Database Users

t-mobile's Web'n'Walk tariff with the MDA PRO

Hi all,
I bought a MDA PRO on the t-mobile tariff webnwalk that give 40MB of web browsing per month. The adverts and customer services specifically say web browsing or internet browsing.
I saw in a post the other day, someone saying that that is only for GPRS and NOT UMTS (3G).. Now is this true? The prebuilt mda pro doesn't give you the option to choose one over the other and there are no tariff plan details that say how much 3G data would cost..
P

Hi,
i am a german t-mobile customer and here it doesn´t matter if you are connected using gprs or 3g.
Would make absolutly no sense, because the device automatically switches to the fastet network available and it is not possible to use gprs when i am in a area where 3g is available.
The only important factor for the bill is the volume.
- Superbowl

superbowl said:
it is not possible to use gprs when i am in a area where 3g is available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can change this behaviour by modifying the registry keys.

Yes, I am on web n walk in the UK and it's both.
40mb / month gives you just over a meg a day.
Now, if you buy/obtain the pocket MSN software, then you get your hotmail back (woohoo) but MSN messenger sucks bandwidth like there's no tomorrow - nearly a meg in a few hours.
Agile messenger doesn't use anywhere near as much data, and just in case the bandwidth usage was related to 3G, I went into the phone settings and where you have an 'auto' set for networks, choose GSM and it sticks to only GPRS. I later tested MSN messenger on GPRS and it still sucks data like a mofo.
For general purpose use, GPRS is fine and obviates the issue where the software/OS pratts about switching between networks. Web browsing is fine with images switched off and all is good again.
I am currently using about 3-400k/day which means I will need to have a blow-out web session at the end of the month to use my entitlement (which is better than having to pay excess data charges cos I sucked too much data over the month).
End result is the same - I am connected to MSN through agile and keep in touch with friends during the day, and I get hotmail integration to the messaging apps.
All slightly OT to this thread, but I thought I would share my experience in case it helps.
Joe

joebongo said:
...I later tested MSN messenger on GPRS and it still sucks data like a mofo...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great line, made me laugh :lol: Looks like I should give Agile a go then. Didn't realise it was lighter than MSN.
And back on topic, I'm not on Web 'n' Walk yet (really should get round to switching...) but I spoke to a lovely lady at T-Mobile for ages trying to figure out which tarrif would suit me best, and at some point in the conversation she definitely told me that 3G data is charged at exactly the same rate as GPRS data, and the 40 meg allowance covers both.

Excellent!
We'll I've now done the registry fix to t-mobile Internet option to make sure it really is ALWAYS ON.
I'm in Spain next week and how I can use GPRS from there. You know which partner networks I should try it on and how much it'll cost me?
I've tried t-mobile and they give me different answers from 'you can't use gprs out in Spain' to 'it'll cost you at least £7 p MB'
??

Had my stag do in Barcelona earlier this year and I was connected to Movistar for the weekend. GPRS rates were (from memory) about £7.50 per Mb which is what T-Mobile's standard GPRS rates were at the time (not sure what they are now?) I was already over my allowance for the month, so I dont know if my allowance would have been used up instead of having to pay the higer price (doubt it though!)

cr2 said:
You can change this behaviour by modifying the registry keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, it´s possible. But why the hell should i change ?
- Superbowl

No Ones talking about changing.
The point is I wanted to make sure that using UMTS and GPRS doesn't change the billing.
Also, whe you go to another country you have to Roam and I also wanted to know how much that would cost me using gprs? (oh In Spain..) 8)

psteel said:
Excellent!
We'll I've now done the registry fix to t-mobile Internet option to make sure it really is ALWAYS ON.
I'm in Spain next week and how I can use GPRS from there. You know which partner networks I should try it on and how much it'll cost me?
I've tried t-mobile and they give me different answers from 'you can't use gprs out in Spain' to 'it'll cost you at least £7 p MB'
??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used T-Mob roaming in Australia via other cell companies and it cost me 7.50/meg I think.
And, weirdest of all, even tho I had T-Mob GPRS setup for the UK, I didn't change settings, it just worked over there (or appeared to). That was on a SE P910i tho.

That's damn expensive. How can they justify it? It's not like voice calls where you're paying for the foreign country to the uk and then from the uk to where-ever..You're just using the local network to hop onto their gprs network and the web... :evil:
It's about thime this planet got to grips with modern technology..Seem that the public think further ahead than the companies...

£7.50 Per Meg seems like the general consensus then.
Coincidentally (or maybe not?) that's how much T-Mobile charge even in the UK for either PAYG customers, or contract customers with no bolt-ons. (unless they've updated the costs recently)
As for the settings working abroad, GPRS connects via an access point such as "general.t-mobile.com" which is the same the world over. Much like a web address. Each network operator just monitors the traffic to your device, and bills accordingly. Obviously if your abroad, the local network operator bills your home operator and they mark it up 10000000% and bill you in turn.
(At least that's how I understand it)

Call 150 and the guy will tell you that it's for GPRS only. I think he might not have the proper authority of saying it, but then again, as long as this guy is a quotable source i.e. 150-guy; so the fact stands until someone made a 150 call and tell us otherwise

is there only way to get the number of MB currently downloaded with a *#XX# shortcuts ?
same for the number of minutes.. it's a bit pain in the bottom to have to call 150 (especially when you get the help yourself options)

dianna_wills said:
Call 150 and the guy will tell you that it's for GPRS only. I think he might not have the proper authority of saying it, but then again, as long as this guy is a quotable source i.e. 150-guy; so the fact stands until someone made a 150 call and tell us otherwise
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said before, the person I spoke to said otherwise. Conflicting information from the 150 crew then...I'll have to check through my new bill carefully once I've switched to Web 'n' Walk 200, but 3G data has never been charged differently to GPRS on my current tarrif (Relax 200 + 55Mb Data add-on).

cr2 said:
superbowl said:
it is not possible to use gprs when i am in a area where 3g is available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can change this behaviour by modifying the registry keys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have web'n'walk ('flat rate' only for GPRS) so i dont want to use UMTS.
What do you have to change in the registry to use GPRS when UMTS is available??

There is no need to force the MDA Pro to use GPRS on T-Mobile. With the web 'n' walk tarrifs the 40mb is for use on BOTH UTMS (3G) or GPRS.
I can confirm this as I myself am on web 'n' walk 200.

I only ever use 3G on Web'n'Walk 200 (cause I live and work in London), and I haven't been charged for my first 40 Megs yet so no-one on this tarrif should worry!
If you are concerned, sign up on the T-Mobile website for "My T-Mobile". I've finally gotten around to doing this myself, and now I can track my spending easily (even from my JasJar, if I so desire) and change my account options etc, without having to go through the Service Centre every time.
And for those people who have to pay for calls to 150 because they're on a webshop account, you needn't ring 150 ever again (probably!)

Maybe i have a different web'n'walk. I'm from holland and here we have 'pocket internet total' 9,50/month and no time or mb limit. One problem, the t-mobile site says its only for GPRS!
But there is a chance that UMTS is also inclusif, and t-mobile just forgot to mansion that, because i have no charges for umts sofar(MyTmobile)...

joebongo said:
Now, if you buy/obtain the pocket MSN software, then you get your hotmail back (woohoo) but MSN messenger sucks bandwidth like there's no tomorrow - nearly a meg in a few hours.
Agile messenger doesn't use anywhere near as much data
Joe
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has not been my experience when I used Messenger on my old imate JAM - must test this, cheers. Is Agile Messenger better in other ways too?

Cingular 8125 & Medianet Unlimited: Your Bill

README
This thread is only about your experience with the Cingular 8125 using the Cingular "Medianet Unlimited" data plan. This does NOT include experience with the "PDA Connect" plan or experience with any smartphones.
FACTS NOT TO BE ARGUED HERE (ALREADY RAN INTO GROUND):
Medianet Unlimited is the plan for WM5 Smartphones (2125/etc), PDA Connect is intended for full PDA's with touch screens. Medianet Unlimited is currently $20/month versus PDA Connect at $40/month. If you have Medianet Unlimited with any phone then put your sim card in a Wizard/8125, MU will work on the new phone. I am using this combination right now, and many others are also.
QUESTION:
If you have had the opportunity to use your Wizard/8125 with Cingular's "Medianet Unlimited" plan, did you get billed for your GPRS/EDGE data as per kb? I have heard many reports of people either continuing to use Medianet Unlimited without any problems or using it and getting a $1000+ phone bill where they are billed as if they have no data plan. I haven't received my first bill yet while using this combination and I'd like to know what to expect.
For some reason I slightly doubt that Cingular can detect what phone you are using, unless you are using POP email/etc through it. Maybe do they have a list of phone ID's and when you connect you transmit this?
Thank you for your input!

I have an 8125 with cingular's medianet.
only get charged 19.99 every month. have had this setup since the phone came out (Feb i think). Best option out there. I have push email and gmail setup, so i'm sending/receiving plenty of data.
19.99 a month!!!!

8125 cingular
I'm using the media net unlimited plan. I actually just switched not too long ago from the pda connect plan to a media net bundle. All for $20 a month I'm getting unlimited internet, 200 messages(mms or sms) and unlimited cingular video. Unfortunately the 8125 doesn't support the video end. That's why I have a slingbox. BUt when the 8525's come out hopefully I'll be able to utilize the cingular 3G video. As for right now, on my bill i do get itemized billing so it says how many kb's were used but I haven't had a bill that wasn't the amount that it is supposed to be. Minus going over on minutes. Other then that I haven't had any problems with cingular. I was with nextel for the past 5 years and I must say that the billing and service are far superior with Cingular.

No problems here
I have been using MediaNet Unlimited for a few months now.
Not once have I been billed for Data Usage (except for the $19.99). Previously I had PDA Connect & a Text Message Package, MNU is saving me $25.00 every month.
I would ask anyone who claims to have been billed $1,000s to scan and post their bill (blacking out private info of course). Until I see that I can't believe such claims.
I've even tethered to my laptop without additional charges!
The only drawback is that you must use the wap.cingular APN as isp.cingular APN is not available to MediaNet Accounts.

From what I have read on howardforums about the billing issues is that CSR will leave a Medianet Pay per use (PPU) code on the account while adding the package. The PPU code overrides all packages and charges you by the kb for the data that you have used. It takes a phone call to cs and a 3-6 month wait for a service credit when this happens.
There's at least one good reason to not have an auto-debit on your account.
I guess I should state that I'm running an 8125 with media maxx 200. This is my first month so we'll see what happens with my data charges.

Good, it sounds like I won't have any unexpected charges on my next bill and I won't have to go without mobile data. I already decided that I wouldn't pay the $40 for PDA Connect if they figured out that I'm on an 8125 now. $20 is almost reasonable but I'd rather do without it over spending $40. I rarely even use it because it's so horribly slow.
Xoom: I read a lot on Howard forums and Cingular's own public forums about the issue. I was also wondering if the problem didn't stem from the fact that they were using Medianet Unlimited with an 8125, but possibly due to some other issue. I did hear once about the pay per use feature overriding data packages, but people were saying it started when they switched from a smartphone to the 8125. It's also possible that these reports were posted by Cingular to persuade people to buy the $40 plan out of fear.
Anyone else with experience on this also? The more reassurance, the better.

I am also on the 20 dollar medianet package. I've never been charged extra and i use pushmail and am nearly always connected through aim. I use about 150mb of data per month. I really think that all of those posts claiming to have been found out and charged thousands of dollars on both the cingular and howard forums are planted there by cingular. unless your data usage gets unbeleiveably high(over a gb) i dont think they're going to pay you any attention.

same here $20 unlimited media net and have push email and no problems

People getting charged per KB are the dumb asses that have their phone set up to use the ISP apn and not the WAP apn and don't have a PDA package.
If you have a regular MEdia Net plan, you HAVE to use the WAP apn.
Also, Cingular DOES know what kind of phone you're using. The fact is though, it's not against the rules to use a regular MEdia Net package on a PDA phone. The PDA plans are just there for the suckers.
I have a grandfathered MEdia Works package which has Unlimited MEdia net for $20 a month, and I have not seen a single extra penny charged using my 8125. I've used upwards of 150mb of data transfer in a month, and no extra charges.
/thread

I have been using the MNU for $19.99 with a Imate K-Jam (Wizard 200) since January 2006. My wife has been using the MNU on a K-Jam since May 2006. I have used POP3, IMAP, Exchange RCP, HTTP, HTTPS, I think FTP once, and tethered my laptop. Yes, kyphur is correct only the wap.cingular gateway is opened with the MNU option. As I understand there are 2 other gateways at Cingular: the isp.cingular that is enabled with the PDA Connect unlimited plan, and the blackberry gateway that is used by the Blackberry Connect software for Windows Mobile or a Blackberry device.
I have just recovered from 4 months of crazy charges ($3000 neighborhood)that were from international data roaming charges using my K-Jam overseas on a Blackberry International unlimited plan. The charges have now been refunded and I have had to purchase a blackberry for my international travel. The sales person added the plan to my account and had left the wap.cingular configuration in the phone. It was odd that not all of my international data usage was billed. However the amount that was charged was large enough for me to notice and demand a refund from Cingular. For 3 months (billing cycles) they just apoligized for the mistake and refunded the money. The 4 th billing cycle I was getting pissed and after several hour plus conversations with Cingular they determined that I should not have been put on the Blackberry International plan because I did not own a Blackberry. Then they tried to sell me a Blackberry at full retail, no way! Thank you eBay and $100 bucks later I am in Scotland with my Blackberry and no extra charges. But I feel handicapped with the Blackberry and use my K-Jam when I'm back in the states. Unfortunatly with the Blackberry International plan Cingular only opens the Blackberry gateway and leaves the wap.cingular turned off (I bet this helps Cingular avoid those large charges I was seeing in the previous months). Does anybody know the blackberry gateway (ports, proxy, username & password) settings to let a Wizard onto the blackberry network? Right now I have to use the Blackberry connect software on my K-Jam and mobile internet explorer does not work.

i was one with $1000 + bill from medianet with my 8125 but its not for the reasons in the first post. they said the medianet unlimited plan i had has a 2 year contract on it and it had expired. they bumped me onto the 5mb plan and i had over 100mb downloaded that month. i told them it was illegal to switch me without my notification and that they need to offer me a comperable plan when they should have notified me. she checked with her manager and apologized reversed the charges and offered me the media 200 plan which i have been using fine for 3 months now.

umm good one
That s a good question becasue it depends on who sets your account up. if it the wrong person the n you will still be charged the per kb rate. I know I worked for them for two years up untill two weeks ago. thousands of people rate plans get set up wrong but some are true errors. make sure you ask them to go over it and note the accounnt.
huges and kisses

Xoom said:
From what I have read on howardforums about the billing issues is that CSR will leave a Medianet Pay per use (PPU) code on the account while adding the package. The PPU code overrides all packages and charges you by the kb for the data that you have used. It takes a phone call to cs and a 3-6 month wait for a service credit when this happens.
There's at least one good reason to not have an auto-debit on your account.
I guess I should state that I'm running an 8125 with media maxx 200. This is my first month so we'll see what happens with my data charges.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what exactly happened to me. When I switched to MediaNet Unlimited, the stupid CSR left a PPU on my account so I was billed over a thousand dollars. I switched to the 40 dollar unlimited plan to clear up the mess.
After my bill was cleared up, I called back Cingular CSR and switched back to MediaNet Unlimited and it's been fine ever since. I think it all depends on the CSR you are dealing with.

I find it funny how so many people are saying that cingular's 8125 is supposed to be used with the PDAconnect plan per Cingular TOS.
Funn thing is,
isp.cingular.com: PDAconnect
wap.cingular.com: media net packages
blackberry.cingular.com: blackberries
Guess what gateway my 8125 came configured with from the factory?
wap.cingular.com

PDA connect vs Unlimited media net
Just an FYI. I work for Cingular. I can honestly say that many cust are getting away with just haveing media net. However, Cingular is aware of it and I have personal helped customers that had huge bill because of it. I know that Cingular is "fixing" the problem. They cant do a mass fix so they are one at a time pin pointing the customers that are using pda's and "fixing" their bill so that it bills per kilobyte. I know from calling customer service that as of right now they are issuing credits to the customers that agree to move to a PDA connect plan.

i use the me1 package old media works package on my 8125 and my nokia e61 and have not had any problems. i ran thru plenty of data, as a matter of fact last month i used 750 mb and the monthe before that 550mb this month might be a little more im averaging 24mb a day

Great to hear this, so far we have not had one legit response saying that they were overcharged only for the reason of having medianet on an 8125.

My question is how many people here have push e-mail on the MEdiaNet plan? I have to get my boss to send a request to have the company that runs our network to update their server from 2003 to 2003 SP2.
Also, I was talking with a cingular CSR and he stated the with the wap you get the mobile versions of webpages and with isp (pda connect) plan you get the full web page. Which you can change by tweaking your registry to make your device look like IE6.

ok - this thread got me interested. I never went for a data package when I moved to Cingular, but now I cant use IM's at work I was looking at my options.
After I visited a Cingular store in NJ yesterday, the CSR was ready to sell me the MediaNet Unlimited package for $19.99 a month, even though he had seen my O2 XDA Mini branded Wizard and I pointed out that that in the small print it stated not for PDA use.
The one thing that was stopping me signing up was the fact that he said I would not get full html access to all sites and he did not know if I could use MSN Messenger. Then her started talking to me about using AIM over text messaging... I walked out at that point!
Reading the last post, is there a reg hack / work around to allow access to more sites and/or all html access?
Can anyone confirm that they can use MSN Messenger with MediaNet?
Thanks in advance.

I don't seem to have a problem surfing the "regular internet" on my wizard.

Cingular data plan options?

I have an old AT&T converted Cingular account that I originally got with an SMT5600 smartphone. I have been using it in a HTC Wizard for the last year.
I looked at the Cingular version of the Hermes yesterday, and I an tempted to upgrade, but I kind of balked at the data plan cost! the want $40 a month now! I have been paying $25 for unlimited data, and now they want to almost double that!
Has anyone tried, and been successful, putting and old SIM from AT&T or Cingular into one of these - keeping their current old data plan and being able to use 3G speeds?

Bertil said:
I have an old AT&T converted Cingular account that I originally got with an SMT5600 smartphone. I have been using it in a HTC Wizard for the last year.
I looked at the Cingular version of the Hermes yesterday, and I an tempted to upgrade, but I kind of balked at the data plan cost! the want $40 a month now! I have been paying $25 for unlimited data, and now they want to almost double that!
Has anyone tried, and been successful, putting and old SIM from AT&T or Cingular into one of these - keeping their current old data plan and being able to use 3G speeds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have with no problems I have the old Blue ATT SIM with the $24.99 unlimited mMode plane works great in my TyTn with 3G

The biggest factors in considering one plan over the other are the following:
- do you use Cingular's proxy
- do you use WiFi (which doesn't play well with the proxy settings)
- do you use Exchange ActiveSync / PushMail
- are you a big SMS user
- do you care about Cingular Video
- do you need access to ISP.CINGULAR (as opposed to WAP.CINGULAR), which includes a static ip address
PDAConnect (39.99/mo) needs no proxy and works better with PushMail, but does not include SMS or Cingular Video. This is the better plan for me personally.
I say try using the cheaper plan and see how it works for you...

marka2k, you just made my day!
That's great news...
... Maybe the really sneaky thing to do would be to go with any new (free) Cingular phone, get the 19.99 per month plan, and then switch....

goestoeleven,
I'm OK with current functionality, I would of course not mind the higher speed. I never use WiFi really.
I've heard that the Cingular connection works better than the old AT&T for things like radio streaming...

Bertil said:
marka2k, you just made my day!
That's great news...
... Maybe the really sneaky thing to do would be to go with any new (free) Cingular phone, get the 19.99 per month plan, and then switch....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You won't get any new Cingular phone while staying on old AT&T plan. You'll have to buy an unlocked phone elsewhere.

I was referring to buying some generic Cingular phone with their 19.99 plan, and then buying a Hermes unlocked.

get the free phone
Bertil said:
... Maybe the really sneaky thing to do would be to go with any new (free) Cingular phone, get the 19.99 per month plan, and then switch....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
actually, that's what I did. I got a free RAZR phone (good for when I drive the motorcycle). I am on the MEdia Net plan for $19.99 that includes 200 SMS (and/or MMS). The MEdia Net plan works just fine with my unlocked TyTN.
The issue with the proxy is easy to work around. Set up the My ISP connection without the proxy, and the Work connection using the proxy. If you need the proxy, just go to IE and connect to wsp://device.home IE will then connect using the proxy & you can go from there...

from my experience they have never made me get the pda connect crap, i have always had the media net unlimited.. actually i just upgraded my data plan to the extreme that includes the 3k text and i even told them i had the 8525, they said ok and that there is promo where the first month is free and added it to my account

I have a few accounts, one of them being a legacy AT&T Wirelss plan.
The way I look at is, there is no reason to pay $480.00 a year($40.00 a month for 12 month) for a pda connect plan if you do not need the isp.cingular apn or the need to bypass the proxy server.
IMHO, I would buy the device at full retail, keep your AT&T plan and over the long run, save money on not upgrading to CNG and not paying for incoming txt messages.
Dan

Thanks guys!

So it sounds to me that I could take a SIM card from one of my smart card, with the $19.99 unlimited data plan and use it on my 8525. Of course it would now have that phones number. Is this right?
Thanks

Fishdave said:
So it sounds to me that I could take a SIM card from one of my smart card, with the $19.99 unlimited data plan and use it on my 8525. Of course it would now have that phones number. Is this right?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your number is stored on that card, doesnt matter what phone its in (as long as its compatible with your provider)

cingular data plan
I signed up for new service and got an 8525. the media max and plans showed up as options. now with cingular online acct management, I can sign up for smartphone connect (i have) or media max plans, or pda connect for 20 more. the cingular proxy is only needed for connecting to their media net servers. so far I haven't needed or wanted to do that. there is a guide on how to set it up in the forum somewhere as a separate connection.
my download speeds from dslreports wap site are 650-800k. sometimes I have a long wait to download a page, but I think it isn't related to the data plan.
I haven't had anyone from cingular try to make me get pda connect, and i'm pretty sure it won't change the data service quality on my phone.

i just run the My Isp connection and it dont use the proxy, i have a regular unlimited data plan, i average over 400meg a month in data alone and all for the low price of the media max bundle, isnt life great

Anyone got a more detailed FAQ on the ISP settings?
I'd like to know what the differances are, addresses of the proxies..
ETC..
I've been trying to read up on everything..
Thanks!
J

Proxies Proxies Everywhere...
I have an 8525 with the default Cingular Settings.
First off.
Do I need the Proxy Settings?
I don't use any of Cingulars Services, nor do I care to.
I would like to use WIFI more if it worked right. (seams to be the Proxy Issue)
I do use the Web, Connect to servers and other machines, and basically do everything I do I my computer (at least everything I am able to do)
I also travel in Europe at times..
Or if I need one am I able to setup a Proxy Server of my own?
Any Benefit?
Or If I have to use a Cingular one is there a difference between the ISP.CINGULAR.COM, WEP.CINGULAR.COM and the WIRELESS.CINGULAR.COM
Thanks
-J

goestoeleven said:
- do you need access to ISP.CINGULAR (as opposed to WAP.CINGULAR), which includes a static ip address
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've contacted Cingular regarding the Static IP previously. They told me that the Data Plan Unlimited (which I'm on now) does not come with a static ip, that I share my IP with other users. This was a great let down for me, as I've seen other companies provide this with absolutely no problems. Would you be able to direct me on who I need to talk to, or what I need to say, to get this enabled on my account?

I do the 39(think it is 39 second from top unlimited plan).
I pay extra for text messages and save 5$ from the higher up plan (which does come with more messages, but I never use them).
My question is, for $5 more a month would I gain anything else to make it worth paying more?
Not sure what use a proxy and static ISP would be over what I use now.
Thanks in advance!
Q

AMEN Shogun, i use the mediamax 1000 plan. i used it with the 8125 and when i had a Nokia 7710. Never had any problems at all. Even tho when i bought my 8125 the guy in the store swore up and down that there was no way the mediamax would work on that phone. He told me i would be back to change it after a week. lol. I told him to just leave my account alone. i need to check out this 3k plan kuzz i need more text

XDA Exec and Internet in the UK

Hello,
It's been about a year since I purchased my O2 XDA Exec from O2 and my contract is soon expiring. I am not a business customer, I simply want access to the internet to manage my website, stay in contact through email and using the internet for general purpose, such as reading news.
In advance, please forgive me as I am quite a newbie in the phone area when it comes to things like services and sim cards.
I am currently paying around £40/m for my O2 XDA Exec and Data Max (120mb). It seems now, that O2 have removed data tarrifs completely from non-business users. Previously only the bottom 3 were available, now they are all business only.
My main problem stems from the fact I don't use my exec for the internet often as I usually have some other access to the internet at home or at work or a dialup line. However, when I am away from home and work, I use the internet an awful lot (thus a tiny 5mb plan or so wouldn't be enough) and for things such as Logmein (eats up megabytes).
This leads me to wonder what my best option would be. Is there any general non-business options open to people with a lower monthly cost than £40/m but with more than a tiny bit of data (20mb+, ideally 75mb+).
Which leads into my second question - is there any way I can use any of these services on my XDA exec, or will I have to buy a new phone? From what I have read, I understand you can buy a different sim card and put it in the phone and use that service instead.
What looks the most perfect for me, is T-Mobile. T-Mobile seem to have very good internet data plans, and they seem to acknowledge that non-business customers actually do want access to the internet and not just a tiny amount of data. Their Web 'n' walk Plus (12) for £29 a month for unlimited access and allowing laptop access. They also seem to have a service where you pay £1 and then get internet access for the day. This would be even more perfect for me, where I need lots of internet in one go, but then no usage for other times.
My next question would be, do I stand any change of using either of these services with my XDA Exec, and if so, how could I go about doing it? I have done my best to search for details, but have found conflicting reports and a lack of details about how to go about doing these things, especially for a newbie like me lacking in knowledge in this area.
I would really appreciate any help anyone could provide,
Thanks in advance

Firstly, I assume that your Exec is unlocked and that you can use any sim in it. AFAIK, all O2 Execs came unlocked, but it might be worth trying a friend's sim in yours first. If not unlocked, I would guess there is an unlock tool somewhere on this forum - haven't looked myself as haven't needed to! Otherwise, there is no reason not to use your Exec on another network - mine is on t-mobile.
Secondly, and somebody may be able to offer advice on this, Three also offer decent unlimited data services but as far as I can see they don't offer sim-only pay monthly deals.
What you don't say is if you use your exec for voice calls at all and how much. On the (big) assumption that voice is not important to you, t-mobile offer two options:
1) pay monthly sim-only - £7.50 gives you 50 mins voice per month per month (15p per minute). You can then add the £7.50 web'n'walk option (unlimited data, but no modem, voip or streaming use). I have read elsewhere that it can be problematic getting this package from sales but I am using it myself so persevere! I assume you can also add the web'n'walk plus instead.
2) Pay as you go sim - 12p per minute plus 0.73p per KB, capped at £1 per day but the t&cs seem to say no modem use so may not be for you.
If you really don't want data approaching 1GB per month as offered by t-mobile, Vodafone's deals may be better - don't have much knowledge of them but they offer 15MB per day for £1 on PAYG (although it seems that it is £1 for the 0.5MB and then free to 15MB, so it may be more expensive than t-mobile - haven't done the maths), or 120MB for £7.50 per month if you're on a sim-only pay monthly contract. They offer 150 mins and 500 texts for £20 per month so this is a marginally better deal than t-mobile if you want to use the Exec for voice. Also, reading the t&cs, they don't seem to preclude modem use as with the basic web'n'walk. Someone may correct me on this.

I did (almost) exactly the same thing when switching from Orange - went onto one of T-Mobiles 'Relax' packages (combined calls and texts) plus web 'n' walk unlimited internet, and I only pay £27.50 a month now and tend to use the internet a lot. I also got a free Nokia 6233 as well, but put a payg sim in this instead and put the contract sim in my uni...
As far as configuration goes, once you join T-Mobile, you can register on their website, which allows you to access an interactive manual for your device - mine was initially set to the Nokia, but you can change it to the MDA Pro (same as the exec) and it then explains, very clearly, what you need to do to configure gprs/3g connections, etc.
One word of warning though, gsm internet access (which is set up to dial a number) is not included in web 'n' walk, so if you use activesync to sync outlook mails and a gprs/3g connection is not available, it can potentially dial up a gsm connection and stick lots of call charges on your account. This happened to me, and about £150 of extra charges were put on my bill - I managed to get them removed and now I don't have a gsm internet account set up on my uni so it doesn't happen again.
Hope this helps.

good info.
I ll do the same.
O2 is not that good for internet. but good for minutes
T mobile internet is cheap.

I moved to three not so long ago.
I'm not sure if the offer is still there but i'm currently paying:
£17.50 line rental
£10.00 X-Series
£27.50 a month total.
I chose the worst phone(dont use it (LG U300)) from their tarrif to give me 18 months half price line rental. Gives me:
300mins
1000txts
£5 downloads a month
50 video mins
25 MMS
X-Series Gold gives me:
Slingbox & Orb usage (80 hours a month (about 2 hrs a day))
5000 Skype minutes a month
Unlimited MSN Messenger
Unlimited Internet (1 gig before they start throttling)
Signed up for X-Series gold for 12 months (in shop) and they give you a free slingbox (worth about £140) not bad at all!!
Pretty damn good deal. I must say I love three, not had any issues at all.
You can also get x-series silver which is without the orb & sling stuff for £5 a month.
I doubt you'll get a better deal from another mobile provider. The slingbox is just sick, watch your sky tv on the move, i've not tried it yet as it will involve some additional networking but I can't wait!!
worth a look...

Thanks a lot for all the replies, some really useful information and I very much appreciate it. I apolpogise for the lateness of my reply but unfortunately I have been inundated with work which has put me back looking into this.
What seems to be the most perfect for me, is this plan from the T-Mobile site:
http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/services/mobile-internet/on-your-phone-and-laptop/
Web'n'walk Plus for £12.50/month on top of your voice plan
It says you can use it on your laptop and on your phone, and includes the data allowance (but no VOIP).
However, I'm still a little unclear - would it be possible to get a sim card (withouta phone) for this plan from T-Mobile as it doesn't seem possible from the site? If so, would I get the sim card, configure my Universal with the required settings and then be ready to go?
Thanks for your time,
Quboid.

You can get a sim only monthly plan from T-Mobile, but it only includes 50 minutes of calls and is £7.50 a month and there doesnt look to be any sort of scale of charges associated with it. It also doesn't see to be available bundled with a web n walk plan, so the only internet you get with it is max charge of £1 per day for using the internet.
I would pick a decent handset to get for free, to use as a spare or if you don't want to lug your Exec about with sometimes, and go with your initial web n walk plan.

captainsensible2002 said:
You can get a sim only monthly plan from T-Mobile, but it only includes 50 minutes of calls and is £7.50 a month and there doesnt look to be any sort of scale of charges associated with it. It also doesn't see to be available bundled with a web n walk plan, so the only internet you get with it is max charge of £1 per day for using the internet.
I would pick a decent handset to get for free, to use as a spare or if you don't want to lug your Exec about with sometimes, and go with your initial web n walk plan.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your reply,
Is it pretty much impossible then to be able to get a sim to use in m Exec without having to get another phone? It seems somewhat furstrating if I have a compatible phone and such to have to get another in order to be able to go with T-mobile? Is there any hope of getting web 'n' walk without having to do this?
Thanks a lot

Try phoning up their sales department. They'll be best suited to give you decent info, i'm sure they want a sale.
http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/
they might have some more info.

Wmobile Network cards problem fixed?

Hey, i'm currently using WM2003 on an xda2i.
What is exceptionally frustrating is if I want to use wifi internet, I have to to to
Start-> Settings-> Connections-> connections-> advanced and change BOTH drop downs to WORK NETWORK.l If I want to use GPRS internet I have to do the same but select MY ISP in the first drop down. Switching between communication methods is extremely annoying :S
Also, if I connect to GPRS and leave it on it auto disconnects quite quickly, (10-15 mins) and then the phone needs to be reset inorder to reconnect.
My question might seems illy, but can anyone tell me if things work PROPERLY on pater versions of windows mobile and on the blackstone as I've never used anything except WM2003.
Thank you for your help, I WANT this phone.
.........Ib a n e

The problem you describe is not present on my Touch (Elf) so I'm sure it's been fixed by now. In fact, I didn't have the same problem even on my Exec (Universal) three years ago.

Fantastic! thank you for the input. I'm slowly realising how much I am putting up with in my 2i. I love it, but I need a change, and I don't really want an iPhone.
Might sell my SOUL to afford a sim free Touch HD and this was a stumbling block.
Thanks for clearing it up

I'm also just wondering whether I can justify buying SIM-free and a SIM-only contract from O2, against the cost of a phone on contract.
SIM-free for 18 months:
Phone - £500
SIM card - £20 per month (including unlimited mobile web)
Total - £860
On contract for 18 months:
Phone - £100 (guess based on Touch Pro)
Monthly cost - £35 (including unlimited mobile web)
Total - £730
There's a huge difference in cost and I'm not sure I can justify it just to get one today instead of waiting a couple of months until O2 release the Touch HD on contract (assuming they do). But I really really want this phone. (In fact, mainly I really really want to leave Orange and go back to O2, whose network actually works where I live.)
To add further info to your original question, I've set up seven email accounts in my Touch and they check for new mail periodically (some accounts every two hours, some every 30 mins). If I've turned Wi-Fi on then the connection happens through Wi-Fi but if I'm out of range or Wi-Fi is off then the phone will automatically and silently connect to GPRS and check emails that way. I never need to touch anything. Once it's connected to GPRS it stays connected for hours with no problems.
The only slight inconvenience is that to send an email the two connection methods (GPRS and Wi-Fi) have different SMTP requirements. I can't send emails through Orange's SMTP server while connected to a Wi-Fi network, and I can't send through my ISP's SMTP server (through my home Wi-Fi connection for example) when I'm connected to the internet with GPRS. But this isn't a limitation of Windows Mobile; my laptop is just the same. My solution was to set up my own SMTP server through which I can authenticate to send emails regardless of how my devices connect to the Internet.

mm... yes hadn't thought about the SMTP but I have experienced this before. It is a slight annoyance, but a necessary one I guess without setting up your own server.
I'm glad to heard of your good checking experiences with the email.
mmm.... i'm not a fan of buying contract and using contracts. I prefer to try to buy SIM FREE outright, and if possible Avail of a simplicity contract with vodafone, which only requires one month warning to leave.
The reason I choose Vodafone is because O2 block MSN messenger... and I'm unsure about skype (not that I use it a lot, but I don't like being TOLD by my network what I can and can't use.)
I have no idea about vodafone 3g hsdpa reception though, might have to look into it.
Yeh, I swap from northern ireland, to southern ireland frequently, and as I am currently looking for permanent work, I don't know exactly where I'll end up....thus, contracts are not suitable for me right now.
I did see the Touch HD in a swiss shop for about 469 sterling. think it was www.digitec.com
I've emailed them to see how much shipping would be.