Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Dial-Up using GPRS

Back to Godspeed internet @IITB.
So I thought why not a post on the now almost outdated way of connecting to the Internet - which I still use when I am back in Bangalore - the Dial-Up using a mobile phone as a modem..
Here is the list of things you need:
1. A GPRS enabled phone - obviously, basic models and even China phones would do !!
2. A data cable - something Samsung feature phones do not come with...
3. An active GPRS pack - 10p/10kb gets over in a jiffy !
4. Modem drivers - Generally installed when the phone is connected to the computer, best of luck finding one otherwise..
5. Extra Initialization Command - Final piece of the puzzle
6. *99# - An almost generic dial-up number for mobile phone connectivity, which should be entered when creating the new dial-up connection

Steps 1 to 3 are relatively straight forward, and Step 4 is a hit or miss - but still its the last one that finally gets you connected..
Its generally of the form :-
AT+CGDCONT=1,"IP","<Access Point Name>"
The command is different for different mobile service providers - so either google it, or call customer care. For e.g: Vodafone uses "www", Virgin Mobile uses "VINTENET.IN", Idea uses "ideagprs" etc.

If you are using a PC suite - its all well and good - just enter the access point name, and you are ready to go..
If not, there is more work to be done. Here comes the problem - The "customer representative" of your service provider will insist on installing a PC suite and continuing - just say you have the suite and follow the instructions until he/she asks you to enter the Access Point Name.
The command needs to be added to the Modem Driver installed on the PC. So go to Phone and Modem -> Select connected Modem -> Properties -> Advanced -> Extra Initialization Command  and enter the above data.

Test the connection by clicking on the respective Dial Up Connection icon and you are good to go - hopefully if you do not get a 619 or 734 error which means something is wrong - either with the hardware or the Extra initialization command.

Disclaimers:
1. I have no idea how tough or how easy it is to do all this with smartphones.
2. The above thing works in Windows - I am not aware of the equivalent in Linux.
3. This isnt completely a technical article - just an aggregation of my experience with GPRS and Dial-Up

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