T226 and DCU-11 connectivity information

Having troubleshooted this for some time attempting to do what I
imagined would be a reasonable feature of the phone, I figure I should
share my results with others who may be looking for the same
information.

My main objective with purchasing the DCU-11 was to be able to
synchronize my phone with Outlook, to avoid having to enter each one
of my contacts into the phone one at a time. When you've got this
many, it isn't an option at all. This is the story of my attempts.

I purchased the data cable and found that it only comes with the
drivers. These installed correctly and I now had a virtual COM3 port
in device manager. At this point, the installer directed me to the
Sony-Ericsson web site to download the rest. This must be the new
"server yourself" approach to doing business. [They offered
explanations that the CD was made before the software was available,
but that meant the CD that I just got was many month old.] Going to
the site, I [eventually, the site leaves a lot to be desired] found
the MMS Home Studio and the Image Editor, neither of which were of
much interest to me. I installed both of them anyway, one of which
installed the needed Phone Monitor Options shortcut in the Control
Panel which seems to act as a gateway for the software to communicate
with the phone. Unfortunately, Phone Monitor Options does not see the
phone when connected, although it sees the USB cable as COM3.

Unable to go any further after hours of research, I [again,
eventually] found their tech support number and called them to ask
about these two problems. Where is the Outlook synchronization
software and why isn't my phone recognized in Phone Monitor Options?

The tech support woman answered that the T226 has no ability to
synchronize with Outlook, and that the phone is not supposed to show
up on the Phone tab in Phone Monitor Options. Only the USB cable is
supposed to show up in there. According to her, that was enough for
the two [IMO useless] applications to communicate with the phone.

Whether this is the case or not I am not sure. Regardless of my
certainty, I have not been able to make this phone do anything usefull
with the DCU-11 besides manipulate the themes and create multimedia
messages. You cannot download new games or synchronize Outlook with
the phone.

My advice to any looking into this currently: don't bother buying the
DCU-11 data cable, unless you intend to get a better phone in the
future (and want to pay $30 for practically nothing now). My advice
to anyone having these problems also: stop wasting your time, we have
been mislead by the sales description of the data cable. My advice to
anyone looking into buying the T226: it is a cheap phone, and you'll
get what you pay for - a cheap phone. (And the menu system is slow as
snot, so don't be in a hurry.) My advice for anyone that already has
the T226: get rid of it as soon as you can afford an upgrade, and
consider it a loss.

Any information that can lead me to the contrary of my finding would
be much appreciated. Otherwise I waited for 2 months for
Sony-Ericsson to ship the data cable to me for nothing.

---

› See More: T226 and DCU-11 connectivity information

DSL <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Having troubleshooted this for some time attempting to do what I
> .....

People have no problem sending pictures and themes to the phone by the
cable. Contacts should also work if they are sent as .vcf (by
exporting phonebook entries in Outlook Express first). You have to
send the entries one by one, but still better than typing them in.

You do have to "enable" the COM port corresponding to your cable (COM3
in your case) in Mobile Phone Monitor first.

On 31 Dec 2003 09:55:13 -0800, [email protected] (Edward S)
wrote:

>DSL <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>> Having troubleshooted this for some time attempting to do what I
>> .....
>
>People have no problem sending pictures and themes to the phone by the
>cable. Contacts should also work if they are sent as .vcf (by
>exporting phonebook entries in Outlook Express first). You have to
>send the entries one by one, but still better than typing them in.
>
>You do have to "enable" the COM port corresponding to your cable (COM3
>in your case) in Mobile Phone Monitor first.

Hmm...thanks for the information. That seems to be my only avenue.
However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone in the
Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor. It also does not see
my phone in the Image Editor program ("not detected"). I have messed
with it for hours now, whenever I have a chance. I don't think that I
am going to figure it out by myself. I am currently in the process of
removing and reinstalling the USB drivers - I don't know if that will
help but I have no idea what's wrong either. I am totally at a loss
here. Any further assistance would be greatly appreciated.

DSL <[email protected]> wrote:

> However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
> according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
> in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.

On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?

M.

On 1 Jan 2004 22:10:45 GMT, Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote:

>DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
>> according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
>> in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.
>
>On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
>
>M.

Yes, I had thought of that too. Unfortunately, it does not allow me
to change what COM port that it had automatically assigned during the
driver installation. Let me reinstall the USB drivers and see what
happens.

On 1 Jan 2004 22:10:45 GMT, Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote:

>DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
>> according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
>> in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.
>
>On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
>
>M.

Yes, after reinstalling the USB drivers it still creates a COM3. No
luck there.

I also have noticed something else unusual. After installing the
drivers and making sure the USB driver was installed correctly, I
removed the cable and watched it disappear from device manager. I
connected the phone to the cable, and then plugged the cable into the
computer, upon which the device was detected differently. Instead of
detecting the cable as a COM port, it detected it as a USB device
under USB Controllers. Specifically, it detected it with an error,
such as "!USB" (yellow explanation point). Additionaly, it created
the removable device icon in the system tray. Double-clicking the
removable device icon to view what it had found shows the same "!USB"
unknown USB device. In an attempt to clear this out, I removed the
cable from the PC, removed the phone from the cable, and plugged the
cable back into the PC but the PC still detects the cable now as
"!USB". The only way to get it detected correctly again is to use the
USB driver removal tool, reboot the PC, and reinstall the drivers
without the phone attached. At that point, I am right where I left
off - I have a COM3 port for the USB cable, the Phone Monitor detects
the COM3 port but no phone when it is attached, and the Image Editor
does not detect it either.

DSL <[email protected]> wrote:

> Yes, after reinstalling the USB drivers it still creates a COM3.
> No luck there.
>
> I also have noticed something else unusual. [...]

All I can say is that quite frequently, when synching, the system
does not recognize the phone. Sometimes I have to retry
(disconnect & reconnect the cable) 5, 6, 7 times - but then it
works. On my desktop PC, however it worked once - and never since.

M.

Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
> > according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
> > in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.
>
> On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
>
> M.



The COM port number varies from one PC to another, depending on what
you've installed previously. So pretty sure his COM3 is correct.

One more very important thing I forgot, that he probably has to change
the COM port speed to 9600. You can do it under device manager,
ports.

Apparently the T200 and T300 series only communicate at 9600 when
using the cable. Hope this solves his problem.

To verify that the cable connection is working, go to Accessories ->
Communications -> Hyper Terminal , "Cancel" when it asks for
connection description, File -> Properties, Connecting using -> choose
you cable COM port(you can also change the com port speed to 9600 here
under Configuration)

Then type ATZ and enter , it should return OK , then try ATI1 , ATI2
... etc. If you see all the goodies showing up, you know the cable is
working. You can then get out of this and do the real stuff. Good
luck.

DSL <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 1 Jan 2004 22:10:45 GMT, Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote:
>
....
> >On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
> >
> >M.
>
> Yes, I had thought of that too. Unfortunately, it does not allow me
> to change what COM port that it had automatically assigned during the
> driver installation. Let me reinstall the USB drivers and see what
> happens.


You can usually change that COM port assignment under the "USB-Serial
adapter" device found under Device Manager. This is irrelevant for
solving your problem, but handy for future reference.

On 2 Jan 2004 16:10:20 GMT, Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote:

>DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Yes, after reinstalling the USB drivers it still creates a COM3.
>> No luck there.
>>
>> I also have noticed something else unusual. [...]
>
>All I can say is that quite frequently, when synching, the system
>does not recognize the phone. Sometimes I have to retry
>(disconnect & reconnect the cable) 5, 6, 7 times - but then it
>works. On my desktop PC, however it worked once - and never since.
>
>M.

That isn't a very good track record in terms of reliability. I can't
do it at all (yet, hopefully), and you have to jump through hoops to
get it working on only one of your two computers.

On 2 Jan 2004 10:02:23 -0800, [email protected] (Edward S)
wrote:

>Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>> DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> > However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
>> > according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
>> > in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.
>>
>> On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
>>
>> M.
>
>
>
>The COM port number varies from one PC to another, depending on what
>you've installed previously. So pretty sure his COM3 is correct.
>
>One more very important thing I forgot, that he probably has to change
>the COM port speed to 9600. You can do it under device manager,
>ports.
>
>Apparently the T200 and T300 series only communicate at 9600 when
>using the cable. Hope this solves his problem.
>
>To verify that the cable connection is working, go to Accessories ->
>Communications -> Hyper Terminal , "Cancel" when it asks for
>connection description, File -> Properties, Connecting using -> choose
>you cable COM port(you can also change the com port speed to 9600 here
>under Configuration)
>
>Then type ATZ and enter , it should return OK , then try ATI1 , ATI2
>.. etc. If you see all the goodies showing up, you know the cable is
>working. You can then get out of this and do the real stuff. Good
>luck.

Now that's interesting. Using Hyperterminal to test the connection to
the device...I'll certainly try that when I get back to my office.

By default the speed of the COM3 port is set to 9600 baud. I was
hoping to set it higher later but haven't touched it for now. I need
to get it working first, before I try to make it work better...
What's the deal with making the communications speed max at 9600?

Another thing I can try is to take the cable home and install it on my
home PC. Maybe my work PC's hardware is having a problem with it for
some reason.

On 3 Jan 2004 13:30:06 -0600, DSL <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 2 Jan 2004 10:02:23 -0800, [email protected] (Edward S)
>wrote:
>
>>Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>>> DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> > However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
>>> > according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
>>> > in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.
>>>
>>> On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
>>>
>>> M.
>>
>>
>>
>>The COM port number varies from one PC to another, depending on what
>>you've installed previously. So pretty sure his COM3 is correct.
>>
>>One more very important thing I forgot, that he probably has to change
>>the COM port speed to 9600. You can do it under device manager,
>>ports.
>>
>>Apparently the T200 and T300 series only communicate at 9600 when
>>using the cable. Hope this solves his problem.
>>
>>To verify that the cable connection is working, go to Accessories ->
>>Communications -> Hyper Terminal , "Cancel" when it asks for
>>connection description, File -> Properties, Connecting using -> choose
>>you cable COM port(you can also change the com port speed to 9600 here
>>under Configuration)
>>
>>Then type ATZ and enter , it should return OK , then try ATI1 , ATI2
>>.. etc. If you see all the goodies showing up, you know the cable is
>>working. You can then get out of this and do the real stuff. Good
>>luck.
>
>Now that's interesting. Using Hyperterminal to test the connection to
>the device...I'll certainly try that when I get back to my office.
>
>By default the speed of the COM3 port is set to 9600 baud. I was
>hoping to set it higher later but haven't touched it for now. I need
>to get it working first, before I try to make it work better...
>What's the deal with making the communications speed max at 9600?
>
>Another thing I can try is to take the cable home and install it on my
>home PC. Maybe my work PC's hardware is having a problem with it for
>some reason.

No, it does the same thing at home. It creates a COM3 which is not
recognized by the Phone Monitor (after enabling the COM port of
course). Is there some special trick to this?

DSL <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> On 3 Jan 2004 13:30:06 -0600, DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >..
> No, it does the same thing at home. It creates a COM3 which is not
> recognized by the Phone Monitor (after enabling the COM port of
> course). Is there some special trick to this?

I don't understand why you keep saying "..COM3 which is not recognized
by the Phone Monitor" . Phone Monitor is not going to light up or
tell you it recognizes COM3 unless you start using a program
(sendfile, SE Image editor, etc..)

If you cannot get hyper terminal to talk to the phone at 9600 as I've
suggested, then the COM port is no good.

If you believe it's the phone monitor that's no good, you can try
using Float's Mobile Agent, which does not require phone monitor.

Another possible situation is you may have some other program using
COM3.

On 2 Jan 2004 10:02:23 -0800, [email protected] (Edward S)
wrote:

>Michael Pronay <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>> DSL <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> > However, after having enabled COM3 (the virtual USB COM port)
>> > according to their instructions, it still does not see my phone
>> > in the Cellular Phones tab of the Mobile Phone Monitor.
>>
>> On my laptop under WinXP it was COM5. Maybe give it a try?
>>
>> M.
>
>
>
>The COM port number varies from one PC to another, depending on what
>you've installed previously. So pretty sure his COM3 is correct.
>
>One more very important thing I forgot, that he probably has to change
>the COM port speed to 9600. You can do it under device manager,
>ports.
>
>Apparently the T200 and T300 series only communicate at 9600 when
>using the cable. Hope this solves his problem.
>
>To verify that the cable connection is working, go to Accessories ->
>Communications -> Hyper Terminal , "Cancel" when it asks for
>connection description, File -> Properties, Connecting using -> choose
>you cable COM port(you can also change the com port speed to 9600 here
>under Configuration)
>
>Then type ATZ and enter , it should return OK , then try ATI1 , ATI2
>.. etc. If you see all the goodies showing up, you know the cable is
>working. You can then get out of this and do the real stuff. Good
>luck.

OK. Regardless of whether I can get the SE software working, I have
managed to complete the Hyperterminal test successfully. It is
responding similar to a modem. As a matter of fact, I went into Phone
and Modem Options and added a 9600 Baud standard modem on COM3. I was
able to query the T226 with a modem diagnostic test and it replied to
all of the commands just like a modem. However, I still need a
program that will use COM3.

What software can I use that will recognize this connection? They
seem to still be looking for a phone in Mobile Phone Monitor. Maybe
there is a way to send and receive files using Hyperterminal?

On 30 Dec 2003 15:55:15 -0600, DSL <[email protected]> wrote:

>Having troubleshooted this for some time attempting to do what I
>....

Hmm...I've got some news. I managed to make it work, and it took me a
little while to replicate my success. You'd think I'd be happy about
getting it to work but due to the difficulty involved in this I have
no happiness about it at all. Here's the steps to follow to reproduce
my results:

Hardware Installation:
1. Acquire the DCU-11 data cable. Don't connect it to your computer
or strangle the local SE salesman with it yet.
2. Download and extract the latest drivers for it that are in
Support-->DCU-11-->Global Support-->Drivers, Scripts, and Patches.
3. Connect the data cable. Use the drivers when it asks for them.
4. This should create a virtual COM port in Device Manager. No reboot
should be necessary. (Removal: Use the driver removal tool given with
the drivers. This requires a reboot. If you don't use the tool,
Windows will use the same driver when it detects the cable again
without asking.)

Software Installation:
1. Install the Image Editor (I haven't tested the MMS Home Studio
yet). This will automatically install the Phone Monitor for you.
2. Go to the Phone Monitor at Start-->Settings-->Control Panel (or if
XP Luna interface then Start-->Control Panel). Double-click it, go to
the COM Ports tab, and enable the virtual COM port that represents
your USB data cable. It will not detect your phone yet.

Detecting the Phone:
1. Open the Image Editor. It will say "no phones detected" or
something.
2. Click on the Phone button. A dialog box will pop up asking you to
select your phone from the list of pictures. Select your phone. It
will say "no T226/T226s detected".
3. Wait about a minute or so. It will eventually look to see if
anything is there and attempt to connect to it. A wizard will pop up
the first time asking you to name the connection. After that, each
time it detects it (and in the Phone Monitor) it will label it as that
given name.

Now this is all rather strange. I could swear that in the past I had
left the Image Editor running for a bit while I searched on the
internet and no wizard popped up. Why did it finally work now?

I've also gotten SendFile to run. It also needs about 30 seconds or
so "warm up time" in order to see the phone. Let's see what I can do
with this thing.

Thanks to all for helping. Without you I wouldn't have gotten this
working.