msmobiles.com - microsoft.public.smartphone FAQ (69 answers)

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microsoft.public.smartphone FAQ (69 answers)
FAQ of the Microsoft´s newsgroup about Smartphone.

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See also official Microsoft´s smarpthone FAQ here. If you don´t have smartphone questions but you would like to use your smartphone to the max see also Power user tips for MS Smartphone 2002

The FAQ follows (text in square brackets is a commentary from msmobiles.com, everything else is one to one copy from the newsgroup). Latest additions are at the top.

Q: what programs exist for smartphone?
A: http://www.handango.com/orange-cobrand/ is a good place to start [check out also: smartphone section at handango and Smartphone.net]
Q: How can I use my orange SPV gprs connection to connect with internet and surf on my laptop ? How configure my laptop to do this ?
A: If your Laptop is running XP and you want to use a USB cable between your Laptop and your SPV, check out my "How To" here:
HOW TO: Setting Up a GPRS Connection for Win XP and USB using Smartphone 2002
http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=1369
Q: Can you create other mail folders to store SMS or Emails that you want to keep in ?
A: You can for e-mail if your server supports IMAP4 or Server ActiveSync. If you´re running POP3 it´s not possible because POP3 doesn´t support multiple folders.
In the IMAP4/Server AS case you create the folders on your PC using something like Outlook or Outlook Express, and move the mails around. When you sync that´s reflected on your device.
There´s no way to do this for SMS that I´m aware of.
Q: is it true the CPU is faster? [in Orange SPV E100 = Tanager, than in SPV = Canary]
A: No - it is the same CPU!
Q: ...usually headset button can by use to answer incoming calls or play/stop mp3 file (like in siemens sl45i) but not in SPV :( My button in spv headset doing nothing ?! Is broken or nobody thought about programable this button ??
A: It is indeed a mute button, simply press and hold while incall and the person on the other end cant hear you insulting them... Works great... Havent discovered any other functionality of it.
Q: I want to search for ´John Doe´, so I key in 5646 and then I need a space.. I tried the # key.. but that doesn´t work.. IS there a way to insert a space while searching?
A: There isn´t a way to do this currently
Q: what is the differance between decertified and certified software??
A: On regular Orange devices, you can only use software that has been digitally signed. This signing is a bit costly and not available to developers who don´t run a business. For this reason, they´re publishing unsigned applications for use on phones that don´t have this signing requirement.
Developers can remove the signing requirement from their phones for testing purposes through an Orange website: http://www.developers.orange.com/workingwith/2003/03/04/Unlocking/
This website works for anyone, but it is officially only intended for developers.
Q: Regarding WMA´s, is there a quick and easy way of converting MP3´s to wma´s since I´ve noticed they are much,much smaller in size, meaning that one can fit huge amounts of music on a standard 128mb card.
A: Try the Windows Media Encoder. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx
Q: Where can I buy Mio 8380?
A: It seems that is not available in English. It should be available in Europe 3rd quarter 2003.
Q: I am travelling to the USA (Orlando, FL) shortly; My main query is with regard to SMS use: can I send/receive SMS?
A: I have just returned from New York where there was full SMS support on ´Voicestream´ (although there was always an (incorrect) failed send notification).
Q: Can anybody point me in the direction of any sites which have a good selection of backdrops ?
A: http://www.smartphonethemes.com has a great catalog. You´ll also find a good collection at http://www.coolsmartphone.com
Q: Hi all, will smartphone 2003 be a new OS or a new hardware spec? will i be able to download 2003 onto a tanager when it comes out?
A: The upgrade path for Smartphone devices is very similar to Pocket PCs. While we [i.e. Microsoft] haven´t made any announcements yet around a future release of the Smartphone software, when one comes out it will be up to the OEM and Operator to decide whether to offer upgrades for existing devices. We can encourage them to offer one, but in the end it is up to the OEM and Operator.
Q: Could we use animated .gif s as a background on the homescreen?
A: Not currently, no.
Q: TIM requires PAP autentication. Maybe it is not supported by Smartphone 2002?
A: Smartphone 2002 supports both PAP and CHAP
Q: I´m adding ringtones to my phone and getting messages that there is little room left for storage. Out of interest, which files/folders etc is it safe to delete on the phone through the Activesync explorer?
A: Look in \IPSM\Application Data or \IPSM\My Documents. In general, if you didn´t put the file there in the first place, it´s not safe to delete.

Q: Anyone know how to setup the MS Smartphone to use a TMobile (USA) SIM that´s GMS/GPRS enabled (i.e., works with T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone) ?
A:

 Setting up a T-Mobile Data Connection
 ---------
 Settings
 Data Connections
 Menu
 Edit Connections
 GPRS Connections
 Menu
 Add
 Connects To: The Internet
 Access Point: internet2.voicestream.com [or internet3.voicestream.com - depending on the plan you got from T-Mobile ]
 (Leave all other fields blank)
 Done
 Done
 Done
 Internet Connection: Automatic
 Done
 done

Q: With the SPV is it poss. to create a profile, such as ring tone.. etc, for a number or a group of numbers?
A: You can set a ring tone on an individual contact. There´s no way to set a ring tone for a group of contacts (unless you set the ring tone on each individually)
Q: My SMTP server requires authentication, but I can´t find out how to set this up on my phone. So when I try to send e-mails I recieve this message from "System Administrator": "Invalid message recipients. Your message "subject" could not be delievered to the following adresses..." Does anyone know how to solve this problem?
A: Go into the options dialog in the mail application and open the "Sending" section. There should be a checkbox that says "My outgoing server requires authentication".
Q: Is it possible to use "WAP over GPRS" with Smartphone?
A: Yes. you can go to a WAP site over GPRS simply by typing in wap://address into the web browser. If you don´t have a WAP gateway set up, I *think* we´ll try and get to it over GPRS, although I haven´t tried this in a long time.
Q: I´ve been trying to use mp3´s as ringtones but it wont work. The manual says paste the mp3 file into the sounds file i.e.: active sync/ipsm/application data/sounds but I get as far as application data but there is no sounds folder. Can any one tell me where I´m going wrong?
A: MP3s aren´t supported as ring tones. They have to be WAV or certain types of MIDI files. The location you have below is correct; sometimes you have to create the Sounds folder on your own.
Q: The IPSM storage area on the Smartphone is persistant right? Does it stand for Integrated Persistant Storage Medium? That means even if the battery runs flat everything stored under IPSM wouldn´t get erased right?
Yes, it is persistent. You can shut the phone down properly, take the battery out, walk away for a year, and the data will still be there. Some folks have seen problems where some settings get lost, but that´s not a factor of the physical chip forgetting something, it´s likely an issue with the filesystem software that runs on top of the physical chip. IPSM stands for Intel Persistent Storage Manager. It´s the filesystem that Intel provides to run on top of their Intel StrataFlash chip. You don´t actually have to use IPSM on top of the chip, you could use some other filesystem, but so far Smartphone OEMs have gone with Intel´s filesystem implementation. Check out http://www.intel.com/design/flcomp/manuals/298136.htm for Intel´s user manual for the filesystem. A:
Q: Is the new SPV E100 java enabled ??
A: lot of phone shops get it wrong. It isn´t unfortunately...
Q: can I actually create a normal data dialup.. NOT USING GPRS not using a computer and the phone as a modem.. but using the actual phone itself using GSM DATA
A: Sure you can. All GPRS phones can also handle circuit switched data calls. I have a CSD as WAP back-up as well...
Q: Orange have the SPV cloth keyboard on offer at £25. Has anyone got it ? is it any good? is it worth it?
A: It works fine if you want to chat with messenger or send sms and stuff like that. I was impressed by how good it actually works compared to the first impression you get out of the box. It takes a little getting use to, but when you have learned how you should press the buttons correctly to get the input, it works like a charm. Its a nice thing to have, but not a must..
Q: has anyone tracked down FREEBIES?
for freeware check this out: http://www.monolithix.org/SPV_software.html [ and also http://freeware.msmobiles.com ] A:
Q: I´ve lost my manual for the SPV. Has anyone here seen it?
A: go to www.coolsmartphone.com and register, then go to downloads section and there it is - the manual for SPV alias "Canary".
Q: can you tell me what the triangle icon is that appears on the status bar at the top, in between the envelope and the signal strength. It looks like this: /\
A: The triangle indicates that you are in a roaming network and not in your home network.
Q: Does anyone know how to get the character count while sending text messages?
A: Depending on which ROM version you are using. The PPCW.Net i-Mate and the SMART Amazing Phone [the same: SPV E100], both HTC Tanagers have the SMS character/message counter. This is only activated if the To or CC field has a number in it.
When replying to an SMS or when sending an SMS from the SMS new message menu, you will have to place a single number on the CC field and delete it imediately by pressing the back arrow button. This will then activate te SMS character/message coounter.
Q: My SPV shifts back to the home page after about 10 seconds on almost every app I use, with the possible exception of Media Player. Is this a known issue?
A: Programs->Settings->Home Screen->Time Out (Change this to... say... 10 mins or 5 mins)
Q: Has anyone managed to install pocket streets onto their smartphone?
A:Pocket Streets is designed for Pocket PC. Whilst there are similarities between Pocket PC and Smartphone, there are enough differences (like not touch screen interface) that mean Pocket PC apps can´t be installed on Smartphone without some modifications.
Q: Does anybody know what Radio On / Off mean?
A:You can disable the radio, or wireless communications services. So if your in a Hospital or Airplane you can still access the device.
Q: know that you can get passthru internet connection via the cradle using the pc internet connection to use the conection on the smartphone much like ppc but can you do the opposite? ie: connect to internet via gprs using the phone as a modem? on cradle? what about via ir? is this posibble?
A:Yes you can use the SPV as a modem using either the cradle (or cable) or IR. You will need to install a driver on your PC and activate the modem link under accessories. Guy Kewney did a peice explaining how to get things working at http://www.kewney.com/articles/030418-howto.html
Q: I´ve recently reorganised my contacts in Outlook and reassigned a new set of categories so that they are easier to find using the contact filter on the SPV. Now the filter option gives me a list which includes my new categories (good!) and also the no longer used categories (not so good!). It´s a pain having to scroll through a list with these unused categories which are no longer used either by any contacts on the SPV or in Outlook. How can I delete these contact categories from the SPV?
A:The category list is built by taking all the categories assigned to your contacts. If you are seeing other categories it means you still have contacts that use them. Once you remove them from all the contacts, power cycle the phone and the unused categories should go away.
Q: I would like to reset my smartphone to its default state when first switched on(a Hard Reset). The manual does not mention this, can anybody on this newsgroup tell me how to do a Hard Reset?
A:That depends on the device. For the SPV, see this page: http://www.coolsmartphone.com/hreset.htm
For the Red-e [smartphone made by Compal], it goes like this:
- plug-in main charger.
- Press and hold on ´3´ + ´*´ keys.
- Press and hold on POWER key to power on device.
- Yellow progress bar will appear to indicate flash erase is in progress.
- Following step 4, blue progress bar will appear to indicate successful flash erase and file system format is in progress.
- Once complete, device will continues its power on sequence.
Q: how can i transfer my numbers from my sim card to my phone??
A: use SimManager [software] on yor phone
Q: Is anyone using Exchange Server 2003 with their Smartphone? Do you have any feedback?
A: I´m running against the latest Exchange with Server ActiveSync installed and it´s fantastic, I love being able to sync back to my Exchange server and download my mail, calendar, and contacts.
Q: I have tried to get my PC to use my Orange SPV as a modem but all I get when I try to check on the modem properties is a message telling me that they can´t be displayed because the "modem information is corrupt". I have tried reloading, and even getting the latest driver from the ´net but nothing changes. Same on my laptop. Please help anyone??? (I´m running Windows Me on both my PC and laptop)
A: Its because the driver is for win 2000/XP only, and not win 9x
Q: How can i back up my smartphone?
A: If you are using an SPV, you can use the Orange Backup utility on your phone. For other devices there isn´t yet a good solution.
Q: Just recently my alarm has started not making any sound when it goes off. The alarm displays on the phone at the correct time but there´s no audible sound. I´ve tried changing the alarm time, wave file etc with no result. All the other sounds are working fine. Anyone any ideas ?
A 1: Try .... Programs->Settings->Profiles->Alarm Type...... then set it to "Ascending" .. for some weird reason, if you set it to anything else it only goes off once, or not at all
A 2: made sure Settings -> Profile -> [your normal profile] -> Alarm volume is set to something other than "Off"
Q: Anyone know how the heck do I delete all data in my inbox?
A: Try number 3 on here - http://www.coolsmartphone.com/speed.htm - or check out the excellent SMS Tools [ from http://www.smartphoneclub.net].
Q: "Network Denied" - Help please!
A: Go into Start--Settings--Telephony--Change Band. Make sure you´re on 1900 if you´re in the US or whatever band you should be on. By default it´s set to 900/1800.
Q: Any tip for recording voice calls?
A: You can´t. It may say so in the manual, but that´s a bare-faced lie.
Q: Can you sync up the [ Smartphone ] SPV on an Apple Mac?
A 1: www.pocketmac.net it might work.
Q: all-uppercase tap mode ? Is there a way to set the smartphone in uppercase tap mode, i.e. so that all letters are entered in upper-case ?
A: Tap the * key twice. The first time puts you into "shift" mode so the next character is uppercase. The second time puts you into "caps lock" mode which sounds like what you are looking for. This works in both triple-tap and T9 input modes.
Q: Does any one thing Avantgo will be ported to the Orange SPV?
A: I just got the answer, and the answer is YES, however, it isn´t released quite yet. Almost complete. [Nicole Papineau from MS, 12 Dec 2002, and we don´t have AvantGo client for MS Smartphone until today !]
Q: what is smart phone? Can anyone explain it? thx. what technology is it based on?
A: Smartphone: A phone with some PDA functionality added Pocket PC Phone Edition: A PDA with cellphone function added Smartphone is specifically designed to be a phone first. It looks like a phone, acts like a phone, etc. and the PDA functions are secondary. It´s the other way around with Pocket PC Phone Edition.
Q: After you take some pics on the camera can u transfer them to pc by syching it on its usb docking device ?
A:To copy just browse to your smartphone in my computer, and pick it up off the storage card.
Q: how long do you have to charge it for the first time ?
A: charge for 3 hours on first use, 2.5 hours thereafter.
Q: where are photos taken with the camera saved on the SPV?
A: They either get stored in \IPSM\My Documents\My Pictures if no storage card is present or in \Storage Card\My Documents\My Pictures if one is inserted.
Q: Is there an auto keylock feature on the SPV?
A: Use the quicklist memu (hit the power key, dopn´t hold it down or you´ll turn the phone off) for keylock and device lock. Locking this way does not hang up the GPRS connection.
Q: After using my head phones today, the phone has become locked in that setting (stuck in headphone profile)! To hear any sound I now have to use the headphones, as I assume the phone still thinks the headphones are plugged in! Any ideas?!
A: This is a pretty common occurrence on the SPV. Try blowing into the headset jack, there´s a little connector inside that needs to be unstuck. I´ve also heard people take the end of a match stick and using that to *gently* wiggle inside.
Two methods others have used to try and resolve it are:
1: Blow hard into the socket, this can sometimes release the catch.
2: Gently "wiggle" the headset jack in the socket.
If neither of these work you may have to get a replacement headset.
Q: By IE browsing in smartphone, how user could dial phone number from homepage? Any special should be added?
A: You can use Your Link ( the standard "a href=" tag with "tel:xxxxx" as value of "href=" attribute) Where xxxx is your telephone number to be dialed - the user will have to confirm this action before dialling begins
Q: Is it possible to synch with both an SPV and also an IPAQ from the same PC? Is there any risk of mixing up the data?
A: You can sync as many devices with your PC as you like, although only one can be plugged in at a time. The data will mix: both devices will always contain an exact copy of what´s in your Outlook store. If you create an appointment on your iPaq, sync it to your PC, and then connect your SPV you´ll get a copy of it on your SPV as well.
Q: Does anybody know how many MP3 songs (how many MB) you can save in the SPV from Orange?
A1: Depends how big your SD/MMC card is.
A2: At 56Kbps I can get around two and a half to three CDs of songs on a 64MB SD card. 56Kbps MP3 works out at about 24MB per hour of music.
Q: What format videos will play on the SPV?
A: For MPG format clips, try Pocket TV [program], Windows Media [program] plays WMV files and MP3.
Q: could anyone tell me whether my SPV will work ok on holiday in the USA?
A1: Yes it will work in the states as long as you have International roaming. It is Tri-Band.
A2: yes it will but remember to switch bands manually (!) (under telephony / band selection > PCS band.)
Q: I´ve installed Office XP and my phone no longer syncs properly. As soon as it sees the phone and begins to sync it cuts out and goes offline.
A1: Install ActiveSync again after you´ve installed Office XP
A2: Make sure you are connecting directly into the PC´s USB port, and not through a hub
Q: Can I take a picture with the SPV camera then e-mail it?
A: There´s no UI in the mail application to attach a file attachment to an e-mail message. This is something we [i.e. Microsoft] hope to update in a future release. Until then, you can use applications like All Explorer and IA Album to select a file from outside the email client and start a compose.
Q: Does anyone know if I can buy small portable speakers for the phone, or can I simply buy standard portable speakers and simply buy a headphone jack to make this work ?
A: Any speakers should work, but you´ll need to pick up an adapter that converts the tiny SPV [one of smartphone models] jack to a regular plug that your speakers use.
Q: Every time I get new SMS there is no sound, the SMS counter on home screen seems to work fine. I have checked my sound settings and it is set the use the same sound as incoming call (which it does ring when I get called). Any idea how to fix this?
A:May be worth checking your Profile setting too to see what sound settings you have in there for the current profile.
Q: I think I read somewhere that you can send photos by IR.. can anyone teach me how to do this.. any help would be greatly appreciated...
A: You can only send via IR if you have one of the file managers installed on your phone, I suggest using Smart Explorer if your phone is decerted.
Q: is there an underscore ( _ ) in the smartphone?
A: just press and hold the # key to get the symbol list up.
Q: Does this phone have a radio? Is it FM?
A: When you here the word "radio" in the context of phones, it refers to the part of the device responsible for communicating with cellular networks. So it isn´t FM radio, but you can use Windows Media Player to do streaming audio.
Q: Does smartphone support 802.11b?
A: Not currently.
Q: Does anyone know how to manually uninstall programs? I think I have mistakenly deleted the temp uninstall file and now the ´program could not be removed from your phone´.
A: Reinstall the program again, allowing the new installation to overwrite the old files, then uninstall as normal.
Q:Anyone know how i can change the port used for my IMAP email?
A: you can just add a ":port" to the end of the server name in the wizard. For example: mail.microsoft.com:100.
Q: How to view Hotmail emails on smartphone?
A: try http://mobile.msn.com inside of your smartphone
Q: How do i disable predictive text? [T9]
A: Press and hold the star key, when inputting text, it will go between T9, 123 (Numerals) and abc (normal text entry)
Q:How do i lock my keypad.
A: Press and hold the Red hang up key when not in a call.

This list is being perpetually updated, so feel free to come here from time to time for new answers.