Gigawidget Blog

Just thought I’d take a second to list out some cool codes you can use on  your Apple iPhone to get an inside look at what’s going on with the phone.

Most notable is the “Field Test Mode” *3001#12345#*.  Just type this in your phone screen and press call.  You will be taken to the field test mode of the iPhone where you can see specifics like signal strength, associated tower, dBm and other antenna signal specific technical stuff.  To exit this mode, simply press the home button.  As a note, this code won’t work with IOS 4.0.  You need the Apple IOS 4.1 or greater.  For some reason, Apple deprecated the “field test” code in version 4.0.

Another interesting is *#21# which gives you instant access to call handling settings for inbound calls.  This mode displays settings for inbound calls, inbound faxes (yep), and multiple other varians of inbound call handling.

This barely interesting code, *#06# allows you to view your IMEI, essentially your phones network serial number given by Apple.  This is useful if you enjoy viewing useless information.

In general, the *# prefix on command codes will “interrogate” the phone, ** prefix is used to “setup” the phone and ## is used to delete or terminate instructions.

I have about 30 more codes currently being verified.  I’ll post them when we’re sure they are accurate.  Most of the codes mentioned here are ATT codes, but I’m working on a handful of apple specific codes that look promising.  More to come.

Just left a buddies house that got a new 48″ Toshiba flat panel TV.   Many potential buyers would be concerned about the outside dimensions of a TV like this if they planned to place it in furniture or other constrained areas.   If you fall into that category, you’ll just have to take your chances with Toshiba, because all their dimensions are only “Approximate”.

The logic behind Toshiba’s inability to accurately state dimensions of  LCD TV’s they make escapes me.   I suspect there are attorney’s involved.  At any rate, they in no way produced a product worthy of the Gigawidget badge in this case.  Try again Toshiba, dimensions should have been the easy part after you made the TV.

First I’ll say that this decision was based entirely on customer service.  What made the decision to fire Comcast a little more difficult is that I had little complaint on the actual service.

Strike 1 – Comcast billed for work not done

When the service was first installed the TV service, the Comcast technician decided hooking up the 2nd TV was going to be too much trouble, I assume.  He made the comment to our assistant that “someone” here seemed to know alot about wiring, and they should be able to make the final connections for that TV.  He scribbled some things on a ticket and had her sign it, stating “if I hook the 2nd TV up, I’ll have to charge you for it”.  Later that day, I made my way into the attic and discovered cables to the 2nd TV were cut.  After making a new run, terminating both ends and adding a tap, the 2nd TV was up and running.  No thanks to the Comcast TV technician!

We made 2 calls to Comcast attempting to resolve this issue.  On the first call, the Comcast customer service representative stated that since the “work order” had been signed by my assistant, it was a binding document and nothing could be done.  She went on to say that she could have a manager call me back, which I requested.  The call never came.  On the second call, the entire situation was reiterated, with the exact same outcome.

Strike 2 – Hours and hours spent watching untrained tech’s troubleshoot Comcast internet

Strike 3 – Investigating service level reduction options results in cancellation

As many companies, we looked to reduce service levels with Comcast in effort to lower monthly expenses.  The call started out with request for options on the Comcast internet service.  The representative spoke some form of English, I believe it was an Ebonics variant.  She repeatedly stated there was no lower package available, other than 60$/month.   Simply not the case, according to their site.

The conversation moved to discussing reduction of the TV package, when she then paused, and with no notification,  blind transferred me to some kind of menu system.  Having my fill of her barely legible ebonics and complete lack of customer service etiquette, I was done.

At the end of this relationship, it was very clear to me that at some level, in fact multiple levels, within the Comcast organization, they just don’t care about customer service.  While I could begin to speculate that this mentality exist predominantly in the Memphis market, I have personnel experience this is not the case.

As alternative service providers continue to solidify their offerings, no doubt Comcast will reap the benefits of their customer service tactics.   Even DOCIS 3 roll-out won’t be enough to keep customers that dial 901-259-2225.

As a note, our service providers now include Direct TV for television and AT&T DSL for internet.  Both organizations have already exemplified the type of customer service we’d expect when paying hard earned money in trade for commodity services.

Note these are my opinions and perceptions, which of course translate to reality for me.