I'm giving up on my 1yr old C500 for a Nokia 6230i

[Guest shadamehr]

Well, here goes a no doubt long post as usual.

Anyhow, in recent weeks, I have been getting more and more fed up with the amount of times my C500 won't send a video etc to another user by BlueTooth using SmartExplorer or whatever else (whatever else we have in this great phone of ours folks, don't ANYBODY argue with me that it's BlueTooth features are Crap with a capital C...)

So the "time for a new and easier phone" feeling started to set in and the 6230i was due for release...

In the meantime though, I had a proper look on my phone, and found that my cemail.vol file (the mail and sms folders database file) was a huge 1MB+ even though all my folders were empty...

So I looked to delete it... Only to find I couldn't... So the rename it, then delete trick wouldn't work either... And thats when I realised it was corrupt, and causing me no end of bother... And no way to remove it except a Hard Reset lol

So by now, after getting the other half a 6230i, I'm well thinking "Get one too".

BUT - as luck would have it... what did I chance upon on here tonight, but a post about the new French ROM upgrade... And I thought - mmm - perk my interest back up!

And this is where things go mega pear shaped...

Firstly - I decided to be prudent and use Sprite Backup to backup my phone first. Only to find, that SOMEHOW, my phone has re-application locked itself again, so third party apps couldn't be installed. GREAT - cos this is major for me, because the Decert tool on the Orange site never works for me...

So time to dig out No Warez to unlock my phone...

Only to find I can't get the Unlock Security Tool to run, cos its LOCKED itself... eh???

Two hours of googling and hunting, to find that since the last Orange C500 update, they have relocked the No Warez tool... Marvellous...

So its then time to play trawl my system for the Orange Developers Security Unlock Tool specific to my IMEI number they had to send me when this first happened way back last year when I got the phone...

And an hour later I found it (note to self - store it somewhere safe and easier to locate next time).

So, with the phone once again Application Unlocked, its time to install Sprite again...

And then when I did so... What do I find but that I have already had a trial of it in the past, and thus the trial version has expired...

Better and better. Well, determined that a C500 update is for me, I actually decided to BUY Sprite - good for me eh?

And after installing it - I then run it... And find that it hangs while trying to do a backup. Quality stuff. So I reboot, and try again... and it hangs again...

So I reboot... and this is where it gets really cool...

It says my SIM is invalid... Mmmm - so I reboot... and it says my SIM has been blocked and I need the PUK code... GREAT!!!

Well off to the O2 site for the online PUK code tool... Only to find the Auto PUK facility is down and I need to ring up... DOH...

Well, after two different numbers, I finally get my PUK... only to find nothing at all happens when I enter it on the phone... OH MAN!

So methinks, put it in a simple easy phone (note that - I know they are limited in what they can do, but repeat that - simple, easy) like a nokia...

Only to find when I do that, the SIM isn't even BLOCKED!!!!

Well I'm one step ahead here... thinking, what it actually means, even though its not intelligent enough to tell me it properly, is that the C500 is rejecting a different network SIM card. Yes, and sure enough, somehow, Sprite had only managed to re- SIM lock, my previously bought and paid for IMEI unlock code C500... Quality stuff!

Well, time to start hunting for the unlock key, and unlocker tool... Note to self again - this time save these somewhere easier to find too.

Once I found them, what do I find but that the phone needs to be in Bootloader mode.

Mmmm Bootloader mode - how do we do that again???

Note to Modaco Mods - Searching for C500 Bootloader Mode is NOT as easy as you think - all that comes back is a post that says "hold down record button while switching on, then release buttons"

Half an hour later I found out from elsewhere that for the newer C500 phone, you actually do this:

Switch off phone... Hold Camera Button in... Connect USB cable, and voila...

Well, there we go...

So, finally I manage to re sim-unlock my phone again...

And boot up, and spend another twenty minutes faffing trying to get the Sprite Backup that I had just paid for, to work, all again to no avail, but at least this time, without managing to re SIM-lock my phone (which I never knew was possible...).

So, instead of my fairly quick way of perking up my interest in the C500 at 8.45pm on Tuesday evening, I now find its 01:47 am on Wednesday... I am no further forward whatsoever... And I am $29.95 out of pocket on a backup tool that won't work for me...

So, The Link is likely to see my custom in the next couple of days...

Now before you all think I'm a C500 basher - come on folks - check my post count... I'm even a Newshound...

But its just that this very Smart SmartPhone of mine, is now making me feel like a nice simple DUMBphone like a nokia might be less trouble just now...

The only saving grace for the SmartPhone as I type this though (aside from how much much more it is capable of of course)...

It seems that after FOUR YEARS, Nokia still have not managed to work out how to allow logical repeats on a phone, or when syncing (appointments where the day number of the month changes, but the repeat doesn't - for example, the third thursday of every month, second saturday of each month etc). Nokia still haven't sorted this.

So... I'll sleep on it...

But I'm still erring towards a new 6230i...

Jeezuz - look at the time now lol.

Bye for now folks.

[Guest shadamehr]

Note to Paul, and Ash, and explanation to readers...

The word filter Paul - it's NOT all its cracked up to be...

Having re-read my post, some of it makes no sense, because of the same word filter that took up an hour of my time the other day trying to get the CellTracker app to work in my signature, with it changing key words in the necessary URL.

This time folks, where it says No Warez, I had actually typed a different word - a certain name of a tool for application unlocking Smartphones, that is not sanctioned by Orange anymore - but just using the name of it on this site was not inappropriate methinks lol.

Apologies if more of it doesn't make sense either.

My two pennorths worth, having been on the receiving end of it Paul, is that the word filter is a hindrance - I think this about ALL word filters...

What is it you say about no censorship on Modaco unless it's a legal obligation...? The word filter IMHO flies in the face of this...

And its added another ten minutes to my getting to sleep to post this first lol.

;-)

[Guest i_oWn_u]

just read this whole thread almost put me asleep...

anyone else have a thought like this about there c500?

Edited April 20, 2005 by i_oWn_u

[Guest shadamehr]

just read this whole thread almost put me asleep...

anyone else have a thought like this about there c500?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What I want to know is anyone else have problems like this with their C500.

Cos to me it seems like I have suffered every bleedin' disaster imaginable *lol*

[Guest confused and hungover]

What I want to know is anyone else have problems like this with their C500.

Cos to me it seems like I have suffered every bleedin' disaster imaginable *lol*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i try and keep it simple, faffing around with anything microsoft is bound to end in tears... i learnt that back in the summer of windows '95.

i read a lot of the posts on this site and i don't have a clue what they mean, talking about "registry editing" and various other complicated things, and i intend for it to stay that way ;)

[Guest chucky.egg]

I can sort of understand what you mean, shadamehr, but it sounds like your blaming the phone for various problems which weren't it's fault.

The issue you started with is sending video to other mobiles, which I have no experience of, but it seems like everything that followed was a combination of bad luck and "trivial" issues with Windows Mobile.

cemail.vol being 1Mb+

So what? It's Microsoft. Of course it's going to be bloated! What difference does that 1Mb make? I have 20Mb free on my phone, one more Mb won't make much difference - unless I'm missing something?

Sprite

I've never had problems with Sprite, not that this makes your problems with it irrelevant, but I think it's a very unusual problem. Even if Sprite was at fault (rather than a combination of factors) it's not the C500s fault! Nor is the fact that you've previously tried the software (and presumably not had a problem back then?)

Unlocking your phone

I've heard that lots of people have had problems with the Unlock service. Not seen it myself, but I can see how that is a major pain in the butt. Still not the C500s fault, though if it wasn't for the stupid security thing you wouldn't need it - lets call that a draw.

Finding stuff in Modaco

I agree that the search is hard to use, even when you know the text in the post that you're looking for! Again, not really something you can blame your phone for, is it?

French ROM

So all of this was so you could install a ROM not intended for your phone ;)

Did you ever get it installed?

I've got nothing against Nokia, and I looked at the 6230 myself (still looking at their S60 3G handsets in fact), but your problems (except the SIM block thing perhaps) are not the fault of the handset.

I'll fax you over a £10, go have a drink on me and see if you feel differently later. :D

[Guest Pondrew]

Sure I've read a post like this from you before Shadamehr? Wouldn't be the first time one of us regulars gave up on the platform...

And like that time I'm sure you'll be back! You can't resist the pull of the Dark Side (aka Windows Mobile 8) )

[Guest shadamehr]

I can sort of understand what you mean, shadamehr, but it sounds like your blaming the phone for various problems which weren't it's fault.

Don't want to turn this into one of those "defend myself posts" *lol" but, in some respects mate, yeah that's what I am doing - but only for certain aspects. Namely in terms of my post, the crap BlueTooth that is the starting point for my frustrations in the first place. The C500 even needs a third party app on it before you can even attempt this. That obviously IS a failing of the phone. Additionally, just to highlight examples of where the phone IS to blame mate... when my phone had somhow become SIM locked again, the phone telling me I needed a PUK code instead of just saying "Invalid Netowrk SIM" as other handsets do, is an issue of it - and an issue that made me go off on a lnegth and uneccesarry wild goose chase - didn't it?. But please - I'm not for turning this into outright C500 bashing - my point, reading between the lines was that as with all things, the more advanced and technical something is, the more scope for things to go wrong with it, or the issues to be more difficult to fix. And maybe I would after all these years, just be better of with a readily admitted far more basic phone, with less scope for issues with it though.

The issue you started with is sending video to other mobiles, which I have no experience of, but it seems like everything that followed was a combination of bad luck and "trivial" issues with Windows Mobile.

To a degree, you are in fact pretty correct. But the issue i refer to is problematic BECAUSE of the pre-mentioned limits or issue with the C500. And trivial is most certainly "in the eye of the beholder" and they are far from trivial for me just now.

cemail.vol being 1Mb+

So what?  It's Microsoft.  Of course it's going to be bloated!  What difference does that 1Mb make?  I have 20Mb free on my phone, one more Mb won't make much difference - unless I'm missing something?

I am not unwise enough not to see the humour in that post mate, but still, NO, it SHOULDN'T be bloated - certainly not to 8 to 10 times the actual size it should be. And your comment about the phone having loads of room so why worry about 1MB is totally unwarranted and incorrect. Because of ANOTHER bug with the C500 of images on the Memory Card not surviving a reboot when set as wallpapers, a bug the E200 did NOT have, it means I have bloody loads of room on my Memory Card, but my Phone Memory is very full because of me having to store them on the phone - ANOTHER issue with the phone. Thus that 1MB+ may be nothing to you, but its a hell of a lot to me when my phone is constantly telling me "I am running low on free space...." So yeah - you have indeed missed something *lol*

Sprite

I've never had problems with Sprite, not that this makes your problems with it irrelevant, but I think it's a very unusual problem.  Even if Sprite was at fault (rather than a combination of factors) it's not the C500s fault!  Nor is the fact that you've previously tried the software (and presumably not had a problem back then?)

On the contrary - I am no expert myself, but let's think about this for a while... and if I have a corrupt system file that is causing me no end of problem, and can't be deleted, and can't be edited using a Database tool, then it's not entirely a leap of knowledge to suspect this may be the culprit causing issues for Sprite. At no point did I seek to blame Sprite for its lack of working. I was merely indicating that for WHATEVER reason, after paying good money for it, I couldn't get it to work. What I was raising, in relation to Sprite, is that when it did fail to run, and I had to reboot the phone, when I switched the phone back on it had caused my phone to become re-SIM locked again. An issue Sprite themselves are interested about and are now looking into.

Unlocking your phone

I've heard that lots of people have had problems with the Unlock service.  Not seen it myself, but I can see how that is a major pain in the butt.  Still not the C500s fault, though if it wasn't for the stupid security thing you wouldn't need it - lets call that a draw.

If you mean the Applica\tion Unlock, yeah you are right. Even Orange themselves STILL can;t get my IMEI to register in their database for the Decert tool to work - hence the RIDICULOUS need for a specific IMEI based application from them to fix this. I'm just not sure why the phone suddenly decided to become Application Locked all by itself again before we started ANY of this stuff with it.

Finding stuff in Modaco

I agree that the search is hard to use, even when you know the text in the post that you're looking for!  Again, not really something you can blame your phone for, is it?

Absolutely not - that was just a light hearted bit meant to show that my post was offered in the context of humour *lol* and highlight to new users just exactly how you DO get the C500 in Bootloader mode.

French ROM

So all of this was so you could install a ROM not intended for your phone ;)

Did you ever get it installed?

I've got nothing against Nokia, and I looked at the 6230 myself (still looking at their S60 3G handsets in fact), but your problems (except the SIM block thing perhaps) are not the fault of the handset.

No - cos I ain't gonna go down that road til I can back up my data with Sprite, who are trying to work out what is wrong. They first said it was because my phone was SIM unlocked... But my phone has been SIM unlocked since the day I got it, and I have had Sprite work on a numkber of occasions since then. I personally suspect the corrupt file. But like I said, and the whole ethos of my posts, the fact that the phone is so advanced is its own downfall sometimes, cos it means NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, known to some of the best in the business out there, can get rid of this file, other than a hard reset... Darn....

And the thing about the 6230i - was simply to indicate that at least DUMBphone, tends to have DUMB problems. This C500 thingy - being a SmartPhone, it only goes and has Smart problems dunn'it... Swine *lol*

I'll fax you over a £10, go have a drink on me and see if you feel differently later. :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Make it a facsimile of a £20 and you have a deal mate - in fact the thought of it alone has me feeling better already.

Why don;t you be really kind, and fax me a picture of a box from a 6230i - that would be better again!

Seriously though mate, thanks for the comments, that's what this place is for, and I hope you can see I actually appreciate what you have to say, and that I'm not instead angry by any of it - on the contrary, some good points you raise.

Cheers dude!

POSTSCRIPT - even with the humour I've tried to convey, my post still seems overly challenging - please don't see it that way - ignore the ramblings of a deranged fool such as I.... Thanks mate.

[Guest shadamehr]

Sure I've read a post like this from you before Shadamehr? Wouldn't be the first time one of us regulars gave up on the platform...

And like that time I'm sure you'll be back! You can't resist the pull of the Dark Side (aka Windows Mobile  8) )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats exactly what happened, and you are exactly right mate.

So, will it be a C550, or this talked about C600, that I come back to, when I get bored with the 6230i I am sure to get?

lol

[Guest chucky.egg]

I'm not instead angry by any of it

I figured you wouldn't be, and none of it was meant to make you angry.

Don't suppose I can talk you into changing your avatar can I? (I'm joking!) ;)

[simon Bates, "Our Tune" playing quietly in the background]

What we really need is a "Modaco Bad Luck Award", going to the user with the worst hard-luck story, and the "prize" could be a ... I dunno, maybe a Series 60 with the Skulls virus? :D

My contract is up next month and I was considering the C550, but as it's not 3G (don't know where I got that idea from in the first place) I'm stuck for a new toy.

Have you considered a Nokia 9300? You might need to get the "trouser pocket upgrade" but it's a well established OS

[Guest shadamehr]

I figured you wouldn't be, and none of it was meant to make you angry.

Don't suppose I can talk you into changing your avatar can I?  (I'm joking!) ;)

[simon Bates, "Our Tune" playing quietly in the background]

What we really need is a "Modaco Bad Luck Award", going to the user with the worst hard-luck story, and the "prize" could be a ... I dunno, maybe a Series 60 with the Skulls virus? :D

My contract is up next month and I was considering the C550, but as it's not 3G (don't know where I got that idea from in the first place) I'm stuck for a new toy. 

Have you considered a Nokia 9300?  You might need to get the "trouser pocket upgrade" but it's a well established OS

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Now if your well meant original post didn;t make me laugh out loud loads, that last one certainly did *lol*

Cheers mate - ta!

:-)

[Guest cyrilthefish]

What I want to know is anyone else have problems like this with their C500.

Cos to me it seems like I have suffered every bleedin' disaster imaginable *lol*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

going by what you've said, i can think of one thing that could possibly explain all your problems: partially corrupt flash memory...

Just broken enough to keep overwriting/breaking random settings (ie. the simlock/network lock) and possibly explain why the backup program won't work either, but not broken enough to stop the phone working.

I had things like that happen a couple of times with the 1st gen SPV, but it seems extremely rare now.

i'd just give up with the backup tool, just copy whatever files you need from the flash memory, write down any program serial numbers and hard-reset the phone ;)

As for transferring stuff via bluetooth, i agree that is decidedly dodgy and only works with a select few devices (for example, i can send files to a P800 but not recieve them)

Use Infrared whenever possible, that works for filetransfer pretty much universally. 8)

[Guest shadamehr]

going by what you've said, i can think of one thing that could possibly explain all your problems: partially corrupt flash memory...

Just broken enough to keep overwriting/breaking random settings (ie. the simlock/network lock) and possibly explain why the backup program won't work either, but not broken enough to stop the phone working.

I had things like that happen a couple of times with the 1st gen SPV, but it seems extremely rare now.

i'd just give up with the backup tool, just copy whatever files you need from the flash memory, write down any program serial numbers and hard-reset the phone  ;)

As for transferring stuff via bluetooth, i agree that is decidedly dodgy and only works with a select few devices (for example, i can send files to a P800 but not recieve them)

Use Infrared whenever possible, that works for filetransfer pretty much universally.  8)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cheers for the reply mate - thats handy - not something I had thought of before! Makes sense perhaps too!.

The thought of manually installing everything - er no, WAY too much for that - just setting my Caller ID pics back up all over again is at LEAST a HOUR or more job.

I'll see what response I get back from Sprite.

As for the InfraRed thing though... Good suggestion - excpet I'm thinking more of those random wind up sends you do in bars, via BlueTooth... So IR rules that one out lol...

;-)

[Guest pwest13]

And no way to remove it except a Hard Reset lol...Only to find, that SOMEHOW, my phone has re-application locked itself again

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Correct me if im incorrect ;) but when you hard reset you set the phone back into factory conditions hence re-application locking?

Thats what happened to mine anyhoo.

[Guest shadamehr]

Correct me if im incorrect ;) but when you hard reset you set the phone back into factory conditions hence re-application locking?

Thats what happened to mine anyhoo.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Quite correct. EXCEPT...

The point I was making was because the only way to fix this corrupt file was to Hard Reset, and I am not prepared to do that, the file is therefore still taking up room.

In other words..?

My post never said I HAD done a Hard Reset - just that this is what is needed to fix the corrupt file.

Thus, this is not what has caused the re-application lock, 'cos 'this' has not been done yet *lol* (a Hard Reset - otherwise why bother to buy Sprite, to Backup a phone with no data left on it?)

Cheers tho dude!

[Guest mcwarre]

Shadamehr,

You have left Windows Mobile before (in a blaize of glory (well elongated posts at least), I seem to remember); but like the prodigal son you return to amuse/bore/inform* us of your latest Windows Mobile love afair...

Ever considered Trisha? ;) :D

* delete as neccessary

[Guest pwest13]

My post never said I HAD done a Hard Reset - just that this is what is needed to fix the corrupt file.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry, didnt read ya post correctly !

Edited April 25, 2005 by pwest13

[Guest shadamehr]

Shadamehr,

You have left Windows Mobile before (in a blaize of glory (well elongated posts at least), I seem to remember); but like the prodigal son you return to amuse/bore/inform* us of your latest Windows Mobile love afair...

Ever considered Trisha? ;) ;)

* delete as neccessary

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tell me more? PM me if need be...

Twice actually is the answer to your query, but how do you suspect that?