I love this Internet thing. Through this technology, misinformation can spread faster and stay around much longer than it could have in the Dark Ages of maybe 25 years ago.
Recently I got an email from Mom, one of those wonderful Fw: subjects that make the rounds and some swear is gospel. This missive was a fairly old one outlining some things you can use your cell phone for besides making calls. She forwarded it to my brother and to me, knowing that at least one of us would pick it apart and have an answer. Here's her preface:
"Hi, Fact-checkers! Is this stuff valid? If so, it could be useful information. Thanks for checking for Ol'Mom! All my love, Mom"
I did this, partly by running my own tests, and partly by going to Snopes, the great debunker. Here's the upshot: Of these four cell phone claims, four are at least partially bogus.
Anyway, here's the note, with my comments.
====================
Five Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do
For all the folks with cell phones. This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.
Check out the things that you can do with it:
FIRST Emergency - The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the 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 interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
My comments: This might work, if you're in Europe. According to Snopes, 112 is their version of our 911. I tried it here in South Carolina and the recorded message indicated the number has been changed or disconnected. In other words, it's every bit as useful as some of the other "alternative" emergency numbers you may have read about in your email box. I wrote about this some time ago, as a matter of fact.
SECOND Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell 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 the ear 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). Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked Our car over a cell phone!
My comments: It's just another good reason to avoid those bad drugs before going onto the Internet.
THIRD - Hidden Battery Power. Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.
My comments: Doesn't work with my LG. Dial it in and hit OK, and the phone stares at me. Dial it in and hit SEND, and all I get is an admonition to check the number and try again. But, some cell phones (particularly Nokia) will give you better battery life if you punch in *#4720# - but there's a trade-off. Your sound quality will suck. Not quite the same thing.
FOURTH - 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. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get 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 who ever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
My comments: I tried this on my LG phone, and got the same result as I did while trying out the third tip. But it seems that with some cell phones you will get that 15-digit number. Whether it's any help in shutting down a stolen cell phone is "limited," the folks at Snopes report. Better to call your phone carrier's customer service and explain your situation; the guy answering may even speak English.
And Finally.....
(My comment: Good -- that's about all the crap I can choke down at one sitting!)
FIFTH - Free Directory Service for Cells: Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.
My comments: I do have this on my cell phone, along with Google 411 (the number is 800-466-4411), and I've never used either one. Therefore, I can't vouch for the authenticity here. But according to Snopes, this is pretty much the straight stuff although your own cell phone carrier may still charge for the call.
==========================
OK. I'm fairly savvy with all this electronic gear, and there are a few things I can do with my plain-vanilla cell phone. I can post short subjects to my blog. I can send off something to Twitter. I can check the weather, or put things on my Google calendar.
But forget about opening your car with it, unless you fling it through the windshield ...
Recently I got an email from Mom, one of those wonderful Fw: subjects that make the rounds and some swear is gospel. This missive was a fairly old one outlining some things you can use your cell phone for besides making calls. She forwarded it to my brother and to me, knowing that at least one of us would pick it apart and have an answer. Here's her preface:
"Hi, Fact-checkers! Is this stuff valid? If so, it could be useful information. Thanks for checking for Ol'Mom! All my love, Mom"
I did this, partly by running my own tests, and partly by going to Snopes, the great debunker. Here's the upshot: Of these four cell phone claims, four are at least partially bogus.
Anyway, here's the note, with my comments.
====================
Five Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do
For all the folks with cell phones. This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have with you.
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.
Check out the things that you can do with it:
FIRST Emergency - The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the 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 interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
My comments: This might work, if you're in Europe. According to Snopes, 112 is their version of our 911. I tried it here in South Carolina and the recorded message indicated the number has been changed or disconnected. In other words, it's every bit as useful as some of the other "alternative" emergency numbers you may have read about in your email box. I wrote about this some time ago, as a matter of fact.
SECOND Have you locked your keys in the car? Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell 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 the ear 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). Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked Our car over a cell phone!
My comments: It's just another good reason to avoid those bad drugs before going onto the Internet.
THIRD - Hidden Battery Power. Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.
My comments: Doesn't work with my LG. Dial it in and hit OK, and the phone stares at me. Dial it in and hit SEND, and all I get is an admonition to check the number and try again. But, some cell phones (particularly Nokia) will give you better battery life if you punch in *#4720# - but there's a trade-off. Your sound quality will suck. Not quite the same thing.
FOURTH - 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. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get 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 who ever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
My comments: I tried this on my LG phone, and got the same result as I did while trying out the third tip. But it seems that with some cell phones you will get that 15-digit number. Whether it's any help in shutting down a stolen cell phone is "limited," the folks at Snopes report. Better to call your phone carrier's customer service and explain your situation; the guy answering may even speak English.
And Finally.....
(My comment: Good -- that's about all the crap I can choke down at one sitting!)
FIFTH - Free Directory Service for Cells: Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800)FREE411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.
My comments: I do have this on my cell phone, along with Google 411 (the number is 800-466-4411), and I've never used either one. Therefore, I can't vouch for the authenticity here. But according to Snopes, this is pretty much the straight stuff although your own cell phone carrier may still charge for the call.
==========================
OK. I'm fairly savvy with all this electronic gear, and there are a few things I can do with my plain-vanilla cell phone. I can post short subjects to my blog. I can send off something to Twitter. I can check the weather, or put things on my Google calendar.
But forget about opening your car with it, unless you fling it through the windshield ...
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