Database Users

T-Mobile Tech Support Really Sucks...

Man I really hate T-Mobile's tech support. I called them to ask a simple question:
If I cancel my Total Internet Package which is just 20$ more on by phone bill that I don't really need to be spending, will I be charged for using the WIFI on my phone when I am at home?
I have Comcast cable internet at home and can pick up the router's signal with my MDA even with the sim card out and browse the internet.
They turned around and told me that I would be charged per Kb if I canceled my Total Internet Package and then used my WIFI to pick up my home internet service.
By the way this was T-Mobile's Windows Mobile Department that told me this...
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Ok now I have 2 questions for all of you.
Is what T-mobile told me true?
Is there a cheaper way to get unlimited GPRS internet than T-Mobile's $19.99 Total Internet package?
The only time I use my GPRS is to update WeatherPanel and when I am using the OZ Instant Messenger. All other time I spend on the internet is with WIFI turned on and GPRS turned off.
Please, all help will be greatly appreciated and well received.
Thanks in advance, your friendly neighborhood computer geek, Dan.

Well I hope I can help answer your question somewhat.
I do not pay for the GPRS service through Tmobile, I try not to use it at all. If I pull data through it then I am charged. But if i use a wifi hotspot then Tmobile will not charge me. In truth they should have no way of telling if and when I use a WiFi connection. The reason the rep told you this was really a twisting of the truth. He can probably get away with telling you this because it will cut your access to Tmobile HotSpots which you get access to with the data plan. Sneaky sneaky bastards, you should post this little tale on http://consumerist.com/ .
To answer the second if Tmobile is your carrier then NO I dont believe you can get GPRS data from another carrier. Unless your phone is sim unlocked and you choose to use another carrier to get your data through, but this will need you to switch sims out. Either way your gonna pay for it. I would hold out till 1-2 quarter of 2008 Tmobile will start its HSDPA role out, providing upwards of 3Mbps for data. Of course you will need a phone capable of HSDPA, but such is life.
If I am uninformed of another method maybe someone here will be so kind as to enlighten us.

ritalin said:
Well I hope I can help answer your question somewhat.
I do not pay for the GPRS service through Tmobile, I try not to use it at all. If I pull data through it then I am charged. But if i use a wifi hotspot then Tmobile will not charge me. In truth they should have no way of telling if and when I use a WiFi connection. The reason the rep told you this was really a twisting of the truth. He can probably get away with telling you this because it will cut your access to Tmobile HotSpots which you get access to with the data plan. Sneaky sneaky bastards, you should post this little tale on http://consumerist.com/ .
To answer the second if Tmobile is your carrier then NO I dont believe you can get GPRS data from another carrier. Unless your phone is sim unlocked and you choose to use another carrier to get your data through, but this will need you to switch sims out. Either way your gonna pay for it. I would hold out till 1-2 quarter of 2008 Tmobile will start its HSDPA role out, providing upwards of 3Mbps for data. Of course you will need a phone capable of HSDPA, but such is life.
If I am uninformed of another method maybe someone here will be so kind as to enlighten us.
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Click to collapse
I figured T-Mobile was full of S**T... I know I can access the internet via WIFI even without a sim card in the device. I only use it at home or in hospitals anyway. Like I said though, the GPRS for me, is just for WeatherPanel. That's why I am trying to find a cheaper way...
Thank you for your help though. Not the answer I was hoping for but very grateful non the less.
Dan.

You won't get charged for using wifi. If weather panel is all you really use GPRS for then go to the 5.99 plan. That's what I use and have no problem using weather panel or even browsing the web. The other day I even streamed video over it, although GPRS is way too slow to be any use for that but I wanted to see if it worked. The only apps that I know of that do have problems are mostly IM apps since they have most of the ports that those programs use blocked on the 5.99 plan.
Just realized that you said that you use OZ IM, I'm not sure if that will work or not, I can't seem to get it to work with WM6.

You will not be charged per kilobyte, whoever told you that was either new or retarded. The only difference you will see is that your instant messaging will go thru text messages instead of wifi, charging you per message, to log in, to log out, etc. That's due to the way the OZ instant messaging is written. The 5.99 has been working for a lot of people, but it was a glitch in the system that is slowly being fixed market by market, so don't get upset if it doesn't work for you or if it suddenly stops working, as it was never meant to work. If you connect thru wifi, you won't pay anything as it's your connection thru wifi to your phone's wifi, and the T-Mobile network is nowhere in the mix. Again, the Instant Messaging will be billed as text messages.

johnny12times said:
You will not be charged per kilobyte, whoever told you that was either new or retarded. The only difference you will see is that your instant messaging will go thru text messages instead of wifi, charging you per message, to log in, to log out, etc. That's due to the way the OZ instant messaging is written. The 5.99 has been working for a lot of people, but it was a glitch in the system that is slowly being fixed market by market, so don't get upset if it doesn't work for you or if it suddenly stops working, as it was never meant to work. If you connect thru wifi, you won't pay anything as it's your connection thru wifi to your phone's wifi, and the T-Mobile network is nowhere in the mix. Again, the Instant Messaging will be billed as text messages.
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That is really good to know. Can you tell me or direct me to a thread that explains the real difference between the 5.99 plan and the 19.99 Total Internet Package?

i don't know about the question you had, but I've had the other extreme as far as Tmo's customer support/tech support... always been great to me. Even after 2 refurbs.

Whoever told you that you'd be charged using Wi-Fi was either full of it or was ASSUMING you would then be accessing T-Mo services...why would you? Just use whatever service you use from home.
I use my MDA with Wi-Fi in my house ALL the time and it has NOTHING to do with T-Mobile. It's not EDGE/GPRS--it's a totally different technology, just like hooking your wireless laptop up to your home router.
Furthermore, you can use the Wi-Fi with T-Mobile Hot Spots if you have that subscription with ANY Wi-Fi computer you have--no reason to have more than one Hot Spot account--many hotels now have it, not just Starbucks.
T-Mobile NOW forces you to pay for Hot Spots with Internet Service as a bundle but they are different technologies.
The Internet Service is EDGE/GPRS and that is a CELLULAR service and is programmed into your SIM chip. I use that too. My MDA can hook into eMail and web sites without a Wi-Fi connection via the cell modem. But it's not nearly as fast.
I actually have 2 SIM chips with this service--I got one for my old IPAQ6315, but that's in the MDA. The one in the MDA is in my notebook computer--it has a Cingular Sony Ericsson cellular modem that I got the unlock code for, and put the chip from the MDA in there--I ALSO can use my notebook with EDGE/GPRS, or Wi-Fi (or even RJ45) connections.
I have the eMail for my regular eMail routed to my MDA--no messing with another address. So it's working a lot like a Blackberry as well.
Finally, you asked if there's a cheaper alternative: There is. It's called "T-Zones" and it's T-Mo's WAP service, for $6 or $7/month. It gives you the limited access you get on cell phones, and you already have it with the fancier internet access--click on T-Zones and you'll see it.
Generally, with T-Mo, service is a waste of time till you get to Level 2. But if you get to Level 3, then you get the techs that really know their business. The PDA support can be similar. But you got to jump through a lot of hoops to reach that level and that can take 30-45 minutes on the phone. Be persistent.

dharvey4651 said:
That is really good to know. Can you tell me or direct me to a thread that explains the real difference between the 5.99 plan and the 19.99 Total Internet Package?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the 19.99 plan gives you your actual connection to the GPRS/EDGE(and in 4 test markets 3G! T-Mobile bought a whole lot of 3g network up recently.) network (internet2.voicestream.com), by connecting thru this route you are given access to the ports required to get to full websites, as well as email servers, etc.
the 5.99 plan is your basic wap access, t-zones and other wap sites. It's what is used by motorola's, samsungs, basic phones. Gives you access to your account information from T-Mobile's wap sites (but not on an mda running less than wm6 and having had the tzones applett installed), accuweather's website, and other wap websites. By connecting thru the wap APN, you are directed thru a filter that doesn't allow you full access to normal websites.
Now, T-Mobile has a glitch in their system where every now and then you get 5.99 internet and your number isn't put into the filter, so the ports that were supposed to be closed off to you never were, and you can browse and email just as if you had the 19.99 feature. The only problem? They know of the glitch and are closing it market by market, which has been taking the better part of 7 months now, but it's not that far from being finished.
Almost all programs you have installed on the mda that are third party will default to what ever internet connection is available, however, the OZ instant messaging program from the MDA and almost all other T-Mobile PDA's is written specifically to use the SMS (short message system) as the next backup if you aren't connected thru the internet2.voicestream.com, or blackberry.net apn if you are using a blackberry, so if you are connected thru wifi, then you will be charged text for each message.
Hope this helps, if not, let me know.
Johnny

Dodging T-mobile's detection

Hey folks,
First up I know this is against my T'n'C's but we're talking hypothetically here ;-) oh yes and the fact that I was originally sold this contract for connecting my laptop and PSP to the internet even although it's expressly against my T'n'Cs so I don't feel wrong about doing it.
I'm trying to connect my laptop and PSP to the internet via my Vario II (aka Hermes) from t-mobile. Several concerns crop up
1. since i'm not on the pro package I'm not allowed to do this. Ergo t-mobile must not know I'm using a laptop.
How do they detect it?
I suspect VPN on the phone might get round it...although I've had difficulty configuring it.
Would opening a VPN from the laptop after connection decieve t-mobile?
As regards browsing I assume they're just taking the browser information that the laptop's browser gives them. I suppose you can spoof that somehow?
Lastly for the psp I simply want to stream media from my desktop to my psp when I'm on the move using 'pimpstreamer' - I doubt this protocol will be too noticable.
To effect this connection though I'd need to perform the 'wifi AP' hack I've seen talked about on the wiki....
Problem is I can't seem to find Internet Connection Sharing under programs....Is this something that can be tweaked to be invisable under the registry like the GPS module in the settings section?
Thanks again for your help folks!

If you have the unlimited data plan (only $20 a month), simply turn on Internet Sharing via your phone and select "Modem Link" or whatever it's called. Plug in and voila. The PSP, not so sure.

I have a T-Mobile contract also. You shouldnt worry too much. Even if they can detect it, they dont particularly care so long as you dont go over the 1GB fair usage limit. I connect my laptop all the time and have been doing so for the past year and a half. I even went as far as buying a datacard and using that and still no complaints.
Once, I downloaded 4GB of data via my contract when my internet connection at home went down. Not even a peep. Now I only use my phone for basic usage and connect whenever I cant find a free WIFI but I still use it.
In case youre wondering I have Flext 30 with Web n Walk but I only pay 18.75 GBP per month.
Dont worry and enjoy!

There's an awesome program in the development section that actually allows you to turn your hermes into a wifi hotspot. it connects to the internet through the phone's connection, then shares that connection over wifi. It works perfectly for me, although I rarely really need to use it. Very hand; I wish I could remember what it's called. Search "Wifi Sharing" in the development thread and you should find it.

Randvegeta said:
In case youre wondering I have Flext 30 with Web n Walk but I only pay 18.75 GBP per month.
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Click to collapse
OT: WHAT!? How did you do that! I've got Flext 30 with WnW and I pay 32.50! And that is with a £5 discount!

Its against T-Mobile rules to use Internet Connection Sharing?

I got it because I signed up as a Curry's Employee and got a permanent lifetime discount of 50% off.
Yes it is againt their terms of service but as I said.. really doesnt matter.. just dont do anything that would make you jump out. Dont use more traffic than you should. Dont use it for VOIP and dont stream music/video to/from it.
I know what you are talking about because I also use it on my Hermes. It's called WMWifiRouter.

I do it all the time and I've never gotten in any trouble for it. Then again, T-Mo EDGE is usually too slow for me to want to use it on my laptop anyways.

I just use it when there is no WiFi available --- the edge is a bit slow, but still VERY usable. Never had an issue either.
I'm looking into that WMWifiRouter, looks cool as hell.

Thanks to everyone for their advice!
That program looks amazing...The website is currently down however...
Any chance someone could email a copy of the program to me at
verylastninja at yahoo dot co dot uk ? It sounds like exactly what I'm needing.
Also the cached page from google says I need ICS installed. 'Windows\IntShrui.exe' - I've checked and there's no such executable in my windows folder.
Does anyone know where I can get my hands on this exe? I'm about to try googling but am worried about getting the wrong version
Your sim works in a datacard? that's cool. How much do those things cost? Never even thought of trying it
Lastly I should say I'm running Microsoft Windows Mobile Version 5.0 (OS5.1.195 (build 14955.2.3.0).

I'm very curious how you access via a datacard as well.

Ah.... Sony GC79/GC89 is built for tmobile!
Although I guess you couldn't use your phone if your sim is in the datacard. Any workarounds to use both at the same time with same service plan, he he?
T-Mo charges $49.99 for unlimited internet, wow... but only $19.99 if it's unlimited on a phone, could consider adding a new "phone" to your account with unlimited internet and just pop the sim in the datacard and go.

Suppose there's not really a lot of difference between using your phone as a modem and using a datacard mind you. So unless they're pretty cheap I'd probably be best sticking with the varioII
Anyone know about the ICS bit? I've seen people reffer to it before. (I gave my windows mobile version etc on my earlier post btw) at first I thought it would be like the GPS settings in control pannel - hidden by some registry entry by t-mobile (and I can think why they would want to).
However that file reffered too Windows\IntShrui.exe
also what's AKU3? Sorry for being such a clueless n00b on this but I've got a little bit of a steep learning curve here!

Pretty pretty please?

Ok found ICSinstall.cab on here and installed it, soft reset, and attempted to install the latest version of the WMWifiRouter program (which I finally succeeded in sourcing!).
However I get a message telling me cryptically that it 'cannot be installed' after attempting install. I wonder if this is related to ICS...
I now have the InShrUI.exe file in /windows/ *but* attempting to run it gives:
'The file 'IntShrUI' cannot be opened. Either it is not signed with a trusted certificate or one of it's components cannot be found. You might need to reinstall or restore this file.'
I reinstalled it over itself (i.e. ran the cab again) same error.
:-/
Was this the right file? I seem to remember it was dated 11th January 2008??
Thanks again for hte help folks!

No wifi router app installed???

I just got my new hd2 yesterday and have just discovered there is no wifi router app.
O2 must have blocked this app - Bas***ds.
Anyone any ideas of how i can install this feature?

do a search and you`ll find the app posted here somewhere ....
I`ll try and find it for you now....
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
download here
http://bwone.com/downloadsthebowmanpackpro2.zip
Two fingers to O2..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how do i delete a post in edit..................

HI Richie,
Thanks so much, do i just drag the files onto the sd card on the phone, do you know where excatly?
Cheers

copy the .cab file to your storage card and run it form file explorer.....install to device....

+1 Cheers, will give it a go.
BTW, O2 gave me a the wifi bolton FOC as well as the Unlimited net when I kicked up a fuss. How do I use their cloud WIFI service?

Hello Everyone,
Where can I get the cab files for the wifi router app for the hd2? t-mobile usa version does not have it.
Thank you,
Monnie

MonnieRock said:
Hello Everyone,
Where can I get the cab files for the wifi router app for the hd2? t-mobile usa version does not have it.
Thank you,
Monnie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Link is in post #2.

Thank you, That answered my question I was wondering today about too. Lame they took it out when it was a main feature I bought the phone for. Thanks for posting it.

I did this install. I have the WiFi app installed, and running. Screen says WiFiSharing running, and ready to accecpt connections. But, when I go to my PC's, neither of them see this router. They see my home router, and several of the neighbors' routers, but not on my HD2. What could I be missing?

Try to stop the wifi router apllication and start again. It happens to my sometimes.
You can try also this, for me it worked:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5988689#post5988689

That link solved my problem. My default name for the router did not have a blank in it, but just changing the name of the router for some reason made it visible. Thanks for the help!

Using Wifi Router on O2 Unlimited web
Be very careful if you are gonna use the Wifi router and you're on O2 Unlimited web.
In December, when I ordered my HD2, I was told I would have the unlimited web & download and that O2 were the only UK provider to give a "Truly unlimited mobile web service."
I've have since had my Unlimited web bolt on revoked because they said I was using it too much. According to my bills, I had been using about 1GB per month. After numerous calls to O2 I found out that the service is not unlimited and a fair use policy applies (only 200MB per month allowed). Had I have know this back in December I might have chosen a different provider but now I'm stuck on the O2 contract until July 2011.

wkc21 said:
Be very careful if you are gonna use the Wifi router and you're on O2 Unlimited web.
In December, when I ordered my HD2, I was told I would have the unlimited web & download and that O2 were the only UK provider to give a "Truly unlimited mobile web service."
I've have since had my Unlimited web bolt on revoked because they said I was using it too much. According to my bills, I had been using about 1GB per month. After numerous calls to O2 I found out that the service is not unlimited and a fair use policy applies (only 200MB per month allowed). Had I have know this back in December I might have chosen a different provider but now I'm stuck on the O2 contract until July 2011.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the warning. However, I have the USA T-mobile unlimited data plan. I wonder if they have the same limitation. Anyone know?

Most carriers including TMO say 5GB a month. Which is quite alot if you just use the router as a backup for when your main internet goes down or your on the road, not a good idea for torrents tho.

roundy1313 said:
I did this install. I have the WiFi app installed, and running. Screen says WiFiSharing running, and ready to accecpt connections. But, when I go to my PC's, neither of them see this router. They see my home router, and several of the neighbors' routers, but not on my HD2. What could I be missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem. Sometimes I can see the network and connect to it, but I have no internet still. I installed the htc wifi app on a stock tmobile US rom, to no avail. Same thing happened with the wm wifi app that is available - so I'm wondering if TMobile is blocking this somehow?
I was counting on having working wifi tethering, as I have been doing very easily with my G1, but so far no luck. This is a bit of a deal breaker for me.

kristoff123 said:
I'm having the same problem. Sometimes I can see the network and connect to it, but I have no internet still. I installed the htc wifi app on a stock tmobile US rom, to no avail. Same thing happened with the wm wifi app that is available - so I'm wondering if TMobile is blocking this somehow?
I was counting on having working wifi tethering, as I have been doing very easily with my G1, but so far no luck. This is a bit of a deal breaker for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I saw a post somewhere saying to change your default wireless access point name on the phone, apparently it fixes it afterwards.

zdrux said:
I think I saw a post somewhere saying to change your default wireless access point name on the phone, apparently it fixes it afterwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a wifi tether app in the omarket that works better.
http://www.freewarepocketpc.net/omarket/
Look for "Mobile Wi-Fi Router.

The app from omarket is just a beta (public) version of the HTC app, that's why it has "xda" in the name. They look the same, do the same thing - which, for me, is absolutely nothing, lol.
As for T-Mobile US, the limit is 10gb before they threaten to cap you. I've had them threaten me a few times, but so far, I can still download at 2MBit/second, lol. I have not heard of anyone actually getting capped yet, though, so I wouldn't worry. The way today's phones are headed, 10gb / month will be considered normal usage soon.
Back to the topic, I still ahve no luck with any of the wifi tether apps I have found - 3 that I know of, and i Have done hard resets, etc, changed names, etc. Still, my pc will see it but no internet. I can switch my SIM card to My Android G1, and tethering works right off the bat. I'm confounded.

cobnut said:
+1 Cheers, will give it a go.
BTW, O2 gave me a the wifi bolton FOC as well as the Unlimited net when I kicked up a fuss. How do I use their cloud WIFI service?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
register via the portal page with your phone number, look for the O2 button.

Couple of quick questions

Hey all,
I have a few quick questions, i have been using search but i havn't found my answers yet. I was wondering if there is a .cab for a barcode reader app like on android. Also is does anyone know if t-mobile USA has a fair use limit such as 5gb for data (i know verizon does). Also i'm having trouble connecting to anything online with my phone after updating to TMOUSA's new rom today.

check out omarket for a barcode reader, i use i-nigma, it does the job.
Tmo usa will definately have a "fair use" policy on data usage, it'l be in your contract or their site, the last time I checked in the UK it was only 1gb. They say everythings bigger in America though.......
Cant help you with your rom problem im afraid......

tmobilehas has disabled internet sharing capability.
try wmwifirouterapp you gotta pay but it'll work

sherlockpwnz said:
tmobilehas has disabled internet sharing capability.
try wmwifirouterapp you gotta pay but it'll work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you mean that they didn't include an app for it? I've been using it since the HD2 came out (and before that I used it on my HD) and it works just fine. Pretty much all custom roms have it cooked in, but you can always just download and install wifirouter cab.
As for the limit, I believe it was 5gigs and has been changed to 10gigs (pretty sure it's one or the other). If you go over, I believe they just throttle you down but they don't cut you off and there's no overage charge.

no there is an internet sharing app tmobile is doing away with it. i bought my phone back in march and it had an internet sharing shortcut and worked up until this new update. it blocks communication to their network when the phone recognizes the phone is connected via usb

I'm not a fan of the WIFI app, i think WMWIFIROUTER is much better. It seems that the Wifi app on winmo just piggybacks on my wifi network at home and extends the range. I noticed that it still has the same hostname under "status" on my pc.

[Q] Internet question!

Question: How do I connect to the internet, or edit the internet settings, through my sim.
My dell streak (which I got 4 days ago) can only use the internet through wifi, and not through the internet which im paying for in my plan (sim).
How do I change this? I've gone through sooo many settings, and none work! Im hella worried, coz I'm paying for something I can't seem to use!

Psychotic-Pain said:
Question: How do I connect to the internet, or edit the internet settings, through my sim.
My dell streak (which I got 4 days ago) can only use the internet through wifi, and not through the internet which im paying for in my plan (sim).
How do I change this? I've gone through sooo many settings, and none work! Im hella worried, coz I'm paying for something I can't seem to use!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What network is it

My absolut WILD GUESS will be APN proxys... maybe not
more info please.