Factory Reset vs Restore

[vpnavy]

There is a difference between Reset and Restore.

Reset Default - Allows you to reset your phone to the factory default settings. This will not delete Contacts, Pictures, Videos, Texts, etc.  It was just reported (someone tried it) that no downloaded applications were lost.


NOTE: Lock Code (unless YOU changed it) is normally the last four digits of you wireless phone number.

9.   Enter: *228
      Select: 2 (Update Roaming List)

Restore Phone - Allows you to erase all user data and Contact information you've entered in the phone's memory so it's as if it just left the factory.  That means it will no longer function until you reprogram it.


9.   Enter: *228
      Select: 1 (Initial Programming)
10.  Enter: *228
      Select: 2 (Update Roaming List)

Understanding VZW *228 Updates & Myths...

*228 Opttion 2 (Update Roaming List)

What It DOES Do:

• It loads into the handset, over-the-air, a software "list" of Cellular Systems ("companies"), that your phone is allowed to scan for, "After" it loses or can't find a VZW signal. ("The PRL List").
• This downloaded software "list" is notated to display the proper text tag / and or "triangle" ( "Extended Area" , Verizon Wireless , or "Roam"), for each system.
• The PRL list is set up in area groups, & in a priority order, so for example, in City "A", the phone, after losing a VZW signal, will know to first attempt to find "Alltel" before "Sprint" ect....
• If VZW has a system in the area, it is Always higher in Priority than other companies such as Sprint or US Cellular, & will be looked for first, regardless of weather or not another carrier has a "closer" site to your fone.
• Most phones will also re-power up/initialize after downloading the PRL.
• VZW seems to release a new/updated PRL every 30-75 Days or so.
• Doing a PRL update more often, such as once a week, is harmless & will result in simply writing the same PRL file over itself.
• New Updates can & have both added & removed "partner" roaming systems, depending on VZW, & how they want their phones to roam in any given area.
• *228 is a free call.

What It DOES NOT Do:

Contrary to the seemingly endless loads of mis-information & rumor on the net, & sometimes from CS employees, The PRL & *228 Update DOES NOT:

• Have Anything to do with any individual "Towers", or accessing newly built "towers". If a company builds a new tower near your home, that new tower is already part of an existing system ("company"), which either is already listed in the PRL, or isn't. Only ENTIRE system ID's are in a PRL. There is no way for VZW to add or block any individual new or old "Towers" by way of the PRL. That's not how the PRL works. Period.
• The PRL update can't increase a weak native VZW signal strength issue.
• If your phone is already locked onto a "1 bar" VZW signal in a given area, nothing in the PRL list is going to instruct the phone to drop its' native VZW coverage, & look for another companies' signal instead. There are no roaming partners listed in the PRL that have a higher priority than the local VZW signal.
• The fone's internal PRL list has absolutley NOTHING to do with anything, once you are " in a call ", & at that time the PRL is as dormat as a game or other not-in -use software entry in the phone. The PRL is not used at all during an actual call in progress.
• The cellular system, during a call in progress, has full control, & the system end decides what cells to hand off your call to, & any issues/problems, such as a dropped call, or any other "in call" issues/problems in a given system, have nothing to do with the internal PRL list, & can't be fixed by *228.
• Updating the PRL has nothing to due with any problems relating to earpiece volume, battery charging, screen contrast, voice quality ect..... Except that after a *228 the phone might restart, so any odd quirk that might have gone away by shutting the phone off & turning it back on, may also "coincidentally" go away" after a PRL update.
• The actual Firmware version of the phone can Not be changed or updated thru a *228 call either. Firmware can only be updated in a Verizon store.

*228 Option 1 - This option does both a PRL update ("option 2") , plus loads the phone with it's "initial needed data" such as it's phone number, home ID etc. This is normally done once only when you get a new phone & need your number OTA programmed into it, but there is no harm in doing it again, as you are simply re-writing the same data over itself into the phone.