Help Question Thread for Smartphone and Droid Incredible Newbies

soleilvie · May 13, 2010

When I press "Phone", I see all my Facebook and Gmail contacts. How do I get rid of that? I just want to manually enter the contacts that were on my old phone (10 or so) and have those show up, not all 200 of my Facebook friends.

jprow507 · May 13, 2010

soleilvie said:
When I press "Phone", I see all my Facebook and Gmail contacts. How do I get rid of that? I just want to manually enter the contacts that were on my old phone (10 or so) and have those show up, not all 200 of my Facebook friends.

Unfortunately that will always be the case when you press phone.... to get to your standard contacts you have to press Phone - then Menu - then People.... or alternately just use the People icon program.

TheSultan · May 13, 2010

Or, while your "People" list is open (not in phone, but by using the People icon), you can hit "menu" and then "View". You can check and uncheck certain groups of people to show up in your contacts list.

That will solve your problem, but that also would take them out of your People list as well...

soleilvie · May 13, 2010

^ I actually just went to Accounts and Sync and completely removed Facebook syncing. It got rid of all the contacts within Phone so that I can now manually add standard contacts like I wanted to. The Facebook app still works. Speaking of the Facebook app, how do view my inbox? I can't seem to find the option to do that.

alison03 · May 23, 2010

random questions:

I posted this in the message thread but haven't gotten any help: when my phone is set to vibrate...I don't get any vibrations of new emails/texts. I have each setting checked to vibrate (ie I have general settings phone vibrate checked, have yahoo mail vibrate checked etc). I keep sending messages to myself and it doesn't vibrate - only the green light will flash! As soon as I turn the ringer up, it alerts me in the notification bar that I have a new email! Also, if I go into Yahoo mail directly, for example, it will show I have a new message (by being bolded) but the inbox will say "0" as if there aren't any new messages.

Unrelated question: why does the uptime reset when you turn the phone off and on? I didn't plug it in, just had to restart it, and it says 5 minutes 25 seconds since unplugged...when it's really been something like 30 hours since I've charged it.

JeeperDon · May 23, 2010

alison03 said:
why does the uptime reset when you turn the phone off and on?

Is this a trick question? It obviously disconnected from the phone network while booting, so it starts from zero when it reconnects. Who cares what the up time is anyway?

chimpy · May 23, 2010

How do I create folders to store my apps in while browsing the app tray?

alison03 · May 23, 2010

JeeperDon said:
Is this a trick question? It obviously disconnected from the phone network while booting, so it starts from zero when it reconnects. Who cares what the up time is anyway?

not a trick question - just curious. it changes the time unplugged part too so and I didn't plug it in so I was just wondering. It really doesn't matter, I was just trying to keep track for the battery test thread about how long I was using it and how long it was awake on a charge.

alison03 · May 26, 2010

So Astro: under a description it says 'task killer' - I really don't want that on my phone, is it an option? Can I turn it off once I install Astro?

Just trying to get Swype but Astro seems a little too complicated for where I'm at right now in my Android learning phase. :/

jfunk · May 26, 2010

alison03 said:
So Astro: under a description it says 'task killer' - I really don't want that on my phone, is it an option? Can I turn it off once I install Astro?

Just trying to get Swype but Astro seems a little too complicated for where I'm at right now in my Android learning phase. :/

There's nothing inherently wrong with anything has "task killer" ability.

What you want to avoid is anything that automatically kills tasks, such as ATK as they may kill tasks you want running without you knowing about it.

alison03 · May 26, 2010

jfunk said:
There's nothing inherently wrong with anything has "task killer" ability.

What you want to avoid is anything that automatically kills tasks, such as ATK as they may kill tasks you want running without you knowing about it.

Gotcha! I just didn't know if by downloading Astro to get Swype, I would be installing a task killer that would be running the background or something without me really knowing. Considering I don't open documents much or have a really big need for a file manager, the whole notion of Astro (and anything that has to do with my files and the internal aspect of the phone) kinda confuses me because it seems to do so much.

In general, I'm extra worried about messing up my phone. I think I mentioned before that this is my first smartphone (if it's not glaringly obvious by my questions) and it runs perfectly. I mean insane call quality (55dbm), really fast, no dust under the screen, no memory problems, battery life is great etc. So by downloading things I don't know how to use just worries me because if something gets messed up, I have no idea how to fix it.

jfunk · May 26, 2010

alison03 said:
Gotcha! I just didn't know if by downloading Astro to get Swype, I would be installing a task killer that would be running the background or something without me really knowing. Considering I don't open documents much or have a really big need for a file manager, the whole notion of Astro (and anything that has to do with my files and the internal aspect of the phone) kinda confuses me because it seems to do so much.

In general, I'm extra worried about messing up my phone. I think I mentioned before that this is my first smartphone (if it's not glaringly obvious by my questions) and it runs perfectly. I mean insane call quality (55dbm), really fast, no dust under the screen, no memory problems, battery life is great etc. So by downloading things I don't know how to use just worries me because if something gets messed up, I have no idea how to fix it.

If you're concerned about accidentally messing something up in Astro, just use Astro to install Swype and then uninstall it as soon as you're done. You won't need it to uninstall Swype if you don't like it.

There are some simpler file managers and "app installers" out there, but I would probably recommend you stick with Astro for this function simply because it is the most popular so you won't have any trouble getting any questions that come up answered quickly.

In fact, I think somebody actually posted a step-by-step on here somewhere for installing Swype using Astro specifically.

tmccor · May 26, 2010

I know that the cellular systems in Eur. are incompatable. My question is: Can I still get such things as Google Voicemail while in Europe by tapping wifi? I assume most to other internet-based stuff will work via wifi access, but not sure about this.

Or any suggestions on how to test this while in US by somehow turning off my cellular radio but keeping wifi on? (not sure of what to turn off... airplane mode alone will not work.)

jfunk · May 26, 2010

tmccor said:
I know that the cellular systems in Eur. are incompatable. My question is: Can I still get such things as Google Voicemail while in Europe by tapping wifi? I assume most to other internet-based stuff will work via wifi access, but not sure about this.

Or any suggestions on how to test this while in US by somehow turning off my cellular radio but keeping wifi on? (not sure of what to turn off... airplane mode alone will not work.)

+ ---> Widget ---> Settings ---> Mobile Network

This will give you a little button to turn off/on your cellular data connection.

alison03 · May 26, 2010

jfunk said:
If you're concerned about accidentally messing something up in Astro, just use Astro to install Swype and then uninstall it as soon as you're done. You won't need it to uninstall Swype if you don't like it.

There are some simpler file managers and "app installers" out there, but I would probably recommend you stick with Astro for this function simply because it is the most popular so you won't have any trouble getting any questions that come up answered quickly.

In fact, I think somebody actually posted a step-by-step on here somewhere for installing Swype using Astro specifically.

ohhhhh, I didn't realize I could just uninstall if after I got Swype. I just assumed I needed to keep it on there cause it would like hold Swype's files or something. :eek:

jfunk · May 26, 2010

alison03 said:
ohhhhh, I didn't realize I could just uninstall if after I got Swype. I just assumed I needed to keep it on there cause it would like hold Swype's files or something.

Nope, once installed Swype will be just like any other app you install from the Market.

The only reason you need Astro here is because Swype is no longer available via the Market, so you're manually acquiring the installation file and running it.

The ".APK" file you get for Swype is just like a ".EXE" file you would download to install a Windows program. You just don't have any way to "double-click on it" on the phone natively. That's all you're using Astro for...to browse to the file and "run" it.

gbagsy3 · May 27, 2010

I cannot send or receive MMS messages. SMS no problem, but simple pictures just don't want to budge.
Any ideas???
TIA

alison03 · May 27, 2010

jfunk said:
Nope, once installed Swype will be just like any other app you install from the Market.

The only reason you need Astro here is because Swype is no longer available via the Market, so you're manually acquiring the installation file and running it.

The ".APK" file you get for Swype is just like a ".EXE" file you would download to install a Windows program. You just don't have any way to "double-click on it" on the phone natively. That's all you're using Astro for...to browse to the file and "run" it.

Seriously, thank you for breaking it down into terms I can understand haha. I mean that totally clicked in my head when no other explanations were making sense.

As an aside: I just noticed something: when I turn my phone off and on, it makes a little ringtone. When my fiance turns his off and on, it's silent. Am I missing a setting that I have checked or something? It doesn't really matter, I just wanna know what I'm missing.

Lars · May 27, 2010

gbagsy3 said:
I cannot send or receive MMS messages. SMS no problem, but simple pictures just don't want to budge.
Any ideas???
TIA

mms takes a data plan. could be you need to call verizon and have them reprovision your account.

JeeperDon · May 28, 2010

gbagsy3 said:
I cannot send or receive MMS messages. SMS no problem, but simple pictures just don't want to budge.
Any ideas???TIA

Because they are the only two 'resetish' things you can do, I'd start by reprogramming the phone (#228, opt 1), then rebooting (Pwr off/on), then try again. If it doesn't work then, I would call VZW and ask them why it does not work.

gbagsy3 · May 28, 2010

when you say Verizon you mean my network provider?? I'm in the UK with O2...

th.doyle · May 28, 2010

In that case, #228 might not be the code you need

longez1 · May 30, 2010

Hello everyone,

Could someone (with a larger brain than me) please tell me how to delete a pdf file that I downloaded to my incredible? I've tried everything and still have 48 pages stuck on the phone every time I open my pdf viewer.

Thanks in advance...

kayst · May 30, 2010

If you don't have a file manager, download Astro File Manager, browse to the download location (probably /sdcard/download or downloads, find the file, long press, select EDIT then DELETE.

alison03 · May 31, 2010

I never paid much attention to the 'warnings' that the app gives before it downloads as I only download ones I trust (ie Google Sky Map). Anyway, I was going to download World Cup 2010 by FotMob and I noticed it said:

This application has access to the following:

Your Location (coarse network-based location)
Network Communication (full internet access)
System Tools (prevent phone from sleeping)

So what does that mean? Like it *can* prevent your phone? Will? Might? Is there a place that lists all the warnings an app gives and tells you what that means, exactly? I'm a little wearing about things messing up my phone and was just trying to figure out what it all means.

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