Wai's Life

"EE Your Shout" February 2013 Update 2

2013-02-18T21:09:00.001+00:00

A few more weeks have passed and more emails suggesting I take part in a few more surveys with a possibility of more rewards/prizes... Why not?

And just so you guys see what it involves a snapshot of the latest one....

(What my account main page shows)

Simples really!

"EE Your Shout" February 2013 Update

2013-02-08T22:25:00.002+00:00

A quick log into the T-Mobile aka EE Your Shout forum shows numerous surveys ready to do (with an chance of winning more things)

Under the lab link T-Mobile are asking for a potential advert review

And the link showing past winners!

"EE Customer Survey" 4G Coverage Checker Part 2

2013-02-08T22:13:00.002+00:00

A couple of days have since passed and after a couple more posts/comments on what was said previously, no further tasks have appeared. Instead I have a thank you email and an Amazon voucher email...

Now that's another £20 to the £70 from the last task I already have...

Really need to start planning what to buy!

"EE Customer Survey" 4G Coverage Checker

2013-02-05T22:10:00.002+00:00

Another few weeks have passed and again another email asking for a 'closed' participation into the new 4G Coverage Checker on their website, starts Tuesday and finishes Wednesday for a £20 Amazon voucher... Why not......

Yeah, they picked me this time. :-P

The first topic's up and it's a simple 5 minute look at their new coverage checker and writing up a quick paragraph:

Sub-Forum Title - "Testing our coverage Checker"

Post title "Your initial thoughts"

We’d love your feedback on our updated coverage checker. Please take a look either today or tomorrow and give it a review. Taking part will earn you a £20 Amazon voucher.

www.ee.co.uk/coverage-checker

To start with, we’d like to know:

• Your first experiences with the checker. How you used it, and what you were looking for

• What you think is working well (both in the way it works and the information it provides)

• What you think still needs improving (both in the way it works and the information it provides)
Once you’ve written your review we’ll also ask you a few follow up questions, which you’ll need to have answered by the end of Wednesday. Thanks for taking part, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Fast forward a day and another follow up email:

A couple more topics have been created:

Post title "Coverage in your area"

How easy was it to understand what you could and couldn’t do in your area? (thinking about calls, texts and internet) Is there anything you still feel unsure about? Tell us about it.

Post title "Accessing 4G Services"

We'd also like to know what you would do next in order to access 4G services. How clear is the coverage checker in showing you what to do next?

I wonder if that's it or if I have to check again tomorrow night...
(If so too bad as it's Orange Wednesday" which means I'll probably be out!)

"EE Customer Survey" Follow-up

2013-01-23T22:00:00.000+00:00

Since the Roving Reporter tasks for T-Mobile aka EE recently, I've had a few more emails asking for participation in their on-line reviews (some paid [if selected] some not.)

Too bad I never noticed the following one till after the deadline - could had got some free Angel / Devil Headphones as payment (RRP approx £100!)

And boohoo they never picked me for the following task, although I was busy at work anyway!

"EE Customer Survey" (Part 5)

2012-11-13T15:01:00.001+00:00

Checked yesterday and the sub-forum entitled Roving Reporters had disappeared from the main site.
Fast forward a day and in my emails is a nice one titled "Thanks for being Our Roving Reporter!"

Roll on the next email(s) containing my amazon vouchers, now comes the hard decision - What to spend it on?! Or save up and use it when I actually wanna buy something?

It would also be good to see how the pricing structures change?
Hopefully 4G will get cheaper and a truly unlimited data package gets released....

Provider name changed to EE

2012-11-10T23:26:00.001+00:00

After a week of completing surveys and mystery shopper based work for EE (aka Orange and T-Mobile) and watching/reading about friends and other people's phone showing EE as their network provider for about a month, I finally got a message that my phone was ready for the change as well.

Before is a snapshot of the text message explaining their combination into EE about a month ago and finally the message I received today.

So before restarting the phone, my network provider was Orange and T-Mobile

Which changed to the combined EE after a quick restart...

Now to see what changes it actually does, and whether or not my internet radio streaming in the car keeps buffering due to the loss of signal of one network when it tries and connects to the other!

"EE Customer Survey" using Android App: iPinion+ (Part 4)

2012-11-10T23:11:00.002+00:00

Although I've already done the required tasks for the EE survey/roving reporters to qualify for the £50 Amazon vouchers I've realised that I haven't posted about how to use this app.

Once I've opened the app I'm greeted with this home screen.

Tapping on the App Reporter gives this title page.
And everything after this is rather self explanatory.

After this screen it links back to the home page, where nothing has changed (last recorded activity and points total the same.)

"EE Customer Survey" (Part 3)

2012-11-10T19:39:00.002+00:00

Almost at the end of the week and another email highlighting another 2 tasks (so 6 tasks in total to do, when only 4 are needed to get the £50 payment.) As they don't take me much time to do here goes:

The 6th task (which came first in the email before the 5th task!)
was to watch the Kevin Baker advert and post some feedback through their survey style page (only took 4 minutes or so.)

The 5th task was another topic on the forums:
EE now offer a range of fixed broadband plans for the home including fibre optic broadband
Have a look at www.ee.co.uk for the information you’d like to see on EE home broadband and let us know what you think here.

- What information were you looking for?
- What information was easy to find?
- What info couldn’t you find easily?
- Do you still have any questions about EE’s fixed broadband or fibre optic broadband plans after looking at the website?

I had already looked at their website in the past so it was a quick 2 minutes writeup....

"EE Customer Survey" (Part 2)

2012-11-06T21:10:00.005+00:00

So..... a few days have passed since enrolling in this task but has it been worth it?!

1st of all an email confirming my acceptance and notice of bonus special prizes!
Hopefully I hadn't checked my email prior to going into work on Friday so lost out on a great opportunity to do anything. It wasn't until Saturday night that I logged in and found 3 tasks (and the special roving reporter forum) available.

Next are a few extracts of the 3 tasks as described in the forums:

Task 1: What do you think of your local store?
Check out your local store this weekend and tell us your thoughts:
• Does it look good from the outside?
• What about in the store – what do you think of the layout?
• How did you feel about the atmosphere in the store – how busy, did you feel welcome?
• And what about the information available in the store– was it clear and was it of interest to you?

We will be reviewing your store feedback on Monday and the best and most detailed report will receive a £20 Amazon voucher.

This I wrote about 5/6 posts as I went around the store in Manchester Fort, the 4 inside the City Centre (in and around the Arndale Centre) and the last store in the top floor of the Trafford Centre.

Task 2: What have you seen, heard or read recently about mobile / broadband operators
Tell us about any advertising, news articles or anything else you’ve seen or heard about on the TV, internet, radio or in newspapers, or when out and about, for mobile or broadband operators.
It would be great if you could take a pic or post a link so that we can see what you are talking about. You can also use the app to photograph and rate it when you’re out and about.
This can be for anything that catches your eye for any mobile or broadband operator brands that you see throughout the week.

Through this topic I found out that I didn't need to use their iPinion+ app and could instead simply upload images or links elsewhere (and as this was easier and faster I've not used the App yet.)

Task 3: Interview friends / family about EE
Today we would very much like you to do a 5 minute interview (okay...chat!!) with a couple of people about what they think about EE and report back.
Have they heard of EE before?
Do they know what EE sells?
What do they think of EE?

Let us know here what they had to say.

This was a quick reply after chatting to some friends and relatives.

Annoying after the massive amount of linked posts I put on the 1st topic I saw this email and thought that's it I didn't win the bonus £20 amazon voucher prize!

However in today's email I saw this (with my name as the winner!!!!!)
Roll on the next bonus prize(s) and final payment!

The last task:

Task 4: Getting social

As well as new shops and a new website, EE also has a shiny new Facebook and Twitter page.

Members and non-members of these sites can review what people are saying by clicking here:
Facebook: http://en-gb.facebook.com/ee
Twitter: http://twitter.com/EE

We’d really like your opinion on what you think about them, please can you have a look around and come back here to report back?

What do you think about the types of things EE says and does on their Facebook and/or Twitter pages? What do you think about the types of things other people say to EE? If you’d like, and are a member, try asking EE a question and see if/what EE replies.

What kind of atmosphere is there on the Facebook page, and how does that make you feel?

Is there anything that EE DON’T do on their Facebook / Twitter pages that you’d like to see, or like to see more of?

Of which I spent another 20 minutes doing, so that's my 4 tasks done (and payment eligibility complete!)
However as the tasks seem simple and actually interesting I will/may be doing more as they get released - especially as there are easily achievable bonus prizes!

"EE Customer Survey" using Android App: iPinion+ (Part 1)

2012-11-01T23:33:00.002+00:00

Being a 'veteran' market research "assistant" I was more than happy to sign up/register an interest in doing some market research for T-Mobile. Well, I do get a £50 Amazon Gift Voucher for completing certain tasks over 1 week so why not!!

Anyway, this I learnt through their newly launched forum which is trying to gather general opinion of the new EE (4G) mobile network.

1st of all the email I got for the notification that I got picked (rather happy that I'm one of 30!)
Username/Password blanked off for security reasons!
So if 30 people get £50 gift vouchers than this Marketing Campaign could have potentially spent £1500!

And screenshots of the App on Google Play Store.

Note that there is an iPinion and an iPinion+ app (we wanted the 2nd!)

Once installed and opened their a sign-in page which the earlier provided credentials worked.

Once logged in, the main menu shows a quick overview of what surveys etc are available - as this isn't active till tomorrow I'll add another post showing more of the app (at a later date and time.)

That's it for now, keep tuned in for a more detailed post on its inner workings!

Still no sign of EE signal/network name Manchester

2012-11-01T22:36:00.002+00:00

As the rollout of EE aka the 1st 4G network began active in Manchester last week (or was it earlier this?) some people have already seen the name on their 'connected' network and also a speed increase (1.4meg to 3Mbps+!)

However mine hasn't changed and is constantly either:
* Switching from the main T-Mobile network to the fall back Orange
* Or losing all 3G (Internet/Data usable) connections and failing to load any websites etc!

Checked with my cousin yesterday who is on Orange and his blackberry shows EE, so it's not the area where my home is. Attempted to turn off my mobile and removed the battery for >5 minutes to get it to lose any internal memory but alas no changes. (It did lose the time and date though!)

Quickly checked the "Settings" page > "Wireless & Network Settings" > "Mobile Network" > "Network operators" to do a manual search and all the UK 'major' networks could be seen but no sign of EE

Will try this again in a few days before contacting T-Mobile as it's annoying the Internet Connection isn't always there due to signal strength!

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 8) Not FIXED?

2012-10-30T23:54:00.003+00:00

A few days have passed and already I'm hearing complaints from my Dad (who heard it from Mum who was winge-d at by my sister) that the computer was crashing.

When I got around to asking her about it, she said she was watching videos when the screen went black, and so she went to do some cooking. Another 30 minutes later it had recovered so I told her to try again so that the reliability history/log could get some more statistics for me to see.

Another day passed and my little brother says it crashed last night and did 'crazy things.'
Nothing defined so I'm gonna have to ask Toshiba what they did.
Too bad their email contacts have been from a generic 'Do you reply to this email' so it will have to wait till my next day off work (at which point I'll probably forget to do so..)

Anyway THANKFULLY no-one has seen a Blue Screen of Death YET (BSOD!) so hopefully it's a simple driver issue this time?!

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 7) FIXED?

2012-10-27T01:13:00.001+01:00

Slightly disappointed yesterday that no Parcels/Laptop turned up at my work address.
Hoped it would be home by the time I got home but nothing (not even a 'we tried to deliver' note...)

So T-Minus 2 working days till their own set deadline.
Quickly re-read what the online tracker said and it had a UPS tracking reference with a date of 29th October 2012, so boohoo to that (as it would be Monday!)

Imagine my surprise when I get to work today (T-Minus 1 working day) and my colleagues tell me it's arrived... However I didn't get a break till close to 4pm so couldn't do anything till them.
On my break I quickly turned it on, connected to the local wireless network, downloaded/installed VLC Player and then tested numerous large files (ranging from 7GB to 13GB!) and left it running till about 7.30pm. Not a squeak! so woohoo.

Got home around 10pm and up to this point (close to 1AM) of installing updates, restarting a few times, un-installing the crappy McAfee for Comodo Internet Security, emptying about 100GB of data from an external HDD, it's still going fine!

On a side note the number '2' key on the numeric pad (which was broken and NOT sent back) has been kindly fixed/replaced by Toshiba so SUPER KUDOS to them!

So far up time of about 7 hours and not 1 0x116 Graphics card error so WOOHOO *Problem solved!*

At this point in time the Toshiba online tracker has updated to say:

26.10.2012 09:04

Closed Resolved

One bad thing is that the original packaging I bought the laptop in (and used to return) has been retained and instead I have a SUPERSIZED brown cardboard box. (Following are the pictures of said box)

A quick boot shows the same graphics card model installed so maybe it was swapped?

But a fresh install of Windows 7 (no service packs though!?)

******************************************************************************

While we're on the topic, WOW so much bloatware pre-installed (see the size of the list!)
Only things I've installed is Comodo Internet Security, VLC Media Player and WinRar

And of course a removal of the crappy whiny McAfee Security package is deserved!

Just see how many updates it needed to install/apply!

116 updates over 42665 operations!

And only after using Internet Explorer a few times and restarting the laptop a couple more does it give you the 'European Court Enforced' Browser Ballet screen!

How many can you recognise?

******************************************************************************

F*** did I speak too soon (15 minutes later and there's this screen...)

To be honest though black screen for literally 1 second and it quickly recovered (hardly noticeable!)

Now that I've:
* ALMOST emptied my sister's backup off my Hard Drive,
* Installed my network printer driver
* Set-up the wireless access at the chippy
* Installed a better internet security package
She can have the laptop back (and test it herself) and give my dad his laptop back.

Spares for Parrot Bluetooth Car Kits

2012-10-24T22:36:00.001+01:00

Just a rambling post on WOW the premiums a company can charge for spare parts...
http://www.parrotshopping.com/uk/p_parrot_listing.aspx?f=3171

When I originally looked for the MKi9100 Bluetooth Kit on eBay I was lumbered with result pages that simply shown parts of the system. Now I wonder if I can buy enough 'spares' to make a complete kit and if it would be cheaper than the overall kit?

The RRP is probably £119.99 (Cheapest from a quick Google search)
So from the spares page...
Remote Control £34.99
Remote Control Accessories £9.99
Display Cable for MKi9100 £24.99
Display for MKi9100 £69.99 (WOW!)
Music Cable £49.99 (SUPER WOW!)
>> Do I need to use USB/iPod/Aux for external music seeing I can stream from Bluetooth?
Microphone for MKi £19.99
Total so far...
£189.95 WITHOUT the all powerful control box/amplifier nor attached ISO cables! Or the important manuals (which are available online for free anyway!)
So simply Answer is NO! Unless they are all available on eBay for a bargain price!

Subject of which the blue control box can be bought on eBay for £74.99 (new)

And again, the people on this earth these days?
£14.99 for a small USB stick on which is loaded the latest software update application?
The memory sticks can be bought for a few pounds and the software free to download.

Maybe I should copy this idea and offer for sale update memory stick for every hardware device out?
Would make a killing if people do buy them!

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 6)

2012-10-24T21:33:00.001+01:00

Another working day pass and an email from Toshiba:
Dear Customer

We are pleased to confirm your Toshiba laptop repair has been completed.

Your laptop has been dispatched and will be delivered by UPS to the following address:

While their online tracking page has now added:

24.10.2012 08:35

Returned

So hopefully I will have it tomorrow...
And then all the fun can be had testing it...
(And guessing what they did...)

Final Word - T-MINUS 3 working days!

Updating the Parrot MKi9100 internal firmware

2012-10-23T21:07:00.000+01:00

It's always good to have the latest version of any firmware available in order to get the best experience out of the equipment in hand. I did so by following the instructions available here:
http://www.parrot.com/uk/support/parrot-mki9100
In doing so I upgraded from the supplied version of v1.42 to v1.96 then to v2.11

That's ACTUALLY A LOT OF UPDATES!

Original version which only had about 8MB free memory

1st update took about 4/5 minutes and freed up so much memory (so if that much code was removed would there be a MAJOR speed improvement? As the code will have been massively optimised!?)

A couple of screens to show what you should be expecting when updating/upgrading.

This update somehow lost the 'Bluetooth' pairing to my phone but no worries it wasn't hard to re-pair.
And it also added a Dual Paired Mode...

I've also registered with the Parrot Website so hopefully they will email me whenever an update's available rather than me having to check it every so often!

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 5)

2012-10-23T21:00:00.001+01:00

The following week from the last post and another 2 working days passed.
So with 4 Working Days left (of their self-imposed deadline) I check their tracking site and hmm a few updates....

22.10.2012 07:52	In Process
22.10.2012 07:52	Waiting for Part
23.10.2012 12:48	In Process
23.10.2012 14:14	Repair finished

So what was the 2nd part they needed?
A faulty Graphics card then faulty Motherboard or vice versa?
Faulty Graphics Card? No replacements available so new alternative laptop?

Either way, here's hoping if it was sent today (easily done if testing completed at 14.14.) I could get it back as quick as tomorrow! But then again there's no mention of collection by Courier/In a Stage of Dispatch...

It's also slightly worrying they only spent 1.5 hours repairing with the latest part and testing the system...
I would have expected a all-Nighter STRESS test?!

At least I understand how to get the laptop back to their service depot should any further issues arise!

Installing Parrot Mki9100 Bluetooth Car Kit (in Vauxhall Zafira B) Pt4 - Installing the Kit

2012-10-21T23:04:00.001+01:00

After all of the panels have been removed we now have a nice clear part of the car to work with....
These following steps can be tackled in any order if you want (but thinking back I think the easiest way is...)

Installing the microphone

1) Lift off the fabric at the top of the car (in the following photo, this is the beige material next to the window.) This is simply stuck down with adhesive (hence no tools needed.)
2) Thread the cabling through here till you get to the end corner.
3) Push the fabric back so that it sticks to the roof, hiding the cables.

4) Using the double-sided sticky pad on the microphone holder, stick it above the rear-view mirror.
Ensure wherever you put it, it doesn't affect your eye sight nor be in a position it could be knocked over when adjusting the mirror.

(Do this without the mic attached, you can click it into place after.)

5) Thread the cabling down the side pillar

6) And drop it down the gap in the corner (this goes directly to the leg space where the glove box was.)

7) The side pillow column plastic can now be retrieved and put back into place...

Getting the rest of the cables in place

Here comes the messy part, getting the cables into place leaving enough room for the stereo to go back....

1) Attach the SOT cable to the parrot kit and thread these into the space behind where the Stereo lives.
Follow the supplied manual to ensure you haven't put the wrong ISO connector in the wrong place.
Personal hint - I found it easier to put 1/2 behind where the MFD display goes, and the rest to the left (see photo)
2) The connecting cables to the Parrot blue control box can be pulled/pushed through a small gap on the left right down to the leg space for now (below the glove box.)
3) Do the same for Parrot screen cable (I had this come out of the top section (where the MFD screen cable is > big grey cable.) But I forgot to take a photo of this

4) The red 12v Ignition cable should be thread through the bottom of the gearbox, ash-tray and ending up next to the base of the cigarette lighter socket.

5) If you haven't put a crimp connection on this, then do so and connect to the spare black connector underneath the cigarette lighter.

6) Personal hint - cable tie the cable - otherwise it might get stuck in the mechanism of the gearbox! Left side doesn't appear to have any moving parts!

Re-posted photo to clarify where to connect the 12v Ignition cable

7) Once the above has been done you can cover up/put back (with screws):
* Ash Tray
* Gearbox
* Diagnostic Socket Cover

Re-installing the MDF Display and Front Fascia

The front fascia should now be re-installed in the opposite way it was taken out:
1) Re-connect the power cable for the MDF Display and put back into place
2) Re-connect the power cable for the Hazard Light and put the fascia back.
Don't forget to put the screws back into place!
3) The Parrot Display screen can now be stuck onto the front of the fascia next to the Hazard Light Switch
(Again do this without the screen attached, double sided tape/pad again.)

4) Slide the screen into place (only 1 way to fit.)

Although it is a great place to put it, ensure you leave enough space to control that heater control! (and see your 'doors locked' indicator light on the central locking button!)

Re-installing the top air vents and plastic surrounds.

1) Self explanatory, put the air vents back and push down!

Re-installing the Heating Controls

1) Re-attach the 2 power/signal cables
2) Push the controls back into place, ensuring it clicks and locks into place.

Amending the SOT Cable Connectors

A few little bits to do before the stereo can be re-installed...
1) Connect the Yellow 'Mute In 2' Cable to the yellow cable (crimp connectors should already be there.)
2) Put the loose 'pink' MUTE cable from the SOT122 wiring into the ISO block where the yellow cable terminates. Otherwise the car won't mute the stereo when a call is taking place on the Bluetooth kit!

3) Switch the '12V Battery' and '12V Ignition' wiring. Done by simply swapping the fuse holders over...
Otherwise it will not say the 'Goodbye' prompt and instead will drain the car battery!

Installing the car stereo

The last hard part is re-installing the stereo.
1) Simply attach the new 'large' ISO block to the back of the stereo.
2) Attach the aerial cable
3) Put the stereo back into place.
You might want to pull the cable out of the left using the gap by the glove box to pull any extra cable out of the way!

*********************************************************

I decided to have my external audio connector in the pouch in the left legspace instead of the glove box or center console as:
* It is hidden away
* But not so, that it becomes hard changing the media....

To do this I simply pulled up part of the plastic covering the side of the centre console (which pulls up from the curtain - not stuck down!) and just threaded the cable through...

This means I can either pop in the MP3 player, phone, iPod, USB stick:
* In the basket holder thing on the side
* On my 'old phone holder' next to the hazard light
* In the centre console where the cigarette socket/drink holder is

*********************************************************

Now that the front of the car has been dealt with, you can start connecting the blue Parrot control box.

1) All of the necessary cables should be dangling down the left side of the car now (with possibly 1 or more ISO connectors hanging down too) Simply connect these to the relevant socket on the control box.

2) Re-install the glove box, remembering to re-connect the power cable and the 4 screws removed.
3) Re-install the base covering plate of the glove box, this becomes the shelf for the parrot control box
The following photo shows what I mean (without the glove box installed) [If only I had an X-RAY camera]

*********************************************************

Final Touches

Installing the Remote Control

I decided the best place was gonna be on the right next to my headlight switches due to myself being right-handed. Simply use the double-sided tape to secure this down!
Again do this in 2 steps:
1) Remove the remote and stick down the pad.
2) Slide the remote into place...

JOB's Done - now take a deep breath and turn your engine on to ensure it does in fact work!

Installing Parrot Mki9100 Bluetooth Car Kit (in Vauxhall Zafira B) Pt3 - Installing (Prep > Removal of Panels)

2012-10-21T21:27:00.004+01:00

After all the introduction etc, it's time to take the car apart and install the kit.
This easily took over 3 hours to install if done in 1 go (personally I did it over a period of 4 days due to not enough sun light whenever I finished work and so parts of my dashboard were left off when I drove to work and back.)

First of all it was time to remove the front parts of the dashboard so that I could get the ISO connector removed of the back of the stereo (and install the SOT-122 cables and get that hidden away.)

Removal of the Stereo
1) Use the Double-DIN removal key and put it into the 2 sets of 2 holes on either side of the Stereo.
2) Pull outwards (if I remember right) and pull the stereo out, carefully.
3) The special ISO connector is 'locked' into place
> Simply put with both hands on the middle (feels like an unlock button) then the arm slides up and the ISO can be removed.
4) The aerial connector also has a locking mechanism done by a push on one of the corners.
]
Photo of the top of the stereo (Hmm another Made in Portugal...)

Removal of the Heater Control
Once the stereo has been removed, the heater can be un-clipped and pulled out.
1) There's 2 sets of clips on the top then 2 on the bottom which will automatically un-clip when pulled slowly.
2) Remove both connecting cables (but dont yank, again they're locked in.)

Top 2 photos are the top and back of the Heater
The next 2 shows the stage up to this point.

Removal of the Front Dashboard Facial
1) Using a flat screwdriver (or plastic spatula if you don't want to leave any marks) pop a corner up.
2) Follow this through so that the top panel is removed (just the section above the center console is needed.)
3) Once this is done, the 2 air vents at the top should be pulled out (not locked down)
4) Underneath each of these should be a screw which needs removing.
5) And before I forget the 2 screws where the heater controls were (can be seen in the above photo, bottom corners.)

6) Once you have done this, slide the front fascia forward and remove the power cable from the back of the hazard light control. Again be careful doing so, there's a locking mechanism.

On a side note the Top Grill aka 5th speaker in some cars can be found underneath the grill at the centre of the top of the Dashboard. This can be opened by putting in a flat screwdriver and popping it up.

Unfortunately my car doesn't have anything installed here as seen by the 2nd following photo!

Oh well - some forums state this is a problem for some Parrot kits.

Removal of the MFD (Multi-Function Display) Display screen

The MFD screen should be removed as it helps in hiding some of the ISO cables in my opinion.
1) This is held down by 2 screws (bottom)
2) This can then be slid out and the connecting (locked) cable removed from the back

Removal of the 'Bottom' Centre Console (more specifically the Gear-stick Diagnostic Test Socket Cover and Ash Tray)

1) Pop in a flat screwdriver under the cover of the 'ash tray' and pop it up.
Under here you have the 12v Ignition Live connector needed later (read on...)

2) Using your finger pop it into the hole underneath the gearbox and pull down (with a bit of force)

3) Inside here you will find the Diagnostics Test Socket and 2 screws holding the gearstick in.

4) Once the screws have been removed the gearstick cover can be pulled back and 'slightly' out of the way

Removal of the Glove box

This will need to be removed as the back area is perfect for storing the blue control box.
1) Underneath the glovebox is a panel that needs removing first. 2 retainer clips hold this in place which can be removed using either your finger or a flat screwdriver.
2) Once done slide the panel out and store it out of the way

3) At the bottom you will find 2 T20 screws that need removing

Kinda a good thing I took the glove box out, Notice the leaflet floating about which got BEHIND the box. Now if only that was a crisp £50 bank note!

4) Next open the cover of the glove box and you will find another 2 T20 screws that need removing, one in each corner.

5) Once this has been done the glove box can be gently slid out.
6) Remove the power cable (remembering which way round it goes - don't want to pop the bulb when replacing do we?)
7) Again store the glove box out of the way.

Removal of the Side Pillar Column

Not an essential step but as I wanted to mount the microphone high up by the rear-view mirror, I did it to store the relevant cable.

1) Check that the side pillar DOES NOT contain an air-bag. (Air bag picture usually on the cover in the next photo.) Supposedly you can still do the following but be careful

(Disclaimer I don't accept any responsible should anything break or the air-bag is activated...)

2) Pop in a flat screw driver into the rectangular cover and pop it slightly out.

3) Using your hand put it out (it's a massive retainer clip!)

4) The side column can then be pulled down and out of place.

5) Again store out of the way.

I think that's all of the preparation you need to know.
Read the next post of the blog to see how everything is installed from here....

Installing Parrot Mki9100 Bluetooth Car Kit (in Vauxhall Zafira B) Pt2 - The Shopping List

2012-10-21T15:20:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately although I took lots of pictures during installation I either:
* Didn't take any before (showing how 'messy' and how many components need to be installed.)
* Somehow lost them...
Anyway here goes (with some stock Google images, which I will replace with my own if I come across them):

The Kit itself

The removal key

The SOT-122 Cable
(See how big/messy it can get yet?)

And the MOST helpful book ever - The specific Haynes Manual for my car

On a side note, You might wanna get a few tools (if you don't already have them lying around the place...)
I ended up using :
* T20 Star-Bit screwdriver (ideally magnetized!)
* Flat-ended Screwdriver (should have been a plastic spatula.)
* Torch
* Cable grabber/pick up tool
* 1 Flat crimp connector and the tool to fit onto the cable
* Cable Ties and other cable tidy accessories
* Pliers/scissors to cut of excess cable tidies
And maybe a few latex gloves or plasters incase...

Update: Actually I did take a couple of photos:

1st we have the kit and associated cables that need to be installed and hidden within the car.

Grouped together is what the connections on the ISO SOT-122 cable look like

And lastly the famous 12v Battery, Ignition Feed which I read up as being problematic during my research. Basically if not wired the correct way, the system wouldn't say 'Goodbye' and would drain the car battery.

Installing Parrot Mki9100 Bluetooth Car Kit (in Vauxhall Zafira B) Pt1 - Research

2012-10-21T15:00:00.004+01:00

After researching and comparing prices for a parrot branded hard-wired Bluetooth kit for what must have been ages (months, years - you knows?) I finally bit the bullet and bought the relevant parts to install it.

Now why did I spent so long checking prices and doing other research you ask?
1) It's rather annoying hunting for the 'wired' hands-free kit for my phone (Nokia at 1 time, then Sony Ericsson after my upgrade) not to mention messy cables that kept getting caught by the steering wheel whenever I'm driving.
2) I do have a few portable Bluetooth headpieces but I seem to keep forgetting to charge these...
3) Each parrot kit seems to be hard to install (and I didn't want to give a garage another £30-£50 to install...)
> Not to forget needing specific parts for different cars (that weren't included in the kits and needed to be bought separately.)
3b) Again due to specific parts needed for different cars I decided to go for the parrot kits instead of say the Bury branded ones as these adaptor cables etc would be easier to locate and buy.
4) Finally I love to experiment with things (and it also gets me more familiar with the car and how it all goes together.)

Anyway a couple of research topics I found:
The manufacturer's website (and associated support pages and forums.)
http://www.parrot.com/uk/products/all-products

According to their installer page, I need the PC000043AA ISO adaptor cable
http://dbinstall.parrot.com/pdf.php?adapter=PC000043AA&ck=MKI9100&lang=UK

Alternatively I found a massively CHEAPER version called the SOT-122(x) [£8.48 vs approx £30]
where (x) is substituted for a different letter to differentiate between slightly different wiring options
If I remember right S means FULLY wired which is needed if you fit the Unika kit (allowing fully integrated controls with the buttons on the steering wheel.)
As this would add another £100 on top of what I spent I went for the cheaper option (can always 'upgrade' in future, presuming I haven't got a new car by then!

See that the SOT122 cable isn't fully connected (only about 1/2?)

Apart from the kit I also needed to buy a Stereo removal key for the stereo already installed in the car.
As Vauxhall's love using bigger sized ones than the standard called 'Double Din' I had to make sure I bought the right one [another £0.99 added to the bill]
Or I could have been a cheapskate and used a coat hanger (or 2!)

Finally the kit itself had popped onto eBay from a Portuguese Shop/Seller at an amazing price so bullet biten!
[£80+Free P&P vs £129.99 Retail Prices from major UK retailer's like Halfords]
Total £89.47 *Bargain*

Anyway one of the Best sites that helped me through the installation was:
http://www.astraownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?139944-How-to-install-a-Parrot-Bluetooth-Kit-(with-Pictures)
Which I have previously used/trawled through a bit....
Note that this refers to the Vauxhall Astra - surprised I couldn't find any for installation in a Zafira!
Although some parts are very similar (bar the glove box side, and subtle parts of the dashboard.)

Other little bits I found out was that the resulting cables(on the SOT one I think) had 2 loose wires:
One labelled 'Illumination/Dash Light' > not used on Parrots so wrapped up and stored away!
And the other Switched 12v > which I put a crimp connector on (and later attached to the bottom of the cigarette socket.) This sends the signal/power to the parrot when you start the engine, basically turning the Bluetooth Car Kit on!

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 4)

2012-10-19T20:35:00.003+01:00

Another 2 days pass (my own laptop stopped working as Windows lost part of its boot files! meaning I couldn't check it) and a few updates have been posted...

1st an email:
Dated Thursday 18 October 2012 8.06
Subject Toshiba Laptop Repair Service Order XXXXXXXXXX – Laptop Received
Dear Customer
We are pleased to confirm your Toshiba laptop has arrived at our repair facility.
You can track your repair progress online at: http://www.toshiba.co.uk/tracking

If you have any queries please contact us on 0844 847 8944 (for customers in UK only)

Regards
Toshiba Depot Repair Team
Please do not reply to this e-mail!

On their online tracker it shows:

18.10.2012 08:56	In Process
18.10.2012 08:56	Waiting for Part

Rather good to see that within 50 minutes of the email sent and this latest post, they have been able to FULLY test the system and determine that it is in fact FAULTY!

I wonder if it was just the Graphics card (and or the motherboard?)
And how hard it is to repair/swap?

So T-Minus 6 Working Days now!

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 3)

2012-10-17T19:38:00.002+01:00

Another day passed.

So 2 working days passed since the collection of the laptop and the online Service Status has changed/updated to:

17.10.2012 15:59

Received

Only 12 working days left to go before I have to call them and chase it up...
Let's see how long they take to test and confirm the laptop is faulty (due to faulty components etc.)

Return of Faulty Toshiba A500-1GL (Part 2)

2012-10-16T20:31:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, UPS has been and gone to collect the packaged laptop so now begins the long-dreaded waiting game but then again after 2 years of having a faulty laptop, the earlier it gets sorted the better...

A little annoyed that Toshiba's tracking site from last night still shows

Model
A500-1GL

Please find below the following repair status of this Service Request:

Current State	Description
Pickup	Pickup

Please find below the history of this Service Request:

Date	Status
11.10.2012 15:52	Announced
11.10.2012 16:00	Service Case Exported
11.10.2012 16:00	Service Case Received
15.10.2012 10:14	Pickup

Surely it should be at the depot now rather than still waiting to be picked up?
Oh well...

Like I said the waiting game commences.
T-minus 10 days (-1 from yesterday) so 9 WORKING days left to wait