Showing posts with label Verizon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Verizon. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Nano Sim in iPad 3
No comments
:
Labels:
Apple
,
Verizon
Update 1/29/2013:
I am now using a micro sim adapter for my nano sim. Obviously, this works much better.
Original Post:
I got my iPhone 5 on Friday. I'm loving the device. However, this post isn't a review of the device. I won't go into any details about it. I just want to talk about the nano sim in this post.
As you may know from a previous post, I like to tether using my iPad. The Verizon iPad 3 comes with free tethering. I've gotten used to moving my Verizon LTE sim card between my phone and iPad. However, the iPhone 5 presents a new challenge.
Read More
I am now using a micro sim adapter for my nano sim. Obviously, this works much better.
Original Post:
I got my iPhone 5 on Friday. I'm loving the device. However, this post isn't a review of the device. I won't go into any details about it. I just want to talk about the nano sim in this post.
As you may know from a previous post, I like to tether using my iPad. The Verizon iPad 3 comes with free tethering. I've gotten used to moving my Verizon LTE sim card between my phone and iPad. However, the iPhone 5 presents a new challenge.
As you can see, the nano sim card in the new iPhone is much smaller than the micro sim that the iPad 3 takes. I decided to try taping it into the micro sim tray.
The contacts are fully exposed as they should be. Let's try popping it in now.
The iPad seemed to recognize that I have a sim in the tray! I opened my Verizon and, yep, it shows that my device has changed from the iPhone to an iPad.
I ran a speed test and got a somewhat decent speed on the semi-congested network on the school campus where I work.
I popped the sim back into the iPhone and it came back online just fine. I love the FCC rules that force Verizon to leave their LTE network wide open for geeks like me to do stuff like this.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
I'm Trying an Experiment
No comments
:
Labels:
Apple
,
Verizon
Verizon Wireless is killing unlimited data. It's true. I was so upset about this when I read the article that I picked up the phone to call and cancel my account with them. However, I remembered that $350 early termination fee that I would have to pay and I hung up the phone before even making the call.
There have been official updates since then from Verizon saying that you will only be forced off of an unlimited plan if you purchase a new subsidized device and renew your contract for another two years. Those that continue to pay full price for their new phones will be able to keep their unlimited plan.
Later, I came across a forum posting at MacRumors.com saying that it worked to take a Verizon 4G LTE sim card and put it in your Verizon 4G LTE iPad. Your unlimited data plan will work on the iPad, including personal hotspot functionality. There's nothing Verizon can currently do about this. They are obligated to allow you to put your sim card in any device that will function on their 700 Mhz block C LTE network. When the FCC auctioned off the 700 Mhz block C spectrum, they put a provision into the terms of the purchase that open access must be allowed. Verizon sued to try and get this open access requirement removed, but then later dropped the lawsuit. They seem to have surrendered to the FCC's requirements.
Reading about all of this sparked an idea. If I somehow had my 3G unlimited account upgraded to a 4G account and got my hands on a 4G LTE sim then I could have unlimited 4G LTE data on my iPad. Then, if I fully switch over to Google Voice, I could also tether my iPhone to it and still use it while my account was provisioned on the iPad. Then, what convinced me to actually give this experiment a try was that I logged in to my account on the Verizon Wireless website and saw that they actually had a free 4G LTE phone. It wasn't actually free, of course. It comes at the price of a new 2 year contract commitment.
Well, I took the plunge. I decided that it was worth the risk of a new two year contract on one of my lines to try this experiment. I transfered one of the upgrades that was available on my family plan over to my line. I ordered the Droid Charge to replace my beloved iPhone 4S. Let me say that I don't have too much experience with Android devices. The little experience that I do have has left a bad taste in my mouth. It didn't feel very good to order the Charge, for all intents and purposes, to replace my iPhone. It especially didn't feel good after reading all the reviews about the Droid Charge. It doesn't look like a very good phone at all. I still went ahead and did it, intending to never use it at all. I knew that I could still contact Verizon and have my iPhone activated again if the experiment failed horribly.
The device finally arrived. I followed the instructions that came in the box to activate my sim card. As soon as I heard confirmation that my new sim card was activated I picked up my iPhone and tried to make a call. I got the message saying that my device was not activated. Ahhh! It was really done! I stuck the sim card into the Droid Charge and turned it on. I confirmed that I could make calls and that the data connection was working.
I actually made myself use the device that night and the next day to see if I could ever like it. It seemed like an okay phone while I used it until I went to sleep. The next day, however, it was a horrible experience. The battery was dead by noon, the data connection kept dropping, and the device started to feel very slow. I've never had experiences like this on my iPhone.
Later that night, after I got home from work, I pulled the sim card out of the Droid Charge and cut it down to micro sim size. I pulled the sim tray out of my iPad, removed the sim card, and replaced it with my cut down card. Everything that I had read said that you should only have to go into the settings app on the iPad and reprovision the cellular account under general -> reset -> subscriber services. However, after fussing with the sim card and rebooting the iPad several times, I decided to try the reset account option under subscriber services. It worked! I had a cellular data connection on my existing unlimited plan!
It turns out the next day we were traveling up to the Boise area. I turned on the iPad's hotspot option and tethered my iPhone to it. I logged in to my Google Voice account using the Talkatone app. I had my wife give me a test call and Talkatone would not ring. We then made an outbound test call while on the freeway using a 3G data connection. They heard us loud and clear. I realized that my iPad would drop the data connection if I was receiving an incoming call on my Verizon number and the busy/no answer forwarding wasn't working because of that. I stuck the sim card back in my Charge and dialed *72 plus my Google Voice number to enable permanent call forwarding. We tried another incoming call and it worked great. My experiment was working. At this point I was delighted that everything was working out. My enjoyment was increased even more when we finally got to Boise and I tried this all out in a 4G LTE service area. I was getting speeds up around 20 megabits a second!
So far this experiment seems to be a success. My iPad already went with me on my commute to work and back, so it's not a problem to have my iPad in my backpack and my phone tethered to it in my pocket. No behavior is changing there. 99 percent of the time I am always in an area with WiFi, so I will still be able to receive calls without the iPad. When I am going somewhere where I won't have WiFi and it is inconvenient to carry my iPad with me, then I will just pop the sim back into my Droid Charge and just use it as a basic phone.
I just thought I'd share my experience for those that might be thinking about doing something similar...
Read More
There have been official updates since then from Verizon saying that you will only be forced off of an unlimited plan if you purchase a new subsidized device and renew your contract for another two years. Those that continue to pay full price for their new phones will be able to keep their unlimited plan.
Later, I came across a forum posting at MacRumors.com saying that it worked to take a Verizon 4G LTE sim card and put it in your Verizon 4G LTE iPad. Your unlimited data plan will work on the iPad, including personal hotspot functionality. There's nothing Verizon can currently do about this. They are obligated to allow you to put your sim card in any device that will function on their 700 Mhz block C LTE network. When the FCC auctioned off the 700 Mhz block C spectrum, they put a provision into the terms of the purchase that open access must be allowed. Verizon sued to try and get this open access requirement removed, but then later dropped the lawsuit. They seem to have surrendered to the FCC's requirements.
Reading about all of this sparked an idea. If I somehow had my 3G unlimited account upgraded to a 4G account and got my hands on a 4G LTE sim then I could have unlimited 4G LTE data on my iPad. Then, if I fully switch over to Google Voice, I could also tether my iPhone to it and still use it while my account was provisioned on the iPad. Then, what convinced me to actually give this experiment a try was that I logged in to my account on the Verizon Wireless website and saw that they actually had a free 4G LTE phone. It wasn't actually free, of course. It comes at the price of a new 2 year contract commitment.
Well, I took the plunge. I decided that it was worth the risk of a new two year contract on one of my lines to try this experiment. I transfered one of the upgrades that was available on my family plan over to my line. I ordered the Droid Charge to replace my beloved iPhone 4S. Let me say that I don't have too much experience with Android devices. The little experience that I do have has left a bad taste in my mouth. It didn't feel very good to order the Charge, for all intents and purposes, to replace my iPhone. It especially didn't feel good after reading all the reviews about the Droid Charge. It doesn't look like a very good phone at all. I still went ahead and did it, intending to never use it at all. I knew that I could still contact Verizon and have my iPhone activated again if the experiment failed horribly.
The device finally arrived. I followed the instructions that came in the box to activate my sim card. As soon as I heard confirmation that my new sim card was activated I picked up my iPhone and tried to make a call. I got the message saying that my device was not activated. Ahhh! It was really done! I stuck the sim card into the Droid Charge and turned it on. I confirmed that I could make calls and that the data connection was working.
I actually made myself use the device that night and the next day to see if I could ever like it. It seemed like an okay phone while I used it until I went to sleep. The next day, however, it was a horrible experience. The battery was dead by noon, the data connection kept dropping, and the device started to feel very slow. I've never had experiences like this on my iPhone.
Later that night, after I got home from work, I pulled the sim card out of the Droid Charge and cut it down to micro sim size. I pulled the sim tray out of my iPad, removed the sim card, and replaced it with my cut down card. Everything that I had read said that you should only have to go into the settings app on the iPad and reprovision the cellular account under general -> reset -> subscriber services. However, after fussing with the sim card and rebooting the iPad several times, I decided to try the reset account option under subscriber services. It worked! I had a cellular data connection on my existing unlimited plan!
It turns out the next day we were traveling up to the Boise area. I turned on the iPad's hotspot option and tethered my iPhone to it. I logged in to my Google Voice account using the Talkatone app. I had my wife give me a test call and Talkatone would not ring. We then made an outbound test call while on the freeway using a 3G data connection. They heard us loud and clear. I realized that my iPad would drop the data connection if I was receiving an incoming call on my Verizon number and the busy/no answer forwarding wasn't working because of that. I stuck the sim card back in my Charge and dialed *72 plus my Google Voice number to enable permanent call forwarding. We tried another incoming call and it worked great. My experiment was working. At this point I was delighted that everything was working out. My enjoyment was increased even more when we finally got to Boise and I tried this all out in a 4G LTE service area. I was getting speeds up around 20 megabits a second!
So far this experiment seems to be a success. My iPad already went with me on my commute to work and back, so it's not a problem to have my iPad in my backpack and my phone tethered to it in my pocket. No behavior is changing there. 99 percent of the time I am always in an area with WiFi, so I will still be able to receive calls without the iPad. When I am going somewhere where I won't have WiFi and it is inconvenient to carry my iPad with me, then I will just pop the sim back into my Droid Charge and just use it as a basic phone.
I just thought I'd share my experience for those that might be thinking about doing something similar...
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Cell Phone Choices
5 comments
:
Labels:
Verizon
The news that AT&T is buying T-Mobile has got me thinking about how evil cell phone companies appear to be. There seems to be an evil side to a lot of corporations in America, but not all of them get to the level of trying to squeeze every cent out of Americans that they possibly can. This seems to be even more true when it comes to cellular phone carriers in the United States.
Of the remaining big 3 carriers in the US, only Sprint has not announced plans to get rid of unlimited data plans. Data and tethering pricing on cellular devices is the one of the largest forms of screwing over American consumers. My "unlimited" data plan with Verizon is $30 per month. Unlimited really means don't go over 5 GB a month. By comparison, my Comcast dedicated connection does not have these limits and I only pay $10 more a month. I get a connection that is at least 15 times faster than my cell phone that is always on for not much more money. Something is wrong with this picture.
When the iPhone 4 was released on AT&T, they announced tiered data pricing. You no longer get your "unlimited" connection, but you can get 2 GB of data for $20 a month. My mom uses 2 GB a month on her connection at home just checking her email. AT&T is screwing people over. They are going to make a lot of money on data overage charges
Verizon is going to do the same thing, as they have at least hinted that they will have the same kind of plans when they finish rolling out their LTE network. Why do they have to squeeze every last penny that they can out of their customers?
When the T-Mobile acquisition is complete, surely AT&T will find a way to get T-Mobile customers to pay the same rates that current AT&T customers pay.
So why do we even have cell phones? Why do we let the carriers push us around like we do? I am just as much at fault here as everyone else is. Can we not live without our mobile devices?
I want to hear from people as to why they pay what they do. Why do you have a cell phone? What phone and on what carrier do you have service? Do you have a smartphone with data capabilities? If you don't, is it because of the high premiums you pay for data? Have you considered getting one?
Read More
Of the remaining big 3 carriers in the US, only Sprint has not announced plans to get rid of unlimited data plans. Data and tethering pricing on cellular devices is the one of the largest forms of screwing over American consumers. My "unlimited" data plan with Verizon is $30 per month. Unlimited really means don't go over 5 GB a month. By comparison, my Comcast dedicated connection does not have these limits and I only pay $10 more a month. I get a connection that is at least 15 times faster than my cell phone that is always on for not much more money. Something is wrong with this picture.
When the iPhone 4 was released on AT&T, they announced tiered data pricing. You no longer get your "unlimited" connection, but you can get 2 GB of data for $20 a month. My mom uses 2 GB a month on her connection at home just checking her email. AT&T is screwing people over. They are going to make a lot of money on data overage charges
Verizon is going to do the same thing, as they have at least hinted that they will have the same kind of plans when they finish rolling out their LTE network. Why do they have to squeeze every last penny that they can out of their customers?
When the T-Mobile acquisition is complete, surely AT&T will find a way to get T-Mobile customers to pay the same rates that current AT&T customers pay.
So why do we even have cell phones? Why do we let the carriers push us around like we do? I am just as much at fault here as everyone else is. Can we not live without our mobile devices?
I want to hear from people as to why they pay what they do. Why do you have a cell phone? What phone and on what carrier do you have service? Do you have a smartphone with data capabilities? If you don't, is it because of the high premiums you pay for data? Have you considered getting one?
Monday, April 16, 2007
VZ Navigator
No comments
:
Labels:
Verizon
VZ Navigator is a full-feature GPS navigation system for your Verizon Wireless cell phone. I've been trying it out and I love it! It features full gps navigation, route planning, voice prompt directions, address input, and location search.
I was way excited to find out that my phone supports it! I'll be using VZ Navigator for a long time to come. (There is a hack that enables you to only pay for it once, so you don't have to continue to pay the monthly subscription fee, but we will leave it at that.)
For more information on VZ Navigator read about it on Verizon's Website
(Image taken from verizonwireless.com)
Friday, December 29, 2006
Verizon Bluetooth battle
No comments
:
Labels:
Verizon
[blockquote] Thank you for contacting our Verizon Wireless website. We are happy to assist you with your question regarding using the Samsung A950 as a modem.
We apologize for the confusion. Unfortunately, the Samsung A950 is not supported for tethered modem usage via USB cable or Bluetooth. Sorry that incorrect information was provided at the link. We will need to get this link corrected. Currently the Samsung A990 and A930 are supported tethered modem usage with our BroadbandAccess Connect option at $59.99 per month.
If you have further questions or concerns, please write to us again through www.VerizonWireless.com. We appreciate your business and thank you for choosing Verizon Wireless.
Sincerely,
Bernard
Verizon Wireless
Data Technical Support[/blockquote]
Dang it! They made a mistake? What? Why would they change their chart and change the A950 to show that it supported DUN over Bluetooth? This doesn't make any sense! Anyway, to sum it up, Verizon got my hopes up high and then brought them crashing down!
For more coverage on this topic see my [url=http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1069849]Howardforums posting[/url].
Just in case Verizon changes the Bluetooth Compatability Chart (which they said they would do, but they haven't yet), here is a copy of the one that they had up: [url=http://www.tigrao.org/stuff/BT_Chart_Handsets.pdf]http://www.tigrao.org/stuff/BT_Chart_Handsets.pdf[/url].
(Image taken from the Verizon Wireless support site)
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Verizon Wireless Sucks
1 comment
:
Labels:
Verizon
However, since I got this phone, I found out that Verizon cripples their phones. Not one of their phones supports Bluetooth Object Exchange. This means that I can't transfer files from my computer onto my phone or vice versa. They also disabled Bluetooth dial-up networking and other Bluetooth features. Now, Bluetooth hardware is Bluetooth hardware. If it can do one of these things, it can do all of them. It is simply that they've requested that the features be disabled!!! How ridiculous!!! For some phones there are hacks to enable these things, but for most there isn't a way to do it. I would absolutely love to use the capabilities of my phone and transfer files wirelessly to/from my computer. I would also love to dial up to the internet using my phone as it is wirelessly connected to my laptop. These are all built in to the hardware... Why does Verizon have to cripple their phones??? When my contract is up, I am switching to another provider for sure. 90% of my friends and family use Verizon, but I don't care. I will switch to T-Mobile, who doesn't cripple their phones like Verizon does!
Any of you out there have comments or concerns with T-Mobile, Verizon or other providers? Would T-Mobile be a good provider to switch to?
Subscribe to:
Comments
(
Atom
)
