Things You Never Knew About Your Cell Phone

I received the following information from my boss. I can't vouch for any of it but the fifth item, which I have programmed into my contact list and use when I need it.

There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.
Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for
survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:

FIRST
Subject: Emergency
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.
..
SECOND
Subject: Have you locked your keys in the car?
Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy
someday.
Good reason to own a cell phone: 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).
Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car
over a cell phone!

THIRD
Subject: Hidden Battery Power
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.


FOURTH
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 # A 15 digit code will appear on the screen.
This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it
somewhere safe. When your phone get 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. If everybody does this,
there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

And Finally....

FIFTH
Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411
information calls when they don't have to.
Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE 411, or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell
phone now.

This is the kind of information people don't mind receiving, so pass it
on to your family and friends.

As an addendum: the Free 411 is free because they make you listen to advertisements during your call. I don't mind spending the few extra seconds on those to avoid incurring the normal fee to call information.

Also, I feel it necessary to mention that, here in the United States of America, the emergency number is still 9-1-1. We've been taught that since childhood. However, technology has changed the way 9-1-1 gets your call. Cell phones only deliver at most your call back number and GPS coordinates that can get responders to within a few blocks or a few houses of your area. And GPS can't tell us if you're on the 10th floor of a building. At the least, 9-1-1 doesn't get any information about your location or call-back number. If you need to call 9-1-1 from your cell, know where you are and tell the call-taker that when you are asked.

If you use your computer to make calls, commonly called VoIP, and with company names like Vonage, you might not even have access to calling 9-1-1. Or, if you call 9-1-1, your call might go to a national answering center instead of your local 9-1-1. Then they have to transfer your call to what they hope is the correct local 9-1-1 - and remember, "Seconds save lives."

Things You Never Knew About Your Cell Phone