Using GRPS abroad (T-Mobile UK) - 8125, K-JAM, P4300, MDA Vario General

Is there any way of knowing in which countries GPRS will work in? I've got a T-Mobile MDA Vario and on one or two occasions I wasn't able to get GPRS up and running in order to browse the net. Just wondering if it doesn't work in some countries or if that was a coincidence.

Isn't there a list of countries/companies which T-Mobile have roaming agreements with on the T-Mobile website ?

Yes but this only indicates where you can use the phone. My understanding is that this does not necessarily include GPRS/data availability or access.

Yes, just because you can roam does not mean you can use GPRS. I do not think that info is on www.gsm.org either. Drop an email to T-Mobile customer service if it isn't on their site.
Must admit I always buy a local SIM for data usage now that many operators have pre-paid GPRS.

GPRS abroad..
T-Mobile do have partners abroad - for the preferred network to use and cheaper calls - but that doesn't mean you will get any of your GPRS allowance wheilst roaming.
I have the Web'n'walk tariff , but my mobile bill was still over £160 when I got back after a week in Eire.
I think the GPRS / MMS data usage was at their standard roaming tariff.,, whatever that is.
Charlie Grillo

Some examples
I couldn't use GPRS with O2 in UK (where T-Mobile wasn't available). I had no trouble with multiple carriers in Barcelona and always found T-Mobile itself in Frankfurt and Bonn. GRPS works in Paris (didn't note the carrier) and never worked with any of NINE partners in Taiwan last year.

prestonmcafee, thanks for the examples. Your visit to the UK must have been some time ago, T-Mobile exists here now, I think they initially came in the market a couple of years back when they acquired what used to be one to one, or whatever they were called.

Yesterday!
Sorry I wasn't clear, what I meant was that I couldn't get GPRS in the UK in the places where T-Mobile wasn't available; T-Mobile is usually available but not always. Victoria Station and Heathrow have places where T-Mobile's signal is so low that the automatic connection on a US T-Mobile phone connects to O2, and in this case, GPRS will fail.
Sometimes, but not usually, a manual connection would turn up T-mobile even when the phone had connected to O2.
I just returned from 5 weeks in the UK yesterday.

LOL

Related

Confused about GPRS

Can someone help, I'm confused about how GPRS works.
The situation is, I have a XDA on the O2 network. GPRS works fine in the UK.
I recently went to HK, and it didn't work.
Before I went to HK, I phoned the O2 help line and asked them specifically if I need to make any changes, they said 'NO', it should work without any changes similar to GSM international roaming.
By looking around this forum, its seems to me that information given to me is wrong.
Would it be correct to say that if I take my XDA to another country for a short trip, I need to set up the GPRS dial up to connect to whatever GPRS provider that exist in that country?
In other words, GPRS is not seemless like roaming GSM?
With GSM roaming it uses the SS7 network which all netorks connect to.
GPRS roaming never specified the mechanism to carry roaming traffic (as it was IP and not suitable for carrying over SS7).
Consequently there are about 4 public GRX networks that carry GPRS roaming traffic. For seemless GPRS roaming every operator has to connect to all 4.
O2 only has GPRS roaming agreements with a few operators in a few countries. For instance in France there is only a roaming agreement with SFR, so GPRS does work fine, without any changes in config on SFR only. GPRS roaming to O2 will not work on the other two networks.
O2 may have a GPRS roaming agreement with one operator in HK.
Vodafone will ONLY GPRS roam with other Vodafone group companies.
O2 UK do, indeed, have one agreement for GPRS roaming in Hong Kong. They were correct in saying no settings need changing - you are not connecting to the Hong Kong GGSN, after all.
Did you ask that all international roaming bars be lifted and reboot the unit at least 24 hours in advance of leaving the country?

Access to 3G Network (vodafone)

Hi, I have been watching with keen interest the development of the Universal. I had the original XDA and the XDA2 but have been waiting for this 3G device before I upgrade.
I have one on back order, but not with Expansys. I have been watching Expansys wondering if I should get one through them instead of waiting however when I phoned them for some technical info about 3G networks the sales individual did not know anything about the "UK networks"!!!
So, does anyone know if you can take an unlocked, uncofigured, JasJar (such as those being sold on Expansys) and just configure the settings for 3G, or is it far more complicated than that.
I am sure I read somewhere that 3G settings need to be configured by the network, unlike GPRS which I have easily configured for my voda sim card in my xdas.
Well if it can be configured, anyone know the settings for the JasJar to use vodafone 3G ??
Cheers, Numb
jasjar on vodafone
just got my jasjar today, put in my normal sim which was purchased already on the normal 2g network and it not only came up ok but came up on vodafones 3g network with no problems what so ever.
talking to vodafone they also told me that for instance my 3g sim from my datacard which is not even on a voice contract would work though of course as i have no free minutes i would get charged at normal network rates for voice calls.
jasjar on vodafone
just got my jasjar today, put in my normal sim which was purchased already on the normal 2g network and it not only came up ok but came up on vodafones 3g network with no problems what so ever.
talking to vodafone they also told me that for instance my 3g sim from my datacard which is not even on a voice contract would work though of course as i have no free minutes i would get charged at normal network rates for voice calls.
re
n1, thats good to hear. But did u have to configure any settings for 3G ? or was the phone already configured, and if it was already configured it who by, Expansys ?
If they are unlocked presumably you have to configure it to your chosen network ?
Thx fer the reply tho, can't wait to get mine now, you lucky devil.
Cheers, Numb
to make a long stiry short: settings for gprs and umts/3g are the same, no need to change anything, if you have your vodafone gprs set you are ready to use 3g as well.
cheers, lutz
re
:lol: n1 lutzh that is what I was after. Keeping my fingers crossed for early next week. Otherwise I may to try a different distributer.
Thx again for the heads up.
Cheers, Numb

3G + Universal + Australia

Hi,
Could those Universal owners in Australia response to this thread with...
a) What provider they are with
b) What plan they are on
c) The procedure for configuring their unit with their provider (to this point of surfing the net on mobile broadband.
Rather than trial and error I thought I'd try and cheat and just ask someone who's gone through all the pain already.
I would also be interested to hear comparisons between plans and providers.
Regards
Michael
I'm interested too! I've been looking on the net at Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Three but I can't see anything really great - all very exy!!
Most are linked with phones on plans - not good for us we've already got the unit.
I want a sim only plan that gives me reasonable rates for data download.
I'm using Three - gave the bundled phone to a friend who wanted to upgrade an old NEC. $99 Cap Plan includes $15 towards data usage, but i've never managed to get past the $99 cap yet.
The data speed is fast - to get 3G you need to create a new connection, set the AccessPoint, which is "3netaccess", and leave all others blank. Roams to Telstra GPRS when out of coverage in Oz.
Don't bother with Three if you go overseas - there's no data coverage outside Australia for Australian customers.
There is also no comprehensible FAQ on their site for the MMS setup - just lots of pages with "your phone comes preconfigured - don't change it" comments. Ringing support is no good, if you try to, they soon figure out you are not using "their" phone, and can't help you.
If anyone else here has MMS working please give the settings.
Telstra Universal on 3G
I purchased my JasJar in the UK on a business trip, and with my UK Vodafone SIM had 3G working fine.
For Telstra 3G you need a new USIM for 3G - they should supply for free if you're a post-paid customer.
It actually roams onto the joing 3/Telstra network and drops back to Telstra GPRS.
The Telstra settings are simple - telstra.internet for the APN
Also, the 3G data plans are more generous - I changed from $55/month 5MB plan to a 3G $15/month 6MB plan.
All seems to be working fine.
www.andrewgrill.com
I have the JJ and use Telstra. The process was simple, Tell my secretary to give it to me, TElstra call me back and say that I have it, use the Imate auto configure to install it and of I go.
Expensive yes, but in the overall scheme of my business costs, its not worth looking at. Telstra I believe have a special for the video call bit that they charge the same for a video call as they do for a mobile phone call, to get you to join and try it. I dont have anybody interested in video calls.
I didnt need a telstra sim to do this, and havent actually tested it for videos.
I only really use it a little bit for internet connectivity, and given that I have wireless networks at home and office, I dont use the GPRS to 3G connectivity much.
Heads up though and it is posted in these forums elsewhere that phone companies (and I suspect telstra) would limit it your speeds to the minimum required for video conferencing which is 128kb ps, whereas 3G networks are capable of 384kbps, and only switch it on when you ask for it.
I really dont have that much need, and it doesnt even come close to the capabilities and speeds, ease, costs and overall benefits of the ADSL wireless network.
Hi, I sold my Universal (O2 Xda Exec unlocked) to somebody on eBay who lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Today I received this e-mail from him after he received it:
"My sim card doesn't work."invalid or missing sim card" appears.Can you help me to figure out."
Any ideas anyone?
PS: I should add that mine was one of the 1st Execs shipped in December and was definately unlocked as I had it working with O2 and Orange. All I have changed is to install the new Extended ROM update from their web site, which I presume doesn't have SIM locking does it?
PPS: Update from user: "Thanks for your response.Australia has got a couple network. I currently use $49 cap plan Optus network. but I don't have any idea about frequency."
my friend had a problem with optusnet, told it was the phone!!
I put my telstra sim in, worked perfectly the first time.
went to optus, requested a new sim, got it tested it didn't work, logged a support call, waited for call back, tried agin with support, nothing returned, got a telstra sim the next day and never looked back...
moral, optusnet support sucks when they don't sell you a phone, the knoledge is limited and competency sucks.
BUT I do use them for adsl, and home phone, even then acknowledge that they suck.
Tell your customer to test it on a friends telstra card and run the telstra cab, its something in optusnet.
by the way, my friends phone wa the imate jam / xda mini so the problems hadn't even started with the 3g network of the exec.
my jasjar works perfectly on telstra.
pm me, or get your customer onto the forum if I can provide localised help.
Thanks. Can you please clarify what you mean by "run the telstra cab, its something in optusnet"? What is a 'cab'?
Are they the same network and would he be able to retain his account, or does he have to switch networks?
Networks in Australia
Although Optus and Vodafone in Australia actually share a 3G network (3G air interface) everything beyond that is separate so for billing etc your friend would need a new SIM card. It's likely thet Optus people did not sell him a 3G SIM card - they will have to tell them what it is for so they give him the right SIM.
In OZ, Telstra share with 3 so you 'roam' onto the 3 network for 3G even though you have a Telstra SIM
the cab file is located on the extended rom, or on the 02 website, or the imate website, I have also posted the file elsewhere on this forum if you look for telstra.
if you cant find it, i can locate it and post it, just dont have it handy now.
a cab file installs programs or settings to a device. this particular one sets up all the mms, phone and 3 g settings. if he did a hard reset, the phone itself would ask him his communications provider and do this automatically. but telstra can only be used on telstra, and optus on optus networks, and they are effectively strings of commands to access gprs, 3g, and wap sites.
he may not have run the setup correctly on this. if he installs total commander, and types into the address field \extended_rom\ he would be able to locate the file on the device already and just run it to establish his correct settings.
however, i feel it is likely that the sim card is dud.
Hi all, thanks for your previous help. The customer now has a new SIM from Optus, Australia, which works great for calls.
However, he cannot set up GPRS. He states:
"I tried everything to set up gprs setting.I couldn't.I check the my friend's xda ii series gprs setting.It has got auto config option.So it does itself.But my xda exec ask me phone number ,domain name,username password,dns setting etc.
I rang to Optus technical support.They told me they don't support this one.They gave me dns number but didn't work. But I think . if xda ii works, exec should work.I just need set up for Australia. Please help me."
Does anyone have a link to an Optus Australia auto-config util that will send him the config in a magic SMS?
Failing that, can you type all the details here or provide a link to the Optus cab?
I'm with Vodafone on a $79 cap. The cap value includes data ($1/5min), but the billing by time rather than downloads might not suit most people.
As for configuring the phone - I just downloaded the operator settings CAB file from clubimate.com. Sets up everything perfectly!
AFIK, Vodafone and Optus are the only ones that will offer Sim-only 3G plans. Of course, you can go with Three, and just discard the phone (you can get a free phone on a $29 cap!)
JJ on Three network
JJ on Three network.
I'm going to check this post and report in the near future:
http://aussie3g.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=16121&highlight=jasjar+3netaccess
telstra also offer 3g plans, but I use their phone network and sim card as part of our corporate plan.
I have sent the customer the std cab file on my imate rom, which he reports was not beneficial for him.
I am not on optus so don't actually have the configuration settings.
spludge said:
Don't bother with Three if you go overseas - there's no data coverage outside Australia for Australian customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i never tried data, but videocalls worked fine...the only limitation being it only works on the overseas 3 network (3 - Hong Kong in my case, this was 2 years ago when i still lived in brisbane)
It's okay guys, Optus were giving him wrong details. He found the right ones -- they're all over Google

Internet access in Australia

Help!!
I'm due to fly out to Australia for a 3 week holiday on Saturday.
I had planned to purchase a PAYG (or prepaid as they call it) SIM and use it in my unlocked
Vario II to keep in touch with family/friends via email and also update an
online travel blog. Unfortunately I have just discovered that none of the
Australian cell networks appear to offer full internet access on PAYG.
Anyone know if this is the case, and more importantly anyone know of a way I can get full internet access whilst out there without having to pay t-mobile £7.50 per MB for roaming data (i only pay that a month for unlimited access at home!)
Hi
Im not sure about the prepay card you are speaking of..... but I just move to Sydney and spent the first month trying to sort some mobile internet out.
In the end I got an uncle to set up a vodafone account for me then I used that (they wouldnt give me an account unless I could provide 3 months Australian payslips and about 50 forms of ID)
So good luck!
Try to organise it before you leave or you may find it really difficult.
Sorry that probably doesnt help you much...
There must be someone who does prepay 3g/gprs over here!
mobile internet in australia sucks, i work for Telstra and even on my staff plan its damn expensive.
id love to get unlimited mobile net on my jam, ive often said id gladly trade my phone line for a dataline on my mobile anyday of the week.
As far as i know, none of the australian service providers have internet access on prepaid sims. I guess you are out of luck.

T-mobile UK htc hermes

Hi all,
Will a HTC Hermes purchased in UK work with T-MO USA
Yes as long as it is SIM unlocked.
Info is here http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=Hermes_SimUnlock
S.K.
Yes
I'm just back from Florida and it worked fine - without unlocking. It picked up T-Mobile USA as soon as I stepped off the plane.
That's very interesting. Do you have any idea yet on charges? Did you use calls and data? It would be handy to know.
My hotel had wi-fi so I used that 99% of the time. I did occasionally use a data connection for e-mail (3G in Orlando area, GPRS some other places, nothing down south!) and the odd text message. No phone calls. Cost me around £5 when my bill came in.
Please note that I have an unlimited data plan in the UK but this does not work abroad. Also, I could not use my BT Zone account (even with partner sites such as t-Mobile) when in the US (my BT Mobilezone or whatever it is called) did not work outside of the UK either).
Still, £5 not bad at all really. Definitely a plus for t-mobile there.
Sorry to burst your bubles but...
1.) MDA Vario II is TOTALLY locked! however Pof's unlocker v3 works great.
2.) T-Mobile USa has Nothing to do with T-Mobile UK, or Germany, or any other T-moblie. None of your plans or minutes cross over, this is true all networks, Orange, Voda, etc.
This is how they screw us to the walls, imagin if they give that up? All those 1.50 GBP per minute roaming fees and 40P texts?
And data, forget about it! Even worse.
(The guy above must have sent like 3.5 texts and mad 1 call)
We may get a break with the EU next summer in Europe, (lower roaming fees, Check out O2 for this)
But you will not get b orderless roaming in your lifetimes, you may get reduced fees, which is a start. But NEVER in the US, there you will get screwed.
The best solutions is to BUY PayGo sim cards, in the US T-mobile is the best for that.

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