Acer Travelmate 8204: VoIP problem

My new bluetooth VoIP phone that comes with the TM 8204 doesn't seem to be working. I've tried changing the phone by inserting it in the PC Card slot with the green label up but it doesn't seem to be charging. No light comes on and the notebook doesn't recognise any new device. I'm wondering how many ways you can mess up something that simple Do you think I'm doing something wrong or is it just a hardware problem?

Since I'm apparently one of the few who've been blessed with flawless screen I'm pretty scared of returning my notebook and receiving something much worse instead..

 

Have you tried any other PCMCIA cards (it plugs into that slot right?)

I've used my TV Tuner in that slot, but haven't bothered with the VOIP phone since I haven't bothered switching from my cell phone.

 

I only have the phone at the moment so I don't have anything I can use to test it.
I think I've been doing it right...there's just no reaction whatsoever.

 

And by the way, yes it does

 

Tell you what, I'll plug mine in tonight and see if I can get any reaction

 

Thank you

 

HI Lavender..

A couple of things to check:
Can you turn the phone on in your hand? Is there power in it?
Open ePower Management. In whatever power scheme you are using ensure that the option for CardBus is ON. If not turn it on and reboot.

When i first got my 8204, the phone had power in it and i was able to turn it on and configure it. I did insert it in the slot to charge, the power light came on and a device manager setup wizard window opened (not needed so cancel it). BUT..

Upon reading your post I tried inserting my phone in the card slot to see.. Nothing.. Same issue as you. I checked the power setting noted above and i had CardBus turned off. Turned it on only, without rebooting, still nothing. Rebooted and it all works happily now.

If after all this you still get nothing when you put the phone in the slot, check first to see if any other card will work in the slot. If so, then it is most likely the phone and you probably do not have to replace your laptop.

Hope this helps

 

I charged mine last night, found it worked fine (for charging, didn't actually use it) the one thing I did notice, it takes quite a bit to push it fully into the slot, it gets to what seems to be an "in the slot" position, prior to actually really being in the slot.

Check it really made it into the slot.

 

Yes yes yes

Thank you, Yellow11, you explained it brilliantly. It's working perfectly now. So strange how you can sometimes miss the most essential and obvious steps.. Though, I did actually follow the manual but nothing happened at all. I guess I didn't realise it just needed a bit of tweaking from outside the manual.
I think that in general the Acer manuals enclosed with this notebook don't seem to be all that great anyway.
Now my phone is charging happily. Hopefully it'll connect to the notebook as well once it's fully charged.

 

Er right...so it still seems a bit weird.
My phone has had a full charge but I can't seem to connect to the notebook. The manual says: press the phone power button for three seconds...press the Bluetooth connection/pairing button for three seconds....right-click the Acer VCm icon on the taskbar and select Bluetooth Headset Connection Center...click the Bluetooth VoIP phone from the list, then click connect.
...done, and nothing happens, it's keeps searching and then it stops. The VoIP phone is still listed with a "New" status.

When I insert the phone to charge it, the notebook displays a New Device Wizard window which I cancel (since the software is supposed to be installed already and which I'm supposed to do according to the manual). But when I do that, a window pops up from the system tray: "new hardware: a problem has occurred during hardware installation. The new hardware may not work correctly", and when I look in the control panel under System and Device Manager, it says that the device PCMCIA MTD-0002 hasn't been configured correctly. There's a yellow circle with an exclamation mark. I've tried to reinstall drivers but it doesn't work. There's still no connection and I still get a message saying there's a problem with the installation when I insert the phone in the slot.

So, what could I be missing this time...? ..help, please..

 

OK, i just Tried putting my phone in the PCMCIA slot. Did not cancel the installation wizard, followed it through and allowed it to try and find software, or a driver for it. It reported that it couldn't find one. On the last page of the wizard, where it displays the Finish button, it describes either an error in installing a driver or something else (can't remember which) and there is a checkbox (checked) that says to not show that dialog for that device again. Click Finish. A ballon will open up in the tray telling of the error and saying the device may not work properly.

I believe that this can all be ignored because the VoIP phone is not a Bus device. It has no bus function other than use the power connections to charge the battery. There is no need (and probably no capability) for data transfer when the phone is insterted in the slot. (Unless somebody else here can confirm otherwise. This will not affect the ability of the phone to operate as a Bluetooth device) The next time you insert the phone in the slot to charge, the system makes sounds indicating an error but the power light on the phone indicates its charging status, the function that you want in this case.

As for trying to get the phone to connect. This may be a dumb question but do you have the Bluetooth switch on the front panel of the laptop turned on (the blue light should be on) Look at the BLuetooth icon in the system tray. If bluetooth is off it will be blue with its character displayed in red. Once you turn the bluetooth switch on the character will turn white. At this time you should turn the phone on and see if it can find the connection on its own. It may. (The blue light on the phone flashes slowly when connected.) If none of this seems to be going on try this. With bluetooth turned on, right click on the bluetooth icon in the tray. Select, Quick Connect, and from the list that appears select Headset, and then Find Devices. A dialog will open and the Acer VoIP phone should be listed. If not click Refresh (of course with the phone on). It should find it. If it finds the phone and doesn't connect automatically then click Connect.

THats my suggestion for the moment. See if any of it works. I apologise if you feel any of this is stating the obvious. Let me know how it works out.

 

The bluetooth switch on the front panel of the laptop was on, it displayed a blue light (and it says "bluetooth enabled" on the screen when I turn it on).
I right clicked on the Acer VCM icon in the sys tray and selected the headset connection center. After pressing the bluetooth button on the phone, it found the phone but when I pressed connect nothing happened..the "new" status was supposed to change into "ready to use" (or "default" or smth) but it didn't. Nothing happened.. the weird, blue, circle-like mouse pointer thingy just kept spinning round and round and round...
Today I handed it back to internet store where I bought it for them to check. I'm going to give them a call tomorrow and see what they've come up with... though it would be nice to have something constructive to tell them if they miss to see the point

 

I'm having a similar problem connecting the software. For some reason the acer vcm window doesn't fully open (even though i've reinstalled it twice) so i cant see the option that allows me to connect the phone

 

Me too so change you screen resolution down to say 1024 by 768 just to get the window to display.....but I still cannot get the phone to work....