Database Info

[Q] Making the switch (from Android G2.3.4), have some questions

Hi all,
Thanks in advance for answering some questions I have.
I've watched a ton of vids, done a pretty good amount of research so far, but still have a few unanswered questions about WP7.5. I will be looking at getting a Lumia 800 as that's what my carrier is offering in Canada. I'm sick of Android being flaky due to the fragmented ecosystem and am looking forward to the 'closed' nature of WP7.5 - I just want it to work. Period.
So, on to the Qs:
Can you enable a number row over the QWERTY keys on the keyboard? Alternatively, can you long-press those keys to pop up the numbers, even if they don't show?
Can you go into the settings to force the phone app to start with the dialpad as opposed to the call log/history?
Like in Smart Keyboard on android, does the first suggested word in the suggestions when typing get auto-selected when you hit the spacebar?
Are there alternative apps for StumbleUpon or Feedly available? (I couldn't find them, but I use these 2 apps reasonably often) Suggestions for similar, if no?
Functionality of the phone in Canada vs US? (ie which functions don't work: Local Scout, Bing Vision, Music search, etc etc)
Is there any quick way to change settings without having to pin them all to your home screen?
Can you make the calendar app start with Agenda view?
Thanks, I'll add more if I think of them.
O

>> Can you enable a number row over the QWERTY keys on the keyboard? Alternatively, can you long-press those keys to pop up the numbers, even if they don't show?
There is a Key which shows up all the numbers and other characters but its not like a popup and no long press.
>>Can you go into the settings to force the phone app to start with the dialpad as opposed to the call log/history?
Nope but there are apps which are purely number pads you can use.
>>Like in Smart Keyboard on android, does the first suggested word in the suggestions when typing get auto-selected when you hit the spacebar?
No, You need to tap and select the word.
>>Are there alternative apps for StumbleUpon or Feedly available? (I couldn't find them, but I use these 2 apps reasonably often) Suggestions for similar, if no?
Functionality of the phone in Canada vs US? (ie which functions don't work: Local Scout, Bing Vision, Music search, etc etc)
No Idea on then but what do you use Feedly for ?
>> Is there any quick way to change settings without having to pin them all to your home screen?
You need to use the shortcut apps for that.
>> Can you make the calendar app start with Agenda view?
No

wpxbox said:
>
You need to use the shortcut apps for that.
>> Can you make the calendar app start with Agenda view?
No
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WRONG!
It remember the last view you were in. if you leave in agenda view, when you go back, that is the view you will see 1st.

@ROCOAFZ Never Knew that so thanks a ton for that.

>>Like in Smart Keyboard on android, does the first suggested word in the suggestions when typing get auto-selected when you hit the spacebar?
No, You need to tap and select the word.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats not true, it does auto select and use it.

Been using WP from sometime but not sure how this works if at all possible.
Like when I type HAV it shows me Have but when I hit spacebar, it does not auto complete but adds a space.
nilsk123 said:
Thats not true, it does auto select and use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

There are some words that it will auto fill in but they have to be the only possible thing you would be typing in context with the sentence. Most words have to be chosen from bar right above the text. (i like it this way)
No problem on the agenda view. Mine is always in that view so that's what i always see

1: To add to what others have said, you can tap-and-slide to add just a single number or punctuation in one motion. From the standard keyboard, put your finger down on the number/punctuation mode key, slide it to the number or punctuation you want (the keyboard will temporarily switch modes when you touch the key initially), and release. The key your finger was on (in the alternate mode) will be typed, but the keyboard will be in the original mode. Very handy.
Alternatively, you can add some registry values that will create press-and-hold options for the top keys to have numbers. I added a press-and-hold list to my comma key; sometimes it's a lot nicer than switching modes even briefly! (I use a lot of semicolons.)
3: For some reason, nobody has mentioned this yet. If the phone will auto-correct (including auto-complete), then the suggested word/completion will be bold. Pressing the Spacebar when there's a bolded suggestion will use that suggestion automatically.
If none of the suggestions are bold (because what you typed is already a valid word, or because it isn't sure what you meant to type), then you can tap on a suggestion to use it. The phone does have a setting to automatically add a space after you do this.
4: There's an app that comes up when you search for StumbleUpon, based on keyword match (it's not actually a stumbleupon app, but it targets the same kind of user). I haven't tried it (but then, I don't use SU either).
5: Vision and Music Search should both work just fine (they're not locale based at all, so far as I know). Scout... I think it works in Canada? I've never tried (I live close to the border, but not *that* close, and international data costs money so I always have it disabled). I assume Zune Pass and Directions both work as well, and those are the other two locale-sensitive features I can think of that might care.
6: Not really, but how often do you need to mess with settings? There are some apps that let you quickly reach the ones you use most often, or let you quickly reach ones that are normally a few levels deep, but no one-tap toggles yet that I'm aware of.
However, I really don't find it required to enter settings much at all. See a new WiFi network? The phone will prompt you. You'll only save a very small amount of power by leaving WiFi off when not in use; the phone is very good at putting it in a power-saving mode. I almost never need to touch any of the other settings.

Didn't notice the bold... good post ... i'm always learning something new in Windows phone

Google Now figured out where I work

I'm pretty sure this hasn't been noticed yet so I'm gonna make this post. Let me know if others had similar experiences.
Anyways, I just noticed today after getting the Google Now update that GN has set a location into work, despite me not explicitly putting one in. I'm guessing this has something to do with the location reporting functionality. It probably noticed that I was in a certain location over X (which I'm guessing is 4) hours and determined that it was my work address since it wasn't my home address (which I think GN auto determined based on where I usually sleep). I think it might've done this before since it once set an internship location as my work location even though I didn't put it in. That internship lasted 4 hours once a week and my current schedule has me working for 5 hours a day 2 days a week, hence how I got my 4 hour estimate above. Anyone else notice something like this happening and any way to turn this helpful feature off, other than to disable location reporting. My schedule changes quarter to quarter and I'm pretty sure it might put one of my classes as a "work" location if I'm in that spot long enough.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

stab244 said:
I'm pretty sure this hasn't been noticed yet so I'm gonna make this post. Let me know if others had similar experiences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually Google knows each and everyone of us better than anyone would and nothing we do or did gets deleted but is safely stored for instance let me quote http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2304348&page=8
silentvisitor said:
Profiling or citizen database in any way is/can be dangerous. Nobody can guarantee future.
Lets have a look at what all information does Google have about YOU through your Android phone :
YOUR NAME
01. Your picture
02. Your complete Contact list with pictures, e-mail ids, phone numbers, birthdays, etc.
03. Whom you met or gonna meet (Calendar) (Btw, there were digital and much powerful calendars way before Google Calendar e.g BlackBerry)
04. With whom you talked, when and how long (Call log) (Read Privacy Policy \ Log information )
05. Your family and other images (Picasa web albums) (Google+ auto-upload)
06. Your WiFi passwords (device backup)
07. Where you are located or went (location)
08. Which sites you visited (Android browser google login)
09. Which device/s you own.
10. Your files (Google drive) (no encryption) (Also Gmail attachments)
11. What you searched (Google search and Now)
12. Your pic (Chrome has Camera permissions) (everything can be used in two ways)
13. Your daily route (Google Now)
14. What you talked with someone through chat (GTalk) (its their servers, right)
15. Finally, your emails and its contents. Read this (I believe we will see many such things in near future as awareness increases)
Ever heard about NSA or PRISM
There is much more to it than meets the eye or this list.
Today, Google and Facebook (primarily Google) knows more about you than your own parents or spouse and that's frightening. If not today then tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I understand that they have this data and I don't care for that too much. What I don't get us why it automatically set that location as work when it might not have been. Would be nice if they asked like "we notice you spend a lot of time at X. Would you like to set this as home/work" or something like that.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

stab244 said:
I understand that they have this data and I don't care for that too much. What I don't get us why it automatically set that location as work when it might not have been. Would be nice if they asked like "we notice you spend a lot of time at X. Would you like to set this as home/work" or something like that.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes that would be nice :laugh: guess they like to determine it for themselves based on their records. No harm in asking them, how they conclude things like that. Nexus is one of their brain child, so it may be the key to that conclusion.
Check this out! Links to useful Guides and " Banned " Documentaries ​

In fact, I strongly believe that all Google (or anyone) services should be Opt-In instead of current Opt-out (as I understand)
For example, when you attach primary Gmail account to your phone everything under Sync (Contact, Calendar, AppData, Pictures, etc) get selected. Instead Google should just present a list of the things that I want to select (Opt-In) like it does when you add another Gmail account to your device.

Maps business/POI search disabled by MS - FIX!

Did the native Maps app on Your Windows Phone 7 device suddenly loose the ability to find the local Starbucks? Does it keep coming back with "No Results Found" for anything other than city names or addresses? Did the search button, which used to bring up bing search with scout, music, vision, and voice search options, suddenly decide to just open up Bing in IE? Well, apprently MS and it's partners have hacked your registry disabling such searching, hoping to finally prompt You to throw that perfectly working two-three year old device in the trash to upgrade to a WP8/10 device (if You're not pissed enough to go to Android yet).
Don't worry though, if Your WP7 search button and Bing Maps search is not working, It's fixable; here's what they changed:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions]
"CurrentVersion"="Default"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions]
"CurrentEtag"=""52757f6711ded01:0"" <<<CurrentEtag added, not sure if this matters
"CurrentVersion"="VersionA" <<Version changed from "Default" to "VersionA" which has search disabled, amongst other things (see below)
"Default" config Version settings for en-us;
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions\Default\Locales\en-us]
"AddressSearchCulture"="en-us"
"AudioDurationList"="3000,6000,9000,12000,15000"
"AudioPeriod"=dword:00000bb8
"AudioRequestType"="AudioFeatures16"
"AudioSampleCount"=dword:00000005
"AudioSearchEnabled"=dword:00000001
"AudioSearchMarketList"="US,CA,AU,GB,FR,IT,DE,ES"
"AutoSuggestEnabled"=dword:00000001
"BusinessReviewsEnabled"=dword:00000001
"EditThisPlaceUrl"="https://gazetteer.bingmobile.com/nearby/editplace.htm"
"EventCardEnabled"=dword:00000001
"FinanceInstantAnswerUrl"="http://mny.mobile.msn.com/en-us/quote.aspx?symbol={0}"
"ImagePivotEnabled"=dword:00000001
"LocalPivotEnabled"=dword:00000001
"MapCulture"="en-us"
"MovieCardEnabled"=dword:00000001
"NeighborhoodEnabled"=dword:00000001
"ProductCardEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RoutingCulture"="en-us"
"SearchEnabled"=dword:00000001
"SpeechInRoutingEnabled"=dword:00000001
"TrafficEnabled"=dword:00000001
"VisionDetectorList"="UPC, QR, MSTAG"
"VisionDisplayText"="Scan barcodes, QR Codes, Microsoft Tags, books, CDs, and DVDs."
"VisionOCRLanguagesList"="EN,ES,IT,DE,FR,NL,PT"
"VisionRecognizerList"="OCR,Product"
"VisionServicesEnabled"=dword:00000001
New "VersionA" section / settings:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions\VersionA] <<whole new key/subkeys
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions\VersionA\Locales\en-us]
"AddressSearchCulture"="en-us"
"AudioDurationList"="3000,6000,9000,12000,15000"
"AudioPeriod"=dword:00000bb8
"AudioRequestType"="AudioFeatures16"
"AudioSampleCount"=dword:00000005
"AudioSearchEnabled"=dword:00000001
"AudioSearchMarketList"="US,CA,AU,GB,FR,IT,DE,ES"
"AutoSuggestEnabled"=dword:00000001
"BusinessReviewsEnabled"=dword:00000001
"EditThisPlaceUrl"="http://www.bing.com/local/reportproblem" <<<<"EditThisPlaceURl" different (maybe this is what broke the search button)
"EventCardEnabled"=dword:00000001
"FinanceInstantAnswerUrl"="http://mny.mobile.msn.com/en-us/quote.aspx?symbol={0}"
"ImagePivotEnabled"=dword:00000000 <<<<<< Image Pivot disabled (0 vs 1)
"LocalPivotEnabled"=dword:00000000 <<<<<<< LocalPivot disabled (0 vs 1)
"MapCulture"="en-us"
"MovieCardEnabled"=dword:00000001
"NeighborhoodEnabled"=dword:00000001
"ProductCardEnabled"=dword:00000001
"RoutingCulture"="en-us"
"SearchEnabled"=dword:00000000 <<<< SEARCH DISABLED (0 vs 1) WTF MICROSOFT/HTC/T-Mobile?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
"SpeechInRoutingEnabled"=dword:00000001
"TrafficEnabled"=dword:00000001
"VisionDetectorList"="UPC, QR, MSTAG"
"VisionDisplayText"="Scan barcodes, QR Codes, Microsoft Tags, books, CDs, and DVDs."
"VisionOCRLanguagesList"="EN,ES,IT,DE,FR,NL,PT"
"VisionRecognizerList"="OCR,Product"
"VisionServicesEnabled"=dword:00000001
The "VersionA" config version has even worse settings for some other locales, disabling everything from the looks of it. Take a look at the attached reg files for details (I renamed to .txt; CARE NOT TO APPLY TO YOUR PC REG OR IT WILL BRICK YOUR PC!!!).
So, the solution; all You've got to do is change the "CurrentVersion" value under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions\] from "VersionA" back to "Default".
If You're so inclined (I know I am), You can also delete the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\system\SearchMaps\Configuration\Versions\VersionA] key alltogether.
On My Radar, this not only restored the maps search capabilities, but also restored the search button!!!
Some background:
Starting sometime in September I noticed that the search feature in the native Maps app on my Radar seemed broken; it stopped working to pull up businesses, POI, and anything other than city names or complete addresses. "Seattle" worked fine, but anything like 'coffee', 'gas', 'library', or even 'starbucks' came up with "No results found". I did some searching and apparently I wasn't the only one; with the end of WP7 support MS and it's partners seem to have been neutering features such as the search button (now goes directly to bing, remember voice search anyone?) etc. I flashed Deepshining Radar v4.0 WP7.8 and switched to the Nokia marketplace so I could have Here Maps and Drive, that at least got me search functionality with info better than gMaps and voice navigation, but slower on these older devices, and split in to two apps :/. While HTC Locations also looked promising, it could not seem to find an internet connection when it needed it, and the interface is pretty rough.
Magically though, the Maps search was working again, so I was stoked, but not for long...a half a day later the search died again, and again i was only able to search for addresses. I did another factory reset, this time the search worked only for minutes until the phone finished configuring itself. The only difference was I left the SIM in. I tried it again with the SIM out, letting the phone finish doing it's thing till I got that first "5 tips for getting the most from your WP" text message before I put in the sim. This kept search working for a few hours again. This confirmed My suspicion that some setting was getting changed somewhere.
Out came wp7 root tools and reg backup. I looked around and found maps/search related settings under HKLM\System\SearchMaps, as well as some stuff under HKLM\System\OnlineServices\providers\bing\mapslocal and some other places) so I took dumps of HKLM\system before and after, compared them, and this is what I found. See attached for complete dumps.
I changed the config version back to 'default', and everything works again, including the Search button!!!
Took Me all weekend to figure out, Hope this helps anyone else in the same situation.

It's still working days later, I'm pretty sure it's a permanent fix now.

Hi, Thank you so much
Thanks for sharing.. but can you give a bit of details, I'm supposing my device should be interop unlocked.. which is not at all, can You direct me to the best thread with the most simplified steps to do so ?? Thanks !

Build your own *ANDROID HOME NETWORK

How to create your own ANDROID HOME NETWORK.
This network provides the following for FREE using your home wifi:
1)An intercom system between each floor of your home
2)A home phone number and way to make emergency calls
3)A limited video security system
4)A music player/radio on each floor of your home
5)An “alexa-like” internet search environment (AKA Amazon Echo) using “OK Google”
-Choose 1 phone for each floor of your home (could be those old androids you have lying around)
The phones we used were:
2x Samsung Galaxy Rush (Boost Mobile) ANDROID 4.1.2
1x LG Optimus Fuel (TracFone) ANDROID 4.4.2
I have not tried it with any other phones, but it should work with others.
*If you can choose phones that can be rooted, and are Android 4.4 or higher, it would be the best.
-Choose a location that’s appropriate to mount on each floor and a mounting system
I found a rubber webbing on ebay that allowed me to hang each one.
You can also decide if you want the screens to go off like normal, or always stay on.
I like always stay on because it gives a faster response for voice internet searches (although this will certainly shorten their screen life).
-Setup each phone with the apps needed
1)Zello is the app we use for our intercom. It is real-time (many others are not), and it allows for setting up group contact lists.
So when you intercom from one phone, all of the others broadcast what you say, and vice versa.
2)Hangouts app and Hangouts dialer allow you to use a free Google voice number (must be setup online first)
Then logging in to the same email address on all 3 phones makes them all ring at the same time whenever your Google voice number is called.
Remember to click the “incoming phone calls“ box in settings on all phones as well.
However, only 1 phone can answer, so this does not provide a party line, like the old landline systems had.
Use the Xposed module called Xhangouts to get a custom ringtone (the default is too quiet and Google doesn’t provide a native way to change it)
3)Perch is an app that allows you to remotely see what’s on the front camera of any phone, along with audio.
Your security “view” will be limited based on the position and viewing angle of each phone.
4)Tune-in radio is the internet option we chose, but any will do. We find ourselves listening a lot more now while saving the battery life on the phones in our pockets.
Of course you can also listen to playlists you’ve created with music stored on the device.
And using Google's play music app will allow you to turn on music hands-free with voice commands.
5)Setup “OK-Google”. To maximize this you really need phones with at least Android 4.4 on them (although google now launcher works on android 4.1). Otherwise this part of your network isn’t voice activated, or doesn't work as well, and thus, is not as cool.
In Google settings under search and ok-Google, choose “any screen” (you may have to retrain it’s voice recognition and it could be limited to just your voice). You can also use the xposed module to get Ok-google on any launchers home screen (Nova launcher has this built in).
6)As a finishing touch you can create a tasker profile to go back to the home screen every 2 minutes. If you won't set this up then the screen remains on the last used app. And if it's zello or something else, then older devices won't hear an ok google request. Plus it allows the live wallpaper to be visible for the majority of time.
*Here are several kid-specific finishing touches (since we have 2 little ones):
1)We use ADW launcher since it allows for password lock for both apps and the phone menu button
2)We use a status bar swipe down blocker to prevent system or setup changes
3)We leave the cellular radios on with a 911 shortcut for emergencies
4)We created a picture contact shortcut to both of our cell-phones, and made hangouts dialer the default dialer
5)We added an aquarium live wallpaper (the kids love making the fish move by tapping the screen)
That's it!
If you decide to setup your own Android Home Network, please post what you did here. I will gladly update this post (and my own setup) if you find ways to enhance this concept.
Hope you found this helpful, and a fun use for your old android phones.

Huawei community forums...how to file bugs on Huawei phones?

I've been trying to log into Huawei's community forums for a while, but no matter what I try, it results in an error page. It's the most extraordinarily frustrating experience. I wonder if anyone else has any tips to getting logged in.
My main reason for wanting to log in, apart from having a general look for tips, etc, is to find out how to inform them of a bug in their OS. Does anyone have any recommendations for how best to do that?

In fact, I often log in the community forum as my mobile phone is a Huawei device. I would like to help you report the bug.
You may post your bug description here. You can write in English or in Chinese.
If it is in English, I will translate it by myself before submit to the forum .

James_Watson said:
In fact, I often log in the community forum as my mobile phone is a Huawei device. I would like to help you report the bug.
You may post your bug description here. You can write in English or in Chinese.
If it is in English, I will translate it by myself before submit to the forum .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, that's very civilised of you. I'll write in English, since that's the only language I know
Actually, I have three bugs - well, I think they're bugs, except, perhaps, for the first one.
1. This one isn't really a bug, but I bet the people on the Huawei forums can help.
FYI, I use a sim card from CMLink - SIM #1 [1], which piggy back off EE in the UK, and CMCC in China, and provide useful roaming plans for use between the two countries. They only provide data plans limited by the month, and I have signed up for their 22GB plan. To track usage, I have a P10 and have been trying to set it up to automatically calibrate the data usage measure on a daily basis. I think it does this by sending an SMS containing simply 'Check' to CMCC's service number '10086', and extracts the data from the response (not 100% sure about that, but hey). There seems to be a 'calibrate' button in the settings to do this manually (under the usage graph), but when I try I get the message 'Incorrect network provider. Reselect and try again.' I'd really like to get this going.
2. Related to above, I've set the setting to show the usage under the notifications when you drag down from the top of the screen. I've configured my plan information - ie 22GB per month, and starts on the 17th of each month. However, while the 'Today' seems to increase appropriately, the 'Left' is stuck at the maximum. I imagine the 'Total' is supposed to stay at 22GB. I expect the 'Left' to go down as I use it throughout the month.
3. This one is unrelated to above. If I open a browser and go to my web mail site, there is an option on the menu to 'Add to Home screen'. As expected, when I select that option, it does add an icon to the homescreen. Since it is something I want on every page of the homescreen, I drag that icon onto the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. I do that for a couple of web pages - my email and my calendar. At this point, it all works swimmingly. However, if I reboot the phone, then those icons seem to be moved back onto the homescreen, and also are 'greyed out' and placed under the clocks (the clock widget) I have placed there. So, that's not 'expected'.
What do you think?
Max.
Device info:
Model: VTR-AL00
Build number: 9.1.0.201 (C00E75R1P12patch02) GPU Turbo
EMUI version: 9.1.0
Android version: 9
Android security patch: 1 August 2019
Kernel version: 4.9.148
Network (I selected things that might be helpful):
SIM 1 (my UK CMLink SIM): China Mobile, LTE, SMS centre number - a UK number
SIM 2 (my Chinese CMCC SIM): China Mobile, EDGE, SMS centre number - a China number
[1] ...and also a 2nd one, SIM 2, which is a local SIM

James_Watson said:
In fact, I often log in the community forum as my mobile phone is a Huawei device. I would like to help you report the bug.
You may post your bug description here. You can write in English or in Chinese.
If it is in English, I will translate it by myself before submit to the forum .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could also, if you would be so kind, help me fix my problems logging into the Huawei community forums...

davidmaxwaterman said:
You could also, if you would be so kind, help me fix my problems logging into the Huawei community forums...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's your question about logging into that forum?
But as I found, it seems a community forum in Chinese. Almost all posts there are in Chinese. So, will you get any effective response even if you can log in it?
Maybe it's better to contact a local Huawei customer service center in order to get some helps. Do you think so?
---------- Post added at 04:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 AM ----------
davidmaxwaterman said:
Well, that's very civilised of you. I'll write in English, since that's the only language I know
Actually, I have three bugs - well, I think they're bugs, except, perhaps, for the first one.
1. This one isn't really a bug, but I bet the people on the Huawei forums can help.
FYI, I use a sim card from CMLink - SIM #1 [1], which piggy back off EE in the UK, and CMCC in China, and provide useful roaming plans for use between the two countries. They only provide data plans limited by the month, and I have signed up for their 22GB plan. To track usage, I have a P10 and have been trying to set it up to automatically calibrate the data usage measure on a daily basis. I think it does this by sending an SMS containing simply 'Check' to CMCC's service number '10086', and extracts the data from the response (not 100% sure about that, but hey). There seems to be a 'calibrate' button in the settings to do this manually (under the usage graph), but when I try I get the message 'Incorrect network provider. Reselect and try again.' I'd really like to get this going.
2. Related to above, I've set the setting to show the usage under the notifications when you drag down from the top of the screen. I've configured my plan information - ie 22GB per month, and starts on the 17th of each month. However, while the 'Today' seems to increase appropriately, the 'Left' is stuck at the maximum. I imagine the 'Total' is supposed to stay at 22GB. I expect the 'Left' to go down as I use it throughout the month.
3. This one is unrelated to above. If I open a browser and go to my web mail site, there is an option on the menu to 'Add to Home screen'. As expected, when I select that option, it does add an icon to the homescreen. Since it is something I want on every page of the homescreen, I drag that icon onto the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. I do that for a couple of web pages - my email and my calendar. At this point, it all works swimmingly. However, if I reboot the phone, then those icons seem to be moved back onto the homescreen, and also are 'greyed out' and placed under the clocks (the clock widget) I have placed there. So, that's not 'expected'.
What do you think?
Max.
Device info:
Model: VTR-AL00
Build number: 9.1.0.201 (C00E75R1P12patch02) GPU Turbo
EMUI version: 9.1.0
Android version: 9
Android security patch: 1 August 2019
Kernel version: 4.9.148
Network (I selected things that might be helpful):
SIM 1 (my UK CMLink SIM): China Mobile, LTE, SMS centre number - a UK number
SIM 2 (my Chinese CMCC SIM): China Mobile, EDGE, SMS centre number - a China number
[1] ...and also a 2nd one, SIM 2, which is a local SIM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your three question are really confused and difficult to understand for me as I never used a CMLink sim card.
But I will try my best to get to know your situations and help you as more as I can.
First, let's clarify your 3rd question.
On my Huawei phone, there are at most 5 icons on the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. Every icon here for apps on my device works fine even if I reboot my device. So, is it a defect of the couple of web pages - email and calendar?
Try to drag an icon of another app or widget there. Check if it will work well, please.

> I never used a CMLink sim card
I don't think there's anything special about the CMLink, except that it works in either country pretty much the same as the other. It is the same as any other SIM card with a monthly limited data plan. So, you could consider that it is the same as a Chinese SIM card, I suppose.
> So, is it a defect of the couple of web pages - email and calendar?
Well, I guess I don't know exactly what the problem is, of course. My impression is that they hadn't considered this use-case much at all - I notice the Huawei browser doesn't have this 'add to homescreen' functionality at all.
However, you prompted me to experiment a bit more, and it doesn't happen with all web pages. Previously, I had my email and calendar on there, and they both were moved back onto the homescreen underneath other icons/widgets and greyed out (and didn't actually work to launch the web pages). However, now, the calendar page does seem to stay on there, and works when I click it. I also have tried both Chrome and Brave, and they both seem to show the same problem. I can't really see how it could be a web page problem, since nothing is being launched. I suppose it could be a web *manifest* problem, since that is where the icons usually come from...though looking in chrome devtools, I see that it has no manifest, and so the icons must be taken from the <meta> in <head>. The calendar, which does seem to be staying on the quick launch bar, also doesn't have a manifest file - so not that then.
It's pretty easy to reproduce though:
1. open your browser (chrome, probably) on https://www.fastmail.fm/
2. click on the menu and select 'Add to homescreen'
3. 'Add' on the dialog
4. 'ADD on the next dialog
5. go to the homescreen and locate the shortcut
6. drag and drop it onto the quick launch bar.
7. restart
Well, that's frustrating - I was writing those down as I did them, and when I restarted, it looked fine :/ I wonder if it makes any difference which position the icons are in on...ah, yeah, it looks like it is more reproducible if the shortcut is the left-most. Arghh. This time I lost a *native* app I had on there too - WeChat of all things - you'd imagine they'd make sure that works fine. Actually, it wasn't the WeChat app I had on there, but a shortcut to one of the contacts - you can add a wechat contact from the menu on their item in the wechat contacts list - 'Add to Desktop' it is in English. Hrm I notice that, while the web page shortcuts get moved back onto the homescreen, the WeChat contact shortcut is just gone....and I can't even add it again from WeChat - it says it is, but nothing appears :/
Gosh, it's really a bit of a mess. Perhaps it's too broken and inconsistent to even bother filing any bug. I'm tempted to apply for a job there to try and help, but in any case, I can't see too many Westerners being happy with such issues I suppose Chinese people just don't do this sort of thing.

> What's your question about logging into that forum?
>
> But as I found, it seems a community forum in Chinese. Almost all posts there are in Chinese. So, will you get any effective response even if you can log in it?
> Maybe it's better to contact a local Huawei customer service center in order to get some helps. Do you think so?
Well, the question is where I can get help with logging in - but, if it is all in Chinese, I would modify my question to be: where can I find forums that are in English, and corresponding community support? Since there is a huge market for English speakers, I imagine they have somewhere for us to learn how to use it, and ask questions and report problems, etc?

davidmaxwaterman said:
> What's your question about logging into that forum?
>
> But as I found, it seems a community forum in Chinese. Almost all posts there are in Chinese. So, will you get any effective response even if you can log in it?
> Maybe it's better to contact a local Huawei customer service center in order to get some helps. Do you think so?
Well, the question is where I can get help with logging in - but, if it is all in Chinese, I would modify my question to be: where can I find forums that are in English, and corresponding community support? Since there is a huge market for English speakers, I imagine they have somewhere for us to learn how to use it, and ask questions and report problems, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, your requirement is very reasonable.
When I posted some questions about mobile phone usage here, there would be someone would replied to my thread and tried to get more detailed info to help me. They said they were the Huawei official staff.
I will post a thread about "where for you to ask questions and report problems in English" for you soon.
On the other hand, you can access the forum either via web application (mobile web as well as computer web) or via an official app. You can also try the app. If you need it and can not find the apk, I will show you the link.

James_Watson said:
Yes, your requirement is very reasonable.
When I posted some questions about mobile phone usage here, there would be someone would replied to my thread and tried to get more detailed info to help me. They said they were the Huawei official staff.
I will post a thread about "where for you to ask questions and report problems in English" for you soon.
On the other hand, you can access the forum either via web application (mobile web as well as computer web) or via an official app. You can also try the app. If you need it and can not find the apk, I will show you the link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I look forward to finding out if there is a forum for English language users somewhere. I do kind of feel like they could spend more attention to this requirement, unless, of course, I'm just not looking hard enough. I remember when I was using a ZTE phone - they were very popular due to having front-facing speakers, and so had a pretty good US based forum and it was very useful. [Side note - I wish Huawei would produce a phone with front-facing speakers].
I don't think an app will get me very far...I probably have it on my phone already - I see one called 'HiCare', for example, and there's the top line on the settings. It's all very unfamiliar and things so often don't seem to quite work as expected. I kind of wish the Huawei stores had 'help' sessions like they do (or did anyway) in Apple stores.

davidmaxwaterman said:
> I never used a CMLink sim card
I don't think there's anything special about the CMLink, except that it works in either country pretty much the same as the other. It is the same as any other SIM card with a monthly limited data plan. So, you could consider that it is the same as a Chinese SIM card, I suppose.
> So, is it a defect of the couple of web pages - email and calendar?
Well, I guess I don't know exactly what the problem is, of course. My impression is that they hadn't considered this use-case much at all - I notice the Huawei browser doesn't have this 'add to homescreen' functionality at all.
However, you prompted me to experiment a bit more, and it doesn't happen with all web pages. Previously, I had my email and calendar on there, and they both were moved back onto the homescreen underneath other icons/widgets and greyed out (and didn't actually work to launch the web pages). However, now, the calendar page does seem to stay on there, and works when I click it. I also have tried both Chrome and Brave, and they both seem to show the same problem. I can't really see how it could be a web page problem, since nothing is being launched. I suppose it could be a web *manifest* problem, since that is where the icons usually come from...though looking in chrome devtools, I see that it has no manifest, and so the icons must be taken from the <meta> in <head>. The calendar, which does seem to be staying on the quick launch bar, also doesn't have a manifest file - so not that then.
It's pretty easy to reproduce though:
1. open your browser (chrome, probably) on https://www.fastmail.fm/
2. click on the menu and select 'Add to homescreen'
3. 'Add' on the dialog
4. 'ADD on the next dialog
5. go to the homescreen and locate the shortcut
6. drag and drop it onto the quick launch bar.
7. restart
Well, that's frustrating - I was writing those down as I did them, and when I restarted, it looked fine :/ I wonder if it makes any difference which position the icons are in on...ah, yeah, it looks like it is more reproducible if the shortcut is the left-most. Arghh. This time I lost a *native* app I had on there too - WeChat of all things - you'd imagine they'd make sure that works fine. Actually, it wasn't the WeChat app I had on there, but a shortcut to one of the contacts - you can add a wechat contact from the menu on their item in the wechat contacts list - 'Add to Desktop' it is in English. Hrm I notice that, while the web page shortcuts get moved back onto the homescreen, the WeChat contact shortcut is just gone....and I can't even add it again from WeChat - it says it is, but nothing appears :/
Gosh, it's really a bit of a mess. Perhaps it's too broken and inconsistent to even bother filing any bug. I'm tempted to apply for a job there to try and help, but in any case, I can't see too many Westerners being happy with such issues I suppose Chinese people just don't do this sort of thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. About CMLink, okay, I just posted a thread for you to Huawei community about how to report issue about Huawei phone usage for those speak English. Wait for their response, please.
2. Now I have gotten to know the feature 'Add to Home Screen'. In my Firefox Focus browser, I found it. I will have a try soon.

James_Watson said:
1. About CMLink, okay, I just posted a thread for you to Huawei community about how to report issue about Huawei phone usage for those speak English. Wait for their response, please.
2. Now I have gotten to know the feature 'Add to Home Screen'. In my Firefox Focus browser, I found it. I will have a try soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. That's very cool of you, thanks Maybe I'll try Firefox too...
Max.

davidmaxwaterman said:
Awesome. That's very cool of you, thanks Maybe I'll try Firefox too...
Max.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Firefox Focus just now.
When I opened a simple web page, then selected 'Add to Home screen' from the menu, entered some words for the icon title, tap 'Add' at last.
But it was so strange that then I couldn't find this icon on the home screen at all. It must be a bug of Huawei EMUI system. The QC engineers should ignore this use case.
Btw, it's time to home for me. I will try to help you tomorrow. Would you like to support my apps available on Google Play? Thanks in advance.

James_Watson said:
I tried Firefox Focus just now.
When I opened a simple web page, then select 'Add to Home screen' from the menu, entered some words for the icon title, tap 'Add' at last.
But it was so strange that then I couldn't find this icon on the home screen at all. It must be a bug of Huawei EMUI system. The QC engineers should ignore this use case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, I hit this too. I suspect it is simply that you need to grant the app permissions to add to homescreen in the phone's settings in the Apps->permissions...or somewhere like that.
It's a bit odd that they don't get this automatically...I never had this issue with Google Android phones.

James_Watson said:
I tried Firefox Focus just now.
When I opened a simple web page, then selected 'Add to Home screen' from the menu, entered some words for the icon title, tap 'Add' at last.
But it was so strange that then I couldn't find this icon on the home screen at all. It must be a bug of Huawei EMUI system. The QC engineers should ignore this use case.
Btw, it's time to home for me. I will try to help you tomorrow. Would you like to support my apps available on Google Play? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right. I granted the app permission 'add to homescreen' to Firefox Focus, and then tried the feature again.
The function works well. Even after rebooting, the icon is still there on the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. So, I misunderstood that feature.

James_Watson said:
You are right. I granted the app permission 'add to homescreen' to Firefox Focus, and then tried the feature again.
The function works well. Even after rebooting, the icon is still there on the row on the bottom of the screen that is shown on every page. So, I misunderstood that feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool. It seems like it might be working better for you than for me. I've not tried firefox yet, but chrome and brave both seem to lose any shortcuts on the quick launch bar, but not always. It is also quite curious what has happened to the shortcut from wechat...since that's a native android app :/
Perhaps you're on a more recent Android/EMUI version? What kind of phone are you using?
TBH, I'm seriously considering the P30 Pro 5G when I get back to the UK, and this is sort of a test run with a hand-me-down phone which I presume is very similar in UI/UX, so it is all 'influencing' my decision.

davidmaxwaterman said:
Cool. It seems like it might be working better for you than for me. I've not tried firefox yet, but chrome and brave both seem to lose any shortcuts on the quick launch bar, but not always. It is also quite curious what has happened to the shortcut from wechat...since that's a native android app :/
Perhaps you're on a more recent Android/EMUI version? What kind of phone are you using?
TBH, I'm seriously considering the P30 Pro 5G when I get back to the UK, and this is sort of a test run with a hand-me-down phone which I presume is very similar in UI/UX, so it is all 'influencing' my decision.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact, my phone is an old model, Mate 8 with EMUI/Android 8.0. I also have a wechat installed on my device.
Btw, would you like to leave a 5-star for my app which is available on Google Play? Thanks.

James_Watson said:
In fact, my phone is an old model, Mate 8 with EMUI/Android 8.0. I also have a wechat installed on my device.
Btw, would you like to leave a 5-star for my app which is available on Google Play? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL, well I would be happy to, except I don't have Google Play on my phone...or Google anything, I think....except Chrome, of course. I'm a web app developer, so I prefer to use web apps than native android apps.

davidmaxwaterman said:
LOL, well I would be happy to, except I don't have Google Play on my phone...or Google anything, I think....except Chrome, of course. I'm a web app developer, so I prefer to use web apps than native android apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted a thread in that forum for you yesterday. https://club.huawei.com/thread-21560821-1-1.html
But till now, I have not gotten any response. So, I sent a PM to the ADMIN just now.
You may try to log in the web app or the native app for the community forum. There you might post a thread in English as your device language is English. Have a try, please. Good luck to you.

Yesterday, I managed to contact the CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Richard Yu, through his social network account. But till now I have not gotten his reply to my PM.
I suggest you post your issues on the Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Huawei/ . Good luck to you.