could pick up his phone next door and hear the whole conversation. I know it's not exactly what you experienced, but it's true that any kind of wireless signal can get crossed pretty easily.
I can't say this is what's going on with you specifically, but i do know that there is software that can be sent remotely to any cell phone without the owner knowing about it. This software can then be used by the person who sent it to the phone and they can listen to any and all calls you make, read and record all emails, text messages, and even utilize the microphone on your device to pick up conversations you're having when you're not on your phone. For example, you have your phone charging across the room and you & your spouse/friend/etc... are having a conversation across the room well the "hacker" can activate the microphone and pick up the conversation. There is even an ability to activate the built in camera's etc....
I know all of this sounds totally bogus and i thought it was as well until there was a somewhat recent national news story on it. It was on the msnbc website as a major story not to long ago and even had a video segment you could watch. Apparently this software is marketed as a way to "catch your cheating spouse" and it's from what they said very expensive to use. The story they were covering specifically was about a teenage girl who constantly recevied phone calls that were threatening her and the caller would be able to play back converations that she had when sshe wasn't even on the phone. Very Very Very CRAZY stuff! I'll see if i can find the link to the news article and i'll post it. It still blows my mind.
Also, blackberry's are a specifically easy phone to deploy the software on as well.....
i'll post the article if i can find it
One thing it happened to me is that a guy phoned a friend with my number. Is it possible? I was not in the town, and of couse i had my mobile in my pocket in the whole process...
Is this hack possible?
Do you guys know cases like this? poeple getting black mailed or listeners in companies head quarters... hehe Xfiles!
ok i found a the specific video i was referring to. it was on nbc. here's the link
http://video.nbc10.com/player/?id=122710
for some reason the video seems to load slow but be patient it will load....
I also found this new's article http://www.clickpress.com/releases/Detailed/40926005cp.shtml
and in this article it refers to a news broadcast of a family on the morning show and provides you with a link to a youtube video http://www.clickpress.com/releases/Detailed/40926005cp.shtml
some crazy sh*t......
cesardeluxe said:
One thing it happened to me is that a guy phoned a friend with my number. Is it possible? I was not in the town, and of couse i had my mobile in my pocket in the whole process...
Is this hack possible?
Do you guys know cases like this? poeple getting black mailed or listeners in companies head quarters... hehe Xfiles!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i know that this is possible for a fact. I've actually had someone do it to me as well and finally convinced them to show me how. Basically it's called caller id spoofing and some websites will show you how to do it for free. other's like www.spoofcard.com charge a small fee but allow you to do it as well. i've actually seen a news story on this as well.... I'll see if i can find it. here's link to an article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11624504/
heres a link to the first video i could find....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8d8gIQZWUEM
pvs said:
Very strange occurrence the other day...
I'm in a meeting with my Director and Deputy Director. My Director gestures to my 8525 and tells me to call one of my co-workers who's across the country so we can include him in the dialogue. I phone his cell, hit Speakerphone, and hand my device to him.
After a few mnutes of conversation, his blackberry starts to ring. He hands my phone back to me to take the other call, and disappears into his adjacent office. The Deputy Director asks for my phone so he can continue the conversation with the other guy.
Two minutes later, my Director emerges from his office with an astonished look on his face. He says " I can hear THAT conversation " (pointing to my phone) "on my line."
I tried to find out if the call he received on the blackberry was actually a call, or if the only thing he heard when he answered was my cellphone's conversation, but the only thing he said was "it came up as a private number". FWIW, my own number is not blocked. He's not an easy man to speak with, so I dropped the questioning there.
Anyway ... has such a thing ever happened to anyone else here? Can anyone provide any explanation? This one has me baffled ... and obviously somewhat concerned about the security of the calls I make/receive.
Thanks to anyone who can provide an explanation,
-pvs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
two options:
1. the person you called added him to the conversations (confrence).
2. a very rare networking problem - got 2 complaints about it it at work(in 4 years)
WOW! This is a real eye-opener! Thank you utexascg (and others), for the very infomative articles.
I guess it's time for the AV companies to cash-in on the new tech-treachery that's available. And I guess ... if the common joe can pull this stuff off nowadays, imagine what the NSA and other governmental departments could do.
Now we'll need 800MHz processors to do the work while we have firewalls running in the background.
This is pretty scary stuff.
-pvs
elivne said:
two options:
1. the person you called added him to the conversations (confrence).
2. a very rare networking problem - got 2 complaints about it it at work(in 4 years)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm, the first COULD be possible, except HIS number would not have been blocked (private).
That leaves #2. Can you provide some details about how it happens?
-pvs
pvs said:
Hmmm, the first COULD be possible, except HIS number would not have been blocked (private).
That leaves #2. Can you provide some details about how it happens?
-pvs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
about the first - you did say he was out of the country - caller Id isn't relayed abroad most of the times.
about two - I don't know how or why(and I have no proof only the complaint).
elivne said:
about the first - you did say he was out of the country - caller Id isn't relayed abroad most of the times.
about two - I don't know how or why(and I have no proof only the complaint).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No... not out of the country ... we are in Jersey, he's in SanDiego. His Caller ID SHOULD show up ... unless he's using that spoofing stuff
Hmmm ... OK. I hope somebody else can chime in with some ideas.
FWIW ... doubt it makes any difference, but the blackberries and my 8525 are on two different carriers. BB's are on t-mob, 8525 is on Cing/AT&T
Thanks for the input, elivne,
-pvs
wow! this is some very interesting and scary stuff never knew these things existed! i had one experience when i was on a phone with a classmate and all of sudden i can hear 2 girls talking and i asked if my classmate can hear it too but she said she didnt and thought i was crazy hahah. i was on a cordless phone so i bet the phone line crossed some how. but its nothing compared to 2 cellphones crossing tho
Excuse the noobness but I did search and only came up with 4 results and none answered my question? Is there a work around to be able to listen to my S9's bluetooth stereo headset on my ATT 8525 while in flight?
thanx in advance for any help.
um flight mode is for turning ALL RF off. including BT. it could interfere with the flight systems and send you all to a firey death.
same as hospitals.
use headphones.
Another Approach
The other solution (once "approved devices are allowed" is to just turn off the phone in comm manager and not turn off the bluetooth (Yes, it requires two actions instead of the easier "flight mode" option, which turns off all RF transmissions from your phone).
Hope this helps!
8500 no camera
vp3G 3.62 rom
1.54.07 radio
It's actually a myth that electronic devices could screw up the aircraft. The FAA is actually worried that the aircraft's radar could screw up electronic devices. Yes, the problem is the other way around.
In any case, flight mode turns off everything. Just go into the comm manager and turn bluetooth on separately.
Doom Tints said:
It's actually a myth that electronic devices could screw up the aircraft. The FAA is actually worried that the aircraft's radar could screw up electronic devices. Yes, the problem is the other way around.
In any case, flight mode turns off everything. Just go into the comm manager and turn bluetooth on separately.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the radar part is only if the CE is placed in a lobe of the radar signal.
But I can say with 100% personal experience that a phone can cause issues with navigational equipment.
Not sure where you got your info from Doom, but I am a Part-121 pilot. I have heard of people actually be arrested for using the devices in flight.
Woah, the bull**** phone is ringing.
Double Post
Ok Doom... just because you didn't like the answer, don't shoot the messenger. If you doubt you could be arrested for it how about you look up "Interference with Flight Crew Members and Attendants". If you claim that my statements about being a pilot are the BS part... well then don't know what to tell you other than I would be more than happy to scan my ID and blank out a few parts.
rgreenpc said:
Actually the radar part is only if the CE is placed in a lobe of the radar signal.
But I can say with 100% personal experience that a phone can cause issues with navigational equipment.
Not sure where you got your info from Doom, but I am a Part-121 pilot. I have heard of people actually be arrested for using the devices in flight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually it has been proven that phones and electronic devices do NOT interfere with navigational equipment. check out mythbusters for the proof. great show.
I thought in that episode of mythbusters that it was plausible that it could cause interference. I'd always thought it was bunk but for some reason I thought I saw that episode and they did show some interference? Maybe I'm crazy
im pretty sure they said it was busted. im gonna have to look on youtube lol if im wrong my apologies but seems like i remember thinking that that was another dumb law (the other i was thinking was dumb was the no cell phones at the gas pumps)
Well I can tell you despite what the Mythbusters say I have with "my own two eyes" seen what can happen if someone turns on a phone. Granted it doesn't happen with EVERY phone, nor does it happen with every phone of the same type.
I have had my phone on in the cockpit (forgot to turn it off) and haven't had issues, but then one time I did and swore it would never happen again.
It is more than likely due to crappy construction, leaky (RF-wsie) internals etc.
Would someone ever get caught doing it? Perhaps... perhaps not, but I do know that I wouldn't want to be the one caught.
well who can gaurantee that all passengers have modern phones? i know mine causes the clock radio and car radio to get MASSIVE inteference when recieving or making calls.
i don't want to be that guy who caused the pilot to miss the " LOOK OUT! THERES ANOTHER PLANE HEADING RIGHT FOR YOU!" message over his radio.
or maybe you think having the convenience of you cell phone is worth it.
"At least i have the comfort of wireless headphones to listen to my MP3's to drown out the screaming passengers" lol
MB is a fantastic show imo but they cant account for every concievable variable. I'm still not gonna let a guy shoot at me with a 50 caliber tank rifle when im swimming just because they said the bullet wouldnt penetrate 3 ft of water.
When I go into the Comms. Manager and turn on Bluetooth I have noticed that the device isnt automatically visible, you have to go to settings, bluetooth, then select the box to make device visible.
Is there anyway to make this happen when you turn bluetooth on.
Thanks
If there is then also be careful. If you are walking down the street at night alone anyone passing by is going to know you have an expensive phone.
I used to think leaving discoverable on was a good idea but now I only have it on when needed in case some techno-savvy mugger is nearby.
Alex Atkin UK said:
If there is then also be careful. If you are walking down the street at night alone anyone passing by is going to know you have an expensive phone.
I used to think leaving discoverable on was a good idea but now I only have it on when needed in case some techno-savvy mugger is nearby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean.
But Im after a tweak for when you turn bluetooth on to receive a file or something you dont have to manually select the make my device visible option
Alex Atkin UK said:
If there is then also be careful. If you are walking down the street at night alone anyone passing by is going to know you have an expensive phone.
I used to think leaving discoverable on was a good idea but now I only have it on when needed in case some techno-savvy mugger is nearby.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, isn't that being a little too much paranoid? I mean, what muggler would actually stand and update his bluetooth to show nearby users everytime someone walked by him at night?! Sounds kinda silly to me, if someone actually took his time to do that I would give him my X1 just for the trouble, lol!!!
Could have sworn i read about it haapppeinng to someone.
You don't need a phone, but a bluetooth laptop and some snooping software. Work in a team of two with one in a car and one down the road on the street and it's dooable.
Bluejacking is real and I've been a victim of it before. It is especially prevalent in places with lots of people (airports, subways, buses, cafes etc.). And all it takes is a minute or two.... that's why I keep my bluetooth invisible until when I need to do some file transfers.
Day 1
Dear Diary,
I was so excited to receive my very first WinMo phone yesterday from Vodafone UK. I have been using Symbian OS phones before, and where they did the job, I found myself needing more from a device to fiddle with, and also to help with my new business I have set up.
I gave explicit instructions to my girlfriend to plug it into the mains so it’s all charged up ready from work.
5:30pm came and a rush back home to start playing with my new toy!
Well, firstly what an amazing looking phone. The feel of the phone it one of the best I have had, and I fell in love with it as soon as I picked it.
When I first started to use it though, I found myself over whelmed with the functionality and knew then I would have to change my mind set in more ways than 1.
I got straight onto xda to download all the neat extras that the people of this forum and others have contributed. I added the Manila cab file, TF3D panel installer, facebook panel and the SPB mobile shell.
At first I had to get my head round the panels idea. Once I did, what a really good feature. But I then noticed funny things going on. Contacts that I added were not being shown, I had to added them manually again, using the list of contacts within WinMo. I really thought that the contacts in Manila and SPB would of mirrored what was in the WinMo contact registry.
Being a noob with WinMo I started to panic trying to do the simple tasked that I took for granted with all my other previous phones.
Trying to send a txt was making me feel as if I have made a bad mistake. The whole process is so long winded. Too many menus and options to go through to finally type a text message in.
I then started to notice the reception. What reception! I thought something might have gone wrong, but after a couple of seconds waving it in the air, I finally got reception – 2 bars. 2 BARS! What the heck, my N95 gave me full reception. What’s going on here I thought. I also found it very temperamental, fluctuating greatly for no reason at all.
When I decided to retire to bed (at 1:30am!) I came across my final niggle. Setting the alarm! What a nightmare. Once again I had to go through the maze of options to be presented with a menu to setup an alarm. This was fiddly to say the least. The interface is so small I had to use the stylus to create an alarm which in my eye is even more an inconvenience.
I do like the phone, and I am hoping it is just me having to change my mindset. Doing the everyday tasks is a real pain in the bum, but then I am sure there will be easier ways of doing the things I want, as I have noticed that there is more than 1 way of doing things.
My only concern is the reception, and I will be keeping a close eye on this, and I feel this might be the reason I will have to send it back – No point in having an all singing all dancing phone with no reception!
Day 2
Dear Diary
Well, after some persistence the phones way of working is really starting to grow on me. I have spent more time adding contacts in to WinMo, which i can say is a pain, but once the information is there the phone really starts to shine.
I worked out that reason why TF3D and SPB don't sync with WinMo's contact is that what they actually offer is technically speed dials (Should of realised that when it says favorites - Doh!). All i do it select my most used contacts from WinMo, and with the addons (especially TF3D) it shows the contact in its full glory. And if i need a number not in there i just go straight to WinMo contact with a single click!
I updated the dialer to the Touch HD one, and WOW, so much better than the standard one. All i need now is more people to ring me so i can get to use all the features on offer
I also added the Touch HD keyboard, not a must because of the hard keyboard, but still better than the WinMo keyboard.
I am still getting used to the setup, but judging by how i am progressing so far with the phone, i feel it will only be a matter of time before i get totally used to it.
The reception is still worrying me tho. So i decided to do some tests. I drove home last night from work (16 miles) constantly checking the signal, and what i noticed surprised me a bit. I had signal all the way home, where with my N95 there were a few placed that i didn't.
This meant 2 things to me, either the phone didn't update the signal icon as much as the X1 over the N95, or the signal bars that show the strength were deceptive.
Ummmm food for thought. I just need to go to a place i know i defiantly do not get signal and do some tests there.
So, over all, it starting to be a good experience and i am starting to get to the nitty gritty of the device. Some one on here did say something that has stuck in my mind. "Phones are trying to be like PDA's and PDA's are trying to be phones". Having this angle getting an X1, going from the N95, has made me realise that i should stop trying to use it like a normal phone.
Tomorrow, i am going to try and sync it with outlook and others - I'm hoping that's when the confusion stops, and the fun begins!
Day 3/4
Well over the weekend I didn't have time to sync it to outlook (yet!), but I have managed to work out text messaging. It’s so easy to do now. Where i was going wrong was I was not used to the style. It's pretty much like MSN chat client where it always displays the history of message sent. What I was doing was replying manually and had to add the recipient etc. All I had to do was reply straight on the screen showing the message. Told you I was a total noob to all this!
I am noticing my attitude to the phone. Every time i am holding it I am being so careful. Careful not to scratch it, careful not to drop it, careful not to slide the keyboard out to hard, careful not press to hard on the screen - you get the idea. Every time I put it in my pocket making sure I don't have anything else in my pocket. So I am going to have to buy some sort of protection, lucky there's a nice section on xda to guide me on what’s best
hello sir.chunk
Oddly enough, unless I am mistaken, you wouldn't be the first person to say how much trouble they were having with this phone on the Vodaphone UK network
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I remember when i went from a BB 7280 to a Palm Treo 600 (and before that the Pregnant-Retard Nokia 3600 (3650))...i initially hated it at first, but then the PalmOS grew on me. Afterwards I went to the Treo 650 when it was launched, and then in October 2005 I went ahead and got a HTC Wizard. I returned that sucker right away (I admit i didnt give it a fair chance), but finally in May 2006 I went and got a HTC Prophet. Once again I hated it, however I refused to go back to my Treo 650 (mainly cause of the stability issue). I gave it a fair chance, and when I found programs upon programs for Windows Mobile (i already knew they existed but more so now), I was hooked.
The trick with Windows Mobile devices, coming from another area (for example S60) is to be patient.
Many people who give up quickly really lack the patience to learn the device. They expect to pick it up, and go go go...convergent devices, although convergent, are not regular cell phones, and while Series 60 is a smartphone platform, it sill has a strong "phone" feeling to it.
Patience develops into skill, and then skill develops into power. I don't think you will have problems with functionality, but I agree, if reception is lacking or non-existant, whats the point...after all it is a cell phone first!
Anyways that was my random spiel...don' t know how it will help, but i thought I would add it anyways
Cheers!
Its a nightmare, i consitantly looking at the reception and it's never the same.
I have never had a problem like this before.
As we speak i am at work, in a town with 3G access, that i know my previous phones have had full bars, but i have no reception, but i know 5mins ago i have 2 bars
Its very annoying as the more i use this phone the better it is getting!
But what use it a phone with out reception
sir.chunk said:
Its a nightmare, i consitantly looking at the reception and it's never the same.
I have never had a problem like this before.
As we speak i am at work, in a town with 3G access, that i know my previous phones have had full bars, but i have no reception, but i know 5mins ago i have 2 bars
Its very annoying as the more i use this phone the better it is getting!
But what use it a phone with out reception
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One thing though, Nokia products...my god are fantastic with reception and reception strength. If I am not mistaken the N95 set the bar for network strength.
I agree, what good is a device (a phone sorry) if it can't get any reception....I really hope things improve.
I can confirm that (HTC) Windows Mobile products in general are cack when it comes to reception, and the X1, being made from the same stock, isn't any different.
I work in what amounts to a bunker and the signal strength in my place is so weak I'm considering switching operators (do you hear, StarHub?) and the position of my desk is such that I have to place the phone at the very edge of it to get a proper signal.
I've had a lot of phones in 2 years, and every HTC since the first generation Touch occasionally misses calls or SMSes, even when the signal indicator shows one bar. Even the Blackstone (Touch HD) I tested a week ago (not on sale here yet) was no different whereas indeed, my previous E90 and N95 did a good job of hanging on to the signal.
If any HTC RF design engineers are reading this - please buck up, guys. It's the business crowd who depend on WM to keep their corporate life in sync for whom good reception really matters. You've worked so hard to make WM sexy, don't lose them.
"bars" on xperia are silly, in my room I have only 1 but it works far better than my old touch that has 4. So, if you have signal strenght problems may be a faulty device.
For interface problems you only need some training in the new world of windows mobile, by default is a pain but you can customize everything and make your mobile confortable to you in different ways. Nokia products are phones that can be used as pda, winmobile devices are pda that work as phone, who wants to buy a winmobile device should have this clear in his mind
guap said:
"bars" on xperia are silly, in my room I have only 1 but it works far better than my old touch that has 4. So, if you have signal strenght problems may be a faulty device.
For interface problems you only need some training in the new world of windows mobile, by default is a pain but you can customize everything and make your mobile confortable to you in different ways. Nokia products are phones that can be used as pda, winmobile devices are pda that work as phone, who wants to buy a winmobile device should have this clear in his mind
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am really starting to love this phone and the interface i am slowly getting my head round - I am starting to see the light!
But its just the signal - GRRRRRRRRRRR Like i said in another post - It's like having the best pub in town, but with no beer!
I have 12 days left before i can send it back, dont want to, but i will have to and be sad and get the <cough> Blackberry <cough> bold
yodafone said:
I can confirm that (HTC) Windows Mobile products in general are cack when it comes to reception, and the X1, being made from the same stock, isn't any different.
I work in what amounts to a bunker and the signal strength in my place is so weak I'm considering switching operators (do you hear, StarHub?) and the position of my desk is such that I have to place the phone at the very edge of it to get a proper signal.
I've had a lot of phones in 2 years, and every HTC since the first generation Touch occasionally misses calls or SMSes, even when the signal indicator shows one bar. Even the Blackstone (Touch HD) I tested a week ago (not on sale here yet) was no different whereas indeed, my previous E90 and N95 did a good job of hanging on to the signal.
If any HTC RF design engineers are reading this - please buck up, guys. It's the business crowd who depend on WM to keep their corporate life in sync for whom good reception really matters. You've worked so hard to make WM sexy, don't lose them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sidebar question...are you with M1 at present and looking to go to StarHub...everytime i visit Singapore I always activate a M1 Prepaid account...
sir.chunk said:
I am really starting to love this phone and the interface i am slowly getting my head round - I am starting to see the light!
But its just the signal - GRRRRRRRRRRR Like i said in another post - It's like having the best pub in town, but with no beer!
I have 12 days left before i can send it back, dont want to, but i will have to and be sad and get the <cough> Blackberry <cough> bold
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah thats another thing I wanted to add...bars area subjective thing...but alas if you cant make a call, you cant make a call right...
Lucky you however. I can never go back to a non-touch screen phone...the Bold is a great device, but it has no touchscreen (and well the Storm is not a viable option for me).
If things dont work out, they dont work out unfortunately. At least you can't say you didnt give it a fair shot right
I thought i let people know that the signal shown on the phone might be desceptive. Read Day 2 on my first post.
nice that u are sharing ur experiences.
signal bars are not really a good gauge of actual call performances as u can't equate 1 bar of nokia to 2 bar of SE (for ex)
u really need to judge the call capabilities based on actual dropped calls or voice quality.
hofo_mofo said:
Sidebar question...are you with M1 at present and looking to go to StarHub...everytime i visit Singapore I always activate a M1 Prepaid account...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with StarHub at present... I'd say stick with M1 or SingTel. Per-second billing works out cheaper, but you still get what you pay for...
Having come from a similar position (having all WinMo devices up until I switched to the dark side with an N95) I completely understand the pain. I bought a diamond and sent it straight back as I wasn't ready to part with my n95.
Having finally bought an X1, I have to say I'm falling in love with WinMo again, but the signal bars also worry me. However from personal experience, i've found that i've dropped far less calls than my n95, and I've even took calls in the basement car park at work where my n95 previously had none.
Also, as a Voda UK customer, one thing I didn't realise about the N95 was that when you have an HSDPA signal, your calls get bounced to VM.. This was on an advisory sheet in the box which I only found yesterday as I cleaned up my N95 for ebay.. (I did wonder why I got hardly any calls all day and people told me they couldn't reach me)
I'd say the bars on the screen definately aren't a good indication, stick with it.
Only other thing i'm trying to get comfort from at the minute is the GPS, my N95 always seemed to keep a strong signal, the X1 currently isn't great, but this may be because i'm using it in my nokia car holder... more to follow as I figure it out
ok.
i have seen enough complaints about weak reception of xperia. Nothing but wrong! Xperia has good signal, and it holds on to it. It switches fast between 3g and HSDPA. I live in a confluence between 3G and GPRS cells. I never missed a call, and browsing is a delight. I had a P990 in the switching between #G and GPRS was so annoying, breaking up the connection.
After that i had an W890i - Vodafone branded. A top receiving signal from the testers,At least what they said. For me: a crap. Constant drop of signal, a lot of missed calls, browsing: a nightmare in GPRS. On 3G- when i got good signal - a delight. Then i "enlighed" when i read your posts about bad signal on Xperia: It is the branding which destroys the X1 reputation, and it is making it worse in reception.
Apparently, the branding is modifying the radio software, in favour of the branding company. It seems like Vodafone is doing a crappy job with their radio algorhytms.
To all Xperia users that complain about signal: try update the software and get rid of branding. Stay on "unbranded" way. It is way better.
About Nokia: those phones are big liars: they show more signal than the real one they are able to receive. I was in a lot of situations, where nokia shows 2-3 bars of signal and was unable to establish a call conection. And the update of bars is so slow...., so you don't really notice the signal variation when you pass through a bad signal area, although inside, the phone struggles to keep the connection with cells.
On Xperia i noticed that the signal strength bar update is nearly instant, comparde to all my older phones.
Until now, very happy with my Xperia.I thought it is harder to use as a phone, but it is not. It is my first WM phone.
I have switched from a HTC TyTN to X1 and I can confirm that my X1 has a weaker reception. Thats a fact!
When i travel by train the X1 drops out several times and it's no point picking it up unless the train stops.
But when I talk to other X1 owners, they say the reception is fine. So maby Sony Ericson has f***ed up some of the phones?
My X1 is not branded and I use Telia Sonera as service provider, which always worked fine (untill I got the X1).
But, I still like the phone, best WinMo ever! Just hope that there will be an upgrade available soon, maby that will do the trick..?
I'm very angry... The X1 is the Phone i ever searched... But the Receiption is weak!
I switch from HTC Tytn II to X1. I use E-Plus (GSM1800) in Germany. I also have a Twincard, so i can use 2 Phones similar.
On X1 is allways 1 Bar Signal strengh less than Tytn II.
@Sir.Chunk:
I have an unbranded X1i (european version)
I come from a Touch Diamond, TyTN, SE w890, etc etc etc...
I have good signal and never experience reception problems with my X1
My carrier/provider works over 850MHz only and I have ZERO reception problems I am very pleased with the reception
Maybe your problem is not the Xperia but Vodafone
I used Vodafone for several years and the signal was so variable depending on which area I was
Or maybe your carrier uses different bands/specs in differen areas (assymetrical tower expansion with different coverage areas) thus your phone is picking up the strenghter signal, jumping from 2G to 3G, or from 900 to 2100 as you move around... maybe
Your reception could improve if manually adjusting phone setting to just one band / GSM or UMTS instead of "auto selection" ???
But 3 bars on one phone doesn't equal 3 bars on another.
Run FieldTest and have a look at the db values
This thread seems to be an example of 'ignorance breeds ignorance' with the exception of a few. For the newbs *roll eyes here*, just hardSPL and download a different radio, for God's sake!!!
Most WinMo limitations always have a way out, which makes this platform unique.