I just bought my first ever Android phone, Acer Liquid Zest Plus.
It's not quite working in the limited ways I was hoping it to work.
First, I drive a Honda, which has handsfreelink system for connecting the phone to the car. The phone connects to handsfreelink ok, but then shows some weird behavior, in that when using the car's controls to place a call through handsfreelink, handsfreelink immediately apparently hangs up the call (i.e. the car's display shows that it hung up the call). However, this does not actually hang up the call on the phone itself, as the call gets placed nonetheless and when someone picks up on the other side, I can have a conversation through the car's audio system. Seems to almost work, but the weird behavior just described means that I can't hang up a call without pulling the phone out of my pocket and hanging it up from the phone (as opposed to hanging up using the car's controls) while driving, which takes a lot away from the point of it all.
What could be the issue with this? Note that I had a Blackberry Passport before, which used to work all as intended with handsfreelink, and my family member's iPhone 7 Plus also works as intended with handsfreelink. Is it that my Acer Liquid Zest Plus does not have the necessary bluetooth profile/stack to works with Honda's handsfreelink? Is it that handsfreelink proprietary to Honda and uses something unique, as opposed to being a generic bluetooth device of the kind? Is a bluetooth device link this, used by other auto manufacturers, feature the same generic bluetooth thing, or is this something only Holda can possibly answer for me?
Could updating the phone solve this issue? If so, how? I go into Settings -> About phone -> System updates and it tells me that my device is up to date (I did not update it since pulling it out of the box). I notice that it's on Android 6.0 , and a quick Google search showed some discussions that it is highly unlikely that the phone will get newer Android update. The "Android security patch level" shown in "About phone" says December 5, 2016. That's a long time without a security patch. Should I, and is it possible to, update the phone?
I've heard of rooting an Android device and installing custom Roms before. Where can I find a guide for my device and the custom Rom files? I am hoping this might solve my issue with handsfreelink.
I know I am all around the place with my questions, but essentially, the issue I am having is that bluetooth connection to my car's audio system does not work as expected, and I am wondering how I might fix it. I am wondering if an OS update (either official version by manufacturer or a widely-used custom Rom) might solve this issue, or simply adding an extra bluetooth profile to the phone.
A solution would be awesome, but I'd be asking too much if I was hoping for that. Instead, if anyone can just provide me some pointers in terms of how to do research on what I should be doing to solve this, or clarify some concepts (to the extent you can tell I got it wrong from reading this post) for me, it would be really appreciated.
I've already been to Honda's handsfreelink website and Acer's support page for this product and there's nothing helpful there.
Thank you very much.
ACER
monotious said:
I just bought my first ever Android phone, Acer Liquid Zest Plus.
It's not quite working in the limited ways I was hoping it to work.
First, I drive a Honda, which has handsfreelink system for connecting the phone to the car. The phone connects to handsfreelink ok, but then shows some weird behavior, in that when using the car's controls to place a call through handsfreelink, handsfreelink immediately apparently hangs up the call (i.e. the car's display shows that it hung up the call). However, this does not actually hang up the call on the phone itself, as the call gets placed nonetheless and when someone picks up on the other side, I can have a conversation through the car's audio system. Seems to almost work, but the weird behavior just described means that I can't hang up a call without pulling the phone out of my pocket and hanging it up from the phone (as opposed to hanging up using the car's controls) while driving, which takes a lot away from the point of it all.
What could be the issue with this? Note that I had a Blackberry Passport before, which used to work all as intended with handsfreelink, and my family member's iPhone 7 Plus also works as intended with handsfreelink. Is it that my Acer Liquid Zest Plus does not have the necessary bluetooth profile/stack to works with Honda's handsfreelink? Is it that handsfreelink proprietary to Honda and uses something unique, as opposed to being a generic bluetooth device of the kind? Is a bluetooth device link this, used by other auto manufacturers, feature the same generic bluetooth thing, or is this something only Holda can possibly answer for me?
Could updating the phone solve this issue? If so, how? I go into Settings -> About phone -> System updates and it tells me that my device is up to date (I did not update it since pulling it out of the box). I notice that it's on Android 6.0 , and a quick Google search showed some discussions that it is highly unlikely that the phone will get newer Android update. The "Android security patch level" shown in "About phone" says December 5, 2016. That's a long time without a security patch. Should I, and is it possible to, update the phone?
I've heard of rooting an Android device and installing custom Roms before. Where can I find a guide for my device and the custom Rom files? I am hoping this might solve my issue with handsfreelink.
I know I am all around the place with my questions, but essentially, the issue I am having is that bluetooth connection to my car's audio system does not work as expected, and I am wondering how I might fix it. I am wondering if an OS update (either official version by manufacturer or a widely-used custom Rom) might solve this issue, or simply adding an extra bluetooth profile to the phone.
A solution would be awesome, but I'd be asking too much if I was hoping for that. Instead, if anyone can just provide me some pointers in terms of how to do research on what I should be doing to solve this, or clarify some concepts (to the extent you can tell I got it wrong from reading this post) for me, it would be really appreciated.
I've already been to Honda's handsfreelink website and Acer's support page for this product and there's nothing helpful there.
Thank you very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Acer is just the brand and few software smartphonne.they just order big amount of phones and sell them. the phone shows as Shanghai Huaqin Telecom Technology Co.,Ltd),have seen this on my old --vodaphonne-.The only emergenncy update from january 05 2018 and this is as far you go with ACER. YOU will never get any update .The name LIQUID is there PR name of there LAUNCHER,that´s all.ROOTING??? no point,waste of time no one will till today do it. Have the same phone and feel that I did a mistake and lost money.ACER stopped to sell smartphones. If you want to modiffy the phone the LAWNCHAIR launcher is good ,aswell others. But keep in mind that will be always android 6 and no security updates
Freudeauf2 said:
Acer is just the brand and few software smartphonne.they just order big amount of phones and sell them. the phone shows as Shanghai Huaqin Telecom Technology Co.,Ltd),have seen this on my old --vodaphonne-.The only emergenncy update from january 05 2018 and this is as far you go with ACER. YOU will never get any update .The name LIQUID is there PR name of there LAUNCHER,that´s all.ROOTING??? no point,waste of time no one will till today do it. Have the same phone and feel that I did a mistake and lost money.ACER stopped to sell smartphones. If you want to modiffy the phone the LAWNCHAIR launcher is good ,aswell others. But keep in mind that will be always android 6 and no security updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your bluetooth -you have to install a app from third party and then configure the rest in the app and in setting device.Importend timer schould be always set as on in bluetooth .Standard is few minutes.good luck
---------- Post added at 02:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:06 PM ----------
Freudeauf2 said:
your bluetooth -you have to install a app from third party and then configure the rest in the app and in setting device.Importend timer schould be always set as on in bluetooth .Standard is few minutes.good luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To keep all your apps uptodate I use from FDROID app the YALP STORE ,there you can in settings update your system apps,as I sad this is the way as far you go with ACER. Hope it helps
Hi there,
I'm not sure where to turn to at all and I'm sure if this firmware can be created and used successfully, there will be a lot of other users who will benefit from it. My issue is a little specific, but bear with me, I got myself a corsair virtuoso se headset for Christmas. I've set them up using the icue software on my PC, but when I used them on the PS5, the settings did not transfer. Google has revealed that the headset itself does not have any on-board memory for saving settings. It seems like Corsair doesn't really care about console gamers and I can't get help from them.
If there is anything that can be done to get my headset how I want it, I would appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction.
Is it possible to create a custom firmware with my settings and flash it directly to the headset?
Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. I've only ever rooted and flashed ROMs on my old S10.
Please let me know if this thread is in the wrong place or if it should be deleted.
Like I said, I am not the only one who has this issue with the headset, so if it can be fixed successfully, others may benefit as well.
My recommendation:
Add
VIRTUOSO RGB WIRELESS High-Fidelity Gaming Headset
to front of this thread's title, thus mainly users having such a headset are addressed
My unit allowed me to pair multiple phones (my wife and daughter also drive) but the Bluetooth system would only reconnect to the last phone used.
So if I drove the car last, and then my wife drives, it won't connect to her phone without manually selecting it from the list of devices. It will be stuck trying to find my phone which isn't in the car.
I complained to the manufacturer about this silly bug (Atoto) and they issued an update that made it search for other phones. It seems to work pretty well now, but I'm wondering - is this normal behavior for FYT units? If so, what did Atoto do to fix it? I got a Bluetooth update file, it only flashed the BT system and not the rest of Android. I'm not sure what it did, but wondering if I purchase a different FYT unit, will I run into this yet again?
dishe2 said:
My unit allowed me to pair multiple phones (my wife and daughter also drive) but the Bluetooth system would only reconnect to the last phone used.
So if I drove the car last, and then my wife drives, it won't connect to her phone without manually selecting it from the list of devices. It will be stuck trying to find my phone which isn't in the car.
I complained to the manufacturer about this silly bug (Atoto) and they issued an update that made it search for other phones. It seems to work pretty well now, but I'm wondering - is this normal behavior for FYT units? If so, what did Atoto do to fix it? I got a Bluetooth update file, it only flashed the BT system and not the rest of Android. I'm not sure what it did, but wondering if I purchase a different FYT unit, will I run into this yet again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you confirm which update you got?
is there a specific patch name i could quote when i talk to them?
i just updaed to the 2023/02/02 release and still have this issue
It's strange they did not include this bug fix in the latest firmware update
thanks for any info you can provide
How do you check for updates?
The Bluetooth 1 system is separate from the rest of the Android OS.
Bt2 is the standard Android stack that you'd normally find on a phone or tablet, But BT1, in order to receive an incoming signal from your phone, is external hardware that exists outside of Android and seems to interface via an app that they call BT1. This does not get updated the same way as the OS does.
In other words, the firmware updates are usually only targeting the Android partition and does not update the MCU, Bluetooth, or other external components. You need to ask them for a Bluetooth update, It is performed by going into BT1 and then clicking on update Bluetooth firmware from within that screen with the file on a storage card or USB. It does not format the rest of the system, it really just update BT1 alone and can be done while the device is on. However I think that they recommend you reboot after performing the update since it is pretty heavily tied into how the rest of the radio operates.
The only thing that I don't like about the way Atoto handles customer support is their updates. They say they are going to be getting better about this in the future hopefully, but right now you need to specifically ask them for updates and there is no way to check for them.
dishe2 said:
The Bluetooth 1 system is separate from the rest of the Android OS.
Bt2 is the standard Android stack that you'd normally find on a phone or tablet, But BT1, in order to receive an incoming signal from your phone, is external hardware that exists outside of Android and seems to interface via an app that they call BT1. This does not get updated the same way as the OS does.
In other words, the firmware updates are usually only targeting the Android partition and does not update the MCU, Bluetooth, or other external components. You need to ask them for a Bluetooth update, It is performed by going into BT1 and then clicking on update Bluetooth firmware from within that screen with the file on a storage card or USB. It does not format the rest of the system, it really just update BT1 alone and can be done while the device is on. However I think that they recommend you reboot after performing the update since it is pretty heavily tied into how the rest of the radio operates.
The only thing that I don't like about the way Atoto handles customer support is their updates. They say they are going to be getting better about this in the future hopefully, but right now you need to specifically ask them for updates and there is no way to check for them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have reached out to Atoto. in order to asist in getting the correct file from them, can you please quote the filename they gave you, as a the moment they dont seem to know what i am talking about. this may help them find what it is i need.
thanks in advance
@dishe2
did it take long for you to get a response form them and the file in question?
they keep responding at the speed of only 1 email per day
between 5-6 am
constantly asking more info from me about my order
instead of telling me everything they need from me
its extreemly frustrating
have you been able to find the name of the file they shared with you?
so i can let them know exactly what I am looking for?
Maybe if you share the bluetooth update files people can review what this is about as I have not heard about BT update only.
roti86 said:
Maybe if you share the bluetooth update files people can review what this is about as I have not heard about BT update only.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, thats all i wanted, was the file/files
at least their names
anyways, support has gotten back to me
I will provide the info I have as well as what hey expect from you in case any of you need the same fix
I figure the least I can do is share the info I have
they did not give me a file to be used in the BT files menu
wha they gave me was a config.txt and lsec6316update
lsec6316update appears to be the same file that is found in a normal update and triggers an actual update process
config.txt seems to simply contain system values and their configs, some of them not even available in the hidden menu
_____the config.txt appears to be specific to your device model
this did seem to trigger a "normal" , "full" update
but as soon as it hit the fastboot/adb/update screen
it simply seemed to apply the config file and then ask to unplug the drive
it then proceedd to boot
after booting the unit will now still search for last connected phone
but if not found within ~10-15 seconds
it tries the next one in the list and so on
I have reached back to support to thank them and ask about future updates
I still sont know if this "change" will be included in the next firmare update or not
or
if at that time a different "fix" may be needd
or
if you simply need to include the config file with the nex upate, as that seems to just be part of the structure
I will follow up when i ge more answers from Atoto
now for details needed when reaching out to them
so you dont have to struggle like I did 1 email at a time with no insight
1- screenhot of the "about device" in sysem showing the MCU version
2- further deails of the MCU by tapping 4 times and scrolling to the bottom of the black screen with all the details
3- date and vendor/site your unit was ordered from
4- order number
5- exact full model number of your unit
6- screenshot showing order and unit exact model
Bluetooth reconnects OK for me, but only on days ending with y
Uis7862 mcu type 116 fyt. Rock on.
pchtc said:
they did not give me a file to be used in the BT files menu
wha they gave me was a config.txt and lsec6316update
lsec6316update appears to be the same file that is found in a normal update and triggers an actual update process
config.txt seems to simply contain system values and their configs, some of them not even available in the hidden menu
_____the config.txt appears to be specific to your device model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you care to share the contents of the config.txt file?
That appears to be something I haven't seen before.
j0hn83 said:
Would you care to share the contents of the config.txt file?
That appears to be something I haven't seen before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here are the contents of theconfiguration file
nothing really sands out in terms of a parameter that would forcefully scan other paired devices, but its working now
pleas keep in mind that my unit is an A6 PF (performance)
#test
ro.fyt.launcher = com.android.launcher8
sys.fyt.bluetooth_type=1
ro.sys.touchGesture=1
sys.fyt.systemobd=true
persist.lsec.enable_a2dp=true
ro.lsec.btname=Bluetooth 2
ro.fyt.subwoof=5
ro.fyt.message=0
sys.fyt.ec_version=6
persist.sys.ahd = 1
ro.build.go_lasttop=true
ro.fyt.splitscreen=0
sys.fyt.bluetooth_show_voice=true
persist.fyt.alwaysshowsim=false
persist.fyt.showgesture=false
persist.btpair.ssp=1
ro.fyt.amsens=22
ro.fyt.def.sb.aux=2
ro.fyt.def.sb.radio=9
ro.fyt.def.sb.player=5
persist.bta2dpvol.gain=7
persist.fyt.buildnumber=AICE UI 11.0
persist.fyt.productseries=Device Name:ATOTO A6 Performance
ro.fixed.wifi=1
ro.fyt.uiid=2
persist.fyt.enablebtvoice=true
ro.fyt.backcar_radar_enable=0
# persist.syu.backui3rd = true
persist.btmic.gain=4
persist.btautoconnect.count=3
persist.syu.single360=false
bt#ATOTO#0000
# true/false ÊÇ·ñµÚÈý·½µ¹³µÓ¦Óã¬Ä¬ÈϹØ(false)
# sys.syu.reserving_service_pkg = "com.envo.mono.android"
#µÚÈý·½µ¹³µÓ¦ÓðüÃû ±±¾©Ë«÷Ùöè°üÃû£º"com.sjs.vrbackcarapp"
# sys.syu.reserving_service_action = "com.envo.mono.android.service.MonoService"
#µÚÈý·½µ¹³µÓ¦ÓÃaction ±±¾©Ë«÷Ùöèaction£º"com.sjs.vrbackcarapp.AutoStartService"
Thanks for sharing. I don't understand coding but it seems its specific for ATOTO A6 Performance. I suppose its not a copy paste for others units. It has to be adapted. I wonder why other manufactures don't apply a patch like this. Could it be hardware related?
Battoussai said:
Thanks for sharing. I don't understand coding but it seems its specific for ATOTO A6 Performance. I suppose its not a copy paste for others units. It has to be adapted. I wonder why other manufactures don't apply a patch like this. Could it be hardware related?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it is the property "persist.btautoconnect.count=3".
If you can't find the first, go to the 2nd, and optionally go to the 3rd
surfer63 said:
I think it is the property "persist.btautoconnect.count=3".
If you can't find the first, go to the 2nd, and optionally go to the 3rd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Surfer63.
Sorry for this and i'm trying not to be a PITA but your code skills are impressive so my question (and feel free to don't reply) is:
My config.txt only contains this:
bt#VW-PHONE#0000
ro.fyt.launcher=com.android.launcher6
sys.fyt.bluetooth_type=6
sys.lsec.carplay.OTGHdPort=3
sys.syu.dvd_external=1
persist.fyt.selectcolor=3
# ÅäÖÃÀ¶ÑÀÀàÐÍ
# 0£ºÄÚÖÃÀ¶ÑÀ£»
# 1£ºRDA£»
# 2£ºIVT£»
# 3£ºWQRDA£»
# 4: WQBC5
#
sys.syu.dvd_external (9853Íâ¹ÒµúºÏ) 0,1
Should I edit and add the line you refered to "persist.btautoconnect.count=3" after the "persist.fyt.selectcolor=3"? Or it is not that simple?
Thanks in advance.
Battoussai said:
Should I edit and add the line you refered to "persist.btautoconnect.count=3" after the "persist.fyt.selectcolor=3"? Or it is not that simple?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all: I am not sure that this is the correct property. This one is also new to me, but it is not one of the other properties. So it is an educated guess that this is the correct one.
It doesn't matter where you put the line. There is no specific order. So you can put the line wherever you want in the config.txt.
Hey, OP here. Just wanted to clarify a few things:
I originally asked the question because it came to my attention that the Atoto units handle Bluetooth a little bit differently than other FYT devices.
I was curious to see how others handle it and if they have the same reconnect issues that the Atoto ones do. I'm fairly certain that very little (if anything) would translate over to other brands, however I'm not fully aware of how other brands do it (I've owned 4 Atoto units so far and can't vouch for any others aside from what I've read here). And even stranger, the "fix" differs between Atoto's own devices (the A6 PF is a 8581 devices, and the S8 is a 7862- I own both units and both have BT updates to change how this works after I explained the problem to them, however the updates are very different).
In Atoto's platform, there are two bluetooth UIs:
1) BT2, which is the standard Android Bluetooth stack. It can be used like any other BT connection in an Android device, good for things like a keyboard or other input devices, OBDii dongles, file transfers, internet tethering, etc.
2) BT1, which is a customized Bluetooth UI to act as a receiver (all the headunit-related functions such as handsfree calls and streaming audio, which aren't part of the AOSP Bluetooth stack). They call this custom one BT1, while the standard Android Bluetooth system gets demoted to BT2, probably because they assume this is the most often used one for anyone expecting headunit-style functionality.
I'm not familiar with other FYT units, but it is my understanding that they have only one unified Bluetooth system, and it is likely a customized one only which is why I see people complaining about only being able to use "official" branded OBD readers instead of allowing any standard BT connection like Atoto (@surfer63, is that about right?).
I'm not 100% sure how it works, but it appears that BT1 might actually rely on separate hardware that exists externally from the rest of the Android system, and only interfaces with it via an app (similar to the way the FM tuner works). Essentially it is a Bluetooth receiver that goes into the MCU mixer and controlled inside the app called BT1. The proof to me that this is the case is that:
1) You can "see itself" when searching for bluetooth devices in BT2. I haven't tried this because it feels like a paradox that would unravel the universe at first, but apparently BT2 can see BT1 as an available Bluetooth speaker, and connect to it for audio.
2) After a factory reset, BT1 retains its paired devices information (because it exists outside of Android).
3) BT1 UI has its own "reset" and sometimes even "update" function (S8 Ultra, more on that in a minute), which implies it is operating on a different set of rules than the rest of the system.
When they initially made the update for my S8 Ultra, I was given a file to "flash the firmware of the bluetooth module". It is NOT a system update, but an update that must be initiated only inside of BT1. It does not effect the rest of the system, it does not even reboot the system. You click update, wait for it to finish, then click reset Bluetooth for good measure.
On the A6 pf (5851 device), I was given an actual firmware update to test when they "fixed" it. And not just a new lsec6316update and config file, but a full blown update. It could be that the rest of the update wasn't necessary and just a line in the config was changed, but I'd doubt that since they said the unit currently did not work the way I asked, and their engineers had to "work on a fix".
Either way, the bottom line here is that the Atoto units work different from each other (S8 vs A6 pf) and both of those work differently from every other FYT device I think, so none of this is cross-device useful IMO. I believe this is why they recommended I tell people to contact customer support rather than share the fix online for others, it appears to be very device specific. And for the record, it works much better on the S8 than the A6. The A6 gets stuck if it sees the previous device when it boots up, whereas the S8 can tell when it gets disconnected to start searching for other previous devices. The systems don't work the same way.
dishe2 said:
I'm not familiar with other FYT units, but it is my understanding that they have only one unified Bluetooth system, and it is likely a customized one only which is why I see people complaining about only being able to use "official" branded OBD readers instead of allowing any standard BT connection like Atoto (@surfer63, is that about right?).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The FYTs do indeed have one BT app and a "crippled" bluetooth stack. As I do not have an Atoto I can't say anything about the other parts of your theory/explanation, other then that it sounds quite logical.
dishe2 said:
.'m not familiar with other FYT units, but it is my understanding that they have only one unified Bluetooth system, and it is likely a customized one only which is why I see people complaining about only being able to use "official" branded OBD readers instead of allowing any standard BT connection like Atoto
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other FYT units operate the exact same.
They have 2 Bluetooth systems installed that behave the same way as your Atoto.
Either way, the bottom line here is that the Atoto units work different from each other (S8 vs A6 pf) and both of those work differently from every other FYT device I think, so none of this is cross-device useful IMO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The config.txt commands to change the behaviour of the Bluetooth pairing are FYT config lines and shouldn't be specific to Atoto.
I'll have a play with my unit later and try see how they change the behaviour but I suspect they will have similar outcomes.
j0hn83 said:
Other FYT units operate the exact same.
They have 2 Bluetooth systems installed that behave the same way as your Atoto.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@dishe2 mentions "In Atoto's platform, there are two bluetooth UIs:"
On my Mekede 500s I only have one 190000010_com.syu.bt.apk, and it doesn't have an alternative UI for "BT1" and "BT2". Neither is there an second BT apk, nor can I access it from the Settings.
This is already a 7 year old issue that prevents us to connect anything else than the "allowed" BT devices.
Can you please explain how I get to the other other UI with the standard BT functionality?
On my Mekede M500s you can access "Bluetooth 2" by using Marios shortcut app or using his FYT management centre app.
It's a completely separate Bluetooth chip to the BLINK Bluetooth app that handles calls (190000010_com.syu.bt.apk).
The 2 Bluetooth devices have different mac addresses.
(For explanation as to why I want the following, see below section)
I have an Alcatel Go Flip V under Verizon that I would like to get keyboard support on for bluetooth keyboards. It runs an AOSP fork and has no keyboard support. Bluetooth keyboards gave some connection error, vague enough to make me question if the decade-plus old keyboard's ancient standard caused issues, but even a wired keyboard refused to function. Some poking made me believe the device needs custom firmware to get even bluetooth keyboards to function, due to no support. I'm very much a noob, but here's what I know:
APKs cannot be run, though are recognized as such. NOT an 'unusable file' error
ABD shell and push/pull are firmware disabled
Some debug menus exist, but don't allow full ADB access or the like
Alcatel tends to lock down their phones pretty good
Is there any way to get keyboard support with or without hacking the device? I'll do testing on a spare that has some issues that warranted replacement, but still works fine for these purposes.
[Explanation]
I got the flip phone for the reason of getting a phone without artificial limits in place that is barely capable of browsing the web and cannot install games (for I get distracted easily) but can provide a hotspot for those times when my laptop is appropriate to use. I don't like artificial limits, as I am greatly tempted to remove them, so a smartphone is not a preferred solution (If it is the best solution I can just swap my SIM to my mom's old DROID MAXX 2). The flip phone is great most of the time, but the occasional time when I need to make longer messages made me wonder if I could find a 4g slide phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. The only ones I could find were Blackberries which still have that temptation issue mentioned above, and some HTC MyTouch device that's old and carrier-locked. This sent me down a rabbit hole trying to find if my current phone could support external keyboards, bluetooth or otherwise, which it did not, but made me wonder if I could get a modified OS that supported keyboards. I am willing to do anything short of hardware modification to the spare phone, as some hardware fault caused the screen to invert the colors and be mirrored on the vertical axis, making it nigh-unusable as a normal phone but perfect for testing.