vB Easy Archive - SCH-a650 Issues - Ringers, Wallpapers; Secret Menus

Pages: 1 2

SCH-a650 Issues - Ringers, Wallpapers; Secret Menus
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: Icerian

Quote:

Originally posted by abbaz13
i have got the cdma cable for my a650 but i can not get the bitpim to detect it. i dont kno if i have the wrong drivers. my computer is showing me i have a samsung modem intalled. what do i do sum plz help!?!?!?

you can't download images/ringtones with the telus version of the a650 by means of a data cable to a computer...at least not yet. keep checking the bitpim website site for when the telus version will be supported.

Posted by: abbaz13

lolz now i feel dumb, thanx for the the info, wasted a lot of time tryin to figure this **** out

Posted by: weiweiwei

yeah you could
samsung cdma modem is correct

goto EDIT--> SETTINGS and on com port choose BROWSE and find the samsung cdma modem, it will say this is likely your...

then go filesystem and expand it

Posted by: ducvader

samsung is tight......

Posted by: aoe2bug

Hello all.

I didnt see this in the rest of this thread, so im assuming you havent discovered it yet? just wanted point out this menu:

First goto the debug menu, then hit 0:
menu-9-*-00000-0
"GPS Settings"

you need to have "location" in the regular setup menu set to "location on" for it to "unlock", but i havent got anything else there to work...

also I'm curious about the "system prog/ service mode" menu, as it doenst navigate like the rest do. can anyone explain it? im afraid of screwing up my settings, bit then nothing bad has happend so far.

-Thanks
-Dan

Posted by: Madcatzfight

Can anyone send me a copy of pure voice my email is madcatzfight@aol.com
Btw the only reason i use aol is i have 1 year free

Thanks in advance Mad

Posted by: aoe2bug

Quote:

Originally Posted by aoe2bug

Hello all.

I didnt see this in the rest of this thread, so im assuming you havent discovered it yet? just wanted point out this menu:

First goto the debug menu, then hit 0:
menu-9-*-00000-0
"GPS Settings"

you need to have "location" in the regular setup menu set to "location on" for it to "unlock", but i havent got anything else there to work...

also I'm curious about the "system prog/ service mode" menu, as it doenst navigate like the rest do. can anyone explain it? im afraid of screwing up my settings, bit then nothing bad has happend so far.

-Thanks
-Dan

EDIT: I found this: http://www.nocrycomputer.com/Phone%20GPS.htm

Posted by: mustanglover

does anybody know how and with what software i can get animated gifs on my a650?

Posted by: Streetsweepers

whats the point of those codes? and where can i get the data cable? i looked on circuitcity/buestbuy/and radioshack.com...none of them have it

Posted by: furman15

Hey guys ive been reading and done somet stuff and been very sucessfull with Bitpim and putting ringtones and pics on my phone but i was curious as to the wap internet thing if it really is free because i don't want to do it and then it show up on my phone bill saying i owe them money and then my dad will come to me and take it out of me lol. Also is there a way to do free txt messaging with this phone. And thats cool with the GPS thing man but really no point unless your lost in the desert or jungle LoL but even then you'd need a map

but if your lost then you'd just dial 911 lol so idk what the point is except its cool you found a secert menu.

Also if i can get the wap free internet to work can i use my phone as a modem on my labtop and get free internet that way? If so that will be awesome

.

OH does anybody have a program that takes mp3's or wav files and converts them to midi if so that'd be awesome and what was that program you used to do the picture ID thing when someone calls? Thanks again guys and you've found out alot of crap that we the "consumer" shouldn't know lol.

Posted by: Nosmo King

Has anyone figured out how to remove the Verizon Wireless text from tne banner? I read through the thread and didn't see anyone definitively say that got it removed.

That is my biggest complaint of the phone. no matter when i open it i see the **** banner and it takes as much as 5 seconds sometimes for the time to flash on. and of course the time only stays there for a second. i wouldn't have a problem with the banner if it was weighted to display the time more than the verizon text, but nooooooo, they have to constantly remind me who i send those checks to each month for my wireless service - like i can forget...

thanks in advance for any help.

NK

Posted by: kykygruber

So u can use bit pim to transfer mp3s to your phone?
will it work?

Posted by: roboticsguy1988

Quote:

Originally Posted by regkoc

i posted this in its own thread but i thought i'd try here to hopefully get a response..

i just added a wallpaper and a few ringtones to my a650 last night and randomly today it started shooting me a "Not enough memory! New message is rejected." error after i had received a voicemail and it won't stop even though my voice and text mailboxes are empty.

also, i noticed that whenever i hold down the * to try and activate voice dialing, i get a "Voice Tag Empty" error. these two errors are really annoying, especially the first, so any ideas on how to resolve them would be really appreciated or since i doubt i'm the first person who has had this happen, if anyone had a link to another site explaining how to fix these errors i'd really be grateful.

thanks!

I too have this problem. PLEASE HELP!!!! any help is great appreciated.

Posted by: roboticsguy1988

Quote:

Originally Posted by roboticsguy1988

I too have this problem. PLEASE HELP!!!! any help is great appreciated.

Well I went to three (yes THREE) verizon stores today first one instantly said no we can't fix it second looked at it for a while and then said sorry. That took about a total of 45 minutes. Then i went to another city that about 30 minutes away form where i live. I asked them to flash the phone upgrade the software and fix the error message... well after about an hour i get my phone back and they say sorry its not fixed. I looked at my phone and i could tell they didn't flash it, everything was still there. But he just had me go to the other counter and they replaced it for free.

So i am going to go through the long process of removing the banner.

Posted by: roboticsguy1988

I think i figured out a way to get to the hidden eri.bin file on the samsung sch-a650. open the file $USER_DIRS and add the directory eri in there and then it should show it and the bin file under that directory. anyone know how to edit that file?

Posted by: furman15

Hey guys i just got back from the Verizon store and the guy i knew from highschool so i knew i could sorta trust him, well i told him i didnt like the phone and that it gets to freakin hot when talking on it and its rediculous how hot this phone gets when im on it. He said he would give me a new battery for free and update the software and i check and he did the version is different and the load screen is different now its like same background but it has a loading bar at the bottom. Well i get hom with it thinking maybe thats it, i turn the phone on and someone calls me BAM 3mins tops on it and i start to notice the battery is getting hot. IM pissed off at samsung this phone SUCKS its a suckphone and i wish i still had my old phone atleast it didnt overheat and almost burn my face. Then i asked them if i could just get a different phone and he was like no i can't do that you can't change phone till DEC.2006 and i was like what why and he told me thats when my contract runs out and i was thinking what if i throw it in a lake or againts the wall and destroy it then you can get me a new phone i bet. So Verizon is now on my bad list as well as Cingular was but atleast Cingular would let me get a different phone i think after i get off my contract with Verizon im gonna go back to Cingular atleast i can get my phone i want. Anyways anybody have this problem and has anybody done the free wap internet thing and actually get away with it. I dont wanna use it unless its for real because dad will kill me on the charges. So please help out with those questions thanks guys.

OH yeah guys when i got my phone back this number had been called #832 any thoughts on that? and why he dialed it?

Posted by: Limedrink

Quote:

Originally Posted by fushu

k got a question for those of us in canada usng telus. i got a cable from 3gcables.com and i'm using bitpim. i can browse the filesystem and finally i found where the ringtones and images are. it seems telus has to be different so they put the images in \u\WP and the ringtones in \u\RT. so thats great and now i'm sorta figurein out how to make them display. in the image folder there is 2 files for each image. one has no extension and the other is the same name with ".body" extension. the .body file is the big one so i'm assumin its the actual image and the non extension one must be like a index file or something. the same thing is with the ringtones so my question is this. n e idea how to creat these non extension files? for some reason bitpim wont let me save the files either.... i tried gagin and it just wont work at all. it there n e one else in canada or using telus that could shed a little light on this???? thanx....

Has anyone been able to get this working with the TELUS MOBILITY A650 phones?

I can get into the phones filesystem, and the \u\WP and \u\RT folders are indeed there, but I do not know what to place into them.

If you are having trouble viewing the filesystem, you can view my thread here and this should solve your problem.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Limedrink.

Posted by: alterego158

how do you go about editing that file? Bitpim throws an exception because the file is locked...

Quote:

Originally Posted by roboticsguy1988

I think i figured out a way to get to the hidden eri.bin file on the samsung sch-a650. open the file $USER_DIRS and add the directory eri in there and then it should show it and the bin file under that directory. anyone know how to edit that file?

Posted by: alterego158

Also, to those who asked about uploading games to the a650 it looks to me like it is BREW 2 which has yet to be cracked. Maybe someday in the future this will be possible but not at present.

Posted by: amnesiac84

can you download ringtones by wap to this phone?

Posted by: reconNinja

http://www.3gupload.com/ringtones/m.../fid/12/tid/141

Has pretty detailed instructions. It doesn't seem to work with A650 (which uses CMX 2.2 , I forget which chipset i think MSM 5100), but playing around with it may yield results. It appears the higher the CMX version, the closer the images can be put to each other, which makes all the difference from animation and slideshow. Although, the default animations on A650s are slow as hell anyway.

As per Amnesiac84's question, it would appear that users are unable to WAP the ringtones, unfortunately. However, I have not tried this myself, only going on what I've read.

Does anyone have any GIN'ed games that I could 'borrow' ? Thanks

Posted by: n3ldan

screwing with my moms phone, trying to set up GIN to go to testapps, i foudn in teh field menu, if oyu press 0 it goes to gpsOne, if you press 9 it goes to a bunch of brew crap, where it says test enable: no. 1) What is the 'security menu', when i try to do a gps thing it says gpsone lock is on, gpsone lock says somethign about changing in security menu.
2) In the brew crap, How can I change test enable to yes?

Thanks.

Posted by: parrotheadmjb

I called #382 and it was a automated message saying that it was a test call.

To take the "gpsone lock" off go to menu 9 1 and change it to location on, that should do the trick

Posted by: parrotheadmjb

also i am having some trouble with the wap settings when i try to use it it say sending for a long time then it says server not responding

Posted by: vulgar302

i have a samsung n330 from verizon and i am having troubble adding ring tones i had to use a prog called QPST to acces the phone and it jsut allows me in to the files. i tried to convert my wav files to a qcp file but it did not show up on the phone. does any one know any thing about this phone or the a way to get ringers on it. i got 2 tones from verizon and one is a .mid file and the other is a .pmd file both sould like actuall songs with words and all but i can not figure out how to make my own.

any help would grately appreciated

Posted by: tjl

I have a samsung a650. When I change mp3's to qcp using biptim and put them on my phone the volume is really low. I have to hold it right up to my ear to hear it. Does anybody know how to fix this?

Posted by: dpoirier1113

Hi All,

I have an SCH-A650 and the usb cable. I can hook it up and download wallpaper just fine. The problem is when I'm bringing over ANY sound files, it plays so muffled and soft, you can't hear it. I tried to boost the db level with the same results. HELP!!!

Thanks in advance.

Dave

Posted by: reconNinja

vulgar- youre talking about the wrong phone. this is a650.
djl and dpoirier - you seem to both have the same problem, i believe it was covered earlier, but in the off chance that it wasnt, and in the event that the search function doesnt work, qcp doesnt work well with this particular phone. as you have both noticed, audio is played extremely quiet. you can boost the decibel level to a point where audio can be heard, but it becomes extremely distorted and useless.

what youll want to do is download another program by Qualcomm called CMX Studio. i dont have a link so youll need to push a few buttons at altavista or google. There are two versions of this program, one for employees which has fun features that make full use of cell phones, and one for normal folk like you and me. well, like you. If you happen to get your hands on the former, let me know. But you won't. In any case, using that program you'll want to make your audio into a *.pmd file. This program is very poorly designed; you'll need to drag what you make onto that bar on the bottom for it to work. After your 'project' is saved, import it to your phone via bitpim.

Posted by: axis2171

I Have An A650 Verizon Prepaid Phone And I Was Able To Change The The Ip Address And The Port Settings,but No Matter Which Of Several Free Ip's And One Of A Friends I Have Tried Always Responds By Saying Sever Not Responding.
Does Anyone Have Any Other Ideas On Why Can't Connect To The Web On My Phone??? Any Input Is Greatly Appreciated

Posted by: reconNinja

I think its because the webpage you're viewing is unavailable. Try www.yahoo.com or something like that.

Posted by: shikichan

Hello all =D

I have a question about samsung a650. I searched through this article and I don't think anyone ever mentioned about this.

I'm using bitpim latest (I think it's ver 0.8) version, and I have no problem uploading and seeing pictures on wallpaper section.

The problem is...

No matter how many of wallpapers I uploaded I can only use 10 of them for wallpapers. I don't know how to fix this problem. Also, I searched through countless websites but I cannot seem to find any free game (tetris would be more than sufficient...) for this phone.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Posted by: Marjax

Hey everyone.

I'm new to the boards and new to trying to get MIDIs on my A650. I bought the cable and driver disc from eBay, and it installed a Samsung CDMA modem (the acronym may be in the wrong order.. CMDA? I forget exactly). This of course wasn't enough, so I downloaded the GAGIT (get around get it now) program, but wasn't happy with simply replacing what ringers I had there. I found this thread and downloaded the BitPIM program and was having trouble getting it to connect. I downloaded the Susteen Datapilot Samsung USB driver, but upon attempting to add the driver, it asked for the Installation disk. Where can I download the full-use Datapilot driver from? I don't really feel like trying to search through all 16 pages of this thread.

Posted by: reconNinja

the only reason im posting this is because i dont think its been mentioned before, because i certainly don't condone laziness of that magnitude. Its no wonder majority of Americans read at a 7th grade level...

In any case, what you will undoubtedly need is libusb 32.

Shikichan,

You're probably screwed. Keep in mind, the A650 is the bar none worst phone in Samsung's production line. So even if you could fit more than 10 wallpapers on(which I'm assuming you can), it won't recognize the rest because its just not built to do so.

As far as games go, I've given up searching. You'll need to find someone with a game on their A650, and then upload the file via bitpim or similar.

I bet if you GIT'ed them all, you could package them up and sell them for a dollar online. I'd buy them all for a dollar. Tetris tears it up.

Posted by: Marjax

I was reading through the first few pages and getting a headache from tryin to figure all this hacking **** out.

Posted by: atomic16

Ok so I got an A650 and a cable, I was about to give up until someone showed me this thread, can you answer my question (no point in asking a question about a question sorry)
Ok So will doing any of the stuff in your thread make my phone stop working? is any illegle or anything because if any of that happens im dead.

Posted by: atomic16

Can anyone tell me how to get the gps for free on the phone?

Posted by: reconNinja

i dont think verizon carriers get gps.

But as long as you follow instructions as provided on this thread, you won't be doing anything illegal or anything that will kill your phone. Just don't do any of your own expirementing.

Posted by: Gazz Galatea

I have tried the WAP hack on my SCH-A650 and can not get it to work

I set up my own proxy server and set the gateway to the IP address of my server and set the port to the open port on the server but it never connects.

I also have an LG-VX6100 that connects to my server just fine (with the same WAP settings)

WTF? Has anyone got the WAP hack to work on a Verizon SCH-A650?

If it matters I am on Verizon's pre-pay plan with both phones.

Posted by: reconNinja

either you put it in wrong, the server is down, or your service doesnt allow you to use internet. it works on my verizon a650.

Posted by: Gazz Galatea

Quote:

Originally Posted by reconNinja

either you put it in wrong, the server is down, or your service doesnt allow you to use internet. it works on my verizon a650.

Hmm... I will check in again tonight (its my partners phone) but I am pretty sure I used the same setting on the a650 as I used on my vx6100. My proxy server logs all connection attempts and I do not even see the a650 trying to connect.

BTW: As I said both phones are on Verizon pre-paid service (old Free-Up plan). Prepay plans do not offer WAP service. Thats the whole point of the hack is it not? I have also noticed on my vx6100

I do not even get charged air time when using the hack.

Posted by: reconNinja

dont know. maybe the drivers or whatever its called are too old(or too new) for the hack to work.

Posted by: BENAHACKER

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh3736

Absolutely. You'll just have to find a free gateway to use. You can run your own or connect to a free one.

Note that although you won't have to drop the $6/mo for Verizon's Mobile Web service, you will still get charged for the airtime. Your night and weekend minutes do apply though, so it is free after 9.

What do you change the settings to to get free WEB access and how do you find a gateway? (i am kind of new at this stuff)

THANKS

Posted by: BENAHACKER

I am getting fustrated with my SCH-A650 I have gotten to all the secret menus and stuff i even just ordered a Data Cable, But i really dont have a clue about what i can do. so i need some help josh i no u can help me so if your willing will you respond to this as well as anybody who has additional information that a beginner would need. What do all the abbreviations mean on the secret menus and how do you change them and when you do what is the outcome thanks everyone Peace.

Posted by: reconNinja

hey bro, the sch a650 is a terrible phone, its the bar none most basic phone samsung has, they dont even make it any more.

there are two programs you can use in conjunction with your data cable, one is called bitpim, and the other is cmx studio. you may need drivers for the former, called libUSB-win32 .

as far as getting free internet, its not really even worth it because the txt messages dont go through it, and that's all that is really used. but if you have to have it, you can get a gateway ip from somewhere on this bulletin board, maybe even on this topic i dont know its been so long. but its not really worth it, i mean ive had free internet on my phone for maybe a year and a half and have NEVER used it, aside from one time to make sure it was working. but its useless on the a650, you cant check your myspace or anything lol. well good luck , cheers

Posted by: BENAHACKER

Quote:

Originally Posted by reconNinja

hey bro, the sch a650 is a terrible phone, its the bar none most basic phone samsung has, they dont even make it any more.

there are two programs you can use in conjunction with your data cable, one is called bitpim, and the other is cmx studio. you may need drivers for the former, called libUSB-win32 .

as far as getting free internet, its not really even worth it because the txt messages dont go through it, and that's all that is really used. but if you have to have it, you can get a gateway ip from somewhere on this bulletin board, maybe even on this topic i dont know its been so long. but its not really worth it, i mean ive had free internet on my phone for maybe a year and a half and have NEVER used it, aside from one time to make sure it was working. but its useless on the a650, you cant check your myspace or anything lol. well good luck , cheers

thanks for the help bro if anyone else has any info please tell me peace

Posted by: BENAHACKER

does anybody have some good IP Addresses and Port #'s if you could post them it would be greatly appricated
peace

Posted by: BENAHACKER

If anyone has the original WAP settings would they please post them

Posted by: Joseph Madre

Anyone know how to reset the life timers on A650?

Posted by: Joseph Madre

Anyone know how to clear the life timers on A650?

Posted by: reconNinja

what is a life timer?

Posted by: ibkiss

original WAP settings:

199.74.153.210
port: 9203

Posted by: Isaac356

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Madre

Anyone know how to clear the life timers on A650?

At the main screen, type 47*68#13580, then 37, then 02.

Also, volume for qcp ringtones can be increased by typing 47*68#13580, then 99, then push up until you see D HAND SPK TEMP[04]_150. Type a number larger than 150 to increase it, then click OK. Be careful, you can blow out your speaker. Press #02 to restart.

Posted by: Isaac356

Okay, I screwed around with my phone too much, and somehow ended up with a working phone that does not display the "Verizon Wireless" banner. I'll post what I did for those of you who would like to know, but I don't recommend doing this, it did some crazy stuff to my phone (flashing roaming icon, etc.) It still makes and receives calls, so I'm assuming it'll work, but don't hold me responsible if something happens.

Warning: You will lose everything. Contacts, ringers, wallpapers...I highly suggest making a bitpim backup.

1. First off, goto Menu -> Display -> * and type 000000 for the password. Write down EVERYTHING. I didn't, so I had to use some guesswork later on, but just in case, you should write everything down. Click OK through all of the prompts and write down what is already there. When it asks you if you want to exit or do more, click more and write everything down. You may need it if something goes wrong.

2. *Last chance to back-up (or back out)* Dial 47*68#13580*34, and wait. When it's done, your phone will turn off, and when you turn it back on, it will say Initial Programming Needed. Dialing *228 only gives a message that says "Phone does not have a PRL", so you'll need to program it manually.

3. Go back to Menu -> Display -> *, with password 000000, and type everything back in. When you're done, the phone will reboot, and when it starts up, it should only display the time and date in the bottom, no "Verizon Wireless" banner.

Posted by: Isaac356

UPDATE: I no longer can access the mobile web

Sorry about the second post, it wouldn't let me edit the first.

Posted by: reconNinja

Heh, if all that happened was I lost mobile web I'd do it. Have you tried re-entering the internet settings? ie ip, port, etc? Good luck

Posted by: Isaac356

I haven't tried the original settings, only my free wap ones. EDIT:...nope, Verizon's gateway doesn't work either.

I'm still not sure if it's such a good idea (I did it by accident) because every once in a while I can't make a call, although usually dialing again works.

I still don't know about that flashing roaming icon. It's usually solid, right? (guess I'll find out what's up when I get my bill)

Although, I gotta admit, it is nice not having to wait ten seconds just for the time to show up (ten might be a little exaggeration...)

Posted by: reconNinja

A solid tip: when you open your phone to check the time, only to find the verizon banner(in case you didnt know who was screwing you out of hundreds of your dollars every year), press the red END button once and it will switch right over to your time. Cheers

Posted by: kingrob513

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaac356

Im not sure on the difference of qcp or midi,but i was wondering does that volume increase of "D HAND SPK TEMP[04]_150" increase any ringer coming through the phone.Because my girl has that phone and i was gonna get a data cable to add louder ringers,but if that will increase the volume of any ringer i can solve the problem.Someone please let me know ,thanks in advance

Posted by: reconNinja

Uh.. not sure, but qcp sounds like **** on the sph a650. midi doesnt sound very good either to tell you the truth, the phone pretty much sucks all around. I'm not hating on it, but its obsolete. I mean its still what my phone is, but its nothing remotely good.

Data cable is still good for adding pictures; and ive used it to upload old videogame tunes as ringers. that's about it though, qcp is awful.

Posted by: bizzybody

Isaac356's trick does not do a thing on my A650 for QCP ringtones, not even when the value is maxed to 255.

I wonder if it might be one of these?

HFK RING TEMP[18]_080

HFK TONE TEMP[19]_064

CMX QSYNTH TEMP[22]_080

Posted by: bizzybody

Another problem with this A650 is every time it restarts after uploading or doing something with the settings, it changes SOME of the ringtone assignments in the phonebook. What's worse is it also does this just turning it off and back on.

I can fix it quickly by reloading the phonebook with BitPim but that's no good when I'm away from my PC.

How do I make this thing keep ALL the ringtone settings through a power cycle? Is it something to do with whether it's a Type 1 or Type 0 MIDI? Or is it a firmware bug that'll never get fixed?

Posted by: Madcatzfight

Ok 1st of all don't use Qcp for ringtones they suck. use cmx studio to make pmd ringers they sound Decent but not great. It has been a long time since i have used this phone so some of the stuff my have changed. https://cmx.qualcomm.com/

And check to see if you have the latest firmware for the phone that may solve the problem with the phonebook reseting.

Posted by: bizzybody

This phone can not use PMD ringtones for the phonebook. Ain't that just stupid? Also, the PMD sound files this phone supports can only be MIDI or QCP in the PMD "wrapper".

So, in order to have non-MIDI ringtones for the phonebook, I'm stuck with QCP- but there has to be a way to make the @#%$#ing phone PLAY THEM LOUDLY. They have enough volume when wrapped up as PMD.

Got any sources for firmware? Anywhere that tells what the latest version is? I've searched and found nothing recent.

Also, every download link I've found to CMX Studio at Qualcomm, including from the URL you posted, just redirects to the qualcomm homepage. I found it elsewhere, which is how I made a PMD ringtone then discovered the stupid limitation on them on this phone.

Posted by: Madcatzfight

I believe the only place to get the firmware would be verizon.

As for the ringtones have you tried changing .pmd to .qcp?

If you would like you can contact me by using aim. It forwards to my phone for quick responces

Posted by: bizzybody

Changing the PMD extention to QCP doesn't work. Still doesn't show up in the ringers for the phonebook and when selecting it for the default ringer it plays about 1/4 second of it then quits.

Right now I'm trying something to see if I can stop it from shuffling the phonebook ringers whenever it's rebooted. I deleted all the ringtones and set all the phonebook entries' rings to Inactive. Then I'm going to upload only the ones I'll actually be using. It could be a bug with how BitPim is handling the phonebook- leaving *something* on the phone with a previous ringer selection that the phone is defaulting to.

Posted by: Madcatzfight

Another thing you could try is to set some of the contacts as the default ringtones then adding a custom and assigning it to a different contact to see if it resets defaults to.

Posted by: bizzybody

I finally found how to work around the SCH-A650 phonebook ringtone shuffling BUG. (Dug up in the archives of the BitPim user mailing list.)

#1. Set ALL phonebook entries' ringers to Inactive and set all four global ringers to built in ringtones.
#2. Using either the phone or BitPim, delete ALL custom ringtones from the phone.
#3. Upload your ringtones to the phone. The phone will reboot.
#4. Go to Menu, 7, 2, 1 and browse through ALL your uploaded ringtones, allowing each one to play for a bit.
#4a. DO NOT SKIP STEP 4! This phone doesn't update its file index unless you browse the files.
#5. in BitPim, select your ringtones in the phonebook with the NUMBERS tab, make sure to click APPLY. Verify the setting on the Ringtones tab.
#6. Upload the phonebook to the phone and check the ringtone assignments.
#7. Turn the phone off and back on then check the ringtone assignments to make sure they stayed put.

DO NOT USE THE PHONE TO CHANGE ANY RINGTONES IN THE PHONEBOOK!!! If you do, it'll scramble them and you'll have to repeat this procedure.

What I can't figure out is how this BUG ever made it past quality testing, and why Samsung doesn't care enough about their company image to fix the BUG? Same goes for the BUGS where it doesn't play QCP ringtones loud enough and can't use PMD ringtones in the phonebook.