15 February 2007

Nokia E61 knocked out

My E61 died when I was retrieving some emails. So "Messaging" had stopped working. Accessing this app would flicker the screen, and return to the "Standby" menu. This meant that I could not access my POP accounts for work and GMail, but more importantly, I could not open the "Inbox" for SMSes!

So I tried the usual reboots, shaking, taking the battery out and counting to 10, praying to the Nordic gods ... to no avail.

Finally, out of options, I decided to wipe the sucka. Coincidentally, there was a firmware upgrade, so I had to download the new version of the Nokia Software Updater (21MB), and then download the new firmware (48MB) for the E61.

So since the last upgrade, this new version at 3.0633.09.04 definitely feels faster. Ive also discovered more blogs which just go on and on about these Nokia phones: E-Series which discuss the hardware, and Symbianv3 which highlights new software. The improvements for the new upgrade is detailed here, some of which are quite nice.

After using it for the past 12 hours, I have found that the data network stability is significantly better. Both for 3G/GPRS and WiFi. Previously while using the browser on the couch at home, the signal would drop just because I moved my arm. Now, browsing or downloading POP email is very consistent.

I made a backup prior to the upgrade, but when I restored the data, the same problem of "Messages" not available recurred. So I had to reset the phone by typing in *#7370# with the default password of "1234". This wipes the memory fresh. But it also meant that I had to restart configuring the device all over again. I wonder if its possible to just "Restore" the calendar and contacts from the backups without the other settings?

Oh yes. The settings for POP3 for GMail is:
Connection Settings / Incoming Email:
User name: [username]@googlemail.com # note its, googlemail, not gmail.
Password: [password]
Incoming mail serv.: pop.googlemail.com
Access point in use: Maxis WAP 3G # or whatever. I have a group.
Mailbox name: gmail
Mailbox type: POP3
Security (ports): SSL/TLS
Port: Default
APOP secure login: Off
Connection Settings / Outgoing Email:
My email address: [username]@gmail.com
User name:
[username]@gmail.com # note, its gmail, and not googlemail as in incoming!
Password: [password]
Outgoing mail serv.: smtp.gmail.com # note, its gmail.com and NOT googlemail.com
Security (ports): SSL/TLS
Port: Default
User Settings:
My name: [full name]
Send message: Immediately
Send copy to self: Yes
Include signature: No
New e-mail alerts: On
Reply-to: Off
Delete e-mails from: Phone and server #doesnt really remove nor archive from server
Retrieval Settings:
E-mail to retrieve: Msgs. & attachs.
Retrieval amount: All # this is IMPORTANT. If you select 30 new ones, then the mailbox will erase itself and only display the new emails.

Took me a while to get this setting right... its not obvious.


yk.