T-Mobile: No More Free WAP For You!

[Pat Logsdon]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/2004/07/27/tmobile_ends_un.php' target='_blank'>http://www.mobiletracker.net/archiv...ile_ends_un.php</a><br /><br /></div><i>"T-Mobile USA has quietly ended an unpublicized program that gave all of its subscribers unlimited WAP access for free. According to the mobile phone discussion site Howard Forums, many T-Mobile subscribers that try and use the service now get a page asking them to sign up for T-Zones, T-Mobile’s data service. Since the service was free, and for the most part unknown, no one believed that it would last forever. However the deal was a cult hit among mobile phone aficionados and will surely be missed for quite some time."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/logsdon_20040727_tmobile.jpg" /><br /><br />I have to admit that I almost had a heart attack when I read that T-Mobile was dropping their free WAP service, as I use my T-Mobile T610 as a modem with my 4150 on a daily basis. Then I realized that I was hung up on the word "free" instead of "WAP". You see, GPRS is <i>also</i> free, and it appears to be staying that way, as I can still access this InterWeb thing as I always have. Sadly, those of you who like to browse on your phone itself are out of luck - you'll now get a page asking you to sign up for T-Zones if you want the same access. (Sorry, guys - no more horoscopes!) Some are crying foul over this, and I can understand that, but this WAS a free service - now you're just getting what you've been paying for. Thoughts? Dissenting opinions? :mrgreen:

[Zack Mahdavi]

I never really cared so much for the WAP access. I only used the GPRS access. That's still around, but I realize it's a free service, and that one day I'll have to pay for it. There's nothing to complain about if T-Mobile does decide to drop free GPRS as well.

[yanathin]

Wait a sec, free GPRS access? What address would be used for that if it's not wap.voicestream.com ?

[Zack Mahdavi]

Wait a sec, free GPRS access? What address would be used for that if it's not wap.voicestream.com ?

Well, I think the problem is accessing the WAP service from the cell phone. The "wap.voicestream.com" does have WAP in the address, but it's not really WAP. It's GPRS, so logging on to wap.voicestream.com from a device gives you a GPRS connection. WAP is just a protocol for delivering small web pages.

[Jon Westfall]

Sad to see it go...

[arebelspy]

This headline scared me!! 8O

But I can still use my bluetooth phone to connect to my pocket pc, laptop, desktop (if cable is out), tablet pc, etc. and browse for free (although slow, better than nothing if no wifi is around, etc). Nothing important changed, just no wap pages I guess..

Hopefully GPRS will still be free and they won't change that too.

-arebelspy

[bitbank]

I just tested my T-Mobile MPx200 and email and internet explorer still work fine using the free GPRS connection. Most popular web sites are already optimized for mobile devices, so what good WAP sites are we really going to miss?

Free POP mail is my main use for the GPRS connection, so for the time being I'm still happy with the free service.

L.B.

[hewlpac]

Well, My WAP access is still working fine. It was in my contract as being included when I signed up for service though...

[ADBrown]

I too nearly had a heart attack--I've been waiting for an eternity to get GSM coverage where I live, so that I can get a Bluetooth phone, and I've been counting on T-Mobile since the free GPRS makes them affordable to me. I've JUST, JUST days ago been added to a coverage area, and I'm looking into whether I can get T-Mobile when I see this story. 8O

[foldedspace]

Do you use your minutes if you connect through BT with your laptop/pda? I just switched to T-Mobile and was going to spring for the 20 dollar a month unlimited data plan. But I can get online without paying? That would be fantastic.

[Zack Mahdavi]

Do you use your minutes if you connect through BT with your laptop/pda? I just switched to T-Mobile and was going to spring for the 20 dollar a month unlimited data plan. But I can get online without paying? That would be fantastic.

No, it does not count against your minutes. However, the free GPRS provides you only with Ports 80 (HTTP web pages) and the POP/SMTP ports. So if you need to use any other internet services (such as remote desktop, exchange, etc), you'll need to get the $20 a month plan.

[wizardmaster2k]

I have an mpx200 w/ the 29.99 plan. I didnt buy any data plan, just that 300min/unlimited weekend plan. How would I go about accessing the web?

[Zack Mahdavi]

I have an mpx200 w/ the 29.99 plan. I didnt buy any data plan, just that 300min/unlimited weekend plan. How would I go about accessing the web?

Set your PDA to dial "*99#" via bluetooth or IR with a blank username and password. That's all there is to it.

[Ryan Joseph]

Geeze, Pat, you scared me! 8O

I use the free GPRS with my i-mate every single day...without exception! I read that headline and immediatly grabbed it and tried to connect. While it was connecting, I read the rest of your post.

Whew. I can sleep easy tonight. And after the adrenaline rush that headline gave me, I think I'd better go to bed. 8O

[superfaron]

do you guys really mean to tell me that the gprs service is free and does not count against my minutes? I have been paying $20/month now for 6 months because I thought I had to! I only connect through my phone with my ppc to the internet...this is what you mean by "free gprs," right?

[Zack Mahdavi]

do you guys really mean to tell me that the gprs service is free and does not count against my minutes? I have been paying $20/month now for 6 months because I thought I had to! I only connect through my phone with my ppc to the internet...this is what you mean by "free gprs," right?

Yup, but remember... you can only use port 80 (HTTP) and the POP/SMTP ports... the $20 gives you access to a bouquet of all the ports.. :)

[Brad Adrian]

...so what good WAP sites are we really going to miss?
Frankly, I consider the term "good Wap site" to be an oxymoron. WAP is dead. Period.

[superfaron]

do you guys really mean to tell me that the gprs service is free and does not count against my minutes? I have been paying $20/month now for 6 months because I thought I had to! I only connect through my phone with my ppc to the internet...this is what you mean by "free gprs," right?


so, what are these other ports and what can I do with them? Currently I only surf the web when I connect my iPAQ to my t-mobile phone via bluetooth. Maybe I should call t-mobile 1st thing in the morning and drop my $20 data plan
Yup, but remember... you can only use port 80 (HTTP) and the POP/SMTP ports... the $20 gives you access to a bouquet of all the ports.. :)

[horseflesh]

well, for example you would not be able to use a secure web site (https).

I too love the free GPRS.

(If full access was $10 instead of $20 I would do it too. It's just not worth $20/mo to do secure web sites and remote desktop type stuff though, since 95% of the time I am at home or work in front of a computer anyway.)

[ricoks]

Do you use your minutes if you connect through BT with your laptop/pda? I just switched to T-Mobile and was going to spring for the 20 dollar a month unlimited data plan. But I can get online without paying? That would be fantastic.

No, it does not count against your minutes. However, the free GPRS provides you only with Ports 80 (HTTP web pages) and the POP/SMTP ports. So if you need to use any other internet services (such as remote desktop, exchange, etc), you'll need to get the $20 a month plan.

I don't know what I may be doing different then, but I DO get VPN service to my XP Pro at home. I did it the other day, searched via explorer, and found out my PC DIDNT have the file i was looking for !! :cry:
Howver, it did work. I just use the RDP built into XP Pro, and it worked fine. I use the Free GPRS daily for web (PPCT, eBay, etc) and mail.
I was glad to see that it did work for VPN!!! :mrgreen:

hope that helps, try it and let me know if you find the same
Ryan

[gorkon280]

The WAP stuff is not going to be missed by me but I am confused....free GPRS? I thought you had to pay like 20 a month for that?

[angelchrys]

The free GPRS is so that people can download ringtones, wallpapers and games to their phone. They're not likely to remove the free gprs and potentially lose that money. They just killed the free WAP access because if they didn't, who would bother paying for the $4.99/$9.99 T-zones?

[palmsolo]

I used to have the $20 unlimited plan, but dropped it to try the free GPRS access about 8 months ago and haven't looked back. I was using 30 to 40MB of data a month on the paid plan and so I am a heavy data user with the free plan as well.

I use it for IMAP email and surfing the web on my E200, MDA II, T3 and UX50 connected via Bluetooth, and Nokia 3650. As a vanpool commuter, I surf about 2 hours a day via this free GPRS data plan. I don't do online banking via my small mobile device screens anyway so don't need all the ports. The only thing I can't really do is using MSN Messenger. With IM+ you can select the access port for Yahoo IM, AIM, and others to port 80 so you can still IM with some people.

[Jon Westfall]

Well, My WAP access is still working fine. It was in my contract as being included when I signed up for service though...

When did you get your plan? My girlfriend just signed up with t-mo last month, and I've had them since Dec. of 2002. I'm wondering if its in my contract or hers. Don't think its in mine...

[ludzh]

I used to pay $20 a month for the data plan as well - but the only secure site I really wanted/needed access to was Hotmail. Well after cancelling the $20/month plan in May, I could still check Hotmail via my T610. Sadly, yesterday I tried this and received a message advising me to sign up for T-Zones. No more mobile Hotmail access for me. Still deciding whether to sign up for T-Zones, but most likely will.

[misery94]

I was fortunate enough to have signed up with T-Mobile 2 years ago. At that time, I was able to get a package for $2.99/ mo that included 1mb of data, 30 mms, and 50 sms. Now the data is unlimited and I still get the MMS and SMS. I would have to pay $16 to get all that now. Up until about 4 months ago, I had to dial in to my personal MSN account with my 3650 to get my hotmail or my work exchange mail through GPRS. Just this last May, I discovered that I can now log in to any password protected site and even conduct transactions via GPRS! I did not change any settings, so I have no idea what happened. I'm not complaining, though.

[Daviddjr]

I thought GPRS was supposed to be faster than if I used my Phone as a Dialup Modem, calling a number specifically. Is it? Is it any faster if you pay the $20/month. I was thinking of paying the $20 per month thinking I could get DSL speeds.

People have said that going through GPRS by dialing *99# as the phone number doesn't use any minutes. What about dialing a phone number to an ISP directly?

[corphack]

Y'know, if this was physical access (ingress and egress) to and from owned property to a public throughway instead of virtual access, T-Mobile's actions could constitute a constraint on your rights as a property owner/leasor, and you would be entitled to redress and/or compensation.

Anyone care to test the position that you purchased or leased virtual property from T-Mobile through which you once had free and clear ingress and egress to the Internet (a public, virtual throughway), and to which your right of ingress and egress has been illegally restricted by T-Mobile's blocking of WAP?

Would you like to own a piece of T-Mobile? :wink:

[Janak Parekh]

Y'know, if this was physical access (ingress and egress) to and from owned property to a public throughway instead of virtual access, T-Mobile's actions could constitute a constraint on your rights as a property owner/leasor, and you would be entitled to redress and/or compensation.
This analogy is a big stretch in telecommunications, especially because T-Mobile is not the only route to get that information -- i.e., it's not a "fixed virtual" location per se. Also, if you read the fine print, it was never officially free -- they just closed a loophole, and were never obligated to provide you with the information in the first place.

--janak

[corphack]

I agree its a pretty big stretch, but the law doesn't require that access be explicitly offered, only that it be available at the time you entered into the purchase or leasing arrangement.

I'm just playing with the words, but if people and companies can create all those questionable patent claims currently being challenged by the EFF and others, I expect someone will eventually try to claim that real and virtual property issues share equal rights and protections under the laws.

[palmsolo]

My free GPRS access seems to have died out today so I called up and ordered the $20 plan. Now I can use MSN, access my work Groupwise web access, and other sites. At least I had about 8 months free:)

[Pat Logsdon]

For what it's worth, I've had my GPRS go down before, and it's usually back up within an hour or two. You have to call T-Mobile and ask for someone senior to give you a status - the normal tech folks don't usually know about GPRS.

[Magic Speller]

Hi, everyone.

This is an old thread that hasn't been posted to for three weeks, so I don't know if everyone has things working, or if everyone has given up. I hope, though that someone might be able to help me....

I was having the same problem a lot of others are having--getting a GPRS connection with free WAP and then not being able to go anywhere with it--so I signed up for the $4.99 t-zones last Wednesday.

It worked great through Saturday morning. I was able to download my email and connect to Web sites just fine, using an iPAQ 2210 PDA with a T610 as a modem. Then, Saturday afternoon, I started getting the error "Unable to connect for an unknown reason" on my PDA, and the GPRS connection would never complete.

I called tech support and was told that GPRS had been down nationwide for two days! (This despite the fact that I'd told him it had been working fine for me that morning.) He said it would be up again in a couple of days.

Yesterday, I was still getting the error, so I called t-zones support. I was given the line that you can't connect using a PDA unless you buy the $20 plan. I tried to tell him that many other users are able to do this, but to no avail; he just get repeating the same thing over and over.

Any suggestions for what I can do now, other than just cancelling my t-zones and forgetting about it?

[Magic Speller]

No comment? :(

[Kati Compton]

Well, then tell tech support that you're not able to access WAp on your phone, and just have them work on that. Hopefully if they fix that it'll then be working with your PDA.

[Magic Speller]

Good idea, Kati!

Thanks.

[danmanmayer]

how do you set up access to the free wap on the device. When i tell it to use a connection and go to wap.voicestream.com it says that there were no answering modems at the call....

how are people doing this at all?

can someone tell me step by step the set up instructions?