Verizon to Launch Mobile Recovery today? Remote location, alarm, and lock 42
It looks like a little rumor that popped up on BGR yesterday is probably true: Verizon is going to be launching a 'Mobile Recovery' app for webOS in conjunction with asurion, who is the insurance company behind their Total Equipment Coverage program. If you're enrolled, you download the app now by visiting the mobile recovery site or, heck, here is the direct link to it in Palm's web feed. If you're not enrolled (and doubly if you're not a Verizon customer), you may be able to download it but you'll get booted if you're not signed up for TEC.
So.. what's the app do? It can sound an alarm on your phone, locate a lost phone, and and lock your phone as well (though remotely erasing contacts is not supported).
We've installed the app on our Verizon Pre Plus and, well, so far we haven't actually managed to get any of the services at http://www.mymobilerecovery.com/ working just yet
Of course, those location services might be a little dicey - no word yet whether or not Verizon is allowing the app full access to aGPS because of their relationship with asurion or if they've allowed it to remain hobbled. We set ours to check every 10 minutes (and didn't open VZ Navigator) for testing purposes and have to yet to get a lock, for what that's worth.
The app was briefly available in the Palm webOS Web Feed and some of our members grabbed an early look, they seemed to like what they were seeing. Go on and take a gander at the web interface for locating (via Bing maps), sounding the alarm, and securing your Palm Pre after the break.
42 Comments
Wow that sounds pretty cool! Im sure this should be coming to Sprint being that Asurion is the same company that services them too.. Right???
What I would like to see that you're able to delete your photos..
Really wish you didn't have to have the Total Equipment on your account to use this.
Remote location, huh? Good thing the GPS is so accurate... oh wait.
Mine has been since I doctored mine to 1.4.5
Hmmmm?
Having Verizon myself and having purchased that coverage for peace of mind, I'm quite happy to see they have given us something like this in case something were to happen to my phone.
I have downloaded it and run a test...even when apps like foursquare and google maps did not get an accurate gps reading (roughly 1.5-2 miles off), the Mobile Recovery program did. It looks like it perhaps does indeed have access to the agps.
Holy crap, I want that app! My wife needs the alert feature. She's always losing her Pixi, and she always has the dang thing turned on Silent!
I'd started on an app that did all this a year ago, guess I should have finished it :)
Yeah I was going to make a WaveSecure type of app but no point now - lol
I have Sprint and I am using this app now... tee heee :p
I don't think they know how to block people yet. I am assuming they will eventually purge the DB by running a check on the phone numbers.
Was testing it and it JUST NOW set off the alarm... Holy crap that's annoying. But I now know it works... Awesome... Gonna keep playing with it.
OK, I'm on a Sprint Pre Minus and I downloaded it, and I was able to get the Sound Alarm and the Secure Phone features to work. Both took forever before they actually happened though.
Yea the Alarm is freaking loud and high pitched! I am sure more than a few people heard it!
Note: You must be a Verizon Wireless Total Equipment Coverage (TEC) subscriber to use
Mobile Recovery, unauthorized users will be removed from the service shortly after download.
Source: http://www.mymobilerecovery.com/public/verizon/get_started.html
Wonder how long it will take.
wish we had this app over in the UK :( damn you O2 UK..
Sprint calls it TEP (Total Equipment Protection). I'm paying for that already. I am going to assume that Sprint TEP will be rolled into this coverage eventually. I'll report back if I get kicked off 'shortly'. This is perfect for the wife's Pixi. We have the same issue as rayhollister and his wife.
waits for a sprint homebrew owner to get to work
ugh Im not too sure I want this app anyway... it make horrible battery life grotesque Uninstall!
Big time danger. The terms state that the user has NO expectation of privacy using this. The location information can be shared with anyone for any reason
So far it seems like it does what it is supposed to. GPS on mine is off by a good 6 blocks from my office. Wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of the constant appearance in the dashboard?
YES! that's what I am trying to find out! I just removed the app bc it is so annoying.
I turned off the GPS tracking and I still get the annoying notification. Battery life was bad before, but this is crazy bad now even with the interval set to 30 minutes. I showed this to my wife and she liked the concept. As soon as she heard the notification popped up all the time she warned me not to put it on her phone or there would be consequences :P. It is coming off of mine too.
***I have Sprint and still haven't been cut off after almost 24 hours.
funny... how could this possibly function without a working gps?
just sayin'
If you are paying Verizon $8 per month for TEC, then you don't really need this service. But, you can't get this service unless you pay for TEC.
What am I missing?
And, I agree. Without a functioning GPS, this is just a worthless app that will make the battery drain faster than it already does.
Still plenty of value to finding your phone vs replacing it-- not everything's in the cloud, don't have to replace the case, no being without a phone for longer than you have to...
Would be cool except... the gps function is still off. Not connecting via aGPS for sure. Although it found my phone, it says its about 2 miles away. The feature that sounds an alarm on your phone works, BUT it takes about 8 minutes before the alarm begins to sound. Hope you are not in a hurry! :) Geesh Verizon. you get me excited about something and crushed again....
Scratch that... make that 3.7 miles away. I just requested turn by turn directions to where my phone is supposed to be. Good Grief!
sorry
First try it found my phone within 60 meters with 2 bars of service. I just can't stand the constant notifications. Any idea of how to stop them?
I just downloaded this onto my Sprint Pre. I am enrolled in the program with Sprint and I believe it's the same company. It does work but locking the phone and sounding the alarm takes longer than the advertised 15 minutes. It's worth it for the price of free though. Sprint owners should try it.
it's annoyin.. Couldn't have done any more 5hittier job with this app.. Good Idea tho!
LOL I'm covered but it never loads my GPS. Goole maps finds me Where finds me after 8 tries this app NEVER FOUND ME and I have TEC.
Uninstalled.
Hmm. It works, but it is really annoying. From the way it's behaving, I don't think the website is contacting the phone. The alert and the lock only goes off at the scheduled time that the GPS updates. It would be awesome if Neato! could incorporate something like this into the program.
I tried this when it was first available last month. I took it off 2 days later as the app was annoying. Every time it uploads your GPS info to Asurion's site, it interrupts whatever you're doing. It pops up in the foreground even if you're typing something in another app. It also opened 2 copies of the program many times when launched. They need to add options to do full background uploads if desired. I hope they've fixed these bugs prior to this official release...
none of the speakers on my phone work anyways... I'd have to stay near my phone & bluetooth it...lol
I pay monthly for TEC on Sprint... so I'm going to hope its a free app.
And hopefully it can restore the phone remotely. Sounds cool, I hope I can get it soon.
Hah. This is cool and all, but my phone has it's own theft deterrant... The battery only lasts about 6 hours. That's when I'm not using it as much. 4 hours on a night that it may get stolen. Thieves don't want something that doesn't work!
I just installed this on my Sprint Palm Pre and it works great. The 'Sound Alarm' works also and takes around 15 minutes to reach the phone.
I wish I had this a few months ago when my Pre was stolen.
Wow! What a piece of crapware. Maybe VZW is punishing us for the 1.4.5 complaints :) I'm a VZW user with TEC, I downloaded it this morning and have already removed it. Uninstalling it rebooted my Pre Plus - I don't think it wanted to go.
Yes - it never leaves the notification area, and yes, it sucks on the battery. I'll bookmark my calendar for a couple of months from now and try again if they update the app.
In the mean time, check out the "Remote Wipe your Phone" posting here. It's a great fallback position for this app!
SMS alarm not working on the 1st gen Droid
just received this text message I'm a sprint customer...
FREE MSG Your Mobile Recovery service will terminate in 3 days. Your phone is not enrolled in Equipment Coverage. Call *611 to enroll.
I deleted it a while ago anwayz those dashboard pop ups were annoying