Vinko’s Thoughts On…

hi, glad to know you got it working so well. I’m using smartone as well and I can’t seem to get my iphone to work even though it’s jailbreaked and i loaded on anySIM. do you need a 3G card to use the iphone?

I’d really appreciate your thoughts on this one, thanks!

Hi, one more HK iPhone! I ordered a brand new one from the US and unlocked it. Works great on Smartone, even Internet over edge. I could not be happier, it is a fabulous piece of technology. And great fun to use!

Hi Thibault,

No, there was no need to apply any other hacks to enable the YouTube feature. Although, when I tested the YouTube function I was using the iPhone’s WiFi connection. As the Smartone-Vodafone data plan is too expensive to use for content like YouTube videos.

As for the data plan. You need to be very careful with Smartone-Vodafone’s service offerings. I had tried their “Internet browsing plan” last month with my Nokia E61i. In case you do not know, the Nokia E61i has many advance functions. The result was an over and above data charge of approximately HKD119.00.

The reason is because Smartone-Vodafone’s “Internet browsing plan” only covers “web browsing using the mobile phone’s native web browser’. They also tell me that only certain HTTP ports are included in the plan. But they are not able to tell me exactly what those ports are.

It is obviously they did not think through the service before they launched the service. It is ridiculous for them to restrict the service to certain ports. As you may know, web browsing is not limited to certain ports; yes, there are the documented defaults: port 80 and port 443, but these are not the only ones used in practice. The exact port used by each web site is up to the webmaster’s configuration of their respective web servers.

Also, the 20MB limit is per day and if you go over it, Smartone-Vodafone will automatically change your monthly plan to the unlimited usage rate of HKD68.00 until your next billing date. On which they will drop it back down to the regular rate (HKD38.00 without commitment and HKD28.00 with 12 months commitment).

BTW: you do realize that the HKD20.00 per month rate for the plan in question requires a commitment to the said plan for 12 months. The non-commitment rate for the plan is HKD38.00.

Since the iPhone allows you to use it for web browsing, email downloads (POP/IMAP) and sending (SMTP), YouTube streaming, weather widget, Google map lookup, etc. I would suggest you subscribe to Smartone-Vodafone’s “Internet browsing plan”, which covers majority of the traffic through Safari, Weather widget, Google Map application on your iPhone. With that plan also add one of Smartone-Vodafone’s “Data Price plan”, this latter plan should cover the remainder of the Internet traffic.

Up to this day, after numerous conversations with Customer Service on the telephone, I still have yet to receive an exact answer from Smartone-Vodafone, as to what the “Internet browsing plan” covers.

I believe none of their staff know themselves. Unfortunately, it will be a trail an error on our (the customers) part. Fortunately, Smartone-Vodafone is one of the only mobile carrier that does not require any commitment for any of their plans or VAS.

Everyone, please feedback here on your experience with the respective carriers in HK, as the best combination of plans to allow the most efficient use of your iPhone in HK.

Thanks Vinko for the thorough account of Smartone’s offerings. Sorry I cannot add anything to this, other than saying that I am pretty sure some people know exactly what is covered under the “browsing” plan and what not. But I think they like to leave you in the dark as every Byte that is not covered will make them a huge profit. The data charges are rediculously high, like $0.1 for 1KB. I would like to go by the browsing plan but how can I be sure I don’t end up with a hell of data charges if the iPhone is leaking traffic on some port whose traffic is not covered. Anyone who can add to this, please post your experience.

In general that makes sense, only the GPRS data plans are also exteremely overpriced. For example you pay $118/month for just 5MB of traffic, anything on top costs $0.05/KB which is $50/MB. If you do not know exactly what the phone is doing this can easily bring you up to a few $1000s in a month. I don’t think I want to take that risk. How do other people handle this? Can you ask Smartone to set a limit for example?

Guido,

I believe Smartone-Vodafone’s 2G/3G Data Plan for HKD118/month is for 10MB per month and any extra MB is HKD15 each.

Thibault,

Yes, Smartone-Vodafone sales representatives at the stores and Customer Service on the telephone are horrible in explaining the details of the “Internet Browsing plan”. Also, I really do not think one should commit to any carrier’s services for more than a month.

Technologies and services are continuously being enhanced, prices for these service continue to be competitive. Therefore committing to a 12 month “Internet Browsing plan” just to save HKD10 is not work it; in my opinion.

Also, just subscribing to the “Internet Browsing plan” from Smartone-Vodafone for use with the iPhone is not enough. You will end up racking up additional data charge.

You need to also add one of their “2G/3G Data plan” to your subscription. Exactly which plan will be up to your usage on the iPhone and your own experiment. I personally have the HKD118/month “2G/3G Data plan” plus the HKD38/month “Internet Browsing plan” this month.

Will let everyone know my findings after almost one month of use. My bill date is the 11th.

Vinko, I am surely looking forward to your report on the 12th then !!!

Thanks for doing the experiment,
Guido

I didn’t do the unlocking, I was in a store … I think for the internet, I just forgot to set the Edge ID thingy … not sure about receiving SMS though.

was done with the anySIM method. Not sure which method that is. It’s FW 1.0.2 though. Not too fussed about future upgrades, until they enable 3G on it.

Not set the APN, I guess that’s the internet sorted!. What’s the hack for the VM button?

It was 5.5k.

thanks

Yeah. I initially bought one for $3.4k. Well it was shipped in from the US. I then tried to hack it myself and it failed. I’m not going to go into it! Apart from saying it failed halfway through an iTunes restore, leaving it half-flashed and now wont boot.

So, having failed as a geek and a man (Oh, I should say this phone was for the gf), I had to quickly pop out and get one hacked here. 5.5k is the cheapest I’ve seen - HK side. Have heard of $4.8k in MK.

Anyway, the new one I got would not receive SMS, proved it to the guy in the shop and he gave me a new one that is all good.

Thanks for all the info!

Yep, returned it. The one I bought for 5.5k I mean. Already hacked, but didn’t work properly, they changed it for me without question.

It’s in Wan Chai Comp Centre. Up the escalator, straight ahead, the store that sells all the phones, PDAs, iPods, Wiis, etc.

Anyone know how to get three gprs/edge working (if indeed it can work)? I’ve tried various settings but no luck. The ‘E’ is shown at the top of the iphone so I guess it should work/is available!

I bought mine in kowloon bay for 4.7k (expensive, but I figured the 1.1.1 update would make 1.0.2 unlocked phones rare, so I didn’t wait anymore

Hi, yes, at least I think so: it’s actually a 3G SIM and on that I’ve subscribed to the data plan (on top of the normal plan). It worked fine on my sony phone, but to be honest I don’t know if I ever tried GPRS alone as UMTS was generally available (phone always indicated GPRS was there).

Will go and talk to the shop and/or three at lunch & post any results. I’m using the “web-g.three.com.hk” APN already.

The iPhone always reports “not subscribed to EDGE”, even though the ‘E’ is displayed… Dunno if it’s significant

Back again: the word from the 3 staff is that 3 doesn’t support EDGE, only GPRS or UMTS (HSPDA). They were quite helpful - but I didn’t go any further than that (i.e. ask if they support the iPhone - I doubt I would’ve got anywhere, as you said).

Luckily it seems I don’t have a contract, so I can switch anytime - a shame because I’ve been with them for years. Is Vodafone is OK for EDGE? It would seem so from the comments above; will pay attention to the data/web plans as stated above.

hi i also got one of those iphone at a shop in wanchai it was initially working with my 3 sim card, but i connected it to my laptop to download some songs, after a few minutes it locked up. now not working at all. i took it to shop where i got it, they will not change nor provide any help.

i wander any of you guy had any luck unlocking iphone easy way?

thanks

ismet:
whatever you do, do not update to 1.1.1 but it should be safe to use itunes to restore your phone to 1.0.2 firmware (keep ALT pressed when clicking ‘restore’), then activate/jailbreak/unlock again.

considering edge/gprs service, i think one needs to be carefull with any contract where you get billed by the megabyte, as the iphone pretty much assumes to be online 24/7, ie it will check for mail regulary and connect everytime you start maps/weather/stocks/youtube. so i’d rather go for unlimited data (128 HKD/month from PEOPLES

Update: I’ve switched to Vodafone over the weekend and EDGE works well: not as fast as wifi, but surprisingly not a lot slower than my old sony 3G w880i.

Reception is good, better than 3. I’m using a 3G plan with the “iN!!” (or whatever it is) $38/pm browsing service - but I’m not on a contract so can switch next month if it doesn’t work out It works out cheaper than 3 too.

ismet: try a on/off or reset if you haven’t already - if you get some response you can probably recover it.

Vinko,

Will you report on your data charge experineces tomorrow (12/10)? I am
interested to hear what iPhone traffic the browsing plan covers and what
not.

All I can say is that my brief test with switching on EDGE on Smartone and
testing one or two websites (<1MB) cost me an extra $100 since I so far have no data plan. So my advice to people on Smartone without a plan: be VERY VERY VERY careful with what you do.

Cheers,
Guido

Hi,

I just ran some simple speed tests between Smartone (my SIM) and Three (on a friend’s SIM). Refreshing the HK observatory weather page 6 times on each SIM, I averaged 30.2 seconds for Smartone and 68.2 seconds for Three.

Each of the Smartone refreshes was between 28 and 33 seconds.

One of the Three refreshes was 30 seconds, the rest were between 50 and 78 seconds.

Each refresh was conducted between 11:30am and 12:00pm today.

I admit that this test wasn’t terribly rigorous (it really should have been done more than 6 times per card and over different times of they day, but I couldn’t be bothered

___________________________________

I’m running the Smartone $38/month browsing plan + the $128/month 3G plan. I’ve not signed up to the $48 data price plan- I’ll see if this bites me after my first bill.

I’ve just spoken with someone about how GPRS works and have realised that my tests were completely useless.

GPRS uses 1-4 channels, all of which are shared by standard 1800 band phones, so my tests would have been influenced by nearby cell positioning and how many people in the area were using Smartone or Three at the time. in fact, some of the uniform jumps in my test results would suggest that someone around here started a phone conversation on Three partway through my testing.

Other uncontrolled variables wouldn’t have mattered so much- I was continually testing the site in question via my PC browser, and I’d already walked around the office with an EMF detector But yeah, I don’t think that GPRS lends itself to reliable testing in an urban environment. The upshot of this, I guess, is that throughput needn’t be a major consideration when deciding on service providers. The pricing schemes are baffling enough to deal with!

Thanks for the link to John’s comment. I’ll consider modifying my plan once I figure out what my data usage is like (haven’t even gotten around to configuring mail yet!)

Hi Alice,

First of all please let me say that I am no an expert, but just an experienced iPhone user in Hong Kong.

Where are you getting your iPhone? HKD5000 sounds very high for an Apple 8GB iPhone.

I will have to reiterate my concerns with purchasing iPhones in HK. I had received many emails from fellow iPhone users who purchased their iPhone in HK from one of the many shops in Wan Chai, Lai Chee Kok and Mong Kok. Everyone of them had told me that their phones had problems after about a week or so standard use.

These problems mainly surrounds WiFi and YouTube access. For the former, they cannot seem to connect to any network, the latter they just cannot reach the YouTube network. None of them were able to get the Caller ID to work properly and still only shows phone numbers in the USA format.

My recommendation is always to purchase a sealed, unopened iPhone, then pay someone you trust to unlock it using the Opensource technique. Please allow me to state that I currently offer this service, but I also want to explain why this is the best option.

Notice, I said in the above, “… someone you trust…”. You need to remember that this is a connected device, and in most cases, it is connected to some network; either cellular or WiFi, 24 hours a day.

As a result, if anyone places a malware onto the phone that they activate at a later date, they can potentially access everything you have on the phone. In the worst case, they can steal all the data off the phone or do what they called, clone the SIM card.

Having said the above, if you still want to purchase an unlocked iPhone in HK, I would suggest you check the stores in Wan Chai for a better price.

When you do go to the store to get your phone, it is best that you also have the intended SIM card you will be using with you. Some of the unlocking techniques will only registered with one SIM and will not allow you to remove that SIM after it had been inserted once.

For your carrier service, you need to ensure it has EDGE service; ie. Smartone-Vodafone , PCCW and 1010, but 3 does not. You should also find out from your carrier the APN, Username and Password for your EDGE service. In most cases, Username and Password are blank.

It is best that you had already changed your carrier’s subscription plan to have the service required before you go pickup your unlocked iPhone.

When you are at the store, you should check the following:

• you can connect to http://www.google.com using the Safari application after you have set up the EDGE access for your carrier.
• while connected to EDGE you need to check to see if the Weather application works, by changing the city to Hong Kong.
• You should see if you can find a WiFi network and then connects to YouTube using the YouTube application.
• You should ask if you are getting the iPhone with firmware 1.1.1, 1.0.2 or 1.1.2. If it is an iPhone with firmware 1.0.2 you should insist that they get you one with firmware 1.1.1, otherwise do not purchase it.
• You should ask if SSH was installed and that the password has been changed?
• If it is an iPhone with firmware 1.1.1, you should check to see whether you have 3 rows of 4 icons plus one row with a single iTunes icon then another row of 4 icons (Phone, Mail, Safari, iPod). If you see any other icon next to the iTunes icon, and it is not the “Installer” icon, you should ask them to remove it

I hope this helps. Please send me PM if you have any questions.

[Update]
You should NOT tell any carriers in HK that you are/or planning to use an iPhone on their network. If you need to use a phone model when discussing with your carrier representative, you can say that you have the Nokia E61i. It is against OFTA rules to use any unauthorized device on any mobile network in Hong Kong. This rule is up to the respective carriers to enforce, therefore, the carriers may cancel your service and/or fine you for using your iPhone on their network. If you do not tell them or allow them to identify you (giving them your ID or Phone Number), they will not be able to tell.

City Link at Sham Shui Po sell the unlocked iPhone at 4990. It works on my UK Vodafone card picking up SmarTone as the local carrier. I used the Edge settings from Ross Barkman’s GPRS info as the settings in ModMyiPhone’s Carrier APN Settings didn’t work and can use email, weather and Safari with no problems.

Hi Admin,

I have to use the EDGE settings for Vodafone UK as they are my carrier and I’m on international roaming in HK. I do use a spare phone with a CSL pre-paid sim for all my local calls.

The Vodafone UK settings are:

APN = internet
Username = web
Password = web

Anyway, thanks for your interest.

Hey - thanks for this informative site. I’m in HK for a short while and would love to get hold of an iphone myself, along with a couple of other toys but wondering where’s the best place for me to buy these things. I notice recommendations is Wan Chai? I saw an offer for an iphone today in Mong Kok for $4500. Not sure what the ‘going price’ is right now, or where the locals get bargains.

Any advice appreciated!

I have a

.04.02.13_G

1.1.2 Firmware

Phone - am I hosed - I appear to be.

Dear Adriano,

Without know exactly which steps you follow, the only guess I have is that you did not have the intended SIM in your iPhone before you run anySIM.

Please remember that no matter which instructions you follow you must follow every word of the instructions to the T, otherwise, you will have issues.

Good luck with your unlocking.

Dear Jack,

Unfortunately, as of now (Dec. 13, 2007) there are no confirmed sure fire way to unlock the iPhones with version 1.1.2 firmware “out-of-the-box”.

The only thing you can do is to “jailbreak” your iPhone and use all its function accept for the “phone” feature.

I am sure the unlock for out-of-the-box 1.1.2 firmware version iPhone will appear soon.

Dear “New iPhoner”,

Congratulation on receiving the iPhone. Note that the recommended “Internet Browsing” plan requires you to have at least a 3G voice plan to subscribe.

I am not familiar with the HKD68.00 “PayGo” plan, as you should not have a monthly plan with the “PayGo” service.

You can choose the least expensive 3G plan from Smartone-Vodafone, then add one of the “2G/3G Data” and the “Internet Browsing” plans to your 3G voice plan.

Note that none of the data allowance that comes with the 3G plan will be usable on the iPhone, but as explained in the body of my article, the 2nd tier “2G/3G Data” and “Internet Browsing” plan should cover all possible data usage on the iPhone, without having to worry about paying an unexpected large service fee at the end of each month.

Dear Vinko,
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I am still unable to understand the wifi concept. Yes, i am connecting to our own WiFi network.. but i am unable to understand what i need to do with the MAC address… with the Wifi connected when i click on the blue arrow, i see DHCP highlighted and then there is an IP address (not sure if i could type in the actual one so using alphabets!!) abc.ade.a.h and then there is a subnet mask with some numbers and then some numbers by “Router” and finally some numbers by DNS…. does it make sense? does it mean i shud be able to connect to internet? But i cant seem to!!

Thank you for the clarification on the phone plan. I will go to one of the vodafone outlets soon claiming to own a Nokia E61i and will select the plan suggested by you.

Many thanks once again!

On December 16, 2007, 22:54:
Sorry to write once again… here is the message when i try to connect to internet… “safari cannot open the page because it cant find the server”…. please help!

On December 16, 2007, 22:58:
how do i find the MAC address of the iphone and how do i add it to the router?
Sorry for beind such a dodo!

Hi All, I need help with unlocking the iPhone, there is a new firmware version 1.1.2 which blocks unlocking and you would need to use a turbo sim card. I ordered my iPhone from the US for 3400HKD and i want to unlock the phone… Can anyone recommend any suitable unlocking locations??
Thanks!

Hi,
Thanks for your reply…
I just wanted to know if the 3 network will be suitable for the iPhone.
Not dualband…

Sorry,
I needed to know if any of the problems may occur with the following apps. I wanted to know if i can update the software version provided by iTunes, I needed to know the price in Hong Kong for the english iPhone, Will there be problems with call quality will it be choppy or problematic (dropping connection using 3), Is MSN available, Will syncing the music to the iPhone pose problems if it is not bought from iTunes or is not original? Thanks
Sorry for the confusion!

Thankyou soo much for everything!

Patrick,

There are various sites that list methods for jailbreaking iPhones with out-of-the-box version 1.1.2 firmware.

I do this for people. It takes about an hour to accomplish and I can also recover from almost any fail attempts by other people.

You can contact me via PM for details.

Hi Tonto,

Congratulation on your purchase.

Please be aware that the TurboSIM needs to be programmed before you can use it in your OTB 1.1.2 iPhone. It is also a very delicate piece of “hardware”.

I recommend that whoever you purchase it from, you should make sure they have already programmed the TurboSIM for iPhone use. The way you ensure that is the case, is to ask the store owner to test the TurboSIM at the store with one of his Jailbroke OTB 1.1.2 iPhones.

After you are satisfied with your purchase, you can then go home and follow the official instructions from the Hackint0sh forum. Since your TurboSIM will be pre-programmed for the iPhone your can skip #1 - #21 in Step 3.

Due to the delicate nature of the TurboSIM and alike, you will not want to change the SIM often; or at all, after you have successfully installed your converted HK SIM card to use with the TurboSIM.

Again I must include the advise not to use the TurboSIM for unlocking your OTB 1.1.2 iPhone.

Although, if you cannot wait for the software unlock, a place where I have helped a friend purchase a TurboSIM (like) is in Wan Chai. The local telephone store on O’Brien Street at the corner of O’Brien and Johnston Roads. The price my friend paid was HKD550.00 for a TurboSIM (like) pre-programmed for the iPhone.

Good luck.

Dear Vinko,
Please help again!
I hav subscribed to the plans u suggested with smartone…
all seems ok except that youtube doesnt seem to be working…
also internet is not fast…its faster thru wifi…
am i doing something wrong?

thanks again!

youtube is working on wifi now.. but not EDGE… does it not work with EDGE?
also with EDGE does it mean i cannot view any videos?
Thanks so much once again…

Dear Vinko,
another question!
I realised i have subscribed to only the 38$ unlimited browsing plan(with contract) and another 88$ plan for calls… i have no “2G/3G data plan”
i have been using weather, mail and safari for my internet…
do u think i am being charged extra and its not covered in the ” unlimited internet browsing plan”…
i am worried now since my usage is already around 80 MB and if i need to pay at 0.06 per KB, it would be about 4800 HKD there!!
AM terrified…and hopin that is not the case!!

please help..
thanks in advance!

actually i was reading thru the contract and it is the 38$ plan but will automatically be transferred to 78$ plan for the month …i got a message saying my plan was now unlimited since 20 MB was exceeded…so i guess the plan i come under is still the 38$ one… when i open my bill online it says “first invoice not issued yet” since this only my day 4 on the new plan… but it shows me details on the calling ..but nothing on data…is there a way i can check the data usage…
i am sorry for having to bother u with these…
many thanks in advance!

Thanks so much Vinko..shall try and do it at the earliest..but i fail to understand why the online billing details dont show any info regarding text messages or data.. is there some way to find that out?

Many thanks once again!