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When your phone puts out a mobile hotspot signal for your Wi-Fi-capable devices to access the Internet, you may not be the only one using it. If someone you don't want using your signal has connected to, or piggybacked on, your cell phone's signal you could face a number of problems ranging from a slower connection to compromised security.
A smartphone is more than just a device that makes calls. For many, it’s an indispensable part of our daily lives, containing calendars, financial information and treasured photos – things that aren’t easily replaced when a phone is lost or stolen. Fortunately, most smartphones are now equipped with GPS, allowing you to locate them and (if retrieval isn’t possible) remotely wipe your sensitive information. Although options are limited once your phone is gone, a little foresight goes a long way. Installing a phone-locator app now can save a lot of time and worry in the future.
Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems can offer substantial savings over traditional land lines, even after you factor in the cost of the broadband service that VoIP requires. At each end of the Internet-based VoIP phone conversation, the technology encodes analog sound into digital data, transmits the encoded signal to the person on the other end, and decodes it back into sound. Taking VoIP service on the road adds a potentially cost-effective dimension to how you make calls and integrate your communication devices, including smartphones and tablet computers. The market for VoIP providers remains dynamic, with frequently changing rate plans,…
Humidity can create situations that hinder a cellphone signals from reaching their destinations and can affect the device’s ability to function properly. Humid conditions are mostly associated with weather conditions, but can also be associated with manmade humid conditions, such as indoor swimming pools and saunas. Humidity can also create situations that make your cellphone a hazardous piece of electronic equipment.
TracFone and Net10 are both providers of cellphone service and prepaid phones in the U.S. These phones are available at many retail stores, including Walmart, and also from the companies' websites. Though their offerings are similar, and many of the phones they offer are identical models, their phones aren't interchangeable. You can't use your Net10 phone with TracFone's service.
Large buildings, local interference or distance from the nearest cellular tower can cause your cellphone call quality to decrease. In areas that you do not frequent, this is only a minor inconvenience, but when it occurs in your home or place of business, it can be a constant source of frustration. Cellphone signal boosters receive a cellular signal via an outdoor antenna, amplify the signal with an amplification unit and rebroadcast it in a nearby low-coverage area via an indoor antenna.
In addition to WMV files, AVI files and MP4 files, video-enabled Blackberry devices can support playback for 3GP files. But if the digital video fails to stream any sound once it is uploaded onto the mobile phone, owners can check a few things to enable audio support.
Boost Mobile, a regional wireless service provider that operates as a subsidiary of Sprint, allows its customers to activate a Verizon Wireless phone on its network, but you must first perform several steps before you can do so. Boost Mobile operates a Code Division Multiple Access network, which is compatible with any phone – including Verizon’s – that is equipped with CDMA technology.
Cricket is a mobile phone provider that focuses on offering customers affordable and flexible mobile phone plans. As of 2011, Cricket serves nearly six million customers throughout the United States. Cricket offers customers PAYGo phones and plans. With these plans, customers pay a monthly fee for mobile services such as making calls, sending text messages and Internet access.
LG launched the VX9400 in March 2007. This phone was the first mobile device from LG to offer live broadcast television. At the time of its release, the ability to watch live television on a cellular phone was a relatively novel feature. Additionally, the viewing quality and design of the LG VX9400 surpassed competing cellular phones on the market at the time. However, as is common in the telecommunications industry, technology changes fast. In 2009, LG discontinued the VX9400.
Having your cellphone network unavailable is never good news. You may be in the wrong place for service, or the system itself may be out of commission. If you depend on your phone for communications or Internet service, it's a frustrating situation but there's often nothing you can do to fix things.
An activation fee is a charge for enabling a phone to send and receive calls. It is separate from your monthly service fee. Activation charges apply both to land lines and to cellular phones. The exact cost depends on the service provider, or "carrier," you choose. Each carrier has a variety of plans, each of which may include different activation fees.
Whether a cellphone or a walkie talkie is the right tool for you depends predominantly on how you intend to use it. A walkie talkie is a simple device intended for short-range communication and only that, while a cellphone is an ever-evolving piece of technology that can not only be used to communicate with others through phone calls, but also for a variety of other purposes, including browsing websites, sending email, taking photos and listening to music.
The Sony KV-36HS420 is a 36-inch cathode ray tube (CRT) TV. The CRT components inside of the TV make it more sensitive than most TVs to other electrical devices, which contributes to many problems with the TV. Other problems, such as forgetting a password that was set up on the device, are often the result of human error. Try resolving your problems before taking your TV to a repair person or sending the device back to the manufacturer.
If you've recently had your LG Optimus stolen, you need to act quickly to protect yourself. Not only can a stolen phone be blanked and resold, the information in the phone could be used to steal your identity. You can minimize damage to your identity by reporting the loss to your carrier, so it can lock the phone.
You Linksys router can also be used to extend the coverage of your cellular network in your home or office. Install a cell phone extender to your router to use your broadband Internet service to boost the wireless signal in your home. Cell phone signal extenders won't interfere with your wireless network, and can save you the headache from going outside to place a phone call.
The Samsung Fascinate is an Android smartphone that is only available to customers of Verizon, an American carrier. This smartphone, like other similar touchscreen models, has both "hard" and "soft" keys. The hard keys are the mechanical ones that are embedded in the phone's chassis, while the soft keys are the icons in the dock, the bar that appears at the bottom of the home screen. By default, the soft keys on a Samsung Fascinate are "Phone," "Contacts," "Messages" and "Applications." You can edit your Samsung Fascinate soft keys by following a specific procedure.
Several mistakes may prevent you from successfully activating your Verizon Wireless cellphone via the phone, some of which are easily resolvable. Verizon Wireless offers customers multiple options for cellphone activation, so if activation is ultimately unsuccessful over the phone, use the Internet to activate the phone or visit a Verizon wireless retail store.
Most mobile phones come with an on-screen feature that indicates when the device is able to send and receive cellular signals. The number of bars indicates the strength of the signal. When no bars appear, you need to use your troubleshooting skills to discover why your phone isn't displaying signal strength.
When you upgrade to a new iPhone model or change to a different kind of phone, you are usually left with the original phone. Because of the buzz surrounding the legal use of iPhones with assigned carriers, the rules about what to do with a non-contract, older model can be confusing. What you do with an old phone will depend on your situation and the ways you use technology.
When you experience bad reception on your cellphone, it is normal to look for every possible cause so that a solution can be found. Some cellphone users turn to the SIM card when looking for an explanation as to why the reception is poor. In rare cases, a bad SIM card can affect call quality.
Whether you use the term "crack," "unlock," "hack" or any other word, cracking a BlackBerry is the process by which users can switch their device from one network to another. While you can get an unlocking service to complete the "cracking" process from start to finish, you can also complete the process yourself.
A weak cell phone signal can make an expensive cellphone useless, and if a place where you spend a lot of time, like your home or office, has a weak signal, it can be truly frustrating. You might be considering getting a cellphone signal booster, but obviously only want to shell out cash for a product that works. There are a few different products often labeled as "signal boosters," but only certain kinds will have any effect on your signal strength.
Eighty three percent of Americans adults own cell phones, but do they own the one that best meets their mobile needs? Whether you’re upgrading your current phone or buying a cell phone for the first time, it’s important to consider what you need in a phone.
Verizon is a company that, among other services, offers both prepaid and contract wireless cellphone plans. Both plans require the initial purchase of a Verizon phone to begin service. However, over time, you may choose to upgrade your phone or be forced to replace a lost, stolen or broken phone. Fortunately, programming and activating a Verizon cellphone is simple and can be done in several convenient ways.
Choosing a cell phone plan that works for you requires careful consideration for both budget and features. Learn some money saving tips in this free video clip.
Though once available exclusively though the Verizon Wireless carrier, the LG Ally smartphone has been discontinued. While available, however, the phone could be used with a prepaid plan. As the Ally is a smartphone, the plan included voice calling and data access service over Verizon's 3G network.
Before cellular telephones hit the mass market, you could purchase radio telephones. However, the technology associated with radio telephones limited the number of individuals that could use these phones at any one time. Cellular phone technology allows more people to use radio frequencies at the same time through improved efficiency. The term cellular phone actually describes the function of the technology that divides users into small cells, supporting widespread cellular phone use.
Tethering is a process that allows you to share your iPhone's cellular Internet connection with other devices. The feature was added to the iPhone in version 3.1 of the iOS firmware update, making it fully accessible to devices running version 3.1.3. Unless your iPhone is jailbroken, a bolt-on data package is required from your cellphone contract provider to enable tethering. As of version 4.0 of the iOS operating system, Apple refers to the iPhone's tethering function as "Personal Hotspot."
It is no surprise, given their integration into American daily life, that cellphones are the most common means by which Americans call emergency services -- only about 30 percent of 911 calls comes from land-line phones, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Due to technological differences between cellphones and land-line phones, the FCC has enacted a number of regulations governing cellular service provider's responsibilities for providing service to callers in emergency situations.
The Internet is everywhere from your computer to your smartphone and at wireless access points strategically located in public locations including the library, airport and fast food restaurants. It's not always possible to gain access to a Wi-Fi connection though, which is where your HTC EVO smartphone comes into play. Many cell phone companies provide a service for a monthly fee that allows you to turn your phone into a wireless hotspot with 3G or 4G speeds. Before you can utilize the hotspot functionality, you need to configure your device.
"Wireless backhaul" refers to the technology used to transmit signals carrying voice and data communications from a cellphone tower, wireless Internet access points or businesses to the public telephone network and the Internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission. As consumer demand for smartphones with fast Internet capabilities increases, cellular carriers are adding more wireless backhaul capacity to their cellular networks. Wireless backhaul is the use of radio spectrum as an alternative to using copper wires, fiber optic or cable.
Switching cellphones for two different accounts on the same carrier requires you to swap the SIM cards of the two phones. Since the vast majority of Verizon Wireless phones (including its prepaid models) do not use SIM cards, the switch requires you to contact a Verizon Wireless service representative to complete the transfer.
The reflector portion of a satellite dish concentrates radio signals into the low-noise block amplifier located in the end of the feed horn. If you have poor reception in your home or at a place you frequent, you can use an old satellite dish to concentrate signals into a cellphone instead of the LNB. You can't do this with a satellite dish you are using for TV reception or any other purpose. Use a cellphone with a speaker.
A prepaid phone card allows you to purchase telephone time in advance without having to enter into a long-term arrangement with a carrier. With a prepaid card, you purchase a specific number of calling minutes based on the dollar amount you wish to pay. When placing a call, you first call a designated toll-free number and enter a PIN or access code. Prepaid cards normally come with a variety of fees.
The Switchvox PBX, or private branch exchange, switchboard provides your organization with a voice over Internet protocol solution for managing incoming and outgoing phone calls. Your organization can take advantage of the Switchvox's Switchboard application interface to setup your PBX extension and call queues. The Switchboard application can be useful for more than just managing your Switchvox's feature; you can also use the program to optimize the performance of your Switchvox.
Severe weather can affect your cellphone's reception. Along with intense thunderstorms, your device's performance might be affected by extreme heat or cold and the level of humidity. Always refer to your cellphone manufacturer's instructions to find out the best operating temperature for your device to prevent it malfunctioning.
Dealing with a stolen cell phone can be a very nerve-wracking experience, especially with expensive service plans or phones carrying work data. Although the phone carrier doesn't try to track a lost or stolen cellphone, the company will usually do whatever it can to rectify the situation, such as eliminating wrongful charges or replacing the phone. The police may be able to find your phone if you can provide recent call information.
A successful cell phone bill deduction is one of the Holy Grails of tax time. Do it right, and it's possible to save big bucks; do it wrong, and an Internal Revenue Service auditor could be knocking at the door. It's possible to deduct phone use, but you have to show clear documentation of the phone's business use. Phone usage deductions are very exacting, and it's easy to confuse the rules.
The Droid X is another entry in the Droid series phones, and it gives you all the features and customization options that Android users have come to expect. Although the Droid X is a 3G phone, you can still use it even if you're in a location where you may not have regular access to a 3G network; you just won't be able to take advantage of all the phone's capabilities.
When planning for costs, corporations generally know the amount of a given expense and how it will affect their budget. However, the rate to which the cost varies from month to month is also a large consideration. Some expenses remain the same every month, while others vary depending on usage, activity or a variety of other factors. Those that contain both a base cost (fixed amount) and a variable cost are known as semi-variable costs.
The third generation cell phone network often drops calls for a variety of reasons, some of which will exist with the fourth generation network as well, when it is fully operational nationwide. While cell phones do transmit and receive data wirelessly from the tower to the cell phone, the tower itself connects to landlines, so a cell phone system is not entirely “wireless” as most people believe.
Celcom allows you to add funds to your prepaid phone through its online wireless wallet, in person at local stores or over the phone. The company is based out of Malaysia and offers both prepaid broadband and phone service. The easiest way is to add funds from your Celcom AirCash account using the menus in the phone. You can also use the store locator on the company website to find a store location or add funds by over the phone by calling customer care.
Cell phone companies offer lower monthly fees or discounts on phones when a customer agrees to keep service for a set period of time, often one to two years. The downside of such agreements are the fees a cell phone provider can charge customers who terminate their service before the time period is up. These early termination fees can range from $100 to $200, as of the time of publication, depending on your cell phone provider and the terms of your agreement. If you must cancel your service for reasons beyond your control, the cell phone service provider may waive…
Cellphone signal strength plays a crucial role in your ability to make and receive cellphone calls. Your cellphone signal strength can vary based upon your location, cellphone towers in the area and how you handle your actual cellphone. The more you know about cellphone signal strength, the better reception you will ultimately receive.
While Sprint, the nation's third largest cellphone carrier as of fall 2011, has a lot going for it in terms of offering an unlimited 4G data plan and a relatively wide variety of 4G devices, its 4G network is not among the fastest. Part of the reason is that Sprint is the only carrier offering 4G connectivity over a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, or WiMAX, network, a system that has been slow to expand compared with other 4G technologies. This may change as the company develops new 4G capabilities.
Phone handlers are internal software add-ons that allow digital media such as audio and video to be displayed on the phone. While some Web applications may function on the Sanyo phone, other media applications such as ringtones and SMS content may not be supported. Error messages and slow response time may be common problems on a phone without a handler. Mobile uploading sites, which can be found online for free, are required to upload the handler file onto the cell phone.
"Can you hear me now?" isn't just a tagline in a popular cellphone provider commercial. It's also what you might find yourself saying inside your home or at your office. A variety of building materials, devices and phenomena can negatively impact your cellphone signal, reducing call quality or even making outgoing calls impossible.
You should donate your old cell phones to a charitable organization, because cell phone waste adds toxic lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium to the environment, according to Secure the Call. Charitable organizations can also reuse or resell these phones in order help those in need, such as seniors and abused women. As an added benefit for doing the right thing, U.S. residents can take a federal tax deduction for the fair value of their phone donation, lessening their tax burden.
A refurbished telephone is a device previous owners have used and service personnel have reconditioned or at least thoroughly tested, according to PhoneScoop.com. Taking the time to refurbish a phone will enhance its value and make it easier to sell. You may also refurbish a telephone for personal use. The steps you must take before a telephone becomes fully refurbished will vary depending upon its current condition and whether it is corded, cordless, cellular or all-in-one.
