Platform: Windows Mobile
Phone: HTC TP2
I was about to just make a note in my book, but then I realized that this information is very valuable and I’m sure many nerds out there would frequently require this as much as I do.
So, I’ve gathered a list of necessary tweaks for a Windows Mobile phone, specifically on my HTC TP2 smartphone.
As a general rule, I find it smartest to download the *.cab files to the microSD card on my phone (which I remove whenever I’m flashing a new ROM or doing any kind of Hard Reset to my device). This way, after I have a cleaned device with a Hard Reset, I can just browse to my microSD card and install the *.cab files, without having to re-download them from the sites listed below and then uploading them to my phone.
XDA Developers
If you’re not familiar with this form, and your tweaking your phone, you’re missing out. XDA Developers HTC Touch Pro2 forum is extensive and has almost all the information you need to know, specifically the General topic for Windows development, and also if you haven’t cracked or broke your phone yet, they show you how.
There is a list that’s continually updated with Software Worth Installing, you should definitely scroll through it to see if anything catches your eye.
PIM Backup
Before you do anything, backup your device. Use PIM Backup on your Windows Mobile device.
Total Commander
Total Commander is very necessary. It’s like a file explorer, but a bit more powerful. If you’re running any kind of aftermarket ROM, most likely it comes with it.
Hard Reset
The Hard Reset will restore your device to it’s factory, like new state. This means any tweaks, changes, txt messages, photographs, email messages, contacts, etc. will be entirely lost. BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP. Make sure you’ve copied everything you want saved into a backup location that isn’t on your phone (your microSD card is a safe place if you take extra precaution to remove it prior to Hard Reset).
To perform the Hard Reset:
- turn off the device
- I would advise to remove the SIM + microSD cards right now
- hold answer + end + power down at the same time (this will boot into your 4 color screen)
- once that screen is loaded, you can release your strangle hold (step 3)
- the device will prompt you on screen, but it will ask you to press volume up key to confirm you want to do the Hard Reset
- once the Hard Reset is done, it will ask you to press the volume up key again to boot the device
You will now notice everything is gone, and cleaned. Like new.
Soft Reset
Soft reset only reboots the device clearing some bits of program memory that may be slowing down your device. I always recommend doing this first to see if it will solve your problems with the device (though most of the time it doesn’t do much good)
To do this, take off the back battery cover and with your stylus push the little red button on the side of the phone. Looking at the back of the phone at the batter, it will be on your upper left side.
WiFi Always On
To keep your wifi always on, so that when the screen shuts off the wifi doesn’t lose it’s connection, this is necessary.
You must use your registry editor (windows -> tools -> regedit) to dig and change this value
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINECommBCMSDDHD1Parms] "HTCKeepWifiOnWhenUnattended"=dword:00000001
note: reboot should be done after change but not required.
HD2 Proximity Sensor
There’s a sensor in the top left corner of the HTC Touch Pro2 that can work as a on/off switch. Simply wave your hand within it’s proximity and the screen will turn off. Very cool. I’m using v.0.2 on my device. More info on XDA.
Keyboard Glitch
For some reason, there is a glitch with the keyboard happens after you update the ROM (might be before that too). It for some reason picks up the wrong character mapping. There is a fix. It’s called Tilt2HWKeyboard.cab. Read more about it on XDA.
ActivSync with Google
ActicSync is the Windows Mobile application for synchronizing your device with other devices. What I’ve done is synchronize it with my Google contacts and calendar. Figuring out which email account to use for all of your contacts, and calendar is the hardest part here. Actually accessing it is very simple.
You need to know about Google:
- server address: m.google.com
- This server requires SSL authentication (ensure this is selected)
- user name: your full email address with Google (eg. john@gmail.com)
- password: same password you use to log into Gmail, associated with user name/email above.
- domain: (leave blank)
- save password, required for automatic sync (this is smart)
- Syncing tasks is not supported. Make sure you don’t have this selected.
You can change advanced settings at any time. This includes which device should take authority if there is a conflict, and how frequently to sync.
There are a lot more tweaks for your device out there, but I find these ones are the most useful, and necessary whenever I swipe my device.