Did you know there are secret codes that unlock extraordinary possibilities on your
phone? Checking your signal strength, improving phone call quality, and shutting down one of
the number one ways hackers track you are just a few of the possibilities. There are
tons of USSD codes that unlock hidden features on your phone. For example,
dialing into *3001#12345#* unlocks a hidden phone menu called Field Test Mode. At first glance,
it might look overwhelming, but here's how it's really useful: Field Test Mode can show
your phone's exact signal strength and signal quality. Scroll down under LTE and look for RSRP,
RSRQ, and SINR. First, take a look at RSRP. RSRP stands for Reference Signal Received Power,
aka your signal strength. Anything greater than -90 is excellent, anything lower than
-120 is bad, and anything in the middle is fine. Right now, this phone's RSRP is -116, so it's
fine but not that good. The next thing to look at is RSRQ, which stands for Reference Signal
Received Quality, aka signal quality. Anything greater than -12 is good, and anything lower than
-12 is not so good. The RSRQ on our Ting phone is -13, so not great. On my personal Verizon phone,
it's -21, which is abysmal. One thing to keep in mind: if you're apartment hunting and need
to have good cell service, you can pop open the Field Test Mode app and see if the cell service
is terrible. If your call quality is poor, you might be able to fix it with this next code:
*3370#. This turns on Enhanced Full Rate Codec for some phone models. There's a big misconception
about what this actually does: some people say it saves battery life and improves your cell signal,
but that isn't true. Enhanced Full Rate Codec improves sound quality on your phone calls at
the expense of battery life. If you're looking to maximize battery life, dial *#4720# and hit the
dial button. Your call quality won't be as good, but does anyone even make phone calls anymore? Try
entering the code on your phone and let us know if it works for you in the comments section below.
Next, let's talk about some codes that will help you figure out if your phone is being tracked.
They have to do with call forwarding. We talked a little bit about call forwarding in our video
about how to tell if your phone is being tracked. Call forwarding doesn't always appear in your
phone's settings, but you still might be able to enable or disable it. There are unique codes to
check your call forwarding status for different types of calls, but you can check them all at
once by dialing *#21# and then hitting the dial button. But what if some call forwarding settings
are enabled on your phone, maybe without your knowledge or consent? You can turn off all call
forwarding by dialing *#002# and then hitting the dial key. But call forwarding can be useful too.
Maybe you want to play a prank on your co-worker. What you need to do to forward your phone calls
to another phone number is dial *72 followed by the phone number you want to forward calls to.
Call forwarding can be more nuanced and useful. Let's say you have a camp in the Adirondacks with
no cell coverage, but you do have a landline in that camp. There's a call forwarding code that
lets you forward phone calls from your phone to a landline or a different phone number,
but only if your phone isn't in range of a cell tower. That code is *#62# followed
by the phone number you want to forward calls to when your phone is unreachable. When you're done,
you can turn this off by dialing #62#. After you enter these codes, maybe you want to get
in touch with your wireless carrier. Fortunately, there's an easy way to do that. You can dial 611
on your phone and get in touch with your carrier's customer support. This next code is for all you
aspiring prank callers. Please hold for a collect call from Yo Mama. Dial *67 followed by the phone
number you want to call to hide your Caller ID. There are several third-party apps that try to
sell you this feature, but you can do it for free because the FCC says it's the law. Thanks, FCC!
*31# may also help you make anonymous calls in Europe or Canada or in the UK or Ireland. Try
adding 141 to the beginning of a phone number. Let us know what code works for
you and your country, and we'll get a list going in the description section below. Or,
if there's someone in your contacts you always want to call anonymously, you can add *67 to
the front of their phone number in Contacts. In the Phone app, tap on the Contacts tab at
the bottom of the screen. Tap on the contact whose number you want to call anonymously. Tap
the Edit button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and then add *67 to the front of
their phone number. Depending on your carrier, you can also hide your Caller ID in the Settings app.
Verizon, for example, doesn't allow us to do this, but Ting does. So, if they close out of the Phone
app, open Settings, scroll down, tap on Phone, and then tap Show My Caller ID. And if you want
to hide your Caller ID, just turn off the switch next to Show My Caller ID. On the flip side,
if you've hidden your Caller ID from everyone but you want to make an exception and show just one
person your phone number, you could do that too. Just dial *82 followed by the phone number you
want to call. Maybe you were just on the receiving end of an anonymous phone call. Then *57 might be
for you. This code activates Call Capture dialing. *57 after receiving a harassing or threatening
phone call will request that the phone call be recorded and stored by your phone company. Call
Trace isn't available in every single area and it's not offered by every single phone provider
and it may require an extra subscription or a fee. Want a subscription without additional fees? Click
that big Subscribe button right below the video. After using Call Trace, you do need to file a
police report, as law enforcement will only act if there is a formal police report. Unfortunately,
there's a catch. This is a landline only code, so if you receive a harassing or threatening phone
call on your mobile phone, call your wireless key carrier and don't be afraid to file a police
report to protect yourself. But some carriers are very easy to block spam texts and spam calls on
your phone. Like T-Mobile and some of its MVNOs like Ting, you can dial #787# to see if Scam
Block is on. Thanks for checking your Scam Block status. Scam Block is turned off. Fortunately,
they give us the code to turn it on. Well, gee will occurs, David. Let's turn it on. Dial #662#,
hit the Dial key to turn it on. Check out our other video in the card above to learn about
more spam blocking tips. This next phone code is used by the most powerful people in the country,
but before we tell you about that, we want to tell you about our membership program. Click
that big Join button below this video. You'll get access to custom badges and emojis PDS for some of
our videos and a lot more. Let's get back to the powerful people you were talking about. The most
powerful people in this country, including the President of the United States, have access to
the Nationwide Wireless Priority Service. It's a system in the United States that allows high
priority emergency phone calls to avoid congestion on wireless networks. Perfect. So, if Joe Biden
wants to call somebody at a football game, he can totally, you know, do that. The Wireless Priority
Service is only authorized for National Security and Emergency Preparedness Personnel, including
executive leadership and policy makers like the President of the United States and members of
Congress, Disaster Response, military command and control, public health, safety and law enforcement
command, Public Services, utilities and public welfare and Disaster Recovery. Unfortunately,
we weren't able to fund a successful Congressional Campaign to really demo this feature for you, but
hypothetically, if you were a member of Congress, you could just dial *72 followed by the phone
number you wanted to call. But if you're a member of Congress is watching this video right now,
feel free to record yourself using this feature and send it to us. We will be glad to feature you
in a future video. This next code is really useful for anyone looking to switch carriers or sell
their phone. Typing *#06# displays your phone's IMEI number. Wireless carriers, for example,
use IMEI to see if your phone is compatible with their network. With eSIM only phones on
the horizon, IMEIs are more important than ever. IMEIs are now like the home address of your phone,
so that when you receive a phone call, your carrier knows what phone to send it to. You
can also check your phone's IMEI in the Settings app, but it's very pretty deep and I think it gets
displayed better here. iPhone users may find this next code useful. Dialing *#07# takes you to the
Legal and Regulatory settings on your iPhone. It might seem like we're trying to lengthen
this video with boring, obscure tips, but some of this information, like the warranty information,
can be really useful, especially if you're trying to fall asleep. And this next code
unlocks a useful calling feature. Dialing *43# turns on Call Waiting, allowing you to receive
another phone call while you're already on the phone. But my phone already does that and so does
yours probably. This is a feature we want to show you how to turn off in case you find those beeps
distracting. So, we tap Dismiss, then dial #43#, hit the Dial key. That'll turn off Call Waiting,
that'll prevent you from being distracted on some incoming calls. But what about preventing
outgoing calls? Maybe I'm passing my phone to David and I don't want him to call Miss Cleo for
three dollars a minute. He told me to say this: "I don't know what that is. Call me now for your
free reading." But maybe you just don't want you don't trust the person you're handing your
phone to. First, I'll *33*, then a PIN number like 1234, then #, then press the Dial button
at the top of the screen. You'll see "Setting Activation Succeeded: Voice Call Barring All
Outgoing." It's important to set a PIN here that you know and remember, because if you don't,
then when he gives me the phone, I can just turn it off. Yeah, so 1234 probably not the
most secure code. I think most people will crack that one. Yeah, just don't forget it,
otherwise you have to go to your carrier and then explain this to them. You did what? Yeah, who's
Miss Cleo? Right, because the customer support rep will be young, but make the ticket at church,
young man. And when you get your phone back, you can disable this feature by dialing #33*
followed by the PIN number you set, then #, then press Dial. This next code is a bit controversial
and possibly a bit dangerous, so don't dial it depending on where you live. In some States,
dialing *77 turns on Anonymous Call Rejection, allowing you to block calls from people without a
Caller ID. Pretty useful, but in other states, it calls the police, so don't dial it unless
you're sure that it's going to do the Anonymous Call Rejection thing in your state. Earlier,
we talked about how these codes can be used to figure out if your phone is being tracked. There
are plenty more ways to figure that out and how to stop trackers for good. Check out that video next.