WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Solnyshok — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 09:14:07 GMT

I do not see hints in IE7 :(

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

George Leithead — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 11:54:55 GMT

I don't see the hint either. Not in IE7 (beta 3) or FireFox 1.5.0.5

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Ben Fulton — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 17:35:44 GMT

Either he's smart, or he's read _The DaVinci Code_ one too many times :)

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Matthew — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:56:18 GMT

PI is a irrational number, so how could the second PIN be the last 4 of PI? The first 4 would be possible, though trivial, but the last is impossible as there is no last to something of infinite length.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

JoeB — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 21:21:04 GMT

Matthew: I think you're missing the humour here...sense the sarcasm in Mel's post. Everything posted here doesn't necessarily have to be serious :)

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

AJenbo — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 02:47:19 GMT

my guess, the pin was 0112 and was changed to 2795, am i right?

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Jalf — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 18:25:26 GMT

Hahahahaa, priceless...

Nice one :)

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Manuel Delgado — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:01:42 GMT

Hi there,

This is kind of an off-topic, but somewhat related to this post. Actually, this post CAUSED this situation (somehow). Let me explain.

I was a proud owner of a Qtek S200 up to a few hours ago. Every now and then, I change all my passwords. This evening, it was time I changed my Qtek's password, and I chose to use the first four Fibonacci numbers (0 - 1 - 1 - 2), as your colleague did (I read this article a few days ago and thought it was a nice "next password"). The PPC accepted the password and worked fine till I left it unused for a while and, when I came back to it, the password screen was displayed. I typed the password and, surprisingly, it didn't work. Instead, the four boxes changed from asterisks to 1 - 1 - 2, leaving the fourth box blank. I have tried many times, with the same result. By the way, every time I input the right password and the masked boxes change, it doesn't count as a password attempt for the PPC, that is, it does not display an error message after a few attempts or increases the time count to prevent multiple unauthorized attempts. It simply does not work.

I must point out that I am located in Spain. Our telephone number for emergencies is 112, and I wonder whether this could be related to this bug.

By the way, it is possible to access the device via Activesync, as the password can be inputed in the desktop PC without any problems at all.

Any help as to how to restore the password will be much appreciated.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

manueldelgado — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:13:38 GMT

Sorry for posting again on this off-topic, but I have made a couple of further tests and have realized that this is positively related to emergency numbers: if I type 911 at the password prompt (the US equivalent to our 112), the same effect happens. Asterisks change to plain numbers and it is not treated as a password.

Someone should phone those guys at Qtek.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Luis Cabrera — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 02:48:57 GMT

Manuel,
this is a bug on the Windows Mobile side that as you mention has to do with emergency numbers. (if you had pressed the "Talk" button. -- the emergency number would actually have been dialed).

Could you unlock your device through ActiveSync and then change the password to something that does not have an emergency number substring?

Thanks,
-Luis, the guy Mel and Juan were teasing.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

manueldelgado — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:36:11 GMT

Dear Luis,

Thank you so much for your fast response.

Yes, I noticed that it was possible to dial the number once it was displayed in plain text. The same happens with 999 and 911.

I am afraid I do not know how to change the password via Activesync. There doesn't seem to exist such an option (v4.1.0). I have searched for an utility and found a few, but they are focused on unlocking the SIM card, not the password.

Can you please share with me what the best method is to change the password via Activesync?

By the way, I did not mention it is not possible to do a hard reset on the device. Following the manufacturer's instructions, only a soft reset is performed.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Luis Cabrera — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 18:05:45 GMT

Manuel,

There is no way to change your password through ActiveSync. I was just wondering if your device actually got unlocked when you entered the password on the desktop. I guess it did not.

So I am afraid there is no solution to your problem. It is a bug that I believe has been fixed in later versions. I will make sure to talk to the dev that owns this feature.

Thanks,
-Luis.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

MikeCal — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 21:07:56 GMT

I need to clarify what's going on here. This is an insidious bug that actually caused me to reformat my device once, so I definitely feel your pain.

First what's happening:
We have a requirement that we endable dialing emergency numbers when the device is locked.
We have a further requirement that we support international emergency numbers as well. It's 911 in the US, but other places do 999, 112, etc. I believe the reasoning for this is that you might fall over and have a heart attack, and have an international tourist pick up your phone and dial an emergency number for you. But that tourist might not know the local number to dial, so we support all of them. Yes, it seems far fetched to me too...

Now, the bug:
When you have a pin with an emergency number, the UI misbehaves. For instance, if your PIN is 1911, when you enter 191 you'll get three asterisks. But when you hit the last 1, it'll show 911_ as though you've only typed 911.

The reality of the situation is that you've entered the correct 1911 and if you hit OK now, the phone will unlock. The bug is that the UI seems to be doing everything it can to make you believe you typed the wrong thing. (If I had designed it, I would have had it show *911 rather than 911_.)

Anyway, once you know that you're safe just hitting enter to unlock the phone, even though the UI says you're not, the problem "goes away". Still, I don't know how anyone could have figured that out on their own.

Mike

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

manueldelgado — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:38:38 GMT

Mike,

Thank you so much for your help. I am not able to do as you suggest right now, as I left the Qtek at the office (I am using my good old Motorola V3x instead). Tomorrow, I'll check that and will let you know the results, although I reckon your method will work.

Although this situation has really disturbed me, I still love this platform. Now, I feel much reassured knowing that if I ever have a heart attack near a Japanese tourist opposite the Prado Museum, he'll manage to call for assistance using my phone. ;-)

I guess this is just an example of the kind of constraints you guys usually find when working in such a global environment, dealing with an infinite amount of different OEMs, regulatory bodies, etc.

Best wishes,

Manuel Delgado

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

manueldelgado — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 22:43:23 GMT

Luis,

Thank you so much for your help as well.

No, Activesync did not unlock it, although it was possible to access the phone's contents and save all that needed to be saved.

I hope this gets fixed in a future version or a patch be realeased, or whatever.

Best wishes,

Manuel

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

manueldelgado — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:17:31 GMT

Well, eventually, my Qtek is working again. Thank you so much for your help, Mel & Luis. Clicking the OK button worked fine.

Don't you think it would be good to create a KB article about this stuff?

Best regards,

Manuel Delgado

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Clare Field — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 23:45:00 GMT

MikeCal wrote:
We have a requirement that we endable dialing emergency numbers when the device is locked.
We have a further requirement that we support international emergency numbers as well. It's 911 in the US, but other places do 999, 112, etc. I believe the reasoning for this is that you might fall over and have a heart attack, and have an international tourist pick up your phone and dial an emergency number for you. But that tourist might not know the local number to dial, so we support all of them. Yes, it seems far fetched to me too...

The requirement isn't yours (Microsoft's); it is a requirement of governments in many countries that no mobile phone may be sold unless the emergency number can always be dialled. The networks must accept the call even if the handset has no credit. The only acceptable reason for not connecting an emergency call is a flat battery.

From the point of view of the developers it is easier to create one version of the software that supports all the emergency numbers rather than lots of different country specific versions. As a phone owner this has the added advantage to me that my handset bought in the UK can dial the emergency number whether I happen to be at home, working in the US, visiting a friend in Australia or on holiday in Europe.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

ColinM — Thu, 24 May 2007 23:11:52 GMT

At work I am not allowed a mobile phone, so I keep it in my trouser pocket. Iv'e noticed sometimes that an emergency number has been entered and is on the verge of dialling. Actually it has done twice. Iv'e always had the phone lock activate after 5 minutes, and always set the keypad lock before I put it in my pocket. One thing iv'e noticed is with the keylock activated it seems to be fine ie. emergency numbers just show keypad is locked. But as soon as the phone lock kicks in after 5 minutes, thats when emergency numbers can be dialled by accident. Is there anyway this can be cancelled?

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Scott Yost — Fri, 25 May 2007 19:35:49 GMT

Hi Colin,

We're not allowed to make it any more difficult to dial emergency numbers. See Clare's and Mike's posts above for more details.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Simony — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:18:03 GMT

OT: Is there some way that I can see password digits as I enter them? My new WM6 device merely shows asterisks etc. This is really annoying - I want to see that I have entered the digits right as I go.

re: WM Geek Fun (PM+SDE/T match wits with a smart SDE)

Dave — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:32:33 GMT

Is there anyway to show the phone keypad on a locked device when on a call?

HELP!!!

SAD — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:54:40 GMT

I lock my phone,but i can't remember my pasword...HELP ME!!!

HELP!!!

SAD — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:54:41 GMT

I lock my phone,but i can't remember my pasword...HELP ME!!!