Mobile Phone Code secret: December 2010

BlackBerry 8800 disassembly

Tools required: Torx 5 screwdriver, plastic tool such as a credit card or guitar plectrum

First remove the battery cover, battery, sim and memory card. Remove the four screws you can see.

Run something like the edge of a credit card along the join of the bezels on each side of the phone. A little force is required.

Your phone should now look like below.

Starting at the bottom of the phone, separate the battery compartment from the rest of the phone. It may need to be levered off near the top of the phone. Just slide your credit card underneath to release the battery compartment.

Your phone should now look like below. Remove the two screws you can see (circled).

A connector (circled) attaches the LCD screen to the circuit board of the phone. This attaches like a plug and socket. Simply lift the ribbon connector up, away from the phone to detach it. Lever the LCD from the point shown by the arrow to remove it.

The LCD should now be loose and can be removed. Reverse the whole procedure for reassembly.

Apple iPhone 3GS disassembly

Tools required: Phillips size 0 screwdriver, plastic tool such as a guitar plectrum or credit card, suction cup, needle/drawing pin/paperclip or something similar.

First push something like a paper clip into the hole at the top of the phone. This will release the sim holder.

With the sim holder removed, your phone will look like below.

At the other end of the phone you'll see two screws. Remove these screws.

Now attach a suction cup near the bottom of the screen but don't push it on too hard as that could damage the screen. Now hold the bottom of the phone in one hand and slowly pull the suction cup towards you with the other hand. The screen will lift up but will still be attached by three ribbon cables.

You can now access a number of ribbon cables. The two circled attach like a plug and socket. Just lever up the connectors up to unplug them.

The next ribbon connector (circled) has a black latch that you flick up to release the ribbon. You can then separate the two parts of the phone.

Your phone should now look like below.

Remove the screws on each side of the screen.

The screws on the other side will be covered by a piece of sticky tape which you'll need to remove.

Now remove the screw circled in the picture below.

Slide something like a credit card under the LCD screen to release it.

You should now have the LCD screen removed. Reverse the whole procedure for reassembly.

Apple iPhone 3G disassembly

Tools required: Phillips size 0 screwdriver, plastic tool such as a guitar plectrum or credit card, suction cup, needle/drawing pin/paperclip or something similar.

With your phone upright, push something like a paperclip into the hole at the top of the phone. This will release the sim holder.

With the sim holder released, your phone will look like below.

Remove the two screws at the other end of the phone.

Now attach a suction cup near the bottom of the screen. Be careful not to push it on too hard. Now hold the back of the phone in one hand and slowly pull the suction cup towards you with the other hand. The screen will lift up but will still be attached by three ribbons at the other end.

You can now access a number of ribbon connectors. Each one attaches like a plug and socket. Just lever the two circled connectors up to unplug them.

The next ribbon connector (circled) has a black latch that you flick up to release the ribbon. You can then lift the LCD away from the phone.

Your phone should now look like below.

Remove the screws on each side of the screen.

The screws on the other side will be covered by a piece of sticky tape which you'll need to peel back.

Now remove the screw circled below.

Slide your plastic tool under the LCD screen to release it.

You should now have the LCD screen removed. Reverse the whole procedure for reassembly.

Apple iPhone disassembly

Tools required: iPhone opening tool, Phillips size 0 screwdriver, needle/drawing pin/paperclip or something similar

First remove the sim holder. To do this, push something like a needle into the small hole at the top of the phone. Push down and the sim holder will pop up.

The sim holder should now be removed.

Use the opening tool, or something strong with a thin edge (something plastic is best because a metal tool will damage the case), to pull the antenna cover off in the direction of the arrows. Some force is required.

You should now have the antenna cover removed.

Remove the three screws, circled below.

Run your opening tool around the join of the back cover. Some force is required.

The back cover should now be loose. Carefully lift it away from the phone. It will still be connected by a ribbon cable. The connector (circled) attaches like a plug and socket. Lift it up and it will unplug.

You should now have the back cover removed. Now remove ten screws around the outside edge of the phone.

With the ten screws removed you can remove the silver bezel, as shown below.

Your phone should now look like below. Three more connectors need to be disconnected (circled). Do so by using pushing a small screwdriver underneath then levering them off. Remove the three screws, indicated by the arrows.

Now pull the circuit board away, like below. It'll still be connected by some more wires so don't try and remove it completely. The battery now needs removing. It is held in place by some very tacky glue. You need to try and slide something underneath the battery to lever is out. An old credit card cut in half should do the job.

Your phone should now look like below. The battery and circuit board should still be connected to each other. You'll notice that four connectors (circled) disconnected when you removed the circuit board.

Lever out the mic, shown below.

The LCD screen and digitiser (touch screen) are held on by three clips on each side. Lever the metal clips back slightly.

The LCD screen and digitiser are still held in place with tacky glue at the top and bottom. If possible, use a hair dryer to heat the glue up to make it easier the remove the screen. Then push something like a credit card in between the screen and the rest of the phone to help release the screen. Once the screen is loose, turn the phone over and you'll notice a few ribbon coming away with it. Ease these through the back of the phone so that they don't get damaged.

You should now have the LCD screen and digitiser removed. Reverse the whole procedure for reassembly.

LG computers have unveiled a new mobile in its GW series, the LG GW520. The phone comes with stylish new looks and with a full slide out QWERTY keypad. The QWERTY keypad provides the users with comfortable and quick data entry. The phone also features a virtual touch screen keypad for typing speedy messages.The highlighting feature of the LG GW520 is its "push" feature that allows its users to set up the phone and allowing them to keep track of multiple emails and other social networking accounts.

The LG GW520 can be operated in 2G GSM mode and 3G HSDPA mode. The high speed 3G HSDPA modes provides the users with faster access to the internet making it easy for downloading and uploading data. The LG GW520 comes with an excellent 2.8 inch wide display screen of type TFT with 265k colors (240 x 400 pixel resolution). The phone is loaded with other key features like

* 3 mega pixel camera with resolution for 2048 x 1236 for high quality photography

* Expandable memory of upto 16GB via microSD card and 40 GB of internal memory

* Mp3 and Mp4 player for non-stop entertainment

* Long battery life with a stand by time of 500 hours and talk time of 5 hours

* USB 2.0 connectivity for rapid data transfers between mobile and computer

* Bluetooth version 2.0 with A2SP for sharing data with other Bluetooth enabled devices

* GPRS and EDGE of class 10

* Multi-tasking feature with a task manager for working on more than one application at the same time

The well geared LG GW520 comes in black-orange/black-blue colored light weight body which makes it seemingly portable to carry. This amazing device is priced at around 300 USD (the price in your area may vary)

Can my location be tracked using my cell phone?

Increasingly, the answer is yes. In the past, your general location could be verified by looking at your cell phone records to determine which tower was used to connect your call. Now, your location can often be tracked and pinpointed in real time if your cell phone is turned on.

Most current-model cell phones now include Global Positioning System (GPS) chips, which can determine your coordinates by connecting to satellites. It is likely that the trend of including location-tracking components will continue as cell phone manufacturers comply with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Enhanced 911 (E911) rule.

The FCC's E911 initiative requires cell phone carriers to be able to track and pinpoint their customers' location within 100 meters, so emergency responders can reach them in a crisis. However, phones with GPS chips can actually find you within a few feet.

Ninety-five percent of cell phones must be E911 compliant by the end of 2005. Although several phone carriers have asked for extensions for this cell phone locating service, in the near future nearly all cell phones will have location-tracking features. Although the impetus behind location-based cell phone tracking was public safety, many companies are exploring commercial opportunities as well.

Several companies now offer non-emergency tracking for a monthly fee (about $15-25). Just like tracking a private car or a fleet of business vehicles , a company track their employee cell phones . You can even track your own cell phone.
One of the newest commercial forms of non-emergency cell phone tracking is aimed at parents. In the next year, several companies are expected to pitch monitoring services to parents.

These services would allow parents to monitor their child's location by tracking their cell phone. A parent would be able to turn on their computer and locate their child -- and even watch as the child travels from place to place.

In addition to tracking the location of the cell phones, these monitoring services could send text messages to children who travel too far from parent-approved locations. Text messages may also be used to alert parents if a stranger or hacker attempts to use the service to locate their child.

Groups of friends are also expected to be able to sign-up for location-based tracking services in the future.

Companies, seeking to capitalize on popular computer social networks, such as Friendster and MySpace, would allow friends to track the location of each other. The service would likely work similarly to the social networks on the internet, where one friend would send a message to another asking them to authorize the GPS location tracking.

Once the pair of friends were linked, each person could send restaurant and movie reviews or even weather reports depending on the location of their friend. There is already a service named “mologogo” lets gps social networking.
Tracking by GPS can be limited in two ways. Its use can be limited when the cell phone user is indoors. In addition, many GPS-equipped phones have two settings: 911-only or location-on.

You should examine your phone and select the appropriate setting for your personal needs. You may have a GPS cell phone and may not know it. Most new smart phones have GPS feature on them . So make sure you read all the GPS info of your cell phone from the manual.

The privacy policies of commercial cell phone location-tracking companies usually restrict their services to either the actual owner of the cell phone, the parent of the cell phone user or employer-owned phones. Please be aware that if you are using a phone or vehicle provided by your employer, under the current law your employer can use cell phone GPS tracking to monitor you during work hours.

BlackBerry Secret Code

Decibel meter.
Displays your signal strength in decibels, instead of bars.
Hold "Alt" and press "N", "M", "L", "L" (repeat to reverse the effect).

Address Book file verification.
Checks the data in your Address Book for inconsistencies.
In the Address Book, hold "Alt" and press "V", "A", "L", "D".

Address Book data structure rebuild.
Forces a data structure re-build in the Address Book...
In the Address Book, hold "Alt" and press "R", "B", "L", "D".

View source code.
Displays the source code of a Web page.
In the Browser, hold "Alt" and press "R", "B", "V", "S".

Help Me! menu.
Provides crucial technical information about your device, for when seeking technical support or help in forums...
Hold "Alt" and (left) "shift", then press "H".

IMEI display.
Displays your device's international mobile equipment identity (IMEI - your serial number) on-screen... Also works from all other GSM handsets.
Type "*", "#", "0", "6", "#" on the Home screen.

"Soft" reset.
Performs a "soft" reset of your device; the equivalent of doing a "battery pull" (ie. Removing the battery for a few seconds).
Press-and-hold "Alt", then press-and-hold (left) "shift", then press-and-hold "Del".

Event Log.
Displays event logs of all the system-level events that occur on your device...
Hold "Alt" and press "L", "G", "L", "G".

All of these secrets have been tested on the BlackBerry 8800 and BlackBerry Curve 8300; .

In some cases, you will need to be on the Home screen when you enter these codes...
Key shortcuts:
A or C = phonebook
S = search
F = phone profiles
W or B = browser
H = help
K = locks the keys
L = calendar
V = messages
M = messages folder
R = alarm
T = tasks
U = calculator
I = applications
O = options
P = phone

Some new additions thanks to the contributions in this thread:

T - Top of page (in browser)
B - Bottom of page (in browser)
Space - Page down (in browser)
ALT + Right Shift + Del = hard reset
D - Memo pad
U - Switch between hide/unhide in title bar (in browser)
ALT + NMLL = numbers instead of bars for signal strength

Difference Between GSM and 3G

Global System for Mobile communications or GSM is the current and most widely used standard for mobile phones today while 3G is the next generation mobile technology that has begun to replace GSM. 3G is still in its infancy and only has a very small area covered when compared to GSM.

GSM technology has been the most prominent mobile phone technology in the world. Although there are other technologies that are competing with GSM, it has not budged in its dominance. GSM offered a lot of possibilities to the world of mobile phones like text messaging and even low speed internet access. Further improvements were made with the introduction of GPRS and EDGE that extended the capabilities of GSM networks. Multimedia messaging was added to its list of features allowing subscribers to send pictures, audio clips, and even short video clips to each other. EDGE also increased the speed of mobile internet browsing to Dial-up speeds.

3G is a whole new technology that was introduced as a replacement to the aging GSM technology. It offers substantial improvements over its predecessor in almost all aspects imaginable. For starters, mobile internet speeds for 3G networks starts out at 384kbps which is already within the range of DSL speeds. At the higher end of the 3G spectrum is HSDPA which can achieve speeds of up to 7.2mbps, way faster than what GSM can offer. Theses faster speeds also made it possible to add new features that were unavailable for GSM. One of which is video calling, that allows people to see each other while talking.

The only drawback behind 3G technology is the fact that it is not backward compatible to the older GSM technology. This means that your 3G mobile phones cannot communicate with GSM towers and 2G phones cannot communicate with 3G towers. To preserve backwards compatibility, most telecoms install newer 3G radios while still maintaining the older GSM radios. Mobile phone makers also include 3G support into their phones without removing 2G technologies. This would gradually fade as more and more 3G radios are put up and more 3G mobile phones are built.

It would only be a matter of time until 3G technologies fully supersede the GSM network, this not a competition but a natural transition from an older technology to a new one. Therefore, it would make sense to consider this when you are purchasing a new mobile phone and get one that already supports 3G technology.

V3i comlete set dismantling

Motorola V3 Series Dismantling

Motorola V3 Series & Variants

All pictures on this page have been kindly supplied by Munchie.

When dismantling any phone, great care should be taken to ensure that no damage is caused to any of the parts. Rough handling may result in severe damage of many parts, and if proper anti-static procedures are not followed, electrostatic damage may result in any electronic component.

Before commencing, it is recommended that the correct tools are purchased for the job in hand. At the very least, you will require a Torx T5 screwdriver. Do NOT attempt to use a small Allen key or filed down screwdriver, you will only damage the screws.

Step 1. Remove the battery cover.

Step 2. Remove the battery.

Step 3. Remove the SIM card.

Step 4. Remove the two Torx T5 screws shown below and store them safely.

Step 5. Use a thin plastic shim to release the four clips holding the back cover in place.

Step 6. Rotate the rear housing away from the front carefully as shown below. Carefully release the flex connector using your shim or a flat bladed screwdriver.