Germany and France - Page 4

wco81 · 03-07-2007, 16:10

OK after I posted today, I checked it and it was activated and I was on the network.

But that leads to other questions, which are difficult if you don't know German.

1) How do I check my balance? Can I text some number and get my balance back?

2) Can I top off via the phone or from the web site or do I need to buy the cards?

3) On my Nokia E61i, which is a Symbian S60 phone, it now shows access points for the following: E-Plus Internet, E-Plus MMS, E-Plus WAP. Access Points on this phone lists both Wifi access points and packet data connections.

But I think E-Plus Internet may only be GPRS, not UMTS. In any event, if I try to load a web page using this E-Plus Internet, it doesn't load.

They have a configuration page for data connections but no mention of UMTS:

http://www.medionmobile.de/konfigurator.php#INFO

Is it possible the info on prepaidgsm.net about UMTS is incorrect and that this prepaid SIM doesn't offer UMTS? The starter kit also has no references to UMTS.

I guess I can try to call the hotline and see if they speak English.

Also stopped by an E-Plus shop, to see if they were familiar with configuring the Internet connection. They were busy and when I spoke to someone, they didn't speak English so I didn't stick around. They had a demo of a laptop with what looked like a 3G card.

petkow · 03-07-2007, 16:27

Dial 1155 for balance. It will probably be in German though, although if you are lucky you may get an SMS (some operators do this, though I am not familiar with MedionMobile)

Not sure about the rest, but I'll take a look... or maybe someone else will beat me to an answer for you!

HAve a look at http://www.medionmobile.de/konfiguration_iframe.php though yor phone is not listed there!

petkow · 03-07-2007, 16:34

Just looking at http://config.medionmobile.de/userpr...figuration.pdf shows that it does support both GPRS and UTMS.

It suggests access point wap.eplus.de, username: eplus and password wap.

IP addresses and ports are also listed there. I don't really know much about this, but I can help you with translation!

chrget · 03-07-2007, 19:15

Dialing *100# will give you your current balance as a flash SMS.

As for GPRS/3G access, you need to make at least one phone call using the SIM first. After that, access will be activated usually in a 1-2 hour timeframe (this somewhat strange procedure was introduced to work around a bug in E-Plus' prepaid billing platform that allowed people to use GPRS without being charged with SIMs that weren't fully activated yet

).

For internet, use the appropriate APN: internet.eplus.de -- AFAIK user id and password don't matter, but eplus / internet is what is documented everywhere. With current day equipment, that should more or less be all you need as far as settings go. How many times and in how many cryptic menues you may have to enter or reference that setting obviously depends on your hardware of choice and should be documented in the manual ...

Regards,
Chris.

[Edit]

P.S.: To top up, it's probably easiest to buy codes and enter them from your mobile. As has been mentioned, regular E-Plus "Free and Easy" codes will work with the medionmobile card as well -- at least currently. This is not officially documented, and may, for all I know, be subject to change without prior notice. For top-up, you can either call 1155 and select menu item 4 (IIRC) or enter the code using *104*CODE# (again IIRC).

wco81 · 03-07-2007, 19:35

OK I looked at the E-Plus WAP, as configured by the SIM already.

It had the username and password already set up.

I did load a couple of pages and it was okay but certainly slower than Wifi, which is what you'd expect.

However, in examining the configuration, the "Data bearer" is set to "Packet Data" on my Nokia. But there are 4 choices: Packet Data, Wireless LAN, Data Call and High Speed (GSM).

Like I said, the E-Plus WAP is set to Packet Data and with that, the "Access Point Name" shows "wap.eplus.de." That corresponds to the GPRS-Zugangspunkt (APN) setting in that configuration PDF.

I tried changing the Data Bearer to "Data Call" or "High Speed (GSM)" but then the "Access Point Name" (and wap.eplus.de) disappears and you get a "Dial-Up Number" field which shows "Must be defined."

Does GPRS require a dial-up number? Does CSD? Perhaps that is what "Data Call" or "High Speed (GSM)" corresponds to?

Hmm Zugangspunkt means access point according to a German-English dictionary. So GPRS and UMTS apparently both use the concept of access points rather than dial up numbers like CSD.

Perhaps if you're near a UMTS tower, it will use that and if you're only near a GPRS tower, you only get GPRS speeds?

chrget · 03-07-2007, 20:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

OK I looked at the E-Plus WAP, as configured by the SIM already.

Which is fine if WAP access is what you want. AFAIK you will need the internet APN for anything besides WAP, i.e. email and other networking apps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

I did load a couple of pages and it was okay but certainly slower than Wifi, which is what you'd expect.

Uhm. Obviously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

I tried changing the Data Bearer to "Data Call" or "High Speed (GSM)" but then the "Access Point Name" (and wap.eplus.de) disappears and you get a "Dial-Up Number" field which shows "Must be defined."

You do not want CSD, trust me. Packet is just fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Does GPRS require a dial-up number? Does CSD? Perhaps that is what "Data Call" or "High Speed (GSM)" corresponds to?

No. Data carrying mechanisms in UMTS are basically equivalent to GPRS. That's why there's no distinction between those in that regard.

CSD or HSCSD are indeed more or less like good old classic modem data calls. Again, you most likely don't want that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Hmm Zugangspunkt means access point according to a German-English dictionary. So GPRS and UMTS apparently both use the concept of access points rather than dial up numbers like CSD.

Yes. See above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Perhaps if you're near a UMTS tower, it will use that and if you're only near a GPRS tower, you only get GPRS speeds?

Bingo. Your mobile should also be indicating if you have 3G or just 2.5G coverage. Not having a gumboot phone myself, I can't say what should show up on yours. Others actually show "2G" "2.5G" or "3G", possibly "UMTS" or nasty little cryptic symbols.

Regards,
Chris.

wco81 · 03-07-2007, 20:16

I got something like:

sie mussen zuerst Ihre Geheimzahl einrichten

When I dialed *100#.

Google said something about secret number. Would this be the PIN that I used in the activation process?

wco81 · 03-07-2007, 20:19

BTW, each time I turn on the phone, I'm prompted for that PIN.

I can't imagine sending that would be a part of getting your balance.

wco81 · 03-07-2007, 20:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrget

Dialing *100# will give you your current balance as a flash SMS.

See below. It returns a message for me saying I need to send a secret number (Google translation). Will that show me how much data I've downloaded when I loaded some web pages or just show me a raw money balance?

Quote:

As for GPRS/3G access, you need to make at least one phone call using the SIM first. After that, access will be activated usually in a 1-2 hour timeframe (this somewhat strange procedure was introduced to work around a bug in E-Plus' prepaid billing platform that allowed people to use GPRS without being charged with SIMs that weren't fully activated yet

).

For internet, use the appropriate APN: internet.eplus.de -- AFAIK user id and password don't matter, but eplus / internet is what is documented everywhere. With current day equipment, that should more or less be all you need as far as settings go. How many times and in how many cryptic menues you may have to enter or reference that setting obviously depends on your hardware of choice and should be documented in the manual ...

Regards,
Chris.

[Edit]

P.S.: To top up, it's probably easiest to buy codes and enter them from your mobile. As has been mentioned, regular E-Plus "Free and Easy" codes will work with the medionmobile card as well -- at least currently. This is not officially documented, and may, for all I know, be subject to change without prior notice. For top-up, you can either call 1155 and select menu item 4 (IIRC) or enter the code using *104*CODE# (again IIRC).

OK, I can now say it loads web pages with either E-Plus Internet (APN is internet.eplus.de) or E-Plus WAP (APN is wap.eplus.de). Both seem to load regular web sites, not WAP sites and they both seemed about the same speed.

So you have to buy or get top-up codes, there's no way to enter a credit card on a secure web page to get the codes displayed?

Looks like I get 12 months with either just the starter kit balance or any top-up.

Maybe it's better to let this one lapse because roaming in the EU is suppose to get a lot cheaper in the future right?

chrget · 03-07-2007, 20:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

It returns a message for me saying I need to send a secret number

Obviously your card isn't fully activated yet. You need to dial your voice mail (IIRC 9911). You will be prompted to select a PIN number for that. This will finalize activation. Once activation is finalized, checking balance with either 1155 menu 1 or *100# will work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Will that show me how much data I've downloaded when I loaded some web pages or just show me a raw money balance?

Just the raw balance. For phone calls, 1155 menu 1 will also give access to the cost of the last 5 calls.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

[...] there's no way to enter a credit card on a secure web page to get the codes displayed?

AFAIK not from the provider. A workaround would be buying codes via a third-party vendor like (I hope I won't get flak for this) Verivox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Looks like I get 12 months with either just the starter kit balance or any top-up.

And as soon as you top up € 15 or better, an additional 12 months, maxing out at 24 months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wco81

Maybe it's better to let this one lapse because roaming in the EU is suppose to get a lot cheaper in the future right?

AFAIK medionmobile has already announced lowering their prices to the EU-prescribed levels. As for the rest, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Regards,
Chris.

	(#31)
wco81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 304 Join Date: 17 Jun 2007 Country:	03-07-2007, 16:10 OK after I posted today, I checked it and it was activated and I was on the network. But that leads to other questions, which are difficult if you don't know German. 1) How do I check my balance? Can I text some number and get my balance back? 2) Can I top off via the phone or from the web site or do I need to buy the cards? 3) On my Nokia E61i, which is a Symbian S60 phone, it now shows access points for the following: E-Plus Internet, E-Plus MMS, E-Plus WAP. Access Points on this phone lists both Wifi access points and packet data connections. But I think E-Plus Internet may only be GPRS, not UMTS. In any event, if I try to load a web page using this E-Plus Internet, it doesn't load. They have a configuration page for data connections but no mention of UMTS: http://www.medionmobile.de/konfigurator.php#INFO Is it possible the info on prepaidgsm.net about UMTS is incorrect and that this prepaid SIM doesn't offer UMTS? The starter kit also has no references to UMTS. I guess I can try to call the hotline and see if they speak English. Also stopped by an E-Plus shop, to see if they were familiar with configuring the Internet connection. They were busy and when I spoke to someone, they didn't speak English so I didn't stick around. They had a demo of a laptop with what looked like a 3G card.

	(#32)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	03-07-2007, 16:27 Dial 1155 for balance. It will probably be in German though, although if you are lucky you may get an SMS (some operators do this, though I am not familiar with MedionMobile) Not sure about the rest, but I'll take a look... or maybe someone else will beat me to an answer for you! HAve a look at http://www.medionmobile.de/konfiguration_iframe.php though yor phone is not listed there!

	(#33)
petkow (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Pioneer Posts: 696 Join Date: 01 Aug 2006 Location: Madrid Country:	03-07-2007, 16:34 Just looking at http://config.medionmobile.de/userpr...figuration.pdf shows that it does support both GPRS and UTMS. It suggests access point wap.eplus.de, username: eplus and password wap. IP addresses and ports are also listed there. I don't really know much about this, but I can help you with translation!

	(#34)
chrget (Offline) Junior Member Newbie Posts: 9 Join Date: 08 Jan 2007 Country:	03-07-2007, 19:15 Dialing 100# will give you your current balance as a flash SMS. As for GPRS/3G access, you need to make at least one phone call using the SIM first. After that, access will be activated usually in a 1-2 hour timeframe (this somewhat strange procedure was introduced to work around a bug in E-Plus' prepaid billing platform that allowed people to use GPRS without being charged with SIMs that weren't fully activated yet ). For internet, use the appropriate APN: internet.eplus.de -- AFAIK user id and password don't matter, but eplus / internet is what is documented everywhere. With current day equipment, that should more or less be all you need as far as settings go. How many times and in how many cryptic menues you may have to enter or reference that setting obviously depends on your hardware of choice and should* be documented in the manual ... Regards, Chris. [Edit] P.S.: To top up, it's probably easiest to buy codes and enter them from your mobile. As has been mentioned, regular E-Plus "Free and Easy" codes will work with the medionmobile card as well -- at least currently. This is not officially documented, and may, for all I know, be subject to change without prior notice. For top-up, you can either call 1155 and select menu item 4 (IIRC) or enter the code using 104CODE# (again IIRC). Last edited by chrget; 03-07-2007 at 19:31.. Reason: Silly board ate my code :)

	(#35)
wco81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 304 Join Date: 17 Jun 2007 Country:	03-07-2007, 19:35 OK I looked at the E-Plus WAP, as configured by the SIM already. It had the username and password already set up. I did load a couple of pages and it was okay but certainly slower than Wifi, which is what you'd expect. However, in examining the configuration, the "Data bearer" is set to "Packet Data" on my Nokia. But there are 4 choices: Packet Data, Wireless LAN, Data Call and High Speed (GSM). Like I said, the E-Plus WAP is set to Packet Data and with that, the "Access Point Name" shows "wap.eplus.de." That corresponds to the GPRS-Zugangspunkt (APN) setting in that configuration PDF. I tried changing the Data Bearer to "Data Call" or "High Speed (GSM)" but then the "Access Point Name" (and wap.eplus.de) disappears and you get a "Dial-Up Number" field which shows "Must be defined." Does GPRS require a dial-up number? Does CSD? Perhaps that is what "Data Call" or "High Speed (GSM)" corresponds to? Hmm Zugangspunkt means access point according to a German-English dictionary. So GPRS and UMTS apparently both use the concept of access points rather than dial up numbers like CSD. Perhaps if you're near a UMTS tower, it will use that and if you're only near a GPRS tower, you only get GPRS speeds?

	(#37)
wco81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 304 Join Date: 17 Jun 2007 Country:	03-07-2007, 20:16 I got something like: sie mussen zuerst Ihre Geheimzahl einrichten When I dialed *100#. Google said something about secret number. Would this be the PIN that I used in the activation process?

	(#38)
wco81 (Offline) Senior Member Prepaid Expert Posts: 304 Join Date: 17 Jun 2007 Country:	03-07-2007, 20:19 BTW, each time I turn on the phone, I'm prompted for that PIN. I can't imagine sending that would be a part of getting your balance.