1. Say I'm on a 200-mile, four-hour road trip. My Storm is on the passenger seat, and I have my directions up on Google Maps. I want to arrive at my destination with a fully-charged Storm. Is there any harm in leaving the device attached to the car charger for the length of the journey, leaving it on and using it to read the directions as I go? The alternative would be to turn it off and back on when I need directions. Basically, the question is, is there any problem using the device while it's plugged in?
2. As my distance from home increases, should I dial *228 every 75 miles or so to keep the phone in touch with nearby cell towers? Any benefit to that? And if I'm going to spend a few days at my destination, is dialing *228 pretty much mandatory if I want a strong signal?
Question #1 - I make a 1HR 45MIN trip quite often and use my storm while its plugged into the charger the entire time.
I haven't notice any problems with mine. I know its not as long as your trip is going to be, but I doubt you will have any problems.
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2) Absolutely DO NOT DO THAT. It will totally screw your PRL to update when off your home service. The PRL updates are to be done when you are in your own home service area AND NOWHERE ELSE.
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Not sure about the *228 stuff, but I use my BB while on the charger ALL the time, and have not seen any change in battery life, or a memory of any kind
Yeah, what Civic said. I don't do *228 unless I'm sitting in my own home.
Lol, just to clarify this a bit. You don't need to be in your own home to do this, just in your home area where you established service.
PRLs are designed to give you a list of roaming towers when you're outside your home service area. Updating the list while you're roaming could even cause your phone to disconnect from the cell network altogether. That's why you should only do it when you're local to where you live.
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Actually, the other option on Mobile Selection Node is not Manual, but "Home Only." What would be its advantages and disadvantages?
Setting to Home Only will not use the PRL. Basically, if you drive out of your local area of service, it'll disconnect from the cell towers until you time back in range.
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So whenever I travel, I want to be set to Mode: Auto... is that correct? If I do so, will the phone always try to connect to other Verizon towers first, or will it pick up T-Mobile or whatever? And if it does glom onto another carrier, will I be charged extra?
Sorry to be a pest, but this information will be very useful to me.
After a little more reading and a consultation with ex-broadcast engineer Ms. Bear, it now seems clear to me that, under my nationwide Verizon plan, my phone will only access another carrier's network on the rare occasion when I am not within range of any Verizon or Verizon-affiliated tower (e.g., Ms. Bear's Verizon phone started roaming when we visited Zion National Park in the Utah desert.)
So I am going to stay with:
Mobile Selection Node: Automatic
Network Technology: 1XEV
...unless someone warns me off. If we plan to travel outside the U.S., we'll cross that bridge then.
Being a smartphone newbie and one who used to use a cellphone just for the occasional local call, I guess I still carry the 1980s mindset that "roaming" means you incur extra charges every time you drive five miles from the center of town.
I always listen to Ms. Bear. She was one of the first women in the US to earn a First Class Radiotelephone License, back when you needed one to work as a TV engineer. Today, she can troubleshoot a cable connection better than the cable guy. Smart lady. Pretty, too!
