Wirefly Learn » How To’s

Verizon Home Phone Connect (Version 2) Unboxing and Review

bkovacs — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:22:39 +0000

The new version of the Verizon Home Phone Connect looks much the same as the original version, only considerably smaller. The device lets you use a wireless connection with your home phone, so that you can convert your old-fashioned wired home line into a lower-cost and more flexible wireless line. The Verizon Home Phone Connect is a great way to keep the familiar home connection you now have and save money at the same time.

In this video, Wirefly’s Bob Kovacs unboxes the latest version of the Verizon Home Phone Connect and shows what comes in the box. Click on the video window to the right to get all the details.

For the best prices on cellphones, visit Wirefly.

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The Best Guide Ever for Drying a Wet Cell Phone!

lugonzalez — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:48:55 +0000

By Luis Gonzalez

Follow @wirefly

Follow @wirefly_luis

Did your Wirefly cell phone or Wirefly smartphone survive the rain from Hurricane Irene? Water damage is one of the most common reasons for cell phone failure. Chances are you or someone you know has damaged their wireless phone by getting it wet. Our Facebook friends have provided us with a lengthy list of how they’ve damaged their device. Whether you dropped your HTC EVO 3D smartphone in a bowl of soup, almost flushed your Motorola Droid 2 Global smartphone down the toilet, dunked your BlackBerry Bold into your favorite brew, or decided to give your HTC Sensation a bath in your washing machine, you still might be able to bring it back to life!

Follow these 5 steps for the chance to restore your phone addiction!

Remove the phone out of liquid as soon as possible.
We understand how shocked and upset you may be to see your cell phone or smartphone doing the back stroke in a puddle of murky water, but you must react quickly! The less time your wireless phone spends time in liquid the more likely it is to survive. Rescue the phone as quickly as possible but do not power the phone on as it could short circuit.
Take the phone apart quickly!
At this point tears will be running down your face, but dry them quickly as you need to act fast in order to save your phone. Take off the back cover and remove the battery to ensure that your battery will survive the submersion. This is important as it might ensure that your phone will not short circuit because you are effectively cutting the power. Proceed to remove your SIM card (if it has one) and your memory card from your Wirefly wireless phone to ensure you won’t lose any valuable information. Remove any other covers your phone may have (rubber charging port covers, etc.).
Dry the Cell Phone or Smartphone.
Your phone might still be dripping so this part should help in removing a lot of the moisture from within the device. We are sure you love your phone dearly as it connects you to the people you talk to the most, so dry it with as much care as possible. Use a soft cloth or paper towel to gently remove as much liquid as you can. If you are caught in the wild an undershirt should do the trick, just try not to move the water deeper into the device. Do not, under any circumstances, shake the cell phone or smartphone as it could move the water deeper into the wireless device and pass over contacts that could short circuit the device. If you happen to be at home a vacuum cleaner can go a long way in extracting the moisture from the wireless phone (no blow-dryers).
Use Rice or a Desiccant to absorb the moisture.
You are probably asking yourself what in the world is a desiccant. A desiccant is the little packages you find in a shoe box or a new purse. They draw out the moisture that may still be inside of your cell phone. If you’re like me and always throw those packets away do not despair as rice works as a great substitute. With the parts removed insert the battery and the actual device into a bag or bowl of uncooked rice. The rice works great to pull out the moisture but you might need to rotate the wireless phone every two hours so the moisture can find an escape. Leave the phone in the rice overnight and let it work its magic. If at all possible try to leave the phone in the rice for 24 hours for the best results.
The moment of truth – Power on the phone.
After removing the wireless device from the rice or desiccant packets check to see if there is any moisture. If none is apparent to the touch leave it on an absorbent cloth for a few hours. If you touch the cloth and there is moisture, repeat steps three and four. If the cloth is not wet then put your phone back together, cross your fingers, and press the power-on button. If the cell phone or smartphone does not power on remove the battery, connect the phone to your charger and if the phone powers on then you just need to replace a battery. If this does not work however, don’t lose sleep over it, you tried your best! Take it as an opportunity to upgrade your wireless phone plan to a new phone at Wirefly and restart your texting and tweeting addiction!

Remember, Wirefly is your place to shop for all the latest and greatest phones because we provide you with amazing savings. Our prices provide great savings every day usually $100 lower than in-store prices for many phones. We have a great selection of phones and we continue to add new carriers, and of course offer all of the latest phones from top-rated carriers including Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile.

How to Extend Android Battery Life

lugonzalez — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:26:18 +0000

By Luis Gonzalez

Follow @wirefly

Follow @wirefly_luis

Just purchased a new Android phone? Good luck having a battery that will last all day! From playing Angry Birds, surfing the web, reading your RSS feeds, and tweeting your every move your battery might only last a few hours.

Below are step-by-step instructions we put together to help you conserve your battery life.

1. Once you receive your new Android device (that you bought from Wirefly) the first place to visit is your ‘Settings’ in the Main Menu.
2. Under the ‘Display’ option change your ‘Animation’ to some or none.
3. Reduce your screen brightness to a low level, just bright enough to see.
4. Change your screen timeout to 15 or 30 seconds, this will help reduce your battery’s impact while you are not using your phone.
5. If you don’t need it (which unless you want to be really fancy, you really don’t) disable moving wallpapers as this feature severely drains the battery.
6. If you aren’t using Bluetooth or GPS turn those off as well.
7. Also be cautious with applications that like to automatically refresh. Change these settings to your comfort level. For example, if you don’t check your Twitter stream every 30 seconds than there is no need for your Twitter application to refresh itself every 30 seconds.

There are many advocates of the task killer application, however those applications seem to drain the battery more as it is always working in the background. Aside from the tips above, we’d also recommend a car charger or a second home charger from Wirefly that you can use while you’re at work. If you are anything like the folks here at Wirefly, love to text, tweet, surf the web and watch videos (Wirefly only, of course) on Youtube, then there is no way around charging your phone at some point during the day.

Lastly, check to see if you are killing your Android battery with the Top 5 Battery Killers. Good luck and feel free to add your battery saving tips below!

How to Make Free Phone Calls with your Gmail Account

Ari Driessen — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:42:02 +0000

If you’re a frequent Gmail user, chances are you’ve already noticed a new phone-like icon hanging out around the chat area on the left side of your Gmail window. If you’re not already a Gmail user, getting a free account is a quick and easy process — and you can even opt to pull your existing email accounts into Gmail. Either way, Google recently added a feature to its popular email service that allows users to make free calls to the U.S. and Canada and low-cost international calls.

If you’re a Google Voice user (Voice is also free, of course), phone calls placed will display your Google Voice number as the outbound caller ID. Voice users can also choose to receive incoming calls placed to their Google Voice number directly in Gmail, in addition to any phone numbers already linked to their accounts.

Here’s how it works:

Ensure that your computer speakers are on and at a good volume. You will also need a computer mic (many of the latest laptops have a mic built right in).
Log into your Gmail account. If you don’t already have a Gmail account, you can create one here.
Find the Google Chat window in the bottom left of your screen. Just above your list of online contacts you will see a phone icon marked “Call phone.”
Click the “Call phone” icon to launch a phone dial.
You click the dial pad, type in a number, or search for a contact.
Click the blue button labeled “Call” to place your phone call.

How can Wirefly offer such great deals? Is it a scam? What’s the catch?

Ari Driessen — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:19:52 +0000

Wirefly has the phone I want for a much better price than anywhere else, what’s the catch? Is Wirefly a scam? How can Wirefly offer so many phones for free? Can I trust Wirefly? Is Wirefly a reputable and safe site to buy cell phones from?

We’re happy that you are doing your homework and taking the time to ask yourself these questions before you buy. You’ve been taught that if something sounds too good to be true, chances are it usually is. Well, in our case, offering unbeatable deals on cell phones is our business — and it’s how we make money. We’re not here to scam you. We’re here to help you … and, yes, make money, while doing so.

Our business is simple. The major carriers (AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint) pay Wirefly a commission to help them acquire new customers, or renew existing customer’s contracts, without taking up the time of in-store store employees.

Wirefly passes much of that commission back to customers in the form of huge discounts on cell phones. The phones that Wirefly sells are the exact same phones you’d purchase at a carrier store or local retailer. They are brand new with full U.S. warranty. In fact, the phones come directly from the carriers. We aren’t allowed to sell anything else. Wirefly is the internet’s #1 authorized agent for cell phones from AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Alltel.

THE CATCH? It’s really simple, actually. You simply need to maintain the carrier contract you agree to for 181 days after your order. The long version of that is:

When you sign up for wireless carrier service through Wirefly, we discount your phone purchase price by an Equipment Discount amount ranging from $200 to $300. By ordering through Wirefly, you agree to repay this discount if, during the 181 days after your new equipment is activated, if you:

* Fail to pay your balance due to your carrier each month
* Disconnect this line of service
* Transfer this equipment to another line of service
* Change your carrier service rate plan to a lower monthly service rate plan
* Deactivate the email/data feature if one was required at the point of purchase
* Transfer/port an existing phone number from another account if this is a new line of service
* Replace an existing account with this account if this is a new line of service
* Return or exchange your phone and it is not in its original, new condition with no more than 30 minutes of usage

If you break any of these contract provisions, except as a result of a documented service quality issue related to the carrier service, you authorize us to charge your credit card in repayment of the Equipment Discount.

We have an outstanding customer service record that we are proud of. We have helped millions of people set up or upgrade their cell phone service, and save money in the process. We offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, with free shipping both ways on returns. Unfortunately, the world of cell phone contracts can be confusing, and confusion can lead to complaints – even accusations that we are running some kind of a scam – particularly when the deals seem too good to be true.

Any confusion is usually related to one of the following:

Credit approval. After we take your order for a new account, we must get approval from the carrier before your phone can be activated and shipped. If you have insufficient credit history, the carrier may reject the order, or ask us to collect additional information. We try to make this clear, but when the carrier rejects the order, the blame sometimes falls on us.

Deposits. Sometimes, based on a credit check, the carrier will approve the order only if we collect a deposit from the customer. Of course, we would rather not have to ask for a deposit. When we do, sometimes we are accused of “bait and switch” tactics.

Upgrade eligibility. We offer upgrades that let current customers get a discount on a new phone when they renew their contracts, provided that they are eligible for an upgrade at the time of order. Sometimes, although the customer is able to place the order on our site, the carrier will report that the customer is not yet eligible for an upgrade. In this case, we will cancel your order and attempt to notify you that you were not yet upgrade-eligible. Of course, you will not be billed for the purchase.

Rebates. Cell phone rebates can be confusing and most people don’t like them. That’s why Wirefly has not offered rebates on any products since 2007. We don’t even offer rebates from the carriers. All of our prices are simple and straightforward. The price you see is the price you pay with no need to wait for a rebate.

The equipment discount. The cell phone that we offer free or at a significant discount may have cost Wirefly several hundred dollars or more. Since we are only able to offer you such great equipment discounts because of our commission-based business model, when you order from Wirefly you agree to be charged the phone’s full cost if the carrier reports to us that you broke your cell phone contract, or if you return a phone and it’s been damaged in some way. This protects both Wirefly and the carriers from fraud, and allows us to continue to offer the great deals we are known for.

Shop Now for Phones from AT&T Wirelesss, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

How to Change the Background Wallpaper on your BlackBerry

Ari Driessen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:29:25 +0000

Are you tired of giving your wireless carrier free advertising real estate on your BlackBerry’s home screen in the form of a background wallpaper? It’s easy to change your home screen background image from a bland carrier logo to any image you want — and chances are there’s a fair selection of pictures to choose from already loaded onto your BlackBerry.

Depending on what BlackBerry OS your phone has, there are a number of ways to change the wallpaper. Here’s a quick and easy one:

Navigate to the full menu. To do so, press the BlackBerry menu button while on the home screen.
Scroll to and open Media.
Scroll to and open Pictures.
Select a folder to view. You’ll likely find an acceptable pick in the Sample Pictures folder.
Scroll to and open the image you’d like to use as you wallpaper.
Press the BlackBerry menu button and scroll down to Set As…
Select Wallpaper.

Shop Now for Phones from AT&T Wirelesss, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

How to Send & Receive Free Text Messages Using Email

Ari Driessen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:39:42 +0000

By Ari Driessen

Did you run up $30 in extra text messaging charges last month? Not enough service to send text messages at the office? Well, never fear — you can use any email account to send and and receive text messages between friends and family on most any major wireless provider.

Make sure you know what wireless carrier the person you are trying to reach uses, and replace ‘number’ with the 10-digit number of the person you are texting. Voila.

AT&T: number@txt.att.net
Verizon: number@vtext.com
Sprint: number@messaging.sprintpcs.com
T-Mobile: number@tmomail.net
Qwest: number@qwestmp.com
Nextel: number@messaging.nextel.com
Virgin Mobile: number@vmobl.com
Alltel: number@message.alltel.com
U.S. Cellular: number@email.uscc.net
Metro PCS: number@mymetropcs.com
Powertel: number@ptel.com
Suncom: number@tms.suncom.com

Here’s a tip: If you’re a real ‘texting Tammy,’ save yourself some time and add the address to your phone book for quick and easy one click texts.

Shop Now for Phones from AT&T Wirelesss, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

How to Transfer Files and Music to an Android Phone Using USB

Ari Driessen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:23:26 +0000

So you’ve plugged your USB to microUSB cable into your computer and Android phone and are ready to start downloading files. Staring intently at your screen, you wait for a drive, a window — something, anything — where you can drag-and-drop your files, but it just doesn’t come. Well, chances are, you are missing one simple yet critical but step. Here’s how to transfer files to your Android phone:

Connect your Android phone to your computer using the microUSB to USB cable.
If you are using a PC, you will see an installation bubble pop up in the bottom right of your screen. Wait for the computer to successfully complete installation.
The critical step: On your Android phone, pull down the notification window (aka ‘window shade’) and tap USB connected.
A notification window will appear. Tap Mount. Your phone will enter USB storage mode.
Find the removable storage drive. On a PC, navigate to My Computer and look for a new removable storage drive. On a Mac, the drive will appear on your desktop.
Drag-and-drop the desired file(s) to the drive.
In your phone’s notification window, tap Turn off USB storage.
Unplug your phone and you’re all set.

Shop Now for Phones from AT&T Wirelesss, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

How to Sync Music with the Motorola Droid and iTunes

Ari Driessen — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:31:42 +0000

By Ari Driessen

Like every other Android-powered phone on the planet, the Droid can have its hunger for your music, video, and pictures satisfied by the ol’ drag-and-drop method of transferring files. But, if you picked up a Motorola Droid and your 16GB microSD card is still yearning for your iTunes media library, Motorola has kindly decided to give your index finger a rest with its Motorola Media Link software.

Motorola Media Sync will let you transfer and organize your music, photos and video with your Motorola Android-powered phone. Here’s how:

Browse to Motorola’s Media Link website.
Click the Download Now button.
Locate and run the downloaded installation file.

After installation has completed, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Restart.
Plug in your Droid using the USB to microUSB cable.
Mount your Droid so you can copy files. To do so, pull down the notification window (aka ‘window shade’) from the top of the screen and tap USB connected. When prompted, tap Mount.
Launch Motorola Media Link.
The Profile Wizard should automatically launch. Follow the on-screen directions, selecting the folders where your various media types are stored. Be sure to select iTunes on the Link Your Music screen.
Click the Sync button.

Shop Now for Phones from AT&T Wirelesss, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

How to Install Android Apps

trichards — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:50:32 +0000

By Terry Richards

How to install apps with your Android phone:

Android Market
Barcode
Resources

Section 1. Using the Android Market

The Android Market was developed from the source (Google) and was created exclusively for Android devices. Users of the Android Market can access it through their phone or an extremely limited web based version at: http://www.android.com/market.

In this ‘how-to’ we’ll be using the built in Market feature that should be preinstalled on your device.

Start the Market app by sliding up your app menu and clicking on the icon labeled ‘Market’.
Once the Market starts up you’ll be presented with a navigation bar with 3 tabs:

Apps – the full list of apps available in the Android Market.
Games – all games available in the Android Market
Downloads – a running list of every app you’ve installed.

No matter what link you selected in step 2 (Apps, Games, or Downloads) you’ll be presented with 3 new top navigation links:

Top paid – a list of the best paid Android apps due to a number of variables such as number of downloads and positive ratings.
Top free – a list of the top free Android apps which are typically extremely useful, addictive or innovative.
Just in – well ‘Just in’ covers all apps that have been recently added to the specific category you were previously browsing.

Image courtesy of Engadget

To install simply click on the result of your liking and click ‘Install’

You’ll be shown a warning prompt if the app uses any features like internet, GPS, services that’ll cost you money, or any type of personal data. If you agree click OK to proceed.

After clicking OK you should receive a message similar to ‘Your item will be downloaded’ and as soon as it’s finished you should see a message stating whether it’s been successfully/unsuccessfully installed.

There are several ways you can now start the app.

By clicking the same result in the Market that you previously clicked install—this time you’ll see two options ‘Open’ and ‘Uninstall’. Click ‘Open’.
By going to the main screen of the Android Market and clicking on ‘Downloads’, find the app you installed and click ‘Open’.
By scrolling through your apps menu (located at the bottom of your home screen with an arrow icon) and selecting the app you installed. Note: items installed from the Market automatically create a shortcut in your app menu.

Section 2. Installing Android Apps by Barcode (also known as QR Code)

After reading, go ahead and scan this!

I wouldn’t be surprised if some people didn’t know this feature existed on their Android-powered device. As long as you have a camera, barcodes are a simplistic way to install apps.

Install the BarCode Scanner app.
Visit a barcode-friendly developer’s site or 3rd party app site like AndroidTapp.com
Run the BarCode Scanner app on your android phone.
Make sure the red line from the app stretches across the barcode either horizontally or vertically.
After a good read you’ll hear a loud beep. The BarCode Scanner app will offer you two options:

Product Search – searches Google Base (Google’s product engine) for identical items and you’ll be able to compare prices at online retailers.
Web Search – searches Google’s standard results for information based on the product ID captured in the scan.

App Resources

Android Market – The mother of all, Google’s Android Market divides up the top paid and free apps for the following categories: featured (all categories), games, comics, communication, entertainment, finance, health, lifestyle, multimedia, news & weather, productivity, reference, shopping, social, sports, themes, tools, travel, demos, & software libraries.

Android Tapp – A huge resource for Android app reviews, software news, & developer interviews. You’ll find a decent number of apps and they appear to be maintaining a quality Android app blog. Fortunately this site is barcode friendly which gives them a huge advantage in terms of ease of use.

Android Network Awards – Community-based award site completely focused on Android. You’ll be shown the ropes so to speak with the community’s top choice in 26 different categories (as of 11/02/09).

AppVee Android Apps – A daily dose of the latest Android app video reviews with top 10 lists, over one hundred categories, & a most discussed column to help you find what’s hot.

Shop now for cell phones. See all of our great deals from AT&T Wireless, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.