Ask Engadget: Moto Q tips and tricks?
By Paul Miller 
posted Jul 20th 2006 9:07PM
posted Jul 20th 2006 9:07PM
You've got questions, and well, the rest of you have answers. That's right, it's time for Ask Engadget. You hit us up at ask at engadget dawt com with the questions you'd like your Engadget-reading peers to take on, and we'll let them sort it out in our comments. Last time Eric was looking for a way to stay in touch. Now Joey wants a bit of Q help:I've had the Q since last Friday and am having some minor email (Gmail, actually) issues. I was wondering if you could post an article for Q owners to submit tips, tricks, work-arounds, etc.
We know more than a few of you have picked up that oh-so-skinny WM5 handset, any tips for our man Eric? We're also betting there are some potential buyers on the fences who would love to hear of any hidden potential the Q might have in store.
hi
sorry I am a new user so i was testing the comments
Is there a way use the alarm when the phone is off, every phone I've ever used lets you set the alarm the switch off the phone and the alarm still works, so far not the Moto Q!!!
How do you get the keyboard lights to come on and stay on at night? I can't text at night because the keyboard does not light up.
2 questions:
1. Is there a place to see your sent text messages?
2. Is there a way to control the ringer and the volume without havinng to go into the start menu, and going to settings and adjusting it? I would love to just press a button and have it go from a ringer to vibrate. Can I do that?
...is anyone aware if it is possible to remove your text messages and save them on to your computer for archive purposes??
thanks in advance
jay
how can i use the navi2go program on the moto q phone? i have downloaded the program and it said something about either using the internal connection GPSID or external connection bluetooth SERIAL PORT. I have tried both and to no avail, it keep saying no GPS connection. Help!
I just bought the moto q myself, you have to register at vtext.com and then configure your phone to phone#@vzwmail.net as a username and your vtext.com password and then set the outgoing server as smtp.vzwmail.net
Qusers.com It has deals on accessories, news about the phone, and a forum with tons of tips, tricks and ways to make the Q the best phone ever
I think it's a GMAIL problem, not specific to your Q. I couldn't log in numerous times over the last 3 days. Keep getting "Gmail is experiencing problems, try again shortly"
try www.motoqwiki.com Motorola's official Q wiki site
Check out the forums at Qusers.com for Q-tips and such!
I had problems with gmail because files sitting in my inbox that I had previously viewed on another machine would be not be retrieved. I solved the problem by forwarding all messages to a pop3 account that only my Q accesses.
By the way, I am a big fan of CodeWallet for securing data.
A long time treo (600 then 650) user, I bought the q the first day it was available. Well designed piece of hardware. Software is very weak. After a 6 weeks with the handset, I can honestly say the issues are not due to the learning curve going from Palm OS to WM5. Unintuitive interface, regular crashes (2X/day), BAD home screen (not easily customized). NO outlook notes synch out of the box. truncated contact notes, etc, etc. I'm patiently waiting for update to WM5 that takes it to the next level. If the software on this phone was better, I would have been much happier.
Ways to make Q the best phone ever? Wi-Fi.
How to use a Bluetooth GPS with the Motorola Q: http://onemanshouting.com/tech/HOWTOUseABluetoothGPSWithTheMotorolaQ.aspx
Other than that, qusers.com rocks for soaking up lots of info on the Q.
Eric,
I think you'll find all the tips you need at http://www.qusers.com - specifically in the forums area. You can find out to hook up your Q as a modem via USB or Bluetooth, customize your home screen, stream video, satellite radio, nintento and sega emulation, accessory reviews, registry edits, anything you can think of. They even just gave away 55 Motorola Q T-shirts.
This site is interesting and seems useful. Will return to it when I have a little time. Do keep up the good work! At the moment I am looking for a low cost, functional handset.
Ray - Surely it is better than Verizon's interface, no? I know that you are comparing it to other smart phone OS's, but I am considering getting a Q instead of a regular phone with the Verizon interface. Surely I'd be better off with a Q, right?
gmail is pop, so if you retrieved from the pop server and removed it with another client. It will no longer be available. You can turn off POP and turn it back on to reset your pop mailbox. It will make all of your emails available again.
jordan-
i have a razr (verizon) and while the interface is not the best and does have a slight lag, it certainly sounds better than crashing 2x/day, no? granted, not all Q's might be like that, but, at least the verizon UI isn't buggy.
I got a Q the day it came out...the first unit I had had all kinds of problems so I took it back. The second unit has been flawless and I have had no crashing or anything like that.
Please clarify that this is running WM5 Smartphone and not WM5 for PDA's. There is a significant difference in what programs will run and what you can do with the phone. It bugs me that all the Verizon commercials say WM5 when it really is not.
I demo'd the phone for a couple weeks and I have to say I will stick with my 6700.
I've had my Q a couple of weeks now and am pretty happy with two exceptions. First the time does not sync with the Verizon network when you travel to a different time zone. Second when you associate a photo with a contact the image that comes up when the phone rings is tiny. Otherwise I'm very pleased. I think it has only crashed once since I've had it.
GMail has issues with windows mobile. Here was my problem: "Basically, I check for new mail, and the mail is downloaded. Then, when I activate another send/receive, the mail that was previously displayed on my phone disappears." But I did find a fix and it is discussed in this thread: http://pdaphonehome.com/forums/cinglar-8125-i-mate-k-jam-qtek-9100-t-mobile-mda/70284-gmail-pop-access-mda.html
Check out post #8.
Anyone get a reasonably priced GPS solution that is run off an SD card (no online data)? ive been searching for one for weeks, and the Copilot software is avaliable, but 350 bucks is almost the price of a stand alone unit.
http://www.hellomotoq.com/ has an active staff and community figuring out all sorts of Q stuff.
I usually don't plug on comments but since you asked..
Find out how to tether your Motorola Q to your PC or Mac via Bluetooth or USB at HelloMotoQ here:
http://www.hellomotoq.com/forums/motorola-q/122-motorola-q-dial-up-networking-dun-tethering-tutorial-how.html
It's really easy to do, try it out on your Q!
You can download some of the most popular Motorola Q apps directly to your device from Orneta's mobile site @ http://mobile.orneta.com
Thank you very much from Turkey argticaret.com
In the Qusers.com forum, there is one post that is really great. It list some of the best registry mods out there as well as the tools to do them:
http://www.qusers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2032
I just bought the Q recently but can't imagine this device is targeted towards business and even semi-heavy email users. There doesn't seem to be any way to change the standard font size and you can only see a few messages at a time. Am I completely missing something? On my Blackberry 8700series, text can be changed to view 20+ messages at a time.
In the Qusers.com forum, there is one post that is really great. It list some of the best registry mods out there as well as the tools to do them:
http://www.argticaret.com
You can find a tutorial on how to set up gMail on your Moto Q along FAQs at:
http://www.everythingq.com/kb/how-to-setup-gmail-on-a-motorola-q/
You can download some of the most popular Motorola Q apps directly to your device from mobile site
Does anyone know if there is a site that will allow free downloads of software such as unit conversions, dictionary, etc. Thanks
I just got my MQ and so far so good...........looking forward to using it to its fullest.
I love my Q, and this post has helped me thanks
hello all you phone experts!!!
I am doing an adverising project, for my college advertising class. I am trying to gather as much information on phones and their compatibilities to get attachments form emails to being able to present a prsentation form ones phone. If any one has any information they would like to give me plese respond to this coment, i would appriciate anything i recieve!!!
Thanks!!!!!
So, here is my issue I love WM phone I recently stopped using my windows mobile phone vx6800 6.1 to switch to a simple moto q running wm 5.0. I never had a problem with email on the 6800 but I liked the still of the Q so i thought I would try it out. I am a google apps domain user and I have my email service through google. The setting that they are displying for setting up gmail fpr windows mobile 5.0 do now match at all. I need help with this plz. I also would like to know since Microsoft hung up on me twice because they were switching shifts wouldn't tell me but is it possible to download windows mobile 6 or download software from they're new phone the ozone. If you would like no to post the questions zbout the ozone or software please email me at shawno@riversidewild.com
Hello,
I need help with my Q. Is there a search function for the calendar and the contact list?
Thanks for the help.
When I was installing a program to MotoQ, it stated that the program was not digitally signed by Microsoft. Is there any way to bypass this and still install the program.
I HAVE A DVR WHICH I RECORD MY FAVORITE SHOWS. ON THE DVR BOX THERE IS AN OPTION TO RECORD THE SHOW ALREADY RECORDED ON THE INTERNAL HARD DRIVE TO A VCR. IS THERE A WAY TO DOWNLOAD THE SHOW INTO A PORTABLE HARD DRIVE WHERE I COULD TAKE IT TO WORK AND WATCH IT LATER ON MY PC.
I HAVE A DVR WHICH I RECORD MY SHOWS ON. THERE IS AN OPTION AFTER I HAVE RECORDED THE SHOW ON THE INTERNAL HARD DRIVE, TO RECORD IT TO MY VCR. MY QUESTION IS HOW CAN I DOWNLOAD IT TO A PORTABLE HARD DRIVE SO I COULD TAKE IT TO WORK AND WATCH MY SHOW LATER ON MY PC
Hello, Can anyone help with the alarm feature. This phone only seems to have 1 alarm.. I've tried to set it and it wont ring. I have gone under sounds and set the alarm to a certain ring with no luck. Can anyone help?
I have a Moto Q but can't figure out how to turn off the PHONE function while leaving the Q powered on to work with old emails and calendar events (i.e. while on an airplane). Any thoughts?
If you push and hold the "HOME" button you can access a menu that will allow you jump into flight mode.
-Jeff
I don't have the data opion on my verizon plan, so I was wondering if anyone knew of a map program that you can just download on to the moto Q that doesn't use any data transfer? All I want to do is click on the program and look at basic road maps. Thanks
I just bought the Q (it was programmed on verizon then i flashed it to
alltel) from a US user, and have everything working with my
local provider in Pakistan, except for the data connections . When I
try to access web
or email , I get a "Login error: Ensure you have the correct login
information and try again" error because I suppose the phone is still
configured for alltel/verizon, I can't change the
connections parameters, like user, pwd, etc.
if it is hard programmed pl let me know how to reomve it
Pl Kindly help me out, i shall be really greatful (im not getting any
positive reply from anywhere and i think i just lost 400 bucks)
Regards