Database Info

Pay as you go or contract what's the best??

Is it better to be on a pay as you go or contract if you intend to use your phone for surfing. I recently managed to get on the Internet using my phone (pay as you go Virgin on the back of tmobile) but it cost me over 1 pound 50 pence for what I don't believe was very long. I was only looking at google. Is this correct?? I am not sure how this only pay for downloads works. surely if you go to google you must download the pages you put in for a search? and then if you drill further down you must download more and more data. Someone told me you only pay if you download attachments etc?? What is true. Would appreciate any replies to get my thinking straight.
John

All data transferred to from your device is counted. An allowance is usually made for connect disconnect overhead. I found it extremely easy to run up a couple of megs

I manage to get 300 minutes free internet on O2 payg, just topup a tenner a month and you get the free internet using the settings on this board, gprs too, the gprs just saves time logging on, there is no speedgain when surfing. You get full access to internet, I use it to check my ebay sales and to access this board sometimes, its also great for winning pub bets as you have access to all the info. 8) You also get 300 free sms text messages or a mix of multimedia messages and sms free. The phone calls arent that cheap but you get your full tenners worth of calls along with the freebies. The sms freebie is worth 30 quid alone. You cannot rollover any free internet time or unused sms. There are many bolt ons available also.
I also use Tesco payg, you get 3 favorite numbers which give half price calls to any mobile or landline, that works out at 10p per minute, standard calls to any mobile or landline are 20p a minute. I am going to get a dual sim holder so I can use O2 for sms and internet and Tesco for calls.

cruisin-thru said:
...just topup a tenner a month and you get the free internet using the settings on this board, gprs too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
free GPRS with 02 Uk? Have I understood this right? Can you tell me how, or point me towards these Magical settings?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/viewtopic.php?t=12334&highlight=
* I recommend deleting any existing GPRS settings you have under the work connection settings before entering these to avoid confusion *
1. Go to Start -> Settings -> Connections Tab -> Connections.
2. You'll see 2 sets of option links. 'My ISP' and 'Work'. Under the work links, choose 'Add a new modem connection'.
3. Name for connection: o2 gprs. Modem: Cellular Line (GPRS). Tap Next.
4. Access Point Name: payandgo.o2.co.uk
5. Username: payandgo
6. Password: password
7. Tap Finish.
8. Back in the connections settings screen, tap 'Edit My Proxy Server'.
9. Tick 'This network connects to the Internet' and 'This network uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet'.
10. In the proxy server box enter: 193.113.200.195
11. Tap OK.
12. Back in the connections settings screen, tap the Advanced tab.
13. Tap 'Select Networks'
14. In both drop down boxes choose 'Work' as the connection. Tap OK.
15. Tap OK again.
16. You are now ready to surf o2 pay as you go gprs full internet.

thanks cruisin-thru...
Do those settings give you free GPRS access then? i.e. Is this some kinda 'back door' to 02 GPRS?
I'm on 02 contract with 250 mins a month which I don't normally use completely. From your other posts, do I understand that I can use those minutes when I want to surf the web? I have a GPRS connection and a WAP network GPRS connection available to me when I tap the Connectivity icon but I've do idea why... Is one of them normal cost-per-MB GPRS and one a cost-per-minute connection, perhaps, which I can use with My free contract minutes?

I am referring to payg only, I have no knowledge of contract costs and whether you can use the free minutes for internet over gprs.

Aaah. OK. Never mind - thanks though.

does this work on the 300free txt o2 sims?
I cant get it to work on my xda 2, ive checked the connection settings over and over
it connects but no pages load "The page you are looking for cannot be found"

Ryan, yes it works with that sim, have you double checked the settings, the proxy and the work settings?

well yes and no..
ive got the GPRS settings menu with the authentication types etc what should they be set at.
And for some reason i dont have "Work" tab mines been renamed somehow and if i try reaming it back it says work already exists ive checked the proxy settings etc.
Any way i can restore the settings back to orginal or use a pre setup settings fine?
Thanks

I delete all settings before inserting those listed. You dont have to name a new setting, "work" is chosen from the drop down menu.

o2 payg xda2
Yeah it does work fine.I've used internet for sometime with no charge as yet!!
The only thing is,email doesn't connect.Is there an answer to this anyone.I think it's because email needs an isp connection.Thanks to anyone.

There seem to be a number of conflicts of understanding showing in this topic, much due to O2's less than transparent pricing and information policies.
First though, the difference between GSM WAP/Web and GPRS. Any tariff which mentions Minutes refers to GSM (=dialup) only. Anything referring to Data volume relates to GPRS.
GPRS is a digital connection piggybacked onto the normal GSM signal, and is theoretically up to 6X faster than GSM, and is capable of being "Always On" like domestic broadband. Most times, the speed is only about 2-3 times faster due to network congestion.
The Free GPRS WAP was offered by O2 on some of its PAYG plans, and on some PostPay contracts. AFAIK this has now been discontinued, but some PAYG plans do give 1Mb free GPRS as long as you top up £10 in a month. Current WAP GPRS charge is £2.35 per Mb, and the billing is often up to 2 months behind so if you have an older PAYG SIM, and think your GPRS is free, make really sure before you go merrily surfing!
The ability to make settings changes to the XDA II Work Connection (which is actually the WAP APN) is due to the proliferation of more advanced phones like the Nokia 660 which allow enhanced WAP, by using a proxy setting to enable Web content over WAP. This was a great workaround earlier this year when all WAP GPRS was free. This APN does not and will not allow MSN and POP3 email, except for the O2.co.uk domain.
O2 are now starting to offer cheaper GPRS bundles as "Bolt-On's"- currently Data 36 giving 36Mb of GPRS for £17 per month, plus the old Data5 at £8 (?) per month.
As to the original question- what is better, PostPay or PAYG, at the moment, the GPRS charges are the same, for new customers. WAP or Web is £2.35 per Mb, but bolt-ons favour PostPay customers. PAYG remains an expensive way to make phone calls!

Thanks for explanation.So I might not be connecting gprs,and a bill in two months.Wow.

lovemyxda said:
Thanks for explanation.So I might not be connecting gprs,and a bill in two months.Wow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will know you are connecting via GPRS cos the signal icon changes to show the 2 horizontal arrows.
And the 2 month GPRS charge delay is extreme- more commonly 2-3 weeks. That is on an online contract- can't give any definitive times for PAYG, but I can't see them being much different.

I have never been charged, there is free access bundled with the monthly topup.

Thanks to everyone for replying to this topic as it has made it a lot clearer, I will look at the option crusin-thru stated and those referenced by NeilM. Much appreciated..thanxs j

cruisin-thru said:
I have never been charged, there is free access bundled with the monthly topup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How old is your PAYG SIM card?
I think the T&C's changed about 3 months ago, so you anyone buying a PAYG SIM since then will only get the 1st 1Mb free, with £10 top-up

Thanks Neil I asm PAYasuG on virgin for over 2 years expensive I know but not being a large phone/text user then it is expensive. If I want to upgrade my phone I realise I can buy on ebay/private etc but it would probably be better biting the bullet and buying a contract to get the upgrade. Thanks john

ATT tilt streaming

I need help tryign to figure out how to get streaming to work on my tilt. i have done a search and have found no solutions to this problem. people have talked about it but no one has posted a way to get streaming to work. any ideas?
Thanks

What kind of data do you want to stream and from where to where do you want to stream it? Also, you should be aware that it is against AT&T's TOS to stream video over their network and will get you terminated.

i woudl liek to stream XM from this site http://mobile.musicdock.com

bad post.. sorry

there is already an XM app for WM6. from what I have read it is not possible to stream XM via PIE.
Someone correct me if i am worng.

How is it against TOS
When they give you cellular video for free?
Thats video streaming.

The best I know of is a website that will stream XM for you. From what I recall, it is pretty limited but it will do some channels.

Streaming XM Radio
This one works best for me
http://www.xstreamxm.com/mobile/

drellmsu said:
When they give you cellular video for free?
Thats video streaming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on that. How the heck is it not allowed??

i cant stream anything, every time i try to stream for some reason it tries to reconnect then done not buffer over 0%. very frustrating. i have done a lot of reserch on this and have found this:
http://forums.cingular.com/cng/boar...essage.id=23969&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
but it does not work i still cant stream. there has to be a fix for this. anyone?

most problems I see with streaming not working on the Tilt is that if you have a medianet plan (not a PDA connect plan) streaming media will not work UNLESS you go into your connection settings and uncheck the box that says "my connection uses a proxy to connect" or something like that. Hope this helps. It will be in Settings --> connections --> connections ---> My ISP: Manage existing connections

got it to work, i changed the Mideanet settings. to:
use the access point name isp.cingular
On the next page, enter either ISP.CINGULARGPRS.COM or [email protected] (either will work) for username and CINGULAR1 for password (make sure they are all in caps)
Leave Domain name blank
Under advanced, make sure the only things selected are "Use server assigned IP address" and "Use IP header compression" - leave everything else unselected.
Click ok and then finish

I cannot connect at all using these setttings. I have the unlimited PDA plan.
The only thing that works is the default MEdiaNet connection with proxy unchecked.
Why is this?

With medianet
I use access point WAP.CINGULAR and username [email protected]. Don't know why, or what it means vs. isp.cingular...but it works.
What's the difference? (yes...I don't know jack about phones)

some one smarter then me needs to figure this out.

There are two unlimited data plans available thru AT&T. They are:
PDA Personal MAX Unlimited and PDA Connect Unlimited.
PDA Connect Unlimited is not advertised on the website. You need to call and ask for it. Why you ask? The PDA Personal MAX plan only gives you access to the wap.cingular APN (MediaNet settings). The PDA Connect plan gives you access to the isp.cingular APN (My ISP settings).
What is the difference between the two APNs? The wap.cingular APN uses a proxy to route the traffic. This is bad if you are trying to stream anything as they can see that you are streaming and kill it. This is hit or miss as they do not always monitor your traffic so some people get away with it, others do not. This is also bad if you need to connect to a VPN. But this is exactly why they have the isp.cingular APN - for business users.
The isp.cingular APN does not use a proxy and actually assigns an IP. If you are a business user and call and explain that you need to connect to a VPN you can get switched over to the PDA Connect plan. If you are a really smooth talker and get a nice rep, you can convince them to open you up the the isp.cingular APN on your PDA Personal MAX plan.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply. After reading this, I called AT&T and talked to business customer service (since I'm a gov't employee). The rep was very firm when they said I need to pay $79.99 a month for the PDA Connect plan. The price is RIDICULOUS, even though you get unlimited messages and tethering.
I could care less about streaming video. It works just fine for me. I connect to my Slingbox at home and am able to watch baseball/football when I'm out and about.
The thing that kills me is no VPN connectivity. I have a home VPN that I would love to be able to connect to. I had no idea why it wasn't working for me. When I click and hold the connection for the VPN and select (connect), it shows me connecting, but then nothing happens.
I was under the impression that VPN would work regardless of connection.
**EDIT**
Since I'm a business user still under a 2-year contract, they offered me a $59.99 a month plan that only covers unlimited data on isp.cingular (no messaging). My current plan is the PDA Personal Max, which add $5 a month to get unlimited m2m (in addition to the 1500 messages included). So if I were to go with the $59 plan, I'd still have to add at least $5+5 to get 200 messages and unlimited m2m.
I'm thoroughly disgusted and disappointed in how expensive it is, just to be able to access a VPN once in a while....
marm0lade said:
There are two unlimited data plans available thru AT&T. They are:
PDA Personal MAX Unlimited and PDA Connect Unlimited.
PDA Connect Unlimited is not advertised on the website. You need to call and ask for it. Why you ask? The PDA Personal MAX plan only give you access the the wap.cingular APN (MediaNet settings). The PDA Connect plan gives you access to the isp.cingular APN (My ISP settings).
What is the difference between the two APNs? The wap.cingular APN uses a proxy to route the traffic. This is bad if you are trying to stream anything as they can see that you are streaming and kill it. This is hit or miss as they do not always monitor your traffic so some people get away with it, others do not. This is also bad if you need to connect to a VPN. But this is exactly why they have the isp.cingular APN - for business users.
The isp.cingular APN does not use a proxy and actually assigns an IP. If you are a business user and call and explain that you need to connect to a VPN you can get switched over to the PDA Connect plan. If you are a really smooth talker and get a nice rep, you can convince them to open you up the the isp.cingular APN on your PDA Personal MAX plan.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

That price is pretty whack. I was told over on the AT&T forum that they have a lower priced PDA Connect plan for $49 a month. This plan is data only tho, no messaging and no tethering (even tho we all know how to bypass that ). He probably only told you about the most expensive plan. I would call back and see about getting the cheaper one if you don't need messaging.
Edit: Didn't see you got the price quote for data only. $60 a month is rape just to be able to access the isp.cingular APN. Shame on you AT&T.

I was first told about the $79 plan. I told them that was ridiculous. He said that was all he could offer. I asked for manager.
Manager was much more knowledgeable. Manager told me about $59 plan, but stressed that it had no messaging included. He said I could add $5 for 200 anywhere messages, and another $5 to get unlimited messaging to other AT&T users (like my girlfriend, on my other account).
The only reason he said I could have the $59 plan was because I was still within my 2 year contract....
Absolutely outrageous.
marm0lade said:
That price is pretty whack. I was told over on the AT&T forum that they have a lower priced PDA Connect plan for $49 a month. This plan is data only tho, no messaging and no tethering (even tho we all know how to bypass that ). He probably only told you about the most expensive plan. I would call back and see about getting the cheaper one if you don't need messaging.
Edit: Didn't see you got the price quote for data only. $60 a month is rape just to be able to access the isp.cingular APN. Shame on you AT&T.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Your best bet with plan changes is to find a local rep in a store who has a clue. When I called to change my data plan, the prices I was quoted on the phone were $20 higher than the same plans on the web. The rep told me that only an in-store rep could give me the web prices.
Flapjack said:
I was first told about the $79 plan. I told them that was ridiculous. He said that was all he could offer. I asked for manager.
Manager was much more knowledgeable. Manager told me about $59 plan, but stressed that it had no messaging included. He said I could add $5 for 200 anywhere messages, and another $5 to get unlimited messaging to other AT&T users (like my girlfriend, on my other account).
The only reason he said I could have the $59 plan was because I was still within my 2 year contract....
Absolutely outrageous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Instant messenger via wifi!!

Hey,
I have got my hands on a BlackBerry Curve 8320 on the T-mobile network. I was wondering how it would be possible for me to use the instant message feature using the wifi option? I was a previous owner of a T-mobile featured MDA as soon as I was linked to any wireless router I had instant access to any of the instant messengers available. Your ingenius help would be greatly appreciated.....
Thanx,
Kuntars

if you have any messenger apps for blackberry you can use them using wifi.. nothing special about that

Kuntars in need of help
I have all the preloded messenger apps like Yahoo, Aim, Msn, Icq etc. the problem is when I try to sign in the program responds "service not enabled for this handheld" When I called my T-mobile my service provider they as usual try to sell me something by telling me that the only way that I could gain access is by purchasing their data plan for $24.99 monthly charge, the reason I feel that their claim is absured is simply cause I had it running on the MDA as i had explained previously.... Is there perhaps another application I must download, or maybe program the phone in some way???

Unless Blackberry can't use Wifi to connect to the internet by default (which is obviously impossible since blackberry is all about internet), they're lying, and you should be able to connect. it might be that your Messenger application (dunno which one it is for BB) can't use Wifi connection (tho this is unprobable as well)

AFAIK, BlackBerry is all about using data plans, whatever they are called.
But, that can vary from provider to provider regarding pricing/charging.
If you are able to surf on internet trough WiFi on that BB device (sorry, I'm using BB Pearl 8100 which has no WiFi, so can't check), you might want to try BeeJiveIM software. It ain't freeware, but there should be trial version.
You also might want to raise your question in Curve section of PinStack forums.

Best SIP software for HD2

Hi,
Could you please help me to find out best SIP software for HD2. I got PortSIP for my HTC HD2. It;s working very well on wifi connection. But not working at all on t-mobile UK 3g network. I get registration failed error. I just realised that PortSIP doesn't initiate the data connection at all. SO getting same message even though not connected to internet. My voip provider is actionvoip.
Any suggestions....

yes portsip does not initiate the 3G/data connection. But there is a work around. Open a web browser or any application that uses data and after connection has been established start portsip then it registers successfully.
I use Actionvoip on 3G without any problems.

diamondX04HT said:
yes portsip does not initiate the 3G/data connection. But there is a work around. Open a web browser or any application that uses data and after connection has been established start portsip then it registers successfully.
I use Actionvoip on 3G without any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
I tried same, But no success. On which network you are.. I am on t-mobile UK and i found following link (https://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/terms-and-conditions/combi/) in which thay have mentioned that
<b>
"you can't use your phone as a modem or use internet Plus for peer to peer file sharing, or making internet phone calls. *[Internet] Plus comes with a fair use policy of 3GB a month."</b>
So I am wondering wheather T-mobile is blocking my access to use any SIP software. Although i can use skype mobile on t-mobile.

pda_crazy said:
Hi,
I tried same, But no success. On which network you are.. I am on t-mobile UK and i found following link (https://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/terms-and-conditions/combi/) in which thay have mentioned that
<b>
"you can't use your phone as a modem or use internet Plus for peer to peer file sharing, or making internet phone calls. *[Internet] Plus comes with a fair use policy of 3GB a month."</b>
So I am wondering wheather T-mobile is blocking my access to use any SIP software. Although i can use skype mobile on t-mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am on softbank in Japan

Skype is no SIP-software.
VoIP might also be blocked by your VoIP-provider. I use VoIP for my company and we had the problem that we could only sign in from the provider's own network. They didn't allow external connections to their VoIP-servers.
After we had some discussions on the matter we received a workaround, so we can use VoIP from anywhere in the world and customers can call us on the same number, where-ever we are

don't worry
try FRING for windows mobile.. its supported SIP .. WORK PERFECT

NIMBUZZ
Try nimbuzz messenger.

Maybe this one WVGA VoIP software with earpiece, HTC favorites import, dtmf support

[Q] Any interest in a 3rd Party GAN/UMA Service for Android?

Hello XDA-developers,
I have developed my own GAN/UMA Gateway that runs in the cloud, similar to T-Mobile's WiFi Calling and Orange's Signal Boost.
With this service you can point your GAN/UMA Client to my Gateway and I will pass the calls to and from an external SIP Provider. You no longer have to be with Orange-UK or T-Mo -US to get UMA Service!
At the moment my network is not connected to the SS7 network so unfortunately you can't just simply roam onto it. However I do have a way to register existing SIMs with my HLR. Currently this means taking the SIM out of the phone and connecting it to a PC via a SIM Card Reader. I'm very interested in talking to anyone who could make this run as an App on the phone.
Once the SIM is registered in my HLR and the UMA App is told to go to my Gateway (there's a secret menu to do this) then the phone will register and Location Update on my network.
When it is on my network, it is no longer reachable from the Operator's network, again because I can't get access to the SS7 network. I'm very very interested in talking to anyone who thinks they know how I can access SS7. I have the SS7 stack, and the skills but not the access.
Anyway for now, I can assign a UK national number to the SIM so it's reachable via the PSTN. The MSISDN number can be call-forwarded to the PSTN number (not a great solution, but OK for now).
The cost of making calls will be whatever the SIP Provider charges. (Currently I use sipgate.co.uk) I plan on just charging a low fixed monthly fee to cover the costs of providing the access.
What do you guys think? Is this something that people are interested in? I realize without a roaming service it's no better than a Skype/VoIP type service but potentially it could be a very good service if I can get the SS7 side sorted out, it's an alternative to roaming when abroad and provide better coverage at home for many people.
All comments are welcome, thanks for reading.
AlanE

umm yes please!
too bad so many people passed over this thread. what if there were actually some decent data-only plans...

Would I be interested? Hell yes.
I'm currently using a Galaxy S2 on Orange with their Signal Boost app and I was crushed to hear that Orange are not offering UMA on the S3. There's no point in me having an expensive phone that I can't use at home (or most places near home). Third Party UMA would be a small miracle for me.

Interested
Hi Alan,
We are interested in talking to you about this. Can we PM?