LinOSX TechnoMash

Apple iPhone on Vodafone India

by Pankaj on Nov.13, 2007, under Apple, India, Vodafone, iPhone

I’m back in New Delhi and brought my iPhone along for the ride. I popped in a Hutch (Vodafone) SIM card into the iPhone. Everything appeared to be working fine, except EDGE/GPRS. I looked around and couldn’t find any sites with Vodafone India settings for the iPhone. I did, however, find this page on the Vodafone India site that gave all the information necessary to get EDGE/GPRS up and running.

To get EDGE running on Hutch/Vodafone India on your iPhone, go to Settings then tap on General then tap on Network and then on EDGE. On the EDGE screen enter “WWW” under APN. Done. Simple, huh?

Vodafone India EDGE Settings

The SIM Applications (Settings -> Phone) on my Hutch SIM card seem to partially work but I cannot check my bill from the iPhone. I believe reading that Apple doesn’t recognize any phone numbers or applications on SIM cards. However, I think SIM applications are partially recognized. If anyone has any other experiences, I’d love to hear about them.

Hutch/Vodafone India Services

Finally, don’t bother running any Carrier Services from Settings -> Phone as they appear to be hardcoded for AT&T.
iPhone Carrier Services

Anyone else running an iPhone in India on Hutch/Vodafone, Airtel, IDEA, or other networks, I’d love to hear your experiences.

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Viewing 25 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    It didn't work "WWW" for me, although I am seeing E right next to the network signal bars. Any suggestions???
    • ^
    • v
    i typed www under APN and then whats next....cant connect
    • ^
    • v
    iPhone User,
    If you're seeing the "E" that would imply you're getting an EDGE connection.

    HSC,
    there are no other steps. You should be able to connect. Are you seeing an "E"? Are you getting any error messages?

    You both should contact Vodaphone and make sure you are subscribed for their data service on PDA phones. Don't tell them that you're using an iPhone because they will probably tell you it's not supported. If you are not subscribed to the data services, you may still see the "E" but you will not be able to connect to anything. The data services can range from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 per month, if I'm not mistaken.

    Please let me know what you both encounter.
    • ^
    • v
    hell dear friends i am presently using china make screen touch mobile phone model i cant using the vodafone gprs please give me a manaul settings,,,
    • ^
    • v
    Hi!
    I too can't use the browser on internet services on GRPS as my iphone sohws E icon. I'm on vodafone Mumbai and I tried using APN as www and portalnmms but both do not work. Vodafone says tha basic GPRS won't work and that I need to use EDGE network only which has a paid rental starting from 199/- per month. So thats it...I will probably quit vodafone and goto Airtel as I want to pay only for my use of internet rather than paying a monthly renatal just for internet services.
    • ^
    • v
    1)
    you put the vodafone sim directly into iphone without doing the unlocking stuff or
    u first unlocked the iphone and then inserted the vodafone ???

    2)
    wat is ur experience with iPhone better than N95 or worse than that ???
    • ^
    • v
    mathiarun,
    the manual setting for Vodafone, in Delhi, at least, are described in the post for the iPhone.
    • ^
    • v
    Hi Samir,
    You're correct. I have subscribed to Vodafone's EDGE network (though the speeds are pretty slow). I can't imagine getting a good Internet experience on the iPhone using GPRS only. I would advise that if you plan on using the iPhone for email, surfing the web, email, etc. The EDGE network will offer a slightly better experience than GPRS - at a price, of course. Please share your GPRS experiences if you do switch.
    Cheers
    Pankaj
    • ^
    • v
    iPhone Doubts,
    I originally purchased a 1.0.2 iPhone which required the original AT SIM to be in the phone during the unlocking process. I then "revirginized" the 1.0.2 phone and relocked it. The I upgraded the phone to 1.1.1 and unlocked ir. During the 1.1.1 upgrade and unlocking process, I also kept the original AT SIM in the iPhone, just to be safe. After unlocking the phone, I put my Vodafone SIM into the phone.

    On your second question, I don't have any experience with the N95, though I've heard it is fantastic. My experience has been with the Nokia E61. They both have their benefits and drawbacks. However, my overall "happiness" factor is higher with the iPhone. Though far from perfect, the iPhone is a great multi-purpose device - iPod + Videos + 2MP Camera + easy synchronization + Safari Web browser + easy to use email. Of course, each person's experience is different. Good luck with your decision and if you pick up the iPhone, please let us know about your experience.
    Cheers
    Pankaj
    • ^
    • v
    Hi...

    Ive recently bought i-phone form US, forst query how d oi find which version is my i-phone.

    second, after showing at couple of mobiel stores they are saying its the new verison , and would get unlocked but it would be number specific. pls suggest the processs to identify the version also let me know if oncve unlocked it would only work with one number

    third, how can i do the unlocking, can i get it done from any one....any risks in the same...can i do it myself...where can i get the process to do the same.

    Awaiting your revert....
    thnkss
    • ^
    • v
    It seems like you have to have the following two services activated on your Vodafone connection before you can start browsing: Vodafone Live and Vodafone Mobile Connect. Mobile Connect is charged at 199/- per month plus usage charges separately. Looks like its time to shift to Airtel!
    • ^
    • v
    Amit,
    I believe Vodafone Live is activated by default but I could be wrong.
    You're correct about Mobile Connect. It's their GPRS service that's
    required to connect to any Internet services like email/browsing/IM
    that are outside Vodafone Live. I think Vodafone has a 1GB of data
    transfer for Rs. 999/month but it's been a while since I checked.
    Cheers,
    Pankaj
    • ^
    • v
    Hi...
    I am based out of delhi,Need your help on the belwo mentioned--

    1) Bought an apple - i-phone from US, the version is not known, I guess its the latest as I am unable to go even to the main menu-- query pls advice how to check which version is it ?

    2) Currently I have Vodafone and Airtel numbers with me , but I would prefer unlocking it with Vodafone chip, if you could pls advice me on the process , how to do the unlocking---

    3) After showing at some mobile shops ive been told that this i-phone is number specific and it would only work with the sim it gets unlocked---pls adivce if this is true.

    4) Any risks involved in gettting the same unlocked.

    Your assistance is seeked...
    • ^
    • v
    Shrey, There are quite a few locations that will give you tutorials to jailbreak and unlock your 1.1.1 iphone. There are also plenty of FAQs on jailbreaking your 1.1.2 iphone and how you can tell what version of the iPhone you have. Personally, I believe that all iPhones purchased at Apple Stores are not 1.1.2 - even those produced prior to week 45. My cousin in Delhi dropped off his week 41 iPhone to be unlocked and I was amazed to find it running 1.1.2 with bootloader 4.6. Hence, it can't be unlocked.

    I would suggest you follow some of the tutorials on http://www.hackint0sh.org to find out what version of the iPhone you have (I bet is that it is 1.1.2 with bootloader 4.6). If it turns out to be 1.1.1 then you can easily unlock it following the FAQs. If it's 1.1.2, you have no choice but to use TurboSIM or similar types of methods to use your iPhone. I would NOT suggest that you send the iPhone to Mumbai or give to another dealer who says he can unlock 1.1.2 iPhones. IF they open up the iPhone and perform a hardware hack, it is very possible that upgrading the iPhone in the future will result in a very shiny paperweight.

    Let us know how things go and if you require additional help, feel free to email me.
    • ^
    • v
    This iPhone you got from the US, was it already activated on the ATT plan? Ot did you pop the Vodafone card straight into the iPhone?
    • ^
    • v
    i got ma iphone from the US and got it unlocked from gafar(karol Bagh,Delhi) for Rs.3000/-
    • ^
    • v
    Amit,
    The phone I purchased was a 1.0.2 firmware iPhone. I did NOT activate it with AT, instead, I performed a jailbreak and activated it using Independence on a Apple Mac Mini. After the phone was jailbroken, I unlocked the phone using AnySIM. Since then, I have upgraded the phone to firmware 1.1.1 and unlocked it as well. However, the current phones available in the US and Europe are version 1.1.2 phones with the new 4.6 Bootloader. They CAN'T be unlocked using software. The only known unlock of the 1.1.2 phones is a hardware unlock which could turn your phone into a brick if you update the firmware in the future. If you really want an iPhone to use in India, I would suggest buying a phone that has been unlocked using software at version 1.0.2 or 1.1.1 and left at either of those firmware versions.

    Madhav,
    Can you tell us what firmware and bootloader versions are on your iPhone? Do you know if the guys at Gafar Market did a hardware or software unlock? Also, let us know exactly where you did the unlock as I'm sure many readers would be interested and I know my cousin would be very interested if it's a pure software unlock.

    Cheers
    • ^
    • v
    When i bought ma iphone the firmware version was 1.1.2 but now after getin it unlocked the firmware version is - 04.02.13_G and software version is- 1.0.2 (1C28) ... the guys at gafar put a turbo sim in ma phone and cut a very small part of ma vodafone sim and then they purely did a software unlock... i dont actually kno d procedure but i think it is available on many sites..(search for - unlock iphone with turbo sim)

    Pankaj,
    Could you pls tell me your VPN settings on your phone cuz ma edge is not working(Vodafone)??
    • ^
    • v
    Hi,
    I need unlock new 1.1.2 8 gb i phone bought last week from US. Now I am in Delhi. Can you pls help to unlock it. It is not yet activated, just a pack piece. I tried to downgrade it to 1.1.1 but can not go further . Need help urgently

    santosh
    • ^
    • v
    Madhav,
    When using a TurboSIM there is no need to do a software unlock. The TurboSIM isn't a real unlock. What it does is trick the iPhone to think that the AT SIM is in the phone.

    To test if the phone is truly software unlocked, I would suggest pulling out the TurboSIM and popping in any other SIM to see if the phone still works. I don't think it will work with any other SIM so I would be very interested in seeing screenshots.

    I find it very hard to believe that there is any kind of software unlock performed on the 1.1.2 iPhone with the 4.6 Bootloader. It's possible that you have an old boot loader which would allow a software unlock.

    By the way, why is your phone on version 1.0.2? From what I know, the TurboSIM easily works with the 1.1.2 firmware.

    The Vodafone EDGE settings are described above in the post with screenshots.
    Thanks for the info.

    Santosh,
    As has been mentioned so many times on this blog as well as others, there is NO software unlock available for the 1.1.2 firmware with boot loader 4.6. You can try getting a TurboSIM.

    Cheers