ReadMe & Instructions

Please read this guide to clarify any doubt and get a clear understanding, if something is not here or not clear enough just contact us or search our phorum.

PocketShield installation instructions:

- Installation from your PC or laptop:

Connect your phone to your PC via USB cord, then run the PocketShield_Setup.msi file and follow the instructions on the wizard.

- CAB file installation from device:

If you know how to install a CAB file then you are on your way.

To start PocketShield do Start > Programs > Lock.

To change settings go to Start > Programs > PocketShield Settings.

* Some devices will require a soft reset to completely disable the standard Windows Mobile lock screen.

PocketShield Settings

Unlocking

For unlocking, 5 mechanisms are supported:

Automatic

This is an intelligent feature which will unlock your device only when it is safe to do so. Saving you the time and effort of a manual/mechanic/sliding unlock. It can work either with the devices light sensor or the proximity sensor (options supported for your device will be shown accordingly).

Tap the button for setup options:

Automatic (with light sensor) - Auto unlock when out of pocket, or when light available. Note: it will not auto-lock by moving into dark (that would turn annoying at night). For locking options refer to the Locking section on top.

About light. Latest devices have an integrated light sensor, though this light sensor is not 100% sensible to light, it's a hardware limitation. So you might face situations where you can actually see because there is a soft light but that light would not be strong enough to trigger the light sensor and hence unlock the device. For those situations, and for when you are in the dark, any of the 5+ alternative unlocking mechanisms must be used. However, you can be confident that when the device is inside a pocket, pouch, suitcase, glove compartment or whatever, or even resting faced down, PocketShield will prevent your phone to be exposed to undesired screen touch.

Calibration. By pressing this button you will enter to the light sensor calibration screen, which will guide you through specific steps you would need to follow very carefully.

Advanced: Check this option if device is also unlocking in dark conditions.

Note: When locked manually (Start > Programs > Lock) or auto locked after a call, light auto-unlock is disabled until you power off/on again (won't be good to get the auto-unlock right after you have locked intentionally).

Tip: When storing your device into your pocket, store it with screen facing your skin. This because under strong illumination, light can pass through your clothes and reach the light sensor, and if by that exact moment the device was turned on it will unlock because of that light reaching it. To minimize this as possible we recommend doing the light calibration explained above.

You can do fine tuning of the unlock trigger value by editing the reg key HKLM\Software\Pocketshield\LSEN; set the lumen level at which you want PocketShield to be unlocked, PS will unlock when lumen level is higher than LSEN value. The lumen value must be stored multiplied by 1000. PS restart is needed.

Automatic with proximity sensor

Behavior: If device wakes up and is close to an object, device remains locked, screen turns off, auto powers off after X seconds if not unlocked. Else it will unlock. The distance required for proximity unlock may vary depending on the material of the object. The average distance is 2cm.

Note: Not all cases/pouches are compatible with proximity sensor. This is a hardware issue both in the HD2 and TP2. Cases with any of the characteristics below may have proximity sensor issues:

• Case has leather interior (instead of the soft cloth)
- or -
• Case fits too tight making pressure over the proximity sensor area

If you simply store phone in your pocket(without case), make sure none of the above situations can be reproduced inside it. IE, pocket with leather interior, or tight pants, or maybe a leather wallet stored tightly against the phone screen.

You can see here a list of the cases/pouches that have been tested.

On PocketShield "Proximity" Edition, this feature is enabled by default. See the Proximity Edition details here.

Demo videos:

Light unlock
Proximity unlock

Extra security for Automatic (light/proximity) unlock

If device is upside down it will not unlock even if light present or device is cleared from objects. The tip: Store phone head down for extra confidence.


With movement gestures

Flip (face down - face up)

- Face screen up.
- Face screen it down (180°) and then return to start position.
- All must be done within a time frame of aprox 1.5 secs.

Side to side movement

- Face screen up (Certain tilt degree is allowed but shall not exceed of 45° relative to the horizon).
- Move to side and return back to same position, 2 consecutive times.
- Hand should travel about 20cm to the side you choose.
- All must be done within a time frame of aprox 1.5 secs.

Sensitivity level is customizable.

How to videos:

Flip (face down - face up)
Side to side movement

Both types of gestures can also be used to answer a call when you enable Answer by gesture.explained in Phone section)

On gestures it’s a matter of getting used to them. The initial tries might be tricky but you get ‘the move’ after some practice. The type of gestures supported by PS are designed to be safe and to not unlock by any random movement. See how safe it is in this video.

D-pad (enter) button - By pressing the D-pad button. Not all devices have this button.

On stylus out - By taking the stylus out. Not all devices have a stylus.

When you enable this you will be prompted if you want to re-lock device when stylus in. You can also make device power off with stylus in if Lock action is set to "Power Off" (explained in the Locking section below).

Application Permissions - Here you can make a list of the applications that will have the rights to auto unlock the shield or to prevent device going to sleep. There are three types of permissions:

Unlock when the application "Wants focus (brought to front)"
Unlock when the application "Is running (even in background)" This permission will be extended to calls, meaning that phone will not lock if this application is running while in a call.

A sample of how to set up alarms available here.

Tip: Device will be unlocked when the rule applies. So think carefully which applications to add and remember to close them when you don't use them, so PocketShield keeps protecting your device.

Screen swipe

PocketShield features a “slide to unlock” mechanism, it works vertically by swiping the lock screen up or down.

Screen swipe is enabled by default and acts also as a fail-safe unlock mechanism if any of the above can't be performed at any specific situation.

Click the button for configuration:

Unlock by swiping screen starting from:

% of the screen (vertically)

Eye-candy effects - By enabling this you will see a "true swipe effect" showing you what it is below the lock screen while you swipe. It will also add a "bounce" effect after locking via Start > Programs > Lock. Note: On not so fast ROMs/devices this could turn the swipe experience a bit laggy. Disabling it will revert to normal.

Note: When swiping done too slow it will not unlock. Movement must be done continuously and at a moderate speed.

Demo:


Vibrate on unlock - Will make a short vibration on unlock.

Go to my Home/Today screen after unlock - Your home screen will be shown always after unlocking. Note some WM6.5.5 ROMs (cooked) might have trouble with this setting.

 

* For devices with physical QWERTY, you can also unlock by sliding QWERTY out if you create the following reg key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\ROTATE=1 (DWORD)


Locking

PocketShield automatically locks the screen when the device wakes up(or screen turns on).

Locking can also be performed manually, in three ways:

Note: When we say "power off" throughout this document we actually mean "stand by", in other words the action produced when you short press the power button.

Locking options:

While device unlocked, lock and power off after (secs) idle:

Will power off and lock the device after X seconds being idle(no user input).

There are two modes here. The button next to it will allow you to choose between:

- Default mode: Will allow the idle timer/countdown to be reset by any application(some applications do this to ensure device keeps on while they operate).
- Forced mode: Will ignore any application requests to reset the idle timeout and will just force power off after user is idle for the specified amount of seconds.

You can also have a "Power off" button displayed on screen when. To enable this create:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\PWROFFBTN=1 (DWORD) * This button might not fit nice on all skins.


If device wakes up, auto power off if not unlocked within (secs):

It will power off after the amount of seconds you chose, no matter if the screen is touched or if any application requests to keep device on(see Except when), it will just force power off. This feature's main purpose is to keep your battery safe.

When locked, PocketShield will power OFF after "x" seconds except when any of the following applications (right side) is running. However, if device is powered off by any other way then the application will be closed to prevent potential battery drain. To prevent the application closing do Start > Programs > Lock > Screen off.

The exception consists in turning the SCREEN off instead of the POWER off.

However, if you power off your device the application will be closed, to prevent a possible prolonged/unnoticed "screen off" state that could cause faster battery drain. This can happen if device wakes up and you are not aware of it: will go "screen off" after 20 seconds, and never go to sleep/off. If you want to change this behavior you can manually create this entry:

* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\ADVEXCEP=1 (DWORD)

* Being aware of the following advice:

1. If Forced mode power off is enabled and if a running application is in the Excep When list, then device will not turn off after the idle time; it will lock, display a warning in the notifications area and finally turn screen off(device will remain on).

2. Screen Off will save battery, but note it is not the same as 'power off'. So before adding exceptions please first make sure you clearly understand how this Except when feature works. A bad usage of this feature could result in fast battery drain.

To enable the volume keys while device at screen off you can create:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\SCROFFKEYS=1 (DWORD)



"Lock" shortcut action: lock and...

This setting defines what action to take when you call the Lock icon shortcut. These options will perform when you manually do Start > Programs > Lock (or whatever shortcut you have to \Program files\PocketShield\pocketshield.exe or with the END long press if option enabled):

Show lock screen - Simply will show the lock screen (and will power off automatically after 20 seconds)

Power Off - Option will turn device off(stand by) as typically does your ON/OFF hardware button. It will power off no matter you have exceptions in Except when.

Screen off - Will keep the device ON and locked but with the screen turned off. Useful for listening music, using as WiFi Router, or any other background task. Note: Consider using th "Except when..." permissions to prevent undesired power off during this time.

Keep unlocked until... - This feature will put PocketShield to sleep for the perod of time you choose, hence disabling locking during that time. To revert back just call Start > Programs > Lock.

Lock with PIN - Will secure the screen and hardware keys with PocketShield PIN code. (Note: Lock with PIN must be enabled in Settings > Locking

Show options screen - Will display the all the options on screen.

You can also map a hardware key to any of the above actions, by going to ^ > System Settings... > Map hardware keys > , which will take you to a screen that will assist you on keys remapping.

Note:
- This feature might not work for all hardware keys (depends on the device).
- If using HTC Volume, on certain ROMs this feature will require that you change volume using the touch screen (To change volume: press volume key, then use touch screen slider). You can solve this issue by disabling HTC Volume or by using Volumex.


Do not lock on external power (cord)

This option will prevent PocketShield to lock when external power is present (charging). It will also automatically unlock the screen when you plug in.

When enabling this setting, it will prompt if you would like to re-lock when you unplug the cord. Note: This feature might take some seconds in some ROMs when battery is 100%, as device will report as unplugged when battery is full no matter if it's still plugged. PocketShield will also check for ActiveSync status to determine if a connection is present, so better if ActiveSync is not disabled on the PC.


After boot and after PS started, lock inmediately

This setting will start PocketShield always in locked mode. For startup after softreset, the auto power off timeout will be extended 30 seconds more to not interfere with other applications startup process.


Lock with PIN

Use this feature to lock PocketShield with a numeric PIN.

After this setting enabled, to apply PIN lock do Start > Programs > Lock > PIN Lock (for this to work you must enable "Show options screen" when using the Lock shortcut)

Auto lock with PIN:

Immediately after screen lock - Will apply PIN lock right after you lock or power off.

After screen locked (or device off) for (mins): - Will apply PIN lock after 1 minute being locked or powered off.

Important:

PocketShield's PIN lock security is only meant to secure the device's touch screen and hardware keys against human access through them. It will not lock network nor ActiveSync access. Use the Windows Mobile standard PIN lock if you need full security (Start > Settings > Lock).

PIN pad integration:

Although PocketShield can work together with the WM standard PIN lock, to get a smoother and more integrated experience we suggest to disable the standard WM password/PIN. You can do it this way:

No luck? If device is connected to an Exchange Server, you can disable it with the following tweak. Important: By doing this you are attempting against your company's security policies. Do it at your own risk using this tutorial.

A soft reset will be required for both cases.

Notifications

You can setup PocketShield to detect and display notifications on screen.

You can enable any of the following notifications:

For each case, PocketShield displays an icon indicating that one of these events has occurred, while keeping the device locked.

You can tap any notification you get a more detailed information. If after that you unlock then you get automaticalle redirected to the application which generated that notification.

If the exe requires parameters enclose the path with double quotes ( " ) and leave the parameters out.

* PocketShield will add a countdown/overdue time display on the popup title. For example "In 10 mins" or "3 hours overdue", just the way reminders work in Outlook (PC). This kind of information gives a much more precise sense of time and it is useful as you can know if the appointment yet is coming or if it is overdue and by how much time. See sample here.

Note: This feature won't work for latest HTC ROMs which replace the standard WM popups format. To make it work you can set:


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\Shell\Notification\OEM\CustomUIDLL = NotificationLayout.dll.bak


** To hide past/ended appointments you can create the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\APPTNOPAST = 1 (DWORD)

The target application for calendar is detected automatically, however you can reg edit some of them for specific or 3rd party applications as follow:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\CALENDAR = \Program Files\App\App.exe (STRING)


*** To change the target alarm program to show after unlock (and alarm tapped):


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Pocketshield\ALARMS = \Program Files\App\App.exe (STRING)


Restore WM notification popups after unlock

Only after screen(shield) icon tapped - If there is any notification initiated by a WM notification popup, that popup will be restored after the icon on screen is tapped. Most common WM notification popups are for Reminders and SMS.

Only if new or moved up in queue - WM stores all active notifications in a queue. With this option PocketShield will restore the notification that is on top of the queue(the latest) but only if changes have been detected in the queue. In other words, a notification will only be restored by PS when it moves to the top on the queue(meaning it is a new notification or if a previous one has been dismissed).

Always restore - Will do it always (if any WM popup notification is present by that moment)

Enable Notification Booster

Once you choose your desired notifications, you can choose also to boost them. This means, play an extra reminder (sound+vibration) when they are present(visible in your taskbar or home). You define which ones you want to be boosted (re-reminded) and the others will just be ignored.

If you scroll down and again tap the button you will see a screen allowing some advanced features:

Remind on the following interval (mins) - You can also set the interval at which you want PS to check if pending reminders and boost them. So if you set 15 mins for example, each 15 minutes - only when device is in standby - PS will check if any pending notification is present and based on your config will decide if a notification boost is required or not. Device will only be turned on if boosting needed, so your battery will be save.

Boosted notifications can also be snoozed, after clicking 'Advanced' button you can setup the snoozing options that will be displayed in the "slide-to-snooze" screen you will see when you get a boost reminder. You can snooze till the time you want. If you just ignore the snoozing, the default interval will be applied and device will auto turn off after 15 seconds (regardless of the 15 secs setting).

Finally, you can set the timeframe within which you want notification booster to work. Default is from 8:00 to 22:00 hrs. Out of that timeframe, notifications will not be boosted.

 

Phone

On incoming call (phone ringing):

Protect touch screen

Use this setting to have PocketShield protect your incoming calls from accidentally being answered or ignored by displaying a the shield over it. While it prevents your screen from being touched or buttons accidentally pressed, it will show the caller information (number, name and picture). It will also display a slider pad at the top, which will allow you to unlock the shield or either answer the call directly.

Note: PocketShield screen protection for incoming calls is not supported for all dialers if you use WM 6.5.5. But generally those dialers already have an incoming-call protection screen. If you would like to lock the screen with PS on incoming calls you will have to switch to Windows Mobile dialer or install other 3rd party phone application.

The button will show you a window where you will be able to choose:

Use standard dialer - You will use your default/current dialer

Use Windows Mobile(WM) based dialer - Will disable your current dialer and set the WM dialer which will perform faster with PocketShield. When this option is set you will have the option to install the PSPS (PocketShield's Phone Skin) black skin for WM dialer and also Volumex which will allow you to change volume during calls. Both CABs are available in the Utility Pack. If pack not installed, PocketShield will prompt to auto download and install those CABs from our website.

Standard dialer vs WM dialer comparison table

HTC/Standard Dialer
    Windows Mobile Dialer
Dial buttons
Big
Smaller
Ring delay
Ring notification will have about 3 seconds delay (this is NOT caused by PocketShield)
No delay
Blinking
You could occasionally see the HTC dialer jumping over the lock screen, but that is only a visual, it doesn't mean buttons are being exposed, they still remain locked from touch.
No issue
Video calls
Possible
Not possible
Auto prepend (+1...)
Ok
No prepend
TouchFlo contacts
Ok
Cannot call by tapping contact
Volume during calls
Possible
Possible disabling HTC volume or using Volumex extension

Slide to answer / Slide to mute - This will enable a Green/Red slider pad on top. The green area is for answering and red area is to ignore the call. If you do not check this option you will just see a gray slider pad, which will only unlock the shield leaving your default answer pad available to answer or do whatever operation you want.

To get the smoothest sliding on calls we recommend using a Windows Mobile based dialer. The Windows Mobile dialer (and all dialers based on this one) consumes less memory, have no ring delay and no answer delay. As an example, you can save about 8Mb of memory by switching from HTC dialer to WM dialer. Of course this will depend on the device, on later phones with faster processors you actually won't feel the speed difference between dialers.

By setting the "Slide to mute" option you will have a mute option instead of ignore.

Block hardware keys - PocketShield can also block the hardware keys independently from the touch screen.

The button will allow you set which keys to block and which don't.

Bluetooth headset buttons will always be enabled, while wired headset buttons will inherit the hard answer/end keys state. So if you set to Enable wired headset buttons, if wired headsets are plugged when you get an incoming call, the answer/end keys will be enabled too. This is a hardware limitation. So if you don't use wired headsets its hardly recommended to keep this setting as default.

Note: On some devices/ROMs Bluetooth-headsets buttons behave as wired-headsets buttons, so you might need to check Enable wired headset buttons if you actually want to enable Bluetooth-headsets (option located at Settings > Phone > On Incoming calls > Block hardware keys > +).

Answer by gesture - Will auto answer if you unlock by the movement gesture (the one you have setup). Don't despair trying to do the gesture fast, do it calm. Sometimes you are hurry to answer and gestures won't respond because of that.

Demo:


During a call (while talking)

PocketShield can also protect the screen from being touched during a call, for example by your ear or chick, or by something else if using a headset and device is not at your hand.

Protect touch screen - It will lock the screen as soon the call is connected (start talking).

The button will take you to another window where you can select the type of locking during calls:

Manual - Will lock when call starts and when you(or the system) turn screen off/on. Slide down the slider to unlock.
Auto - Lock and unlock will be automatic thanks to the in-call g-unlock mechanism. This protection mechanism is g-sensor based and will work regardless the light conditions. To unlock pull phone away from your ear towards down ending with a short bouncing to produce a little negative G. Screen must end facing up (+/- 45°). To lock again just put phone in talk(vertical) position. For details se in-call g-unlock.

Screen off - Will turn the screen off when you lock, and on when you unlock.

Block hardware keys - PocketShield can also block the hardware keys independenyly from the touch screen. The button will allow you set which keys to block and which don't.

Lock when call ends - Will lock the screen after you end a call that was actually connected. If you are in the process of dialing/ringing and end before call is answered then it will remain unlocked.

Note: When you miss a call, lock state will be set the same as it was before receiving the call. In other words, if phone was locked before call started it will lock after the call ended.

All the above only when Bluetooth headsets present - Will apply all locking features (either enabled above or not) when headsets are present.

Note: This feature is designed only for Bluetooth headsets. If using Wired headsets all hardware buttons will be locked and you will only be able to use the screen(soft) buttons for answer or end.

Vibrate on call connected/ended - This option will produce a vibration feedback when a call is connected(in or out) and when call is ended.

 

Design

The look on PocketShield is also customizable. You can set:

Background You can choose any image or picture to set as background. It is recommended that picture is not larger than 1.5mb. If loading the picture fails you will need to resize it or crop it in your PC and then load it again from device.

Skin In this section you will be able to download skin previews to your phone, navigate through them and pick and install the one you want. This option requires internet connection. To browse the skins from your PC you can go to http://pocketshield.net/skins

Note: Evaluation version will only allow you to install 1 skin, activated version has no limit.

Battery - Sets up the battery display mode.

Date format - Allows to choose between the supported date formats proveided by the current skin, whether it is DD/MM or MM/DD based.

24:00h - Will switch from 12H to 24H clock. With the dropdown at the right you can select to display the date and in which format.

Colors You can change the font color, highlight/battery color and the semi-transparent shield dim color. Highlight color is mainly used for the caller info when call is connected and to highlight the notification area when notifications are boosted.

Reset Default Settings Will restore to the default black scheme and clock position in classic mode (center-top).

Scale and move Will allow to change the size and position of the background(if you chose one). Will not apply for skins because skins already have a fixed size background.

Activation

Activation screen is accessed from Start > Programs > PocketShield Settings > (A)  green circled button. This option requires active internet connection, either direct or by USB to PC.

Activation will grant you the full official version including all updates and future versions for free.

The cost for activation is USD $14.99. One time payment, no subscription. It is per device. If you happen to change/replace your device you would need to contact us to remap the license to the new device(no extra charge).

Find all information and detailed steps at http://www.pocketshield.net/activate.

Support and Contact...

This is found at Start > Programs > PocketShield Settings > ^ > Info... > Support and contact. It will open a form you can use to contact us and report issues. Your current settings are attached automatically on the message. In case you don't have an internet connection by that moment, the message will be saved upon "Send" command so you can send it later.

Reset default settings...

This is found at Start > Programs > PocketShield Settings > ^ > Reset Default Settings. It will restore the default 'factory' settings. Use this option if you eventually have problems or note a strange behavior.

System...

This is found at Start > Programs > PocketShield Settings > ^ > System... In this window you will see some system options recommended to set if you are using PocketShield. Not all of them will work for all ROMs, but they all are common tweaks you can found on the internet as well.

Check for updates...

This is found at Start > Programs > PocketShield Settings > ^ > Check for Updates. This option requires active internet connection, either direct or by USB to PC. It will check for the latest version available online and will download it and present the option to install the CAB file. Note: After upgrading, it will be necessary to activate again. Your PIN and email will be remembered after the 1st time.

Command line

You can perform the following operations through command line:

Known issues/Limitations/Recommendations