cell phone help please

[dsichewski]

Hey everyone,

I don't know a whole lot about cell phones so I thought I would ask the board since many of you do.
I have a sony ericsson w810i and have had it since aug 07....been a great phone never had any problems up until my mom's coffee spilt on it in my cup holder in my car about a week and a half ago. I dried off my phone and now the phone will turn off on its own, when I start it up it will work fine on the walkman setting but when i choose start phone it will bring up the desktop screen and then shut off. sometimes if i click "calls" fast enough the phone will load and will work...until it turns itself off again or I turn it around and it shuts off...So basically I've come to the conclusion that the coffee screwed up the memory board but not the battery as the sticker on the batter is still white not pink or red.

My question is with me being on a contract would i be able to buy someone else's phone same model, maybe just diff color to replace mine? if so what would all be required to switch my stuff to that phone? I've heard talk about a sim card but what does it really do?

any help would be greatly appreciated!

[dentinger]

who are you with?

[dsichewski]

who are you with?

Sorry I forgot to add that...

Rogers, I'm on a 3yr contract ending middle of this yr...

[Ogata]

who are you with?

same question. If you are with Rogers / Fido, I have a Nokia 6320 I can sell to you to test with as I used it with Fido and had no problems. All you need is to remove and hopefully your sim card didn't get coffee on it.

[dsichewski]

is it the sim card that they log all your information threw. ie. how many txts you have, how many calls made, long distance. etc?

[dentinger]

ok, i'll try to make this as simple to understand as possible.

yes you can buy another w810i. however, make sure the phone is locked to rogers.
if the phone is originally being used with fido when you buy it, you will have to "unlock" the phone. this will allow you to use your rogers sim card.
(i had to do this with my phone, only rogers to fido).

ive been with fido for almost 3 years, and im on my 3rd phone now. never had any problems.

and its too bad your contract isnt longer. my contract ends april 2nd, and i'll have a sweet sony ericsson C905 for sale....

[Ogata]

is it the sim card that they log all your information threw. ie. how many txts you have, how many calls made, long distance. etc?

your bread and butter that keeps your phone information and number so essentially...yes :star ( didn't see this smile until now)

[dentinger]

is it the sim card that they log all your information threw. ie. how many txts you have, how many calls made, long distance. etc?

the sim card only saves your contact info, and contract info i beleive.

[dsichewski]

ok, i'll try to make this as simple to understand as possible.

yes you can buy another w810i. however, make sure the phone is locked to rogers.
if the phone is originally being used with fido when you buy it, you will have to "unlock" the phone. this will allow you to use your rogers sim card.
(i had to do this with my phone, only rogers to fido).

ive been with fido for almost 3 years, and im on my 3rd phone now. never had any problems.

and its too bad your contract isnt longer. my contract ends april 2nd, and i'll have a sweet sony ericsson C905 for sale....

ok so I'm guessing there is a fee of some sort to "unlock" the phone?
My contract ends at end of July beginning of Aug.....was looking at going over to a BB...but wasn't really worrying about it ATM as I have this contract to finish up....more was just hoping i could pick up the same phone for like 50bucks (someones who's done there contract and moved on kinda thing) and just carry on like nothing happened lol


the sim card only saves your contact info, and contract info i beleive.


oh ok so more like a brain of sorts?

[dsichewski]

same question. If you are with Rogers / Fido, I have a Nokia 6320 I can sell to you to test with as I used it with Fido and had no problems. All you need is to remove and hopefully your sim card didn't get coffee on it.

Thanks I will keep that in mind...
Is the sim card the piece that looks like a memory stick but is a bit smaller and white?

[Ogata]

Thanks I will keep that in mind...
Is the sim card the piece that looks like a memory stick but is a bit smaller and white?

more or less with your provider's logo on it so yes :star

[dentinger]

ok so I'm guessing there is a fee of some sort to "unlock" the phone?
My contract ends at end of July beginning of Aug.....was looking at going over to a BB...but wasn't really worrying about it ATM as I have this contract to finish up....more was just hoping i could pick up the same phone for like 50bucks (someones who's done there contract and moved on kinda thing) and just carry on like nothing happened lol

oh ok so more like a brain of sorts?

yes. i did mine online for something like $12.
kiosks at the mall can do it for you, but they may charge more. the charge various for different phones tho, i think.

im not sure how much your phone is, but i'd just go with a cheaper phone for the time being.
or, dependiing how much your buyout is, just buyout the rest of your contract. however, i think mine with fido is $40, but yet, its still cheaper than my monthly plan.

and brain, yes, in a way.
im not THAT cell phone literate, but i guess you could call it that.

[Ogata]

yes. i did mine online for something like $12.
kiosks at the mall can do it for you, but they may charge more. the charge various for different phones tho, i think.

im not sure how much your phone is, but i'd just go with a cheaper phone for the time being.
or, dependiing how much your buyout is, just buyout the rest of your contract. however, i think mine with fido is $40, but yet, its still cheaper than my monthly plan.

and brain, yes, in a way.
im not THAT cell phone literate, but i guess you could call it that.

If its not far for you, you can get a cheap phone (new / used) unlocked at pacific mall or I can sell you my old Nokia 6230 depending on your budget and we can test out the quirks.

[PCLoadLetter]

You can use any unlocked GSM phone that runs on the 850 / 1900 frequencies. If you buy a new phone, be aware that not all phones cover these. Make sure it at least has 850 or is a quad-band.

Before you jump ship on your Sony, I would try a factory reset. Boot up your phone and hit the calls button like you said so it doesn't turn off. Go to settings/tools and look for a factory reset option. If it asks for a password, try "0000", "12345", "00000", etc...

[dsichewski]

You can use any unlocked GSM phone that runs on the 850 / 1900 frequencies. If you buy a new phone, be aware that not all phones cover these. Make sure it at least has 850 or is a quad-band.

your speaking giberish on me. lol



Before you jump ship on your Sony, I would try a factory reset. Boot up your phone and hit the calls button like you said so it doesn't turn off. Go to settings/tools and look for a factory reset option. If it asks for a password, try "0000", "12345", "00000", etc...

thanks I just tried that so far everything seems to be working now.....never would have thought to do a reset....I will leave it on over night and see if it shuts off.




Thanks for all the help guys really appreciate it!!!

[dsichewski]

If its not far for you, you can get a cheap phone (new / used) unlocked at pacific mall or I can sell you my old Nokia 6230 depending on your budget and we can test out the quirks.

I just tried PCloadletter's suggestion and so far the phone is working ok. will know more in the morning after leaving it sit over night...

I'm over in Kitchener....But if things go south with the phone in the end I'll keep your offer in mind. Thanks!