My Softbank experience in Japan

[AppleinJapan]

I went to a Softbank store near where I live in Western Kanagawa..I got the worst service that Ive had anywhere in Japan. Ive been on Softbank forever but the service concerning the iphone and how the customer has to set it up (including the softbank mail) is just terrible.

After being told to come to the store at 10am (because they will have 10 phones), they stated that they didnt know when they would be arriving.

So I came home and called again at 12 - They were getting them at 2 so I went and finally got a 16gb white one But the process was just painful. 1 hour long and that was just signing the contract. Basically all of my questions regarding softbank mail and how to transfer my contacts from my Nokia were not answered because he staff did not know - they said please ask Apple or go to the softbank site ! So to set up my Softbank mail address, I had to google it to find the answer (Apple's guide etc etc is mostly about gmail etc etc but not how to use softbank's @i.softbank.jp)

After going through the process, I wonder if many Japanese were as pissed off as me or Did I just get a bad staff member (oh and by the way, my Japanese is pretty good so it wasnt a language problem) and the worst part is that they asked me if I could pay by credit card - Ive been a customer for 8 years and when I asked why, the staff said "its for foreigners" - so I got around that and reminded them that I pay by direct withdrawal from my bank (and Ive never missed a payment).

By the way, The iphone is just great !!! although - typing in Japanese is difficult to get used to and needs alot of practice to get it right.

 

[papadim]

Hello,

being a foreigner living in Japan and not being able to speak enough japanese, I must admit the subscription process is a real pain. In other countries I've lived in, setting up an account took no more than 20 minutes. Here, I ended up staying 1h30.

On the other hand, the person who took care of my case in Omotesando (yep, I had to got to an english speaking Softbank shop) was really helpful & nice. The only thing I couldn't get to work was the softbank mail and I'm at loss trying to change the username they randomly gave me since their online website is in Japanese only

As for the credit card thing, I guess it's meant to have greater control on foreigners who would leave Japan before the end of their contract. I got to pay with my bank account

Anyway, use of the iPhone in Japan has been a real pleasure so far.

The only issue I have is the international numbering for Softbank doesn't seem to recognize the "+". Having to rewrite my all address book with 010 is not convenient at all.

Cheers

 

[jeremyjapan]

I had a similar experience. Went to sign up yesterday and spent about 2 hours on it. Softbank has a new policy of treating foreigners like criminals. They asked me if they could see my gaijin card or passport, I refused and showed them my drivers license instead. They have a new rule, of checking to see the expiration date on foreigners visas, and refusing to allow signup if there's under 18 months remaining.

Anyways, I didn't come on here to talk about this.

Sure enough, the first thing I did when I got my new iPhone, is add my gmail account to my phone, then change my e-mail address (@i.softbank.jp) to something more coherent. Unfortunately now that this is done, I'm only able to send and receive messages through gmail, and it has changed to the only account set up. I went into the mail settings, and tried to add my *****@i.softbank.jp address, with the original imap / smtp settings to no avail. What settings did you use to get it to work?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Naoz]

Greetings.

I'm also a new iphone 16g user.

I'm wondering how you all transfered your contact list from your Japanese phones to your new iphones.

Does it have to done manually?

I'm on an iMac/G4/800/512, so I know that isync doesn't work.

Any solutions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jeremyjapan]

Greetings.

I'm also a new iphone 16g user.

I'm wondering how you all transfered your contact list from your Japanese phones to your new iphones.

Does it have to done manually?

I'm on an iMac/G4/800/512, so I know that isync doesn't work.

Any solutions would be greatly appreciated.

I actually haven't got around to that yet, but have you tried bluetooth? Or even sending the contact cards by e-mail from your old phone?

 

[spiderman007]

Sure enough, the first thing I did when I got my new iPhone, is add my gmail account to my phone, then change my e-mail address (@i.softbank.jp) to something more coherent. Unfortunately now that this is done, I'm only able to send and receive messages through gmail, and it has changed to the only account set up. I went into the mail settings, and tried to add my *****@i.softbank.jp address, with the original imap / smtp settings to no avail. What settings did you use to get it to work?

I'm having the same problem... Did you figure this out already?

 

[jeremyjapan]

I'm having the same problem... Did you figure this out already?

Actually I did, I finally managed to get through to someone at Tech Support who knew what he was doing. Surprisingly, the solution was just to keep trying. When I entered my new e-mail address (@i.softbank.jp) and password, it came up with an error (I can't remember what it said exactly, but it was asking if I wanted to try again), I just kept trying again and again. After about 3 or 4 times getting the same error, it finally worked to my amazement.

Hope that helps!

 

[raziiq]

How to login to My SOftbank Website from PC?
Whenever i login to My Softbank using the ID and Password i got through sms from Softbank when i purchse iPhone, it gives me an error of id or password.

Is it Possible to check the Billing Information using MySoftbank through iPhone??

 

[jeremyjapan]

How to login to My SOftbank Website from PC?
Whenever i login to My Softbank using the ID and Password i got through sms from Softbank when i purchse iPhone, it gives me an error of id or password.

Is it Possible to check the Billing Information using MySoftbank through iPhone??

It's been a while since I did it, but I seem to recall there being two usernames and passwords. I think the username and password they gave you at the shop is for your e-mail account, and that the first time you go to the My Softbank website, you need to create an account. I didn't do it from my PC, but rather from my iPhone I think. Of course, I could also be completely wrong! How is your Japanese? They have a customer support line for the iPhone, you can just call softbank customer support and they will transfer you there. They should have someone who speaks English as well who could help you!

 

[raziiq]

It's been a while since I did it, but I seem to recall there being two usernames and passwords. I think the username and password they gave you at the shop is for your e-mail account, and that the first time you go to the My Softbank website, you need to create an account. I didn't do it from my PC, but rather from my iPhone I think. Of course, I could also be completely wrong! How is your Japanese? They have a customer support line for the iPhone, you can just call softbank customer support and they will transfer you there. They should have someone who speaks English as well who could help you!

Well i can speak a little japanese but cant read and write. As far as id and password are concerned , i think i have got only 1 id which was the Account ID and was the same as email which i later on changed.