Haus Intrepid Tips and Tricks

[haus]

*** GENERAL TWEAKS ***
====================================

*** ALL SOUND INFORMATION HAS BEEN MOVED TO POST #2 ***

Here are a list of tips and tricks that I and other users have compiled for the Intrepid. I will try to keep this first post updated as thing develop. All these have been moved over from sprintusers.com, since they don't allow editing of posts after a limited time, and I needed to correct some errors in my posts. Now that ppcgeeks has created a forum for the Intrepid, I'm going to keep this here.

edit: long registry key strings are in code blocks here because forums seem to force spaces in weird places with long unbroken strings.

Hard Reset

So you installed something naughty that broke your Intrepid, and you can't get to the "clear all data" screen because it won't boot or you can't unlock the phone. (FYI don't try to install the haptic feedback program for a Touch Pro on the Intrepid.) Press the reset button on the side of the phone and hold the D-Pad center button until asked if you want to clear everything. Remove the MicroSD card just for safety. I did.

5-Column Small Icon Start Menu Tweak

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=112010


Disable Threaded Text Messaging

HTC was kind enough to give us a choice in the matter here; Samsung not so much. I receive automated text messages from a remote server and they can't be lumped into a 'conversation', so I have to have a way to go back to the old boring way. Set:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Inbox\Settings\OEM\SMSInboxThreadingDisabled = 1

(thanks to mydigitallife.info for that tidbit)

Terribly slow response to button presses and screen taps

Open up your task manager. I'm willing to bet you've got way more stuff going on in there than you should. End some tasks and if necessary, soft reset; the problem will go away. Something is wrong with the Intrepid memory management, I think; it just lets things run until the processor is so bogged down it can't do anything.

Blurry Text

Turn cleartype off. On a screen with this low resolution, cleartype just doesn't cut it.

Switch Bluetooth Headset Button back to Voice Command

TellMe is OK, maybe a bit gimmicky and IMHO not ready for prime time. I suppose the day I can press the button and say "navigate to...", and it opens Sprint Nav and gets me there, then great. Until then, I miss my confirmations before dialing numbers and the sheer simplicity of Voice Command.

I changed a bunch of things, but I think this is what worked:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Bluetooth\AudioGateway

Change BTAGExtModule value from BTAGExtModule.dll to \windows\vcbthag.dll

You have to soft reset. Now when I press the bluetooth headset button I get MSVC, and when I press the TellMe button on the handset I get TellMe. Perfect. The only bug so far is that voice command announcements do not come over the BT headset, so I've been forced to turn those off (they only come out of the phone speaker).

.Net CF 3.5

I'm not sure what version of .NET compact framework the Intrepid ships with, but the .Net CF 3.5 CAB floating around seems to install just fine and does allow some programs to work (that did not work stock). So I suspect this phone ships with .NET CF 2.0.

GPS with older programs

The Intrepid has Windows managed GPS on port GDP9:. This port is inaccessible to some older GPS programs like iGuidance 3.01 and a few others. GPSGate (not free) is able to replicate the internal GPS data to a virtual COM port for those programs. I chose COM8 (it initially suggested COM2 but when I selected COM2 it said "port already exists" - I think it might be a bluetooth virtual port).

Newer GPS programs seem to be written to work with the Windows managed GPS without this limitation.

FYI I was not able to get the free GPSProxy program to see GPD9, though I haven't played around with it much so I'm not sure if it's my limitation or a limitation of the software.

GPS in General

I have to say, I'm pretty dang impressed with the GPS in the Intrepid. I don't know if it's the combination of a decent processor or something that's just better about this phone, but with my old iBlue and the built-in GPS in the Touch Pro, I could almost never get a fix inside my house, and even then it would take some time to get a fix. With the Intrepid, I get 5-6 satellites sitting at my desk and the fix is just seconds. And on this phone, route planning seems a lot faster in general (faster processor, I guess?).

I would have to give this phone thumbs up on GPS so far. One of these days I'll try taking it into the redwood forest and see if it can get a fix under a tree canopy. That's the real test for me...


No OTG Host

Since it came up with the last microUSB device I used (800w), I thought I'd check. The Intrepid does not appear to have USB OTG "host" capability. I'm not surprised, but it would have been kind of cool. I tried my OTG host cable from the 800w and even tried the drivers from xda-developers, no go.


Pocket Outlook Opens on Every Mail Check

It appears to do it when Pocket Outlook isn't open and a mail check is initiated. If Pocket Outlook is open in the background (showing in Task Manager) then it stays in the background even if an email check is initiated.

Here's what appears to to be the issue. XButtonSetting forces outlook to close when you hit OK. Disable that and it stays open in the background, which should fix your issue. You just have to watch your task manager a bit more closely and remember to close things now and then. Thanks to canestim at sprintusers.com for helping to solve this one!


Opera Mini

Ramz858 reports that Opera Mini works on the Intrepid:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=95721


Remove Startup Animation

Take the attached "StartUp.gif" and copy it to \Windows on your device. It will overwrite the version from ROM and remove your startup animation. I can't find the shutdown animation; let me know if you find it! I'm not sure if this actually speeds up the boot process, but I have to think that not running a 600KB animated GIF has got to help a little.


MindFrost XDA-DEVEL LOCKSCREEN FIX (with a Haus tweak)

Edit: there is one issue with this tweak. If the phone is locked and you get a low battery notification, the notification pops up right over the unlock slider so you can't unslide the lock (as me how I know). I sort of freaked out when that happened and I pressed a bunch of buttons and tapped the screen and eventually I got the lock screen to show in front of the notification, so I was able to clear it. Just something to be aware of.


This is improved as of 11 Nov. 2009. I tested MindFrost's lockscreen fix. It is intended to fix a delay, but it also moves the slider down to where your thumb is. Anyone who likes to use the phone one-handed will really benefit from this. Here is the original thread at XDA:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=527219

I chose the centered version of the MF82_QVGA_BothSliders_v1.1.zip. But I didn't like the fact that on the Intrepid (is it just this phone?) the clock text gets cut off at the bottom (here and with the stock ROM lock also). So I edited the CPR file to move the clock all the way left and make the font just a bit smaller. Take the attached cpr.txt file, rename it to just .cpr (remove the .txt extension I had to give it in order to upload it here) and put it in \Windows on your device. Soft reset, and lock.

You will notice (as others have) that when you have alerts (like SMS and email) and you tap the slider to show them, they pop up kind of over the slider. That's just because I didn't bother to change that, as I never really use that function. Feel free to tweak it and make improvements if you want that functionality to work better. It's pretty tight fitting on the 240px high display. Enjoy!

Tethering

Enough people are asking about this...you do not need special programs to tether. Of course no one here condones tethering without having a data plan that covers your tethering. This is merely for informational purposes.

HKLM\Comm\InternetSharing

You will see:

Extension: InternetSharingEx.dll

blank the value of Extension.

Soft reset. Go back and make sure the above change stuck. Rumor has it if you soft reset too fast after making a reg edit, it doesn't "stick". If not, try again, wait a few minutes, and then soft reset.

Go into Internet Sharing, select "SPRINT DATA" as the network connection (DO NOT CHOOSE ANYTHING ELSE) and connect. Sometimes it is necessary to start a data connection on the phone manually before running Internet Sharing. You can do so by opening Pocket IE, checking mail, or whatever.


Steps to connect:

1. Pair your phone and your PC (talking about bluetooth here)

2. Open ICS. Choose Bluetooth PAN and Sprint Data. Press Connect. If you've already paired, there's no need to make BT visible (sometimes ICS asks you this, I think maybe after every soft reset?)

3. On the PC, connect to the Network Access service on the phone.

(end post 1)

[haus]

*** SOUND TWEAKS ***

=============================================

Moving all the sound changes here to clean things up. Post 1 is getting a little busy.

Turn off Charger Plug/Unplug Sound

Turn off the beep when you plug and unplug a charging cable:

[HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\NotiCharger]
set "Script" to "" (default is "p")

Don't simply clear the "Sound" key or it will just overwrite it with "\windows\dpadctl.wav" later on.

Turn Off "Battery Fully Charged" Sound

I've been looking for this one for awhile. The annoying beep you get when your battery is fully charged (who cares?):

HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\FullCharging\
I'll try setting "Script" to blank for now; this one is hard for me to test because I usually only charge at night in silent mode, but once in awhile I charge at my desk and that sound bugs me to no end. If you try this, report back if it works.


Turn off Power On, Phone On, and Phone Off Sounds

There are something like 4 sounds that play, 2 on startup, 2 on shutdown:

HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\PowerOff
HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\PowerOn
HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\PhoneOff
HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\PhoneOn

I set the "script" and "sound" values to each of these to blank. Unfortunately one of the "off" sounds still plays (I think it's PowerOff, since I hear nothing when I hold down the end key to turn the phone off, but I do hear it when I hold the power key to shut the phone off completely). I'm not sure how or why that last one still plays. If you're in a movie theater and you want to turn off your phone, put it in silent mode first.

Turn Off Dialing Beep and Change In-Call Notification Sound

Thanks to tedtlogan for finding this. Go to:

HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\Dialing
set "Script" to blank. This will prevent dpadctl.wav from playing every time you make a call (really annoying sound).

Also you can change the sound you hear in your ear when you get a text during a call:

HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\InCallBuzz
set "Sound" to something else, like "Alert1.wma" for a nice simple two-tone beep.


Remove Beep When Entering Roaming

Thanks to jmel and canestim for helping get this one sorted. I haven't seen this myself because I don't roam around here, but apparently the annoying beep you hear when you enter a roaming area is popboxalert.wav (it's also the annoying beep you hear twice when the phone boots up from a soft reset).

To disable this annoying sound, go to:

HKCU\ControlPanel\Sounds\PopBoxAlert

and set the "script" value from "p" to blank.


Jillbiz' Custom Ringtone Information

Originally Posted by jillbiz

To add “incoming call” ring tones to your Intrepid: Sync your phone to your PC, open “your device”, open “Windows” folder, Open “Ring” folder. Drop your wma files in. Sync phone again.

Disconnect phone and then go to Start>Settings>Sounds&Notifications. Select the Notifications tab. The true test is if the files show for incoming call, which if the file is wma, it will.

Notes:
*Don’t bother to put them in “My Ringtones” or “Sounds” folders, they won’t play.
*You can convert wav or mp3 files to wma with a few free converters, I use “Quick Media Converter 3.6.5” from cocoonsoftware.com. It’s free and I’ve used it for quite awhile. Midi files won’t play and they don’t seem to convert.
*I purposefully put “incoming call” because you can add non wma sound files to play for other notifications such as incoming texts but it will not play for incoming calls.

And then there's this...

Originally Posted by Tmair

Back on the first page there is section on ring tones, it says you need WMA files for the ring tones, I dropped some mp3 files into the ring folder, they will play as ring tones, thought this might be useful for some.
Terry

Prevent SMS Sent Tone

Thanks to jp0213x for finding this!

Originally Posted by jp0213x

This is weird but I think I found a way to disable the outgoing sound for the text alert. I don't know why this is, but you need to disable the new MMS message sound.

Start--- settings ----Sounds&Notifications---Notification tab, Event:messaging: New MMS message. Uncheck play sound.

I don't know why the MMS sound alert would have anything to do with the outgoing alert for SMS, but it does.

[haus]

*** BACKLIGHT DIMMING (AND BLUETOOTH RADIO) FIX ***
==============================

Somehow, between plugging in and unplugging the phone (and possibly using the WM6.5 device lock in combination) the backlight timers in the registry get overwritten. Specifically the values of "BatteryTimeOut" and "ACTimeOut" get set to 5 seconds, and this seems to sometimes cause the screen to go dim after 5 seconds repeatedly, even while you're just using the device normally (i.e., you start to read an email and the screen dims to the lowest setting). Also the keyboard lights may revert to 5 seconds too, regardless of where you had them set before.

I wrote a mortscript to run in the background and monitor these settings. If they are changed, the script will change them back (otherwise it will do nothing and wait 5 seconds before checking again). My new settings (you can edit these) are 40 seconds for the keyboard and backlight dimming (backlight low but not off), then I leave "suspend device" at 1min on battery in the power control panel so that 20 seconds after the screen dims, your device suspends.

Also, the Bluetooth radio on my Intrepid seems to turn itself off a lot (at least every night while charging, and sometimes during the day). I'm not certain if this relates to the SmartWatch program I use, but if you've experienced BT turning itself off you can fix that issue here as well.

Attached are 3 new files (updated Feb 11, 2010):

1. Intrepid_Fixes.mscr (version 0.7 now, changes noted below)
2. Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr
3. Toggle_Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr

Intrepid_Fixes.mscr contains the following updates:

- Force 60-second suspend on battery (sometimes unchecks itself so your device stays on forever, this now prevents that from happening)

- 40 seconds to screen dimming, battery and AC

- Keyboard backlight to 40 seconds

- shortened sleep interval to 4 seconds instead of 5 (maybe helps occasional brightness changing issues)

Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr is a separate script designed to use vjvolubilis and keep your BT radio on. To install, put this script in your \windows\startup folder as well. This will cause 2 instances of Mortscript to run, but with 193MB of program memory available this doesn't bother me. Do not change the name of this mscr file when you copy it over (case sensitive too.)

Toggle_Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr should go in your \My Documents folder or somewhere else accessible (do NOT put it in \Windows\startup!!!!). Run this program to disable the BT keepalive script, since there is no easy way to turn it off otherwise. If you run the toggle mscr and the BT keepalive script is running, the toggle script will kill it and show a message that BT can now be turned off. If the BT keepalive script is not running, the toggle script will start it. You might need to do this when you get on a plane if the attendants hassle you about your BT radio being on, etc.


Steps to install:

1. Install Mortscript which you can get here:

http://www.sto-helit.de/index.php?mo...=view&entry=65

(the download is a zip file; go into the zip, inside the "cab" folder, and choose the one called "MortScript-4.2-PPC.cab", then copy that to your device and run it from File Explorer to install. I recommend installing to your device).

2. Put the attached mortscript file, Intrepid_Fixes.mscr, into \Windows\startup. This script (interpreted by Mortscript.exe) will run in the background all the time, but only at 0-1% CPU and I've seen no significant decrease in battery life.

3. If you decide to run the Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr script, you will need vjvolubilis. Get it here:

http://www.vijay555.com/index.php?Releases:VJVolubilis

Install to the device. Then put the Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr file into \Windows\startup as well, and save the Toggle_Intrepid_Bluetooth.mscr file somewhere else where you can run it easily on demand if you need to be able to turn BT off.

========================================

Edit: since it came up elsewhere:

To change the time in the script, do I just change all the values that say 30?

Yes, you can just change the values, but read what each one does first. For example, if you wanted the keyboard backlight to turn off at 15 seconds, you would change this section

	# Force Keyboard backlight timeout to 30s
	# ===================================================
	curKeyBacklightTimeout = RegRead(HKCU,"\ControlPanel\Backlight","KeyBacklightTimeout")
	If (curKeyBacklightTimeout <> "30")
		RegWriteDWord(HKCU,"\ControlPanel\Backlight","KeyBacklightTimeout",30)
	EndIf

to this:

	# Force Keyboard backlight timeout to 15s
	# ===================================================
	curKeyBacklightTimeout = RegRead(HKCU,"\ControlPanel\Backlight","KeyBacklightTimeout")
	If (curKeyBacklightTimeout <> "15")
		RegWriteDWord(HKCU,"\ControlPanel\Backlight","KeyBacklightTimeout",15)
	EndIf

The result would be that the keyboard backlight would go off at 15s of inactivity. Your screen would go dim 15 seconds later (at a total of 30s), and your device would power down (suspend) at whatever time was set in the power control panel.

[haus]

Edit Feb 10, 2010:

Still occasional double-locking with Smartlock 1.7E and it was reported that the incall lock is always active even when turned off. Tried pocketshield QVGA, but that is designed for QVGA portrait only and not QVGA landscape - many options aren't readable and the design part of the settings application crashes as it attempts to rotate the screen.

Trying *only* devicelock 1.6 now, set to lock on wake. Sometimes I really hate this thing.


==================== ALSO DEPRECATED ======================


With my old lock solution my phone was always nicely locked and I made no pocket calls. This is a good thing, but too often I experienced the dreaded "double-lock" issue. Sometimes it seemed if I waited a few seconds to unlock the phone it wouldn't double-lock (require two swipes), but it was not reliable and the double-lock drove me crazy.

I uninstalled both lockdevice and devicelock and installed the smartlock 1.7E from this post:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showpost.p...35&postcount=9

You have to install it, then go to start->settings->System->Smart Lock. The program wasn't built for QVGA so it's a leap of faith here. Be sure "WM6.5 new lock" is selected, and then select "Suspend lock" and (if you want) "Incall lock". There are buttons you can't see below the bottom of the screen, so be careful how you press the center button because you might select an unknown option that you can't see.

Then press "OK" and SOFT RESET.

After your phone resets, you should be able to turn it off and when you turn it on, it will lock. I've been testing this for about half a day and so far it seems very reliable and I haven't had a double-lock.

The program doesn't work when charging so you have to lock manually if you use your phone while it is plugged in.

There are more recent versions that allow the option to work while charging, but as with all programs it seems the more stuff that gets added the more problems people report, so I'm writing up this version (1.7E) because it seems to work just fine on the Intrepid.

SmartLock appears not to work with the devicelock program, so there's no longer a one-button lock and suspend button on the face the phone. Workaround is to tap the power key or hit start->left softkey which just locks (and doesn't suspend).



================= D E P R E C A T E D ===================

One-Button Lock and Suspend

This isn't unique to the Intrepid but is kind of cool anyway. You can lock and suspend your device quickly without having to reach around for the power button (which I find hard to use one-handed for fear of dropping the smooth plastic phone).

1. Install Matt Armstrong's "device lock" application:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=261277

2. Go to start-settings-system-device lock and choose the "suspend" option. This means that when you run the "lnk" in the start menu called "device lock", your device will lock and immediately suspend, so that if it turns back on in your pocket, it will be locked.

[choose 3A or 3B]:

3A. Open your favorite registry editor and navigate to:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\CHome\CClock

- change SK2TEXT to "Lock"

- change SK2URL to "\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Device Lock.lnk" (quotes not necessary - in fact you can even use the forward slash on the Intrepid keypad and it also works)


OR...


3B: map one of the assignable button keys to the device lock application in settings. I prefer the softkey method because it's just right there where your thumb is.

4. Soft reset if you did 3A above to reload the new key in the home screen (not necessary if you did 3B).

Now at the home screen when your clock is displayed large format (by default, when you press end call button) the softkey immediately above your finger is a "Lock" key. Tap the key and your device instantly locks and goes to sleep.

On my phone I combine this with DHR LockDevice 1.6 (set to lock on screen off*).

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=542482

The two work in concert; if you lock with devicelock as above, LockDevice doesn't lock again. But if you forget to lock with the softkey and your device powers down on its own, it wakes up locked thanks to Lock Device. no pocket dialing, ever, and you have an even faster way of turning off the device than reaching around for that miniscule power button.

Note: sometimes I get a double-lock (unlock once and it asks you to swipe again). I had that before I set this up, so it doesn't relate to running both programs. I'm not sure what causes it, but it's intermittent.

------------------------------------------------------------------
* this is a change from my post at sprintusers.com, which cannot be edited. Setting lock device to lock on wake causes double locks when you lock with devicelock and I made a mistake writing up the original post. I still get double locks now and then, but much less frequently.

[somdave2005]

Dude you are the man, thanks!

[haus]

Thought I'd post my Intrepid.reg file. You need a registry editor installed that can read and merge these - I use Resco Registry, but I assume any registry editor on WM will work. It does the following:

1. Tethering (still need to select Sprint Data in the Internet Sharing app, use at your own risk with regard to policies and billing - YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE and I make no claims of any kind on this)

2. Disable SMS threading

3. Keypress - I can't remember what this one does, actually?

4. Dialing - prevents annoying beep when you initiate a call

5. NotiCharger - prevents charging plug/unplug sound

6. FullCharging - should prevent beep on full charge

7. PopBoxAlert - disable roaming alert beep and double beep when the phone boots

8. AudioGateway - sets Bluetooth multifunction button back to Voice Command instead of TellMe


INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rename to Intrepid.reg (remove the .txt extension which is required to host this file on ppcgeeks)

2. Copy to your phone. DO NOT RUN THIS ON YOUR WINDOWS PC. Your PC registry editor would try to make these changes on your PC, which is NOT WHAT YOU WANT.

3. Install a registry editor on your phone (like Resco Registry)

4. Double-click the Intrepid.reg file and merge into your registry.

[jathomas0910]

Wirelessly posted (Sprint Touch pro2: Opera/9.7 (WindowsMobile; PPC; Opera Mobi/35267; U; en; Presto/2.1.1))

my friend just got this phone yesterday and he loves it, I will pass along your tips to him

[ChiefGeek]

I'm a new WinMo user, formally a Palm user (for past 10 years). I really detest the keyboard and backlight going dim or shutting off so quick. I'd like to impliment the script above, but am a total newb. Where do I start. This Intrepid is new (1 day old), to I need to install specialized software? Will this void my warranty? Brick my unit?

[haus]

Hi ChiefGeek, thanks for posting. The script I posted is called a mortscript. It is run by an interpreter called (drumroll) Mortscript, a simply amazing piece of software that lets people like me easily write code for Windows Mobile machines.

To answer your questions:

1. Mortscript will not brick your unit (thought since I'm not the author I couldn't make any guarantees - but thousands of us have been using it on WinMo devices for years)

2. Mortscript will not void your warranty in any way. It's an application just like any other - Sprint Nav, Resco File Explorer, Facebook, whatever.

I realized when I moved this post over from Sprintusers.com, I simplified the instructions because more users here seem familiar with tools like Mortscript. I will edit my post to include more specific instructions. In the meantime if anyone with high reputation wants to peruse the script and indicate that it's harmless, that'd be cool (I can attest that as I wrote it is harmless, but who wants to take my word!). I wrote it to solve a backlight problem with the Intrepid, not to mess with anyone's phone. I run it myself.

[canestim]

Hey Haus, this is much better than sprintusers.com. Not being able to edit post after a certain time messes with the flow of the thread. I think I'll try the backlight stuff next. That along with the roaming beep is the only thing I dislike, well, I wish the screen was 320x320. Now I am just waiting on a nice silicone case. I saw some on sprint.com $20 for 2. My local store doesn't have them.