Eris Tips and Tricks

[L0stS0ul]

so been running with wifi on for about 7 hours now and i've seen no battery issues (6% utilization) and the dropped connections are completely gone. It has been within wifi range the whole time though and has not been searching. Tomorrow I'll test it some more.

 

[Grizzld]

This may be obvious, but I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere:

To unlock the phone, you can also press the "end" key followed by the "menu" key instead of swiping the screen.

 

[Caddyman]

yup, good one, added

 

[Slugdoc]

I've been having a problem with my device dropping the wifi connection every time the screen goes off. 6 times out of 10 or so it'll reconnect quickly when I use the device again but sometimes it does not and I have to cycle the wifi to reconnect to the routers (it'll say the wifi connection is out of range and can't connect).

I want it to stay on wifi at all times when inside a wifi area and I have wifi turned on to minimize the verizon data being used. You can set this like so:

Click: settings > wireless controls > wifi settings
Then Click: menu > click advanced >
Then Click: wifi sleep policy > click never

I'm testing it out now to see if it has any bad affect on the battery life. From what I understand the wifi chip takes less power then the 3g chip so it should in theory use less when wifi is available.

Is that true that the wifi uses less power than the cell radio? Can someone confirm this?

 

[L0stS0ul]

I can't confirm if that is true or not. I've read that a few times in different forums.

I have been running it with the wifi set to never sleep now for a day and a half and my awake time is less than 8%. When I had it setup as default my awake time was 30%. I'm in wifi areas a lot more often so now it's pretty much always connected to wifi and it's using a lot less battery now. at least from a little more than a day of use like this

 

[CalifJewls]

Thanks Caddyman! As a long time Blackberry user also, including the Storm, I'll be so excited to never see a battery pull again!!!!!!

 

[sgoldwa]

A long press of the send key will bring up voice command. Just speak "open battery info" and you will get a lot of interesting info, same as hitting *#*#4636#*#*, but easier!

 

[Caddyman]

A long press of the send key will bring up voice command. Just speak "open battery info" and you will get a lot of interesting info, same as hitting *#*#4636#*#*, but easier!

added to top, if we can find a list or discover more voice commands i will add them as a group. thanks sg

 

[Needsdecaf]

added to top, if we can find a list or discover more voice commands i will add them as a group. thanks sg

I cannot get this to work.

Is there a complete list of voice commands? It is not in the user guide...

 

[Caddyman]

here. some might not work

http://androidforums.com/htc-droid-eris/19649-voice-command-list.html

 

[marko]

I'm new to this phone, so I may be doing it wrong, but I don't think I've gotten the reboot tip to work. When it says to hold the end call key, is that the softkey in the phone window? That's the only one I know.

 

[Caddyman]

no the physical button to the right of the trackball

 

[mss12]

I can't confirm if that is true or not. I've read that a few times in different forums.

I have been running it with the wifi set to never sleep now for a day and a half and my awake time is less than 8%. When I had it setup as default my awake time was 30%. I'm in wifi areas a lot more often so now it's pretty much always connected to wifi and it's using a lot less battery now. at least from a little more than a day of use like this

How do you set the wifi to never sleep?

 

[L0stS0ul]

How do you set the wifi to never sleep?

click: settings > wireless controls > wifi settings
Then Click: menu > click advanced >
Then Click: wifi sleep policy > click never

I've now been running this since I first posted that I was trying it. Working out great for me. Phone just recently took 2 days before needing to go on charge (even had the GPS turned on the whole time too) and the amount of 3G data usage is down by a ton.

 

[mss12]

click: settings > wireless controls > wifi settings
Then Click: menu > click advanced >
Then Click: wifi sleep policy > click never

I've now been running this since I first posted that I was trying it. Working out great for me. Phone just recently took 2 days before needing to go on charge (even had the GPS turned on the whole time too) and the amount of 3G data usage is down by a ton.

Thanks, do you have mobile network enabled during the time you are using wifi or is that turned off permanently with wifi permanently on?

 

[L0stS0ul]

I leave mobile network on. It seems to go to sleep when the wifi is connected. The only time I toggle wifi off is when I know I'm not going to be near a wifi spot for a long time. Otherwise I just leave everything toggled on and the phone manages it as I go in and out of wifi areas.

 

[keeshou]

One of the better apps I found is one called "Quick Settings". With this app you can quickly turn on or off Ringer, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Network Data and GPS Receiver.

Makes it easy to use what you want when you want it.

 

[NefariousAryq]

One of the better apps I found is one called "Quick Settings". With this app you can quickly turn on or off Ringer, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Network Data and GPS Receiver.

Wow, that is a fantastic app! Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[J.R.]

Quick question about that quick settings app. Can someone please explain to me the Network data toggle? Is that different from turning mobile network on and off? I'm new to smart phones, so sorry for the ignorance.

 

[keeshou]

the Network data toggle? Is that different from turning mobile network on and off?

No, it's the same thing.

 

[oyercam_2009]

Is that true that the wifi uses less power than the cell radio? Can someone confirm this?

I am a new user of the Eris and I know that we have the 3G for internet usage so what would be the benefit of using the Wi-fi when we have connection through the 3G network?

Has anyone heard when the Andriod 1.5 will be upgraded to the 2.0??? I am dying to have my voice-navigation back. I recently switched to this phone and this was one of the features the "sales" guy told me I would have. Well lesson learned after the purchase, that I can't use voice-navigation because of 1.5 version.

 

[L0stS0ul]

I am a new user of the Eris and I know that we have the 3G for internet usage so what would be the benefit of using the Wi-fi when we have connection through the 3G network?

Has anyone heard when the Andriod 1.5 will be upgraded to the 2.0??? I am dying to have my voice-navigation back. I recently switched to this phone and this was one of the features the "sales" guy told me I would have. Well lesson learned after the purchase, that I can't use voice-navigation because of 1.5 version.

Despite what the marketing material says the $30 "unlimited" data plan is limited to 5 gigs a month so when have the option to not use the 3G it's better not to. Generally wifi connections provide much faster connections as well then 3G does but not always. Of course it depends on what connection that wifi is connected to. It's also been my experience so far that the wifi chip uses a lot less power then the 3G chip does so using wifi when possible also, for me, is providing much better battery life. I have a buddy who also just got an eris and making the wifi not sleep has also dramatically helped his battery life. YMMV though.

There are tons of rumors about the 2.0 upgrade. I've heard it could happen as soon as the Dec 11th update but will more likely happen sometime first quarter next year.

 

[jag1870]

Have trouble editing bookmarks? Well, I found this online for G1, but I tried it and it works for Eris.

A: 1. Open the Browser application.
2. Press the Menu button.
3. Tap Bookmarks.
4. Tap and hold the bookmark you wish to edit.
5. A menu will appear where you can Edit bookmark as well as a few other things. The option to Delete bookmark is at the bottom of the list.

 

[Caddyman]

posted by dan on another forum, reposted by blizzard on this forum

for wifi turning off when screen goes off (phone goes to sleep)

"Press the Menu button and go to Settings -> Wireless & networks -> Wi-fi Settings
- Once there, press the menu button again and select "Advanced"
- Select "Wi-fi sleep policy" and make sure "When screen turns off" is NOT selected. If it is, change it to one of the other ones."

 

[Santinoirish]

I routinely use a bluetooth while on the phone, and thus put the phone in either my holster or in my pocket. However, I have not found a reliable way to lock the phone while I'm talking. Any ideas? I'm tired of opening other applications and/or hitting numbers / hanging up while on the phone. Thank you.