The Goodies: Tips and Tweaks

After everything is set up, configured, and working properly, it's time to start tweaking and customizing the phone. There are a number of options that are either buried in the documentation, or not documented at all.

Service Menu

The service menu is a hidden menu that is used to configure phone and network service settings. It also includes tests for the phone, information about the firmware, silly information like joystick move count, and more. This menu should be handled with care! Manipulating the wrong data can result in an inoperable phone!

To get into the service menu, enter the following sequence from the main phone screen. The left arrow < means move the joystick to the left, the right arrow > means move the joystick to the right.

> * < < * < *

Joystick Shortcuts

From the main phone screen, move the joystick left or right to get to the last or first menu option.
From the main phone screen, move the joystick up or down to get to the last or first contact.
From the main phone screen, hold the joystick for a second or two to the left to activate the first shortcut in your list.
From the main phone screen, hold the joystick for a second or two to the right to access the phone book search screen.

Speed dial

To set up speed dial, copy the desired phone numbers from the phone book to or enter them manually in the SIM card. Now from the main phone screen, you can press any number followed by # to dial the number stored in that location on the SIM card.

Keylock/Silent Mode

From the main phone screen, press and hold the C (Clear) button. The Standby menu will appear with the option to switch to silent mode or to lock the keyboard to protect it again accidental key strokes. Press the C (Clear) button and Yes to unlock the keypad again.

WAP Browser Shortcut

From the main phone screen, press and hold the Options menu button to access the WAP browser.

Call List Shortcut

From the main phone screen, press Yes to access the Call list where all dialed and received calls are saved. Another way to quickly access this list is by typing 0 # on the key pad.

SMS Scrolling

By pressing the # or * buttons when reading SMS messages you can scroll down or up.

Stopwatch

You can save times while using the stopwatch function by pressing the * button. After pressing No to stop the stopwatch, you can then scroll through the saved times and see the length of the time periods in between.

Calculator

In calculator mode, move the joystick up to store a number in memory. Move the joystick down to recall the stored number.

Calendar

By pressing 1 or 3 in the calendar you can scroll back or forward by week.
By pressing 4 or 6 in the calendar you can scroll back or forward by month.
By pressing 7 or 9 in the calendar you can scroll back or forward by year.

Cut, Copy, Paste

When editing a contact, you can cut, copy and past phone numbers. Press
* and 1 to cut
* and 2 to copy
* and 3 to paste

During a call

Record a Call

During a call, press the Options menu button and select Record to record a conversation.

Info Screen

From the main phone screen, move the volume button up or down. You will see an info screen with the date, profile, standby and talk time.

IMEI Number

On most phones, the IMEI number can be displayed by entering * # 0 6 # on the key pad.

IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity. The IMEI number is a unique number consisting of 15 digits that is assigned to each phone. It is used to identify the phone to the network. This number is stored internally in the phone, but can usually also be found on a sticker underneath the battery. To compare it to computers, it is the equivalent of a network card's MAC address.

When the phone is initially activated, the IMEI number is stored in the network's EIR (Equipment ID Register). This database contains all valid phones as well as a list of black- or graylisted phones. The EIR entry for each IMEI determines whether the phone can log onto the network to make and receive calls. Blacklisted phones (e.g. stolen phones) cannot be used on any network that has the phones IMEI on its blacklist in the EIR. Graylisted phones can be used, but they are trackable.

The IMEI number appears in the following format: nnnnnn--nn-nnnnnn-n. The first 6 digits are the "Type Approval Code" (TAC). The first two digits of the TAC are the country code of the approval country.

The next two digits are the "Final Assembly Code" (FAC), revealing the manufacturer as listed below.

The next 6 digits are the phone's serial number. The last digit is a spare, usually set to 0.