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can you connect to an ISP through a cell phone?

T

thomsbrain

Lifer
i just got a T616 and when i enable infrared, it shows up on my computer as a modem. when i try to dial up to netzero, it can't connect. the phone dials and everything so i think that part is good, but apparently a real connection isn't being established with the ISP.

do you HAVE to use GRPS to get online with a cell phone, or is there just something I'm missing? I mean, I thought people were doing this kind of thing long before GRPS even existed. i could care less about airtime because i have plenty, and GRPS costs way too much to be practical. i really only want it for email, so speed isn't a concern either.

could my problem be netzero's funky dialing software. it works fine with the computer's normal modem.

edit: finally found the answer on the AT&T forums. you can't do it with their GSM phones, only with TDMA and earlier. the phones are capable, but AT&T won't let you because they want another excuse to dip their greedy hands into your pockets by forcing you to pay exorbirant rates for GPRS. lamers.
 
Yep - in fact, a friend even did it over analog. I think your stumbling point is the use of IR to communicate with the phone.

And what the hell is this doing in OT? 😛

- M4H
 
eh, i did some searches and it looked like previous threads on similar topics were in OT, so I figured what the hell, when in rome. besides, more people read stuff here.

i guess IR could be the problem somehow. i don't have the manual handy, but the tutorial on ATT Wireless's site looks like it only deals with GRPS.

i should just create a connection that uses the phone as a modem and dial like normal, right?
 
I use my cellphone when I'm @ work with my laptop. I've got a Sprint VGA 1000 phone and use a USB cable to connect to my laptop. I usually get like 160kbps speeds, which isn't too bad when I'm not paying for the service (it comes out of my minutes). Make sure you have wireless internet or whatever your cell company calls in. Otherwise, it might get really expensive. I do have to dial a special number to connect to Sprint's network (#777), so you might want to look around and see if there's one for your service.

As an added bonus, when I'm online that way, my cell phone gets recharged as well. 😀
 
Originally posted by: jester79
I use my cellphone when I'm @ work with my laptop. I've got a Sprint VGA 1000 phone and use a USB cable to connect to my laptop. I usually get like 160kbps speeds, which isn't too bad when I'm not paying for the service (it comes out of my minutes). Make sure you have wireless internet or whatever your cell company calls in. Otherwise, it might get really expensive. I do have to dial a special number to connect to Sprint's network (#777), so you might want to look around and see if there's one for your service.

As an added bonus, when I'm online that way, my cell phone gets recharged as well. 😀
Click to expand...

that's GRPS. 😉 ATT charges like 3 cents per KB for it, which means checking your email could cost a couple quarters pretty easily. forget that.
 
edit: just to see, i tried connecting with GPRS and it worked fine. of course, just in connecting and loading part of yahoo.com, i spent about 50 cents. :roll:

ok, i made a new connection without the software just to see what would happen. the error i get is "the remote computer did not respond." it opens the port and dials fine. 🙁
 
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