How do I get photos off my phone?

[Schmye Bubbula]

First a little of my history for context:
I've been "grandfathered" in the old VZW prepay FreeUP plan for years (at all times: 25 cents connect fee each call, 10 cents per minute, 5 cents text).
I've always been a "simple-phone-only/good-reception-above-all" kind of guy, as shown by all the phones I've ever owned:
- one Motorola StarTAC ST7868W (best-reception phone ever made!)
- two Motorola Timeport 720C
- two Motorola v60s
I recently bought the latest Motorola "simple phone" offered by VZW, the Entice 766 (I think it was just dropped off the current phone list for postpay; there are no Motorola phones whatsoever officially offered on prepay). Prepay declined to activate it because something called "Dashboard" isn't supported.
So now I have a Motorola W385 up and running.
(In light of discovering all of the umpteen new - to me - features on it that simply don't work on prepay, or at least not on my old FreeUP plan, I think I've figured out that whatever this Dashboard thing is, it must indeed really work on prepay, for why else would they ban the whole Entice 766 phone?)
But I don't care about all of those newfangled bells & whistles; that's not my question in this post. Here's the question I'm finally getting around to:

This is the first phone I've ever had with a camera. I took a picture. Now, how do I get it off onto my Mac computer? None of the methods in my phone menus works: not email, not Bluetooth, not nothin'!

Afterthought question: I also don't understand why all the (non-smartphone) features don't work on my prepay. I was very disappointed that I couldn't download that Backup Assistant app to backup my contacts on the VZW server. What's up with that? Why can't such things just use up your minutes?

[taoman54]

You can't activate any feature phone that has Dashboard or an HTML web browser on Verizon prepaid. Yes, Dashboard would work just fine on prepay if Verizon allowed it.

Have you tried sending an MMS to your email address and attaching the photo? But I would think Bluetooth should work. Does your phone connect successfully to your Mac via Bluetooth? I would think the Object Push Profile would be supported on that phone but I don't know that for sure.

You're using a postpaid phone on a prepay network. Some of the features just aren't going to work. They are "perks" you only can use if you commit to a postpaid contract. Yes, these things could work being charged MOU (minutes of use) if Verizon allowed it. They don't.

[Schmye Bubbula]

Have you tried sending an MMS to your email address and attaching the photo? But I would think Bluetooth should work. Does your phone connect successfully to your Mac via Bluetooth? I would think the Object Push Profile would be supported on that phone but I don't know that for sure.

On my w385, I tried Message > New Message > TXT Message, but that doesn't let one attach a picture.
I tried Message > New Message > Picture Message, and in the "To:" field, I entered my email address (then added my text, picture and subject), but the send always fails. (Is this MMS?)

Bluetooth always fails when I attempt to join with my Mac. (But I thought that VZW crippled Bluetooth except for headsets, anyway, no?)

What is "Object Push Profile" and how do I access it on a w385?

(Are you on prepay, taoman54?)

[Schmye Bubbula]

Bump.

Is there anyone out there on VZW prepay with a camera phone who knows how to get pictures off the phone?

I went to the My Verizon website and looked at my prepay plan - it says that I have TXT messaging (which I tested and it works... and a correction to my above post: it's 10 cents, not 5 cents), but it explicitly says I don't have Picture Messaging.

Is there some way I can get photos off through a mini-USB cable?

[taoman54]

Install the USB driver from here:

http://www.motorola.com/consumers/v/...008806b00aRCRD

You can then try installing Motorola Phone Tools and see if that will work. However, I don't think it supports transfer of pictures on that phone.

Or you can try installing P2Kcommander and see if that works for you.

If all else fails you can use SyncCell ($25) which will almost certainly work. The trial version may be all you need for what you're trying to do. Good luck.

http://www.synccell.com/

[Schmye Bubbula]

Hey, thanks, taoman54, those are great leads! I'm on it!

- -
Edit: Not a single one works natively on a Mac.... I'll look into seeing if any of them runs under one of the various Mac incarnations of Wine, but that's as far as I'm willing to go, without exposing myself to the National Security threats of viruses, worms, malware, etc. of a full Windows installation.... This camera is just a novel curiosity for me, anyway - I've done fine without one up 'till this phone. (And the images reek with noise from what passes as the W385 camera, to boot. I guess if I need photos, I can just get a little point-'n-shoot.)

[Joe12304]

Bump.

Is there anyone out there on VZW prepay with a camera phone who knows how to get pictures off the phone?

I went to the My Verizon website and looked at my prepay plan - it says that I have TXT messaging (which I tested and it works... and a correction to my above post: it's 10 cents, not 5 cents), but it explicitly says I don't have Picture Messaging.

Is there some way I can get photos off through a mini-USB cable?

We email it to ourselves. Including from the W385. Your's must have a problem if it is failing when sending. Take it to a VZW store and have them troubleshoot.

[Schmye Bubbula]

Are you on prepay, Joe12304? Or maybe it's just my old, grandfathered, FreeUP plan. As I said earlier, my account on the My Verizon website says that I do not have Picture Messaging, but regular TXT messaging works fine for me.

[Joe12304]

Are you on prepay, Joe12304? Or maybe it's just my old, grandfathered, FreeUP plan. As I said earlier, my account on the My Verizon website says that I do not have Picture Messaging, but regular TXT messaging works fine for me.

Yes. Verizon Prepaid. It must be something with your account then. It works fine for me and I'm on prepaid basic with unlimited texting added on.