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Montana area - Chinook Wireless and iPhone

mobilemt said:
For potential iPhone customers in Montana, there is NO good choice. T-Mobile/AT&T are both roaming on Chinookular One (as i call it). Chinookular One is honestly terrible. They get no service in so many places it is not even funny. Hopefully AT&T sweeps them up soon!

But anyways, as far as the iPhone goes. First of all, the process of getting the iPhone to work on Chinook is far FAR more complicated than Chinookie makes it sound. Jailbreaking has NOTHING to do with unlocking. They are two entirely separate processes, which he/she has done neither of since it was apparently given to some associates pre-unlocked. I've gone through all the processes and hooked it up on Chinook. Until recently, Chinook has been rediculously overpriced for data and so i have not set my data up yet. If you decide to go over to Chinookular One and need help unlocking or jailbreaking your phone or any other ways of hacking your phone, let me know.

As far as the T-Mobile ordeal goes, it used to offer 100% roaming, but has now began cracking down on consistant roamers and cutting them off. Chinookie was wrong in saying it is 80%, that is AT&T's policy.

I'm just glad I'll be moving to LA soon, and can escape sucky Chinookular One.
Click to expand...

I am just passing on what the T-Mobile CSR told me, if you have issues with them, then talk to them. As far as bashing the company that I work for, that is uncalled for. I am sorry that you feel that way, but I don't go to your place of business and say how crappy of a company it is.

I have unlocked more iPhones than I care to count, and every one is different, depending on the firmware that is on it.

I got in to this forum to answer questions about our service, thats it. If you have any other questions, please call 1-866-424-4666. Thanks!
 
I know Billings has pretty good service, even says Tmobile on the network I.D. on the phone I had at the time. As far as ATT and the iPhone, I dont know. I havent been to Billings since Ive gotten my iPhone. I do know that in Casper, WY I got good ATT service. I assume I ATT has roaming agreements with someone out there. I think everyone knows that GSM is not the greatest in less populated areas.
 
mobilemt said:
For potential iPhone customers in Montana, there is NO good choice. T-Mobile/AT&T are both roaming on Chinookular One (as i call it). Chinookular One is honestly terrible. They get no service in so many places it is not even funny. Hopefully AT&T sweeps them up soon!

But anyways, as far as the iPhone goes. First of all, the process of getting the iPhone to work on Chinook is far FAR more complicated than Chinookie makes it sound. Jailbreaking has NOTHING to do with unlocking. They are two entirely separate processes, which he/she has done neither of since it was apparently given to some associates pre-unlocked. I've gone through all the processes and hooked it up on Chinook. Until recently, Chinook has been rediculously overpriced for data and so i have not set my data up yet. If you decide to go over to Chinookular One and need help unlocking or jailbreaking your phone or any other ways of hacking your phone, let me know.

As far as the T-Mobile ordeal goes, it used to offer 100% roaming, but has now began cracking down on consistant roamers and cutting them off. Chinookie was wrong in saying it is 80%, that is AT&T's policy.

I'm just glad I'll be moving to LA soon, and can escape sucky Chinookular One.
Click to expand...

I hate to say it, but you are in for a let down when you get to LA. Amazingly, you can be driving through one of the most populated areas of Los Angeles - buildings as far as the eye can see - and right in the middle of your sales pitch your iPhone will cut out on you, even on AT&T. It is truly amazing!! We have come to refer to Los Angeles as, "That vast cellular wasteland!"

See you soon - we'll leave the lights on for you.
 
Chinookie said:
I am just passing on what the T-Mobile CSR told me, if you have issues with them, then talk to them. As far as bashing the company that I work for, that is uncalled for. I am sorry that you feel that way, but I don't go to your place of business and say how crappy of a company it is.

I have unlocked more iPhones than I care to count, and every one is different, depending on the firmware that is on it.

I got in to this forum to answer questions about our service, thats it. If you have any other questions, please call 1-866-424-4666. Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's only bashing if I'm saying outlandish slanderous lies, pointing out the face that CellularONE highly lacks sufficient service, especially when compared to Alltel (CDMA and GSM, even), as well as VZW. I said nothing regarding the company, I simply pointed out the flaw of terrible coverage.
 
Hi, I'm a Cellular One customer in Kalispell and can maybe shed some light on this.

T-Mobile is licensed in Montana but hasn't built a network here, instead they have leased their licenses to Alltel who uses them to provide a GSM network that they can roam on. This GSM network is generally poor and doesn't have the coverage of Alltel's CDMA network their own customers are on. T-Mobile also has a roaming agreement with Cellular One. Some T-Mobile SIMs are homed to go to Alltel's network after a few seconds if it's available, even if you manually pick Cellular One. Others aren't and you can roam on whichever you like.

T-Mobile DID recently change their policy. Unlimited roaming was unlimited roaming. Now it's 80% 3 months in a row officially... though it likely depends WHO you are roaming on. If you roam on Alltel, I doubt they'll kick you off - they have a very good deal. If you roam mostly on Cellular One, expect the boot eventually. Again, this is a VERY recent policy change.

Chinook / Cellular One / John Foxman (their CEO) has been full of what I have no reason to believe is anything other than nonsense about some special affiliation with AT&T/Cingular. In the early days of Chinook they branded themselves almost like they were part of Cingular. Then the iPhone stuff. They seem to have came to reality recently... Maybe the fact they might soon be competing against AT&T helped bring them there maybe not.

Yup, Verizon just bought Alltel and it's VERY likely (almost certain) that the FCC will require Verizon to divest the Alltel network in Montana and the Dakotas. There really are only two likely buyers for this network - AT&T and US Cellular. This time next year Alltel will almost certainly be one of those two networks here.

Third, with one exception, I've found Cellular One customer service to be amazing. There is a 60-some year old lady at the call center who does not understand GSM, does not have a clue what she's talking about, but likes to point out that she's 60 (or whatever she was) and has been working there "longer than anyone" therefore is smarter than you (by some odd logic...). If you get her (she never did give me her name), I'd just hang up and call back a few hours later in hopes of someone else. It's not worth bothering with her. EVERYONE ELSE I'VE TALKED TO - ON PHONE AND IN THE STORE - IS WONDERFUL! Other than that one bad apple, they do deliver on the customer service!

Now, as for the coverage... it's mostly good but they don't have service in Hungry Horse yet and I'll be working at a camp up there a few weeks this summer. I signed up really expecting coverage up there by now. That's my biggest disappointment. Everywhere around town here and down in Missoula and everything is fantastic - a few weak areas in buildings, dead in part of Wal-Mart, but much better than Verizon overall (Alltel is somewhat better but not much).

Overall, I'm VERY happy and it's so nice to be on an open GSM platform.
 
To Chinookie or anyone else -- I'm trying to determine what would be the best Cellular One plan to use with the iPhone.

The Ultimate plans have "mobile web" but I am assuming this doesn't provide the type of internet access the iPhone needs. Does it?

If not, can I add the $29.99 Smartphone plan to any plan I choose?

How does the "local data unlimited plan" differ?

The Premium plans have limited minutes of "Nationwide" calling. This refers to the ability to roam your phone in another state, correct? This does not mean that when I am in MT and call someone in NY, I am using the "Nationwide" minutes, does it?

Thanks for any clarification.
 
Mobile web is proxy'd HTTP access only. Some have managed to get the iPhone working on a similar data plan that T-Mobile has (T-Mobile Web/T-Zones). It requires some more serious messing with the iPhone's OS (the data settings don't let you specify a proxy server), you will only be able to use the web (no YouTube or push email) and you might break the iPhone's ability to use WiFi (though I've heard of people who haven't...)

And yes, the $29.99 Smartphone option is what you need. Compared to a 2G iPhone plan from AT&T it's completely overpriced - AT&T's iPhone data is $20 more than a normal plan and is nationwide. AT&T's 3G smartphone data plans (inc. the new iPhone) are $30 and also nationwide. CellularOne is 2G-only (slow internet) and is in Montana only with very high out of state data roaming charges. Cellular One is ONLY good for data users if you never need data outside of Montana (and that little sliver of Wyoming)

National minutes refer to voice calling from other US networks. Note that despite the fact they're still AT&T, Cellular One has chosen not to consider Hawaii, Alaska, or any of the US territories as part of the US. Probably knowing they're popular vacation spots from Montana and a good place to catch people with unexpected charges...

Local data unlimited you have their permission to use it with a data card, smartphone plan you don't.

Hope this helps!
 
AT&T gave me the boot - now I'm on Chinook/CellularOne

I commute between LA and Bozeman every month or so. I got iphones with AT&T in LA for myself and my wife as we wanted LA phone numbers. I knew that I was risking tangling with AT&T's stupid Off Network policy, but figured there would be SOME way to deal with it, should they ever take issue with me using my phone too much in Montana. About a month ago, I got the infamous letter from AT&T informing me that I was roaming on "partner" networks 51% of the time, which was costing them too much money. The ONLY option they gave me was to cancel my contract and waive the early termination fee. I was shocked, figuring that I could just pay more or something. Anyway, AT&T killed my service yesterday, so today I made the switch to Chinookular One, and so far things are working great. Both of my iphones were 1.1.4 and already jailbroken. I just popped in the new sim cards from CellularOne and then ran Ziphone 3.0 with the jailbreak, activate and unlock options checked. Once that finished, which took about 5 minutes on each phone, I was able to connect to Celluarone's network and make/receive calls. I did NOT have to restore my phone or erase any data in order to unlock, which was a nice surprise. I tried this same procedure with iLibertyX first, but it didn't work -- seemed like it didn't like the version of bootloader I had on the phone. The only thing that gave me a bit of trouble was getting EDGE to work, and it took some digging to figure out how to solve that. If you successfully unlock your phone and get it working on Chinook / CelluarOne, you will need to click SETTINGS, GENERAL, NETWORK, and then click EDGE at the bottom. In the APN box, put "internet.chinookwireless.net" and leave the other fields blank. Turn your phone off and then back on again and you should be good to go. I found this APN after an extensive search online. There is another APN for Dobson/Cellularone users out there that does NOT work for Chinook / Celluarone users, which is
"cellular1wap." I called Chinook/Celluarone customer serivce and asked them to give me the right APN and they gave me "wapgw.chinookwireless.net" This also did not work. I've only had my iphones going on ChinookularOne for about 8 hours, but so far so good. Too bad visual voicemail doesn't work outside of AT&T - that is one of the iphone's best features. Oh well...Hope this helps!
 
How to get first iPhone?

So if I'm wanting to get an iPhone and use Cellular One, what is the process? I'm guessing I would just order the phone from Apple, then set up an account/plan with Cellular One?

To get the SIM card, do I need to establish a plan with them by buying a basic phone and receiving a phone number, and then just switch the card over to my iPhone?(following unlock procedures, of course) From what I've read, they are not going to provide me with a SIM card and number for the iPhone initially.

Thanks.
 
Montana iPhone: The Process

1. Buy an iPhone - you can't really get them new right now as supplies are exhausted until the new iphone comes out on July 11. Try Ebay. After July 11, version 1 iphones will be flooding the used market at bargain prices.

2. Sign up for a Cellular One Account. Tell them a) that you will be supplying your own smartphone b) that you need a data access plan. Don't mention anything about an iphone, it just confuses them. They will give you a SIM card.

3. When your iphone comes, DO NOT ACTIVATE IT. Use a paper clip to open the SIM card slot on the phone and put your Cellular One SIM card into it.

4. Download Ziphone 3.0 (http://www.ziphone.org/). Plug your phone into your computer. Close itunes if it opens. Run ziphone and select jailbreak, activate and unlock.

5. Once Ziphone is done and the phone has rebooted, you should be able to make calls on cellular one.

6. Follow the instructions in my previous post to get EDGE access working so you can get data when you don't have wifi.

7. You can also go to www.montanaiphone.com and pay that guy to do this stuff for you if you feel uncomfortable hacking your phone. There is always a risk that you'll brick your phone (ie damage it beyond repair). If you aren't tech savvy, you may prefer to seek help from someone that is.

8. Unless you buy a used iphone, it's pretty much impossible to buy one new right now. After July 11, it will still be extremely hard to get a new iphone as demand is going to be huge. Also, unlocking the new iphones will require at minimum, a new version of Ziphone or other unlocking software, which may take weeks or months to arrive. It's possible that new iphones won't even be unlockable or may require a very different process to make work on non ATT networks.

9. Don't expect 3G data to work in Montana as I don't believe Chinook/Cellular One has any 3G capability here.

Hope this helps.
 
I have an iphone and have had one since mid November of this year. I have an account through AT&T and am always roaming. I live in Livingston Montana, and get alright service, but other places like Bozeman and Billings get just as good of service as places like Atlanta, Denver, or L.A. I want to get the new iphone and I am wondering if the 3G will work, but I doubt it. What I really want to know is when the new redesigned Macbook Pros are coming out so I can get one before college.
 
Hey guys,

I live in Missoula Montana and i fall in love with the iphone over and over again every time i travel to California. It is such a fantastic phone, it pains me not to have it.

Is there any possible way for me to use the phone, old or new, in and around my area without getting kicked off my network within a few months? I dont care what provider i have or how much it costs, just that it works well enough to use without problems. I consider myself fairly tech savvy, and I dont think the unlocking process should be that difficult.

I realize these questions may have been answered, and i apologize, i just want a straight up answer of where my footing is on being able to use an iphone.

Thank You.
 
V LordofWar V said:
Hey guys,

I live in Missoula Montana and i fall in love with the iphone over and over again every time i travel to California. It is such a fantastic phone, it pains me not to have it.

Is there any possible way for me to use the phone, old or new, in and around my area without getting kicked off my network within a few months? I dont care what provider i have or how much it costs, just that it works well enough to use without problems. I consider myself fairly tech savvy, and I dont think the unlocking process should be that difficult.

I realize these questions may have been answered, and i apologize, i just want a straight up answer of where my footing is on being able to use an iphone.

Thank You.
Click to expand...
I too live in Missoula and use the iphone with no problems at all on Cellular One locally. PM me if you want I can get you a good deal on service and help you with any unlocking questions.
 
I just took the plunge and got my iPhone 1.0 on the Cellular One network. (There was a nice business plan, the Business Revolution, that suited my needs.)

I am actually pretty impressed with how it has been functioning in Helena. The speeds are not bad, and the reception is good so far.

Is there any way to turn off the text messaging for missed calls? I don't really need to get a text message for every missed call. That gives me way too many notifications on my phone for a simple missed call!

I'm looking forward to the iPhone 3G unlock so that I can get the phone (through family who will be willing to trade for my old iPhone) and enjoy GPS and better reception/call quality.

Someone at the Cellular One office actually told me the iPhone 3G might be slower on EDGE because it will take it some extra time for the cell towers (which are not 3G capable) to transmit data to a 3G phone. I wonder if that is true. There is a feature to turn off 3G on the phone, which would hopefully not cause data to operate any differently from the EDGE iPhone.
 
Yea.... I can add to this conversation.

I have been using the 2G iPhone on Chinook/Cellone in Montana for almost a year now. The edge access is surprisingly decent (I think its because there aren't many users on the towers near me). As stated, visual voice does not work and I find the wireless plans to be a little too much compared to national carriers.

That said and my current problem: THE 3G IPHONE DOES NOT WORK ON EDGE IN MONTANA WHEN USING AN AT&T ACCOUNT.... Read that twice please.

No No No, for some messed up reason the roaming contract that Chinook/Cellone has with AT&T, the very same one they are so quick to tell you about all the time DOES NOT ALLOW EDGE ACCESS. Instead the data is transferred on the outdated GPRS protocol. Meaning it is painfully slower then edge.


Care to comment on this Chinookie? I'm in quite a predicament now since I spend a lot of time in Missoula and now effectively have 1/4 Edge speeds. More bluntly, I'm screwed because someone at either company is on a power trip.
 
cell 1

i dont like cell 1, had a friend get it and she hated it. and there plans are way to much and i dont think its so smart to start a GSM carrier if the whole state is covered by CDMA carriers. but i like my local montana cell company called nemont covers eastren montana has some towers up by WY and in ND and they are going to get data on there network :] but i like it cuz u can bundle internet phone and cellular and get it way cheaper and they give u *In network night and weekends and mobile to mobile and u can call nemont landlines for free on nemonts netowork and unlimited texting is only $4 a month!:D and if you dont like there phones they will activate you a verizon or any CDMA phone. but i wouldnt recomend it to people that dont live in the coverage area. but u would get more details by calling them or going to a nemont office http://www.nemont.net
or give them a call at 800-636-6680 or (406)-783-2200 and they will be glad to help u:)
 
UserName said:
Yea.... I can add to this conversation.

I have been using the 2G iPhone on Chinook/Cellone in Montana for almost a year now. The edge access is surprisingly decent (I think its because there aren't many users on the towers near me). As stated, visual voice does not work and I find the wireless plans to be a little too much compared to national carriers.

That said and my current problem: THE 3G IPHONE DOES NOT WORK ON EDGE IN MONTANA WHEN USING AN AT&T ACCOUNT.... Read that twice please.

No No No, for some messed up reason the roaming contract that Chinook/Cellone has with AT&T, the very same one they are so quick to tell you about all the time DOES NOT ALLOW EDGE ACCESS. Instead the data is transferred on the outdated GPRS protocol. Meaning it is painfully slower then edge.


Care to comment on this Chinookie? I'm in quite a predicament now since I spend a lot of time in Missoula and now effectively have 1/4 Edge speeds. More bluntly, I'm screwed because someone at either company is on a power trip.
Click to expand...

That is horrible news. Did you ever find any kind of solution to the problem?
 
A CSR mentioned to me that Cellular One will be getting Blackberry service soon that will allow data roaming. Does anyone have any info on whether this is exclusive to Blackberries or whether it would allow data roaming on iPhone as well?
 
new 3G works with chinookularone

I got a brand new 3G iphone for xmas. Got it from importgsm online for a somewhat higher figure then I have seen around but it came new and sealed in the box and was never locked. I simply slipped my SIM in from my old Sony Erickson phone and the phone part and text immediately worked.

Next I tried to get the internet/email working I exhausted all tech support options and squeezed the heads of supposed iphone guru's working at local Chinookular One stores to no avail. This is what I finally had to do to get my data working. I found this forum and the post from "SCIR" on Jun 27, 2008 where he talked about getting his ATT iphones unlocked and online which was a big help in getting this all working.

Since the phone was new and never locked, it did not need either unlocking or jail breaking like SCIR needed to do. After popping in the SIM.. I called Chinookular customer support and had them change my data plane to the "Smart package" which is the only one that will work with the iphone. They asked me for my STS number, I think it was anyway, which I gave them. They are not able to send the settings to the phone (not that they know) so you have to enter them in manually. Like SCIR, the tech support kept giving me an incorrect APN of "wapgw.chinookwireless.net" it does not work !! The 3G phone's menu is a little different then the older models. The procedure for the 3g phone is:
SETTINGS, GENERAL, NETWORK, the select "3G" off. Then below that line select: CELLULAR DATA NETWORK, then click on the APN box and enter in, "internet.chinookwireless.net" then shut down for a minute or so and restart and it should work as mine did.

I have yet to figure pout how to get my contacts imported from the SIM even though I followed the importing procedure it still hasn't worked.

Many thanks to Mr. SCIR for his letter that solved the mystery!!
 
A couple of items on the perpetual quest for the iPhone in Montana.

1) As many of you probably heard, Verizon and Alltel officially merged, and as a result are being forced to divest overlapping assets in many states. Montana is actually one of the states with the most overlapping areas. As far as I know, there is no known buyer yet, but one can hope that it will be AT&T. Then we might be able to actually get official AT&T here in Montana.

2) As you all probably also know, there is now a method of unlocking the 3G. Therefore, if you get a locked 3G off Ebay or some other method, you can theoretically unlock and use with Cellular One. Some users initially reported problems, but now are typically reporting success with the unlock. I am likely going to be doing this soon. Has anyone confirmed that the unlock works with Cellular One's network?
 
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