22 February 2007

I'm on drugs.

Yes, I'm guilty of of writing that title to get some attention. My drug is caffeine. I'm off today and am on my second cup of coffee. Drinking it makes me feel like I want to do a million things at once. The first thing I'm going to do is write this post.

I got a forwarded e-mail yesterday, this one titled 'cell phone tricks.' The person who sent it said she hadn't tried any of the 'tricks' yet. I never forward anything without running it by the Urban Legends website first. I've been guilty of forwarding things that turned out to be untrue before, and learned my lesson. So, I was intrigued by the cell phone tricks, and tried them out for myself. Turns out to be something I would forward. I'm pasting them here because I think it's worth passing on.

Cell Phone Tricks

1. 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.
I tried this and had to apologize to the operator because it did connect me with the emergency service. I did not try it with the keypad locked.

2. 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).
I tried it this morning. Emily called me from the bus stop which was out of range for the remote. We were able to unlock and lock my car. I think this is priceless!

3. Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell 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 next time.
I didn't try this one. My battery is not low.

4. How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone? To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # The 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. If your phone gets 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.
I know that entering the code will display the serial number, but don't know if the rest is true.

5. Instead of calling 411 and being charged for information, use (800) FREE-411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all.
This does work.

Anyone else find these tips to be intriguing? With that said, it's time for me to get up and going. There's only so many hours in the day.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Number 2 and number 3 seem especially helpful. I almost wrote that I would print them and keep a copy in my car...

Amanda said...

Hmmm...fascinating. Almost makes me wish I were a cell-phone person. :)

Anonymous said...

Very interesting. I like the fact that you've tested them out as well. I think it's a good idea to keep a copy in the car as well...you never know when you might need info like this...

Billy said...

Awesome. I love the last one. I am so one of those people who should probably carry a phone book with them in the car.

Kristen said...

Weird. I was sent that email and went to "snopes" to check it out and was told the tricks do NOT work.

You got the car to unlock?

Cheryl said...

kristen That is weird. First, I guess I didn't do my research well because I couldn't find it on Snopes. Also, I did try the tips out, and they did work, including unlocking my car.

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