Method and system for remotely accessing and troubleshooting cellular wireless communication devices
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- conveying to a user a cellular wireless communication device (WCD) that is programmed with at least one server application;
thereafter receiving a trouble report regarding operation of the WCD; and
responsive to the trouble report, (a) using at least one client application on a computer to log into the at least one server application on the WCD via a packet-switched network and via a wireless access network serving the WCD and to thereby establish at least one data session between the computer and the WCD via the packet-switched network and the wireless access network, wherein logging into the at least one server application on the WCD comprises providing the WCD with a password, and (b) communicating with the WCD through the at least one data session, so as to cause the WCD to conduct one or more evaluations regarding operation of the WCD and so as to download to the computer from the WCD one or more results of the one or more evaluations, for use in troubleshooting the reported trouble.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for remote troubleshooting of a wireless communication device, such as a cell phone. The cell phone is programmed with server logic, such as a Telnet server application and an FTP server application. A computer at a customer service center for instance is programmed with client logic, such as a Telnet client application and an FTP client application. When a customer service representative receives a call reporting trouble with the cell phone, the representative may conveniently operate the client logic on the computer to log into the cell phone server logic, via a packet-switched network such as the Internet and via a wireless access network (and thus an air interface) serving the cell phone. Through that connection, the customer service representative can thereby cause the cell phone to perform various performance evaluations and can download the evaluation results to conveniently facilitate troubleshooting of the cell phone trouble.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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conveying to a user a cellular wireless communication device (WCD) that is programmed with at least one server application; thereafter receiving a trouble report regarding operation of the WCD; and responsive to the trouble report, (a) using at least one client application on a computer to log into the at least one server application on the WCD via a packet-switched network and via a wireless access network serving the WCD and to thereby establish at least one data session between the computer and the WCD via the packet-switched network and the wireless access network, wherein logging into the at least one server application on the WCD comprises providing the WCD with a password, and (b) communicating with the WCD through the at least one data session, so as to cause the WCD to conduct one or more evaluations regarding operation of the WCD and so as to download to the computer from the WCD one or more results of the one or more evaluations, for use in troubleshooting the reported trouble. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19)
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17. A method comprising:
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conveying to a user a cell phone that is programmed with a Telnet server application and an FTP server application; thereafter receiving from the user a trouble report regarding operation of the cell phone; and responsive to the trouble report, (a) using a Telnet client application on a computer to log into the Telnet server application on the cell phone via a packet-switched network and via a wireless access network serving the cell phone and to thereby establish a Telnet session between the computer and the cell phone, and through the Telnet session directing the cell phone to perform one or more evaluations, and (b) using an FTP client application on the computer to log into the FTP server application on the cell phone via the packet-switched network and via the wireless access network to thereby establish an FTP session between the computer and the cell phone, and through the FTP session downloading from the cell phone to the computer one or more results of the one or more evaluations, for use in troubleshooting the reported trouble.
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18. A remote troubleshooting system for a cellular wireless communication device (WCD), the system comprising:
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a Telnet server application and an FTP server application programmed on the WCD; a computer having a processor, data storage, and a Telnet client application and an FTP client application stored in the data storage and executable by the processor, wherein the Telnet client application is executable to log into the Telnet server application of the WCD via a packet-switched network and via a wireless access network serving the WCD, and to thereby establish a Telnet session between the computer and the WCD via the packet-switched network and via the wireless access network, wherein the FTP client application is executable to log into the FTP server application of the WCD via the packet-switched network and via the wireless access network, and to thereby establish an FTP session between the computer and the WCD via the packet-switched network and via the wireless access network, and wherein the Telnet client application and the FTP client application are used at the computer to obtain performance metrics from the WCD via the Telnet session and the FTP session, for use in troubleshooting at least one reported problem in operation of the WCD.
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Specification