Sony Xperia 10 Tips and Tricks

Looking to find the IMEI nunber for your Sony Xperia 10? Read on.

An IMEI is a unique serial number that is assigned to your phone. Each phone has a unique IMEI, regardless of brand and model. Most insurance companies would ask for your IMEI because this helps them report and block the device once it gets lost or stolen.

If you’ve just bought your Sony Xperia 10, it is best to keep its package box and avoid throwing that to the bin. That could be very handy when you do lose your phone and you need to trace it using the IMEI code.

There are several ways to get your IMEI number by just using your phone. The easiest way is to go to the dialer and press *#06#. The IMEI should be displayed on your screen after entering the code.

Now for those who dialled *#06# on their phones, some might be seeing two types of serial numbers. Just take note of the first one, because that is most likely the IMEI.

Aside from that, you can also go to Settings → System → About Device → Status, then scroll down to locate your IMEI number. This could vary a bit depending on your phone model. Some smartphones list the IMEI under the About Device section. So just scroll down in case you don’t see it under System or Status.

The IMEI is also often imprinted on your battery cover. This means that you have to dismantle the back cover of your phone to get a copy of it. This is rather inconvenient. If you can still access your IMEI using the phone itself, then just do so. Except if your Sony Xperia 10 is locked or has no power for some reason.

If you are not happy with your notification light, then you can change and tweak it. Go to the Play Store and download an App called Light Flow.

You might need to enable the notification light before the App works. Go to Settings – Device – Sounds and notifications – LED Indicator.

Alternatively, for some devices, you can turn?your Notification Light ‘ON or OFF’ and you can also change the color of Notification Light. For that go to Settings – Display and then toggle pulse notification icon. You can change the color of LED light from same menu.

By default, your phone will recognise swear words, but insert x’s instead of the word. To change this, go to Settings – System – Language and input – Virtual Keyboard- Google Voice Typing

Then you may need to select your voice input system. Then toggle the Block offensive words option.

Looking for a replacement battery for your Sony Xperia 10? We explain the available options and list the best battery choices for your device.

IMPORTANT – We take no responsibility for batteries purchased which you cannot use in your phone. Please ensure the following:
1) Check that your phone does actually have a removable battery
2) Check product descriptions before you buy to ensure compatibility with your phone

 

Short of time? Jump straight to batteries

 

Battery types
When choosing a battery there are three main types:

1) Replacement Batteries (Genuine / OEM) – OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and is the battery that the manufacturer has specifically produced for your device. This is normally the best option in terms of quality, time between charges and overall battery lifetime, but these batteries can be a little more expensive, so it depends on your priorities.

2) Replacement Batteries (Non-OEM / Generic) – Another cheaper option is generic or non-OEM batteries which are often mass produced in order to reduce their price. They can also provide longer battery life by having a higher mAh (see information below), so these can be a good alternative to OEM batteries if you want to save money. The quality can vary however, so we recommend that you read the reviews before buying. Another problem with generics is that they may make your device run hot and they can also void your warranty if your phone develops a fault. In general we would always recommend you buy a Genuine/OEM battery if you can afford to do so.

3) External Batteries– These are ideal if you’re going to be away from mains power for a period of time, such as camping, festivals and so on. The idea is that you charge the external battery pack (from the mains) and then charge the phone off that. Often external batteries will only last for one or two full charges, however very large packs (with a high mAh rating) are available if you’re going to be away for a longer time.

Understanding mAh
Before you buy, you should also check the mAh rating. This stands for milliamps delivered per hour rating and essentially tells you how long the battery will last before it needs recharging. A high end phone with a large screen may have a battery above 2500 mAh, whereas a mid-range model (with a smaller screen and less bulk), may only use a 1800 mAh battery. As mentioned above, sometimes generic batteries can have a higher rating than the genuine battery. For example, if your phone comes with a 2200 mAh battery, you can buy a 2400 mAh generic battery which should mean it will last longer between charges. As above, be careful with generics however.

 

Click to choose your battery
 

Drag down your notifications screen and press Settings. Then select System – Language and input. Then under Keyboards and input methods, press the little Gear icon.

From here you have various options including Haptic feedback, Vibration intensity and so on.

You can also adjust notifications for various functions.

If you regularly visit a website you can add a shortcut to your homescreen which can be quite useful, rather than entering the web address each time you want to visit the site.

You can either do this to an existing Bookmark, or simply a page you’re visiting:

1) Open your Browser App. Enter the website you want to bookmark. You may need to wait for the whole page to load first. Then press the phone’s Menu button or More at the top and select Add to home screen.

A pop up will appear, so choose “touch & hold to place manually” or “add automatically”.

2) Then bookmark the page.

To adjust your screen brightness, there are two options:

1) Simply drag your finger from the top of the phone down to pull down your quick settings screen. Then at the top there will be a brightness bar. Drag this left or right or press Auto.

2) Drag your notifications screen down and select Settings. Then under Device, select Display – Brightness. Then choose the desired brightness setting.

You can also select Automatic brightness to let the phone decide for you.

To use your phone as a WiFi hotspot, tether it via USB or via Bluetooth, then go to Settings – Wireless and Network – Mobile hotspot and tethering.

You can then choose from three options:

1) USB – connect your phone via a USB cable. The phone should automatically configure the correct settings.

2) Mobile/WiFi Hotspot – To turn your phone into a WiFi hotspot, press Configure WiFi hotspot. You will then be asked to enter a Network SSID (this is your own name for the WiFi hotspot). Then choose Security and lastly, choose a password (this is password for your WiFi hotspot which you will enter on your computer).

3) Bluetooth – With this option, you will need to pair a Bluetooth device with your phone. On the other device, ensure you search for Bluetooth devices and your phone should show up.

There is a great app called Moves by a company called Protogeo that makes use of your devices accelerometer to record your movements, whether by walking, cycling or running.

Go to the Play Store and search for Moves.

Sometimes while typing long text or SMS messages you will get a message saying Converting to multimedia message. This won’t normally cause a problem, however some users do not want to send a MMS message.

There are a number of different settings to deal with this, however there isn’t really a way to prevent the phone from converting to an MMS. The reason for this is that any message over 480 characters cannot be sent as an SMS message. They must be sent as an MMS. The is a restriction of SMS messages in general, similar to the original limit of 160 characters. ?

What you can do however is ensure you get alerted when you have reached 480 characters. Then you can decide to send the message as an SMS and continue your conversation on a second message.

To check this setting is on, open your Message App and press More – Settings and More Settings – Multimedia messages. Then select Set restrictions and choose Warning. You will now be told when your message is being converted to MMS.

You can also change the settings for Creation mode which lets you restrict messages that go over a certain size. If you select Warning or Restricted, you should get further warnings when your message is really large and may not be handled by the network.

Note: This availability of this feature depends on your device.