I have been happily emailing videos to blip.tv. This message appeared in the last two weeks - after doing a lot of live streaming. I deleted all the photos and videos except this one. I also deleted apps I'm not using. So, not sure what is causing this.
Got an email from an anonymous source who didn't want to go on the record because it may or may not work.
1. Is the memory card fragmented? a. Copy the memory card files to your PC b. Then reformat your memory card (can be done on the phone) c. Copy your files back on the card
If this doesn't fix the problem, the next step is to do a soft reset.
a. Make a back up of your data b. Fully charge battery or plug it in c. Type #7370# and follow the prompts d. Don't touch phone after you have done this, it will be appear to be dormat for 5 minutes but then it will reboot all clear. e. Restore your backed up information
If this doesn't work, the next step is to update the firmware.
As you know, about three weeks ago, I took the Nokia N95 plunge and was as excited as my colleague, Amy Gahran, was. I feel in love with it - but the honeymoon is over ...
Amy Gahran, had a bad experience
updating the firmware for her n95 purchased from Amazon. So, I took her advice to update
the firmware. Well, Nokia's user support isn't the most intuitive. I
felt like I was back in 1995. Amy was great and helped me by pointing
me to the right resources. That was two weeks ago. My firmware was up to date, life was good.
Not so fast. I found another way to get the firmware version - and oh no, holy firmware versions batman, I had the same older version as Amy. Oh no, did that mean if I updated the firmware like Amy did that my beloved Nokia N95 would turn into an expensive, unresponsive brick?
I was tempted to simply pack up the phone and send it right back to
Amazon. Instead, I registered the phone warranty and found the support phone numbers. I took a deep breath, dialed, and braced myself for an unpleasant technical and customer support experience. I actually called three times - the third time I decided to live broadcast it.
Bottom line - they claim that it won't brick if install the US version of the firmware and that phone is covered under warranty. I'm still afraid to update the firmware and wasn't going to - but now I'm getting some really strange performance issues that might well force me to update.
Amy Gahran wrote about my experience here, listened to the video, and offered some great advice if you are thinking about a N95 so you don't get screwed. Charlie Shick, from Nokia, left a constructive comment in that post.
Amy points to what Mobile Jones wrote about Charlie Shick and described him a “social media expert.” He runs the company’s blogger outreach program. Another blogger, N95 user, and commenter on Amy's posts - Jenifer Hanen referred to him in hercomments.
Nokia has recently launched a new blog, Nokia Conversations. Amy points out that Mobile Jones reported
that this blog will “highlight the developments inside the world’s
largest device manufacturer, and new entrant into mobile content and
services that the 60,000 employee company represents. Some of those 60K
employees are also introduced along with their accomplishments and new
products. Comments are welcomed.”
So, Amy was pretty pleased that maybe, maybe, Nokia was listening. She goes on to offer Nokia some excellent advice about how to improve their customer service and technical support. She left a comment on their blog letting them know about the conversation (hmm . don't they have a listening system in place?). No comments yet. I will look forward to watching this conversation develop - maybe I'll get some answers about my own technical issues with my N95.
I had thought my firmware was update and I could avoid the "unresponsive brick" problem that Amy Gahran experienced. So, today, I discovered that there is another method for finding out your firmware version. On the phone, you can go into tools, the device set up. And it gives you the firmware number.
Holy firmware version number Batman, my firmware isn't the most recent version (11.2.009) - but the same older version as Amy's - 10.2.006. I was tempted to simply pack up the phone and send it right back to Amazon. Instead, I registered the phone warranty and found the support phone numbers. I took a deep breath, dialed, and braced myself for an unpleasant technical and customer support experience.
Update: Amy Gahran wrote more about this here and listened to the video and wrote up these points:
In the meantime, if you live in the US and have bought or are considering buying a Nokia N95, please follow these recommendations as soon as it arrives (or right now, if you already have the phone):
Register your warranty with Nokia. Just good practice in any case.
Make a record of your phone’s serial number. It’s on
the back of the phone, under the battery, in very tiny type.
Double-check this by entering this character string into your phone: *#06# — that should yield a number that matches what’s under your battery.
Check your firmware version. Enter this character string into your N95: *#0000#
— Make sure you keep a record of this, too. If your firmware is earlier
than 11.2.009 as of this writing, it’s out of date. (If you’re reading
this post much later than Apr. 17, 2008, follow these instructions to find the current US N95 firmware version.)
Call NokiaUSA customer support:1-888-665-4228.
I recommend recording this call. Tell them you want to verify whether
the phone you just bought is indeed a US version. Give them your
phone’s serial number, and get them to confirm whether it is indeed a
US version. (If it isn’t, make sure you find out who to complain to at
Nokia about the vendor who sold it to you under false pretenses, and
then also complain to the vendor and get a replacement. And blog it,
naming the vendor, of course, so we all know who to watch out for.
Also on that call, ask the rep if they are aware of the US/non-US
firmware clash that causes bricked phones, which Beth found out about
from Nokia. If they aren’t, ask to speak to higher-level customer
service until you get someone who knows about the problem. Ask that
person whether, if you do a firmware update on your N95, which Nokia
just confirmed is a US version, and that still bricks your phone
anyway, whether Nokia will repair or replace it for free — and how long
it will take them to get a working phone with up-to-date firmware back
to you. (Definitely make sure you record this part of the call.)
Upgrade your firmware only when you need to. For
instance, if your phone menus are working too slow or you’re having
other interface problems. If, in a case like mine, you have trouble
accessing or using a service that’s supposed to work with your phone,
don’t immediately assume that you should update the firmware to see if
that fixes the problem. Instead, first call Nokia or the service
provider’s support to search for other possible causes of the problem,
and address those first, and specifically ask if you need a certain
firmware version to use the service. (This was my mistake. There might
have been another reason I couldn’t use Share on Ovi)
When you eventually must update your N95 firmware, because you WILL have to at some point, cross your fingers, take a deep breath, and hope for the best. You’ll need to download Nokia’s PC-only update software and follow their procedures exactly — especially backing up all your phone data first.
My running notes in process are here:
I was only on-hold for 3 minutes. The customer support representative was actually articulate, pleasant, and gave me clear answers. Here's transcript of my conversation:
Beth: I just got an N95 and saw that my firmware version is 10.2.006. The newest version if 11.02.009 and I want to update it. However, a friend of mine got the same phone, had the same older firmware, and when she updated - it turned her phone into an unresponsive brick. How can avoid this? (If it happens, I'm returning the phone to Amazon)
Customer Support Rep: Yes, we've heard of the unresponsive brick problem. The problem occurs if you have a phone that isn't a "US" phone, but try to install the US version of the firmware update.
Beth: Well, I purchased my phone from Amazon and it said it was US phone. Are you saying that Amazon sold me an Asian, European, or some other version and labeled it as a US phone?
Customer Support Rep: No, I'm saying that at all. Can you give me your serial number so I can verify that your phone is a US phone.
Beth: Is there a way to get my serial number with having to get my magnifying glass?
Customer Support Rep: yes, type in *#06#
Beth: Here's my serial number.
Customer Support Rep: yes, your phone is US phone. You should have no problems.
Beth: Okay, you have no other records of anything else causing the unresponsive brick problem, right? Customer Support Rep: You are correct. All unresponsive brick problems were due to a mix in the firmware versions.
He tells me that I can call customer support and they can walk me through the firmware update.
Still not trusting this one customer service rep. I called again. This time I asked as an open-ended question - "Are there any potential problems in updating firmware?" Answer:
1. Make sure your battery if fully charged or you are plugged in - if you loose power while doing this it could cause a major problem.
2. Back up all your data.
3. Make sure you download the correct version of the firmware for your phone (see Amy's Advice)
I asked what happens if my phone turns into an unresponsive brick and I followed all these steps?
Answer: He checked for my warranty - it's good for a year. I can call for a repair request. They can definitely fix it. It would take ten days to get it back. No cost. Just the cost of shipping.
Okay, Amy suggested I record call, so I just did a live broadcast and got some different information. She was following the guidelines ..
On the Phone: Our Customer Care Specialists are ready to assist you. Telephone: 1-888-NOKIA-2U (1-888-665-4228) TTY/TDD: 1-800-24-NOKIA (1-800-246-6542)
On the Phone: Our Customer Care Specialists are ready to assist you. Telephone: 1-888-NOKIA-2U (1-888-665-4228) TTY/TDD: 1-800-24-NOKIA (1-800-246-6542)
If you have been following with Soap Opera created with my N95, then you'll be happy to know that this is the last episode. If you want to get up to speed, read this post first.
A different Kenmore Repairman shows up to fix my washer. He told me that the other repairman warned him about me and my camera and that I was blogger. But this repairman has been interviewed by other bloggers. But the good news is that my washer is now fixed.
The repairman was amazed to see live streaming with N95. Maybe he will create KenmoreCares on Twitter like comcast
My colleague, Amy Gahran, had a bad experience purchasing her nokia n95 from Amazon. So, I took her advice to update the firmware. Well, Nokia's user support isn't the most intuitive. I felt like I was back in 1995. Amy was great and helped me by pointing me to the right resources.
1. The first thing you'll need to is to get your device product number. It's located underneath the battery. Warning, if you're as old as me and need reading glasses, go get a magnifying glass too. The point size must be size 2. Here's the instructions.
2. Now, go here. Supposedly if you type #0000# into your phone it will beam back your firmware version. Mine didn't work. But, Amy was able to tell me the most recent version.
3. Then go back to that form and type in your product number and see if you're up to date.
Looks like Amy got a Nokia that had been on the shelf for a while or the firmware wasn't update.
Either I'm just too old or we're in the early-adopter-the-technology-is-really-difficult-wait-five-years phase. Or as Karoli says "Mobiles Need To Suck Less"
I've been getting really crappy customer service from
Sears/Kenmore. I never thought I'd be airing my dirty
laundry or that my washing machine would be a web appliance, but I'm really pissed. So, I'm live broadcasting the saga and archiving it. I'm twittering it too - is there a kenmore cares? I was inspired by Chris Brogan who posted this piece on customer service and different channels.
Here's a summary of the story thus far and I will continue to live broadcast and post it.
After returning from the road with a suitcase of dirty clothing on March 14, 2008, my aging Kenmore washing machine started to make a weird moaning and clicking noise. The spin cycle would not start and our laundry was soaping wet. Even worse, we could not drain the water out of the washer with a gravity spin. (Later we went to Home Depot for a siphon).
I called Sears and they were not available to come on site until March 21st. Since I was going to be in New Orleans, my husband stayed home for the Sears Repairman. He was supposed to arrive in the morning, but did not show up until 4:30 PM. The repairman said the motor was dead and the machine needed a new pump. We had to order it. It took a week to arrived. It arrived, we scheduled another appointment, but the repairman did not show up.
This was right before we were to leave on vacation. So, I scheduled another appointment for the day after vacation - on April 7th. We had suitcases and baskets of dirty laundry. No clean underwear for anyone in the family. I did an emergency run to a laundry mat. Sears called and said the repairman was unable to come on April 7th and rescheduled for April 8th. Sears called on April 8th and said the repairman was unable to come. We rescheduled for April 9th in the morning. The repairman did not arrive until the afternoon and I decided to live broadcast his visit on my Nokia N95.
He was not too happy about me video taping him, but he was very good with customer service and he was knowledgeable. I got lots of tips about washing machine maintenance. One reason why I'm having trouble is that I'm an early adopter of digital washing machines. The first ones were plagued with problems. Since my machine is 8 years old, the parts are no longer carried on the trucks as standard parts. So, this the reason for the long waits. So, does that mean you should ditch your washing machine every 5 years?
He told me to turn off the camera or he would leave without fixing my washer. He said that the repairmen were not allowed to speak to journalists! I told him was I just a blogger.
Anyway, off camera he told me that the first guy misdiagnosed the problem and that we needed to order another part .. but that he would put me on emergency order and I could get an appointment as soon as the part arrived.
So, I was forced to go to the Laundry Mat.
It has a cool sign ...
Two days later - as the repairman promised - the part arrives. Tune in to the next installment to see if we get an appointment right away.
My first live streamed video was from Florida. Didn't get much views because it was before I knew how to get into the web interface.
Qik is still in alpha or beta. So the sign up, registration, and activation is a little geeky. Here's how it goes:
1. Sign up for an account - just give them your phone number
2. Within a day or so you will get a text message with a link to download the software for your phone
3. If you try to stream right away, you will be prompted for an activation code. I didn't get the code right away. I emailed them to ask where it is.
4. I got the activation code and was able to start live streaming.
5. In order to get into the web interface you need a log in and password. Since all I gave when I signed up was my phone number, I didn't have it. So, I emailed again for the userid/pw. It was all numerical, but was able to change it to what I wanted.
6. Once I logged into the web interface, I was able to setup the automatic cross postings. I decided to set up automatic alerts to post to Twitter, YouTube, Sesmic, and YouTube. I'm chewing on whether I want that or not.
