Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Mobile Urban Myths? Read On...


There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a lifesaver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can (allegedly) do with it:

1. The emergency number worldwide for mobile networks is 112.
If you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

2. Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keys? This may come in handy some day, and it's a good reason to own a mobile phone:
If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their mobile phone from your mobile phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away,and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).

3. Hidden battery power
Imagine your cell battery is very low, you are expecting an important call, and you don't have a charger. Nokia phones come with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell will restart with this reserve and the phone will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

4. How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?
To check your mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: *#06#. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. Please take note that this procedure works so far only with Nokia phones. But all mobile phones have an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) which is a number unique to every GSM and UMTS mobile phone. It is usually found printed on or underneath the phone's battery. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody did this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

HOWEVER...

• Calling 112 on your mobile phone will (in some parts of the world, primarily Europe) connect you to local emergency services, even if you are outside your provider's service area and many phones allow the user to place 112 calls even if the phone lacks a SIM card or its keypad is locked. However, the 112 number does not have (as is sometimes claimed) special properties that enable callers to use it in areas where all cellular signals are blocked (or otherwise unavailable).

• Cars with remote keyless entry (RKE) systems cannot be unlocked by relaying a key fob transmitter signal via a cellular telephone. RKE systems and phones utilize different types of signals and transmit them at different frequencies.

• The claim that pressing the sequence *3370# will unleash "hidden battery power" in a cell phone seems to be a misunderstanding of an option available on some brands of cell phone (such as Nokia) for Half Rate Codec, which provides about 30% more talk time on a battery charge at the expense of lower sound quality. However, this option is enabled by pressing the sequence *#4720# — the sequence *3370# actually enables Enhanced Full Rate Codec, which provides better sound quality at the expense of shorter battery life.

• Entering the sequence *#06# into a cell phone may display a 15-digit identification string, but that function only works with some types of phones, and the efficacy of reporting the ID number to a service provider to head off unauthorized use of a lost or stolen phone is limited.

SO NOW YOU KNOW THE UNABASHED TRUTH...IT IS OUT THERE YOU KNOW!

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