PCS Phone as USB Modem for Laptop

A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
$35 voice plan.

I checked the Motorola site, and found that this phone is not yet
released for Sprint PCS.

My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint, and
also has this modem feature? And if so, what sort of connection
bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower than
standard 56K dialup, but how much?

thanks,

Martin

---

› See More: PCS Phone as USB Modem for Laptop

On 14 Mar 2005 14:17:05 -0800, "Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:

>A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
>This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
>connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
>$35 voice plan.
>
>I checked the Motorola site, and found that this phone is not yet
>released for Sprint PCS.
>
>My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint, and
>also has this modem feature?

Treo 650, once hacked with the patch to DUN.

>And if so, what sort of connection
>bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower than
>standard 56K dialup, but how much?

Actually, 60-80 kbps has been reported.

However, SPCS wants you to use a data card for data and agressively
discourages the practice of using a phone as a modem for 1xRTT service.


--
The TSA is a test. It is only a test......
"Find out just what people will submit to, and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them; and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." -- Frederick Douglass, August 4, 1857.
John Bartley, K7AAY, PDX OR USA, Opinions mine.

[email protected] wrote:
> On 14 Mar 2005 14:17:05 -0800, "Martin" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>
> >A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T
plan.
> >This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
> >connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above
his
> >$35 voice plan.
> >
> >I checked the Motorola site, and found that this phone is not yet
> >released for Sprint PCS.
> >
> >My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint,
and
> >also has this modem feature?
>
> Treo 650, once hacked with the patch to DUN.
>
> John Bartley, K7AAY, PDX OR USA, Opinions mine.

John,

Could you elaborate on the statement "Treo 650, once hacked with the
patch to DUN". Is this a piece of gear easily available to me, and how
do I use it? I have Sprint, with plenty of extra night and weekend
minutes, and would like to take advantage of the modem feature.
Particularly since I no longer have a wired phone for dialup.

thanks,

Martin

OK, by trying a variety of keyword-seach combinations on Yahoo, I think
I've found the answer .... any 2G Sprint phone will do the trick! I
actually had the Samsung sch-8500 before I upgraded three years ago,
just never knew about this feature! Link:
http://navasgrp.home.att.net/tech/sch-8500/

Martin

Martin wrote:
> A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
> This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
> connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
> $35 voice plan.
>
> I checked the Motorola site, and found that this phone is not yet
> released for Sprint PCS.
>
> My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint,
and
> also has this modem feature? And if so, what sort of connection
> bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower than
> standard 56K dialup, but how much?
>
> thanks,
>
> Martin

In article <[email protected]>,
"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:

> My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint, and
> also has this modem feature? And if so, what sort of connection
> bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower than
> standard 56K dialup, but how much?

My Sanyo 4900, 5300, and now my Sony t608 all do DUN with no problem.
I'd think any of the Sprint phones would. Just get a cable to hook it to
the notebook and set up the DUN using info from Sprintusers.com.

You don't want to use a 2G phone because then you get charged per
minute. 3G (vision) charges per megabyte, but I think most accounts have
unlimited vision now. Just don't abuse it and Sprint doesn't care.

/tommy

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 12:36:15 -0800, Martin wrote:
>
> John,
>
> Could you elaborate on the statement "Treo 650, once hacked with the
> patch to DUN". Is this a piece of gear easily available to me, and how
> do I use it? I have Sprint, with plenty of extra night and weekend
> minutes, and would like to take advantage of the modem feature.
> Particularly since I no longer have a wired phone for dialup.
>
> thanks,
>
> Martin

He is referring to the patching of the treo 650 to include features it
originally had that sprintpcs had removed for their model. Such as DUN and
DUN over bluetooth. It is purely software patch and if I remember is
already in the phone sprintpcs just removed the config/access to the
functions.

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:04:55 +0000, no.one wrote:
>
> Actually, 60-80 kbps has been reported.
>
> However, SPCS wants you to use a data card for data and agressively
> discourages the practice of using a phone as a modem for 1xRTT service.

Normally I get around 60-80kbit/s bursting (7.5-10KByte/s) for various
services like ftp. Normally a fast start then the connection would slow
down around 3-4KB/s if not lower. Today tho I had to use an ssl/http based
download application I have worked on and I was able to sustain 12-14KB/s
over 5min period straight. Which leads me to believe sprintpcs has some
kind of priority on traffic that goes through their transparent http proxy.
Since the traffic was encrypted they couldn't modify it like they do with
http images. Overall it is a good connection,except for the lag but I
can live with it, for a great price and good service.

Central wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:04:55 +0000, no.one wrote:
>>
>> Actually, 60-80 kbps has been reported.
>>
>> However, SPCS wants you to use a data card for data and agressively
>> discourages the practice of using a phone as a modem for 1xRTT
>> service.
>
> Normally I get around 60-80kbit/s bursting (7.5-10KByte/s) for various
> services like ftp. Normally a fast start then the connection would
> slow down around 3-4KB/s if not lower.

Now you did it. Queue the "I never see anything below 2.5 GB per second"
crowd.


--
Mike | Last words of Thomas Grasso, executed in 1995:
| "I did not get my Spaghetti-O's, I got spaghetti.
| I want the press to know this."

tommy wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint,
and
> > also has this modem feature? And if so, what sort of connection
> > bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower than
> > standard 56K dialup, but how much?
>
> My Sanyo 4900, 5300, and now my Sony t608 all do DUN with no problem.

> I'd think any of the Sprint phones would. Just get a cable to hook it
to
> the notebook and set up the DUN using info from Sprintusers.com.
>
> You don't want to use a 2G phone because then you get charged per
> minute. 3G (vision) charges per megabyte, but I think most accounts
have
> unlimited vision now. Just don't abuse it and Sprint doesn't care.
>
> /tommy

/tommy,

Why wouldn't I want to be charged by the minute, since I have unlimited
minutes at night and on weekends? I'm at work during the day, and just
looking for a no-additional-cost way to get to my dial-up ISP during
off-hours from home. I've had my landline taken out because I use the
cell phone for all calls anyway. My understanding is that I can use a
2G phone as an analog modem, and as far as Sprint knows I am just
talking on the phone all night.

Let me know if my interpretation isn't correct.

Martin

Martin wrote:
> tommy wrote:
> > In article <[email protected]>,
> > "Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on
Sprint,
> and
> > > also has this modem feature? And if so, what sort of connection
> > > bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower
than
> > > standard 56K dialup, but how much?
> >
> > My Sanyo 4900, 5300, and now my Sony t608 all do DUN with no
problem.
>
> > I'd think any of the Sprint phones would. Just get a cable to hook
it
> to
> > the notebook and set up the DUN using info from Sprintusers.com.
> >
> > You don't want to use a 2G phone because then you get charged per
> > minute. 3G (vision) charges per megabyte, but I think most accounts
> have
> > unlimited vision now. Just don't abuse it and Sprint doesn't care.
> >
> > /tommy
>
> /tommy,
>
> Why wouldn't I want to be charged by the minute, since I have
unlimited
> minutes at night and on weekends? I'm at work during the day, and
just
> looking for a no-additional-cost way to get to my dial-up ISP during
> off-hours from home. I've had my landline taken out because I use
the
> cell phone for all calls anyway. My understanding is that I can use
a
> 2G phone as an analog modem, and as far as Sprint knows I am just
> talking on the phone all night.
>
> Let me know if my interpretation isn't correct.
>
> Martin

OK, I did some more reading on this subject at sprintusers.com.
Apparently there are some combinations of conditions that do result in
additional charges. A participant on that forum, "monkeyboy", noted
that you can use an old 2G phone, dial #2932, and connect with no
charge other than minutes used. On the other hand, if you use a newer
3G phone, they charge you airtime plus an additional $0.39/minute.
Does that sound right?

Martin

Samsung i500

Comes will all required cables and drivers.



"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
> This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
> connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
> $35 voice plan.
>
> I checked the Motorola site, and found that this phone is not yet
> released for Sprint PCS.
>
> My question - does anyone know of a phone that does work on Sprint, and
> also has this modem feature? And if so, what sort of connection
> bandwidth are you getting? I'm assuming it's probably slower than
> standard 56K dialup, but how much?
>
> thanks,
>
> Martin
>

"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
> This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
> connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
> $35 voice plan.
>

As someone who also has an ATT phone in addition to sprintpcs, I think a
quick summary of how you can connect a laptop to the internet is in order.
There are the following ways:

1) Use your phone to make an analog call to your dialup ISP. This works on
some ATT phones, like older Nokia phones, if you have the right software
drivers on your laptop. I am unaware of any Sprintphones that will go into
analog mode when dialing an ISP. When connecting, it uses the minutes in
your voice plan, and you are not charged anything above what your voice plan
costs. Connection speeds are typically 9600 to 14400. They also tend to be
unstable, with frequent disconnects. If someone had some software to force a
dual mode Sprint phone to go into analog mode when making a a call, this
would work, but I am not aware of any available

2) Use your phone to make a digital call to your dialup ISP. ATT phones
won't do this, it requires the phone company to make what is called a CSD
call, which, ATT does not provide, but which Sprint does. Connection
speeds are similar to faster dialup. The drawback: sprint knows when the
phone is making a CSD call and charges you 39 cents a minute to use CSD
service

3) After that, you are into GPRS on ATT and Cingular or 1XRTT service on
Sprint. Niether are dialup services where you dialup your own ISP, ATT or
Sprint is the ISP you connect to. In sprint's case, when you open open up
your dialup dialog, you put in #777 as the number to call instead of a
telephone number and you don't enter a password. Both GPRS and 1XRTT are
fast, but Sprint providing the fastest service, I typically see about a
measured 90 kbs . ATT is pretty aggressive about "casual data" use and
their data plans are very overpriced. Connect to the internet with GPRS
without a plan they tell you you will pay up 5 cents a kilobyte. I have
never tested those waters. Sprint has a hit or miss enforcement practice,
with numbers of people reporting they use their phones to connect to the
interent and are not charged. However, I think I am seeing an upsurge in
the number of people who say they are getting charged, receiving warning
letters, or posters who say they work for sprint and have charged
people/sent warning notices.

Sprint now has some data plans for people that want to use their phones to
connect laptops too, and they also sell data cards and plans.

"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
> This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
> connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
> $35 voice plan.
>

As someone who also has an ATT phone in addition to sprintpcs, I think a
quick summary of how you can connect a laptop to the internet is in order.
There are the following ways:

1) Use your phone to make an analog call to your dialup ISP. This works on
some ATT phones, like older Nokia phones, if you have the right software
drivers on your laptop. I am unaware of any Sprintphones that will go into
analog mode when dialing an ISP. When connecting, it uses the minutes in
your voice plan, and you are not charged anything above what your voice plan
costs. Connection speeds are typically 9600 to 14400. They also tend to be
unstable, with frequent disconnects. If someone had some software to force a
dual mode Sprint phone to go into analog mode when making a a call, this
would work, but I am not aware of any available

2) Use your phone to make a digital call to your dialup ISP. ATT phones
won't do this, it requires the phone company to make what is called a CSD
call, which, ATT does not provide, but which Sprint does. Connection
speeds are similar to faster dialup. The drawback: sprint knows when the
phone is making a CSD call and charges you 39 cents a minute to use CSD
service

3) After that, you are into GPRS on ATT and Cingular or 1XRTT service on
Sprint. Niether are dialup services where you dialup your own ISP, ATT or
Sprint is the ISP you connect to. In sprint's case, when you open open up
your dialup dialog, you put in #777 as the number to call instead of a
telephone number and you don't enter a password. Both GPRS and 1XRTT are
fast, but Sprint providing the fastest service, I typically see about a
measured 90 kbs . ATT is pretty aggressive about "casual data" use and
their data plans are very overpriced. Connect to the internet with GPRS
without a plan they tell you you will pay up 5 cents a kilobyte. I have
never tested those waters. Sprint has a hit or miss enforcement practice,
with numbers of people reporting they use their phones to connect to the
interent and are not charged. However, I think I am seeing an upsurge in
the number of people who say they are getting charged, receiving warning
letters, or posters who say they work for sprint and have charged
people/sent warning notices.

Sprint now has some data plans for people that want to use their phones to
connect laptops too, and they also sell data cards and plans.

"Martin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A co-worker recently got a new Motorola V-180 phone on his AT&T plan.
> This phone has a USB port where he can use it as a dialup modem to
> connect his laptop to the internet, WITHOUT paying any fees above his
> $35 voice plan.
>

As someone who also has an ATT phone in addition to sprintpcs, I think a
quick summary of how you can connect a laptop to the internet is in order.
There are the following ways:

1) Use your phone to make an analog call to your dialup ISP. This works on
some ATT phones, like older Nokia phones, if you have the right software
drivers on your laptop. I am unaware of any Sprintphones that will go into
analog mode when dialing an ISP. When connecting, it uses the minutes in
your voice plan, and you are not charged anything above what your voice plan
costs. Connection speeds are typically 9600 to 14400. They also tend to be
unstable, with frequent disconnects. If someone had some software to force a
dual mode Sprint phone to go into analog mode when making a a call, this
would work, but I am not aware of any available

2) Use your phone to make a digital call to your dialup ISP. ATT phones
won't do this, it requires the phone company to make what is called a CSD
call, which, ATT does not provide, but which Sprint does. Connection
speeds are similar to faster dialup. The drawback: sprint knows when the
phone is making a CSD call and charges you 39 cents a minute to use CSD
service

3) After that, you are into GPRS on ATT and Cingular or 1XRTT service on
Sprint. Niether are dialup services where you dialup your own ISP, ATT or
Sprint is the ISP you connect to. In sprint's case, when you open open up
your dialup dialog, you put in #777 as the number to call instead of a
telephone number and you don't enter a password. Both GPRS and 1XRTT are
fast, but Sprint providing the fastest service, I typically see about a
measured 90 kbs . ATT is pretty aggressive about "casual data" use and
their data plans are very overpriced. Connect to the internet with GPRS
without a plan they tell you you will pay up 5 cents a kilobyte. I have
never tested those waters. Sprint has a hit or miss enforcement practice,
with numbers of people reporting they use their phones to connect to the
interent and are not charged. However, I think I am seeing an upsurge in
the number of people who say they are getting charged, receiving warning
letters, or posters who say they work for sprint and have charged
people/sent warning notices.

Sprint now has some data plans for people that want to use their phones to
connect laptops too, and they also sell data cards and plans.

In article <[email protected]>, "Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:

>OK, I did some more reading on this subject at sprintusers.com.
>Apparently there are some combinations of conditions that do result in
>additional charges. A participant on that forum, "monkeyboy", noted
>that you can use an old 2G phone, dial #2932, and connect with no
>charge other than minutes used. On the other hand, if you use a newer
>3G phone, they charge you airtime plus an additional $0.39/minute.
>Does that sound right?

Almost. First EVERY modem call is detected and billed as a DATA
call. It is not possible (well not easily anyways) for a CDMA phone to
carry a true analog modem signal as if it were a voice call.

Yes, dialing either a real analog modem (e.g. dialup ISP) or dialing
#2932 can be billed as just airtime minutes, PROVIDED you have
the $5/mo Wireless Web option on your account. #2932 connects
you to the Internet using Sprint as your ISP. If you don't have WW
on your account, its $0.39/min.

On a phone provisioned for Vision (the higher speed Sprint Internet
connection), if you use #2932 (or dial a real ISP), it costs $0.39/min
REGARDLESS of whether you have WW on your account or not.

Most people have migrated to Vision since it is 5-8 times faster,
but it costs $15/mo and doesn't let you dial other ISPs or
FAX machines.