5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do

[StackerKen]

Not sure of the validity of these.....

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.

SECOND (Locked Keys in Car)
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 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).

Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!'

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.

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 whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.


And Finally....

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.

[Twisted Titan]

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 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).



What are they saying here??

I am throughly confused.

T

[General of Darkness]

Number 2 does not work.

[Ares]

Number 1 - doesn't work

Number 2 - impossible to work as the remote keyless entry isn't a sound but an RF signal, most include rolling code technology to prevent someone from using a capture device to "capture" the RF signal and the code that is used to unlock your car.

Number 3 - No such thing as "hidden battery power" devices use the power that is there. There is no hidden storage for power on a phone.

Number 4 - That is true to a point, modern phones use hardware ID's which are independent of the phone number. But the provider already has the Hardware ID as it's attached to your phone number and the device you are using to utilize their network. Totally useless to write it down when you can just call in and say cancel my service phone was stolen, etc. etc.

[StackerKen]

So it's all bs?

Hmm >:(

well #5 works...but you have to listen to a commercial 1st :-\

[horseshoe3]

Number 3 - No such thing as "hidden battery power" devices use the power that is there. There is no hidden storage for power on a phone.



It would not be at all far fetched for a manufacturer to program in a low battery shut-down to avoid damaging the battery by draining it too far. It would also be possible that they would make a workaround for emergencies.

[Joe King]

So it's all bs?

Hmm >:(

well #5 works...but you have to listen to a commercial 1st :-\
Ding ding ding! We have a winner.
i.e. it's an advertisement.

[Twisted Titan]

I was leery of pressing any codes into my phone with understand what they do.

T

[crazychicken]

Thanks Ken.

CC

[Liquid]

Number 1 worked on my phone. Even with the keypad locked, I pressed 112 and got a message "call SOS?"

[SLV^GLD]

#1, 911 is the correct number to dial and it works exactly as described in the article onyl you will be greeted by a 911 Operator. This is true for all cellular phones in the US.

#2, this sounds like complete BS for reasons posted already but it is not entirely outside the realm of possbility. It is just very, very unlikely that your vehicle's RF locking mechanism is tuned to cellular frequencies and performs the correct handshaking and decryption routines to "hear" the signal being transmitted over the carrier.

#3, BlackBerry phones will shutoff the antenna when the battery reaches critically low charge. There are apps that allow you to restore the antenna functionality regardless of charge. I am unsure if this code does the trick but I am highly suspect.

#4, This would likely be your IEMI # and this would be correct but is pointless for reasons posted above.

#5, Yay, ad-supported services!

[Gaillo]

#6 - Irradiate your skull and brain with microwave-frequency RF energy.

[TheNocturnalEgyptian]

Number 3 - No such thing as "hidden battery power" devices use the power that is there. There is no hidden storage for power on a phone.



It would not be at all far fetched for a manufacturer to program in a low battery shut-down to avoid damaging the battery by draining it too far. It would also be possible that they would make a workaround for emergencies.


Don't forget that your phone likes to call home, even when it is turned off. If reserve power were present (which I doubt) then this would be the reason.

[SWRichmond]

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.


And now that cell phones are no longer automatically on the "do not call" list, you will have "done business" with the free 411 service company and that means they therefore have the right to sell you cell phone number to telemarketers.

[Jazkal]

This is from snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/cellphones.asp

Origins: The message reproduced above is (with one exception) a compendium of topics we've already covered in separate articles, so we'll just provide a brief summary for each entry with a pointer to a more detailed explanation:

1. Calling 112 on your cell 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 (i.e., even if you are not authorized to relay signals through the cell tower that handles your call), and many cell 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).

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

3. 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.

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

5. Some business outfits such as (800) FREE-411 do provide free directory assistance services to cell phone customers. However, users should note that the service is "free" in the sense that FREE-411 provides directory information to callers at no charge, but cellular service providers may still assess charges related to placing such calls.

[ShortJohnSilver]

http://www.telstarone.com/comsec_c3i_remobs.htm

Among many other links available for searching for "remobs" ...

[the riot act]

So it's all bs?

Hmm >:(

well #5 works...but you have to listen to a commercial 1st :-\


Might be Ken. Doesn't work on my throw away.. ;D

[LuckyStrike]

So it's all bs?

Hmm >:(

well #5 works...but you have to listen to a commercial 1st :-\


Just use 1800 GOOG 411, besides having the NSA google record your calls it works good in a pinch.

[Phoenix]

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112.


A dangerous myth. 112 works in the European Union and a few other counties. Many other countries have copied America or Britain, using 911 or 999, respectively.

Remembering all three isn't hard, though.




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 their end. Your car will unlock.


Or not. Possibly an urban legend. I've never seen anyone actually get it to work.

Are remotes ultrasonic or radio frequency? If the latter, the process of course will not work.



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.


A myth.




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.


Doesn't work on my phone. The ESN and other identifiers are usually under the battery. And not that you need it, since your provider has the information to kill the phone on their system (your phone won't work without it).



even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.


Most phones in the USA are CDMA, not GSM. Only GSM needs SIM cards.




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.


DING! DING! DING!

We have a WINNER!

This is actually true. 1-800-FREE-411 or 1-800-GOOG-411 both work, and are free. The first has ads, the latter records your calls. So there is a trade-off.

[Phoenix]

Number 1 worked on my phone. Even with the keypad locked, I pressed 112 and got a message "call SOS?"


I bet you have a Nokia.

[Liquid]

I bet you have a Nokia.


It's a Samsung. I bet if I hit yes to the "call SOS?", the NWO would decent upon my position and I'd be in a FEMA camp. ;D

Actually, it's damn creepy, especially since my keypad was locked. I see a devil in my phone now. I don't trust it.

[Joe King]

I bet you have a Nokia.


It's a Samsung. I bet if I hit yes to the "call SOS?", the NWO would decent upon my position and I'd be in a FEMA camp. ;D

Actually, it's damn creepy, especially since my keypad was locked. I see a devil in my phone now. I don't trust it.

Don't forget about the ability to have them remotely activated for use as a covert listening device. Or the ability for warrentless GPS tracking of your every move.

[Liquid]

Don't forget about the ability to have them remotely activated for use as a covert listening device. Or the ability for warrentless GPS tracking of your every move.


Don't worry Joe, it will be the first thing I toss overboard, in an 'accident'. I savour the thought of watching this evil device sink to the depths of the sea. ;D

[Phoenix]

I bet you have a Nokia.


It's a Samsung. I bet if I hit yes to the "call SOS?", the NWO would decent upon my position and I'd be in a FEMA camp. ;D

Actually, it's damn creepy, especially since my keypad was locked. I see a devil in my phone now. I don't trust it.


Dialing "emergency numbers" overrides the keypad lock. And, 112 is the police emergency number in Korea (like in Finland - EU).

Oh, and yes, all modern cell phones report your GPS position to the provider...and by extension, the NSA. Seriously.

[Glass]

Because of the proximity of cell phone towers they can triangulate your position fairly well. Within several metres.. maybe 10. So even without a GPS phone they can pin down your position.

I am sure I saw someone do the cell phone thing as a demo but I think either it was a gag or perhaps it was a jammer to stop the car from locking. If you stood there and started a phone call just as they were locking the car the strength of the mobile signal when it makes the call would jam the car remote. A lot of cars now have additional auto locking when the car is idle for a period which gets around forgetfulness as well as this potential problem.

In Oz Triple zero (000) is the emergency number but because so many people here are moronified by US tv they direct 911 calls to 000 as well.