vB Easy Archive - Help needed for A56: Battery care, Card error

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Help needed for A56: Battery care, Card error
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Posted by: mosquito_R

Hi all, I'm a n00b A56 owner and I've experienced a few problems today. I'm wondering if anyone here has had these same problems with your Siemens phones.

The phone is quite new, as I've only done 2 full charge-full discharge cycles with the battery. Both problems cropped up tonight:

1. Card error: I was in a conversation using a non-OEM headset and suddenly my call was cut (as if there was no signal). The phone displayed "Card error" and only allowed "SOS" emergency call option. I tried to turn off the phone but the keys were all locked (ie. non-responsive). Naturally the key lock was off. I had to pull the headset out to turn off the phone again. The phone was turned off-on TWICE in order to restore it to normal working condition. On the first "reboot", the phone first got the network, but when I tried to place the call, the same problem happened.

This "card error" problem happened twice in a row, and in both cases the battery meter showed one section only. After these two "card errors" I placed another call and talked for about 10min or so, so that means there was still enough juice in the battery to keep going.

2. Battery care: I got home after the above conversation and decided it would be a good time to discharge the battery. I went into the Setup>Phone Setup menu and tried to look for battery care. The option was missing! I had to power off the phone and turn it on again, and the option was available again. In both cases I had the phone connected to the wall charger. (The phone won't let you discharge the battery w/o the charger connected anyway.)

I bought this phone from Future Shop in Boxing day, so would it be necessary to take it back there and ask for an exchange? Or, would a firmware upgrade from Fido store work? Or, was this just a freak occurrence?

Your help is much appreciated. Sorry for the long post!

Mosquito_R

Posted by: georget99

Sorry, I don't have an answer, but I was wondering if the "Battery Care" option is documented anywhere. It doesn't seem to be in the manual for my C-56 (probably right there in red on the cover).

I wonder why it is there. My understanding is full discharge is mostly for NiCd cells, maybe NiMH, and not necessary for Li-Ion which is what I think the C-56 has.

When I tried the function it said I have to hook up the charger, so I thought it would discharge then recharge the battery. But when I tried it, it took about 12 hours and left the battery about as dead as can be. I had to reconnect the charger to start a charge, and later when I used the phone, I had to reset the clock.

Is that what it's supposed to do?

Posted by: Paolo

you can only discharge your battery by leaving your phone on to drain it untill the charge dies. you might need a software upgrade ,take it in to the nearest fido flagship and they can do it for you, if u still get card error, your phone is faulty and you need to get it OTC'd. as for return, you can only return to future shop within 14 days, after that, you have to send it in for repair/replacement only.

Posted by: mosquito_R

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paolo

you can only discharge your battery by leaving your phone on to drain it untill the charge dies. you might need a software upgrade ,take it in to the nearest fido flagship and they can do it for you, if u still get card error, your phone is faulty and you need to get it OTC'd. as for return, you can only return to future shop within 14 days, after that, you have to send it in for repair/replacement only.

Holy cow! I didn't even know my ancient thread would be revived!! (original posting date was Jan 4, 2004) Here are my findings:

1. Card error: It turned out that the phone needed a firmware reflash. It was most likely a freak error as I was outside with the phone for a bit while I was walking in super-cold weather. Back then I didn't have the data cable nor did I know that the A56 could be converted to C56 (and unlocked in the process). So I OTC'd the phone.

2. OTC: Future Shop seemed to be very reluctant to deal with my return even though it was within 14 days (figured!). I was told to go to Fido store. I got an OTC A56 and that phone chugged along just fine. Yes, I was asked to produce the receipt from Future Shop. I explained my problem and got a replacement right away.

3. A56 firmware: I don't think a newer version was released after v.32. My friend got himself a brand new A56 in about Sept last year and it's still v.32.

4. Battery Care: Apparently this is battery-dependent, and that's why it's not mentioned in the manual. Some phones came with the battery-care option within the battery, but when battery-care-disabled battery was installed, the option disappears. There's no real pattern as to which batteries were supplied with which batches, as I've owned/played with variants A140 (German A56), E140 (Chinese A56), A110 (early German C56), A280 (newer German C56), U140 (Hungarian A56). It seems a luck-of-the-draw kind of deal. Anyway, battery care does a complete discharge and will take about 12 hrs, upon which you do have to reconnect the charger to recharge the phone. Strictly speaking Li-Ion batteries don't need full discharge-full charge cycling, but I heard it was good to do it for the first 2 or 3 times. Having to reset the clock upon recharge just means that the battery went as flat as it could go.

That's about all I have to share. Overall, I was and am still quite pleased with the performance of the A56 and C56. The current 6x series of Siemens phones as offered by Fido (eg. C65, A65, CF62) don't perform as well and that's why I would rather stick with the tried and true A56>C56 and M55.