This might save your life and cash in the real world

[hobby]

Recently received email:

"Enter your next of kin's contact details in your ‘phone book under the name ICE (in case of emergency). If you are involved in an accident, the emergency services will normally check your phone.


Battery Power: If the battery power on your mobile is low press *3370# and this will open up a reserve and you should see a 50% increase in battery power. The reserve will be re-charged when you next charge your mobile.

Mobile Phone Serial Number
Check and write down in a safe place the serial number of your mobile. Should your phone be stolen, your provider can then block the handset. Find this 15 digit number by pressing *#06# on your mobile."

I have had the ICE in two versions on my mobile for a year or so. My son works in our local hospital and told me that the Essex Ambulance Service and Police Force advise that ICE is a wise precaution. In my case I have "ICE1" = Mrs Hobby and "ICE2" = my son's number, that is just in case my wife and I were both in the same car and accident. Hope I never have to use it. Also useful for emergency services staff. Perhaps "Techy" has seen ICE in use.

[forthbridge]

The ICE and IMEI are good ideas - however, the battery reserve sounds highly suspect. Have you actually performed this procedure?

[petermcleland]

I'll try it next time my battery is down to the bottom...I think it probably IS a reserve that is conserved for those occasions when your mobile says "Emergency Calls Only".

Thanks for the tips

[forthbridge]

Being a cynical chap I had a Goggle on this. Not wanting to punch in a code that will do anything dodhy to my mobile:

From Hoax Slayers...
Tip 3: Press the keys *3370# to activate hidden battery power on your mobile phone.

This "tip" is totally bogus. You cannot activate hidden or reserve battery power by keying in *3370# or any other code sequence. The code '*3370#' can be used on some Nokia models to activate Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR). Ironically, since this code activates the best sound quality on the phone, the change will actually reduce the length of time that the battery will last before recharging is required – in practical terms the complete opposite of what the tip suggests.

Entering the code has no effect at all on brands of phone other than Nokia.

[hobby]

For Forthbridge:

Many thanks for your google search above. Thank goodness we have 'cynical' forum members. I had not thought that such advice was suspect. I shall now warn Mrs Hobby and therefore all to whom she emailed that 'reserve power' segment. My mobile phone battery, and Mrs Hobby's, was not weak enough to try that code when we were notified (in good faith by the originator of that email to Mrs Hobby). Sorry to cause any problems to anyone who might have tried the 'reserve power' code.

I shall try to remember to 'google' all such tips in future.

The ICE is a very good idea and has proved useful to others in the area covered by our local hospital.

[forthbridge]

Hi Hobby

AS the quote says, no harm could be done by the code - but you never know! ;-)

There are lots of references on the search that say the tip is correct, along with other ones such as, 'If you lock your keys in the car, phone whoever has a spare set, and get them to point the key at the phone, hold your mobile to the car and it will unlock' .... :think:

As far as I am aware, 'emergency calls only' is when your own network coverage is non-existant or downgraded, and/or no SIM is present, as the entire UK network operates a universal emergency connection system, IE O2 could connect through an orange transmitter for emergency calls, although you would get 'network barred' or similar if you tried to connect to that network through searching for it.

No harm done in the original post Hobby ;-)

[Garry Russell]

Hobby...........good post in fact

it has brought it out in the open and the useful bits have been seperated from the useless.

So now everyone can make the best of it

Thanks for that

Garry