I have an x7510 and have used it successfully with a Telcel (Mexico) 3g sim card down there, though since Mexico isn't in the Connections country presets, I had to use web-provided parameters. I suspected that I wasn't on quite the same network as when I put the Telcel sim into the purchased ZTE626 usb 3g aircard and everything was automatic, and a dealer tech guy there agreed, but who knows. (By the way, if you're vacationing in Mexico and want economical 3g, look up the Internet Amigo plan on the Telcel web site. It's 1, 3, 7, 15 and 30 days blocks of time, not annual subscription. Perfect for tourists. The Customer Service places typically have the old brochures lying around, so print the current pricing off the web before you go. They do all this for USB or Express cards, and for smartphones of all types.)
SO, here I am in the USA again, and for kicks, I took the X7510 into my Tmo dealer and they reassigned me a newer sim (the difference? she said it was 3g capable) and we put it in the X7510 and tried it. I couldn't believe they were willing to try it. And of course, using the Connections automatic setting, I got Edge. However, I couldn't help wondering about some things:
1. Why can't I get downloading on 2100 3g, just downloading? Is it because the upload handshaking etc can't switch to Edge?
2. Is it true that if I had a Tmo 3g phone, such as the 3g Dash, this 'no difference but it's newer and has 3g on it' (which they let me keep, I should add) my data plan (el cheapo grandfathered 20$ for unlimited incl hotspots) would now do Tmo 3g? I actually asked her about this and she indicated the 3g aspect of this or that data plan is not more costly.
3. When looking at the automatically configured Tmo Connections settings, the setting for type of connection had very little available, just CellularGPRS&3G. When I'd been working with the Telcel sim, all sorts of combinations of frequencies popped up. The preset still says wap.voicestream.com. Is there another group of Manual settings I could use to get my half 3g on the X7510?
4. Perhaps the most interesting, since the X7510 has USB host capability, is there a way to use my 4in1 cable, a Tmo USB aircard and my new Tmo 3g sim to make the X7510 recognize and use the USB card? I do like the X7510 for its huge screen...
Thanks to anyone who will help, or who finds the Telcel info useful.
Related
Ok, here's the deal. My Girlfriend is going to Germany in less than a month for 2 weeks with her school. I'm the paranoid type, and seeing the movie Taken has not parlayed my fears one bit.
I want her to have a cell phone while she's there, but also want something that can run Mologogo or another similar GPS tracking program. I'm not infringing on her privacy and she has control on when to turn on the program (unless there's a way to have it run in the background secretly... just kidding... but seriously)
So, I'm looking at 2 options. 1) Get her current plan upgraded for international for this month while she's away. Not the best prices, but it's simple. or 2) The better plan is to find a local carrier (vodafone, cello, etc.) and have her swap out the Sim on a phone I get here....
I have NO idea how cell service works across the pond and I've been getting conflicting stuff left and right. Basically, if you've done option 2 before, just let me know what you did, and I'll probably do that. The GPS tracking is NOT a priority, I just want her to have a phone there.
thanks
first you need a Quadband phone then some trust
When traveling internationally you need an UNLOCKED tri or quadband GSM phone. My favorite travel work horse is a Treo 750v. If receiving calls to your current USA cell number is a priority simply add international calling to your current account (if GSM carrier like At&t) and it is enabled automaticly on your sim card. Non GSM carriers like Sprint will issue you a SIM card to put in your phone while away. Rates are high for this convenience, expect to pay around $1.75 to $1.99 per minute or more for USA calls. Data support is sometimes available, expensive or other times data is non existant.
Once abroad you can purchase a local SIM card that gives you a local number in the foreign country and now you must either use a prepaid phone phone card (excellent for short term) or subscribe to a monthly billing account (good for long term) to have usable calling minutes on the phone. I like the $10 cards and most of them can be re-charged using a credit card. Rates are cheaper to the USA, around $1.40. Unlike the USA data rates are expensive, often billed per 1k! This is ok to check email occaisionally but forget about browsing the net for hours. The negative of all this is you have to switch SIM cards depending on if you want to receive USA inbound calls or make calls to the USA and check you voicemail. Now you know why there are "dual sim" made in china phones on ebay.
Recent phones now offer WIFI so it is possible to use skype for calls if you have an account and find an open WIFI network. I have accomplised this on my Treo 800w. There can be reduced call quality on WIFI depending on available bandwidth.
Tracking a person's phone would either rely on a USA based service that unlikely functions abroad or raw GSM data from foreign towers that may or may not yield valid data.
Seriously re-examine your need to track someone and the level of your trust. If this is a person you want in your life then allow them the freedom to be away and miss your quality companionship. If they really care for you then you have nothing to worry or track about.
Actually, the tracking is an on-board Java applet that accesses the Phone's internal GPS module and sends the coordinates to an off-site server for viewing on PCs, etc. www.Mologogo.com if you're interested. Yes, I do have trust issues, but not with her, more of other people. Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. I always err on the side of over-preparedness... worst-case-scenario type of thing.
Yes, my plan is to use the "local sim card installed on an unlocked tri/quad-band cell phone bought locally here in the US" method. However, I've heard of companies that actually ship those sims to you ahead of time, so that you can do all the set-up here, instead of fiddling with it in the middle of your already hectic trip.
My thing too is One or both of us will be calling international. It would probably be cheaper for me to use a land-line and a phone card to call her local german number, no? Or maybe even use Skype's Skype-out service (which is basically VoIP-to-Landline/Cell service)
But again, Which company do I use. I know the mechanics, I need the specifics.
Oh, and thanks for the heads-up on the data plan, ix-nay on that on account of costs. I think I'll just spring for a can of pepper-spray instead of gps tracking.
So I'm cheap. I do not want to pay an extra $30 for data on my fuze. Shortly after buying my fuze, I immediately called up AT&T and asked them to turn off data, because my phone was constantly trying to connect to 3g, and from previous experiences I know it will rack up my bill since I am without a data plan.
Anyway I've been searching around because data on this phone would be nice to have when I am outside of wifi. I noticed how at&t offered prepay data on select go phones for between $10-20 per month (Link http://www.phonenews.com/att-gophone-prepaid-adds-data-only-option-3381/. I thought sweet! But then what about voice and texting? I need voice and texting, and it would be nice to stay on my family's plan since I am not paying for it.
Then I started reading about dual sim's and dual sim adapters and thought what if I could have my current sim (unlim. voice, unlim. text, no data) and add in the 2nd sim card of one of those special prepay data phones and have my fuze run off of that for 3g data.
I have read with dual sim adapters it sounds like you have to switch between the 2 of them, so would that mean I could use only one at a time? Meaning if I am on the second data only sim, I could not receive texts or calls until I switch back to my main sim?
If this configuration could work simultaneously than it would be PERFECT. But if theres anyone out there with more insight, please let me know. Thanks
first of all. 3g is not only data. 3G is basically a faster connection (that also includes phone calls). [unless i'm wrong, this is how I understand 3g]
second. I don't think there is a dual sim adapter for the touch pro, but it also kind of makes the phone look horrible (assuming it's connected to some port since there is no room for another sim card).
Only specific phones can handle dual sims like KIRF iphone nano so it's not really worth it to save 10 bucks a month since you'll be spending money anyways, to get this adapter of yours.
I think there is finally a dual sim adapter for the touch pro...
Check this out:
http://www.simore.ch/en/two_sim_cards_in_one_mobile/dual_sim_card_gold_1.php
wow. That's kinda crazy to see that you have to cut up your sim card to fit it inside the dual sim adapter...
mike3000 said:
So I'm cheap. I do not want to pay an extra $30 for data on my fuze. Shortly after buying my fuze, I immediately called up AT&T and asked them to turn off data, because my phone was constantly trying to connect to 3g, and from previous experiences I know it will rack up my bill since I am without a data plan.
Anyway I've been searching around because data on this phone would be nice to have when I am outside of wifi. I noticed how at&t offered prepay data on select go phones for between $10-20 per month (Link http://www.phonenews.com/att-gophone-prepaid-adds-data-only-option-3381/. I thought sweet! But then what about voice and texting? I need voice and texting, and it would be nice to stay on my family's plan since I am not paying for it.
Then I started reading about dual sim's and dual sim adapters and thought what if I could have my current sim (unlim. voice, unlim. text, no data) and add in the 2nd sim card of one of those special prepay data phones and have my fuze run off of that for 3g data.
I have read with dual sim adapters it sounds like you have to switch between the 2 of them, so would that mean I could use only one at a time? Meaning if I am on the second data only sim, I could not receive texts or calls until I switch back to my main sim?
If this configuration could work simultaneously than it would be PERFECT. But if theres anyone out there with more insight, please let me know. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting thought. Bad news is they won't work simultaneously - however you can have the autoswitch every hour or so if you wanted.
Personally I'm not sure its really worth the effort. First off, you have to buy the adapter - which is going to cost you close to 100 bucks, then you'll need the gophone and it's sim-chip and the monthy prepay on that. By the time you add all this up you might as well just blow the 30 bucks on a data plan and save yourself the headace.
However the ability to now have dual sims in the FUZE is great. I suppose if you traveled a lot it could prove quite handy.
Hi all,
Wondering why everywhere I go, my MDA Vario IV gets no more than 40 KB/sec on the 3 GB Web'n'walk package. I have measured this on mobile speed tests locally on the handset, tethered via USB, and also using a WiFi Hostpot 'app'.
The phone shows 'H' when connected, and a T-Mobile Internet Dongle out-performs my phone (as you would expect, but by LOADS)
So, I called T-Mobile - the lady said I had a '2G SIM' which she identified by asking the colour of my SIM card (white by the way, from Oct. 2007). They are sending me a blue one which is their new '3G SIM'.
I am wondering, even if I did have a 2G SIM at the moment, how comes my phone will show 'G', '3G', and 'H' (depending on the area I am in) and definitely be faster when '3G' or 'H' is displayed in the notification area?
Either way, my blue SIM should arrive tomorrow.
Am I wrong in expecting faster than 0.4 Mbps when then handset itself is rated at up to 7.2 Mbps?
I appreciate 7.2 Mbps is unlikely!! But I would expect at least 1 Mbps out of the T-Mobile network in and around Kent, and in London.
All comments welcome
Yes it sounds like you have an old version sim card not capable of 3G. ATT actually prints 3G on their 3G cards now. But she is right, your laptop is picking up HSPDA which fly's, and your phone is using edge or (e) or 2g. Just call tmo and have them send you a new simcard or goto the store and get another. Careful at the store though they charge $27 for a sim card, Tmo charges $7.99 if you call them, or you can get them on ebay for $4.99. BTW my (H) speeds on Tmo are 3.5mb down 0.5mb up. Also another factor that could be happening is your phone is seeing the H or 3G signal but your sim card won't connect to it or go above 2g speeds.
Thanks for the reply... in the UK they charge £10 in store but this would be credited to my account... well, I will see what happens when the new card arrives. Thanks again for the reply - Ian
Just thought I would report back. In my home, I now get 1.6 Mbps which is 1.2 Mbps more than my previous 0.4 Mbps speeds - so the SIM card is crucial to the speed of your data access - but not the colour, as the new one is white as well!
Thanks again all,
Ian
But if you flip it over and look at the contacts you will see they are different. We couldn't get my buds tmo card to pull a 3G signal from my phone, we pulled both cards and his card looked the same but if you flipped it over his contacts were way way bigger then mine. Then I dug up an old ATT 3G sim card and it had the same small contacts my card had.
I did a search and couldn't find a good spot to ask about plans so hopefully this fits here.
Recently upgraded from N4 to N5, since I now have have access to LTE (and T-Mobile has recently rolled out Band 2 coverage just about state wide in my state) it has opened up my service provider options. Currently on ST (AT&T) $45 a month, was hoping to be able to switch to something else and gain LTE speed (I have an early sim card and no LTE speed) and maybe save $5 or so a month.
Came across an ad for MetroPCS (MVNO for T-Mobile) offering a free LTE phone with porting of a non T-Mobile # (since I'm on AT&T right now I should be eligible). Figured I could pick up a free phone, drop the sim card into my N5 and keep the phone has a spare/give it to my son/sell it.
I have 2 questions:
1. If I were to give it to my son, would I have to use MetroPCS for service or could I use it on T-Mobile or any of its MVNOs (eyeing the $30 text/data plan). From what I have read I think it would be stuck on MetroPCS unless I unlock it, which is apparently a little difficult for their GSM devices.
2. Not sure if anyone would know the answer for sure, but the large majority of my data is used streaming music on pandora to my car radio (Android headunit running pandora app that connects to my phone via wireless tether). The appeal of MetroPCS vs. other MVNOs was even tho I lose 2GB of data (3 vs. 5) I save $5 a month and if my pandora steaming doesn't count then my monthly usage goes from about 4.5GB down to 2GB. I assume that MetroPCS just looks at the servers on the web the data is coming from and then flags anything from Pandora has not to be against my quota, it doesn't care if my phone then shares that data via wifi to another Android device.
Anyway thanks for any answers or feedback.
Well I have working tether now, I'll report back about the answer to 2. And I will steal a t-mo sim from another phone and check 1. but I believe the answer is it will only work with metropcs sims and not any t-mobile mvno.
OK to answer #2 it appears that A. MetroPCS is lying just streaming pandora on my phone seems to eat up data (or something is eating it up at an alarming rate with my phone idle and just playing pandora) and it most certainly is counted towards my data cap when its on a tethered device, in fact their whole data usage seems to be a big scam. According to the MyMetro app I have used 800mb in 3 days, this is with playing about 2 hours of pandora (which shouldn't count) 3 short trips of navigation, about 20 emails (none with attachments, just short text only emails) and about 10 minutes of web browsing. On ST that wouldn't have been more than a few hundred MB.
And lastly their coverage map isn't even remotely close, 3 separate times I have been outdoors on a main road in an area that is solid dark purple even at the most zoomed in level and I can travel a good mile in every direction before I get any kind of signal, let alone a 4G LTE signal.
/Rant
Hi,
I live on a boat and don't have access to regular fixed wifi... In the UK, I can get an unlimited LTE data deal and use the wifi tether router android app to use all of this as for my home wifi needs, while the phone company just thinks I am using data on my phone (not a hotspot)
However, I've just come to the USA for a three month road trip (new York to cali and back) and trying to organise my wifi (to tether our two phones, sat nav, and any work on the laptop I might need to do), and the networks here are nuts.
First of all, unlimited data is pretty expensive (I pay about $25 in the UK a month, here it is like 70$ for a much ****ter deal)
Secondly, all the big networks are telling my that my Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE variant (that I use as my internet router) is too old. (it's only 2013!!!). In England, all the networks have LTE, 3G and 2G bands that any phone can at least connect to something. Why do the networks obsolete phones here? I'm speculating in Europe we probably have legislation to prevent against this and protect the consumer, but in reality I have no idea.
AT&T said their network could use this phone, but the sim isn't even recognising (it's an unlocked international version, so not really sure what's going on here)... So now I'm stuck with the third ****test network for a month when I could have gotten verison or T-Mobile
So... I'm thinking I need to buy a newer phone to use as an internet router
So... Question is...
Is there any phone modern enough to be used on modern USA networks like Verison or T-Mobile AND has RF antenna ports (like the Samsung galaxy S4) so that I can plug it into an antenna when I get home (I don't want to upgrade my phone just for the trip if I can't then use it with an antenna when I get back home?)|
Any other idea's or solutions to my problem?
Should I just jail break my iPhone S6+ and use mifi instead for this trip?
Thanks in advance,
I would use the Galaxy S4 as a hot spot and keep it permanently connected to the antenna.. allowing you to buy any phone you want, just connect to the hotspot when needed.
Here in AUS you can get a secondary simcard which we call a "data sim".. as the name suggests its a simcard connected to the same account that strictly only has access to usage data on the plan, no calls.. we usally use them in tablets. Might be worth looking into if you want to only have the one active plan.