vB Easy Archive - V276 to W385 Transition Woes

Pages: 1

V276 to W385 Transition Woes
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: kc7gr

Fellow phone folk,

I have to say that I'm pretty annoyed with Verizon at this point.

I just received a W385 today. Nice enough phone, but what I really wanted to do was use the 385 in the field and keep my V276 permanently in the car, seeing as how I have the nice, hard-mount car kit for it (and that was some... fun... to install...)

Annoyingly enough, Verizon won't allow two phones to share the same number. I had hoped to alternate between the two, only having one powered on at any given time, but no such luck.

So -- as near as I can tell, these are my options. I would appreciate some comments to help me choose the best one.

(1) Find a way to mod the ESN of either the W385 or the V276 so they match each other. This is my preferred solution, but it also seems to be the most unlikely to succeed as I've been unable to find much really useful on this topic (gee, I wonder why...) ;-)

(2) Invest in a new car kit to accommodate the W385. Not a bad idea IF, and ONLY IF, I can get a kit that will mute the existing car stereo via a switched ground when the phone is active. My current car kit does this very well, and I really don't want to lose that feature.

Are there kits for the W385 that can do this? I'm not in the least interested in moving music around using Bluetooth, and I don't own (and don't WANT to own) an iPod, so such features would be of no interest to me.

(3) Pay Verizon for a second line for the 276. I'm not at all pleased with this idea, as it appears that they would force me to choose a different (and considerably more expensive) calling plan in the process.

(4) Abandon the idea of using the W385 completely, and stick with the 276 (the 385 itself did not cost me anything other than renewing my service commitment). Not necessarily a Bad Thing, but I had been looking forward to giving Bluetooth a try.

Comments? Suggestions?

Thanks much.

Posted by: Stat1c

1) im not sure about the 276 but the W385 is an MEID phone. It does NOT use an ESN so I think that option is out.

2) Not sure about the car kit.. it has bluetooth so you could just get a BT earpeice.
I did a quick search, it seems they are all BT car kits.....
I dont think the 385 can play music at all.. so you dont have to worry about transferring it

3) Adding a second line should cost much more? I pay $10 more/ month for the second line.

4)I cant speak for the 276 but the W385 is a good phone. I have had the battery last over 2 weeks on one charge (with minimal use.. but still thats good!)

just my 2 cents

good luck!

Posted by: RLG07734

the car kit is the hf-1000 and it does mute (according to the description)

http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.asp?ID=735634

but, it is bluetooth only. there is no handset cradle, so you will lose the most desired functionality of your existing kit
- charging while the phone is in the cradle
- external antenna connection

i have the same thing, and when the v710's or the e815's become extinct, i will be in the same boat.

Posted by: kc7gr

Thanks for the replies, gang. I have decided, after considerable research and a small amount of therapeutic screaming, to simply upgrade my car kit. In this case, I have chosen the T605. My research has revealed that it is nearly identical to the hardware I currently have, and that it does provide a 'mute' output to control existing car stereo gear.

I have also ordered a separate car charger and winshield-type mounting cradle. Considering the phone's Bluetooth capability, I doubt this will pose a problem.

I still look forward to having some fun with PKCommander in any case. ;-)

Happy tweaking.

Posted by: RLG07734

if you REALLY want to keep what you have, why not invest in an E815 and the handset cradle for that phone in your existing car kit?