Trip Report - Riiing/um (voice) Wind (gprs)

kaydee · 23-04-2006, 02:59

I wasn't sure if this would interest anyone, but I thought I would post it anyway.

I recently traveled through Germany, Czech, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland using a WIND card with the "Mega No Limit" option for GPRS (see this thread for info on how to get one - http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=88

and an "Eco-Sim" card for voice (which is really a RIIING card, now United Mobile.)

Once I figured out that I couldn't use the RIIING card to call directly on my Sony Ericcson T200, but had to go to Extras - Dial and then enter the number, it worked very well in Germany at the beginning of my trip. I was also using Call Back World (CBW) and it also worked well in Germany. My only complaint is that using the Extras - Dial menu option meant that I couldn't use my phonebook entries.

Unfortunately, my positive experiences with RIIING ended in Czech republic. I spent an hour at the train station in Prague trying to make a single phone call! RIING uses a call back system - you dial the number you want, and then it calls you back. If you use CBW like I did, then you have to deal with two call backs, as CBW calls back after the first call back from RIIING. Throughout my week in Czech, it seemed that RIIING would only call me back 1 out of 5 times, no matter which network I used. I don't know if this was a problem for just the period of time I was there, but it was very frustrating. Not only was there a problem with RIIING calling me back so I could place a call, but it also didn't work very well with CBW when it finally would work. Usually the call from CBW came too quickly and went to voice mail. I confirmed with CBW that they didn't make any changes since I was in Germany (where it worked perfectly.) I finally discovered that on the rare occasion where the RIIING service would call me back, if I waited precisely 4 seconds after calling CBW before hanging up, I could get it to work. (It wasn't just regular calls that had a problem in Czech - I had a very hard time checking my balance as well.)

Hungary, Austria and Switzerland all worked fine with RIIING and CBW, so it seemed the only problem was in Czech. However, when I returned from my trip, I discovered that no one was able to call me the last few days I was in Germany - everyone who tried got a recording about a problem with their call. The strange thing is that I was able to make calls out myself.

My conclusion for anyone interested in the Riiing/UM solution is that it acceptable, given the low price, if you don't care if it doesn't always work. However, if you must always be reachable, and you must always be able to place an outgoing call, it might not be the solution for you.

As for the WIND card, once I finally figured out how to get the GRPS to work on my laptop, it worked great most of the time in all of the countries I visited, plus it worked very well back home in Canada. In Austria I found that I had to force my phone onto the T-Mobile network, and in Switzerland it worked on all networks, but was best on CH Swiss - other networks were slow and/or would drop the connection frequently. Even with CH Swiss selected, it seemed the slowest in Switzerland, but perhaps it is because I was in the mountains the signal wasn't as strong as elsewhere.

I thought I would have to be very careful with my data usage with the WIND card, but it turns out that in 3 weeks I only used 1000 of the 3000 Euros of credit the Mega No Limit plan provides. I would have to do the math, but it seems that the monthly charge with WIND is a better deal than the two GRPS offerings here in Canada from Bell and Rogers. (I don't actually use GSM/GRPS in Canada, as the coverage in rural areas is very poor. My CDMA provider (MTS) actually offers unlimited data, charging based on the speed of the service (I pay $50 CAD per month for unlimited service at around 56k speeds.)

Hopefully this helps someone!

Kelly.

snaimon · 23-04-2006, 03:12

Yes, helps old timers and newbies. Thanks for the reports.

Any reports on SMS sent or received?

How were the people who did not reach you successfully dialing to you? IE, what service or provider? Was your phone ON 24/7? I have experienced the following:

1. Phone off, calling card provider will not connect to voicemail with silling recorded message.

2. Some calling card services do not connect at all to 423 663 #s.

3. Have not attempted lately, but the voice mail message used to be very misleading.... German & English, repeated 3 or 4 times, "the party you wish to reach is not available at this time" and then, after a minute or more of that, it rang thru to voicemail.

Stan

Triband81 · 24-04-2006, 09:44

Thanks for the detailed report...good to hear that riiing worked out better in Germany. It seems like every user experiences different results when coming to Germany with a riiing SIM card.

MATHA531 · 24-04-2006, 10:34

Stan...

The vm system is working perfectly now and has been for over 6 or 7 months..if the phone is off, the call goes directly into voice mail without that 3x German and English message.

Have not been able to receive sms on riiing no matter where.

Riiing was working well last week in London (as was O9, which is still 10?/minute on enlinea).

snaimon · 24-04-2006, 12:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by MATHA531

............
Have not been able to receive sms on riiing no matter where.

Last summer and even in Dec 2005, SMS to my Riiing were all received. These were sent via SMSbug. WHEN did you stop receiving SMS?

If you PM my your #, we can experiment.

Stan

MATHA531 · 24-04-2006, 13:48

The sms I was unable to receive was from my t mobile US phone while in the UK this past week...it sent it but the recipient report said pending for the longest time and never received it.

Bossman · 24-04-2006, 17:58

There must not be an agreement between UM and tmobile USA payg. It has never worked for me (I have sent several tests). Of course, I am talking of payg. Not sure if it's different for contract.

Przemolog · 24-04-2006, 20:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bossman

There must not be an agreement between UM and tmobile USA payg. It has never worked for me (I have sent several tests). Of course, I am talking of payg. Not sure if it's different for contract.

Do you suggest that a separate international SMS interchange agreement for prepaid sims is necessary? What for?

Bossman · 24-04-2006, 20:34

I know that does not sound right. But, I have read here that someone has had success sending from a contract tmobile US acct. I just could not locate the thread.

Przemolog · 24-04-2006, 23:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bossman

I know that does not sound right. But, I have read here that someone has had success sending from a contract tmobile US acct. I just could not locate the thread.

And how about sending an SMS from UM to T-Mobile US prepaid? Does this work at least?

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	(#1)
kaydee (Offline) Junior Member Amateur Member Posts: 27 Join Date: 09 Feb 2006 Country:	23-04-2006, 02:59 I wasn't sure if this would interest anyone, but I thought I would post it anyway. I recently traveled through Germany, Czech, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland using a WIND card with the "Mega No Limit" option for GPRS (see this thread for info on how to get one - http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=88 and an "Eco-Sim" card for voice (which is really a RIIING card, now United Mobile.) Once I figured out that I couldn't use the RIIING card to call directly on my Sony Ericcson T200, but had to go to Extras - Dial and then enter the number, it worked very well in Germany at the beginning of my trip. I was also using Call Back World (CBW) and it also worked well in Germany. My only complaint is that using the Extras - Dial menu option meant that I couldn't use my phonebook entries. Unfortunately, my positive experiences with RIIING ended in Czech republic. I spent an hour at the train station in Prague trying to make a single phone call! RIING uses a call back system - you dial the number you want, and then it calls you back. If you use CBW like I did, then you have to deal with two call backs, as CBW calls back after the first call back from RIIING. Throughout my week in Czech, it seemed that RIIING would only call me back 1 out of 5 times, no matter which network I used. I don't know if this was a problem for just the period of time I was there, but it was very frustrating. Not only was there a problem with RIIING calling me back so I could place a call, but it also didn't work very well with CBW when it finally would work. Usually the call from CBW came too quickly and went to voice mail. I confirmed with CBW that they didn't make any changes since I was in Germany (where it worked perfectly.) I finally discovered that on the rare occasion where the RIIING service would call me back, if I waited precisely 4 seconds after calling CBW before hanging up, I could get it to work. (It wasn't just regular calls that had a problem in Czech - I had a very hard time checking my balance as well.) Hungary, Austria and Switzerland all worked fine with RIIING and CBW, so it seemed the only problem was in Czech. However, when I returned from my trip, I discovered that no one was able to call me the last few days I was in Germany - everyone who tried got a recording about a problem with their call. The strange thing is that I was able to make calls out myself. My conclusion for anyone interested in the Riiing/UM solution is that it acceptable, given the low price, if you don't care if it doesn't always work. However, if you must always be reachable, and you must always be able to place an outgoing call, it might not be the solution for you. As for the WIND card, once I finally figured out how to get the GRPS to work on my laptop, it worked great most of the time in all of the countries I visited, plus it worked very well back home in Canada. In Austria I found that I had to force my phone onto the T-Mobile network, and in Switzerland it worked on all networks, but was best on CH Swiss - other networks were slow and/or would drop the connection frequently. Even with CH Swiss selected, it seemed the slowest in Switzerland, but perhaps it is because I was in the mountains the signal wasn't as strong as elsewhere. I thought I would have to be very careful with my data usage with the WIND card, but it turns out that in 3 weeks I only used 1000 of the 3000 Euros of credit the Mega No Limit plan provides. I would have to do the math, but it seems that the monthly charge with WIND is a better deal than the two GRPS offerings here in Canada from Bell and Rogers. (I don't actually use GSM/GRPS in Canada, as the coverage in rural areas is very poor. My CDMA provider (MTS) actually offers unlimited data, charging based on the speed of the service (I pay $50 CAD per month for unlimited service at around 56k speeds.) Hopefully this helps someone! Kelly.

	(#2)
snaimon (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 898 Join Date: 17 Mar 2004 Location: Richmond, VA USA Country:	23-04-2006, 03:12 Yes, helps old timers and newbies. Thanks for the reports. Any reports on SMS sent or received? How were the people who did not reach you successfully dialing to you? IE, what service or provider? Was your phone ON 24/7? I have experienced the following: 1. Phone off, calling card provider will not connect to voicemail with silling recorded message. 2. Some calling card services do not connect at all to 423 663 #s. 3. Have not attempted lately, but the voice mail message used to be very misleading.... German & English, repeated 3 or 4 times, "the party you wish to reach is not available at this time" and then, after a minute or more of that, it rang thru to voicemail. Stan Phones: DASH V3 (3) Service: US T-MO post paid (2) - US T-MO prepaid (2) - UM+ - TravelSIM DE SIMYO - DE SUNSIM T-Mobile DE Calling Cards: Onesuite Enjoyprepaid AT&T MCI Mobivox

	(#3)
Triband81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 529 Join Date: 01 Dec 2004 Location: Köln Country:	24-04-2006, 09:44 Thanks for the detailed report...good to hear that riiing worked out better in Germany. It seems like every user experiences different results when coming to Germany with a riiing SIM card.

	(#4)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	24-04-2006, 10:34 Stan... The vm system is working perfectly now and has been for over 6 or 7 months..if the phone is off, the call goes directly into voice mail without that 3x German and English message. Have not been able to receive sms on riiing no matter where. Riiing was working well last week in London (as was O9, which is still 10?/minute on enlinea).

	(#6)
MATHA531 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Specialist Posts: 869 Join Date: 15 Oct 2004 Country:	24-04-2006, 13:48 The sms I was unable to receive was from my t mobile US phone while in the UK this past week...it sent it but the recipient report said pending for the longest time and never received it.

	(#7)
Bossman (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,257 Join Date: 22 Apr 2005 Location: Chicago Country:	24-04-2006, 17:58 There must not be an agreement between UM and tmobile USA payg. It has never worked for me (I have sent several tests). Of course, I am talking of payg. Not sure if it's different for contract. Phones: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Samsung Galaxy A50, ASUS zenfone 3, Sim cards: AT&T (Contract), 3 UK, Piranha Mobile

	(#9)
Bossman (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Professionist Posts: 1,257 Join Date: 22 Apr 2005 Location: Chicago Country:	24-04-2006, 20:34 I know that does not sound right. But, I have read here that someone has had success sending from a contract tmobile US acct. I just could not locate the thread. Phones: Xiaomi Mi Mix 2, Samsung Galaxy A50, ASUS zenfone 3, Sim cards: AT&T (Contract), 3 UK, Piranha Mobile