Mobile Device Preventive Maintenance Program

Mobile devices are often carried in pockets or purses. They can be damaged by drops, excess moisture, heat, or cold. Although mobile device screens are designed to prevent light scratching, the touchscreen should be protected using a screen protector if possible.

Preventative maintenance for mobile devices requires only three basic tasks: cleaning, backing up data and keeping the operating system and applications up to date.

· Cleaning – Use a soft, lint-free cloth and a cleaning solution designed for touchscreen to keep the touchscreen clean. Do not use ammonia or alcohol to the clean the touchscreen.

· Backing up the data - Keep a backup copy of the information on the mobile device to another source, such as a cloud drive. The information includes: contacts, music, photos, video, apps, and any customized settings.

· Updating the system and applications – When a new version of the operating system or applications is available, the device should be updated to ensure that the device is working at its best. An update can include new features, fixes, or improvements to performance and stability.

Exercise 3. In this lab, you will act as a call center technician and create closed-ended and open-ended questions to ask a customer about a laptop problem.

A customer complains that the network connection on the laptop is intermittent. The customer states that they are using a wireless PC card for network connectivity. The customer believes that the laptop may be too far from the wireless access point; however, he does not know where the wireless access point is located. As a technician, you need to be able to ask questions that will be recorded on a work order. In the table below, record closed-ended questions and open-ended questions that you would ask a customer.

 

Closed-end Questions	Open-ended Questions

 

 

Lesson 25. Cellular communications.

Exercise 1. What mobile OS do you know? Tell the group about the favorite one.

Exercise 2. Read and translate the text.

Cellular communications.

When people began to use cell phones, there were few industry-wide standards for cell phone technology. Without standards, it was difficult and expensive to make calls to people who were on another network. Today, cell phone providers use industry standards, making it less expensive to use cell phones to make calls.

Cellular standards have not been adopted uniformly around the world. Some cell phones are capable of using multiple standards, whereas others can use only one standard. As a result, some cell phones can operate in many countries, and other cell phones can only be used locally.

The first generation (1G) of cell phones began service in the 1980s. First-generation phones primarily used analog standards. With analog, interference and noise cannot easily be separated from the voice in the signal. This factor limits the usefulness of analog systems. Few 1G devices are in use today.

In the 1990s, the second generation (2G) of mobile devices was marked by a switch from analog to digital standards. Digital standards provide higher call quality.

As 3G cell phone standards were being developed, extensions to the existing 2G standards were added. These transitional standards are known as 2.5G standards.

Third-generation (3G) standards enable mobile devices to go beyond simple voice and data communications. It is now common for mobile devices to send and receive text, photos, audio, and video. 3G even provides enough bandwidth for video conferencing. 3G mobile devices are also able to access the Internet to browse, play games, listen to music, and watch video.

Fourth-generation (4G) standards provide ultra-broadband Internet access. Higher data rates allow users to download files much faster, perform video conferencing, or watch high-definition television. These are some common 4G standards:

· Mobile WiMAX

· Long Term Evolution (LTE)

The specification for 4G devices sets peak speed requirements at 100 Mb/s for highly mobile devices (devices in cars or trains) and 1 Gb/s for devices being used by people moving slowly or standing still.

Mobile WiMAX and LTE

Even though Mobile WiMAX and LTE fall short of the data rate to be compliant with 4G (128 Mb/s and 100 Mb/s, respectively), they are still considered 4G standards, because they offer so much improvement over the performance of 3G. WiMAX and LTE are also forerunners to versions that will be compliant with the full specification of 4G.

Technologies that add multimedia and networking functionality can be bundled with cellular standards. The two most common are Short Message Service (SMS), used for text messaging, and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), used for sending and receiving photos and videos. Most cellular providers charge extra for adding these features.

As a mobile device moves from an area of 4G coverage to 3G coverage, the 4G radio shuts off and turns on the 3G radio. Connections are not lost during this transition.

Hotspot

A hotspot is a physical location where an Internet connection is shared among wireless users. A personal hotspot can be created using a mobile device with a cellular data connection. The mobile device with hotspot enabled can offer Internet connection to other devices in the wireless LAN.

Airplane Mode

Most mobile devices also have a setting called Airplane Mode that turns off all cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth radios. Airplane Mode is useful when traveling on an airplane or when located where accessing data is prohibited or expensive. Most mobile device functions are still usable, but communication is not possible.

There are apps available for mobile devices that can display available networks, signal strength of access points and towers, and even locations of networks. A WiFi analyzer can be used to display information about wireless networks, while a cell tower analyzer can be used on cellular networks. These can be very useful tools to start with when diagnosing mobile device radio problems.