how to: Tether the 8125 W/O Additional PER KB CHARGE

[camillo4u]

There is a TON of confusion on this subject throughout the internet. I know it can be done (and has been done). Cingular is charging people per KB for using the 8125 as a usb modem. It would be awesome if someone could give a detailed summary of how this is done. Thanks! :lol:

[camillo4u]

Also, by "tether" I am referring to how you can connect to the internet using the 8125 as a usb modem. Thanks.

[camillo4u]

Here is how you can do it (but I think you will still be charged per KB)


I had some trouble getting this to work so I thought I'd post a faq explaining how to do it.

Driver Installation

1) Insert the CD that came with the phone into your drive. Close the window that opens up.

2) Open up Activesync and go to File - Connection Settings. Remove the check from the box next to "allow USB connections"

3) Connect your Cingular 8125 to your Computer via USB

4) On the 8125 go to Start - Programs - Modem Link

5) In Modem Link choose USB under Connection and wap.cingular under Access Point Name.

6) Choose "activate" in modem link

7) Your computer should recognize the device and an "add new hardware" wizard should appear.

8) Choose "No, not this time" and click next

9) Choose "Install from a list or specific location [Advanced]" and click next

10) Choose "Search for the best driver in these locations"

11) Check the box next to "Include this location in the search"

12) Browse to the Following location [CD Drive]:\OEM\APPS\Drivers\USB Modem

13) Click Next

14) A dialog box will pop up, click Continue Anyway

15) Click Finish to complete the driver installation

Connection setup

1) Go to Start - Control Panel - Network Connections

2) Choose "Create a new Connection"

3) Click Next

4) Choose "Connect to the Internet" and click Next

5) Choose "Set up my connection manually" and click Next

6) Choose "Connect using a dial-up modem" and click next

7) Choose any name you want for ISP Name and click Next

8) Type *99# in the Phone number field and click Next

9) User Name: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password: CINGULAR1
Confirm password: CINGULAR1
Note: the username and password need to be all in caps

10) Click Next

11) Click Finish

That's it, you should have a connection that will dial up to Cingular's GPRS network. If you have Edge service in your area you will get Edge speeds.

[GliTCH82]

The problem is that in order to tether a device, you need to dial *99# which I believe Cingular has a record of. They can then track all calls to this number and charge you accordingly.

Unless there was some other way of tethering that doesn't require this step I think we are out of luck.

I don't know if this is possible on the Pocket PC, but I would imagine that since a GPRS connection gives you an IP address then it could be possible to write an application that routes that IP over the Wizard's WiFi connection. If this can be done then you could thereotically turn the Wizard into a mini wireless router that accepts ad-hoc connections.

[GliTCH82]

I've been reading HowardForums and apparently if you have MediaNet unlimited you can tether and Cingular won't know. I'm not sure if this is correct but members have claimed to be doing it for years.

[IdeaDirect]

Originally Posted by GliTCH82 I've been reading HowardForums and apparently if you have MediaNet unlimited you can tether and Cingular won't know. I'm not sure if this is correct but members have claimed to be doing it for years.

I don't think it is a matter of not knowing since you use a different protocol address (wap instead of isp).
The issue is the fact that the medianet plan and data plan are relatively and many technical issues are still being worked on. Couple that with untrained customer service reps and there are many people using medianet. Technically, if you read the site or try to order online, PDA phones require the dataplan @ $40 per month for unlimited. However, if you call, you can most likely order medianet. I called twice and both times was offered medianet for my 8125. The first rep said it was totally unlimited with no restrictions. The second rep said that it was unlimited but I couldn't tether it. So even their own employees don't understand the plans. There is also suspicion that extremely high bandwidth usage could trigger Cingular to switch your plan. So far I haven't seen that happen to anyone and also non PDA phones with MediaNet can still stream video, etc. and really rack up bandwidth usage.

That said, they may wise up and decide to tighten down in the future and switch people over to the data plan. They will probably lose a lot of customers though so I'm sure they are treading this topic lightly.

One caveat to look out for is no matter what unlimited plan you sign up for, it appears that often mistakes are made and they have a pay-per-use also added on your account. It is easy to just double check your online account and verify that you don't have both an unlimited plan and a bandwidth based account.

I just got my phone today and will be adding medianet shortly. Have to figure out some features, flash the rom, etc. first.

[GliTCH82]

Well I understand that the wap APN is the one used by MediaNet, as opposed to the isp APN which is used by the dedicated data plans. The question is, even if you used the wap APN to tether (under the guise of using the standard medianet feature on a phone) would they be able to tell? Is *99# strictly an internal GSM phone function, or is it something that gets sent to Cingular which they could be made aware of?

If the former is the case then the only way Cingular could even be aware of tethering is if they monitored your data usage to see how much bandwidth you're using. While it's possible that you could be racking up 100 MB a month on your phone's wap browser it's highly unlikely, so they could just put two and two together and realize you're tethering and then shut off your service. That sort of thing is obviously not monitored all the time and that could be why some people are getting away with it.

If the latter is the case then Cingular would absolutely have a way to know when you tether a device, and regardless of wether or not they actively monitor these connections tethering a device on the regular unlimited medianet poses a significantly higher risk to your account status and bill than them just guessing by looking at KB transfers.

Once again, the million dollar question. Is *99# an internal function, or does Cingular have a way to know whenever you dial this number? Does tethering only appear to them as a phone accessing the internet or can they tell whenever you use an external device with the phone?

[freeyayo50]

Originally Posted by camillo4u Here is how you can do it (but I think you will still be charged per KB) I had some trouble getting this to work so I thought I'd post a faq explaining how to do it. Driver Installation 1) Insert the CD that came with the phone into your drive. Close the window that opens up. 2) Open up Activesync and go to File - Connection Settings. Remove the check from the box next to "allow USB connections" 3) Connect your Cingular 8125 to your Computer via USB 4) On the 8125 go to Start - Programs - Modem Link 5) In Modem Link choose USB under Connection and wap.cingular under Access Point Name. 6) Choose "activate" in modem link 7) Your computer should recognize the device and an "add new hardware" wizard should appear. 8) Choose "No, not this time" and click next 9) Choose "Install from a list or specific location [Advanced]" and click next 10) Choose "Search for the best driver in these locations" 11) Check the box next to "Include this location in the search" 12) Browse to the Following location [CD Drive]:\OEM\APPS\Drivers\USB Modem 13) Click Next 14) A dialog box will pop up, click Continue Anyway 15) Click Finish to complete the driver installation Connection setup 1) Go to Start - Control Panel - Network Connections 2) Choose "Create a new Connection" 3) Click Next 4) Choose "Connect to the Internet" and click Next 5) Choose "Set up my connection manually" and click Next 6) Choose "Connect using a dial-up modem" and click next 7) Choose any name you want for ISP Name and click Next 8) Type *99# in the Phone number field and click Next 9) User Name: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM Password: CINGULAR1 Confirm password: CINGULAR1 Note: the username and password need to be all in caps 10) Click Next 11) Click Finish That's it, you should have a connection that will dial up to Cingular's GPRS network. If you have Edge service in your area you will get Edge speeds.

Is there anyway to be able to take the 8125 from computer to computer and just connect the PC (via USB) to the internet. For example, I go to a friends house...they have a PC but does not have internet access. Is it possible to take my phone connect it to there PC and be up and running?? Or do you really need the CD to install the modem drivers??

If you do need the modem drivers. Can you just store them on the phone then transfer them over to the PC so you dont have to carry around the CD. Thanx

[av0]

So Cingular sells kb nugz? How much a gram?

[cuboosh]

yea lemme get a few grams