Family on the Phone

Have you ever received one of those crazy e-mail messages which reveal all the cool secret tricks and hidden features you never knew your cell phone was capable of? If you have, maybe you figured  it was a hoax and deleted it immediately.  Or, maybe like me, you filed it in one of your “I’ll check into it later” folders.

I remember receiving an e-mail informing me that I could unlock the car remotely using the keyless entry remote over a cell phone.  Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Sure enough, the only member of our family who drives (I won’t mention his name) managed to lock his keys in the car out in the middle of a Boy Scout hike.  Oh yes, they were in the boonies and yes, we tried the “Unlock your car remotely with your cell phone” trick.  It did NOT work. So much for that “hidden feature”.

Maybe you already knew that particular stupid cell phone trick wouldn’t work or maybe you just haven’t had the opportunity to test it out for yourself.

Either way, that incident sent me on a search for the truth behind some of these more popular cell phone e-rumors and I’d love to share with you what I discovered.

Cell Facts or Cell Phonies?

The Emergency Number for Cell Phones Worldwide is 112 – Fiction!
There are actually various emergency numbers around the world including 112, 119, 999. And 911. There is no universal emergency number. 112 may very well work for you in certain parts of the world however so it might be handy to note these emergency numbers if traveling abroad.

You Can Unlock Your Car Remotely Through a Cell Phone. – Fiction!
The idea behind this rumor is that if you lock yourself out of your car, you could use your cell phone to call your home or someone who has an extra remote keyless entry switch. This very nice (and naïve) person would hold their switch up to the phone while you hold your cell phone near your car door. When the button on the keyless remote is pressed, your car door will open.

Now, I have already told you that this did not work for us. However, I have heard that if your keyless remote uses sound waves rather than radio waves, this actually could work for you.  Most keyless entry remotes use radio waves however and those signals won’t pass over the cell phones.

There May be Hidden Battery Power in Your Cell Phone – Fiction!
This rumor claims that you can access a reserve of battery power on your phone by pressing a particular key combination. This rumor may have been the result of a misunderstanding about the features of a particular phone. Supposedly, a little more battery life can  be coaxed out of some phones with a particular key combination but it is at the expense of sound quality.

Dial *#06# on Your Cell Phone to Get a Code That Will Disable Your Phone. – Truth! (Sort of)
On some phones, pressing in this key combination may indeed reveal an International Mobile Equipment identity or “IEMI” number. If your phone is lost or stolen, you can provide this number to the service provider and they can either grey list or black list the phone. If the phone is grey listed, the phone can still be used but can be tracked.  If the phone is black listed, the phone cannot be used at all. The key of course is to get  that number and write it down so you have it if the phone ever does go missing.

This particular trick does not work on all phones (mine for instance). I read that it works mainly on GSM/DCS/PCS phones. If you have one of those types, perhaps you are in luck.

Cell phone users must register their numbers with the national “Do Not Call” directory by a given deadline to prevent their cell phone numbers from being released to telemarketers. – Fiction!

There is a lot of great information about this particular rumor at Snopes so I won’t go into the full explanation here. Basically, you should know that there are FCC protections already in place for wireless customers and you do not need to panic over a deadline to register your cell phone # with the National “Do Not Call” registry.

So, there you have it. The real 4-1-1 on many of the most popular  cell phone e-rumors. You can get more detailed information at the websites below. In fact, I recommend you check out any questionable claims or e-rumors you receive through e-mail forwards or hear from friends. Snopes.com is always a good place to start when you need to check something suspicious out.

You know, after looking back over this list, I realize that I have personally tested almost all of these claims. Should I admit that? Now, fess up. Have YOU ever tried any of these stupid cell phone tricks or any others yourself? Please tell me I’m not the only one.

For more information:

• TruthorFiction.com
• Snopes.com

photo credit: louis.ian.riley