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3G iPad in India (getting BSNL SIM to work)
- Thread starter nightfly13
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I got my iPad a few weeks back and got BSNL 3G from Lucknow: http://woikr.com/ipad/ipad-3g-working-with-bsnl-3g-in-india
The code to check your data balance on BSNL is *123*6#
I got 120 MB free on activation and recharged for 500 MB with 30 days validity. When I checked my data balance, it said I still have 627 MB free download left when my iPad settings showed 550 MB downloaded!
It looks like the quota is not reducing. The only thing I noticed different is that I get CellOne instead of BSNL as my carrier name.
Moreover, since the last few days, The network is switching back and forth between 3G and Edge intermittently.
The code to check your data balance on BSNL is *123*6#
I got 120 MB free on activation and recharged for 500 MB with 30 days validity. When I checked my data balance, it said I still have 627 MB free download left when my iPad settings showed 550 MB downloaded!
It looks like the quota is not reducing. The only thing I noticed different is that I get CellOne instead of BSNL as my carrier name.
Moreover, since the last few days, The network is switching back and forth between 3G and Edge intermittently.
There is no way to check bsnl fat a balance from the sim in iPad is there? I had a bad experience trying to get my trimmed microsim in my iPhone, but I guess it's easy enough in a normal phone. I just Ordered a microsim adapter for like $5 on eBay.
As for 3G/Edge, I find it changes over when 3G the signal is shoddy, I'll go from 3 bars 3G then 2 then 1 then 4-5 bars on Edge. Location driven, in my case at least. I'm often on edge in the of outskirts of Bangalore, but here close to the city centre my signal is always 4-5 bars 3G.
The iPad wifi bug is so bad with this Airtel router that I'm just staying on 3G. I think in. The future 500mb/monthly will be enough, assuming I have steady wifi most of the time.
Recharging
Well I'm back from my US trip (where I used AT&T 3G) and I had a bit of difficulty getting my BSNL service re-activated but now I'm fine. I basically had to recharge Rs. 440 (recharge as opposed to top-up) and re-enter my APN settings (guess AT&T changed it automatically, I had to change it back to bsnlnet - no username or password) and after a reboot and searching a few times it worked with CellOne 3G in the corner. In some places it shows BSNL 3G, other places CellOne 3G, sometimes it changes even in the same location but both seem to work.
I did pick up a micro-sim to sim adapter, but I still think it's preferable to try to check balances and whatnot with a normal phone, not an iPhone... although I guess my iPhone 4 (which also uses micro sim) might work ok.
Well I'm back from my US trip (where I used AT&T 3G) and I had a bit of difficulty getting my BSNL service re-activated but now I'm fine. I basically had to recharge Rs. 440 (recharge as opposed to top-up) and re-enter my APN settings (guess AT&T changed it automatically, I had to change it back to bsnlnet - no username or password) and after a reboot and searching a few times it worked with CellOne 3G in the corner. In some places it shows BSNL 3G, other places CellOne 3G, sometimes it changes even in the same location but both seem to work.
I did pick up a micro-sim to sim adapter, but I still think it's preferable to try to check balances and whatnot with a normal phone, not an iPhone... although I guess my iPhone 4 (which also uses micro sim) might work ok.
I'm new to this forum and just read this thread...I'm traveling in India with my iPad and have been using the Vodaphone cellular network to get online. I have a WM GSM phone with a Vodaphone SIM card and an unlimited data plan at RS499/mo...I'm using a program called WMWifiRouter to turn the phone into a wifi router (wireless tethering)...it works sort of okay but I'm limited to their Edge network and I have to worry about keeping 2 devices charged and happy...sometime the connection drops or they don't want to talk to each other. Since I'm a tourist (American) I really don't know much about the various Indian network carriers...I'll be here (mostly in the south...Mumbai, Goa, Kerela) for another 2 months, do you think it's worth switching over to BSNL and trying to connect the iPad directly? After being gouged by ATT for years the cost differential between carriers here is irrelevant...will my performance be significantly better or should I adopt the position that if it ain't broke don't fix it?
3G will be between 4-12x faster (based on my tests in 4-5 Indian markets), so worth it imho. Talk time balance must be at least Rs. 50 (I had trouble until I realized I was at 49.38 - of course you can't check that from within the iPad).
Thanks...I'm going to give it a shot...btw can I use my Vodaphone SIM instead of opening a BSNL account...I know it won't be 3G but I really don't have any other use for it and it'll give me some practice on cutting down a SIM card. Do you imagine the settings will be more or less the same?
Yes, a vodafone sim should work. I use Airtel in my iPhone 4 because I don't want to give up my number I've had for years - waiting and waiting for Airtel 3G to come. You'd just have to figure out the vodafone Edge APN settings. I think they vary from circle to circle (aka regions). I had it in my original iPhone a couple years ago, but I don't remember the settings. I'm pretty sure Bombay and Goa are generally one circle, so that may help your search.
I had a most excellent experience with BSNL today...I went to a local office in Siolim, Goa and spoke to the technical support manager. He understood immediately what I wanted to do and picked up the phone and contacted a colleague in Panjim....after a few moments he told me that his colleague in Panjim knew how to cut down the SIM card and get the iPad on the 3G network and would be glad to do it for me. All I had to do was buy a 3G SIM card (RS59) and load it with a minimum amount (RS119) and take it over.
The card had to be purchased at BSNL in Mapusa 9km away and then Panejim was another 15km...when I asked for directions he told me that he was going to send someone from tech support with me. A young fellow from BSNL rode with me (on my scooter) both to Mapusa and then Panejim. Once in Panejim the Internet tech support chief spent about 90 minutes cutting the card down and making sure it worked. He told me he had done this on 7 other ipads and would be happy to help anyone else who needed assistance in getting their iPad on the BSNL 3G network. When I told him I would post this info along with his email address he seemed quite pleased. It was, without doubt, the best customer service experience I have ever had from a carrier.
His email contact is: ashoktanna@gmail.com. If he reads this, I would like to thank him and his staff again.
The card had to be purchased at BSNL in Mapusa 9km away and then Panejim was another 15km...when I asked for directions he told me that he was going to send someone from tech support with me. A young fellow from BSNL rode with me (on my scooter) both to Mapusa and then Panejim. Once in Panejim the Internet tech support chief spent about 90 minutes cutting the card down and making sure it worked. He told me he had done this on 7 other ipads and would be happy to help anyone else who needed assistance in getting their iPad on the BSNL 3G network. When I told him I would post this info along with his email address he seemed quite pleased. It was, without doubt, the best customer service experience I have ever had from a carrier.
His email contact is: ashoktanna@gmail.com. If he reads this, I would like to thank him and his staff again.
Wow
Having used BSNL for 3-4 years, I'm pleasantly shocked how good that service is. I guess they've responded very well to having a huge population of foreigners. That's astonishing. Enjoy
Having used BSNL for 3-4 years, I'm pleasantly shocked how good that service is. I guess they've responded very well to having a huge population of foreigners. That's astonishing. Enjoy
Vodafone india APN: www
Rest all values are default. The vodafone official sites has APN as 'portalnmms' do not use that as that does not work properly on smart phones or iPad.
Though Vodafone is yet to launch the 3G service in india.
Yeah the 3G spectrum auction was several months ago, the non-gov telcos should start rolling out 3G service in the major metros, at least.
Info and a question
So I'm leaving the comfort of my home wifi network and traveling some tomorrow, so I made a point of getting my iPad's 3G connection reinstated.
I had a 'general balance' of 0. I recharged that Rs. 100 and now it shows 110. *shrug* weird.
Then I did a 275 recharge and the 3G is back. 275 is the Rs. 250 3G package plus tax. There is a larger plan as well but I don't remember the number with tax included.
My question is: does anyone know how to check the 'other' balance with BSNL? *123# gives the 'general balance' which should be a minimum Rs. 50 for 3G to work. How do you check the other balance - the data balance?
So I'm leaving the comfort of my home wifi network and traveling some tomorrow, so I made a point of getting my iPad's 3G connection reinstated.
I had a 'general balance' of 0. I recharged that Rs. 100 and now it shows 110. *shrug* weird.
Then I did a 275 recharge and the 3G is back. 275 is the Rs. 250 3G package plus tax. There is a larger plan as well but I don't remember the number with tax included.
My question is: does anyone know how to check the 'other' balance with BSNL? *123# gives the 'general balance' which should be a minimum Rs. 50 for 3G to work. How do you check the other balance - the data balance?
I've been traveling around India for about 3 months now with a BSNL 3G SIM card installed. Each city or region I've been to presents it's own hassle for recharging, as most agents are clueless and the BSNL payment centers are almost medieval in their lack of even simple technology. The bottom line has been that they have no way of checking data consumption when the device is not a phone. I have been recharging at the rate of RS352 per GB and tracking my usage on the iPad itself...data use has been much higher then the suggested consumption in the BSNL promotional material. If I was able to actually get a 3G signal all the time I'd run through 1GB in no time at all. Also there is no requirement to maintain a voice balance (RS50) as the device can't make calls and the number is assigned solely for data.
Hello,
I got my iPad2 and replaced the AT&T MicroSIM with BSNL MicroSIM 3G. This did work fine for a day and i was very happy.
Then i cleared the history, cookies, Cache and after that don't know what happened for sometime i was not able to connect to the internet and then after couple of hours it connect but not in 3G mode.
When i first time inserted the BSNL MicroSIM, it displayed "CellOne 3G" on the screen as service provider on top left corner and after clearing the history, cache, Cookies, it displayed "CellOne E" NO 3G.
Not sure what went wrong, please help i have got the 599 plan with 6GB prepaid MicroSIM.
Thanks & Regards,
Nana
Just got my 3G iPad delivered by a friend coming across from the US, and it's terrific and my iPhone feels tiny and all that. I got a new BSNL 3G sim card (only 3G option in Ranchi, where I live most of the year) and here's what I've learned so far:
1. Put SIM in a phone and activate it (dial 123)
2. Check the balance *123#
3. Then recharge (I chose Rs. 399 (plus 41 'tax') for 1GB data across India). Note, Im told you need a talk time balance of at least Rs.50 for it to work, even if you have a data balance.
4. Check balance again (see point 2). I can't explain why, but this is what got mine finally working.
5. Pull out the AT&T micro sim, measure the size of the larger BSNL (while the chips are slightly different, I used the bottom left corner (opposite the cut-off corner) as a starting point and the iPad recognizes my SIM fine). I used scissors, and started a bit bigger than I thought I needed and trimmed down slowly until it fit snuggly into the micro sim tray on the iPad.
6. Set the APN: under Settings -> Cellular Data -> APN Settings -> APN = bsnlnet
3G should work and *edit* is now working on mine.[/QUOTE]
I got my iPad2 and replaced the AT&T MicroSIM with BSNL MicroSIM 3G. This did work fine for a day and i was very happy.
Then i cleared the history, cookies, Cache and after that don't know what happened for sometime i was not able to connect to the internet and then after couple of hours it connect but not in 3G mode.
When i first time inserted the BSNL MicroSIM, it displayed "CellOne 3G" on the screen as service provider on top left corner and after clearing the history, cache, Cookies, it displayed "CellOne E" NO 3G.
Not sure what went wrong, please help i have got the 599 plan with 6GB prepaid MicroSIM.
Thanks & Regards,
Nana
Just got my 3G iPad delivered by a friend coming across from the US, and it's terrific and my iPhone feels tiny and all that. I got a new BSNL 3G sim card (only 3G option in Ranchi, where I live most of the year) and here's what I've learned so far:
1. Put SIM in a phone and activate it (dial 123)
2. Check the balance *123#
3. Then recharge (I chose Rs. 399 (plus 41 'tax') for 1GB data across India). Note, Im told you need a talk time balance of at least Rs.50 for it to work, even if you have a data balance.
4. Check balance again (see point 2). I can't explain why, but this is what got mine finally working.
5. Pull out the AT&T micro sim, measure the size of the larger BSNL (while the chips are slightly different, I used the bottom left corner (opposite the cut-off corner) as a starting point and the iPad recognizes my SIM fine). I used scissors, and started a bit bigger than I thought I needed and trimmed down slowly until it fit snuggly into the micro sim tray on the iPad.
6. Set the APN: under Settings -> Cellular Data -> APN Settings -> APN = bsnlnet
3G should work and *edit* is now working on mine.[/QUOTE]
Edge vs 3G
There are two reasons why your phone would be on Edge vs 3G that I can think of:
1) Your signal is a bit lower. When a 3G signal gets lower and lower it'll revert over to Edge, could be as simple as that.
2) You turned off the Settings -> General -> Network 'Enable 3G' toggle switch.
There are two reasons why your phone would be on Edge vs 3G that I can think of:
1) Your signal is a bit lower. When a 3G signal gets lower and lower it'll revert over to Edge, could be as simple as that.
2) You turned off the Settings -> General -> Network 'Enable 3G' toggle switch.