[yoshhash]

I am new to blackberry, occasionally get a random alarm or notification that I can't identify. it only gives one ring, and it is distinctive- does not sound like a phone call or incoming email notification, and it is not my alarm clock. nothing shows on the screen, although I've never been fast enough to look at exactly the moment that it happens.

any way to track it down? there are tons of features that i've never tried, don't really understand.

[aiharkness]

If is not an alarm, the it is an alert. View the active profile settings and look at the tones that are set. Play those you do not know, until you find the one you have been hearing.

I believe voicemail, and perhaps missed call, use the SMS alert profile. That is the only one I know of that does not have its own profile and doubles up on another. But if it is voicemail you should see the alert icon.

[yoshhash]

thank you! i now know that it is "browser"- unfortunately, I still don't know what that means. for the record, I rarely browse, have not used enough data to even register. also, I never really understood how to "log off" so that I don't eat up data- always thought that hitting the red power button or back button repeatedly til i'm out of browser mode did the trick. i'm pretty sure now that the alarm is trying to tell me something- that i've been logged/timed out?

[aiharkness]

Could be a browser push. If you have subscribed to a push service -- such as fox news alerts, one of the weather push services, etc. -- then that would be it. In case you don't know whether you did or not, or maybe a previous user did, then open the browser, open bookmarks, and scroll down to the bottom. See if there are any push bookmarks. I don't remember exactly what the folder name is, so see what is there.

If it is a browser push, you will get the browser profile alert when the update is received. To undo it, you will have to unsubscribe from the service, whatever it is.
If you are browsing and select to save a request, the page will finish downloading to the message folder and you will get a browser profile alert when finished downloading. You could be doing that by accident somehow. If so, you will see the page headers in the message folder.

On your other question, the BlackBerry is essentially always connected. You pay for the data transmitted and received. You can close the browser by selecting close from the menu or holding down the back button. But the thing to watch out for are apps, particularly third-party apps, that run all the time (or may be set to run in the background when closed).

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[devnull]

Originally Posted by yoshhash

I never really understood how to "log off" so that I don't eat up data- always thought that hitting the red power button or back button repeatedly til i'm out of browser mode did the trick.

Along with what Ira said about properly closing the browser, remember that "hitting the red power button" only puts the application in background and does not close it.

[yoshhash]

So I guess I have a followup question: does keeping a (non-refreshing) webpage open use up data?

and re- "You can close the browser by selecting close from the menu": i don't see access to such an option, how do you access the menu?

[yoshhash]

I see a "menu" button at the top of my page, but it doesn't seem to do anything, it links me to the bottom of the same page.
I find the user's guide woefully inadequate for beginners like me. is there such a thing as a comprehensive manual that covers everything? or is that what this forum is for?

[aiharkness]

If the web page is not automatically refreshing, perhaps the browser isn't send and receiving data, but the also there might be active content within the web page. If you are worried and want to be sure, close the page when you are done.

Close should be at the bottom of the browser menu. As far as I remember it has always been there through the several models and OS versions I have used.

FYI there are several core apps that actually never close. The BlackBerry browser is one of them. When you close it you do close the page that it has loaded, but the app doesn't really close. It has to stay open for browser push services.
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

[aiharkness]

Open the menu using the button on the left of the trackball that has the BlackBerry icon.
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile