Using Nokia N95 as a modem on 3 X Series Silver

[technoed]

Hi folks,

Has anyone managed to get the modem on the Nokia N95 working (using the Nokia PC suite), while on 3's X Series silver tariff?

I've tried to do this using the "Connect to the Internet" Icon on the Nokia PC Suite program. That tries to connect using "Standard Modem over bluetooth link" and although the phone is paired with the pc and a connection is made between the two, I get the message "Failed to establish a network connection".

I've tried looking at the settings option, "Configure the connection manually", but am unsure what to put in the following three fields:
Access point:
Username:
Password:
Obviously the Access point is 3 (but three.co.uk or some other variation?)
The username and password option is a bit more confusing, is there some default setting for this?

Any thoughts please would be most appreciated.

[Lord Lucan]

3 will say NO flatly if you ask them to use handset as modem when on X Series as it is not allowed despite the fact that it is possible.Its their policy as there is another package available for modem connection.
You can try it for experiment purpose to see it works.
Make sure you are not running any service which require internet connection on handset.Now connect your phone to PC. Syncronise and when ready connect.
You dont need to put anything. It shouldnt replace your normal home broadband but now and than when out and about with laptop or pda it should be fine. But still risky.

[technoed]

Thanks mate,
I'm presuming that you mean connecting via the usb cable to the nokia pc suite?

[Lord Lucan]

Yes. Or if your laptop/pc is bluetooth equipped but it could be a little slower with bluetooth.

[Cooleo]

Access Point: three.co.uk
Username: Leave blank
Password: Leave blank
number to dial: *99#

[technoed]

thanks lord Lucan; I've tried the cable connection and that works! However the bluetooth connection does not.

Cooleo: Thanks for the details, when you mention "number to dial" where is that used? There is no field for that as far as I can see when using the Nokia PC Suite.

[Lord Lucan]

Word of warning:Be prepared for worse if 3 do random monitoring of data traffic. So dont subtitute for home braodband. Better still to buy PAYG T Mob sim when out and about for a pound a day and you can use nearly all services including SIP soft phone! If they block your sim you have lost fiver or so!But with three, unauthorised modem connection could be as much as £2.00 per megabyte.

[Lord Lucan]

Bluetooth should connect without any aid from PC Suite. With cabled connection all dialing rules are there and I believe they should be there with bluetooth also. I have a Vaio UX50 which connects(with bluetooth) without installing PC suite.Remember the word of warning ,rather an advice.Regards.

[technoed]

Thanks Lord Lucan for the advice. I was not planning to substitute for my home broadband connection, but would be nice to have the option for when out and about to connect to the net.
The X Series silver tariff allows for up to 1GB download per month, so hopefully keeping well below that level would not cause any problems. Are you suggesting that 3 are able to know when a mobile is being used as a modem?

[Cooleo]

Create a new connection in control panel, Select your N95, Enter *99# as the number to dial or phone number and viola.

Cooleo

[Lord Lucan]

"Are you suggesting that 3 are able to know when a mobile is being used as a modem?[/QUOTE]"
================================================== ================================================== =========
It is possible by the browser you are using and not onlt that but at the rate data traffic flows which is faster than possible with a handset.What I really mean to say is that when used out and about shouldnt do any harm and 3 do know the fact that people use the service for modem connection.
If 3 openly allow this type of connection in such a very competitive market which could be classed as unfair competition by other network providers.
I assume that in next twelve months there may be more offerings to attract users and we could all benefit from that.
Regards.

[technoed]

Thanks Lord Lucan,

I will bear your words in mind.

Its a pity 3 don't offer the mobile broadband (usb modem facility) at £5 per month instead of £10 per month, I'd imagine they would get many more people signing up to the service.

Or if they were to bring out a PAYG service, i.e. buy the modem and only incur charges say at a daily rate of £1, now that would be good!.

[Tag]

But with three, unauthorised modem connection could be as much as £2.00 per megabyte.

I know this thread is reasonably old now, but I thought it might be a good place to mention this.

I've not had problems using my phone as a laptop modem with the £5 addon, but I was worried they might charge £2/MB if I did so.

What I did to stop myself worrying was check my "Current Spend" on "My 3" at the end of each day. If they were charging me £2/MB then at least I would only pay 1 day's worth.

As well as this, if you click on the "Internet" link through My3/Planet 3, and then 'Check my Usage', you can see if the data you're using is approaching the 1GB fair use policy.

Hope it helps anyone who was concerned about extra data charge from modem use.

[technoed]

Hello Tag,

Same here, its an easy and efective way to keep an eye on it. I have a 1GB monthly download allowance and have never gone above 50mb, so well under their radar me hopes!

By the way how are you connecting by cable or bluetooth to your phone?

[Tag]

I normally connect using bluetooth - the Lenovo laptop I was using had it built in, so no need for a separate dongle.

Bizarrely, it said it was connecting to my phone at 900Kb/s, and I thought 3G was only 385 Kb/s but there we go :) Generally I can download at 35KB/s which is much closer to the 3G speed I was expecting.

I've also connected via the cable, and not noticed any real difference in speed. The most important thing seems to be a decent level of 3G reception, otherwise loads of pages time out.

[Lord Lucan]

Thanks Lord Lucan,


Or if they were to bring out a PAYG service, i.e. buy the modem and only incur charges say at a daily rate of £1, now that would be good!.
T Mob offres pound a day for upto 40 MB. And you can connect to almost all services including SIP soft phone, Skype Yahoo etc.
Its OK when you are away but adds up on daily basis.

[thomasm789]

Hi all, I have a Nokia N95 currently on 3 and I called up 3 CS to confirm what will happen if I was to use the X-Series Package as a modem for my pc. I was told "We strongly disagree that you should use your mobile handset as a modem for any pcs or laptops you may own because problems could occur with the software and/or hardware on the handset". I also got the Customer Service agent to confirm I wouldn't be charged extra for using my phone as a modem although on the terms and conditions it says we shouldn't. The 3 CS Agent told me that they are aware that other customers do use there phone as a modem when on x-series packages and that they are aware of the problems that could occur while doing this and that I would be charged if I was to exceed my bandwidth amount of 1GB. The only problem was that I never recorded the conversation so I cant post an edited version. So really we can use it as a modem but will get charged if we exceed our bandwidth.

[technoed]

Hello Thomasm789, I did think that was the case to be honest. It seems they are not too concerned about us using the phone as a modem , so long as we stay within the 1GB limit that we have paid for.

Also when using the phone as a modem (connecting a usb cable to the pc), I have only got a connection speed of approx 115kbs, nowhere near the speed that apparently can be achieved if i was to purchase the USB modem and pay the £10 a month fee.

But its good to know that i can use the phone as a modem, should the ned arise.

[ChemicalBrother]

Do a speed test and you'll likely find that you're connected at a faster rate than the connection software states. Still nowhere near HSDPA speeds though! Having said that, if you were you'd go through 1GB in no time.

[technoed]

Thanks mate, thats an interesting point, i'll give the speed test a try and see what it reports.

[exp1orer]

Also when using the phone as a modem (connecting a usb cable to the pc), I have only got a connection speed of approx 115kbs, nowhere near the speed that apparently can be achieved if i was to purchase the USB modem and pay the £10 a month fee.

But its good to know that i can use the phone as a modem, should the ned arise.

what specific HSDPA mobile phone did you use? most of the current HSDPA mobile phones have a maximum speed of 384kbps...there's
one (http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_touch_cruise-2174.php) I knew that could achieve the 3.6mbps speed but I think it just been released in the market.

edit: here's another mobile (http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_e51-2106.php) that can achieve 3.6mbps but like HTC Touch Cruise, I don't know if it's already available.

[exp1orer]

Thanks mate, thats an interesting point, i'll give the speed test a try and see what it reports.

i'm interested to know what will be the result of your actual test. please feedback to us the actual speed test result.

[technoed]

hi Folks,
i have been using the Nokia N95 all the time.

Unfortunately its going in for repair now as it will not access ether internet anymore (either the "3 today" -pressing the triangle key or the WEB key on the menu). It also started to "freeze" several times a week, sometimes several times with a few hours of each other.

So I will have to wait till its back to try out the speed test.

[technoed]

Well as promised here is the speed that I have managed to get using the N95 as a usb modem:
download: 1078kb/s
upload 51kb/s

I used www.speedtest.net to test the connection speed.

[obakesan]

It is possible by the browser you are using and not onlt that but at the rate data traffic flows which is faster than possible with a handset.What I really mean to say is that when used out and about shouldnt do any harm and 3 Regards.

The browser wouldn't be detected on the network but would be inspected by the website you visited. If you wen to mobile.three.co.uk then you might get a not found page or a redirect three.co.uk. Using something like Firefox, the user agent string can be spoofed to match your phone's which would allow this then.

As for the flow, there should be no speed difference if you are using a computer or the handset. Your connection is via the handset connect to the 3G network and will travel at whatever speed that is. If you are lucky that will be the max speed, depending on the signal you are getting on the handset.

Cheers,

[quincy]

I don't underdstand:

If 3 openly allow this type of connection in such a very competitive market which could be classed as unfair competition by other network providers.

How is it unfair competition, they are in competition it's not a monopoly or an abuse of the licence?

[Prestwick]

I'm trying to connect to the net via my nokia e65 and 3 uk on my n800 but it keeps coming up with an, unable to connect error.

I am using to same settings for access point and number as outlined in this thread to no success. Any ideas?