REVscene Automotive Forum - Switching to Rogers/Fido from Bell

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Switching to Rogers/Fido from Bell

I've been with Bell since last March, and lately I switched phones to a Nokia E71 after Bell started using SIM cards.

However, for the love of God, no matter what I do or Bell does, the data on my Nokia E71 won't work because of a packet data error. I mean it only worked for a few days in the time I've had it, and lately it stopped working again.

The thing is I love the phone to death in the two weeks that I've had it that I'm willing to switch service providers to get data working on it.

Preferably, the easiest course of action would be to get the contract transferred over to another person, right? But in the case that I can't find anyone, I heard Rogers/Fido sometimes buyout contracts. What's the likelihood of that occuring?

Also, if I call up Rogers or Fido, would they be willing to match the same plan I have at Bell?

Thanks

Packet Data Error generally refers to the APN settings on your phone.

Before you switch or do anything drastic (not that Rogers is any better - seriously) could you post some more details please?

1. What exactly are you trying to do? (Open browser to Google / Chat on MSN / Send e-mail etc.) Provide details.

2. Go into your Connection settings (I think that's what it is) and provide the details to your APN settings.

3. As dumb as it may seem - do you have a data package properly provisioned on your account? Don't speculate - this will cause more frustration. Yes or no answer here. If yes - provide details. Don't skimp out!

4. Have you tried using data on another GSM/UMTS phone? Describe details.

That's all for now. :)

I made a thread on HoFo about it. It pretty much has details from when I first started having errors to now.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1611233

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcrdukes (Post 6786180)

1. I can't get data to work at all, whether it's browser, tethering or Gravity.

2. My connection settings are setup according to the APN settings on the Bell site.

3. I have a data package in my plan. It's the Windows Smart 35 Bundle - http://www.bell.ca/shopping/en_CA_ON...PDA35N.details

4. Whenever I can't access data on my phone, and I stick it into my brother's unlocked Blackberry Bold, I can't use data on that either. When I went into the Bell store, it worked on their iPhone, but not their Android Samsung phone.

It's a very weird predicament I'm in.

I get the feeling that you might have the wrong data plan. The reason is because your SIM worked on the iPhone. The thing about iPhone is that it has its own set of proprietary APNs and to keep it simple, a shit load of network proxies and gateways it goes through in order to allow packet access. If it's not working on a phone like a Blackberry or a Nokia E71, there is a good chance that your data package isn't provisioned properly. I would have customer service double check just in case.

Edit: Yes, the IMEI will determine which data plans are compatible with your device so please call customer service and update it accordingly.

Give Bell a shout, try it out and see what happens. :)

I'll give Bell another call tomorrow.

I've been following the below stickied thread on HoFo and it says that the Windows data plan is compatible with my phone, and to use the IMEI 111111111111119 (which the Bell representative changed at the time of transfer to a SIM).

http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1586476

Is the thread inaccurate by any chance?

^
The link you provided is the link to the Bell Forums, not to a specific thread. :p

Using the IMEI 111111111111119 will tell the billing and OA&M system that this is a non-Bell/generic phone, therefore, it will hack out whatever generic plans/features are available. Punching in the phone's IMEI (which should work on their end) should yield the proper features and and codes accordingly, in addition, provision your network profile so data will work. I don't want to get into too much technical detail but if everything does look okay on the billing system end, you may want to speak to a network or technical support team and verify with them, "Which APNs are provisioned on my HLR profile?" By confirming you have the proper APNs, it will allow you to have data.

Stupid question but have you tried using data on the E71 with GSM (GPRS/EDGE) and on WiFi?

Edit: Can you post up which APN you should be using? The links on Bell's site won't work on my Mac for some reason.

Oh sorry, I noobed that up. Fail on my part, LOL. I fixed the link :)

I've tried my SIM card on other phones, but I haven't tried other SIMs in my phone. I'll try that tomorrow when I get a chance.

Also, what does HLR profile stand for?

Quote:

Configuring Nokia E71 for the Bell Mobility HSPA network

The following instructions can be used to manually configure the settings on an unlocked Nokia E71 phone for MMS and Browser on the Bell Mobility HSPA network.

1. Follow the instructions in the user manual to install your Bell SIM card into the phone.
2. Power on the phone.

Browser

3. Select Menu > Tools > Settings > Connections > Access Points.
4. Press Options (left soft key), scroll down and select New Access Point.
5. Enter the following information in each of the fields:
Connection Name: Bell WAP Connection (can be anything)
Data Bearer: select Packet data
Access point name: pda.bell.ca
User name: <leave blank> Prompt password: select No Password: <leave blank> Authentication: select Normal Homepage: http://homepage
6. Press Options (left soft key), scroll down and select Advanced Options.
7. Enter the following data in each of the fields:
Network type: select IPv4
Phone IP address: leave as Automatic
DNS address: leave as Automatic
Proxy server address: web.wireless.bell.ca
Proxy port number: 80 The changes are saved automatically.
8. Return to the main menu and select Web.
9. Once the browser has loaded, press Options (left soft key).
10. Scroll down and select Settings > General > Access point.
11. Select User defined, and press OK (left soft key).
12. Select the name of the access point created earlier, and press OK (left soft key).

MMS

13. Select Menu > Tools > Settings > Connection > Access Points.
14. Press Options (left soft key), scroll down and select New Access Point.
15. Enter the following information in each of the fields:
Connection Name: Bell MMS Connection (can be anything)
Data Bearer: select Packet data
Access point name: pda.bell.ca
User name: <leave blank>
Prompt password: select No
Password: <leave blank>
Authentication: select Normal
Homepage: http://mms.bell.ca/mms/wapenc
16. Press Options (left soft key), scroll down and select Advanced Options.
17. Enter the following data in each of the fields:
Network type: select IPv4
Phone IP address: leave as Automatic
DNS address: leave as Automatic
Proxy server address: web.wireless.bell.ca
Proxy port number: 80
The changes are saved automatically.
18. Return to the main menu, and select Communication > Messaging.
19. Press Options (left soft key).
20. Scroll down and select Settings > Multimedia message.
21. Scroll down and select Access point in use.
22. Select the connection name created earlier, and press OK (left soft key).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor Ramon HG (Post 6787874)

Try your SIM in other phones as well as try Rogers/Fido SIMs into your E71 and see if that works. What I find strange is that when you pop in a SIM into the phone, the network should transmit over the air (OTA) your network settings. If you have to manually provision your network settings manually, something tells me there's something wrong on the Bell side.

HLR stands for Home Location Register. It's the database that contains your customer profile for example, what kind of features you're allowed to use, whether there are any restrictions on your account due to non-payment or a lost phone, if your call forwarding is active and what data APNs have been provisioned for you to use. If the APN is not provisioned in the HLR, it will simply not work because when you initiate the data session, the network will interrogate the HLR, it sees no APN defined for you, hence it will say "Packet Session Not Available."

Thanks bcrdukes.

I just called in. The representative said that my data plan was compatible with my phone, and that the APNs were all provisioned in my HLR profile. I further enquired if the correct address was pda.bell.ca, and he said yes. Then he told me to also try pda2.bell.ca. When I tried that, my data worked again. It's weird how they have two different APNs, and the previous representatives didn't know about pda2.bell.ca.

But in any case, thanks for giving me pointers on what questions and what settings to look for. I guess I won't have to switch after all : )

^
Sweet!

Glad it worked!

pda.bell.ca and pda2.bell.ca could be APNs that are pointed to various proxies and may or may not be sent through firewalls etc. There could also be various network restrictions such as transparent proxies for billing purposes as well. In addition, each APN has a set of allocated IP ranges that can and cannot be used for specific devices and in which case, your pda2.bell.ca worked! :)

Glad you didn't switch. A lot of the times, it really just takes the right questions to be asked to get the help you need. Switching carriers really does not solve anybody's problems.