Use your Mobile Phone to get your Pocket PC Online
When you are not at home or not close to a WIFI hotspot and you need to check your email messages or look something up on the internet, you may be able to use your mobile phone’s GPRS connection to get your Pocket PC online. To get online, all you need is a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone and your Bluetooth enabled Pocket PC. This article will walk you through the steps to take to get online with your Pocket PC. The screenshots you see here are made from my hx2415, which runs Windows Mobile 2003; and I have included the GPRS parameter settings for Cingular Wireless Services. Your screens may look somewhat different; and your parameter settings will probably be different. Create a Phone & Pocket PC Bluetooth Pairing Turn on Bluetooth by tapping Start > Settings > Connections > IPAQ Wireless or by tapping the Wireless icon on your Start page (if it is there). Tap on the Bluetooth symbol, which will change from grey to green. Select Bluetooth Connections (WM5.0) or Bluetooth Manager (WM2k3). Here you will create a shortcut for the Pocket PC / Cell phone connection by tapping New, then select “Connect to Internet via phone” (WM2k3) or “Explore a Bluetooth device” (WM5.0) in the Connection Wizard window. In the Bluetooth Connection Wizard screen, tap the down arrow to the right of the Phone selection box. If your phone is listed in the list, select your phone, otherwise select <Unknown, or phone not listed>, then tap Next.
The first thing you will do is create a Bluetooth Pairing between your two devices. Then you will set up the specific connection settings required by your cellular service.
Prepare Your Phone
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Turn on your phone’s Bluetooth radio and place your phone into Discoverable mode. Now tap Next on your Pocket PC. On the next screen, you can tap the down arrow and select “Show only phones” or “All devices.” Your handheld will search for your phone and return an icon to the screen when it finds it. |
Tap the phone icon and you will be taken to a screen where you should input a 4 digit numeric Passkey |
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Watch your phone’s screen for an Authentication message and a prompt to input the 4 digit numeric Passkey. Upon successful receipt of the Passkey, your Pocket PC will return discover the services that are available on your cell phone and the Pocket PC will display a Bluetooth Connection Wizard screen. Since you have not yet set up any GPRS/EDGE connection settings, tap Next, then Finish. |
If you review the Bluetooth My Shortcuts screen, you may see that the handheld created several different shortcuts: Bluetooth Serial Port, Dial-up Networking, File Transfer, and Network Access. Exit out of the Bluetooth Manager and turn off Bluetooth. |
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Set up Your GPRS/EDGE Connection Settings
Now you need to create a Connection Profile that includes the specific parameters required by your cellular service to enable your Pocket PC’s access to your cell phone’s GPRS/EDGE connection. Tap Start > Settings > Connections tab > Connections icon.
Tap the Advanced tab, then tap “Add a new modem connection” under the My ISP heading. Enter a descriptive name in the first box under “Enter a name for the connection.” Then tap the down arrow next to the second box under “Select a modem” and select “Bluetooth Dialup Modem.” Dialup Number: Most cellular services use some variation of the following string: *99# or *99***1# (where 1 relates to the phone CID (Connected Information Device) number. The CID number can be a number between 1 and 6. By default, the CID number for Cingular is 1. Username: For Cingular, the user name is WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM or ISP@CINGULARGPRS.COM Password: For Cingular, the Password is CINGULAR1 § Baud rate § Input Extra dial-string modem commands: This string +
§ or ISP.CINGULAR depending upon the specific cellular services provided
The trickiest part about setting up the GPRS settings is that you must use settings that are specific to your cellular provider. At a minimum, you will need to know the Dialup Number, the Username, and the Password.
Tapping the Advanced button on this Username/Password screen brings you to a series of General, Port Settings, TCP/IP, and Servers tabs. On the screen that relates to the General tab, remove the ckeckmark next to "Wait for dial tone before dialing." Some users may also need to modify or input some additional settings on this screen that are not standardized across cellular providers, such as:
Domain is blank
Menneisyys, a well known Pocket PC expert, has provided a more detailed discussion of these settings here.
You probably won't need to change any of the settings in the remaining three tabs (Port Settings, TCP/IP and Servers), so tap the OK button on the top of your screen, and then tap Finish. This will return you to the Connections screen.
NOTE: I have collected specific GPRS connection settings for many different cellular companies. I am consolidating and organizing this information and will post a link to this information here as soon as it is available.
Now, test to see if you can connect
Turn on Bluetooth on the Pocket PC. Tap the Manager button. Press and hold your stylus on the Dial-up Networking icon until a popup menu appears. Select Properties. On the Bluetooth: Connection Properties screen, remove the checkmark next to Authentication and tap OK.
Now turn on Bluetooth on your cell phone. Go back to the Pocket PC Bluetooth Shortcuts screen. Select the connection you just set up in the connections listed in the Bluetooth: Dial-Up connection screen. Tap OK. Keep an eye on the cell phone’s screen for a prompt to approve the connection. If the Dial-up Networking icon turns green, you are connected. You should also see the GPRS/EDGE connection on your phone come to life.
The Bluetooth Phone Manager Application & Live Update
Some Pocket PCS come with a pre-installed application, Bluetooth Phone Manager, that facilitates Bluetooth connections with cellular phones. Sometimes when users attempt to use the Bluetooth Phone Manager application, they receive a message that directs them to perform a “Live Update” to ensure they have the latest settings in the software. On the CD that is packaged with these Pocket PCs is a Live Update application that needs to be installed on the desktop computer. The application updates the various cellular profiles whenever a Live Update is performed and these profiles are synced to the Pocket PC.
I don't think using this application to pair a cell phone and Pocket PC is necessary for most users. As you have seen here, it is quite easy to create a Bluetooth pairing between a cell phone and Pocket PC by simply using generic settings. But if you have difficulty pairing your Pocket PC and cell phone, then it might be worthwhile to run the Live Update software to retrieve the most up-to-date cell phone profiles, transfer those profiles to your cell phone and then use the Bluetooth Phone Manager application to pair your cell phone and your Pocket PC.
GPRS Services versus Dial-up
When you connect your Pocket PC to your cell phone’s GPRS / EDGE services, you are not using a conventional dial-up connection. GPRS services are charged in regards to bytes transferred not minutes used - using a GPRS connection does not consume your cell phone minutes. You will most likely incur additional charges whenever you use these services, and if you do not subscribe to a data plan with your cellular provider, you will pay a premium for these services (and will probably be shocked when you receive your first bill).
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Julie
You can also do this using a usb cable and using the ipaq as a modem. Works fine, not fast, but works. Nice article.
Thanks
Dave
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I used your steps and it did not seem to work for my Motorola V551. My phone recognizes the Pocket PC and vice versa. I am wondering if I interpreted your instructions properly. In the section titled "Dial-up Number" you state "*99# or *99***1#", where you placed the # sign, I interpreted this as where we put our cell phone number. Is this correct? Ex: *99***13334444
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Kev, just enter the # sign, just as I showed, and try it. You do not enter your cellphone number there.
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Thank You for the clarification! Your instructions worked flawlessly.
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I have an iPaq 2795 (I think that is the number it is 27__. You helped me before on the forum. Do you have instructions for pairing with Verizon? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Winifred (Pilgrim155)
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If you tried out the techniques in this article and are not able to get it to work, I may not be able to help you much. Verizon has crippled the Bluetooth functionality of many of the phones they sell to prevent users from being about to do these types of things. Instead, users are forced to buy more services from Verizon. This is one of the reasons I did not switch over the Verizon several years ago. If I were you, I would ask Verizon what Bluetooth services are restricted on the phone. Purchasing an unlocked phone and using it on Verizon's network should allow you full access to the phone's bluetooth functions.
julie
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I have a Nokia 5300 XpressMusic that is GPRS, bluetooth and infrared capable and I have the T-Mobile Web service (WAP). In the other hand I have an HP iPAQ hx2795 that run "windows mobile 5" and is WiFi, bluetooth and infrared capable.
Is there a way to establish a connection between my phone and my iPAQ so I can use the T-Mobile web service (WAP) on my iPAQ through my phone? How should i configure my phone and iPAQ to be able to do this?
Please advise.
Thanks much.
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I am not familiar with the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic or TMobile web services. But did you try pairing the two devices via Bluetooth and getting the IPAQ on line that way (as described in this article)?
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Prof Julie,
When I tried to get my PDA to access the bluetooth GPRS on my phone I would get an error on my PDA stating "Connection link disconnected prematurely".
My phone is a Samsung SGH-A707 and I am a Cingular (AT&T) customer. Do you know why I'm getting this error?
Thank You,
Robert
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Robert, I'm afraid I don't know why you would get such a message. What model pocket pc do you have?
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Thanks very very much for your instructions.
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I'm glad you found my blog useful. Thanks for dropping by.
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i use cricket wireless it is kind of like pre paid but i have unlimited anytime munites as well as unlimited internet access i have the nokia 6275i and am having trouble establishing a internet connection via bluetooth on my HP ipaq 2795. Please help if u can.
thank you for your time,
jeff
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I'm not familiar with Cricket Wireless....Does Cricket provide a GPRS/EDGE data connection? Are you able to create a bluetooth connection between your pocket pc and cell phone?
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julie i have a sprint motorola k1 do you know the user name and password for sprint users and what do i imput as the extra dial string modem commands ? please help . thanks
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I think Sprint PCS users will leave username, password & domain blank. The Sprint dialup string is #777.
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So I have a blackberry 8100 from Cellular One, and want to pair it with a Ipaq hx2495b, and haven't been able to make it work. Is it possible to pair the Ipaq with the blackberry?
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Can you describe the steps you've taken to pair the two devices? Do you receive an error message?
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Hi, I got a HTC Touch as a present from somone in Asia. It is unlocked but Network Wizard doesn't show USA. I am on Cellular One unlimited data plan, do you know the GPRS settings for manual entering. Thank you!
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so i have had my iphone for 4 months now and absolutely love the thing...and i have had no problems until now
I am running 1.1.1 and have installer on my phone. yesterday i tried to make a call, and it would not connect and eventually dropped the call. i continuecd trying to make a call and this kept happening eventhough i was getting good reception in the area. on top of that, when i tried to call my phone, my iphone would not ring or say i missed a call.
an hour later, there was no problem with making a call or recieving calls.
basically this has been going on now for a day...periods of time when i cannot make a call connect and it drops and then it starts working again. anyone have any ideas of what is going on? thanks a bunch in advance.
I did post it in many forum, and no answer; http://themobilephoneforum.com/index.php?topic=20.0
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I have never used an iPhone and can't really help you work out your issue. You should probably find an iPhone forum and post your question there or contact AT&T about this issue and see what they have to say about it.
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hi i am trying to connect my ipaq 110 with my samsung phone from t-mobile
do you know for any chance the GPRS connection settings yet
thanks in advance
best regards
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For t-mobile I think all you need is the dial up string (*99#). I don't think you need to input anything into login or password.
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My IPAQ 211 runs on WM6 (connecting to a Samsung A717. Microsoft seems to have altered WM6 BT DUN setup, because in WM6 you can't set the baud rate, wait for dialtone and extra dial-sting commands anymore. You know how this is configured in WM6 ?
Claus
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The set up screens actually changed with WM5.0. There just aren't so many options to set any more. I'm afraid I don't know how you could set things things now.
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I can't enter the Access point name (wap.cingular) in WM6. I tried to specify this as a proxy with nosuccess. You have any idea, how I can define the access-point with WM6 ?
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hi, I'm trying to use my nokia 6230i as a modem connected to an ipaq 3715. I have a usa tmobile plan. the question is always the same: I tried the ISP *99# (no user and no password) but I got a "subscribe gprs connection" error message. But using the phone itselfs as a browser, I have no problems in connecting with gprs speed. Has anyone had the same troubles? thanks a lot
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Looking around the internet, this seems to be a Nokia issue.
Try this string instead:
*99***1#
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Hi, read your article some months ago and it worked brilliantly with my HP4700 and t-mobile nokia 6310i. Have now upgraded to HP 214 and cannot get it to work. Doesn't seem to be anywhere to enter the AT command. The pairing is good and the phone suggests I am connected but the pda says it cannot display the page. Any clues?
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The option to add "Extra Dial-up String Modem Commands" was removed from WM6.0 devices. I have read of a possible solution that involves modifying a registry key (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\DRIVERS\Unimodem\Init) in the Pocket PC with the information you would have input into the "Extra Dial-up String Modem Commands" option. See the comments in this link for the specifics of the registry modification.
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Hi, thanks, looks like I might have bought myself a pile of problems, just had to fork out for a whole new TomTom too because it didn't like my old maps. Not sure if I am brave enough to mess with the Registry. I wonder if there is something I can change on the phone or maybe a different phone.
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Oh, don't be afraid to make that change in your registry. You can download PHM Registry Editor, install it to your Pocket PC (Note, the download button on the linked page will allow you to download a .CAB file for this application. Copy the CAB file directly to your device, then navigate to it, tap it and the software will be installed to your device)
Then open up the application and find the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Drivers > Unimodem > Init key
Tap Edit > New String Value
Value Name: 3
Value data: <enter the AT string you used on your other pocket pc>
Tap X at the top of the page to close the application. Turn off the pocket pc and soft reset it. See if that resolves your issue. If it doesn't work, you can always go back into the registry and delete what you just did. (Just make sure that's all you delete)
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Hi, Thanks you gave me the confidence to do this but sadly I am still presented with an error saying Page cannot be displayed. Its so frustrating to know the phone is connected and everything should be ok. Guess I will have to look for another solution but appreciate your help anyway.
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