CELL PHONE INTERNET ACCESS

[DanaMc]

CELL PHONE INTERNET ACCESS

This is designed to explain the basic approach to using your cell phone with your computer to connect to the internet. It is not intended to be an in depth coverage of the topic. Rather it is intended to help folks get acquainted with what is necessary and a suggested resource or two. The first step in this process would be to check with your cell phone carrier. Make sure there is no reason you can’t use your phone like a modem. Some carriers can provide this for an additional fee.

It is the most cost effective way to keep up with your email and favorite web pages from nearly anywhere. In most cases you do not need a separate or different phone plan. You will use your plan minutes and can manage it to take advantage of the unlimited nights and weekends just as you might for conversations. Regular cell phone roaming charges may apply depending on where you are and whether your carrier has an agreement with the local service provider. This is no different than any other situation.

The key components needed are your cell phone, a special USB cord designed specifically for your cell phone. It will connect your cell phone directly to your computer via a USB port on the computer. Finally you will want software to manage the connection and compress the data being sent. There are many sources for this equipment. You can check with your local cell phone retailer. Radio Shack is a good source on this topic as well. But they will only be familiar with the phones they sell. I have been using SnapDialer. I have been very happy with the combination of Verizon and SnapDialer to connect to the internet.

Once your software is installed and configured for your internet service provider, you will only need to click on the Icon to launch your internet session. What service provider you use is not part of this topic. However there are many low cost or free email services such as Google’s Gmail, Microsoft’s Hotmail, or Yahoo.

Below is some additional reading on this topic:

HOW-TO: Use your CDMA cell phone as a USB modem

Cell Phone Internet Connections

Cellular Fills Gap Between Hotspots

Looking for a boost in your signal? There are third party systems that can enhance your cellular signal and/or facilitate the use of a cell phone in your RV or your home. One example of this is Wilson Cellular Antennas & Amplifiers. Properly installed, these systems can enhance your range of coverage.

[MrWizard]

have you tried any of the internet connection tweaking programs , such as

'cable nut' 'tcip optimizer' 'internet tweak 2000' etc..

on some computers they can make a difference..

is it possible to change the speed settings of the interface? USB ? that connects the adapter box to the laptop

and have you compared your setup to anybody using a cingular cellphone cable to their laptop, working from the same location as you..

if possible I would try out their phone on your PC and let them try your card adapter system on their PC

also some phones, such as my LG 8100 from verizon, have PC connection speed settings in the phone setup menus

if these are set to 19k or 34k , it is NOT possible to get full high speed NO matter what the other software is set too

check the software setups for the aircard itself, NOT just the windows modems settings,

do you have management and setup program for the aircard ?

NOT the connection program..

[MtnDew]

great topic and well worth the reading. I think it's important in life to share ones experiences which allows others to learn.

My post is one where I am seeking assistance and idea's of a technical nature. Here's my story.

Equipment:
Cingular 3G PC Card modem (Sierra wireless Aircard 860),
DWL-500 pcmcia adapter card ( Ricoh R5C475 II chipset),
Dell 8300 Desktop PC with following config:
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name xxxxxxx
System Manufacturer Dell Computer Corporation
System Model Dimension 8300
System Type X86-based PC
Processorx86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 9 GenuineIntel ~3191 Mhz
Processorx86 Family 15 Model 2 Stepping 9 GenuineIntel ~3192 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Computer Corporation A03, 9/19/2003
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name xxxxxxxxx
Time Zone US Mountain Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 1,536.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.12 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 2.85 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

Issue : download speeds should be ~150KB/s (Edge)and ~300 KB/s(3G)

downloading at 17-22KB/s (edge connection) (in El Paso)
downloading at 50KB/s on 3G connection (in Phoenix)

Troubleshooting performed:
1. Called Cingular support on 4 different occasions and all settings were verified to be correct.

Following troubleshooting done on my own thus far since Cingular's support didn't resolve the issue but agreed the speeds were waaay too low.....

2. deinstalled and reinstalled the drivers for the DWL-500 pcmcia adapter card.
3. Installed latest firmware for the Aircard from Sierra.
4. Installed latest version of the cingular communications manager.
5. Installed latest version of the Sierra Aircard 860 Watcher program.
6. Ordered, received and installed a replacement Aircard 860 from Cingular.

All above troubleshooting did not resolve the slow download speed.

Also ordered a new pcmcia adapter card from synchrotech which has the TI chipset on it rather than the Ricoh chipset (learned this from the cingular forums) part# ordered : PCM-CR-PC1 IC2 which I won't be able to install until we get back to Phoenix next week.

Any suggestions as to what I should do next are VERY welcome.

[MrWizard]

what do you mean the browser won't open ?

right click on the IE icon or the firefox icon and chose open

or go thru the start menu

if you clicking your OLD internet icon, it will be trying to open your PREVIOUS connection cable-dsl-dialup ? which is NOT connected ?

OR do you mean , you can't get any web pages in the browser

[savitbound]

I give up, I have a v325 motorola ,with verizon service , I get it to show the the phone is a modem .It shows the motorola phone on my screen and it says I am connected to the internet ,But i can get a browser to open ,I give up I have tried everything
Sal Avitabile

[pulsar]

MrWizard,

Thank you for making this post. We can link to it when members ask how to connect their Vcast capable phones to the Internet.

Tom

[MrWizard]

so many people are getting NEW phones ( Vcast capable phones ) and want to use the 1x network connection, here are some directions, these are detailed for the lg 8100 on verizon, will work for the 8300 and 9800 and possibly the 5200

this works for my LG vx8100 and should work for your LG from verizon

press MENU

now press the number 0

the screen will say enter service code

now press 0 6 times

a new secret menu list will appear

look for NETWORK SELECT ( on my phone it is number 3 in the list )

choose NETWORK SELECT and press OK

another menu choose 'Mode Preference' press 1 or OK

another menu

with 4 choices

choose '1X Only'

press OK

this will lock the phone to 1x mode

now press END

it should work for you

If you need to setup the phones PC connection and DUN ( dialup networking )

that is also in the service menu

selection #4 'Data'

nothing about this will change your voice phone calls

VOICE calls do NOT use EvDo ( digital hybrid ) mode that you turned off

all you have done so far is , set the phone to act like older phones that did not have Ev-Do broadband data speed capability,

in the service menu under data, scroll down to PC connection and choose 'cable DUN' and choose enable and OK


all you need to do now is make sure the PW & ID are correct in your dialup connection settings

or create a new dialup connection

PW is VZW the ID is cellphonenumber@vzw3g.com

example 5551235656@vzw3g.com

the number to dial is #777


Create your connection

when you go to connect for the first time, click Properties, go to the "Security" Tab, then under security options, you need to select the radio button next to "Advanced (custom settings)" then click the settings button just to the right of the radio button..

when that dialog box comes up, under the "Allow These Protocols" section, you need to uncheck everything but the "Unencrypted Password (PAP)" option. Hit "OK" on the bottom, a dialog will come up saying something about if the connection uses one of the protocols that you just un-selected it wont work, just press "OK", then press "OK" again.. then you will be back at the login screen for the DUN connection.. Press "Connect" it should work from there..

I hope these directions help

[Roadpilot]

Tom,

Will do.

[pulsar]

Roadpilot wrote:
...
Does Verizon somehow know we are using the KR1 with the PC650 and assign us low priority in their system? Do they care that two laptops are sharing the bandwidth? If so are their any work arounds?

Roadpilot,

I think you would get a better response to your question if you started a new thread.

Tom

[Roadpilot]

We have a Kyocera KR1 mobile router and PC650 aircard that we use with Verizon's internet access service. My wife and I both have Dell laptops with Verizon cell phones.

The aircard works great plugged into either laptop (XP), but when plugged into the KR1 it is less robust. Specifically early in the morning it works pretty well but as the morning progresses and traffic builds on the towers it starts to terminate calls. When it drops calls frequently we pull the PC650 and pop it in one of the laptops and things work great.

Does Verizon somehow know we are using the KR1 with the PC650 and assign us low priority in their system? Do they care that two laptops are sharing the bandwidth? If so are their any work arounds?

[JJnLilly]

Curious to know which Nextel phone you have. I'm still using an old Sprint Sanyo 4900 with a data cable and vision pack to get online while we travel.

ps - retired AF res here

[Retired_SFC]

I have Nextel with the web plan so I can access the web/email with my phone, text only. I got a USB data cable and downloaded the Nextel Connection Manager (Free From Nextel:B). Connected the phone opened the Connection Mananger, clicked connect then opened IE or Outlook and WHAM!:C I've got full access. It's not as fast as most dial up's and DSL, but it works for what I need, checking email and paying the bills while we're on the road.

Andy

[2oldman]

I've been bluetoothing my Motorola V557 for internet access. For times when Edge is not available, I'll get GPRS.

IMHO, gprs works better than Edge. With Edge there are times I cannot even bring up google.

[42lou]

DemoDiva wrote:
I used my Verizon mobile office kit and cell phone for two months during my free minutes - no problem, just the extra cost of the kit. Then we decided since we were going fulltiming this month we would get a 2nd cell phone - or second line as Verizon calls it for $9.99 extra a month. And then - I couldn't connect online with our original cell phone as I'd been doing?? What the heck? Called Verizon tech support and after two hours of checking and redoing everything they tell me, "Oh yeah you aren't set up for the data use plan and we can set it up right now, for $60+ extra a month". So he set it all up just to see if it would make the difference and two minutes later, I was all connected online again. Magic...only takes $$$$. "Why", I ask "was I able to connect like this for free for a couple of months and now I have to pay?" and the answer was,"you made a change in your plan, and whenever others change their plans who have been using it for their free minutes without charge, will also find out they won't be able to connect until they sign up for the data plan at $60+ extra a month. Verizon has decided no more free ride, but you can go online anytime now, not just during your free minutes. However, your minutes still apply for your talking time."

The moral of the story is --- don't change your plan with Verizon if you want to use free minutes for your online time at no charge.

Now can someone tell me if I got the "snapdialer" program would I be able to go back to using my free minutes free and cancel the the data plan with Verizon???

DemoDiva... seems as tho. Verizon is catching on to the backdoor access... I am thinking maybe on a per customer basis.. Unfort. I don't think there's any going back once you get "caught" ...I need to update my plan also and was wondering did you call and have them do it over the phone or did you do it yourself online via editing your account ?

[texas_tbone]

Cingular charges 59.99 for the data plan for laptops. Word to the wise if you use Bluetooth it will slow your Internet down and it is not very secure.
You can go into Cingular buy a PC card and your on the net with no roaming or extra charges . Verizon has the same thing for the same price but a smaller cov area. Just some info from some one who does this for a living.
Travis

[retiredhappy]

I hear Verizon is going to start charging for "data" transmission if you're using their Quick2Net. I have had a Motorola Mobile Office Kit for serveral years but have found I have to stay with older phones that are "Trimode" rather than duelmode like most of the new ones. There are two options: I set up my phone to dial my hometown ISP dialup service so Verizon only sees it as a long distance phone call. I have now switched to Roadrunner for my ISP and RR supplies (at no extra charge) local dial up numbers for when you're traveling. I will test them out for the first time in December from Gallup New Mexico. The only problem I've ever had with using Verizon Quick2Net was that it didn't work if I was in an "extended network" area.

Would like to hear from anyone who has used RR's dial up service.

30' Gulfstream Class C
Two spoiled Labs
Yellow "Hippy" VW Bug