Nokia Speed Trap Detector
According to an email urban legend, certain models of Nokia phones have built-in radar detector that you can activate via secret code. Obviously this can't be true. But what I'm curious about is if a radar sign actually will appear on certain models if you follow these instructions. I could imagine bored engineers programming this in as a joke. Since I don't have access to a Nokia phone I can't test it out. Here's the email: Nokia Speed Trap Detector
The settings for radar speed traps detector.
Your Nokia cell phone can be programmed to pick
up radar speed traps, when programmed your cell
phone picks up the radar and alerts you on the
message alert tone. ( Doesn't work with Nokia
7110! )
1. Enter your menu
2. Select settings
3. Select security settings
4. Select closed user group
5. Select on
6. Enter 00000
7. Press ok
8. Clear back to normal, within a few seconds
your phone will display a radar sign with five
zero's next to it. It is now activated.
Unfortunately only Nokia phones have this
function. Cell info display needs to be de-
activated. Settings -> Phone Settings -> Cell
Info display
Each time you turn off your phone, or even each
time you loose contact with your carrier, you'll
have to activate it again... It is done by steps
1 through 5, but the number (00000) will be
already on the field as default.
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
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Utterly nothing happens. (Nokia 6610)
Posted by Naya in Australia on Sat Dec 18, 2004 at 12:10 AM
I have a Nokia 5210, and after following the instructions I see three connected squares appear on the display, with the numbers 00000 next to them. Sadly, I don't have a car so whether that's a radar detector is beyond my experimental capacities!
Posted by Alexandre in Helsinki on Sat Dec 18, 2004 at 04:56 AM
Easter egg hunt!
Posted by PlantPerson on Sat Dec 18, 2004 at 05:11 AM
The sequence does work, however the image is not a radar sign but a graphic meant to represent the "00000 closed user group" which has just been activated.
Posted by dirk on Sat Dec 18, 2004 at 07:04 AM
My grandparents have Nokia phones. But I don't have my car at the moment so I can't test this myth out.
Posted by Dany in Texas on Sat Dec 18, 2004 at 12:32 PM
Just wondering, Dani--why did you feel compelled to post to tell us that you had no information to share?
Posted by crankymediaguy on Sun Dec 19, 2004 at 04:56 AM
Oops, Dany, not Dani. My bad.
Posted by crankymediaguy on Sun Dec 19, 2004 at 04:56 AM
Nothing with 3510 although Nokia might soon release a phone with a radar... 
Posted by A in Finland on Sun Dec 19, 2004 at 11:25 AM
No.
Posted by Dany in Texas on Sun Dec 19, 2004 at 12:46 PM
Is it possible that by doing those instructions, it opens up your phone so that people can hijack it and make calls through your phone?
Posted by ArtStone on Mon Dec 20, 2004 at 06:59 AM
Maybe it only works if you have a haunted phone.
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Mon Dec 20, 2004 at 10:26 AM
I wouldn't be surprised if this kind of capability became a reality in the near future, what with cellphones becoming more and more sophisticated, and law enforcement technologies becoming more and more interwoven into national Big Brother electronic networks. Hell, if Homeland Security happens to be keeping track of speed trap data via a satellite network (which could certainly have been buried in one of those three thousand pages of the latest Intelligence Bill that none of our elected officials bothered to read before signing into law), it could just be a matter of a Nokia satellite opening up a backdoor in HS's system and seeing what's near where you are. Cyberpunkalicious.
Besides, they're always looking for a new feature to cram into the latest cellphone design...
Posted by Barghest on Mon Dec 20, 2004 at 08:59 PM
Besides, they're always looking for a new feature to cram into the latest cellphone design...
Politics, legality, and marketing reasons aside,
I can't see how this would be feasable, since police radar frequencies are at least 10 times higher than those used by cell phones (10GHz for X-band, 24GHz for K-band, 34GHz for Ka-band, vs 900Mhz to 2.4GHz for various cell phone frequencies). It would require quite a bit of extra hardware and would be a huge drain on the battery.
Posted by John. on Tue Dec 21, 2004 at 09:00 AM
I can't see how this would be feasable, since police radar frequencies are at least 10 times higher than those used by cell phones (10GHz for X-band, 24GHz for K-band, 34GHz for Ka-band, vs 900Mhz to 2.4GHz for various cell phone frequencies). It would require quite a bit of extra hardware and would be a huge drain on the battery.
"Utterly nothing happens."
And what, exactly, were you expecting?
Posted by Big Gary C in Dallas, Texas on Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 02:20 PM
And what, exactly, were you expecting?
To Crankymediaguy...why do you care what Dany posts? Quit being so cranky
Posted by Fox on Thu Dec 23, 2004 at 03:16 PM
well i have the nokia 3600 and it seems to work for me just like it says it started beeping when i was in my dads truck then about 30 seconds later there was a speed trap when we past it i then had my dad turn around and well it went off again so it does work but personaly its of no use to me just thought i would give u my info
Posted by neonfxp in ontario canada on Tue Dec 28, 2004 at 05:55 PM
I spent 20 years in the Air Force working on Electronic Warfare equipment. Detecting and jamming radars and other such of all types. Sorry folks, the cell phones I have seen cannot support an antenna that would receive police radar. Now, if you use certain tricky electronics you can adjust the electronic wavelength of an antenna, but only so far. Now, in the years since I have retired, electronics may have found a way around this, but I doubt it. It would have made a lot of news in the electronics industry. Check with a neighborhood ham radio operator to find out.
Posted by Christopher Cole in Tucson, AZ on Sat Jan 01, 2005 at 09:00 PM
I'll try it today. I just got a Nokia 1060. Thoug I doubt it would work.
Posted by Dany in Texas on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 12:08 PM
if u change the 00000 to 500 when u walk out of a shop with security check things it will set them off
Posted by hoggy23 on Sat Jan 15, 2005 at 07:40 AM
Well, I enabled mine. Problem is now though, I'm getting a spinning green line going round and around with blips... loads of blips appearing too.
Plus I now keep hearing people talking to me asking if it is okay to land.
Doh!!
Posted by Dave Francis on Sat Jan 15, 2005 at 04:44 PM
Plus I now keep hearing people talking to me asking if it is okay to land.
Doh!!
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