With my a run-of-the mill cell phone, I’m surrounded on all sides by people with sparkly new, touch-pad-enhanced mobile telephonic powerhouses.

They scan prices at the store with cool downloaded apps, comment on their friends’ Facebook statuses while waiting in line and get turn-by-turn directions with their built in GPS.

I make calls, send clumsy text messages and take fuzzy photographs with the cruddy built-in camera.

This breaks my geeky little heart.

So, while I’m skeptical of any and all chain e-mails, the one offering five secret tricks that any cell phone can perform intrigued me.

Unlock car doors from miles away? Get an extra boost of battery power? More? Sounded good to me. Anything to give my under-powered cell phone a dash of kung-fu — especially if it’s free.

You’ve probably seen the same e-mail filter through your inbox — some of you probably forwarded it on. We tested the tips out so you don’t have to.

Tip #1: The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.

Stick with 911. Calling 112 worked on my GSM phone, much to my surprise. I punched in 112 , then send, and was instantly connected to Lewiston-Auburn 911. Oops!

But calling 112 does not work on other kinds of cell phones or on landline phones in the U.S. GSM cell phones, a kind of cell phone standard, are built to work internationally, but emergency codes are different between countries. The European Parliament adopted 112 as the code across that continent and it works in many other countries — but not all of them.

When 112 does work, it works exactly like 911, meaning that it won’t find a signal if you
don’t have one. Also, it won’t work on a cell phone with a locked
keypad.

The U.S. standard, 911, works in North America and parts of Central and South America. Most importantly, it’s the only three-digit emergency number guaranteed to work in Maine.

So, use 911 if you need help locally. If you’re traveling, the best bet is to learn the emergency number at your destination before you leave.

Tip #2: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock.

Sorry, no. Not only has this been debunked thoroughly on the Internet (see both the Mythbusters and Snopes) and elsewhere, but it doesn’t make practical sense. Despite the pure technological wonder that cell phones are, they’re only built to transmit sound. Keyless car door openers rely on radio waves transmitted on much higher frequencies. Your cell phone — even the highest of the high end — can’t hear those signals. If it can’t hear them, it can’t transmit them. Sorry.

Tip #3: Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# and send. Your cell phone will restart with a reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.

This didn’t work on any of the phones I could lay my hands on, from Nokias to Motorolas to LGs. Apparently, Nokia once offered codes on its phones that let the user lower call quality to boost battery use. But the code from the e-mail apparently does the exact opposite on some phones. It boosts call quality at the expense of battery life.

If you can’t keep a spare phone charger in your desk or in your car, you can pick up one of those AA battery cell phone chargers at a local store. They will give your cell phone battery a boost in case of emergency.

Tip #4: When your phone gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them your phone’s serial number. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either. To check your mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: *#06# and send. A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe.

You don’t need to memorize a code to disable your phone. Just call your cell phone provider and tell them what happened. Not only will they be happy to cancel your phone, they’ll probably be happy to sell you a replacement.

But if you insist on collecting long, confusing strings of numbers and letters, don’t worry. You can find your serial number written on a black-and-white sticker behind the phone’s battery.

Tip #5: Cell phone companies charge us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don’t have to.

This one is actually true. You can get around it by plugging an alternative number into your phone. Google offers 800-GOOG-411 (800-466-4411). It’s quick, straight forward and connects you right away.

Other options: You need to listen through a 15-second advertisement if you call 1800-FREE411 (1-800-373-3411). Once the ad finishes, it connects you right away, but doesn’t tell you the phone number, so you can’t record it. Results are a little suspect, too. I tried to call the Lewiston Post Office, but was connected to a Comcast sales office.

Calling 800-2CHACHA (800-224-2242) is another service. It doesn’t connect you directly, but texts the answers back to you. Asking for the Lewiston Post office resulted in a flood of messages and phone numbers for post offices in Lewiston, Auburn, Sabattus and beyond.

If you prefer text messaging entirely, you can just text your question (say, for example, “newspapers, Lewiston, Maine”) to “GOOGL” and get an answer back almost instantly. Typing “weather, Lewiston, Maine” and sending it to GOOGL will get you the latest local weather forecast.

None of them charge fees, other than those your carrier charges to call or text.

Bonus tip: Here’s a tip that didn’t make the recent chain e-mail: Hate waiting through long voice mailbox introductions and want to skip straight to the beep so you can say your piece? Each carrier has a code you can type in to skip the bather.

For AT&T and Sprint, punch the “1” key. For Verizon, it’s the * key and for T-Mobile it’s the #.

The problem is you don’t always know what carrier the person you are calling uses, and different keys do different things depending on the carrier. For AT&T users, for example, pressing the # key sends you to the log-in prompt.

The answer, according to a few sites on the Internet, is to type all three in a certain order, slowly: First, press “1”, then listen. If it doesn’t take you past the intro, press “*”, then listen some more. Finally, press “#”. That should do it, and if it doesn’t, just listen to the message.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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