I was travelling last week by plane when I received instruction not to use my mobile in flight mode. I was hoping to watch a few movies on my phone and to listen to some quality music. So what good is flight mode if airlines don't allow it?
They're idiots. It's happened to me too. Tell them it's not receiving or transmitting - it's a PDA.
Do exactly like Guilf said. Most flight attendants just think its another dumbass who thinks they are an exception to the rule. Just politely explain that you are not transmitting or receiving. I personally tell them its a PDA to begin with. Saves me the trouble of having to get into a technical discussion with someone who make $27,000 and is nothing more than a glorified air waiter/waitress. Now don't get me wrong I've met some cool flight attendents, but the majority are not going to understand something more technical than putting music on their iPod.
I do, however, have some choice words for the "exceptions" who do use their phones without turning flight mode on...
the funny thing is that mythbusters basically said that phones don't do anything in planes. lol
This is true, while I wouldn't run around saying that a Mythbuster show is equivalent to scientific fact, today's air plane technology makes it pretty much impossible for interference from cell phones to occur. At the same time, I would hate to be the jackass who caused the plane to crash that one time interference did occur. Just do the responsible thing and put it in Flight Mode.
brynwall said:
the funny thing is that mythbusters basically said that phones don't do anything in planes. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortuantly phones CAN affect aircraft systems - and i know because i'm an avionic engineer. Although the chances of your phone having a detectable effect is pretty slim.
The (recent / impending) introduction of inflight mobile service is based on putting a picocell onboard so you phone can only talk to the aircraft's cell - even when you would normally be able to receive a different one - and as the phone is close the the cell, it transmits at very low power.
Currently (in the UK atleast) mobiles are still not allowed to be used on the flight deck (in flight) as close proximity to the instruments does cause interference.
There is no reason why you cant use your device in "flight mode" when any other electrical/electronic devices are allowed - but regardless of that, if you p*ss the crew off enough they'll simply divert and/or have you arrested! Best to speak nicely to the hostie!
YMMV - I use BA a lot, and they always tell you to put your cell phone into flight mode or turn it off. Aer Lingus doesn't know about this mode - at least the FAs I had didn't know about it. State-side; some crews on Alaska know about it, SWA crews don't.
Some people don't understand flight mode too, and after turning on flight mode they whip out their bluetooth headsets and they think its OK. Just few weeks ago I was seated with some dumb asshole who got pissed when I told him using BT headset with his PDA is *not* using it in a flightmode, and he made such a scene when attendant told him to just turn it off.
Flightmode supposed to turn off ANY radio signals in/out, but its not the case with many phones and PDAs because users can still manually turn on wifi or bluetooth radio while in the flightmode (which is the case with our Kaisers).
And those short range but strong signal radios (wifi and bt) are IMHO most dangerous for the plane's electronics than the typical GSM radio at all.
Do not think all attendants are idiots. Certainly some of them are indeed, but so are many of passengers too
I rather fly with a pissed off idiot beside me and arrive safely - than take any chances of having something on the plane disrupted or not functioning just to please some idiot passenger.
-888- said:
And those short range but strong signal radios (wifi and bt) are IMHO most dangerous for the plane's electronics than the typical GSM radio at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strong signal? Come on, BT only uses 10mW, 100mW for Wifi. GSM will blast 2/4W, so 200-400 times more power than BT.
Have you ever heard your speakers buzzing with BT/WiFi? That's common with GSM though...
There are airplanes equipped with WiFi access points...
kilrah said:
Strong signal? Come on, BT only uses 10mW, 100mW for Wifi. GSM will blast 2/4W, so 200-400 times more power than BT.
Have you ever heard your speakers buzzing with BT/WiFi? That's common with GSM though...
There are airplanes equipped with WiFi access points...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about GPS?
Does it work inside aircrafts? I tried to turn on GPS in trains to China but it doesn't seem to receive any signal.
If we could use GPS and Wifi in airplanes, that would be fun
GPS sometimes works if you are at the window, and it depends on the plane. But you have a nice faraday cage around you, so reception isn't usually that good.
My phone always gets a good GPS signal on planes sitting by the window.
Its funny to watch TOMTOM tell me im doing 489 miles per hour as i pass though villages!
I travel every week.
Usually, all it takes is showing the person the little "x" symbol next to the phone icon to prove that it is off.
I know that it takes SEVERAL phones to all be on to trigger any negative effects to the aircraft.
The funny part for me is when flight attendants get on the PA and state "our instruments still show several phones in the on position and we cannot take off until they are shut off"... like they have some sort of sniffer hookup next to the coffee maker and rubber chicken entree dispenser.
Of course, it is always just easier to find the butt on his BB that thinks that his conversation is so important that the rest of the plane should wait. Last Tuesday, some yahoo next to me on the flight to LA wouldn't turn his phone off until the FA finally told him that if he didn't shut off his phone NOW they were going to remove him from the plane.
My take.
In that West Wing episode, when interrupted from using his cell phone by a flight attendant, Communications Director Toby Ziegler argues, "We're flying in a Lockheed Eagle Series L-1011. Came off the line twenty months ago. Carries a Sim-5 transponder tracking system, and you're telling me I can still flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?"
Everybody knows, including most flight attendants, that cell phones pose no danger whatsoever to planes or their navigation equipment. What they do pose, however, is a threat to the tranquility enjoyed by passengers that cell phone use would disrupt. We already have an FCC ban against phones based on outdated technological concerns, but we still need the ban to make flying less annoying; so rather than bothering to redraft the law, why not leave it intact and continue to enforce it?
If you want to fire up BeeLineGPS and see how fast and high you're going, do it subtly on the side of your leg. Stewardesses who don't understand that a GPS receiver simply receives signals and is no more dangerous than an iPod won't be convinced by your explanation and will instead identify you as a difficult pain in the ass and be pissed that you think you are above ze law.
So go with it. This won't change anytime soon.
BeeLineGPS rules, by the way.
Related
I was on a trip yesterday and I noticed that when I turned on flight mode, it also turned off Bluetooth. I have a bluetooth GPS receiver that I use with my Alpline but wasn't able to in the plane because when I turned off my phone it also killed my Bluetooth.
:?: Is there a simple way to turn of JUST the phone radio, but leave the bluetooth up? My XDA II allowed me to turn off the phone's radio and leave bluetooth up. It just looks like bluetooth, WiFi and Phone have all just been lumped into Flight mode. Is there a system tweak or even a utility? I would be ok with either. Just found this annnoying. Thanks in advance for answering my question.
genghis said:
I was on a trip yesterday and I noticed that when I turned on flight mode, it also turned off Bluetooth. I have a bluetooth GPS receiver that I use with my Alpline but wasn't able to in the plane because when I turned off my phone it also killed my Bluetooth.
:?: Is there a simple way to turn of JUST the phone radio, but leave the bluetooth up? My XDA II allowed me to turn off the phone's radio and leave bluetooth up. It just looks like bluetooth, WiFi and Phone have all just been lumped into Flight mode. Is there a system tweak or even a utility? I would be ok with either. Just found this annnoying. Thanks in advance for answering my question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no way that I know to have flight mode on and still be able to use bluetooth, wifi or gprs on the XDAIIi.
I also know that you can on the XDAIIs.
Actually there is.
Check this thread : http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=36788&highlight=flight+mode
The interesting part is :
Code:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\HTC\FlightMode]
"IsFMCheckEnable"=dword:00000000
"WarningMsg"="Please turn Flight Mode off first"
Change "IsFMCheckEnable"=dword:00000001 to "IsFMCheckEnable"=dword:00000000
It allows you to use WiFi and Bluetooth while in flight mode. I found about this only minutes ago, and I'm sure glad I did
Cheerio !
I'm pretty sure that on flights it is illegal to use any form of wireless transmission hence BT & WiFi turning off at the same time as GSM. This is because they are all in the microwave band and can allegedly interfere with aircraft instruments.
If all else fails, turn flight mode on, turn BT on, the phone part will ask for a PIN which you must enabled this, select cancel and the phone part will turn off again leaving the BT active.
Thank you Mr_Smoke!
That App Radio Off works GREAT! I knew there had to be a simple fix.
:arrow: Bluetooth interference with instruments debunked:
http://www.bluetooth.com/NR/rdonlyr...7E/0/Aircraft_Safety_Report_for_Bluetooth.pdf
:!: Good article where they tested a 727 and 747 with bluetooth devices. They state that both UHF and VHF had a VERY remote chance of interference, but that the threshold would drop off before the device could emit enough power to actually interfere. Communications devices on aircraft have all been shielded and tested to higher energy levels than a simple BT signal from a PDA could push out. The only cavet is that use is prohibited during critical phase of flight (take off and landing) which is when the airlines currently make you turn off your devices.
I love using a BT GPS receiver (I put it up to the window and close the window shade to hold it in place) with Pocket Earth.
http://www.bluepointstudios.com/www/?fuseaction=product.poe
Its a VERY sweet program to show you where you are, direction you are headed, speed, and estimated time to your arrival. The only thing I wish that program had was altitude information which I emailed them as a suggestion for their next revision to their software.
pug said:
If all else fails, turn flight mode on, turn BT on, the phone part will ask for a PIN which you must enabled this, select cancel and the phone part will turn off again leaving the BT active.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sure about this Pug? The message says that only emergency calls can be made until the pin is entered, that would suggest that the phone is still functional.
Or is this different to the message/routine at start up?
On a far more important note, I hear your looking at jumping ship to an Universal - what are we going to do without you? :wink:
Tom
No need to worry, the missus is having the Alpine for Tomtom etc. A bit of a waste know but it' too big for her for everyday use. I'll still be looking about here in the Alpine section, don't want to let my fans down now.
Hello all,
There is a soft fieldtest_157 - it just shows network.
Is there some soft for HTC TyNT II WM6, allows to lock on certain GSM base station by frequency?
Thanks
LoL what are you guys up too?
I work for all the major carriers and i cannot for the life of me figure out why you guys need these oddball software programs. Everything we need at work is provided. Granted it would be cool to have RMT 30 on my phone and be able to plug it directly into the 4.0b modcell but beyond the "how cool am i" part. I dont get it.
Well, its very usefull that you are able to lock your phone on a certain cell, in the case your phone is frequency hopping, for instance when you are standing in a skyraiser your phone will see different cells and will select a different cell each time its about 3 dBm stronger. well standing in a tall building causes that easily. you will see roughly 50 different cells and the 20 are almost the same strenght => causing your phone to go nuts and you are unable to make a proper phone call.
At this point you take control your self and lock your phone on a certain cell and you can call without problems.
lots of oddballs
there's users of random gender who love their phones so much they'll use them for pleasure, such a sick world when you read or see someone gettin jiggy with their phones or electronics. what became of us in today's world of human society?
stringbean82 said:
Well, its very usefull that you are able to lock your phone on a certain cell, in the case your phone is frequency hopping, for instance when you are standing in a skyraiser your phone will see different cells and will select a different cell each time its about 3 dBm stronger. well standing in a tall building causes that easily. you will see roughly 50 different cells and the 20 are almost the same strenght => causing your phone to go nuts and you are unable to make a proper phone call.
At this point you take control your self and lock your phone on a certain cell and you can call without problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your phone will make a handover to another cell only if your serving cell condition is bad. let the network handle it...
stringbean82 said:
Well, its very usefull that you are able to lock your phone on a certain cell, in the case your phone is frequency hopping, for instance when you are standing in a skyraiser your phone will see different cells and will select a different cell each time its about 3 dBm stronger. well standing in a tall building causes that easily. you will see roughly 50 different cells and the 20 are almost the same strenght => causing your phone to go nuts and you are unable to make a proper phone call.
At this point you take control your self and lock your phone on a certain cell and you can call without problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More real adventure of this option, if user into the traffic jump, or on the stadion all phones connect with the nearest BTS and network busy, you can manually connect to the more far station and make a call. Also hepful if it is more near roaming BTS then mother's - possibly to manually connect with it for avoid roaming extracharge.
Frequency lock
Hi,
Just like what the TS was asking, I too am looking for an application similar to NETMON/FIELDTEST of Nokia that has "Frequency locking" capability that is compatible with my HTC WM6. It is really necessary in my field to do a frequency channel lock specially during commissioning of a new BTS and/or MSS so I can force my location update on that test BTS. I am able to do this with nokia NETMON or with its version of FIELDTEST app by selecting 112 display & entering the "frequency" value of the test BTS.
Is it really asking too much? I am really hoping that our phone can support this kind of application.
Hope to hear from our expert gurus here.
Thanks!
If you think this is a fraud, please don't read any further. If you're an admin and think this is inappropriate, please delete this post. I just want to share my finding.
This may help you guys to get free trial for Sirius and XM radio for a while.
1- use this legally link to create a new email path for your real email.
2- Then use this new email address to register for your free account (3 days on Sirius and 7 days on XM radio).
3- You shouldn't abuse it too much, according to the rule, you can only create 1 account per email address
I don't think this is illegal, or considering as crack or hack... since they offered it to people who has an email address
So that you know, I did subscribe for a full year package on Sirius, but it's just damn too expensive it's like getting another cellphone plan.
Why XM radio so expensive? more than $17/month. I paid $150/year.
PS: get your Sirius and XM radio player here
nice found this would probably be useful for pandora too
Keland44 said:
nice found this would probably be useful for pandora too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a free soft for Pandora on the Fuze?
well see in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=407305&highlight=pandora they offer a cab from the incite for pandora which does work but it has you register with your email and it gives you a one day trial but using that jetable site you can probably give yourself a couple of days worth of use oh i forgot to mention that i think the cab will only work for ATT
Keland44 said:
well see in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=407305&highlight=pandora they offer a cab from the incite for pandora which does work but it has you register with your email and it gives you a one day trial but using that jetable site you can probably give yourself a couple of days worth of use oh i forgot to mention that i think the cab will only work for ATT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pandora doesn't let Canadian User to register anyway...
I use audio scrobbler/lastfm windows mobile client. Crappy interface but nice Pandora like song selection
This is pure silliness. You can get Free sirius radio on an actual sirius radio pretty easy if you are patient. Here is how to do it.
First some background.
The way the sirius, and xm for that matter work is, a signal is sent from the satellites telling it to activate, and what channels it can have. There is no way for the radio to communicate to the satellites, or to sirius or xm at all. The providers have to send a signal which turns if off after deactivation. If the radio never gets this signal, it will not deactivate.
Now, how long will they keep sending the deactivate signal. I'm not sure. Some say 3 months. but there is no way to actually know for sure without talking to them. It takes months. I also have a trick that will make sure you will get this to work.
Get sirius, and pay for service. You have to be out of trial. Or if you have sirius already...
Turn off the radio, disconnect the antenna.
Do not trun it on or connect antenna at ALL!
Call sirius and tell them your radio Broke. This is improtant, If the radio is broke, why keep sending a signal to it?
You will either have to purchase a new radio, or talk them into a free one. Most cases you will get a discount if you tell them you will cancel your subscription.
Once the new radio comes, Put it in your car, and activate it.
Take the old radio, keep it in the base and keep power to it, so it does not loose memory. The memory will keep for some time, but it will die at some point requiring reactivation.
No listen to your sirius, and keep paying for a bit.
wait 6 months, a year is safer.
Hook your disconnected radio back up to antenna and turn it on.
HOLY SMOKES ITS STILL ACTIVATED!!!!
Yes, this works. If you don't believe me, I don't care. Will just rock out for free and you wont.
How did I find this out? I had a radio where the antenna broke while active. I called up sirius and told them my radio didn't work any more and I wanted to cancel because I was not gonna spend any money on a new radio. They sold me one for $15 and credited me a few months, which took care of the cost of the radio and then some. I didn't think anything of this. Had that radio sitting on the shelf for a long time. Almost 2 years. Yes the memory held, but I wouldn't take a chance doing it a second time. About 6 months ago I put the radio in a base to see if it sill worked and to my surprise it was still activated. I did the math and figured how it worked. Still going free.
Do I feel bad about this? NO. Why? Because I still pay for sirius. I have 2 other vehicles I pay for. I use the free on in the house. I used to just take the receiver in every day because I have a base hooked to my stereo.
I can only listen to one at a time. So if I switch from one to the other, whats the difference. Anyway, whatever.:silly:
pandaboyy said:
If you think this is a fraud, please don't read any further. If you're an admin and think this is inappropriate, please delete this post. I just want to share my finding.
This may help you guys to get free trial for Sirius and XM radio for a while.
1- use this legally link to create a new email path for your real email.
2- Then use this new email address to register for your free account (3 days on Sirius and 7 days on XM radio).
3- You shouldn't abuse it too much, according to the rule, you can only create 1 account per email address
I don't think this is illegal, or considering as crack or hack... since they offered it to people who has an email address
So that you know, I did subscribe for a full year package on Sirius, but it's just damn too expensive it's like getting another cellphone plan.
Why XM radio so expensive? more than $17/month. I paid $150/year.
PS: get your Sirius and XM radio player here
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Free Sirius Lifetime 2.0
mchaos said:
This is pure silliness. You can get Free sirius radio on an actual sirius radio pretty easy if you are patient. Here is how to do it.
First some background.
The way the sirius, and xm for that matter work is, a signal is sent from the satellites telling it to activate, and what channels it can have. There is no way for the radio to communicate to the satellites, or to sirius or xm at all. The providers have to send a signal which turns if off after deactivation. If the radio never gets this signal, it will not deactivate.
Now, how long will they keep sending the deactivate signal. I'm not sure. Some say 3 months. but there is no way to actually know for sure without talking to them. It takes months. I also have a trick that will make sure you will get this to work.
Get sirius, and pay for service. You have to be out of trial. Or if you have sirius already...
Turn off the radio, disconnect the antenna.
Do not trun it on or connect antenna at ALL!
Call sirius and tell them your radio Broke. This is improtant, If the radio is broke, why keep sending a signal to it?
You will either have to purchase a new radio, or talk them into a free one. Most cases you will get a discount if you tell them you will cancel your subscription.
Once the new radio comes, Put it in your car, and activate it.
Take the old radio, keep it in the base and keep power to it, so it does not loose memory. The memory will keep for some time, but it will die at some point requiring reactivation.
No listen to your sirius, and keep paying for a bit.
wait 6 months, a year is safer.
Hook your disconnected radio back up to antenna and turn it on.
HOLY SMOKES ITS STILL ACTIVATED!!!!
Yes, this works. If you don't believe me, I don't care. Will just rock out for free and you wont.
How did I find this out? I had a radio where the antenna broke while active. I called up sirius and told them my radio didn't work any more and I wanted to cancel because I was not gonna spend any money on a new radio. They sold me one for $15 and credited me a few months, which took care of the cost of the radio and then some. I didn't think anything of this. Had that radio sitting on the shelf for a long time. Almost 2 years. Yes the memory held, but I wouldn't take a chance doing it a second time. About 6 months ago I put the radio in a base to see if it sill worked and to my surprise it was still activated. I did the math and figured how it worked. Still going free.
Do I feel bad about this? NO. Why? Because I still pay for sirius. I have 2 other vehicles I pay for. I use the free on in the house. I used to just take the receiver in every day because I have a base hooked to my stereo.
I can only listen to one at a time. So if I switch from one to the other, whats the difference. Anyway, whatever.:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is an even better way.
1. Get a Radio (I got one cheap at a garage sale)
2. Pay for the ongoing monthly plan (approx. $15 per month + $15 activation)
3. Activate and listen for awhile
4. Once you know your radio is activated and working, turn it off and disconnect the antenna
5. Cancel the subscription, act as if the radio was broken AND/OR you are moving to an area with NO SERVICE. This will keep them from constantly annoying you with offers..
6. Wait approx. 3 months. I personally waited exactly 4 months + 1 day to be safe, but many other people have waited less.
7. Finally, turn on the radio and enjoy free (super-cheap) lifetime subscription
For those worried about wasting ~$40, Sirius regularly will try to give you discounted plans once you "quit". For example, I could have gotten 6 legitimate months for $20 AND free activation. In other words, if it doesn't work for you, you still have a good plan to go off of. For those trying this out, please post success stories regarding the time waited and other factors. Thanks and good luck!
Dreadhawk177 said:
There is an even better way.
For those worried about wasting ~$40, Sirius regularly will try to give you discounted plans once you "quit". For example, I could have gotten 6 legitimate months for $20 AND free activation. In other words, if it doesn't work for you, you still have a good plan to go off of. For those trying this out, please post success stories regarding the time waited and other factors. Thanks and good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does this also work for traffic subscription? Does this method keep this active?
On Cars and Traffic
Taboltini said:
Does this also work for traffic subscription? Does this method keep this active?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, yes. Essentially, all the data is being sent everywhere by 3-4 satellites. Everyone gets these signals, but your sirius device must be activated via code sent in through the satellites. Once you cancel your subscription or it otherwise runs out, the satellites send a "kill signal" along with the music and other data. If your particular radio is listening, it will read that signal and deactivate. I'm not 100% sure how doing this method with in-car devices would be different, but I'd imagine that you'd need to just cut the antenna and/or keep your actual radio powered off. I know that somebody put their motorcycle in a big garage over the winter and their subscription was canceled, and when he turned it on next spring everything worked. In short, unless the traffic costs extra or is something entirely separate, you would be fine. Good luck!
As far as I know, the method hasn't been extensively tested on in-car radios and such. I am not 100% sure cutting power to the radio would be enough to prevent the signal from killing your radio's subscription. Cutting the antenna should work, though. Please test in the future.:fingers-crossed:
But... is it possible to record and to emulate SXM activation signal?
Taboltini said:
But... is it possible to record and to emulate SXM activation signal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically, yes. You would probably need a software defined radio though, and there might be a problem if they cryptographically secure the activation using something time sensitive or one-time as to prevent replay attacks. What I would be interested in is a way to open the device and make it ignore all activation signals and think it's activated no matter what.
By the way, I'm gonna try this with the OnyX EZ that came free with our car subscription. I know there used to be XM and Sirius, so I'm not entirely sure if it will work with mine because most posts are like 2010, but I'll report back. Mine is SiriusXM. I will get the all access for a couple weeks, make sure it all works, unplug power and antenna, cancel saying it broke, wait ~5-6 months to be safe, and hopefully remember to report back here.
My only concern is that by now they broadcast a max length with activation, and the devices handle their own deactivation as well.
I have a 3 month all access to sirius xm that came qith my new vehicle. I like it but the monthly subscription is a killer. I only ever laiten to radio when Im in my car, which is only about 30 minutes a day. I also want to keep the subscription but they charge you arm and leg. Is the signal specific to the antenna. Can I change the antenna and just use normal radio sstations for a few months and reconnect the antenna after maybe 3 months? Has anyone tried this?
mchaos said:
This is pure silliness. You can get Free sirius radio on an actual sirius radio pretty easy if you are patient. Here is how to do it.
First some background.
The way the sirius, and xm for that matter work is, a signal is sent from the satellites telling it to activate, and what channels it can have. There is no way for the radio to communicate to the satellites, or to sirius or xm at all. The providers have to send a signal which turns if off after deactivation. If the radio never gets this signal, it will not deactivate.
Now, how long will they keep sending the deactivate signal. I'm not sure. Some say 3 months. but there is no way to actually know for sure without talking to them. It takes months. I also have a trick that will make sure you will get this to work.
Get sirius, and pay for service. You have to be out of trial. Or if you have sirius already...
Turn off the radio, disconnect the antenna.
Do not trun it on or connect antenna at ALL!
Call sirius and tell them your radio Broke. This is improtant, If the radio is broke, why keep sending a signal to it?
You will either have to purchase a new radio, or talk them into a free one. Most cases you will get a discount if you tell them you will cancel your subscription.
Once the new radio comes, Put it in your car, and activate it.
Take the old radio, keep it in the base and keep power to it, so it does not loose memory. The memory will keep for some time, but it will die at some point requiring reactivation.
No listen to your sirius, and keep paying for a bit.
wait 6 months, a year is safer.
Hook your disconnected radio back up to antenna and turn it on.
HOLY SMOKES ITS STILL ACTIVATED!!!!
Yes, this works. If you don't believe me, I don't care. Will just rock out for free and you wont.
How did I find this out? I had a radio where the antenna broke while active. I called up sirius and told them my radio didn't work any more and I wanted to cancel because I was not gonna spend any money on a new radio. They sold me one for $15 and credited me a few months, which took care of the cost of the radio and then some. I didn't think anything of this. Had that radio sitting on the shelf for a long time. Almost 2 years. Yes the memory held, but I wouldn't take a chance doing it a second time. About 6 months ago I put the radio in a base to see if it sill worked and to my surprise it was still activated. I did the math and figured how it worked. Still going free.
Do I feel bad about this? NO. Why? Because I still pay for sirius. I have 2 other vehicles I pay for. I use the free on in the house. I used to just take the receiver in every day because I have a base hooked to my stereo.
I can only listen to one at a time. So if I switch from one to the other, whats the difference. Anyway, whatever.:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This trick works ?
gendarky said:
This trick works ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works like a charm. Disconnected old radios and deactivated them, a long time later, plugged them in, and they both worked.
wonder about the "never turn it off" theory?
First, I'm glad to see all these confirmations. I've been following threads like this for a while and hope it works, because I may need it soon. I'm on a fixed income now and can't afford the monthly charge, but like some of you i discovered that if you call and persist in requesting cancellation, they do offer some reasonable and affordable packages, around $20 for 5 or 6 months depending on whether you want sports packages or something. Especially if you've been a customer for a while. But last time I did this was around April of this year (2016) and they warned me that all their rates are going up around October, which is right around the time my 6 months expire. So if they have no more good final offers, I'll have to try turning the radio off for several months and cancelling.
I have a question though. I had also heard that these radios only "listen" for the authorization signals when they first power up. I guess that's possible, but I've never seen a confirmation. If its true, it wouldn't be a big deal for me to hook up my home base unit to an UPS, and leave it on all the time, or even wire it into an 'always on" power source in the car (doubt it would run the battery down). But I've never seen this theory confirmed. Any thoughts?
peterpanpixyland said:
First, I'm glad to see all these confirmations. I've been following threads like this for a while and hope it works, because I may need it soon. I'm on a fixed income now and can't afford the monthly charge, but like some of you i discovered that if you call and persist in requesting cancellation, they do offer some reasonable and affordable packages, around $20 for 5 or 6 months depending on whether you want sports packages or something. Especially if you've been a customer for a while. But last time I did this was around April of this year (2016) and they warned me that all their rates are going up around October, which is right around the time my 6 months expire. So if they have no more good final offers, I'll have to try turning the radio off for several months and cancelling.
I have a question though. I had also heard that these radios only "listen" for the authorization signals when they first power up. I guess that's possible, but I've never seen a confirmation. If its true, it wouldn't be a big deal for me to hook up my home base unit to an UPS, and leave it on all the time, or even wire it into an 'always on" power source in the car (doubt it would run the battery down). But I've never seen this theory confirmed. Any thoughts?
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I doubt it works reliably long term, I had a receiver last a few months after being disconnected (it was my summer car off the road, so it was a combination of events).
But sirius runs free trials a few times during the year where they activate ALL deactivated receivers as bait for old customers and off trial new vehicles. A week after the trial is over they shut down the entire list of inactive receivers (including your disconnected esn). So you would have to know when these trials occur because once they end your esn will be on the black list to get shut down.
The only theory that should work is to go after the onboard memory chip within the receiver, basically prevent it from erasing its channel lineup. A guy mentioned it on a different forum but no one has been able to confirm which pins on the sdrom chip needs to be grounded to prevent channel list erasing (its receiver specific). In principle this method would work flawlessly and the only downside would be being stuck with the same channels even if siriusxm updates their channel line up, you would still get the old channel lists but at least they would work. Each esn has an encryption key that gets renewed every so often and if that does not match up, it will once again fail to receive channels so its a shot in the dark but may be neat to look into as a mod hobby.
Personally I wouldnt bother with the disconnect trick, hunt for trials and enjoy the discounted rates, then ask them for another 6 months, or disconnect it for a while and try again for a trial. But they have the system pretty well figured out, after all its their business to ensure non paying radios are cut off. The worst part of it is having to pay for multiple vehicles, I can only drive one car at a time yet each one needs a separate unit, kind of silly on their part not to have a reduced rate for a 2nd/3rd receiver on the same account.
Maybe some experts can chime on how a 54 pin synchronous DRAM chip works.
linuxglobal said:
I doubt it works reliably long term, I had a receiver last a few months after being disconnected (it was my summer car off the road, so it was a combination of events).
But sirius runs free trials a few times during the year where they activate ALL deactivated receivers as bait for old customers and off trial new vehicles. A week after the trial is over they shut down the entire list of inactive receivers (including your disconnected esn). So you would have to know when these trials occur because once they end your esn will be on the black list to get shut down.
The only theory that should work is to go after the onboard memory chip within the receiver, basically prevent it from erasing its channel lineup. A guy mentioned it on a different forum but no one has been able to confirm which pins on the sdrom chip needs to be grounded to prevent channel list erasing (its receiver specific). In principle this method would work flawlessly and the only downside would be being stuck with the same channels even if siriusxm updates their channel line up, you would still get the old channel lists but at least they would work. Each esn has an encryption key that gets renewed every so often and if that does not match up, it will once again fail to receive channels so its a shot in the dark but may be neat to look into as a mod hobby.
Personally I wouldnt bother with the disconnect trick, hunt for trials and enjoy the discounted rates, then ask them for another 6 months, or disconnect it for a while and try again for a trial. But they have the system pretty well figured out, after all its their business to ensure non paying radios are cut off. The worst part of it is having to pay for multiple vehicles, I can only drive one car at a time yet each one needs a separate unit, kind of silly on their part not to have a reduced rate for a 2nd/3rd receiver on the same account.
Maybe some experts can chime on how a 54 pin synchronous DRAM chip works.
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Hmmm... everything you're saying makes sense, but so many have verified that they had continuous use after leaving the radio disconnected for a good while, I can't help wondering if your theory is missing something. Interesting idea about the memory though. I'm pretty proficient in electronics, and it sounds like an interesting "rainy day" project. I'd imagine though that a unless an XM-Radio receiver is a standard module, distributed only by Serius and incorporated into everything from ONYX dash mount radios to all inclusive GPS and Radio systems supplied by auto manufactures, every implementation will be different. In fact, based on a lot of system on chip (SOIC) packages I've dealt with, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of radios don't even have a separate memory chip. Lots of these ICs have Ram and flash storage sufficient for a lot of programming tasks built right into the same chip with the CPU, so you couldn't get to it. Besides, if anything authorization parameters would be stored in a FLASH rather than DRAM memory, or they would all be lost when power is dropped.
I do agree... and I have in fact had little trouble requesting a more affordable package from Sirius, at least so far. But if they ever stop offering it, I might as well be equipped to give my best shot to finding a way around it. Its true, as you say, that they have to try to prevent freeloaders to make money. But like everything else, there is an 80/20 rule in place. In this case it means that 80% of the freeloaders can be eliminated with 20% of the work, but blocking that last 20% will require 80% more effort on their part. for most companies, the payoff for stopping that minority is not worth the effort. In fact, their offer of reduced fees is probably a major reason you don't see much a black market for permanently "enabled" radios.
Just tried this and it works, couldn't believe it. Unsubscribed about 3 months ago and it fully updated all of my channels upon power on, plus the trial is only so many channels and with the trial it will flash there subscription number on the screen.
New radios do not do this. Modern XM radios need a reactivation signal once in a while. MY older Sirius radios are still active and running, but the 2 years old XM radio that was activated but not on when the kill signal was sent...... 2 years later I powered it up and it went to update the channel list and popped up "No activation" after it was playing howard stern for 3 minutes. I was expecting them to fix this hole and it looks like the more modern radios do.
As the title reads, can the GPS be used with the phone turned off?
I am hoping to use it on a flight so I can track my route (for pure curiosity) but if it doesn't work....
doubt it
butterdori said:
As the title reads, can the GPS be used with the phone turned off?
I am hoping to use it on a flight so I can track my route (for pure curiosity) but if it doesn't work....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i know the GPS does not work when phone in airplane mode. perhaps if someone wrote an application that would disable the radio on the phone but keep gps alive. not sure if anyone would do that as i doubt the demand for such product/service/application is fairly minimal at the moment as personally i cant see the point of wanting to track my route (unless i was on ocenic flight 815!) or unless i owned my own private plane, but if i did then i would probably rely on more trustworthy equipment than the gps module on my diamond!
butterdori said:
As the title reads, can the GPS be used with the phone turned off?
I am hoping to use it on a flight so I can track my route (for pure curiosity) but if it doesn't work....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the GPS component of your phone can work while your phone is off.
Here is the Trick
If you haven't already, create a pin code before enabling your phone.
Path...Settings>Phone>Pin
Once you have created a pin, exist and go to CommManger. Here shut down your phone. Once that is done, turn it back on again. This time your phone will require a pin to turn your phone on. Instead of putting in your pin, hit cancel. Now you are free to use any navigational system without the concern that your phone is on.
Try it!
my phone tells me that without entering the pin i can only dial emergency nrs like 911
so is the radio really off?? because that is wat you want
tried it once on the airplane - still waiting on the runway though - but i got no signal...
Turning the cell radio off should leave GPS on, http://www.modaco.com/content/windows-mobile-news/272846/vario-iii-gps-470-mph/
The point is, because I'm an airplane/flightsim geek, i'm curious about what route the flight takes..
Anyway... conflicting opinions..
And I do think that the radio is still on if you are able to call emergency numbers(i.e. before PIN)
I was thinking, because the gps is integrated into the chipset and not an independent one like SiRFstar, once the phone module is of, so is the gps
The airplane mode does not interfere with workings of the GPS BUT some aircrafts are equipped with a screen that stops the GPS signal from penetrating the plane body. My personal findings are- new Boeings 7 series are equipped with the screen, Airbus A32x is fine.
The new 7 series? All Boeings are 7x7... if you meant the 777
As far as I know, GPS is used from time to time in the cockpit
butterdori said:
The point is, because I'm an airplane/flightsim geek, i'm curious about what route the flight takes..
Anyway... conflicting opinions..
And I do think that the radio is still on if you are able to call emergency numbers(i.e. before PIN)
I was thinking, because the gps is integrated into the chipset and not an independent one like SiRFstar, once the phone module is of, so is the gps
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Click to collapse
I used it once with my P3600 and that worked, the problem is that you can use it as long your above ground as soon you will fly over the sea there are no maps, at least not for TomTom.
And another problem is the speed the programm which I used (TomTom ) worked well but the update interval is that big that the nav engine got confused.
Willem
What if you use your phone without a SIM card? Never tried it, and it's too late to go outside and try it now lol.
I can confirm that GPS does work in airplane mode.. just checked it
I am not much of traveler, but i take airplanes once every 2-3 months in the last year, and i was always forbidden to use my mobile even in flight mode... are the crew members mistaken and tell me no for no reason, or are there some regulations?
i want to be able to turn on my mobile to listen to music or see a movie on the small screen, i have no intention to call anybody
the problem is that i ask for permission to be on the correct side, while others leave their mobile on all the way even during take-off and landing, i know this because i hear some mobiles ringing (welcome sms for network change) moments before touch down !!!
I am in Europe, maybe regulations are a bit different than USA....
Hi.
One thing that I know is that on French airlines, all electronic devices are forbidden during take off and landing. Even notebooks which have no communication systems.
But after taking off, there's no problem whatsoever...
That's just out of my own experience though..
mcbyte_it said:
I am not much of traveler, but i take airplanes once every 2-3 months in the last year, and i was always forbidden to use my mobile even in flight mode... are the crew members mistaken and tell me no for no reason, or are there some regulations?
i want to be able to turn on my mobile to listen to music or see a movie on the small screen, i have no intention to call anybody
the problem is that i ask for permission to be on the correct side, while others leave their mobile on all the way even during take-off and landing, i know this because i hear some mobiles ringing (welcome sms for network change) moments before touch down !!!
I am in Europe, maybe regulations are a bit different than USA....
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That is realy strange
I travel a lot to USA, to Europe and sometimes to Asia ans never had that problem. ONly in take off and landing you can´t use it, but the rest of the flight no problem.Imagine those 20 hr long flights!!
p.s. I always try to avoid any USA airline!, they charge you even a small candy and service is not good...
diff airlines diff rules
and if you ask it's a judgement call on the flight attendants
maybe its because they cant be arsed telling you that you can use your fone in fight only?
There is a show in the U.S. on Discovery channel called Mythbusters, where they test and either prove or dispel popular myths and misconceptions.
They arranged with a airline to test a variety of cell phones and mobile devices on a variety of different bands, to see if they would interfere with the planes electronics or comm system. Both during flight and during takeoff and landings ( where most airlines say it is most dangerous ).
In every situation they try tried, with every mobile device they tried, they could not get the mobile devices to interrupt or interfere with the , flight, nav, or comm controls. They came to the conclusion that this was just a perpetuated myth and that the airlines just did not want to change their baseless policies.
Those guys are so fun!!!
Well it seems that just to be sure or safe... turn off your phone in takes off and landing, we never know if the airplane is screwed or is a new one in communications... so... i think during the flight dont affect cause the band will ask for a range that the altitude can reach... so say to them **** off idiots! is in flght mode...! well dont said that... you may be in troubles
jeje sorry... i hate people that cant understand important things on their jobs like this things.
The effect of a phone, or game, or PC, or PDA, or YoYo, or stick of gum for that matter on the electronics of an aircraft is really irrelevant as far as you, as a passenger, are concerned.
Fact is, you have a ticket and part of that contract is that you are subject to the instructions of the flight crew.
If the flight crew (or a printed notice) tells you to turn off your PDA, or remove your watch, or put your YoYo in the overhead, they are not required to give you a reason. But you are required to do as they say.
The rule being ALL phones off or ALL YoYos go in the overhead makes it easier for the flight crew (no need to make a judgement call).
is there a regulation for yoyo's in the airplane ?!?! i didn't know about this....
i saw the mythbusters show, they also showed that a bullet shot on the window or plane body will not make everything blew away.
denco7 said:
There is a show in the U.S. on Discovery channel called Mythbusters, where they test and either prove or dispel popular myths and misconceptions.
They arranged with a airline to test a variety of cell phones and mobile devices on a variety of different bands, to see if they would interfere with the planes electronics or comm system. Both during flight and during takeoff and landings ( where most airlines say it is most dangerous ).
In every situation they try tried, with every mobile device they tried, they could not get the mobile devices to interrupt or interfere with the , flight, nav, or comm controls. They came to the conclusion that this was just a perpetuated myth and that the airlines just did not want to change their baseless policies.
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Yeah, a quarter of a watt spread spectrum hardly creates any interference. Now if the phone was 25 watts (100 times more power), I could understand!
But I also agree that it is their plane and their rules.
mysterd said:
Hi.
One thing that I know is that on French airlines, all electronic devices are forbidden during take off and landing. Even notebooks which have no communication systems.
But after taking off, there's no problem whatsoever...
That's just out of my own experience though..
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Click to collapse
That's in Saudi Arabian Airlines, too.
Anyone with a mobile phone, PDA, laptop & even the net-book will be asked to switch it off by taking off and by landing.
And I think that this process will be in every Airlines Company
Yes, it would seem so...
well, with Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines mobile phones must be always off, even if you have flightmode...
I'm sorry but I don't understand... A mobile phone in "flight mode" is just like a notebook computer. So notebooks must be off too ?
During takeoff and landing they say no devices at all. I guess they think even the smallest electromagnetic field could throw off the instruments at a time when it's most critical. I thought European airlines were more lax and that they even allowed use of phones on them. On RyanAir they don't allow phones or BlackBerrys even in flight mode. They say they allow "Discmans" (whatever they are) but no mention of iPods.
i just think its a bit weird why have a flight mode on your phone or pda if you cant use it in a flight
mcbyte_it said:
well, with Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines mobile phones must be always off, even if you have flightmode...
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back in July 2005 i used my phone on flight mode and flight attendant told me to turn it off but i carried on using it. Next moment I asked the pilot and he said use it! when he was on his way to the loo.
Rudegar said:
diff airlines diff rules
and if you ask it's a judgement call on the flight attendants
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Click to collapse
Actually, different Countries different rules.
Europe = JAR
USA = FAA
Canada = TC
etc, you get the point.
As I only fly "domestic" (Canada and USA) I am only familiar with the rules here in North America.
The Basics, no for takeoff and landing. There is a reason for this. Most emergencies happen during takeoff or landing. Regulations state that the passengers must be able to hear the instructions of the flight crew (Flight attendants). This is why no headsets are allowed. Cell phones that are capable of flight mode may be used in cruise just like a pda or laptop. Regulations state they (smart phones, pda's, laptops) must be OFF for takeoff and landing, and during flight "all transmitting signals must remain off". This means flight mode must be on (no wifi, or bluetooth). If you are unable to turn the transmitting signal off then the device must remain off.
I know my own Airlines PA states if you are unsure of a device to ask the flight attendant. This is the weak link in the system. Everytime you include human factors, you get inconsistincies and errors. If you happen too ask a technologicaly crippled FA the question he/she may fall to the safest course and ask you to keep it off. He/She may be wrong but you must still listen. It is against the Air regulations (that's part of the criminal code folks) to not follow the instructions of a flight crew member.
For mythbusters....great show, I saw that episode as well. I am still not entirly convinced. I was decending into Vancouver once through 16,000 ft when suddenly the autopilot disconnected, and the aircraft rolled 70 degrees to the right while the nose dropped down. The plane flew well after we recovered. Maintenance found nothing wrong with the systems. Freak incident or someone with bluetooth running, or their cell phone interrogating towers in the row above the AHRS (attitude and heading reference system)????? We will never know.
JMITR
XDA freak and domestic Airline Pilot
mohamedhussain1995 said:
back in July 2005 i used my phone on flight mode and flight attendant told me to turn it off but i carried on using it. Next moment I asked the pilot and he said use it! when he was on his way to the loo.
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That is a very poor decision on behalf of the Captain (or First Officer).
Working together well as a crew in an Airline environment is very important. There are many times in normal flight and especially in an emergency situation where we have to rely on eachother to do our jobs correctly. This takes a large amount of trust. This trust has to be built. I always breif my FA's that if they make a decision regarding the passengers I will back them up 100%. There will be no appeals to the flight deck. It is important that your crewmembers know this of you.
A phone may seem like a small thing. What happens the next leg when an intoxicated passenger gets boarded? The FA thinks the drunk is acting slightly beligerent but doesn't say anything to you. You have already overridden her on a simple issue and shown that you do not trust her judgement. Ten minutes after takeoff the drunk gets upset, then violent and things spiral out of control. Lets step back, who's fault is this, or how could the situation have been prevented??
The Pilot may have been correct to tell you thatt you can use it, but he wasn't "right"
Sorry for the off topic post.
Hey. Did you ever see a plane Hijacked. This topic came in my mind when I was seeing this process in the National Geographic channel.
Too Weird and Dangerous