NTT DoCoMo Thread

[Skyline R34]

NTT DoCoMo General User Thread

Hi guys and gals from the local keitai community!

I created this thread to consolidate all the useful facts into one area so that the new users don't have to hunt around for answers while the experienced users do not have to answer questions that have been answered before. It will also be for users of models which do not have a dedicated thread to post queries about. And, of course also for us to chit-chat about our keitais.

Post #2 will be used for news from Japan such as new technical hardware and new releases while Post #3 will be for notices and perhaps details of possible outings in Singapore.

Post #4 will be for the known CPR hotspots

Post #5-#9 will be a quick guide that will hopefully answer most questions. The guide is a general guide so some parts may be different, in which case I'll try to include a notice. I'm still working on it and will need the experienced users help. I'm posting this prematurely since there seems to be more people interested in keitais(or Japanese phones). This thread will be mainly for NTT DoCoMo since Softbank phones are quite different from that of NTT DoCoMo although some parts may apply.

Please input your thoughts on what to improve and etc. Thanks!

Content Page​

Latest news from Japan
Latest News and Notices for Singapore
Known CPR Hotspots
Introductions and FAQs
Creating Contacts List
Images, Music and Ringtones
Videos
microSD Data Management

 

[Skyline R34]

Latest News From Japan

Reserved for Latest News From Japan

July 2010:
NTT DoCoMo to release SIM unlocked phones from April 2011

May 2011
NTT DoCoMo phones from Summer 2011 can now be officially software-unlocked.

 

[Skyline R34]

Latest News and Notices for Singapore

Notices​

19 December 2009:
White SH-01B Users, please take note of a possible keypad backlight problem as posted here by Haonan.

 

[Skyline R34]

Known CPR Hotspots

Reserved for Known CPR Hotspots

 

[Skyline R34]

Introductions and FAQs

Introduction/FAQs-WIP​

Where can I get them:
The phones are available at the Mobile Phones Bazaar sub-forum here. They can also be found on online auction sites such as eBay or Yahoo! Auctions.

Software Unlock:
Software unlock phones are phones which has a firmware that does not only recognize NTT DoCoMo FOMA SIM cards, that is, they are able to recognize all SIM cards without the need for hypersim. Software unlock phones support 3G network and do not require CPR. They also generally do not allow access mobile internet(data).

Official NTT DoCoMo Software Unlock:
Starting from phones from the Summer 2011 release, NTT DoCoMo is officially software-unlocking its phone for a fee. As with software-unlocked phones, NTT DoCoMo officially unlocked phones supports the 3G network and do not require CPR. At the moment, it appears that only phones running on the Android OS can edit its APN and access data.

Multimedia-lock (MM-lock):
MM-lock only affects hypersim-unlocked SoftBank phones. NTT DoCoMo phones do not have MM-lock. MM-lock is when, even after using the hypersim to unlock the phone, only phone features (eg phone calls, SMS) may be used. Multimedia features (such as camera) will remain lock. The MM-lock requires a SoftBank SIM card to unlock, and even after an unlock, the MM-lock may still occur.


Hypersim:
NTT DoCoMo handsets are locked to use only NTT DoCoMo FOMA SIM cards. A hypersim acts as a bypass, allowing a non-NTT DoCoMo SIM card to be recognized by the handset as one. Hypersim unlocked phones are usually not able to accept calls under 3G network and are not able to access mobile internet(data)


CPR:
CPR is a procedure used when the phone is unable to retrieve a signal. There are some places where reception is bad and the phone drops the signal. On usual phones (otherwise known as local phones) such as Samsung, this is not a problem as the phones will normally retrieve back the signal when the signal is stronger.
On NTT DoCoMo handsets, it may not be able to retrieve back the signal at times and hence, a CPR is required to allow the phone to get back the signal.
The CPR procedures are:
1) Remove SIM card from NTT DoCoMo handset.
2) Insert SIM card without hypersim into local handset and start up.
3) If the phone is a 3G handset, set the mode to “GSM” only.
4) Make a call to ensure that the signal is true
5) Remove SIM card and insert into NTT DoCoMo handset
6) If after doing so, you are still not able to get a signal, repeat steps 1-5 but with the hypersim attached.


How often do I have to do CPR?
The frequency for the need for CPR depends on the hypersim you are using, the model of the SIM cards as well as location. For awhile now, the hypersim has more or less stabilized for GSM network mode.

Previously, hypersims do not include the anti-CPR feature and will require a CPR most of the time when a signal is lost. Where and whom you bought the hypersim from will also play an important role as the hypersim and SIM card has a close relation as well as the programming that the seller has done on the hypersim.

Most of the recent SIM cards are now very compatible with the hypersims and require less CPR. Older SIM cards do not work as well, and consequently will require more CPRs. This can be easily remedied by replacing your old SIM card with a new one.

Locations also play an important role as the network coverage at some areas are not as strong and stable as that of others. For a list of areas known to increase the chances of the need for CPR, refer to the “CPR Hotspots” section.

Users have also reported that signal is stronger and less likely to be OUT when the phone displays a GPRS symbol as opposed to GSM. While no exact details are known on how to get either a GPRS or GSM symbol, it is believed that older, more basic phones such as non-Symbian Nokia are more likely to achieve the GPRS symbol. Note that the GPRS symbol does not mean that one is connected to GPRS, so data charges will not be incurred if the GRPS symbol is shown.

 

[Skyline R34]

Creating Contacts List

Contacts List-WIP​

Each contact must include:
a. Name
b. Reading
c. Number 1 (+6591234567)
d. Number 2 (91234567)

Note 1:
You may want to keep all the characters without CAPS. This is because the phone searches word for word, taking in account as well CAPS.

Example: If you stored in “Reading”, “John”, then searching for “john” will not turn up anything, only searching for “John” would.

Note 2:
The 2 numbers, one with +65 and one without +65, is to facilitate the recognition of the contact by the phone when an SMS is received or when a call is received respectively.

Not saving the 2 numbers will result in a contact recognized when a call is received but not when an SMS is received and vice-versa.

Note that the +65 is the Singapore prefix. If you are living in another country, replace +65 with your own country’s prefix. Note also that the + is required.


Creating contact(s):
Method 1: Using only phone
1) If necessary, copy SIM contacts over to the phone.
2) Fill in or edit the contacts information fill so that the 4 basic fields as shown above are filled up.


Method 2: Using datalink
1) Download datalink
2) Create an account and login
3) If you are editing contacts from SIM, copy SIM contacts to phone memory.
4) Sync phone contacts data to datalink
5) Double-click on contacts to edit
6) Edit contacts, including all the four basic fields as stated above
7) Sync from datalink to phone


Method 3: Using datalink with Excel
1) Download datalink
2) Create an account and login
3) If you are editing contacts from SIM, copy SIM contacts to phone memory.
4) Sync phone contacts data to datalink
5) Export the contacts data as .CSV
6) Open with Excel
7) Edit contacts, including all the four basic fields stated above
8) Import to datalink
9) Sync from datalink to phone

Will be posting screens on a later date after I get some interpretation of the datalink's interface.

 

[Skyline R34]

Images, Music and Ringtones

Images
Images should not be a problem as all NTT DoCoMo FOMA handsets accept the standard JPEG. In addition, there is also support for GIF and SWF. To add image files, follow according to the folder and file naming convention set out in the microSD Data Management.
If you wish to set the images as your standby background, you may need to copy the image file to phone memory first.


Music
On NTT DoCoMo handsets, generally only 2 music file formats are supported: AAC and WMA, while some have support for SD-Audio. Normal MP3 is not supported.

Adding AAC Music Files:
1) Rip or convert your music files to AAC with iTunes. (The AAC files can be found in C:\Documents and Settings\(Username)\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music
2) Transfer files to microSD. (refer to microSD data management)


Adding WMA Music Files
1) Rip or add WMA music files into Windows Media Player.
2) Connect handset to PC.
3) Switch the USB mode on NTT DoCoMo handset to “MTP mode”
4) WMP should recognize the NTT DoCoMo handset
5) Proceed to sync music files.
6) Once completed, disconnect handset from PC.


Ringtones-WIP
The supported ringtone formats are MLD, SMF and MID (otherwise known as MIDI). There is a WAV to MLD converter but it has restrictions. The longest time period which one can convert is ~24 seconds, while on high quality the end product MLD file may only last 2 seconds.

To add ringtones to phone, follow according to the folder and file naming convention set out in microSD Data Management. You may need to copy the ringtone file over to the phone memory before being able to set it as a ringtone.

 

[Skyline R34]

Videos

Videos
Generally, NTT DoCoMo FOMA handsets support 3GP, ASF and MP4. (Someone please confirm. Thanks!)

To add video files, follow according to the folder and file naming convention set out in the microSD Data Management.

Converting videos to NTT DoCoMo FOMA Standards
I’m using SUPER Converter in this guide as it is freeware. For those who have their preferred converters, you may use this guide to set up the converter for converting videos suitable for NTT DoCoMo FOMA Handsets
This guide is based on screen resolution 854X480, which is the common resolution among keitais.

Requirements:
SUPER Converter (The website seems to be down at the moment. Here is an alternative website to download.

After starting up the software (it may take sometime, but if it takes forever, use Task Manager to End Process and restart again), do the following steps according to the following order:

1) Set “Select the Output Container” to “MP4”
2) Set the “Select Output Video Codec” to “MPEG” or “H264”. Using H264, I encountered a “This video cannot be replayed” on my F-01B. However. the video can still be played perfectly.
3) Set the “Select the Output Audio Codec” to “AAC LC” or “AAC Main”. (Others may also work, but I have not try)
4) Set the “Video Scale Size” according to personal preferences. You may need to click “More” multiple times to get the custom size in the screenshot below.
5) Set the Aspect to “4:3” or “16:9”, depending on whether it’s a normal video or widescreen video respectively.
6) Set the “Frame/Sec” according to personal preferences
7) Set the “Bitrate kbps” according to personal preferences
8) Set the Audio “Bitrate kbps” according to personal preferences.

Notes:
1) For video scale size, you may use any video resolution you want. As a guide, for widescreen videos, you may use 704X396 and for normal videos 640X480.
If the resolution of the source file is lower, then you may want to use a resolution similar or less than that of the source file as a higher resolution means taking up more space and will not translate to a better quality than that of the source file.
2) You may set the Frame/Sec according to your preference, but there is no point going beyond that of the source file as doing so will not make any improvement. Also, try not to set it above 30.
3) You may set the Bitrate kbps to any amount you want. A lower setting will result in a smaller file size while sacrificing quality, while a higher setting will result in a larger file size but better quality. As a guide, you may set it between 1200 to 1600.
4) For audio Bitrate kbps, you may again set according to your preferences. As a guide, you may set it between 64 to 128.
5) Under “Options” in the Video tab, you are advised not to check the “Hi Quality” and “Top Quality”. If you are looking for better quality, set a higher Bitrate kbps. The reason being checking them will result in a 200MB 5mins video.
6) For XP users, the default folder for the output is “C:\Program Files\eRightSoft\SUPER\OutPut”

A screenshot of approximately how the end settings should look like, depending on the settings you chose.

 

[Skyline R34]

microSD Data Management

microSD Data Management
Note: Format microSD from phone if it is inserted into the phone for the first time.

Method 1: Using microSD mode on phone
Requirements:
1) Drivers(provided on CD given with phone)
2) Data Cable

1) Connect the phone to the PC.
2) Switch USB mode to “microSD”
3) Copy files into microSD according to the rules set out below.
4) Switch back to “Communication mode” and unplug USB cable.

Method 2: By memory card reader.
1) Plug in the microSD into the card reader
2) Copy files into microSD according to the rules set out below.
3) Remove from card reader and put into phone.

 

[Nanashiro]

Nice, good job. Best is to be stickied so new or potential users can see it and won't ask common questions.

 

[tsuyuri]

good thread! will refer to this as i'm planning to get a keitai soon. thanks!

 

[~+-+Vanora+-+~]

Many thanks for your efforts!

Hey Skyline R34. Thanks for your efforts. I am sure it will certainly help beginners like me and many others as well. Perhaps on your 1st post of this thread, you could include list of Content Page for example, as shown in the quote below.

Content Page
Latest news from Japan
Latest News and Notices for Singapore
Known CPR Hotspots
Introductions and FAQs
Creating Contacts List
Images, Music and Ringtones
Videos
microSD Data Management

With each title linked to the related exact post itself, I suppose that this will prevent information lost in the thread pages somewhere as time goes by when this thread gets more active and also for easy references. Just a little suggestion of mine.

 

[Skyline R34]

@Nanashiro,tsuyuri: Thanks for the nice words and encouragement!

@~+-+Vanora+-+~: Was going to do it up abit later actually. The first post is like the home page and will undergo a revamp in the near future! But since you mention it and put in so much effort to make it, I added it in now. Thanks for the contribution! Hope my work helps you! And..
Welcome to the local Keitai Community!

 

[~+-+Vanora+-+~]

@~+-+Vanora+-+~: Was going to do it up abit later actually. The first post is like the home page and will undergo a revamp in the near future! But since you mention it and put in so much effort to make it, I added it in now. Thanks for the contribution! Hope my work helps you! And..
Welcome to the local Keitai Community!

You are very much welcome. Just by looking at the basic information you have placed up, I reckon that you are already helping me with adapting to the differences of keitai! Thanks for the warm welcome by the way~ hope that I will be able to join you guys officially soon...

 

[darkimperial]

Great job. hope this thread is always alive so that ppl can see.

 

[Nystalia1990]

Good job and efforts!!!

 

[Skyline R34]

@~+-+Vanora+-+~: Oh! Thought you have a NTT DoCoMo phone already! Which phone do you have your eyes on?

@darkimperial: Thanks! It should be alive. This is for all the NTT DoCoMo users, new and experienced. We can just chit-chat here and stuff about NTT DoCoMo, what we would like to see improved etc!

@Nystalia1990: Thanks for the words and encouragement!

 

[luloos]

wow was just away for few days got new thread! good job skyline~ this is really good for newbies.

 

[ookamigirl]

Thanks for a great thread, it's perfect for a n00b like me