Related
I have had an XDA IIs for a week and the thing is *riddled* with bugs. A few that come to mind:
Add a new profile to connection manager and then add a 'modem' to that connection. Go and fiddle elsewhere for a while. Often when you come back to change the settings for that connection the 'modem' has dissapeared. (its still there, a soft reset will cause it to re-appear).
Take the unit out of range of your wifi while running an app that does nots of network activity, and you will have to do a soft reset in order to restore network connectivity. This occurs mainly with skype
WiFi Reception is **attrocious** my laptop will tell me that I have a full signal and the XDA IIs will barely register when at the same location. Even holding the damned thing 1 ft from the base station does not cause the signal indicator to head to maximum.
When you use bluetooth, for network access, all the stuff in connection manager gets reset.
Often, after setting connection manager to always use certain profiles, and then encountering a problem, you head into connection manager and find that your selections never stuck
VPN connections do not always stick when set, they dissapear from the menu.
I have tried for ages and failed to make a VPN connection over anything GPRS, WiFi etc. VPN was one of the reasons that I bought the device (access to home and work networks), but it just does not work. Additionally, the instructions with the unit offer no help about how to get it working.
The bundled O2 active stuff is very flaky. Take the end programs applet - it often crashes its self while trying to force an app that is 'not responding' to stop. The built in 'stop app' applet (which they burried in settings) seems to work but...
Getting an app in a not responding state is well easy - just use it normally! Messenger prog is the worst. Usually requires use of 'end now' option
IMAP support is very very bad. Its quite common for an IMAP server to not store mail folders in the root. In decent clients you can specify the root imap folder, not in pocket outlook, it ends up pulling the entire dir struct from your home dir!! I rebuilt the imap daemon on my linux box to compile in a default root folder. This solved the previous problem, but the imap support is not suitable for use away from wifi cause its so damned slow. It does not just look for new messages, and there is no way to tell it to do this. Also, when you send an item it ends up in the default sent items, not the imap sent items. Imho, the main reason to use imap is to keep your emails intact (be able to see what you sent from the mobile device from a desktop).
Outlook 2K3 on the desktop has the same issue btw, but at least that supports rules so you can put it right.
Billy wrote pocket outlook for connecting to an exchange server, which, I suspect only 50% of the devices purchaced will ever do. Pocket Oulook *always* starts pointing at the exchange folder structure, not your POP3/IMAP account, and there is no way to config this. Unessesary taps required. Why can I not DELETE the default exchange folders if I dont need them?
There are a load more issues as well... I currently do around 10 soft resets/day. My basis is that a wait of more than 10 secs means that the device has crashed. Perhaps if I was willing to wait 5 mins all the time for it to get its arse into gear then the number of soft resets could be reduced!
I shall have to create me a site with XDA IIs bugs on it. I suspect that most of these issues are also present on other devices using windows mobile 2003 so it aint just gonna be the XDA. MS will likely fix them, and then O2 will take years to make the fixes available to its customers.
To be honest, I wish I had stuck with a symbian based device.
Has *anyone* managed to get a IPSEC/PPTP VPN connection running either via wifi or GPRS???
Has anyone managed to get skype PPC working **reliably** Mine works OK if I sit next to the AP, but I might as well use the PC version if I have to do that. Moving further away causes skype to give up due to lack of bandwidth. WiFi also locks (no network access period) even though the PPC still indicates that it has a single from the AP. The only fix for this is yet another soft reset.
Some other stuff:
Refuses to connect to a network that is not broadcasting the SSID. In general, when you want to add a new box, you can set AP to broadcast SSID, it will then find the network, after it has connected, you can hide the SSID. For future connections from 'pre-registered' boxes, no SSID is required. Not so for the XDA IIs, refuses to connect to a base station that is not broadcasting an SSID, or in some cases, creates a new connection with the name "" (i.e nothing) (which again refuses to connect).
Right, now, if you have 2 wifi networks listed in PPC settings, it will sometimes sit there for ever failing to connect, do a soft reset and it connects.
Another one: you have two connections in the 'configure wireless networks' dialogue, one is 'connecting' other is 'unavailable'. The one that is connecting is obviously not gonna connect despite 100% correct settings, so I select 'remove' it does not dissapear!!!
If I had written this software, the user would see a dialogue box thus 'This network is connecting/connected, are you sure you wish to remove its settings?' Selecting yes, would either terminate the connection attempt, or terminate the connection and then remove the damned setting with no further agro!
In network settings, I often get some *stupid* status info. It sometimes says that my home network is 'available' when I am at work. Clearly it isn't, wifi does not travel 10 miles!
And some more:
Sometimes bluetooth fails to start complaining about insufficient driver space. I write windows KMD's all the time, I suspect its somet daft like a lack of available stack space, or stack recursion. Soft reset cures
Also, sometimes when I try to start bluetooth, I get a daft message saying that the licence for the bluetooth stack has expired!!! It then starts BT and all is OK.
All pretty in-excusable bugs for post beta software. This is MS's 4th attempt now at a mobile operating system and its still a bag of sh1te!
A PDA is supposed to be a productivity tool, not something that you have to put 4 hours into to save yourself an hour. When I pull the damned thing out I want it to do **exactly** what it says on the box.
Bugs in software are inevitable, but this just was not even tested - there are *obvious* bugs that should have been detected in QA and delayed the relrease date. I suspect most users will trip over these issues in the first few hours of use. The workaround for most is a soft reset - the blooming reset switch will be worn out in a week!
My advice: AVOID until they fix some of the bugs. Does O2/MS have a route for bug submissions? I'll write these up as formal bug reports with reproducers and send them off.
If it were not for the appeal of skype/skypeout (only with 10 metres of base station otherwise wifi dies, reset required!) then it would have gone back by now. Not of merchantisable quality imho.
I write C/CPP/Java software for a living, if I let something this bad out the door I'd loose my damned job!
And some more:
- If you reconfig your shortcuts (so you can find stuff!) Then the applets 'camera' and 'O2' always seem to copy themselves back out into the root of StartMenu-->Programs again.
Go into the find applet and get it to do a search that takes some time. Wait for it to get going and then click stop. PDA hangs. It does come back eventually (2-3 mins later), but remains sluggish until you do a soft reset. Trying to suspend while its hung just switches the backlight off!
Wish there was some kind of formal bug raising email address or somet.
Nigel
Agree with you
Got the Orange m2000 variant and have same issues!
wifi has week signal (got 3 overlapping base stations in one open plan office) and can only get 25% signal.
can get vpn connection to work but after a few mins gets bored and drops!
phone reception is poor
bluetooth keeps crashing
going to send back to orange and get a new nokia 6230 and dell pda. cant rely on phone which crashes 10 times a day
Richard
how did you get the VPN to connect at all??
My WiFi connection is marked as 'connects to work' which means that the VPN profiles setup under 'work' should be offered to me. I would expect that after I have wifi up and running, clicking the icon at the top would show:
'Work - Wifi'
Unfortunately, it refuses to show anything other than 'The Internet - Wifi'. If I could get it to connect to wifi using the 'work' profile then perhaps it would show me by VPN connections underneath so that I could connect these too, but it **refuses** to do so.
BBB
(BuggedBeyondBelief)
Nigel
More issues
Hi
I have been adding new bugs to my original post as I find them. Here's a couple more:
Sometimes (no real causer for this) When the WLan auto disables its self (set to 5 mins), I will head into the Wireless Lan manager, tick the 'Wireless lan ON' box and click OK.
It still stays disabled!!!
I then head back into the wireless Lan manager, and find that my tick did not stick, same result if I try again. The only way to get the Wlan back is to restart the damned thing.
Additionally, if I go into tools-->network cards from the wireless lan manager, it says that the Wlan is 'connected' it IS NOT connected!!!
This problem shows its self more when the 'Wireless lan Manager-->Settings Tab-->Auto Turn off WLAN if not connected' option is ticked but it will also do it without this.
Seems to be partially caused by poor wifi signal and having previously run an app that hammered the network.
Sack of [email protected]!
Nigel
u seem to be having a mare!
I've no probs with WiFi at all, none of the issues U raise have occurred, WiFi works fine all over my house (I'm tapping this in upstairs & my router is downstairs) & I've got the settings set for best battery life rather than strongest signal. In the hotels I've stayed in recently I've also had faultless WiFi!
A couple of the users @ work have had trouble wiv GPRS overriding WiFi but I put this down to TNBTK!!
I've also seen the lost modem settings problem(also cured by soft reset).
Bluetooth performance has been a touch hit & miss but fiddling in the advanced settings seem to help!!
I've not tried VPN as I'm actively moving us away from this @ work towas web based services. Just a thought though, isn't "connecting to the internet" what you'd expect to see? surely you are using an internet gateway to VPN onto your network?
One other issue I've had is a logon problem with MS sharepoint, I'm hoping to cure that next week by playing about with authentication on the server.
I'v got a route in to some technical contacts at O2 so I'll ask bout the bug reporting for U tomorrow.
Hi
Aye, fun and games at the moment, just like my hardware to do what it says on the box!
Have you tried Skype? I have a feeling that you too will suffer the wifi lock-up problems if you give skype a go at the extreme of your wifi reception. I dont think its skype's fault though, but rather just the XDA not liking what skype gets up to! I am not gonna complain if it drops the wifi connection, its the lock-up that requires the reboot that winds me up.
Most of the time, my wifi is OK as well. Many of the problems I have had are related to use of skype, and having setup the auto-off wifi setting (which is now off again).
You have an XDA IIs? Perhaps mine has old firmware? I certainly dont believe that this is hardware related. I intend to come up with some repeaters for the problems I have, at the moment, they just occur 'when they feel like it'.
>A couple of the users @ work have had trouble wiv GPRS overriding WiFi >but I put this down to TNBTK!!
I have had this with bluetooth, but not with wifi. I think this connection occurs while on bluetooth when using ports that are not passed by default by ICS on the windows host box.
>I've also seen the lost modem settings problem(also cured by soft >reset).
This one really winds me up cause there is no way such a bug should have got past QA.
>Bluetooth performance has been a touch hit & miss but fiddling in the >advanced settings seem to help!!
Apart from the stupid messages about kernel space when trying to start BT, and the daft popup box saying that the BT stack license has expired, the BT on the XDA IIs is one of the more stable implementations that I have seen. You would think that since BT is now around 5 years old, it would be 100% stable these days.
>I've not tried VPN as I'm actively moving us away from this @ work >towas web based services. Just a thought though, isn't "connecting to >the internet" what you'd expect to see? surely you are using an internet >gateway to VPN onto your network?
It seems that there are two main connection methods in PPC, work, and Internet. The Proxy and VPN settings are not available when connected using a profile that is associated with 'internet' they are only available when connected through a 'work' profile. Again, the documentation is very lacking in the manual. O2's idea of a 'work' connection is WAP to O2 active!! A 'work' connection can be made to allow internet connections by checking the checkbox under proxy servers.
The various guides that I have found all suggest using the same profile for 'work' and 'internet', and setting the checkbox under proxies to allow internet access.
The layout of the whole connections applet in PPC is just a mess - completely unintuative!
Anyway, whatever the correct method, I've tried the lot and cant get the VPN to connect!!
>I'v got a route in to some technical contacts at O2 so I'll ask bout the >bug reporting for U tomorrow.
Cheers!
Nigel
Just got a reply from O2 About Above Bugs!
Hi
Ammused the hell out of me since its obviously a standard reply! There are not hardware problems, they are software problems so exchanging the hardware when the software remains the same aint gonna help!!
Nutters....!
I like the unit, I dont want to return it, I just want then to be aware of, and then fix the bugs and release new firmware promptly. O2's idea, is that if user sends in a bug report that refers to the *software* the unit runs, offer said user a new unit with same software - must cost them a bl00dy fortune!!
See O2's reply below:
Dear Nigel,
Thank you for contacting O2 Customer Service.
Please accept my sincere apologies for any inconvenience that may have
been caused by this matter and thank you for your patience.
I am sorry to know your handset has become faulty within 14 days of
purchase. However, we if you wish to get a new phone, please return your
faulty phone in it`s original packaging using the returns label
provided. If you do not have the original packaging please reply to this email
and I will arrange for a jiffy bag to be sent out to you. Returning
your order is free as the postage is prepaid, however can I ask you
obtain proof of postage as this will assist us greatly in the unlikely event
that your order does not reach our warehouse.
Any money you have paid for your order will be refunded once we have
received your order, however this process may take upto 21 working days.
After this you can order a new phone. There are two ways to order a
product from O2 Online:
You can order directly from our website by clicking on the link below:
http://shop.o2.co.uk/shop/
Alternatively, you can contact our sales team on 0870 225 7879. Who are
available Monday to Friday between 8:30am and 9:00pm and at weekends
between 10:00am and 6:00pm. Calls are charged at National Rate.
Please ensure you have your credit or debit card at hand when ordering.
Before placing your order, please spend a few moments familiarising
yourself with our Online Mobile Terms and Conditions, accessible via the
following link:
http://shop.o2.co.uk/cgi-bin/o2uk/jsp/otherPages/Info.jsp?infoPage=Terms:Shop
Isn't it time to see what you can do with O2.
However, you can also visit your nearest O2 store to get your phone
repaired.
On visiting your local O2 store please take with you proof of purchase.
You should have received this when you originally placed your online
order, if you have not retained this then please contact us again
requesting "proof of purchase".
You can find your nearest store by calling 0800 22 44 77 or by clicking
on the link below:
http://www.o2.co.uk/business/buy/storefinder/0,,130,00.html
dont seems to have the problems you have stated additional i have very good signals over the macdonalds.... (a free wifi service for now) in Singapore and tried with hotels wifi do not seem to have any problems... even installed WiFiForum a Wifi sniffer compitable with IIs and seriously speaking... after installing the WiFiForum i seem to have better phone signals... the best sniffer ever.... For VPN never tried... note: i have pocket skype and it works flawless.... dont get the "locked to network" problem
problems?
sounds like a bad unit. I'm new at this and am really wanting the blue angel early next year but reading a lot of bad press. I still have my sharp gx 1 and am looking for a good upgrade, the blue angel seems to have just the features I want...but so many bugs I'm seeing. from yellow tinged screens to connection and software problems. Thing is...is it a new product issue, or a design issue in general, and does anyone know when these bugs will be fixed? I really don't want to jump and buy one on contract and then have problems...don't know what to do. suggestions?
wifi signal
If you will take down the wifi speed of the access point from mixed a + b to just a, it will improve the signal for the XDA and the coverge will be stronger.
Very very few AP's have A and B. A works on 5.4GHz. B and G is the usual combination since they are both on 2.4GHz. I get no increases in performance by switching my AP to B only, and besides, doing such a thing means that access via my laptop gets well slow!
Modern devices should be able to work with multimode AP's with zero issues. Unfortunately, it seems that not one manufacturer of WiFi gear can read, they all interpret the standards as they see fit (I believe on purpose) thus locking you into their AP and their client side cards if you want a reliable network. WiFi has been around for eons, it should work by now, its hardly rocket science.
And as for the abortion that is bluetooth....!
Nigel
Nigel,
Don't know if this is going to be useful or not - but I've managed to get VPN working on the IIs after reflashing with the newer i-mate ROM.
O2 seem to do some wacky setup that defines your 'work' connection as a connection to their O2 Active WAP service - this seems to screw up VPN connections somehow.
Anyway, it's pretty easy to setup once you start with a clean-ish ROM - but if you have problems/questions let me know.
Also, with regards to wifi - does you unit get a better signal when docked/connected to the mains? I'm not quite sure that the power-saving options are being implemented properly on the IIs's...
Chris.
Okay got bored reading your essay but that bit about the network cards dissapearing when u added a new connection is true! I could only get it to show once I hard reseted and also it used to turn on for a short while when I turned wifi on.... on the Wi fi strength meter I believe its a graphical fault rather than a strength problem also the strength will be affected by other thins i.e. more than one person using the wifi point. I have sent my XDA IIs back to my company in detest about the dissapearing network cards! and I got told in anouther post bluetooth is shot! and an update while be made (Cause i can't connect or see virtually any blutooth devices in range when my mates phone detects 20+) Oh and anouther thing about Wi Fi Strength... Your phone is small and theres less power so naturally u will not be able to pick up as strong as a laptop will in regards to the signal thats why they say blutooth only extends upto 10 meters on mobiles but upto 100 meters on a PC thats deliberate due to power consumption and stuff
Check out this wifi scanner it finds hotspots really quick and shows the signal strength and stuff I use it but be sure to EXit from it before using wi-fi as for sum reason it stops u using wifi untill u exit.. its still a quality tool tho and its freeware! I picked up sumones wifi router in there home (it was 3 floors up) from nearly 150 houses away!!!! Naturally i couldnt connect tho
Click here to download it I found 16 Wifi Points in my local ASDA! and 20 from work to home (1 mile)
XDA VPN woes
Chriscole
I'm a newbie and piloting the xda IIs for the bosses so forgive my naivety. I have had no joy with the VPN setup to connect to the email servers because like you, the wap gprs keeps getting in the way. i am at a loss how to get the VPN setup tp connect using the mobile gprs instaed. Anychance you could post the steps you applied to get this feature to work for others benefit? Also wher can i get i-mate Rom.
Answer gratefully anticipated.
olori :?
I'm a newbie here and after playing one of the games on my xda IIs it freezes and i have to do a soft reset. I've only had it 4 days not sure i want to try anything else on it
VPN and GPRS
Just a thought. I've tried several times over the last couple of years on several platforms to get a VPN connection over GPRS on O2 and I've always failed. Could it be that O2 block the socket on mobile.o2.co.uk? What I'm trying to point out is that this is not an XDA specific problem. I've tried using a laptop, a Clie PEG UX 50, and iPaq 5450 and an old palm VX over time and I've always failed.
I would definately recommend updating to the latest O2 ROM ...... BUT ...... make sure you use corporate mode (code 0506) so that the rubbish O2 software doesn't get installed.
Still testing but it seems far more stable.
bugs
Is there any way to take the o2 stuff off after the new ROM has been installed?
If you don't mind reinstalling any additional software/ringtones etc then you could just do a hard reset to get onto corporate.
Otherwise a search on this forum should reveal how to edit the registry so that the O2 rubbish doesn't load on startup.
I have an HTC Mogul and am interested in a low-cost GPS solution. I am looking at the Holux M-1000, M-1200 and GPSlim 240, but want to know what my mapping/softeware options are without spending another $150 on a program like TomTom.
I understand Google and Windows Live have mapping software, and I currently have GoogleMaps on my PPC. Can anyone who uses these, or any other freeware share what the experience is like?
GoogleMaps' site says it has these features:
You Are Here (I know where I am, so this is no big deal) Where's the nearest... cup of coffee, late night pizza or last-minute bouquet? (OK - maybe this is useful)
Is there traffic up ahead? See it so you can avoid it. (I live in Vermont - there is NO traffic!)
How do I get there from where I am? Type your destination and away you go. (Not very detailed here, is it? So let's say your GPS/GMaps automatically tells you where you are. You type in where you want to go and get directions.
On a system like TomTom, I am assuming you are looking at a map that shows where you are, and says "Turn right in 100 ft. on Main Street" and shows a right-hand arrow. Once you have done this, the screen would say "Drive 6 miles" or something like that.
So, my question is, does Google do this? Does it in any way tell you what you need to do next based on you location and the directions to where you are going? Or does it just display your location as a point on a map, and it is up to you to figure out what and when to do? If so, is anyone using this and finding it useful, or a half-assed navigation solution?
Thanks,
BB
try google navigator 2.4 at pdafun.net it is not free though which is the same with google maps, you pay for network traffic.
hh
Looks Interesting
Have you used this? $60 is way cheaper than $150 for TomTom and I like the satellite view.
GPS...
I use a Holux 1000 and it works great with my Wizard with Live and Gmaps. Havn't tried a "turn-by-turn voice app" yet such as Tom-Tom.
Also, you need to give Beeline gps a try. Its a pretty cool app if you are into navigation.
Tried Google navigator (pdafun.net). IMO, seems a little buggy but I only tried it for about 10 minutes.
They will probably get the same love letter from Google that MGMaps did for content violations. ;-)
http://www.mgmaps.com/news.php?item=136
Try the Navibe GB735, it works great for me...
http://shop.treonauts.com/content/accessories/10-95--2230.htm
I have the Navibe GB735 Bluetooth GPS reciever that I got for my Treo 700wx during a trip to St. Louis, Chicago and Tulsa last September. I wrote a review of it here (http://forum.treonauts.com/palm-smartphones/treo-700w-wx/5919-gps-basics-help.html) under my other name (NavyStore). I still use it for work and just running around town with the Google Mobile Maps software.
Since I was upgraded to the xv6800 (Titan/Mogul) last week, I've used it twice and saw no changes. I have unlimited data w/ Verizon (but would love detailed instructions on how to get TomTom software I got to work on my phone) so it works fine as long as it holds a signal. Although, it does crash when VZW drops the data connection...
Hope these help some.
google maps does not do vocal turn by turn or a 3d view
it does do directions and what i use it for........ you can copy addresses from IE and paste them into google maps...
I use destinator 7 as my turn by turn GPS software and it is very good, but does not allow you to paste addresses into the fields... which mean i have to memorize or write the address down when i enter it...
i use both and can say, you can get by with only using google maps but it is not a turn by turn GPS software
I use my GPSlim 236 with Windows Live Search on a regular basis. Directions are a snap as long as you have unlimited data as well as a little patience in setting it up. I like the traffic feature as well here in Atlanta. You do get a little beep before a turn, but no voice. The view is not all that specatcular with the small screen of my Wizard but sufficient nevertheless. The best part is the SMS/email of directions and phone integration if you need to call a location.
As for Google Maps, I like it a little less, but it's not a bad program either. Personal preference.
I was using google maps for a while but then notices it would lose the GPS signal connection quickly. I tried all the different baud's and nothing worked. I did some searching on here and found that the problem seemed to be with google maps time out conditions. They are to short. So, I started using Live Search. I like it just as mich as google maps. It's actually a but easier to get to and from directions entered in for routing since you can browse to contacts for directions. The only issue I have now is that whenever I do a to and from directions route, Live Search always puts me at a previously entered destination. Does anyone know of a cache delete or something like that in Live Search? Anyone ever have this issue? I am using these apps. on an AT&T Tilt.
the Holux MX 1000 is a good deal if you dont mind the size ( well, as big as a zippo but a lil thicker ) . It hooks up quick ( I would say 10-20 sec , cold start ) and very stable. You can stick it into your key chain and you are ready to go.
For map, I prefer live search over Google map .
I've been using Live Search and love it when it works. The turn by turn is great. I wish it spoke, but it does at least beep. It saved me this past weekend lost in a strange city. Awesome. However, it seems to make my device (Tilt) unstable. I need to soft reset regularly after using it and I seem to lose my GPS signal easily. I don't know if this is my tilt, or the software, but i will freeze up for 3 minutes or so before it get moving again (which it does, most of the time!). As I said, when it works, it's awesome, as good as a full featured GPS solution. But I'm not sure it's wholly stable?
Yea, Live Search is really the way to go. It has much tighter integration with Windows Mobile and the "Speak your destination/search" is absolutely the best. Plus it has turn-by-turn unlike Google Maps. I have Tom Tom also on my phone, but when I'm searching for a location, Live Search wins for ease of use.
Have you tried nav4all??
Hi,
Just wondered if anyone has tried Nav4all on their devices?
What do you guys think?
Works great with my Tytn and blue tooth gps key-ring! (Freedom 2000)
Frogger
LiveSearch has no coverage for me (Belgium)...
On my TyTN (with Holux GPSlim 236), I have used
Smart2go: offline maps, nice 3D view, but no active navigation (doesn't seem to update gps position).
Google mobile: can determine rough location based on gsm cell, no active navigation
AmazeGPS: only have been able to test the alpha release, so it wasn't very stable; screenshots look interesting
Nav4All: good vocal directions, very basic but quite functional system
I have been searching for the free Navigon Mobile Navigation 6: the java version was free, but is no longer available on their site for download... (dunno if it still works though)
As my dataplan is on a different sim card, I mostly use my old phone (Nokia 6260) for data stuff (have it set up as external modem on my TyTN !). The upside is that I can use it as a standalone navigation; however I only managed to use Nav4All, and it seemed to loose its GPRS connection every now and then...
Haven't tested it enough on the TyTn to see if I get the same behaviour there.
Jörg
Hey everyone,
Last month I gave a TP2 as a gift to a relative of mine, who is not the most tech savvy. Now, after having been in use for a month, my relative complained about an unsually high phone bill. So I checked it out, and it turns out that the phone used just short of 400 MB in a single month!!! The itemised bill showed that the phone sent or received several megabytes (usually around 4 MB) during times, when the noone was using it (like the middle of the night, 5 in the morning and so on).
The following services were enabled on the phone, that potentially use data:
- Automatic downloading of weather data
- Push notifications for Windows Live Hotmail (
- Windows Update
- Windows Customer Feedback Program
I've now disabled all of the above. Nevertheless, I have to say that blocks of 4 MB without actual use seem pretty excessive. I get push emails on my phone with Google Mail and I never have any more than a couple hundred kilobytes a month. And things like the Customer Feedback Program shouldn't use any data at all (if i recall the dialog explaining the service correctly).
Does anyone have any idea what could be the cause of all this? I actually feel bad for giving someone a phone that causes an astronomical phone bill without having been used excessively. Do you think my relative has some chance of getting at least part of the bill refunded?
Thanks for your input.
Easy.
Just delete the t-mobile setting under connection.
Or change the server to epc.1tmobile.com
Done!
Thank for the input, but I'm sorry to say that that does not actually apply in this case. It is a generic HTC Touch Pro 2, bought in Germany, running on the E-Plus network. Deleting the internet settings all together is not an option, since the phone is supposed to be able to go online (eg. to check stock quotes).
What I'm really wondering is:
- What, out of the services I mentioned, would use up such rediculous amounts of data for no aparent reason?
- How much data do other users see, who do not go online with their phone all day long?
PS: I forgot to mention that Google Latitude was also engabled at some point in time, but was then disabled on account of the fact that it does not update the location when the phone is in standby, and is thus, utterly useless.
Is there some kind of data service on that line? Is this a prepaid line or a post paid(monthy bill). The bill for this overage shows what? Does it show a charge per mb?
A program like SPB wireless monitor can report usage split between which applications are using the data. I don't know whether the trial version would be good enough to get to the bottom of this, but even paying for the full version would be worthwhile if it saves the big bills.
I agree that this is a very large amount of data for the phone to be using by itself!
Did you use Google Maps?
Edit: If not, I would definitely install spb wireless monitor.
xanthene said:
- How much data do other users see, who do not go online with their phone all day long?
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I go online with Exchange push, Gmail every 4 hours, Hotmail push, weather, web browsing, facebook, upload pictures, etc
and my monthly useage are around 100-150MB on average.
User who are not go online with their phone all day would be much less than my usage.
Check if she has websites set to push during those times.
Hey everyone,
The phone is on a prepaid plan, but it shows you very exactly how much data was used when.
By now I am fairly confident that the problem lies with Windows Live and Hotmail push notifications. I have in the meantime reactivated the Windows feedback thing (after all, we all benefit from the information I submit to MS ) and have not noticed any additional data charges. I have disabled automatic updating of weather data, but syncronized once manually and was shocked to find that it used a whopping 1.2MB!!! Absoulutely rediculous.
I have not reenabled Windows Update, but since there are no updates available anyway, I fail to see how that might cause as much data as was used.
Which only leaves Windows Live as the culprit. What I fail to see is how it managed to use up so much data when downloading E-mails. Even newsletters, which arrived on the phone too, rarely have more than a hundred or so KB.. and that includes pictures, which the phone does not download automatically.
Well, I'll install the SPB Monitor and let you know what my findings are.
xanthene
PS: There are no push pages set up
I 100% agree with you about the SPB Wireless monitor.
The new version of SPB wireless monitor is great. It will break down which programs are using what data amounts, which connections are being used and will even give a chart showing these things. You can view daily, weekly and monthly. It monitors USB, MMS, GPRS, and even WiFi but all you want is the gprs.
A weather program that uses 1.2 megs is rediculous. I use Weatherpanel (free) it updates once an hour including radar images for 3 cities and it uses about 400k per day!
It is a necessity on my Kaiser and if and when they bring the HTC to North America it will go on that as well.
Do you have facebook sync set up up? When I had it set to auto sync on the 2.1 beta I use on my Touch Pro it was blowing through data and battery.
She may have used less than the bill shows...some carriers round up on up on the data use/cost.
Thanks again for all your input, the matter is basically settled now. I've disabled data connections on the phone, preventing it from accumulating such rediculous charges without reason. Now the data connections just have to be manually turned on before going online - which isn't really an issue considering how little the phone is being used to surf around the net.
SPB Wireless Monitor obviously shows next to no data, on account of the fact that data has been turned off. I used it to read two news pages once and SPB reported 2.5MB. Again, pretty rediculously high amounts for some news. Looks like Opera isnt the most efficient browser. I should benchmark it against Skyfire and Opera 9.7b with Turbo when I have some time.
Regarding the units that get charged: data gets counted in increments of 10 kilobytes, which is more than fair on a prepaid plan.
Facebook sync is turned off.
I guess the matter is settled. Weather uses way more data than it should, and the only other service that I haven't tested yet is Hotmail Push. The cold, hard process of elimination clearly blames Hotmail.
Thanks for all your input.
I live in Bolivia, my cellular provider is Tigo.
I own and HTC Touch pro2 (AT&T HTC Tilt2) and I had this problem: Involuntary internet connections happen in my phone, my cellular provider has billed me 16 MB for internet navigation in a single day. Their explanation is that probably phone has connected in background using an application. I know the touch flo interface connects to download e-mail headers and weather reports, but I find difficult that this application can use 16MB What can be happening?
As I said all the 16MB were downloaded in a single day and the last 3MB in 5 minutes after downloading internet connection.
Besides the default applications I have just installed pocket e-sword, a bible reader that does not connect to Internet
Is there an application that downloads this quantity of information?
If so, how can I disable it?
Is there any way to see which is the server where my cell connected and what it was doing?
Is there any way to set up my phone with a max download data amount?
The solution that the cell provider gave me momentanially is to disable my internet conection, but that is not exactly what I want.
Thanks on advance.
Igor
Well if you are using Sense, it downloads weather if you dont have it set not to. You might also want to disable the "Get my location at anytime" feature, because it may use AGPS. But I really dont know what else would cause this other than the fact that it is Windows, and it loves its TCP/IP. but the best thing to do would be to use MoDaco - No data to disable the data connections, then when you want to use them just turn them back on.
Thank you
What's MODACO???
How do I disable "Get my location at anytime" ???
Modaco is another website with a forum.
Not sure if this is the latest version, but a quick google of this site turned up the Modaco No Data cab attached to this thread.
btw, you could use something like the SPB GPRS monitor to keep an eye on when internet connections are being made, and how much data is being down/uploaded. If you check task manager when you see a connection being made, perhaps we can trace where the data is being requested. I believe there is a demo version available of this program. I've not yet got a TP2, but can at least confirm that this monitor works fine on a TyTn II. You'll need to tell it which connection to monitor. Battery Status plugin for the today screen should apparently also do the trick.
If you ever get really desperate, you could always use WiFi at home to test without involving spending more, and use your PC to sniff the packets, check for what IP addresses and types of data are being requested. There maybe an app to do this directly on your phone, but I've not looked.
Somehow I managed to lose my evo and its nowhere to be found. Its fully rooted running dc 3.2.3. Is there any way of locating it or remoty turning on gps? I don't have any special software for that type of stuff. any help is appreciated
sprint used to have the family locator thing where all the lines on your account could be located by their gps signal. dunno if they still have it or not, i haven't used it in a while.
I tried that but gps needs to be turned on. Is there a way to remotely turn on gps?
Any chance sprint might be able to help? the phone seems to be on, no one has made any calls with it or otherwise used it so I'm pretty sure it's somewhere where I can find it. I wonder if Sprint will (I say will because I'm pretty sure they can) try to find the phone via their cell towers or at least an approximate location.
i know windows mobile had software that could turn on gps and reply back to your other phone via sms its gps coordination... but the software had to be built into the rom so its not uninstallable.
ive been wondering if theres an app or similar for android.
just in case someone swipes my phone i'd like to be able to track it.
would be nice if a dev had this feature built into a rom so noone can disable or remove it.
Sprint could help but won't (I have tried). Family locator needs sms verification with user of phone before it will activate. Unless you had installed an app to track it you don't have any options. Look on craigslist or ebay.
Next time use "wheres my droid" or some other such software. Unfortunately google thinks that having an app switch on gps is a privacy issue so they disabled that api in 2.x, so you are really out of luck even if you had software.
I have quick sshd installed on mine so hopefully will be able to remote in and run ase, delete files, etc.
Sprint Family Locator will work. It doesn't require user authorization and it does not require the phone to have GPS turned on. Try it. The only thing it will do is send the phone a message saying that SFL has been activated (or the phone has been located via SFL).
Finally got family locator to find my phone but it's giving me a 0.5 mile radius by some apartments complexes that i didn't go to yesterday. I lost it somewhere by a lake and I guess someone's found it and taken it home. I'm hoping they'll turn on the GPS antenna so I can get a more precise location.
Edit: I was under the impression that GPS needs to be turned on because CC told me it does. When i started the service it wasn't working properly and locating my phone so I really thought that GPS needs to be on. I tried it out on some other phones on my account today and it wasn't locating any of them so i called CC and they did some things over there and locator started working. I probably could have found it yesterday if locator worked properly.
dudewithnofood said:
Finally got family locator to find my phone but it's giving me a 0.5 mile radius by some apartments complexes that i didn't go to yesterday. I lost it somewhere by a lake and I guess someone's found it and taken it home. I'm hoping they'll turn on the GPS antenna so I can get a more precise location.
Edit: I was under the impression that GPS needs to be turned on because CC told me it does. When i started the service it wasn't working properly and locating my phone so I really thought that GPS needs to be on. I tried it out on some other phones on my account today and it wasn't locating any of them so i called CC and they did some things over there and locator started working. I probably could have found it yesterday if locator worked properly.
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glad to see you've found your phone...lolz.
half mile radius doesn't really qualify as finding it
dudewithnofood said:
Finally got family locator to find my phone but it's giving me a 0.5 mile radius by some apartments complexes that i didn't go to yesterday. I lost it somewhere by a lake and I guess someone's found it and taken it home. I'm hoping they'll turn on the GPS antenna so I can get a more precise location.
Edit: I was under the impression that GPS needs to be turned on because CC told me it does. When i started the service it wasn't working properly and locating my phone so I really thought that GPS needs to be on. I tried it out on some other phones on my account today and it wasn't locating any of them so i called CC and they did some things over there and locator started working. I probably could have found it yesterday if locator worked properly.
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That sucks man. Did you have a password on it?
I have three apps for this sort of thing:
The previously suggested "Wheres My Droid". If you lose your phone, you can send an SMS to it with a custom phrase that will turn on the sound to ring for up to 5 minutes.
Lookout Mobile. A combo of GPS location, antivirus and contact/picture backup. You can log in through the website to locate.
Mobile Security. The best, IMO. Log into the website and it will locate the phone with options to lock, send a text, send a sound alarm. Key feature: If you are rooted, you can flash the app to your system of your phone, which means it won't appear in your app drawer and can't be uninstalled...its invisible unless a thief has the expertise to pull it off the phone with ADB. Was able to successfully pinpoint the address the phone is currently at.
In conjunction with these, you might want to download 'Protector'. This is basically an app that password protects certain apps/functions to your liking. I use it to require access to the market (so apps like lookout cant be uninstalled), system apps (like astro or estrongs...same idea) and sensitive $ data like Mint.com and Paypal apps.
I like redundancy on issues like this so thats why I have all three apps going. Also, always leave your GPS on. There is no battery drain issue unless an app is actually utilizing it, and that will be obvious because the GPS logo will appear in the notification bar next to the 3g/CDMA/Power icons.
You can make your phone pretty useless to anyone who isn't you by using the above ideas.
Pintail is always the first app i install, just text Locate and a pin number and it will send you the address of where its at. Coordinates would be nicer though.
captivate said:
Sprint Family Locator will work. It doesn't require user authorization and it does not require the phone to have GPS turned on. Try it. The only thing it will do is send the phone a message saying that SFL has been activated (or the phone has been located via SFL).
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Wow they must have changed that policy then. I had lost a treo 600 back in the day and they told me it needed to activate it with a code sent to the handset. Good to know they changed that and I apologize for being inaccurate.
Family locator works on phones without gps by using tower triangulation. But as you see it isn't all that accurate.
Good luck!
* I use ' tasker' to listen for sms and it will send sms back with location and ip. I can then ssh into phone and do various things there.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Just another thought. If you have a bluetooth headset you could wander around there and see where it connects. 10 meters?
sorry to hear of your misfortune.
yes.. only way to work.. is to have an app that helps you loaded before you loose it.
Half mile radius, sounds like tower triangulation to me. NOT GPS.
This is a warning to all.. spend a little time to find an app you like to do this ASAP. you will feel better.
there are few in the Market. I use Wavesecure.
these apps use Text messages to activate functions on your phone. Can give you a lot of control over the phone.
1. Checkout Craigslist or Ebay to see if your phone is listed.
2. If you can not find it online. Then tell sprint it is lost.. so it will be turned off so they can not use it or sell it.
3. I hope you have insurance that covers loss.
zonyl said:
Just another thought. If you have a bluetooth headset you could wander around there and see where it connects. 10 meters?
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that is a good idea.. but battery on evo will not last long...it might be dead by now or very soon.
Seriously, drop everything and invest into some sort of software and set it up properly so you won't be in a ****ty situation like this. Now I gotta go hunting on ebay/craigslist and drop another $400... FML.
another $400? This is why people should buy insurance. at the most it is $100.
FYI depending on how long you have had the line open, you can still add insurance to the phone within 30 days I believe. Most likely wont help you but you never know.