Keeping Droid after upgrading phone, disable the cell radio?

[splynncryth]

I've upgraded to a new phone, but that doesn't mean I'm quite ready to put my Droid aside. I'd like to see about keeping it around for use at home using wi-fi only for internet from the sofa and see about using it with my Google voice account so I have something that acts a bit like a land line.

So my first question is if there is a way to completely disable the cell radio. I know about going into airplane mode and turning wi-fi on. But I loose bluetooth that way. Even thought he ESN should now be inactive, I don't want to leave any chance for Verizon to decide to treat my old phone as a second line.
My Droid is rooted and I'm running CyanogenMod on it now.

 

[huchris]

bump... i'm interested in this as well.

 

[chippy]

I still use my old droid. There is no way Verizon can make it count as a second line unless you activate it as a second line. No way it could count against your minutes or be on your account. You wouldn't even be able to make a call on it if you wanted to. Hope that helps reassure you! (I used to work for Verizon BTW)

 

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

I still use my old droid. There is no way Verizon can make it count as a second line unless you activate it as a second line. No way it could count against your minutes or be on your account. You wouldn't even be able to make a call on it if you wanted to. Hope that helps reassure you! (I used to work for Verizon BTW)

This. However, I'm 99.9% sure that if you needed to, you CAN still make a 911 call from any deactivated cell phone.

 

[Clementine_3]

you CAN still make a 911 call from any deactivated cell phone.

Oh, you can! Just ask my sister and the nice cops who showed up after her 6 year old dialed 911 because her 3 year old took his candy. Yes, you can indeed dial 911 from a deactivated cell phone.

 

[icecold]

Could take a look at SwitchPro...

 

[shadowdude777]

You can bypass the activation screen and use the Droid as a "PDA" by tapping all four corners of the screen, starting with the upper left one and then going clockwise, when on the "Click the Droid to start" thing.

 

[lance-tek]

I too am interested in this. I am currently overseas (for the next year) and I use the phone on wifi but it takes more battery when it is constantly looking for cellular service. If there is a way to turn off the cell radio, that would be very nice.

Thanks,

-lance

 

[johnlgalt]

Oh, you can! Just ask my sister and the nice cops who showed up after her 6 year old dialed 911 because her 3 year old took his candy. Yes, you can indeed dial 911 from a deactivated cell phone.

wow.

You can bypass the activation screen and use the Droid as a "PDA" by tapping all four corners of the screen, starting with the upper left one and then going clockwise, when on the "Click the Droid to start" thing.

umm, wouldn't bypassing activation disallow for logging into all things Google, including Voice, or can one still log into Voice and use it as both call and sms service without the phone being connected to a Google account?

I too am interested in this. I am currently overseas (for the next year) and I use the phone on wifi but it takes more battery when it is constantly looking for cellular service. If there is a way to turn off the cell radio, that would be very nice.

Thanks,

-lance

Interesting concept. Another thought - use not only Voice, but other services, like Nav, radio, docs, etc.

I think cm 7 might have a way, let me look.

 

[johnlgalt]

Not sure if this is a 100% solution, a it would require a rooted phone, and I'm still bit unsure if it disables the radio, or works another way, but in CM 7 one of the notification widgets is called mobile data and disabling it prevented my phone from connecting over 3g. If I enabled wireless it connected right up....

 

[takeshi]

umm, wouldn't bypassing activation disallow for logging into all things Google, including Voice, or can one still log into Voice and use it as both call and sms service without the phone being connected to a Google account?

WiFi is still available. GV wouldn't work for calls since GV isn't a VOIP solution.

 

[johnlgalt]

WiFi is still available. GV wouldn't work for calls since GV isn't a VOIP solution.

Right. but OP said

I've upgraded to a new phone, but that doesn't mean I'm quite ready to put my Droid aside. I'd like to see about keeping it around for use at home using wi-fi only for internet from the sofa and see about using it with my Google voice account so I have something that acts a bit like a land line.

The Phone dialer app would still be a part of the phone, and even though the EIN would not be registered, you can route all of your calls through GV so that it would never attempt to connect to the cell network. In that manner, it should still be usable, correct?

But, to log into GV you'd need to be activated to a Google Account....

Or, am I missing something, or misunderstanding your reply?

 

[karimarie]

Right. but OP said



The Phone dialer app would still be a part of the phone, and even though the EIN would not be registered, you can route all of your calls through GV so that it would never attempt to connect to the cell network. In that manner, it should still be usable, correct?

But, to log into GV you'd need to be activated to a Google Account....

Or, am I missing something, or misunderstanding your reply?

It doesn't work that way. You can use GV for texts, but it will not make calls over wifi. It can only make calls over a cellular network.

 

[jackburnt]

I plan to do this when I upgrade later this year. It'll be a wonderful home device (unless I just use my shiny, new phone).

I plan to use it mostly for listening to music through Google's Cloud.