View Usage/Logs
 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This will be the last time I ask for help in this department.

I will receive what should be a new N900 tomorrow. I am worried that it might be used.

I would very much appreciate some suggestions on how I might go about discovering if it is used.

What I am looking for is some kind of usage viewer that Nokia might have incorporated somewhere. Perhaps a log file that could help. Ideally, the information would remain despite a flash (for instance, a chip on the mobo specific to Nokia systems). I know that older Nokia devices had something incorporated that would display talk time when typing "#example#" in the dialer.

I truly appreciate any help you could give.

Sincerely,

Abe

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

Find a script called bq27200.sh, designed for battery monitoring. Among other things, it can show you the total charge cycle count since last full reset (which is not easily done by average end user).

For example on my year-plus used phone...

maemo:~# ./bq27200.sh
LOOPMODE=0
Reading values...........................done.

CSOC: 100 % RSOC: 100 %
Average Current: 45 mA
TTF: 0 minutes TTE: 65535 minutes
NAC: 1425 mAh CACD: 1425 mAh CACT: 1425 mAh
SI: 10 mA STTE: 8121 minutes
MLI: 1028 mA MLTTE: 81 minutes
AR: 0 mA ARTTE: 65535 minutes
Last Measured Discharge: 1425 mAh
Cycle Count since Learning: 1 Total Cycle Count since last full reset: 293
Reported Battery Voltage: 4156 mV
Battery Gauge die Temperature: 35 C
Flags: 0xa4
Charge:1 NOACT:0 IMIN:1 CI:0 CALIP:0 VDQ:1 EDV1:0 EDVF: 0
eeprom data:
ILMD=2056 EDVF=3000 EDV1=3248 ISLC=20
DMF=14700 nanoVolt SD=201 thousandths of percent per day
AGELMD=1 TAPER=102 mA
IMLC=1028 mA

Note the 293 charge cycles. On a phone that I bought off eBay with a (credible) month or two's usage, this count was at about 60. Doesn't give you proof positive, but, if the battery chip shows 10 or 20 charges, it's credibly a "new" phone. If it shows 100 or 200 charges, your seller has some explaining to do...

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

Also, please keep in mind that if your N900 is in fact new and unused, then depending on the provenance of it, it might well come with its original battery, which was possibly manufactured anywhere up to three years ago.

If so, this will be substantially degraded if it has not been charged and used - more so, in fact, than if it has been used. So, even if the phone is otherwise perfect, unless it came recently from a trusted source then you will do will to treat the battery as suspect. It will probably work after a fashion, but, you will probably derive an above average benefit from replacing it with a new Scud.

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

@Old Abe,

You could also have a look at the /dev/mtd2 device. That's the kernel log partition, which is never deleted (even after reflashing), and works as a circular buffer.

Just do (as root) "cat /dev/mtd2 > /some/tmp/folder/mtd2" and then
"strings /.../mtd2" and see if you spot something interesting.

I guess there is some special mtd2-reader in the SDK (oops-extract or something like that), but I can't check now.

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

Thanks guys. Just what I was looking for.

Abe

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

Do you know, off hand, where this might be located? I did a search and couldn't find it.

Thanks again,

Abe

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

The script in question is on the Wiki page I linked to in the above post: http://wiki.maemo.org/User:Joerg_rw/jrbme/bq27200

You'll need to copy that into a file, make it executable and run it.

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

This does not say anything, if the battery was removed for a few hours, then the counter is reset and it starts again from zero (just confirmed with my dual-scud).
So no proof at all (only maybe showing it has been charged).

About mtd2: it is just a circular log buffer. So what 'suspicious' may we find in here?

For me the only trustworthy method is to check yourself if your device is still in guaranty time (younger than 2 years).
Or even the (only) trusted method at all, is: go to a NSC and ask them politely to check the guaranty time of your device (only IMEI is required). They may tell you from internal Nokia database about device age and guaranty period.

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

Not on either of my two N900s. The value is stored in EEPROM, and persists through a reflash, through a change of battery and through being without a battery for a month. Like I said, it's not proof positive, but on most phones the information checks out and I would be suspicious where it doesn't.

Re: View Usage/Logs
 

Well, if you supposedly get a new N900 and you see mtd2 full of kernel panics (or mentions of kernel-power), at least to *me* it would indicate that the phone is not new.