Right out of the box, the Droid 2 is set up for you and ready to go. But what if you want to change the way it notifies you there’s a call, finetune the way its location services work, or alter its music setup? You turn to this chapter, which describes all its settings, and explains what they do for you. To get to the Settings screen, press the Menu key when you’re on the Home screen or a pane. From there, scroll to the setting you want to change and tap it. Head into the chapter for the complete list and advice.
Here’s where you’ll find all the settings for how the Droid 2 handles Wi-Fi, wireless, and network access:
When Airplane mode is turned on, all your wireless radios are turned off, as airlines require during parts of the flight. But you can still use all your Droid 2 apps in this mode.
Tap to turn Wi-Fi on and off. (You can also turn Wi-Fi on and off from the Power Control widget in the Settings pane. See How the Droid 2 Gets Online for details.)
Tap to manage your Wi-Fi connections, including connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots, changing the way you connect to hotspots, and seeing what hotspots are nearby.
Wi-Fi. Turns Wi-Fi on and off.
Network notification. If you don’t want the Droid 2 to display an icon in the Notification bar when an open Wi-Fi network is nearby, uncheck this box. Otherwise, leave it turned on.
Underneath these settings, you see “Wi-Fi networks,” which lists all nearby Wi-Fi networks. Tap any to connect to it. If you want to add a Wi-Fi network that’s not nearby, or that is not broadcasting its name (SSID), tap “Add Wi-Fi network”, and fill in details about the network name and its type of security (Connecting to an “Invisible” Network). And if there’s a network that you automatically connect to when it’s in range, but you don’t want to any longer, tap Manage Networks, and then from the screen that appears, tap the network to which you want to stop connecting automatically and tap Forget.
Note
When you’re on the Wi-Fi settings screen, press the Menu button, tap Advanced, and you’ll come to a screen full of options that only a techie can love, and that let you set advanced options such as whether to use a static IP address. (If you need to ask what that means, you don’t want to use it.) However, there is one useful setting you can use if you find yourself getting disconnected from Wi-Fi networks–Wi-Fi sleep policy. Tap it, and select “Never” and your Wi-Fi won’t go to sleep when the Droid 2’s screen turns off. Select “Never when plugged in” and Wi-Fi won’t go to sleep when your Droid 2 is plugged in.
Tap to turn Bluetooth on and off. (As with Wi-Fi, you can also turn Bluetooth on and off from the Power Control widget in the Settings pane.
Tap this to access all your Bluetooth settings:
Bluetooth. Turns Bluetooth on and off.
Device name. Displays the name of your Droid 2. To rename it, tap the down arrow and from the screen that appears, type a new name and then tap OK.
Discoverable. Tap if you want your Droid 2 to be discoverable by other Bluetooth devices (Pairing with a Bluetooth Earpiece). In other words, they can see it and can connect to it, if you let them.
Enhanced stereo. If you’ve connected your Droid 2 to a Bluetooth stereo speaker, headphone, or system, tapping this improves audio quality and helps improve the device’s battery life.
Scan for devices. Tap this option, and the Droid 2 looks for any Bluetooth devices within range and then lists them. You’ll see devices listed there that are either nearby or that you’ve connected (paired) with in the past. If you’re currently paired with a Bluetooth device and want to unpair from it and/or disconnect from it, hold your finger on it, and then choose either Disconnect or “Disconnect & unpair”. (If you aren’t currently connected to a Bluetooth device, but it’s listed, then when you hold your finger on it you’re given only the option to unpair.)
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If you choose only to disconnect from the other Bluetooth device, you close the connection, but the pairing will remain. In other words, the initial work you did to make sure the devices can pair will remain, the Droid 2 will remember all the details about the other device, and you can quickly connect to it. If you unpair from it as well as disconnect from it, you’ll have to walk through the steps of pairing all over again.
Here’s where you can set up a virtual private network (VPN) connection with your workplace or, if you’ve already set it up, change any settings, such as its URL, password, means of authentication, and so on. You’ll need to get information from your company’s IT gurus to make the connection, so check with them for details. See Virtual Private Networking (VPN) for more details about setting up a VPN on your Droid 2.
If you leave an area that’s covered by Verizon, you may still be able to use your phone to make and receive calls. When you roam, if you’re outside Verizon’s network, you can instead connect to another carrier, and use that carrier instead of Verizon. Depending on your plan, you may be charged for roaming.
To turn off roaming, tap Mobile Networks→System Select, and then choose “Home only”.
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For details about how to enable or disable data roaming—the ability to send and receive data when you’re outside Verizon’s coverage—see Status Bar Icons.