Nokia E61i Firmware Update - update

It's been a couple of days since my firmware update, so it's time for a small update on the subject.

The biggest advantage is that the mail client is very stable. I use (secure) IMAP and I have 3 mailboxes configured on the device. The mail client hasn't crashed yet.

The biggest downside (in my opinion) is that the 3G connection drops automatically, so you need to re-establish the connection every time. Sure, it saves bandwidth (and costs), but it's annoying that you actively have to monitor your e-mail.

Thankfully, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, so I'm still happy with the Nokia E61i.

Nokia E61i Firmware Update

Early this week, I found a new firmware for my Nokia E61i (out since October 2007). The version I had was v1.x, and this one was v2.0633.65.01 (press *#000# on your E61 to see the current firmaware version). Updating goes through a separate application, but it should also be possible through download over the mobile network (I haven't tried this). All you need to know is explained on the Nokia website, but there are some thing you don't want to forget;

• Use the Nokia Datasuite to create a FULL backup of the phone, because during the upgrade the phone goes back to factory defaults.
• Have lot's of patience (and some deodorant handy)
• Make sure the PC isn't doing anything else that might interfere with the update.

The first attempt failed for me. Even with all the warnings (DO NOT INTERRUPT THE UPDATING PROCESS OR DISCONNECT THE PHONE!!!) I rebooted the PC and disconnected the phone. Result, the phone didn't respond (this is where my deodorant came in). After this I restarted the upgrade process, and the phone got recognized (thankfully). After 10 minutes, the phone rebooted with the new firmware version. First action was to restore all data and settings on the phone. Since I had some issues with my network connectivity I decided to remove the Access Points and reconfigure them.... Well, don't. First of all, I wasn't able to receive the configuration parameters from the mobile operator (SMS 'ja' to 1300), so I had to reconfigure them manually. Their website has a step-by-step manual on configuring the E61i, but this didn't help either. MMS functionality remained absent, and none of the applications was able to connect to the Internet by itself. I had to initiate the connection manually before browsing the web. E-mail was even worse. Every time I had 'Packet Authentication' errors. So after a day I decided to restore the Access Points from my backup, and guess what... Everything worked again. And now for the thing that have changed (at least the ones that I've noticed);

• the e-mail application seems more stable
• camera and video are still crappy (the time between the snapshot sound and the actual capture is still multiple seconds)
• Idle connections are terminated. This is a bad thing (for me at least), because I had my UMTS connection open all the time, and this way I received mail throughout the day. Now I have to connect each time I want to check my e-mail.

I haven't tried VoIP yet, but will try to do so soon (that's what happens when you don't pay for your own bills :-) ) Conclusion is that the phone didn't get better. There are some improvements, and there are some new annoyances. But my e-mail is stable at this moment.

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Google Maps and Nokia e61i

A couple of weeks ago, I was pointed towards Google Maps on my Nokia e61i (I got a download link when I visited google.com on my mobile). After downloading and installing it (which was very easy), I started the application (which was hiding under Menu -> Installations -> Google Maps). Most basic features are available on the phone app (directions, searching for restaurants etc., Zoom in and out), and there's the possibility of positioning yourself on the map by using cellular positioning. Thankfully, this is done for you by the application. Downside is that it's not that accurate. In my case, I could be anywhere in a 1.7 mile radius circle. It's also possible to use a GPS mouse (which I recently bought) for your location. The neat thing is that you can see yourself walk across the map (or drive if you're by car). This is an excellent application. These is one downside... Google Maps is using a constant Internet connection to update the maps, so make sure you have some sort of flat fee data service (or use wifi when available). Otherwise you might be in for a surprise when you receive your phone bill.

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Remove Certificate From Nokia E61

Somehow, people are directed to my website by queries which contain the following key-words; 'remove', 'certificate', and 'e61'. So, here's a quick certificate uninstall guide:

Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Security Settings -> Certif. management -> Scroll down to the certificate you wish to delete -> Options -> Delete -> Confirm Delete -> Yes.

It's not that hard :) (the 'guide' is written for the e61i, but I doubt if it's much different on the e61)

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Change Nokia E61i Default Browser

A friend suggested the Opera Mini browser (v4 beta2) as a browser on my Nokia E61i. So I downloaded it and installed it. Great looking browser which renders some sites much better than the normal included browser (and it's still absolutely free!!). My online banking site seems to work a bit better anyway. One thing I haven't figured out is how to set the Opera Mini browser as the default browser. If I open a link in an e-mail it opens the original browser....

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Symcaimport Available for Download

The last couple of days, I've had several requests for the source code of the Symcaimport pages. Therefor, I decided to 'zip' the files, and serve them to the world.

The pages are written in Macromedia Adobe Coldfusion, but for some one with PHP or ASP knowledge, it should be fairly easy to understand.

Click here to download

B.t.w. It would be nice if you create a link back to my website if you use the pages in some form. And remember that you still need to modify the MIME settings for your webserver for this to work. An alternative is to send the specific MIME setting with the download. Coldfusion does support this, but when I created the pages, I couldn't be bothered. Perhaps someday....

Nokia E61 features in Die Hard 4.0

Well it sort of features in the new Bruce Willis action movie. The phone is visible for a couple of seconds [50 minutes into the movie].

This first picture shows the phone numbers on the businesscard. I guess he's gonna make a call to the other characters cellphone ((202)-555 1313), but why enter '12'? A slip-up or is this just a typo since he's under a lot of stress :-)

B.t.w. mister Willis doesn't have much to do (see calendar), and he obviously has some bluetooth device, otherwise one wouldn't put the Bluetooth menu in the standby menu on the phone.... Other observations show that there is no cell reception and that his battery is almost empty. This does match up with the events (to come) in the movie. So they did mind the (very) small details.

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Nokia E61i Sync Nightmares

I use my Nokia E61i with my corporate exchange environment to synchronize my agenda. The installation of the Nokia Data Suite is pretty straight forward (no reboot required). After the installation I paired the phone with the OS, and am able to synchronize my agenda... This is where the horror begins; as soon as I reboot the laptop the Nokia is unable to sync. It connects for about a second, and the logs show a succesfull sync, but nothing happends. It is possible to browse the phone with the Data Suite application, and I can make a backup. So everything works except synching with Outlook (which is opened AND connected to the Exchange server). If I try to sync my contacts to my Mac Book Pro (using iSync), everything works and keeps working. The only way to solve this is to remove the Data Suite application and reinstall it. After that I can sync, until I reboot. Also, reinstalling is creating extra COM ports. 2 COM ports for every reinstall. last week I had 8 bluetooth COM ports on my system. No way of removing them (the OS keeps 'finding' them after a reboot), but to use System Restore point. I tried 3 different versions of the Data Suite (even the one released earlier this week), but the behavior persists. By the way, synching using the USB cable doesn't solve anything, so it seems to be a sync issue in the Nokia Datasuite and not just BT related, since all other functions do work.

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First Nokia E61i Annoyance

Not every device is perfect. Even the Nokia E61i has its faults. I have a Jabra BT250V Bluetooth headset with my E61i, but the reception is terrible. As long as there's a line of sight between the phone and the headset everything is fine. As soon as I move a bodypart between the two, the reception goes berserk. Even when the Nokia is in my pocket, the reception is terrible. Also, sometimes the Bluetooth connection disappears. Even when the devices lie next to each other. This didn't happen with my older phone (the Nokia 6230i). Perhaps it's the combination.. Perhaps not, but it's definitely annoying. There are/were some other annoyances; like not being able to properly configure the Nokia VPN client with a Cisco PIX firewall. I'm able to succesfully connect, but after that no bit (or byte) is transmitted through the VPN tunnel. So far I blame our corporate firewall. Also, the E61i does respond very well to bouncing on concrete pavement :-( . Or not being able to watch YouTube videos (-> Flash 9) on the phone (which uses Flash 7) .

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Configure the Nokia E61i for VoIP

The Nokia E61(i) phone is capable of making Voice over IP (VoIP) phone calls. The nice part is that you don't need your cellular carrier to make phone calls. All you need is a VoIP account somewhere. The world greatest ISP (in Holland), XS4ALL, gives 2 free VoIP numbers to its customers. So, it was time to get it working on my Nokia E61i. First of all, I wasn't familiar with the VoIP terminology, so I needed a manual for dummies on this. Luckely, the dutch tweakers forum gave me some answers on the topic. After configuring the phone I got error messages about not being able to connect to the service. I did read some reports on this, and they all mentioned that some phones didn't seem to work properly... Fortunately, a colleague of mine has the same phone, and he got it working. So, it could be something else... My DSL modem for example. A quick test showed, that when I used my neighbors open WiFi, I was able to connect to the service, so I needed to look at my modem. A quick search revealed that there was a new firmware (released by my ISP). After updating the firmware everything worked fine. One drawback though. The default outgoing call type is set to cellular, so every call you make will be using the normal GSM network. There is no easy way of switching this to VoIP. This can only be done in the the Phone menu (Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Call).

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