Why doesn't Verizon tell you about "Plan B" when your phone is stolen?

They pretty much want to disable the phone as soon as it's stolen, but there are options for locating it (though I wouldn't go there without a police officer).
Could possibly have retrieved my DroidX and friend's IPod Touch if they'd been more forthcoming. Instead, looks like they are just trying to sell more phones on the backs of petty thieves.
(Plan B is at https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb&feature=search_result&rdid=com.lookout.labs.planb&rdot=1, BTW.)
Also recommend getting "Where's My Droid" --- helps you find phone if you just misplaced it, and gets GPS coordinates if it's been lost or stolen.

caslon wrote:
They pretty much want to disable the phone as soon as it's stolen, but there are options for locating it (though I wouldn't go there without a police officer).
Could possibly have retrieved my DroidX and friend's IPod Touch if they'd been more forthcoming. Instead, looks like they are just trying to sell more phones on the backs of petty thieves.
(Plan B is at https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout.labs.planb&feature=search_result&rdid=com.lookout.labs.planb&rdot=1, BTW.)
Also recommend getting "Where's My Droid" --- helps you find phone if you just misplaced it, and gets GPS coordinates if it's been lost or stolen.
While you do make a good point, it's not quite the Black Helicopter scenario you'd like to think it is....(But since it's a popular pastime to make Evil conjecture about those that think differently than we do, go ahead and indulge yourself....)
It is Verizon's policy to NOT officially support the 3rd party apps available in the various App Markets. Part of that is to absolve themselves of the liability brought on by bad apps causing havoc on your phone (they do exist, I know). The other part is to not show certain favoritisms to various app developers, of which there are thousands. Hell, for a long time, that's why AT&T (if I understand what I read a whikle back) didn't carry Android phones because they didn't want to allow 3rd party apps on their phones. I don't know Apple's official policy on apps for the i-Whatevers, but Apple does vet out the app they allow pretty seriously.
At least, this is how I have interpreted the various explanations on the subject.
Right or wrong, there's your answers (among others). And I do agree with your point. It would help us locate a certain grandson's missing Samsung phone at the moment...
Geri O

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HT6058 Why doesn't it tell you about how you actually update the iOS?

How do you update your iOS?

To update
The Settings>General>Software Update comes with iOS 5 and later.
Connect the iPod to your computer and update via iTunes as far as your iPod model allows
iOS: How to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
A 1G iPod can go to iOS 2.2 via iTunes and iOS 3.1.3 via
Purchasing iOS 3.1 Software Update for iPod touch (1st generation)
https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/touchLegacyLandingPage
- A 2G to 4.2.1. Requires iTunes version 10 or higher. If a Mac it requires OSX 10.5.8 or later.
- A 3G to 5.1.1 Requires iTunes version 10.5 or later
- A 4G to 6.1.5 Requires iTunes version 10.7 or later. For a Mac, that requires a Mac with OSX 10.6.8 or later
- A 5G to iOS 7. Requires iTunes 11.1 or later if you update via iTunes
Identifying iPod models

Is there any palns to add cancle button when ever you get a call when your phone is locked?

Hello Apple Team,
Is there any palns to add cancle button when ever you get a call when your phone is locked?
I have observed your recent ios 7.0.4 is not at all good version and it has lot of issues, seems you didnt test the version completly and simply released.
Thanks,
Rajesh

No Apple team in this user to user forum.
Send your feedback here http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Maintaining Macs--Why doesn't Apple tell you more?

This is not a problem that I need to solve but just something I've been wondering about. Why doesn't Apple tell people the routines they need to use to maintain their Macs?
If you do a search on "maintenance" in Support the fourth item is Mac Maintenance Quick Assist:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303602
The things they tell you to do are:
1) Keep Things Up to Date; 2) Put Your Files Away; 3) Name Your Files; 4) Prune Through Your Files; 5) Back Up Your Files; 6) Check for Viruses; 7) Clean the Outside
Where is anything about running the maintenance scripts, checking permissions, checking your preferences, updating the databases, cleaning caches, or anything else that software programs like Onyx, Cocktail, etc make their purpose? Why don't they mention getting a program like Disc Warrior and running it periodically?
The first item on their list is Keep Things Up to Date, meaning download system and application updates. Well after looking at these forums for a while I would have to say that is the worst thing you could do, as so many posts start, " Help! I updated my software and now things don't work...." Even if you look at this article about updating your software...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106704
...nowhere does it mention repairing your permissions! Yet everywhere on this forum that is mentioned as one of the first things to do...unfortunately AFTER people are crazy with problems.
I don't get it. Even in the manuals that come with the computers none of this stuff is mentioned (last time I looked) except in the troubleshooting section. Would you buy a car where the owner's manual had "change the oil regularly" listed in a section on what to do after you've blown your engine?
Granted, a lot of people on this forum know all these things and do them regularly, but I have several friends with Macs who never do any regular maintenance because they've never been told to. One just called me last week because his iMac auto-updated and he had all sorts of problems.
So why is this? Why isn't basic Mac maintenance explained to people better? Going back to the car analogy, people have been taught they have to give their cars tune-ups or face an eventual breakdown. Why not with Macs?
I have been using Macs for years and enjoy looking into this geeky stuff. And I rarely have any serious problems. I would think it has a lot to do with the fact that I don't automatically update without checking MacFixit first and seeing what problems people are having and running a few simple maintenance routines periodically, plus backing up for good measure. Why isn't Apple more upfront with people about maintaining their Macs? Am I off-base here?
ibook G3, imac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I'll provide you with several references you will find interesting reading:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060413075624652
http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/secrets/repairpermissions/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/2006/03/secrets/tcopermissions/index.php
http://www.atomicbird.com/node/view/29
The document to which you referred is an old one that dates back a ways when permissions repairs were often still needed because many installers improperly changed permissions or caused permissions to change through other improper operations. In reality the only thing permissions repair affects are the permissions on OS X installed software for which there are receipts in the /Library/Receipts/ folder and third-party software that install a receipt that includes information on resetting permissions for that software. The vast majority of third-party applications provide no such information and repairing permissions has no impact on them.
As for maintenance scripts they are now supposed to be run automatically regardless of whether the computer is turned on in the early AM, but this is an implementation with Tiger because Tiger introduced a new method of task launching. It's not 100 percent effective but it's better than it was. However, it's an easy problem to solve because there are some excellent utilities that solve the problem: Macaroni, Anacron, and Pseudo Anacron - VersionTracker or MacUpdate. I use Macaroni on all my Macs.
Kappy's Personal Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
For disk repairs use Disk Utility. For situations DU cannot handle the best third-party utilities are: Disk Warrior; DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.0 is now Intel Mac compatible. TechTool Pro provides additional repair options including file repair and recovery, system diagnostics, and disk defragmentation. TechTool Pro 4.5.2 is Intel Mac compatible; Drive Genius is similar to TechTool Pro in terms of the various repair services provided. The current version, 1.5.1, is Intel Mac compatible.
OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep.
OS X automatically defrags files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems.
I would also recommend downloading the shareware utility TinkerTool System that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old logfiles and archives, clearing caches, etc.
For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack. If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the commandline.
When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand. I also recommend booting into safe mode before doing system software updates.
Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
1. Retrospect Desktop (Commercial - not yet universal binary)
2. Synchronize! Pro X (Commercial)
3. Synk (Backup, Standard, or Pro)
4. Deja Vu (Shareware)
5. PsynchX 2.1.1 and RsyncX 2.1 (Freeware)
6. Carbon Copy Cloner (Freeware - 3.0 is a Universal Binary)
7. SuperDuper! (Commercial)
The following utilities can also be used for backup, but cannot create bootable clones:
1. Backup (requires a .Mac account with Apple both to get the software and to use it.)
2. Toast
3. Impression
4. arRSync
Apple's Backup is a full backup tool capable of also backing up across multiple media such as CD/DVD. However, it cannot create bootable backups. It is primarily an "archiving" utility as are the other two.
Impression and Toast are disk image based backups, only. Particularly useful if you need to backup to CD/DVD across multiple media.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
Additional suggestions will be found in Mac Maintenance Quick Assist.
Referenced software can be found at www.versiontracker.com and www.macupdate.com.
I know that Joe Average has no clue, but it's not Apple's responsibility to provide Joe Average with clues on how to use a computer. No more than it's not GM's responsibility to teach you how be an automotive mechanic or how to drive. Some things you have to take responsibility for yourself. It's just that Joe Average is too lazy to read the User Guide, buy a book, or in any other way learn about computers before buying one.
As you can tell I am somewhat heavy handed about personal responsibility. Computers are essentially toys that aren't dangerous, but the person playing with them is. What really scares the crap out of me is that same Joe Average has a driver's license and may be old enough to drink liquor. When it comes to driving or drinking and driving Joe Average is no more competent.

Why doesn't Verizon do something about their tech support?????

Verizon Tech Support is definitely outsourced to call centers outside the country. They are quick to offer an apology to your problem, but they make it very apparent that it is your problem. If you do not do exactly as they instruct you to do, they will happily close out your ticket, and your problem still remains unsolved. I have been through the ringer with them on more than one occassion about the same exact issues. Each time that I call, I have to go through the same song and dance, eventhough it is the exact same issue that I have contacted them about before, and the issue is clearly on their end and not on my system. On one occassion, I sat and argued with a gentlemen in Mexico that my issue wasn't fixed. They said it was fixed. I said it wasn't, and I would loose my DSL connection while I was on the phone with him. Another instance, they disconnected my DSL because I have dry loop service and my home line did not have a dial tone, so the techs came out and disconnected everything. Tech support was a joke then as well. I was on the phone for several hours trying to convince them that it was an issue on thier end and not mine.They claimed that I had to be home for the repairman to come out, but I did not have to be home for them to come out and disconnect it in the first place. Because I would not go through all their trouble shooting steps, they would close my ticket out and my problem would remain my problem until I would call them again. It took an act of God for them to come out and get things reconnected again. I actually feel physically ill now when I have an issue with my DSL because I know what it will entail just to get the trouble ticket set up. I have had the operators claim that we have a bad connection (after being on the phone with them for over an hour). They claim that they will need to call you back, but then they never do. When I call back and check on the status, guess what, my trouble ticket had been closed out.   This past instance, I called and complained about a slow connection. The same exact issue that I contacted them about over a month ago. After going through the song and dance again, they claimed that someone would call me back in 24 hours, and no one has. I have complained to the FCC and the State Corporation Commission on more than one occassion, but it seems as if it just business as usual for Verizon. {please keep it relevant} I think that is the only way that they will get the message that what they are doing just isn't going to cut it anymore, and they need to make some changes. I have cut my home phone line with them because of their lack of service. If I had an alternative to DSL available to me in my neighborhood, I would gladly take it so I could finally severe all ties to that company. There has to be something better than business as usual.

{please keep it relevant} I contacted tech. support on Sunday about my slow internet connection. I was pulling 52 kbits/s on a 3M service. This is the second time that I have had this issue. The last time I contacted tech support about this issue was about a month ago. I went through the same song and dance without any resolution.  Somehow the next day, my connection was corrected and I was getting my 3M service again.
This lasted for a month. I called Sunday, 10/11/09 about a slow connection again, Same issue, only able to get 52 kbits/s. Yet, I had to set through the same old song and dance with Verizon tech support. We did things like clear my internet explorer cache and cookies and run a speed test, when I already told the foreign gentlemen on the other end of the line what my connection speed was. How is that going to help improve my connection speed????? At the end of it all, I was told that I would be contacted by a senior tech support specialist from Verizon within 24 hours. Sure as the sun shines, it is now Tuesday, 10/13/09 and I have yet to hear anything from the senior Verizon tech. support..   The kicker is that I am not at all surprised by this. This is now the norm for Verizon. Yet, I still pay my bill. I am still under my contract.
I am going to make a prediction. Next month about this exact same time, I will be contacting Verizon with the exact same complaint, a slow interner connection, and I will have to go through the same old song and dance and have to do things like re-boot my modem and clear my internet explorer cache and cookies and run a speed test, eventhough I have told the foriegn guy from tech support that I have already done all this. Then, they will promise that someone from the senior tech support from Verizon will give me a call back within 24 hours and I will not hear from anyone.
{please keep it relevant}
{edited for privacy}

I just upgraded to Lion only to get the message that I can no longer use my Office (word/excel/powerpoint). Why doesn't apple tell you these things. You'd think they wouldn't be interested in making money for their arch rival usoft. What R the options?n

What are the options other then to re-partition the disk and run lion in one and leopard in another. I suppose I can go over to Google and use their web tools which are compatible with Office. This *****. So much for backward compatability.

Apple makes the Operating System, not the 3rd party apps. In such a big step as upgrading the OS, the user would be the one responsible for making sure that any key apps that they use are compatible with the new OS before taking the step and upgrading.

Why doesn't Verizon care about loyal customers?

I have been a customer of yours for the last 10 years, and when I renewed my contract this year, I had an idea I might be moving overseas for a two year teaching commitment. Your store agent assured me that it would be possible to suspend my line for up to 2 years if necessary (non-military suspension), so that I could keep my number while I was overseas. I ended up accepting this two year position overseas, and am now discovering that what he promised was false.
Since I would not have renewed my contract if I had been told the truth, and because I have been a faithful customer with Verizon for the last decade, I asked for the $210 cancellation fee to be waived. Your customer service rep, Jessica, Badge (removed) refused to waive this fee. Not only was she unwilling to work with me, she was also unable to give me the number to customer service. She told me to go on myverizon.com, but was unable to direct me to a customer services phone number, whereupon she suggested that I just go Google it myself. I don't mind looking up your customer service phone number, but I find it astonishing that a floor supervisor was unable to provide it to me directly. I also am stunned that the cancellation fee was not able to be waived, given the circumstances.
Despite my tenure with Verizon (or perhaps because of it), I am left in awe of how badly your company chooses to treat its constituents. This entire experience leaves me feeling that my loyalty to your company has been profoundly misplaced, and so when I return to the states, not only will I not be returning to Verizon, I will also caution my family and friends against using Verizon.
I understand that you're a gigantic company, and you probably don't care one bit about one upset customer, but on the off chance you do care, or want to review your policies, I figured I should probably tell you about this, rather than keep it to myself.
>> Edited to comply with the Verizon Wireless Terms of Service <<
Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

Hi Amh00,
Oh my! We always to provide accurate information when making changes to your account. Congrats on your new position. We apoologize, for the behavior that you received from the supervisor, it was unacceptable and not tolerated at Verizon Wireless. We know that there are times when you may need to suspend your services for various reasons. We do offer that ability to suspend for other reasons outside of lost/stolen or military suspend. When selecting “Other” as your reason for suspending your service, your line will remain suspended for up to 90 days. For each line of your account, you can only suspend your service for up to 180 days in a 365-day period.
If you choose to suspend service without billing, then your billing will automatically resume at the same time that service resumes
http://vz.to/1uLgLgr .
Thanks,
PamelaF_VZW
Tweet us @vzwsupport

Things Nokia doesn't tell you about the E61i

The E 61i looks great, BUT:
They don't tell you it runs on an exotic platform called Symbian, most banking software will not run with Symbian and I suspect lots of other websites will not either.
So you can forget about making payments with your phone.
Installing email programs like gmail is not easy, go to the google website to see how. Nokia doesn't tell you.
The user manual is too superficial and has a lousy structure.
Customer support from Nokia in my country (the Netherlands) is almost non-existant. Emails are not answered and there is no helpdesk. You can only go with your phone to a repair center and hope for the best.
The settings download service only works for a small number of settings, e.g. not for the gmail settings.
I noticed that the backup function in Nokia pc suite does not make a backup of everything, e.g not the address book.
And these are just a few of my experiences......

My friend the think is to do some research before buying the phone,i am insure you that there is a lot of app which can help you a lot with things you are interest in....just do some good search...if you need help

When you purchase a song from a different album,why does't iTunes tell you ?that you already have that song?

When you purchase a song by a particular artist, why does;t iTunes prompt you about duplcates?

As noted above iTunes Plus songs can be recognised by a plus sign beside them. If I recall the early launch information the iTunes Plus songs are predominantly EMI releases but other labels may also have iTunes Plus content available now: iTunes Plus FAQ

Did you know that if your phone is stolen, Find my Phone is useless?

Lessons from my lost iPhone. Despite having a pin to unlock the iPhone, you can simply power off the phone with a long press of the power button. Which means that if your phone is stolen and the thief is smart enough to turn it off (is there one who isn't?), 'Find my phone' is virtually useless!
Also, you can use Siri on a locked phone to make phone calls and send messages. There are also enough tips available on the internet that show you how to use Siri to unlock the phone, making all your photos, emails and other information available to anyone keen enough to find it.
I've written to Apple to tell them that a phone lock should really do what it says - LOCK the phone! If you own an iPhone and would like the same please write to Apple at http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html
Perhaps when enough people write they'll actually take some notice!

This subject is discussed fairly frequently. Find my iPhone is not useful unless a particularly ignorant thief takes it. It's primary use is to find lost phones, not stolen. Requiring a passcode to turn it off eliminates one way a thief can disable Find my iPhone, but it isn't the only one, and probably isn't the one used by most professional thieves. Among other ways to disable Find my iPhone:
Remove the SIM
Wrap in aluminum foil
Drop in a shoplifter's bag or backpack with its Faraday shield (copper mesh or foil lining)
Restore the phone from DFU mode
The Activation Lock feature, which prevents a stolen phone from ever being used again, except by the rightful owner, is the more valuable deterrent against theft. Once word gets around that a stolen iPhone is useless the market value of stolen phones will drop precipitously, and thieves will switch to stealing Android phones.

HT201412 what do you do when your phone numbers no longer have the contact persons name just a number. Also names are missing from the address book where contacts are.

what do you do when your phone numbers no longer have the contact persons name just a number. Also names are missing from the address book where contacts are.

I, too, love everything about my phone. The other day I tried to crash my Z10 by running multiple apps and having videos running in the background. Do you think my Z10 showed any signs of slowing down? Nothing doing! It ran as smooth as silk. I'm very impressed.
Cheers.
- If my response has helped you, please click "Options" beside my post and mark it as solved. Clicking the "thumbs up" icon near the bottom of my response would also be appreciated.

How do you transfer voice memos from your phone to your macbook? I don't want voice memos from my computer to go to my phone. It's so easy with other PC's.

how do you transfer voice memos from your phone to your macbook? I don't want voice memos from my computer to go to my phone. It's so easy with other PC's.

Hi King Arthur 2000,
Voice memos can be shared back to a computer in a number of different ways, described in this article -
Share a voice memo - Voice Memos - iPhone Basics - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/kb/TI227
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L

How do you transfer voice memos from your phone to computer

How do you transfer voice memos from your phone to computer

Is it possible to transfer a voice memo to my computer and then convert that to text that can be printed?
Here is my problem. I study harbor seals and have always taken hand written notes that then must be typed into the computer when I get home from an observation. Is there any way I can dictate what I see to a voice memo and then have that translated to text. If there is which would do it best an iphone or ipad (I have neither, just a tracphone for an emergency).
Perhaps this is asking too much from the technology available but it would be a great help if I could do this.
Thanks for any help you can give!

I was in the middle of using my iPhone 4 running on the latest iOS before iOS 6 and the screen went black but you can see it is still on because the color of the screen is blueish blackish like when your phone is turning off. Any suggestions?

I was in the middle of using my iPhone 4 running on the latest iOS before iOS 6 and the screen went black but you can see it is still on because the color of the screen is blueish blackish like when your phone is turning off. Any suggestions?

Reset the device by pressing and holding the home and power buttons for 15-20 seconds until the white Apple logo appears.

My sons iPhone 5c is disabled, it says connect to iTunes, when we do that it says do you trust this computer and then it says you must confirm this on your phone, but I can't because it is disabled

my sons iPhone 5c is disabled, it says connect to iTunes, when we do that it says do you trust this computer and then it says you must confirm this on your phone, but I can't because it is disabled

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212
Look at the section titled:
If you have never synced your device with iTunes

Why doesn't Verizon tell you about "Plan B" when your phone is stolen?

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