Unofficial Samsung/Verizon SCH-A310 Cellular Phone FAQ
Version 1.0c
By: Hideo
December 30, 2002
History:
Version 1.0a - First alpha version. Includes information from
Samsung official FAQ as well as questions from newsgroups & bulletin boards.
Version 1.0b - Changed *288 to *228 (I always mess that up).
Thanks, Dan...
Version 1.0c - Added a few new questions and answers.
Contents:
What is the SCH-A310?
How much does the phone weigh?
How large is the phone?
How long do the batteries last?
How large is the display?
How many phone numbers can the A310 store?
What types of ringers does the phone have?
What other features does it have?
How many entries can the planner hold?
How do I change the animation on the main screen?
How do I change the banner greeting on my phone?
How do I change the backlight color of the external LCD?
What does the "Initialize All" setting do in the menu for the external LCD color?
I don't like the ringers Samsung provided, can I make/load my own?
Why aren't there any ringers that both sound and vibrate?
What is "Silent mode"?
How will I know if I get a call when I'm in silent mode?
Why aren't the ringers as loud as other phones?
How do I erase the call logs?
How does three way calling work?
Is it possible to erase the entire phone book?
How do I create and send a text message?
How do I launch the mobile web?
How do I put the lanyard on?
Why is my banner flashing "Verizon Wireless" and how do I make it stop?
I have a number in my phonebook and I cannot enter it now as a voice dial entry. I am seeing an error telling me that the number is already in the memory. Why is the phone doing this?
My phone isn't showing the time, what's up with that?
My phone has locked up. Why did this happen and what do I do?
Are there any special codes or hidden modes on the SCH-A310?
Does PC Link 2000 work with the SCH-A310?
Where can I get PC Link 2000 and how much is it?
How can I tell what version my firmware is at?
What is a PRL?
What is an ERI?
Where can I get more information about the SCH-A310?
Q. What is the SCH-A310?
A. The SCH-A310 is a new clam-shell model cellular phone made by Samsung specifically for Verizon Wireless. It is the fist of Verizon's new "3rd generation" phones. It is a dual band (digital & analog) tri-mode (CDMA 1900 MHz (PCS); CDMA 800 MHz; and AMPS 800 MHz) phone and utilizes Verizon's new wireless internet capabilities which (according to the documentation) will allow you to surf 10 times faster than their previous network. It is also one of the most striking and stylish phones currently on the market due to i's blue backlight screen and keypad, its multi-colored external LCD, and its polyphonic ringers..
Q. How much does the phone weigh?
A. 3.2 oz with the standard battery, and 3.7 oz with the extended battery.
Q. How large is the phone?
A. Closed and with the antenna down, the phone is 3.5" x 2.0" x .9" with the standard battery, and 3.5" x 2.0" x 1.1" with the extended battery.
Q. How long do the batteries last?
A. According to Samsung:
Talk time on standard battery: CDMA, up to 2.7 hours; AMPS, up to 1.2 hours
Standby time on standard battery: CDMA, up to 5 days; AMPS, up to 15 hours
Talk time on extended battery: CDMA, up to 4.7 hours; AMPS, up to 1.5 hours
Standby time on extended battery: CDMA, up to 8 days; AMPS, up to 20 hours
Q. How large is the display?
A. The main screen is 1.25" wide by 1.5" tall. It is a 4-shade grayscale, 128 x 128 pixel graphic LCD screen with a blue backlight and up to 12 lines of soft icons and text . The external LCD is a 128 x 32 pixel graphic LCD with seven backlit colors.
Q. How many phone numbers can the A310 store?
A. 500 numbers in the phonebook as well as 20 voice dial entries.
Q. What types of ringers does the phone have?
A. It has 21 ringer types total, 5 monophonic, and 16 polyphonic.
Q. What other features does it have?
A. A programmable alarm clock, an internet mini-browser, 3 games, a calendar/planner, built-in answering machine, fax and data capability, changeable face plates, caller ID, 3-way callling, call waiting, call forwarding, short messaging service (SMS) capabilities, a vibrate ringer, a cool blue back-lit keypad and screen... and the real kicker that separates this phone from all others... the external LCD screen has a multi-colored backlight that can be programmed to glow a different color depending on who is calling you...
Q. How many entries can the planner hold?
A. The manual for the A310 states that you can have up to 9 entries for a single day. However, it does not list a total maximum number of possible entries. Through experimentation it has been found that you can have 20 entries total. Each entry can have up to 32 characters as shown by a counter in the upper right-hand corner as you enter the item name.
Q. How do I change the animation on the main screen?
A. To select from the built-in animations, press MENU 6 + 1. You may change the Opening, Closing or Idle Mode Wallpaper from here. It is assumed at this point that you will be able to add more animations at a later date, but this has not been confirmed by Samsung or Verizon yet.
Q. How do I change the banner greeting on my phone?
A. Press MENU 6 + 2 to change the Banner. Press and hold clear to erase the current greeting. Enter your new Banner. It may be up to 12 characters long. Press OK to save. There is no way to clear out the "Verizon Wireless" banner (see the question under Troubleshooting).
Q. How do I change the backlight color of the external LCD?
A. The color of the LCD is changed by pressing MENU + 6 + 3. It can be modified to correspond to the incoming call Group, Day of Week, Planner or Initialize all. If you want to change the default color for when the LCD is lit by holding the volume button for 2 seconds, you will need to set all of the "Day of Week" settings to the color you desire.
Q. What does the "Initialize All" setting do in the menu for the external LCD color?
A. This option resets all of the settings for the external LCD color back to the factory default of "blue".
Q. I don't like the ringers that Samsung provided, can I make/load my own?
A. Not at this time, although it seems like the capability is there. However, neither Samsung or Verizon have had a good answer to this issue at this point. The phone is so new that some divisions at Samsung don't even seem to know that it exists. There have been reports that you will be able to download new ringtones using SMS in the future, but NOT through the data cable. There are 3rd party people who make software for data transfer though, and rest assured they are working the problem... :-)
Q. Why aren't there any ringers that both sound and vibrate?
A. No idea. Samsung didn't provide any ringers of this type with the phone, so the best we can do is hope that we can upload one at a later date.
Q. What is "Silent Mode"?
A. Putting your phone into silent mode by holding down the # key for 2 seconds will turn off all keysounds, alarms, and ringers until you either take the phone out of silent mode by holding down the # key again, or by turning your phone off.
Q. How will I know if I get a call when I'm in silent mode?
A. There seem to be differences within the A310 phones on the market as to whether your phone will vibrate when a call comes in while the phone is in silent mode or not. Some phones do this and some do not. If you don't like the way your phone is behaving, it is recommended to take your phone back to your vendor for a replacement. At this point, it is unknown how to physically tell a phone that will vibrate from one that won't, so at this point it's just the luck of the draw. Verizon representatives have stated that the "normal" behavior is for the phone to vibrate, so it is thought possible that Samsung had some production problems with certain phones that keep them from doing this.
Q. Why aren't the ringers as loud as other phones?
A. Polyphonic ringers in general are not as lound as standard "bell-type" ringers. This is partly due to the natureof the sounds that polyphonic ringers emit and the type of hardware needed to reproduce those sounds. Your phone has a sound chip inside that is basically comparible to those on early PC soundcards. The ringers are equivalent to MIDI songs being piped through an extremely small speaker.
Q. How do I erase the call logs?
A. Press MENU 1 + 4. Four options will be displayed: Outgoing, Incoming, Missed and All Calls. Using the navigation key, choose one of these options and press OK to erase or CLR to exit without making any changes.
Q. How does three way calling work?
A. Call the first party and while they remain on the line press SEND. Dial the second number and press send. When the second party answers, press SEND again and all three parties will be connected.
Q. Is it possible to erase the entire phone book?
A. Yes. This can be done by pressing MENU 0 + 6. Enter your 4-digit lock code. Press 6 for Clear Memory. Press OK to permanently erase the all phone book entries or CLR to exit without making changes.
Q. How do I create and send a text message?
A. Press MENU 3 + 1. Enter the message text using the keypad. Press OK to open the Action menu. Press the SEND key to send the message. Press OK to save and send later. The CLR key allows you to return to the previous menu. End allows you to cancel the message without saving.
Q. How do I launch the mobile web?
A. Press MENU 4 + 1 to access the Mini-browser. Press the left arrow key to launch the wireless web. Press and hold the MENU key to navigate to the home screen. Or, if you want to save yourself some time, just push the "i" in the middle of the navigation pad.
Q. How do I put the lanyard on?
A. There is a small hole at the top-back edge of the phone. Push the loop through the hole on the top of the phone, and fish it out the back with a straightened-out paper clip.
Q. Why is my banner flashing "Verizon Wireless" and how do I make it stop?
A. You don't. The banner message gives you information about the coverage area you are in. The banner flashes "Verizon Wireless" when you are in your digital home area and it will flash "Extended Network" when you are outside your home area but still being charged home rates. It will also flash "Roaming" when you are not in your home area, or an extended network area.
Note: It may be possible to have your Verizon representative change your PRL to the equivalent "non-ERI" PRL, and this may get rid of the ERI banner flashing, however this hasn't been tested yet.
Q. I have a number in my phonebook and I cannot enter it now as a voice dial entry. I am seeing an error telling me that the number is already in the memory. Why is the phone doing this?
A. The number can be saved as a voice dial by pressing MENU + 2 + 1. Locate the entry that you would like to make a voice dialing entry and press OK. Press MENU + 1 to edit the entry. Scroll down to where it says Voice Dial and press MENU + 1 to record the name. Enter the same phone number exactly as it is stored in the phonebook. This will save the number into memory as a voice dial and will now work when holding down the * key and speaking the name recorded.
Q. My phone isn't showing the time, what's up with that?
A. Your phone get's it's initial time setting from the digital network. If you power-up your phone in an area where there is no signal, or the signal is analog, then your phone will only disply zeros for the time until you get into a digital area where the phone can read the time from the network.
Q. My phone has locked up. Why did this happen and what do I do?
A. The A310 has been known to lock up on rare occasions durring different circumstances. Certain people have reported lockups where the screen freezes during a call and the only thing you get is the "Calling" screen, but no call is placed. Other people have reported lockups when the phone is removed from the charging cable while the phone is powered up. In both cases, simply removing the battery and popping it back seems to resolve the problem.
Q. Are there any special codes or hidden modes on the SCH-A310?
A. WARNING! Using undocumented codes on your phone may render your phone unusable, void the warranty, and/or cause your phone to require service by your service provider. The owners/writers of this webpage and FAQ do not endorse use of these modes/codes and usage of them is entirely at your own risk...
That being said, here are the known codes for the A310...
System/Service Program mode: Menu > 6 > * > 000000
Field Test/Debug Mode: Menu > 0 > * > 000000
GPS Settings: Menu > 0 > * > 000000 > 0
TTY/TDD Lock: Menu > 7 > 0 > #889
Web Setup: Menu > 4 > 0 > ? (Your user security code... usually the last 4 numbers of your phone number...)
Check PRL and Version: Menu > 0 > 0
Q. Does PC Link 2000 work with the SCH-A310?
A. Some people have reported success connecting certain versions of the PC Link 2000 software with the A310, but transferring data doesn't seem to work. There general consensus at this point is that Samsung will not support the SCH-A310 with a software/data-cable link for uses other than using the phone as a cellular modem.
Q. Where can I get PC Link 2000 and how much is it?
A. You can buy PC Link 2000 software from various online vendors for prices around $50. If you look hard enough, you can probably find places to download it... (To get you started, I'd search for the terms "AnyCall" and "PC Link" in Google, but I won't say any more than that, and I'm not sure of the legality of downloading the software, so don't ask me where to find it...)
Q. How can I tell what version my firmware is at?
A. Menu > 0 > 0.
Q. What is a PRL?
A. A PRL or "Preffered Roaming List" is a list of providers that your provider has made contracts with to allow their users to use the other provider's networks as part of the user's "extended home area". A company's PRL will change as the company expands or reduces their network by contracting with other cellular companies. If you get a text message on your Verizon phone asking you to dial *228 to update your phone, they are usually updating your PRL. You may choose not to update your PRL, but your roaming indicators may no longer be correct in certain areas.
Q. What is an ERI?
A. An ERI or "Enhanced Roaming Indicator" is the text message that the phone uses to tell you when you are in your local home area, your "extended" home area, or "roaming". This is used in conjunction with the PRL to give you indicators on your phone to let you know which area you are currently in.
Q. Where can I get more information about the SCH-A310?
A. There are several places:
The Samsung web page: http://www.samsungusa.com
The forums on the Wireless Advisor page: http://www.wirelessadvisor.com
You can compare the A310 with other phones on PhoneScoop: http://www.phonescoop.com
The alt.cellular.verizon newsgroup: news://alt.cellular.verizon