[Q] HTC One X on Softbank (Japan)

[YabeMadu]

If you want to get a flat-plan the 'correct' way, Softbank has a a contract where you can only buy the SIM from them, but the charges are expensive. You will have to pay something around 10,000 yen for that. But you will not be able to use it with HOX because when I called Softbank they said they will have to have a look at the phone. And they do not offer micro-SIM for this contract, so you will not be able to show your HOX and get that contract. But you can take some other phone and then take that SIM and the give it the chop. However charges are about double.

The other way I have seen people do is buy pre-paid or buy a cheap phone and then use that SIM. I'm not sure if a co-worker can get a SIM because the older SIM will probably not be operational. I guess the best way would be for you to buy a cheap 3G phone.

 

[Habbit]

So after I get a basic pre-paid plan I can change my data package to unlimited?

 

[YabeMadu]

So after I get a basic pre-paid plan I can change my data package to unlimited?

Sorry I\m not sure if you can have unlimited for pre-paid. Better ask SB customer service..

 

[Kremlin987]

I recommend reading Japan Mobile Tech's (formerly Softbanksucks) General information for smartphone users page, specifically the Softbank section, for information on how to get the One X (or any other smartphone, for that matter) working.

As mentioned above, Softbank is offering a la carte sims for BYO phones, but a) as a requirement, the phone must display the Japanese certification mark either stamped or stuck to the phone, or on the display (lightning bolt above a 〒 inside a circle), and b) they are not offering iPhone (read, micro) sims.

This means you basically have to follow the procedure outlined in the JMT blog post above, and cut the sim down to size to fit in your phone.

The procedure, generally, is to start a service with any phone on Softbank, and subscribe to the S! Basic Pack (¥300/month + 5% tax). Subscribe to the Unlimited Packet Discount S plan, and then change your data plan to the Unlimited Packet Discount for Smartphone plan (¥1029 - ¥5985/month).

You can do this either by getting the customer service rep to do it (although they will wonder why you want the Smartphone plan when you are signing up for a regular phone, and it's not a good idea to tell them why you want to do it), or you can do it yourself on my softbank site. The steps are outlined in the excellent JMT post above, so read them carefully. Finally, you can swap the SIM from your Softbank phone to your smartphone once you have confirmed that the proper data plan is active.

After that, to get MMS working with your @softbank.ne.jp address, you will need to make sure that the APN settings are correct (open.softbank), and then download a custom Mms.apk which has the UserAgent that Softbank expects (otherwise all MMS sending and receiving is blocked). My ICS .apk can be found here, and for Gingerbread and below, Takuo posted some excellent .apks on his blog here. These Mms.apk files replace the stock Mms application (and use the same database, so if you simply flash over and reboot, your messages should still be there - take a backup just in case). You will need to adb push them to /system/app/Mms.apk and reboot to be able to use them, so a rooted device is a must. If you can't (or won't) root, you can check out Softbank's official S!Mail app from the Play store, but I don't believe it supports ICS at this time. Good luck!

 

[BrianInfo]

Thank you very much BrianInfo.

Could you please give me some more info regarding the phone.

1) I'm also very worried about getting a huge bill and I want 3G data disabled. So what if I dont put the APN address and leave it blank? Will voice/SMS still work?
2) Can you also share how you bought the phone? and also its HW version number. I'm planning on buying through Expansys but seem there service is not that good.
3) Do you have any wifi issues with the phone?

THank you very much.

1) I didnt put in the correct APN at first but voice/SMS works. Correct me if I am wrong. APN is only for DATA/MMS.

2) A friend in Taiwan bought it for me and sent it the next day. Expansys at first seems cheaper but some people posted a pic they got the customs/tax form a week or so later, which negates the price difference (or maybe a bit more).

3) Nope

 

[Habbit]

1) I didnt put in the correct APN at first but voice/SMS works. Correct me if I am wrong. APN is only for DATA/MMS.

2) A friend in Taiwan bought it for me and sent it the next day. Expansys at first seems cheaper but some people posted a pic they got the customs/tax form a week or so later, which negates the price difference (or maybe a bit more).

3) Nope

How much a month do you pay for SoftBank's service with your One X? I assume you have the S! Basic Pack plus the Unlimited Packet Discount for Smartphone plan, correct?

EDIT: Also, where are you located, and would you mind performing a speed test? I seriously am having the toughest time choosing between the Galaxy S3 LTE on docomo, or getting an unlocked One X and using it on SoftBank. Haha

 

[dan.kels.r]

I'm in Okinawa on soft bank with a one x international. Got dev unlock with custom rom. Went in to soft bank and asked for a replacement sim and took it home and input soft bank apn and all's well minus mms. Hspa is very fast now. Have seen up to 9mb download speed

Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium HD app

 

[Habbit]

I'm in Okinawa on soft bank with a one x international. Got dev unlock with custom rom. Went in to soft bank and asked for a replacement sim and took it home and input soft bank apn and all's well minus mms. Hspa is very fast now. Have seen up to 9mb download speed

Sent from my Xoom using XDA Premium HD app

This is good news. Thanks for the response!

 

[dan.kels.r]

need apn help

i posted here that i had the one x working on softbank. i just tried to update to a android 4.0.4 based rom (tried 4 total, aosp and sense based) with no luck getting mobile data working. On android 4.0.3 based roms i can get everything working every time. anybody got any ideas on whats going on with android 4.0.4?

 

[Habbit]

i posted here that i had the one x working on softbank. i just tried to update to a android 4.0.4 based rom (tried 4 total, aosp and sense based) with no luck getting mobile data working. On android 4.0.3 based roms i can get everything working every time. anybody got any ideas on whats going on with android 4.0.4?

I don't think you're the only one, I seem to remember reading a couple other threads of folks having issues on SoftBank with ICS 4.0.4.

 

[BrianInfo]

How much a month do you pay for SoftBank's service with your One X? I assume you have the S! Basic Pack plus the Unlimited Packet Discount for Smartphone plan, correct?

EDIT: Also, where are you located, and would you mind performing a speed test? I seriously am having the toughest time choosing between the Galaxy S3 LTE on docomo, or getting an unlocked One X and using it on SoftBank. Haha

The cheapest white plan (?!), roughly 980yen. Of course the final bill depends if I call outside Softbank or landline... etc.

Then 3980yen for wifi 007z since the rumors said Softbank will charge you absurd amount of money for using data on unauthorized phone.

Dont get me wrong, it is a bit troublesome to have two devices in the pocket; but I guess it works out for me that I can use TF201 when traveling.

Dunno about dan.kels.r phone bill, maybe he finds a way to fool Softbank, or maybe Softbank no longer checks IMEI?!

 

[YabeMadu]

I'm using HOX with 4.0.3 on Softbank.
I have disabled data so cant say anything on that.
Where did you get the 4.0.4 update? and what does it update?
Thanks.

 

[atsushiboy]

I had data problems also on 4.0.4.
the problem was gone after changing the apn setting

change the option were you choose from nothing,pap,chap,pap or chap.
choose either "pap" or "chap" and should be ok.
don't choose "pap or chap" or "nothing" cuz it wont work.

 

[dombayo]

How much a month do you pay for SoftBank's service with your One X? I assume you have the S! Basic Pack plus the Unlimited Packet Discount for Smartphone plan, correct?

EDIT: Also, where are you located, and would you mind performing a speed test? I seriously am having the toughest time choosing between the Galaxy S3 LTE on docomo, or getting an unlocked One X and using it on SoftBank. Haha

This thread has all useful info! Wish I found this before I went ahead. Everything went smoothly and I'm more than happy but it would have reduced stress.

About speed: I had an international desire in Tokyo for 1.5 years and max download speed was about 300KB/s.
I upgraded to One X, cut my son, added PAP authentication in APN, and enjoy a normal download speed of about 700KB/s.
The other day however I was in Roppongi Itchome during the day and the download speed went to 1300KB/s. I believe this is because of upgrades Softbank is making to some towers and if your voice enough to one you get faster speeds. (Note: these are kilo Bytes not bits) ie: 70MB in about a minute.

About price: Can someone give more details about this overcharge on 3g rumour? I have been using 3g for 2 years now at an average download of about 10 gigs a month or more (I use my phone for home internet) and never paid more than 6000yen for my bill unless I make an international call.

About buying a SIM: I recommend borrowing someone's old Softbank phone and just say you came back to the country and need another plan with this phone. The will sign you up to the plan of your choice (I chose white plan) and then as mentioned before, just ask for smartphone unlimited data plan. Then put your SIM into your smartphone (and remember to return your friends phone), enter APN and your good to go.

Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

 

[PRmemo83]

Looks like this one died but in case anyone is still reading.....

I have an unlocked AT&T HOX working perfectly fine on Softbanks "3G" network using the black iPhone microsim. Had to do some digging around to find the correct APN settings but once I found it, it was all good to go. Still stuck on ICS- 4.0.3, Sense 4.0.

 

[BrianInfo]

This thread has all useful info! Wish I found this before I went ahead. Everything went smoothly and I'm more than happy but it would have reduced stress.

About speed: I had an international desire in Tokyo for 1.5 years and max download speed was about 300KB/s.
I upgraded to One X, cut my son, added PAP authentication in APN, and enjoy a normal download speed of about 700KB/s.
The other day however I was in Roppongi Itchome during the day and the download speed went to 1300KB/s. I believe this is because of upgrades Softbank is making to some towers and if your voice enough to one you get faster speeds. (Note: these are kilo Bytes not bits) ie: 70MB in about a minute.

About price: Can someone give more details about this overcharge on 3g rumour? I have been using 3g for 2 years now at an average download of about 10 gigs a month or more (I use my phone for home internet) and never paid more than 6000yen for my bill unless I make an international call.

About buying a SIM: I recommend borrowing someone's old Softbank phone and just say you came back to the country and need another plan with this phone. The will sign you up to the plan of your choice (I chose white plan) and then as mentioned before, just ask for smartphone unlimited data plan. Then put your SIM into your smartphone (and remember to return your friends phone), enter APN and your good to go.

Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app

The overcharge rumors was from reading http://www.japanmobiletech.com/2010/07/general-information-for-smart-phone.html (used to be: softbanksucks)

Would you mind sharing your APN settings? Similar to this website's suggestion http://www.modaco.com/topic/301380-apn-for-internet-mms-apk-for-softbank-users-in-japan/? Very tempting to get the unlimited data plan if your monthly bill is correct.

 

[Kremlin987]

That is the apn I'm using with my Softbank desire running custom ROM. CyanogenMod and a number of other ROM bases already have the combo data/Mms apn details built in, and those are the details as far as I can verify. They have been working for me for well over a year. I don't think Softbank checks imei, although mine is a rooted phone they sold so it wouldn't affect me anyway. If you use an iPhone (black) sim you'll need the smile.world apn information instead, so be careful.

 

[scary chicken]

The overcharge rumors was from reading http://www.japanmobiletech.com/2010/07/general-information-for-smart-phone.html (used to be: softbanksucks)

Would you mind sharing your APN settings? Similar to this website's suggestion http://www.modaco.com/topic/301380-apn-for-internet-mms-apk-for-softbank-users-in-japan/? Very tempting to get the unlimited data plan if your monthly bill is correct.

For any sim card that IS NOT iphone use the open.softbank APN on the link. Works fine with the flat rate plan. Been using an sim-free HTC desire for over 2 years now.

 

[dombayo]

That's the exact apn I use.

The overcharge rumors was from reading http://www.japanmobiletech.com/2010/07/general-information-for-smart-phone.html (used to be: softbanksucks)

Would you mind sharing your APN settings? Similar to this website's suggestion http://www.modaco.com/topic/301380-apn-for-internet-mms-apk-for-softbank-users-in-japan/? Very tempting to get the unlimited data plan if your monthly bill is correct.