sony ericsson aino, an update and wi-fi
I posted some time ago that I finally got a Sony Ericsson Aino (U10i). Unlike some international clients, I did not have problems with the touchscreen, the wi-fi and all the initial release woes. In short, my unit was a shining example of a model unit. Well, almost. The only pet peeve I had was the battery life which, not surprisingly, is shorter than expected. But it WAS draining as quick as some people online were complaining about most especially if you used the bundled bluetooth headset for the music player.
That aside, I was ok with it. Then the firmware update was released to patch up not only the battery consumption but also some of the issues that cropped up during release. I was fine with that and I updated since it promised to fix the battery consumption. I followed the instructions to the letter so I wasn't worried; it was new so no critical data were inserted yet.
Well, I must say, the battery life DID improve... and nothing else seemed out of place. Until I tried the wi-fi.
Before the update, my wi-fi connection to my home router was working flawlessly. As in, perfectly. Then, all of a sudden, when I connect to the router, either 1) the router would "crash" (be undetectable not only by my phone but also by ANY computer connected to the router), 2) any device connected to the router would be disconnected or 3) the phone will connect but will either instantly disconnect or connect and surf veeeery briefly then suddenly disconnect and switch the phone to browse via the mobile connection... which is what I was avoiding in the first place!
So, not finding anything online, I ended up going to the SE center in Glorietta. They ask if I can leave it overnight after initial tests confirm the problem. I gave the unit up hesitatingly and switched back to the W900i in my possession. The next day, I go to the center and they tell me they couldn't figure out the problem. Can they send it to the main service center of SE?
But it's going to take 3 to 4 weeks.
BOO.
*sigh*
Oh, all right, anything to fix it! But, ma'am, do you have the purchase receipt? No, we don't accept the warranty card... we need the official receipt. Your phone has the NTC sticker so it qualifies for the warranty but for you to avail of the warranty, we need the official purchase receipt. Or a certification from the place you bought it from so that it would serve as the warranty in case the receipt is missing? It's in Robinson's Place Manila? So sorry ma'am, but the main service center might not accept to fix this unit if there's no receipt. Ok, we'll try so please line up and check-in your phone.
Or so the conversations went.
I finally get called to the guy behind the check counter. Ma'am, if you have no receipt, you'll have to pay for the service. It's 560 bucks. Ah, you can pay when you get the phone back. Thank you, here's your claim stub.
Fast forward 2 weeks later to February 5.
Ok, I was getting antsy so I called the center. Any updates? It's been 2 weeks. So I get put on hold for a bit. Girl comes back to phone and tells me that the phone's done being serviced and they would just contact me if I can pick it up. Thanks, but what was the problem? The main service center didn't say but they went as far as "customizing hardware". WTF? Ma'am, we'll test it when it comes back. However, if there's still a problem, please have the receipt/certification ready. If the main service center deems to change say, the motherboard, then it'll be free of charge.
HOLD YOUR HORSES.
Change hardware? For a SOFTWARE UPDATE? A software update from SONY ERICSSON? What, so you're telling me that your firmware updates can crash your own hardware? Dude, it's illogical.
Then I went to the concert right? I got to McKinley at 5pm. I check my phone since I was going to contact Mel and... at 4:20pm, there was a text from the service center, "Ma'am, your phone's ready for pick-up. Please come anytime."
DAMN IT.
I was there for 2.5 hours and NOW they tell me to go pick up my phone?! *SOB*
I ended up going with my sister to Glorietta the next day (the 7th) since she had to go to Konad in HP for supplies. I get there and they tell me the same thing. Ok, I tell them, will be back when I get the receipt/certification if it still fails after I retest the connection at home (they don't have their own wi-fi router to connect to in Glorietta so they couldn't really test the phone. But preliminary testing via attempts to connect to the Nokia router next door was failing so it was looking pretty bleak to me...) . Getting the certification from the store was not something I can do freely since I live down south, the mall we purchased it in is northwards and the place I work in is in-between but pretty far from RP via commute... so, I was essentially stuck.
Not good.
Well, after scouring forums and finding only 2 short threads with a pretty vague discussion on this, someone suggested to me to turn on "Content Sharing" (as in, set it to "YES"). Ok, for all intents and purposes, I wouldn't think of this. Content Sharing is, according to the phone's manual, used to set the phone as a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) server. That is, share data with other DLNA -compatible devices... like my laptop, the PS3 etc. on the network. However, the pre-requisite is that the device should be already connected to a wi-fi router. And besides, by default, this is always set to "NO" (even before I updated).
So, really irritated at the fact that I would lose ownership of my phone for another 2-4 weeks when it gets sent to the service center yet again, I decided to just set that damn option to "YES" since it wouldn't hurt to try.
And...
... it worked.
HUH?!
That was it?!
But, yes, seriously. A setting that was pretty much not meant for the problem that I was trying to fix was all it took. Yeah, took a huge headache off from me but, come on...! That was just... insane.
That aside, I was ok with it. Then the firmware update was released to patch up not only the battery consumption but also some of the issues that cropped up during release. I was fine with that and I updated since it promised to fix the battery consumption. I followed the instructions to the letter so I wasn't worried; it was new so no critical data were inserted yet.
Well, I must say, the battery life DID improve... and nothing else seemed out of place. Until I tried the wi-fi.
Before the update, my wi-fi connection to my home router was working flawlessly. As in, perfectly. Then, all of a sudden, when I connect to the router, either 1) the router would "crash" (be undetectable not only by my phone but also by ANY computer connected to the router), 2) any device connected to the router would be disconnected or 3) the phone will connect but will either instantly disconnect or connect and surf veeeery briefly then suddenly disconnect and switch the phone to browse via the mobile connection... which is what I was avoiding in the first place!
So, not finding anything online, I ended up going to the SE center in Glorietta. They ask if I can leave it overnight after initial tests confirm the problem. I gave the unit up hesitatingly and switched back to the W900i in my possession. The next day, I go to the center and they tell me they couldn't figure out the problem. Can they send it to the main service center of SE?
But it's going to take 3 to 4 weeks.
BOO.
*sigh*
Oh, all right, anything to fix it! But, ma'am, do you have the purchase receipt? No, we don't accept the warranty card... we need the official receipt. Your phone has the NTC sticker so it qualifies for the warranty but for you to avail of the warranty, we need the official purchase receipt. Or a certification from the place you bought it from so that it would serve as the warranty in case the receipt is missing? It's in Robinson's Place Manila? So sorry ma'am, but the main service center might not accept to fix this unit if there's no receipt. Ok, we'll try so please line up and check-in your phone.
Or so the conversations went.
I finally get called to the guy behind the check counter. Ma'am, if you have no receipt, you'll have to pay for the service. It's 560 bucks. Ah, you can pay when you get the phone back. Thank you, here's your claim stub.
Fast forward 2 weeks later to February 5.
Ok, I was getting antsy so I called the center. Any updates? It's been 2 weeks. So I get put on hold for a bit. Girl comes back to phone and tells me that the phone's done being serviced and they would just contact me if I can pick it up. Thanks, but what was the problem? The main service center didn't say but they went as far as "customizing hardware". WTF? Ma'am, we'll test it when it comes back. However, if there's still a problem, please have the receipt/certification ready. If the main service center deems to change say, the motherboard, then it'll be free of charge.
HOLD YOUR HORSES.
Change hardware? For a SOFTWARE UPDATE? A software update from SONY ERICSSON? What, so you're telling me that your firmware updates can crash your own hardware? Dude, it's illogical.
Then I went to the concert right? I got to McKinley at 5pm. I check my phone since I was going to contact Mel and... at 4:20pm, there was a text from the service center, "Ma'am, your phone's ready for pick-up. Please come anytime."
DAMN IT.
I was there for 2.5 hours and NOW they tell me to go pick up my phone?! *SOB*
I ended up going with my sister to Glorietta the next day (the 7th) since she had to go to Konad in HP for supplies. I get there and they tell me the same thing. Ok, I tell them, will be back when I get the receipt/certification if it still fails after I retest the connection at home (they don't have their own wi-fi router to connect to in Glorietta so they couldn't really test the phone. But preliminary testing via attempts to connect to the Nokia router next door was failing so it was looking pretty bleak to me...) . Getting the certification from the store was not something I can do freely since I live down south, the mall we purchased it in is northwards and the place I work in is in-between but pretty far from RP via commute... so, I was essentially stuck.
Not good.
Well, after scouring forums and finding only 2 short threads with a pretty vague discussion on this, someone suggested to me to turn on "Content Sharing" (as in, set it to "YES"). Ok, for all intents and purposes, I wouldn't think of this. Content Sharing is, according to the phone's manual, used to set the phone as a DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) server. That is, share data with other DLNA -compatible devices... like my laptop, the PS3 etc. on the network. However, the pre-requisite is that the device should be already connected to a wi-fi router. And besides, by default, this is always set to "NO" (even before I updated).
So, really irritated at the fact that I would lose ownership of my phone for another 2-4 weeks when it gets sent to the service center yet again, I decided to just set that damn option to "YES" since it wouldn't hurt to try.
And...
... it worked.
HUH?!
That was it?!
But, yes, seriously. A setting that was pretty much not meant for the problem that I was trying to fix was all it took. Yeah, took a huge headache off from me but, come on...! That was just... insane.