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Hi all,

I'm new to everything (EVO, Android, this forum). My EVO should arrive today. I've been reading this board for the past several days learning as much as I can. One thing I haven't found, if one exists, is a "checklist" of things to do when I first get it to make it operate as well as possible. I know there are a lot of suggested tweaks to improve battery life, and there are a lot of discussions on task killers, but has anyone developed a list of "must-do's" when first setting up this phone? Thanks in advance!
 
read all the stickied threads in the 'tips and tricks' sub section.

the one thing i didn't see there that i think is of value is to kill google talk if you don't use it.

you can do this by going to your home screen. hit the menu button. settings. applications. services. find google talk and delete it. alternatively you can just load up the app and sign out... it won't use any data but it will still be listed as a background process.
 
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I would start off by getting startup cleaner 2.0 app ....and if you haven't already go to appbrain & queue or important apps that you must have. Then when you get your EVO all you would have to do is sync. HTC Sense UI is nice but I just started using LauncherPro beta & it is off the hook for your home screen so my suggestion is don't wait to change your home screens.

AND please please I hope your not those type of people that worry about battery life like crazy. PLEASE turn your Live Wall paper ON & impress people & your self.
 
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Hi all,

I'm new to everything (EVO, Android, this forum). My EVO should arrive today. I've been reading this board for the past several days learning as much as I can. One thing I haven't found, if one exists, is a "checklist" of things to do when I first get it to make it operate as well as possible. I know there are a lot of suggested tweaks to improve battery life, and there are a lot of discussions on task killers, but has anyone developed a list of "must-do's" when first setting up this phone? Thanks in advance!
"must dos"? ...No. Short explanation is that without knowing how far and deep into the tech realm you want to go, there is no way to point you in a specific direction.

-do you want to maximize battery life, sacrificing perks right from the start, or try it for a little while?

-do you want to delve into rooting and flashing custom roms?

there are lots and lots of things you can do, arguably "should do" but it all depends on how in depth you want to track and how much time you have to perform the modifications.
 
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That is true ...it's been about a month & I am still learning new stuff everyday. Normally with all my other phones I would spend 30 minutes & it would be over.

EVO is just amazing.

Agreed.

To the OP: check the network radio preference, disable Google Talk auto sign in, manage your screen brightness efficiently, set the send/receive settings to logical and workable time intervals and stay near a charger (at least for the first week). These few things will help from the start as you familiarize yourself with the device. But there's nothing you will be able to do to make your phone last all day within the first week, simply because you won't put it down.

DON'T Go INstalling a friggin task killer, PLEASE.
 
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I'm finally getting my evo today too and I am very appreciative of all the help and knowledge this forum has provided. I, for one, could care less about battery life (coming from a palm pre; horrible battery) and have no interest in rooting, so for me it all comes down to customizing my preferences and getting the app's I need. With that said, any and all suggestions to start off on the right foot would be very helpful.

Thanks guys
 
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I'm finally getting my evo today too and I am very appreciative of all the help and knowledge this forum has provided. I, for one, could care less about battery life (coming from a palm pre; horrible battery) and have no interest in rooting, so for me it all comes down to customizing my preferences and getting the app's I need. With that said, any and all suggestions to start off on the right foot would be very helpful.

Thanks guys

Okay. Well first things first, choose which launcher. Sense is the stock launcher which also incorporates all the sense widgets. You have the option to use others like "launcherPro" or "adw", these allow customization of the bottom dock, app drawer and other things. I like Launcherpro.

Dolphin browser is great, but of course there are tons of app threads so I won't continue that list.

I think we already covered the basics, you're not rooting, check those key points on battery life (network, google talk, etc.) and you should be set to get rolling.

One more thing... Don't drop your phone!
 
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Okay. Well first things first, choose which launcher. Sense is the stock launcher which also incorporates all the sense widgets. You have the option to use others like "launcherPro" or "adw", these allow customization of the bottom dock, app drawer and other things. I like Launcherpro.

Dolphin browser is great, but of course there are tons of app threads so I won't continue that list.

I think we already covered the basics, you're not rooting, check those key points on battery life (network, google talk, etc.) and you should be set to get rolling.

One more thing... Don't drop your phone!

That's what the squaretrade insurance I'm getting is for...:D
 
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Hi all,

I'm new to everything (EVO, Android, this forum). My EVO should arrive today. I've been reading this board for the past several days learning as much as I can. One thing I haven't found, if one exists, is a "checklist" of things to do when I first get it to make it operate as well as possible. I know there are a lot of suggested tweaks to improve battery life, and there are a lot of discussions on task killers, but has anyone developed a list of "must-do's" when first setting up this phone? Thanks in advance!

Turn it on, prepare to be amazed and have fun!!!!!

It is not a perfect device, but none are.. I mean look at the Jesus Phone... It's a nice paperweight...

The EVO is awesome... Play with it and decide from there what you like, don't like and wish to customize...

I personally love Launcher Pro but I want to use Friend Stream Widget so I decided to stick with Sense UI for now...

Choices, choices, choices... It's nice to have them huh??
 
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Thanks everyone, and keep 'em coming. UPS tracking tells me that the phone has arrived in my company's mailroom, so I should get it within the next 30 minutes or so.

I'll be a user along the lines of edlex, so I'm just wanting to know if there are any no-brainer types of things that every EVO user should do when first setting up the phone.
 
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I am getting my EVO tomorrow. I was exploring the option of squaretrade insurance too but haven't decided yet. Of course there are threads dedicated to insurance but since it's the thread for first steps I guess we can right? :)

Have you talked/researched about how the EVO warranty will work with squaretrade and what damages it covers? Are you going for Entry-level or Premium Smartphone? The warranty will be over once you redeem it, right? I am getting 2 EVO's on family plan, so was thinking I can get insurance for 1 phone and redeem it for which ever breaks first :) Sorry for going so much in detail for the insurance stuff.
That's what the squaretrade insurance I'm getting is for...:D
 
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I am getting my EVO tomorrow. I was exploring the option of squaretrade insurance too but haven't decided yet. Of course there are threads dedicated to insurance but since it's the thread for first steps I guess we can right? :)

Have you talked/researched about how the EVO warranty will work with squaretrade and what damages it covers? Are you going for Entry-level or Premium Smartphone? The warranty will be over once you redeem it, right? I am getting 2 EVO's on family plan, so was thinking I can get insurance for 1 phone and redeem it for which ever breaks first :) Sorry for going so much in detail for the insurance stuff.

The plan you get is based on the retail price of the phone so the appropriate plan is the premium cell phone. It covers everything except loss or theft. Your replacement is always a brand new in the box phone or cash if they can't get the phone. Since it is a brand new phone it comes with a brand new 1 year manufacturers warranty plus their insurance. The cool thing about them is if you change phones or cancel the insurance they will reimburse for the remaining pro rated premium or apply it to the new phone or device.
 
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Thanks for all the info! True very True! +1
The cool thing about them is if you change phones or cancel the insurance they will reimburse for the remaining pro rated premium or apply it to the new phone or device.
Squaretrade does have 20% off until July 4 right or does someone have something better?

Is this true? Brand new phone not refurb or cash? In that case I am sold!
Your replacement is always a brand new in the box phone or cash if they can't get the phone.
 
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....so was thinking I can get insurance for 1 phone and redeem it for which ever breaks first :) Sorry for going so much in detail for the insurance stuff.

Be careful here. Most insurance companies want the damaged phone returned to them(you will likely be giving them very specific ID info of the insured phone). If you then claim it to be lost or stolen, they will kill the ESN making the phone basically worthless. So if your phone is the "covered one" and you try to claim damage done to the other "uncovered one", they are expecting you to return the correct phone bearing the proper identification(ESN) If you wise up and then just say it was stolen, then the ESN on the "stolen" phone will be de-activated and they will send you a new one and then you will be in possession of a new "good" phone, a phone with a dead ESN, and still the other damaged phone.

This ain't their first rodeo.
 
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far be it for me to try and confuse you and i mean no disrespect towards pwnst..

i have done updates on the hero and now the evo. a factory (restore to in the box conditions) reset is not needed. the two updates we have received from HTC for the EVO do not require one to clear memory (hard reset, factory reset, what ever you want to call it).

once you get your phone it probably will not have the htc update on it so yes get the phone up and running... make sure you can make phone calls and you are on the sprint data network. (update profile update prl should be one of the first things to do).

after all of that THEN you should check for the htc update unless the phone will notify you of it first... :eek:


So are you saying that we should look for any updates first as we turn on the phone for the first time and then do factory reset? Is it the same as hard reset?
 
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flyjbaker said:
Be careful here. Most insurance companies want the damaged phone returned to them(you will likely be giving them very specific ID info of the insured phone). If you then claim it to be lost or stolen, they will kill the ESN making the phone basically worthless. So if your phone is the "covered one" and you try to claim damage done to the other "uncovered one", they are expecting you to return the correct phone bearing the proper identification(ESN) If you wise up and then just say it was stolen, then the ESN on the "stolen" phone will be de-activated and they will send you a new one and then you will be in possession of a new "good" phone, a phone with a dead ESN, and still the other damaged phone.

This ain't their first rodeo.

Yea squaretrade requires you to send them a proof of purchase for the device you're insuring.
 
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I usually email them the order receipt I was emailed when I bought it.

Yea squaretrade requires you to send them a proof of purchase for the device you're insuring.

Be careful here. Most insurance companies want the damaged phone returned to them(you will likely be giving them very specific ID info of the insured phone). If you then claim it to be lost or stolen, they will kill the ESN making the phone basically worthless. So if your phone is the "covered one" and you try to claim damage done to the other "uncovered one", they are expecting you to return the correct phone bearing the proper identification(ESN) If you wise up and then just say it was stolen, then the ESN on the "stolen" phone will be de-activated and they will send you a new one and then you will be in possession of a new "good" phone, a phone with a dead ESN, and still the other damaged phone.

This ain't their first rodeo.
Thanks for all the input folks. I have never insured a phone or any electronic item before so wondering how it works, so bear with my questions and/or thoughts. I am specifically talking/asking about the squaretrade insurance here(Sprint will insurance specific lines so tough to get around there). Since I am buying 2 EVO's the same day, they both would be mentioned on the receipt right. Do we submit the receipt as soon as we buy the insurance or during the claim? Do we give them the ESN as well? If not the ESN it doesn't matter which 1 of the 2 EVO's break, If I insure just 1 EVO I can just claim the broken EVO isn't it? Would love to hear your inputs/thoughts. Thanks once again!
 
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far be it for me to try and confuse you and i mean no disrespect towards pwnst..

i have done updates on the hero and now the evo. a factory (restore to in the box conditions) reset is not needed. the two updates we have received from HTC for the EVO do not require one to clear memory (hard reset, factory reset, what ever you want to call it).

once you get your phone it probably will not have the htc update on it so yes get the phone up and running... make sure you can make phone calls and you are on the sprint data network. (update profile update prl should be one ofo the first things to do).

after all of that THEN you should check for the htc update unless the phone will notify you of it first... :eek:

Well it's been needed with this phone for lots of folks. It's helped their battery life and a few other issues as well. Only takes a few minutes since you've not loaded anything on it yet.
 
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