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Cellular Phone Forum / Providers / T-Mobile / October 2007WIFI on Wing, is there a charge ?
There's an option on my Wing to pay $10.00 to turn on WIFI. I decline it, however there is an option on my phone to turn it on. I've turned on it on and hooked into my network, and I can tell it is working, because the data download speed is now 1MB instead of 100K. Anyone know if they detect it and charge you, if it's a scam and you can really do it on your own? > There's an option on my Wing to pay $10.00 to turn on WIFI. I decline it, > however there is an option on my phone to turn it on. I've turned on it on [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Anyone know if they detect it and charge you, if it's a scam and you can > really do it on your own? Is that a Hotspot@Home phone? If so, the $10 per month is probably for phone calls. The Hotspot@Home phones can make calls using wifi, but it's not Internet telephony or VoIP, it's UMA (a standard GSM call, carried over the Internet instead of a cell tower). The idea is to use WiFi to carry the GSM traffic where the cell tower may not have a strong signal, like at our house, where the T-Mo signal is fine outside and in the front of our house, but towards the back of our house we can't make calls at all. Your options for GSM calls over the Internet are either $10.00 for unlimited calls, or (I believe) the calls are just deducted from your regular bucket of airtime. I don't know whether charges apply to data downloaded over WiFi or not. You'd probably need to ask T-Mo.  SignatureSteve Sobol, Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED "Drench yourself in words unspoken / Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins / The rest is still unwritten" - Natasha Beddingfield > Is that a Hotspot@Home phone? If so, the $10 per month is probably > for phone calls. Sadly no- T-Mo doesn't sell a WinMo-based H@H phone yet. Rumor has it they might incorporate H@H in the upcoming models hopefully available by Christmas. Yours truly's stocking could really use a 3G-capable WinMo6 PPC phone with a faster processor than my current MDA, and H@H capability for use with the hotel WiFi during my Cancun vacation this January. VoIP works, but the quality is lacking and it's certainly "clumsier" to use on the phone than H@H would be. > The Hotspot@Home phones can make calls using wifi, but it's not > Internet telephony or VoIP, it's UMA (a standard GSM call, carried [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > of our house, but > towards the back of our house we can't make calls at all. It also allows "free" calls internationally over WiFi- that's HUGE for travelers! > Your options for GSM calls over the Internet are either $10.00 for > unlimited calls, or (I believe) the calls are just deducted from > your regular bucket of airtime. Correct- I have more minutes in my plan than I ever use, and good reception at home, so the $10 "unlimited" add-on doesn't interest me, but I'm intrigued by the ability to use it where there's WiFi around, but no T-Mo coverage. > I don't know whether charges apply to data downloaded over WiFi or > not. You'd probably need to ask T-Mo. AKAIK, the currently available T-Mo UMA phones ("Unlicensed Mobile Access" is the generic industry name for what T-Mo has branded Hotspots@Home) do not do GPRS/EDGE data over WiFi- just SMS and MMS, which they charge for the same as if your were using cellular. The new UMA-enabled Blackberry they sell can do WiFi data, but it's directly over the WiFi AP you're connected to, not through T-Mo's data network using the UMA connection. (Did that make any sense at all? It's another one of those sentences that played back better in my head than on-screen!) Signature"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003 [full snip] Just clarifying a couple of points about the H@H offering, since there's been some confusion here. What it does: It lets you make t-mobile calls from either inside teh t-mobile cellular network, OR if you're range of an accessable 802.11 ("wifi") base, you can make (and receive) calls through it First point: you need one of the very few phones that has this dual capability. (you also need your account toggled to turn this on). Advantages: PLENTY. there are lots of areas where you won't have a decent cellular signal but will have an 802.11. Such as the basement of your home. Or your backyard. Or your vacation retreat in the milddle of nowhere. Or inside a factory building. Or warehouse. It's _much_ easier for people to set up a WIFI base than it is to get a mini cellular reeater. Also: this works in both US based 802.11 sites, and anywhere else in the world. So you can be in Berlin, or Bangladesh, or Bora Bora, and you can "look like" you're still in town. Costs: this is where people are getting confused. The activation is "free". If you keep your standard plan, then you use your regular minutes the same way on either the cellular or the 802.11 nets. If you pay the $10 add on, then any minutes you initiate via 802.11 are "free". Signature_____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] > There's an option on my Wing to pay $10.00 to turn on WIFI. "On your Wing" where? A menu item? When you run the Hotspot configuration app? In the IE browser at a Starbucks (or other T-Mo Hotspot?) I have an MDA, and my wife has a Dash, and I've never seen this option. > I decline it, however there is an option on my phone to turn it on. > I've turned on it on and hooked into my network, and I can tell it [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Anyone know if they detect it and charge you, if it's a scam and > you can really do it on your own? T-Mobile operates a network of "Hotspots" usually located at Starbucks, bookstores and Kinkos. To use them you need to subscribe to their Hotspots service, or pay per use (by the hour, day, month, etc.) T-Mo does NOT "charge you" to use any other WiFi network, including your home or work networks. I'm just wondering where on te phone you're seeing this option (because it's not "$10" either.) Signature"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003 I have a "WIFI" option on my wing. I believe the term the used is "hotspot at home" that I was offered, but denied. I notice I can get faster Internet access when I turn WIFI on, but I'm not sure if it is boosting my signal for phone calls. I really haven't used the WIFI feature much because it is a battery drain. The Wing I have is the new (blue) one with Windows Mobile 6 >> There's an option on my Wing to pay $10.00 to turn on WIFI. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > I'm just wondering where on te phone you're seeing this option > (because it's not "$10" either.) > I have a "WIFI" option on my wing. Yes, the Wing has WiFi for connecting to wireless networks for data. My question was where on the Wing itself did it say it was going to charge you $10 to use it? > I believe the term the used is "hotspot at home" that I was offered, > but denied. H@H is a new service for making T-Mobile phone calls over WiFi instead of cellular, which the Wing doesn't support- only three T-Mo phones do that currently. > I notice I can get faster Internet access when I turn WIFI on, > but I'm not sure if it is boosting my signal for phone calls. No, you're connected to WiFi, just like a modern laptop does. > I really haven't used the WIFI feature much because it is a battery > drain. Correct. Normally you don't leave it on- you turn it on when you want to surf the web while at a WiFi Hotspot. > The Wing I have is the new (blue) one with Windows Mobile 6 Again, my question wasdid a T-Mo rep tell you "wifi is $10" or did some kind of option pop up on the Wing alerting you? If the former, he's misinformed, if the latter, I'd be VERY surprised. Signature"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003 > I have a "WIFI" option on my wing. I believe the term the used is > "hotspot at home" that I was offered, but denied. I notice I can get > faster Internet access when I turn WIFI on, but I'm not sure if it is > boosting my signal for phone calls. I really haven't used the WIFI > feature much because it is a battery drain. > The Wing I have is the new (blue) one with Windows Mobile 6 ----------------------- Not really in answer to your question, but I'm wondering if the Wing wi-fi only works on open networks, or can it authenticate? Have you ever had to enter a password to get on a wi-fi connection? Minneapolis is in the process of installing a city-wide wi-fi network, but it's not open (i.e you have to pay for it and use a password to access it). If I could use this on the city-wide network, it would be worth the extra cost of the Wing. SignatureTodd Dugdale Plymouth, MN sirius@theskytonight.com http://www.theskytonight.com > Not really in answer to your question, but I'm wondering if the > Wing wi-fi only works on open networks, or can it authenticate? It can authenticate via password (WEP, WPK) or by browser (login.) > Have you ever had to enter a password to get on a wi-fi connection? Sure- my home network is secur, so it prompted me for the key. I use browser-based logins at most hotels. > Minneapolis is in the process of installing a city-wide wi-fi > network, but it's not open (i.e you have to pay for it and use a > password to access it). If I could use this on the city-wide network, > it would be worth the extra cost of the Wing. It shouldn't be a problem... Signature"I don't need my cell phone to play video games or take pictures or double as a Walkie-Talkie; I just need it to work. Thanks for all the bells and whistles, but I could communicate better with ACTUAL bells and whistles." -Bill Maher 9/25/2003 The t-mobile rep wanted to charge me and I decline. >> Not really in answer to your question, but I'm wondering if the >> Wing wi-fi only works on open networks, or can it authenticate? [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > It shouldn't be a problem... Does anyone know if I can get my own wifi phone handset from ebay (like the samsung t409) and slap in the SIM card from my current non- wifi phone and start using it? My wife had to extend her T-mobile contract for 2 years for hers, but I would rather not do that. I already have a t-mobile contract without wifi. I can get the t409 samsung off ebay for $100. That beats a 2 year contract extension. My wife's phone works great with our home broadband. --Vance in Denver (I don't know much about this stuff) > Does anyone know if I can get my own wifi phone handset from ebay > (like the samsung t409) and slap in the SIM card from my current non- > wifi phone and start using it? Yes. > My wife had to extend her T-mobile > contract for 2 years for hers, but I would rather not do that. I > already have a t-mobile contract without wifi. You won't get the free Wi-Fi calling unless you change rate plans (or have the Wi-Fi family plan add-on) but the phone can make wi-fi calls. > I can get the t409 samsung off ebay for $100. That beats a 2 year > contract extension. Agreed. |
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