How to disable service messages/Advertisements/Cell Broadcast Service in Xperia S?

[#1]

Dear Forum Users,

I have an issue with receiving service messages/ads and Cell Broadcast messages on my Xperia S, is there a setting on the phone or an application that allows me to disable such messages? I checked with my service provider in India (Airtel) but they claim that they cannot disable service messages at their end. Its not only irritating but a complete drain on the already ordinary battery life of this piece!

I understand that cell phones from competing manufacturers like HTC and Samsung provide settings for disabling such messages (I checked my message settings, only Push messages can be disabled unlike Samsung or HTC phones which provide options for all 3 mentioned above) and it is unfortunate that Sony has overlooked this important feature in its So Called FLAGSHIP phone.

Any solutions/fixes would be appreciated, attaching a screen shot below:

[Sam]

Unfortunately other than the Push Messages option I have yet to discover a way of blocking these. However this is the first time I have seen advertisements pushed through, generally I only see cell broadcast messages. Have you tried to disable Push Messages?

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[#3]

Hi Sam

I have already disabled Push messages but it does not solve the issue.  I read elsewhere on the forum that users in the UK and other countries have been provided a firmware update (Build Number 6.0.A.3.73) that addresses this problem by providing a setting (within the message settings menu) to disable cell broadcast messages but this update is yet to be available in India. Can you clarify?

Also, how does one fix the auto focus issue that owners are facing when taking photos in low light? This has been discussed on several forums and certain users have obtained replacement handsets. Will I need to replace mine too?

[Uliwooly]

if you can't/don't want to wait for the update, you can debrand and manually update your phone (it could void your warranty)

How to "manually" update Xperia S LT26i 2.3.7 build number 6.0.A.3.67 & .73

http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/34424

can you elaborate on low light focus issues?

[#5]

Hi Sam

I refer to the following forum on the issue:

http://talk.sonymobile.com/thread/34345?tstart=0

Let me attach an image i took recently in low light so it makes more sense to you

[Uliwooly · Accepted solution]

which settings are you using on your camera? this is huge factor

[#7]

I am on 12 MP, Auto Scene Recognition, Fill Flash with Smile Detection and Geotagging off!

Any other settings I need to change or check?

[Uliwooly]

turn off the flash and use the shutter instead of the touchscreen, half press the shutter to focus then press it all the way

[#9]

Ok, will use these settings and see if the picture quality improves!

however, it is disappointing that a Flagship phone with a 12 MP Cam has such focussing issues! What is the point of providing a flash on a phone if the flash cannot be used to take pics in low light?

Has Sony got to the bottom of this issue? Is it software based and if yes, will it be corrected in future upgrades? I intend to wait until the ICS update comes out (hopefully mid June) and then pray that Sony fixes all of these issues in the update!

[Uliwooly]

Pictures in low light are tricky, if you notice above you are trying to use flash on a low light settings but the subject/object its quite far so the Flash won't be useful, is the same with other cameras unless you have a DSLR and a really good Xenon Flash. it's like when people that go to a football game and they use their flash to take pictures, it's pointless to use the flash unless you are close to the players, you will blur out the field and lit up the back of the heads of the people in front of you.