How do I connect my Pocket PC to the internet?
There are three common ways to get your Pocket PC online: By using the WIFI radio on your Pocket PC to connect directly to a WIFI access point; By connecting to your cellular provider's data network; and by using ActiveSync's internet passthrough connection.
Connect to a WIFI Access Point
If your Pocket PC is WIFI enabled, you can connect to the internet via a WIFI access point. To verify that your Pocket PC is WIFI enabled, tap Start > Settings > System tab > Asset Viewer. If you find a Wireless LAN module, then your Pocket PC is WIFI enabled. If your Pocket PC is not WIFI enabled, there are SDIO WIFI cards you can purchase to make the Pocket PC WIFI enabled.
You will encounter many different WIFI access point configurations:
- Free (Open) Hotspots: All you need to do to use a free hotspot is turn on the Pocket PC's WIFI radio, the Pocket PC will detect the access point and connect. When the light turns from yellow to green on the Pocket PC WIFI button, the device is connected to the internet and you can start surfing. The website, wififreespot.com, provides an index of many different free hotspots around the world you might want to check out.
- "Subscription" Hotspots: Your Pocket PC may detect these networks and even connect to them, but you will not be able to use them until you open up Internet Explorer and provide some additional information, such as a login and password or your credit card account number. TMobile, Boingo, Wayport, and iPass are common subscription hotspot networks, that charge anywhere from $20 - $40 a month. Some hotels provide private WIFI networks which are free to guests, but you'll usually need to open your browser and enter an access code before you can use the network. For these hotels, you can usually inquire at the front desk or review the hotel information material in the room to get the access code. Many hotels provide private WIFI networks for a daily access fee ranging from $8 to $10. The website, jiwire.com, provides an index of many different hotspots (mostly subscription, but some free ones are there too).
- Encrypted or secure networks: Your Pocket PC may detect secure networks, but the WIFI button will not turn green and you will not be able to connect to these networks unless you configure your Pocket PC with specific security information relative to the network, which you must get from the owner of the network. These networks will show up with a small lock next to them when you tap the Manager > Site Survey tab and view the "Available Networks" screen on your Pocket PC. Employers, Universities, and personal networks generally implement secure networks.
In many public hotspots, whether free or paid, you will need to open a new browser window on your Pocket PC before you can use email, instant messaging, or perform other internet functions. The browser window may pop up a screen for you to log in, or to click "Okay" to the hotspot's terms and conditions.
To prevent spammers from using their network, some hotspots may block the use of third-party SMTP servers, which means you may not be able to send email from these hotspots. You may be able to get the hotspot's SMTP server information and update your email messaging account settings. But it would probably be easier to use web-based email to send email from these locations.
See the article, entitled "Connect your Pocket PC to a WIFI Access Point" for more information.
Connect to Cellular Provider's Data Network
A completely different way to get your Pocket PC connected to the internet is by connecting through your cellular provider's data network. If you plan to use this type of connection, you should subscribe to your cellular provider's data plan, since data connection charges are charged IN ADDITION TO regular cellular services and you will get charged a premium for data services if you do not subscribe to a data plan.
For detailed instruction on how to use your cellular provider's data network to get your Pocket PC online, see these articles:
Connect via ActiveSync Internet Passthrough Connection
The third way you can get on the internet with your Pocket PC is by using ActiveSync's internet passthrough connection on your computer. Here, your computer's internet connection is passed through ActiveSync to the Pocket PC, either through a wired or Bluetooth connection.
Once you have enabled ActiveSync's passthrough connection, you can open up Internet Explorer on your Pocket PC and start surfing the internet. To enable ActiveSync's internet passthrough connection:
ActiveSync 3.8:
- Open up ActiveSync on your computer.
- Select Options > Rules
- Check to see if "Internet" is in the window next to "To use passthrough this computer is connected to:"
ActiveSync 4.x:
- Open up ActiveSync on your computer.
- Select File > Connection Settings.
- Select "Open ActiveSync when my device connects"
- In the box under This computer is connected to:" You have three choices "Automatic", "Work Network", and "The Internet." Select the setting that best applies to your internet connection.
If you have problems using an internet passthrough connection, check your firewall. I've found that I am not able to use the passthrough connection on my home network if I have the XP firewall enabled.
Links in this article
- wififreespot.com
- jiwire.com
- TMobile
- Boingo
- Wayport
- iPass
- Use Your Mobile Phone to Get Your Pocket PC Online
- Tap Into Your Converged Device
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Prof Julie,
Thank you for this entry and all the others.
What a great work you are doing!
You are worth more than a gold medal.
Kaj.
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Oh Kaj, thank you for your kind words. I am glad you like my blog. Julie
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Hi Prof Julie, every day when I start uup my computer I have a look into your blog to see if there is another goodie for me! When there is, I'm glad because I still have a lot to learn about my iPaq. When there isn't, I just wait for the next time...thank you so much for invaluable advice! Petra
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Petra, thank you for such a nice comment. I am trying to be more consistent in my postings, but sometimes life just gets in the way and these articles do take some time to write.
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Hi Julie
i got urmessage on HP and i came here, im new to all this pocket pc stuff, can u explain the difference between Wlan and wifi, i do have a wifi icon on my but not a wlan, my friend has a similar pda and he has wlan to connect with, how come my ipaq doesnt have wlan?
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As far as I know a Wlan and WIFI are essentially the same thing. Are you able to connect your pocket pc to a wireless network?
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No, i havent been able to connect at all, i live in country WA and i know of 2 free hotspots but i havent been able to connect at all... ill have to look into getting the wifi card, thanks for your help im a little unsure about how all this works, and at least u have cleared that up for me.
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I'm lost.
I've never been able to connect my iPAQ hx2400 Series to the Internet.
I read 2 of ProfJulie's articles and I DO have WiFi capability (don't need to add a card).
I get to "Available Networks." I see my home wireless network. I click Status > SSID: Configure > Configure Network Adapters. WHAT DO I DO THEN? Most choices seem to refer to Work/Internet connections via CARDS.
Help.
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Have you gone through the recommendations in this article step-by-step?
You don't need to change anything in your Network Adapters so there's really no reason to go to that screen. On the screen where you see your home's wireless router in the Available Networks screen, press & hold your stylus on the home network until you see a popup menu, select Connect.
Do you have any security such as WEP encryption on your home network?
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Have you gone through the recommendations in this article step-by-step?
==== Yes.
==== <...> Aha! Yes! That's it: "...press & hold your stylus on the home network until you see a popup menu, select Connect."!
Do you have any security such as WEP encryption on your home network?
==== Yes. I entered the WEP key. IE works but I still cannot connect to a web site.
Thanks! ====
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WHOA!! Stop the bus!! All fixed!
I went back to your other article "Connect your Pocket PC to a WIFI Access Point" and got my iPAQ to connect to a web site wirelessly for the first time in its life!
I've been waiting years for this. Thank you so much.
== PT
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That's some good news! Glad to hear you got connected.
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Oops. NEW PROBLEM: I rebooted and now at the Site Survey tab/ Available Networks screen, clicking or holding the stylus on my home network does nothing. I do not see the screen I saw before--the one that allowed me to click-hold to connect.
I rechecked all the settings I could find. I don't see any WEP encryption screen....
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My HP iPAQ hx4700 Pocket PC 2003, 2nd Ed. was working fine for email and web access via ActiveSynch and GPRS. However, after I used the PDA for web access via WiFi I could not get back onto the web via ActiveSynch or GPRS. Email was ok on both. Whenever I type in a new URL it says "page you are looking for cannot be found". I deleted the settings associated with the WiFi session but still no good. Be very grateful for your advice. Rgds
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If it were me, I think I would backup my pocket pc to a storage card, then perform a hard reset of the device. Then set it up to connect to the internet via GPRS connection and check to see if the ActiveSync passthrough connection works. If a hard reset resolves your problem, then you should not restore from your backup file, since restoring from the backup file will also restore whatever is causing your problem. If this doesn't work, then you can always restore from your backup file and be no worse off.
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I do have WEP encryption and my WiFi button is green but I still can't get on the internet with my hp iPaq hx2410. Can you get me step by step instructions? I am not the Techest person.
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Did you review the other article posted here:
Connect your Pocket PC to a WIFI Access Point
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i have asus p527 pocket pc mobile. can u please tell me what gps setting i require in india to get my gps on.
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Who is your cellular provider? The GPS settings are specific to cellular provider. You should be able to find these settings on your cellular provider's website or by googling "GPRS" and the name of your cellular provider.
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