New to the Ascend (Cricket) USA

[railrat]

Hi everybody!

I got a Huawei Ascend from a private party below retail. My spouse has one and has a Cricket account.

Right now I am looking to see if I can be added to his account and qualify for the Family Plan for the USA Android Ascend for $50.00/month.

I currently am with T-Mobile and have the Sidekick LX 07, but there are changes coming, like a new $80.00/mo bill!
I am so excited! The phone I got was bought new 4 months ago. Not sure if there is a memory chip in it, but I did download the PDF Manuel I found on this site!

Thank you. I have delurked after a few days of browsing here!

ETA I am also willing to buy an Ascend from Cricket and get the family plan that way. I can resell this Ascend, I got a really good deal on it.

 

[KOLIO]

Welcome to the forum,RAILRAT.If you are looking at reducing your phone costs,go to a corporate CRICKET store & ask for the 'PAY FOR 3 MO'S SERVICE,GET THE 4TH MO. FREE' program.

 

[railrat]

Welcome to the forum,RAILRAT.If you are looking at reducing your phone costs,go to a corporate CRICKET store & ask for the 'PAY FOR 3 MO'S SERVICE,GET THE 4TH MO. FREE' program.

Corp Crick Store, thank U & Got it!

 

[KOLIO]

You may want to take a look at the CRICKET website from time to time before purchasing a phone.The KYOCERA ZIO,an ANDROID 2.2 SMARTPHONE,has recently been on sale for as little as $109.00 The ASCEND is currently running ANDROID 2.1,but,can be upgraded to 2.2 or 2.3 Although these upgrades are not official factory releases & technically void your warranty,they are practically 100% functional & BETTER than anything the manufacturer will ever offer.


If you're the tinkering type,the ASCEND is perfect for you.This phone is virtually impossible to "brick",(disable) by altering the original factory O/S.There is more help & support available for the ASCEND than almost any other phone available in the market today.


If you just want a decent phone to work straight out of the box without further modding,the ZIO may be a better choice for you.

Not trying to dissuade you from the ASCEND,we'd like for you to stay around & join us here in our pursuit of pushing this phone further than anyone could have imagined or intended.Just offering some advice for you make a better informed decision on your future phone purchase.

 

[nuttmeg]

Hi everybody!

I got a Huawei Ascend from a private party below retail. My spouse has one and has a Cricket account.

Right now I am looking to see if I can be added to his account and qualify for the Family Plan for the USA Android Ascend for $50.00/month.

I currently am with T-Mobile and have the Sidekick LX 07, but there are changes coming, like a new $80.00/mo bill!
I am so excited! The phone I got was bought new 4 months ago. Not sure if there is a memory chip in it, but I did download the PDF Manuel I found on this site!

Thank you. I have delurked after a few days of browsing here!

ETA I am also willing to buy an Ascend from Cricket and get the family plan that way. I can resell this Ascend, I got a really good deal on it.

Hi and Welcome to the forum...

 

[railrat]

After being a sidekick user since 2006, I welcome a new phone that I can take to the next level.

I also have access to having it rooted for $15.00, which I know nothing about for the time being.

The phone is stock now.

Just adding my contacts and waiting for my old T Mobile number to port over.

Exciting times for me!

Thanks for the welcomes!!

 

[nuttmeg]

After being a sidekick user since 2006, I welcome a new phone that I can take to the next level.

I also have access to having it rooted for $15.00, which I know nothing about for the time being.

The phone is stock now.

Just adding my contacts and waiting for my old T Mobile number to port over.

Exciting times for me!

Thanks for the welcomes!!

you getting cheated, $15 just to root...just download it from 4 shared and install it, and do a perm root, just with 1 click...BTW welcome to the forum.

 

[railrat]

you getting cheated, $15 just to root...just download it from 4 shared and install it, and do a perm root, just with 1 click...BTW welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the tip! Still need to figure out this root thang.

 

[Gmash]

Thanks for the tip! Still need to figure out this root thang.

Take a look around the"all things root" section at the top of the screen. There is a thread about how to root and also check out the thread titled "ultimate customization guide" by Tokenpoke. This phone is super easy to root. Just download an app called z4root and click the button. Definitely don't pay somebody $15 to do that.

 

[nuttmeg]

Take a look around the"all things root" section at the top of the screen. There is a thread about how to root and also check out the thread titled "ultimate customization guide" by Tokenpoke. This phone is super easy to root. Just download an app called z4root and click the button. Definitely don't pay somebody $15 to do that.

+1

what he said...look here: http://androidforums.com/ascend-all...ll-things-root-guide-updated-2-28-2011-a.html

 

[railrat]

Thanks for the tips. I got the phone up and running. It is
an M860.

My first thing I wanna do is extend the battery life. I am going to need to be on this phone all day with limited access to charging it.



I am going to delete some widgets, and add the juice app. I did some searches but as a newbie any advice is appreciated.

The phone is stock and not yet rooted. Still reading up on the root thang.

I need the battery life to stay full for at least 12 hours.

I go online web browsing and check email for 2 different accounts during the day.

I do not have wallpaper etc, I do not play games (yet) and I am not into video or the camera or music (yet)...

I know I sound boring, but I am really new so just taking things slow so I do not screw anything up.

I keep the backlight all the way low, but I think I need to fix some apps running or get rid of twitter if I can find it on the phone.

1 question: I deleted a bunch of contacts from the porting of my old phone and I want to know how to permanently delete them off the phone, like empty the trash type of process.

Thanks again. The searching will continue and that PDF manual helped me a lot too!

 

[MoneyHoarder87]

For the battery, the juice app is only going to kill it more and cause your system to lag everytime you unlock. Just use the power widget it does the same thing. Just keep the data, gps and wifi off and you will get good life. I do advise you to truly consider rooting and flashing new roms because it is like getting a new better phone,IMO. Good luck.

 

[efeigenbaum]

Thanks for the tips. I got the phone up and running. It is
an M860.

My first thing I wanna do is extend the battery life. I am going to need to be on this phone all day with limited access to charging it.



I am going to delete some widgets, and add the juice app. I did some searches but as a newbie any advice is appreciated.

The phone is stock and not yet rooted. Still reading up on the root thang.

I need the battery life to stay full for at least 12 hours.

I go online web browsing and check email for 2 different accounts during the day.

I do not have wallpaper etc, I do not play games (yet) and I am not into video or the camera or music (yet)...

I know I sound boring, but I am really new so just taking things slow so I do not screw anything up.

I keep the backlight all the way low, but I think I need to fix some apps running or get rid of twitter if I can find it on the phone.

1 question: I deleted a bunch of contacts from the porting of my old phone and I want to know how to permanently delete them off the phone, like empty the trash type of process.

Thanks again. The searching will continue and that PDF manual helped me a lot too!

You don't sound boring, not to me anyway, I use my phone in a similar way. I wouldn't bother with the Juice Defender program; it doesn't help. I can tell you that it is extremely unlikely that the battery will last 12 hours of constant use. I suggest you figure out a way to charge it. If you'll be near a computer, you can charge it using the USB cord.

 

[railrat]

I thank you for the advice. I am going offline now to read up on rooting and try to delete this cricketweb/clear app that has facebook and myspace and flirtomatic and some other stuff I won't be using, I assume this is where rooting becomes handy...

 

[KOLIO]

I thank you for the advice. I am going offline now to read up on rooting and try to delete this cricketweb/clear app that has facebook and myspace and flirtomatic and some other stuff I won't be using, I assume this is where rooting becomes handy...

Exactly! If battery life is a top priority, rooting & installing a custom ROM(ICARUS 1.1,CM6,or CM7) WILL HELP.Also,there was a mention of a solar charger or battery(AA,?) plug-in type of portable,on-the-go type of charger available @ WAL-MART®. Might wanna check that out as well.

 

[Treydude]

I use Juice Defender and noticed a difference in battery life *shrug

 

[nuttmeg]

I use Juice Defender and noticed a difference in battery life *shrug

i use that on stock but i never saw a different, but every ascend is different, but i did notice a big different after i install cm6/7 and charge the battery too 100%, than went into cwm and wipe battery stat, than let it totaly discharge to 0 when the phone cut it self off...than charge it 100% again, that way you gain more and it shows the right percentage you have on your batt...

 

[MoneyHoarder87]

I use Juice Defender and noticed a difference in battery life *shrug

I agree that it may seem like it is saving you battery but all it does is shut off your data when your screen is off. If you put a power widget on and turn off data you will see a considerable difference simply because you can have the screen on and still keep the data off if your not using it. I will also not lag when unlocking. But if it's working for you, to each his own.

 

[Treydude]

I may check it out but honestly I don't get any lag when unlocking..

Maybe it helps that I have the paid version versus the free?

 

[nuttmeg]

I agree that it may seem like it is saving you battery but all it does is shut off your data when your screen is off. If you put a power widget on and turn off data you will see a considerable difference simply because you can have the screen on and still keep the data off if your not using it. I will also not lag when unlocking. But if it's working for you, to each his own.

+1

and with data off that means late sms/mms, miss calls, widget clocks not up to date, ect...

 

[MoneyHoarder87]

I may check it out but honestly I don't get any lag when unlocking..

Maybe it helps that I have the paid version versus the free?

That could be a possibility, i couldn't push myself to purchase it due to the poor experience i encountered with the free version. I also assume they have made numerous updates since i have used it. So my opinion is a little dated.

 

[BlastGT1]

I have a suggestion nobody has mentioned, in regards to battery life, although it will definitely make your phone run SLOWER:

Get SetCPU from the market ($2) and underclock the CPU. SetCPU allows you to adjust your minimum and maximum processor speed, and you can set multiple profiles for things such as lowest CPU speed when the screen is off. This makes a significant difference, especially if you put the phone down for, say 30 minutes, and have it setup to go to the lowest speed. I've left my phone alone for most of the day with this type of setting, and come back to see the battery percentage had not moved.

You will need to be rooted to use it, but as mentioned before, rooting is about the easiest "hack" you can do with this phone, and I mean easy. My 7 year old daughter could do it if I showed her how.

 

[railrat]

Thanks to everybody for the ideas and advice.

I am now rooted!

I followed the thread in the root section by Tokenpoke.

Now I am backing up apps and will move on to removing bloat!

Thanks again!

 

[railrat]

Just updating what transcribed since I rooted my Huawei Ascend. I have Cricket. It is the M860 version.
I used the Z 4 root I got from Tokenpoke's thread.

I followed his instructions and it went smooth.

I was not highly caffeinated or wasted, totally sober for this...just a heads up! BTW, I work on the railroad, hence my username...Federal Railroad...anyways...

So, I backed up all the apps and files. I did not back up the ones I knew I would delete. I used the Titanium app (free) for this.

After I backed up apps and files, I deleted the apps/files I will not be using.

I deleted:

Docs 2 go
Utube
Photobucket
Games
etc...

Just stuff I will not use.

I also learned that Google Talk keeps running in applications. I might uninstall this and delete it because I do not use it.

I kept the voice dialer and a few other apps.

I did delete the stock keyboard. I replaced it with swift key, not sure I will keep it. Got rid of swype too.

I also downloaded a couple different launchers; Go Launcher and Launcher Pro, but I got rid of them and am using the stock launcher for now. They were both too sluggish.

My next step is to flash over to a new platform.

I will be taking my time doing that.

In conclusion:
Doing the Permanent root was no big deal, it took 5 minutes.

My battery life has improved dramatically from rooting, and deleting apps and files.

I am on my phone on the web all day and today my phone was 100% at 9 am and down to 44% by 5:30 pm.

Not bad, but this was with my backlight off and my apps stopped and I keep the screen timeout at 15 seconds.

So, I see room for improvement still, but I am very satisfied with the root/back up and uninstall results. And I did not opt to freeze, I read about that later.

Phone running well, and ready to take it to the next level!