3G Settings South Africa – Automatic setup on your cell-phone

To make use of the Internet on your Mobile Phone in South-Africa and reap all the benefits of browsing the web,using Skype or reading your emails on your phone you need your data settings configured on your cellphone.

DON’T PANIC! It’s really easy to do (I once showed a 70 year old lady how to do it, and then she showed her husband)

The following Cellular service Providers in SA provide automatic setup of your 3G/ GPRS settings:

• Virgin Mobile (SA)
• Cell C
• Vodacom
• MTN

The guys from imod.co.za have summed it up at:

CONNECTIVITY

Setting up GPRS/3G
Get connected via your service provider’s service menu; just follow the simple instructions below:
(It helps to know your mobile’s manufacturer and model. Oh and remember, you only have 2 minutes to complete these steps, don’t ask us why!)

Vodacom:

1. On your mobile, dial *111#
2. Select option 5 (phone settings) from the menu that follows. (Answer -> 5 -> send)
3. Select option 1 to choose your mobile make and model from a list, or options 2 to have Vodacom identify the phone for you.
4. In both cases, simply follow the steps provided to get the WAP settings sent to your phone.
5. Connection settings will be sent to your phone; save these settings.
6. If any of the above mentioned steps fail, simply retry.
7. Still having trouble? Call Vodacom’s call centre on 111 from your Vodacom cellphone or 082 111 from another phone. Alternatively visit a Vodacom outlet near you.

(GPRS/3G can only be activated by the person in whose name the contract was taken out, so some of you might have to get mom or dad’s help on this one. Good luck!)

Cell C

1. On your mobile, dial *147#
2. Connection settings will be sent to your phone; save these settings. If a password is requested enter 0000
3. If any of the above mentioned steps fail, simply retry.

Still having trouble? Call Cell C’s call centre on 140 or visit a Cell C outlet near you. (GPRS/3G can only be activated by the person in whose name the contract was taken out, so some of you might have to get mom or dad’s help on this one. Good luck!)

MTN

1. On your mobile, dial *123#
2. Select option 1 (phone setup) from the menu that follows. (Answer -> 1 -> send)
3. Select option 3 (WAP).
4. Connection settings will be sent to your phone; save these settings.
5. If any of the above mentioned steps fail, simply retry.

Still having trouble? Call MTN’s call centre; dial 808 (contract) or 173 (pay as you go) from your mobile phone. Alternatively, visit an MTN outlet near you. (GPRS/3G can only be activated by the person in whose name the contract was taken out, so some of you might have to get mom or dad’s help on this one. Good luck!)

Virgin Mobile

When you first insert your Virgin Mobile SIM into your mobile you’ll receive an SMS asking you if you would like to accept Virgin Settings.
If you reply YES, your settings for MMS and WAP can be automatically downloaded and installed on your mobile.
Do the following to manually request MMS and WAP settings:
Go to the ‘Virgin Mobile’ menu which you will find on either the main menu or applications menu of your mobile.
Select ‘Virgin Settings’ and reply YES when asked if you’d like to download them.

Still having trouble? Call Virgin Mobile’s call centre on 123 or visit a Virgin Mobile outlet near you. (GPRS/3G can only be activated by the person in whose name the contract was taken out, so some of you might have to get mom or dad’s help on this one. Good luck!)

Interesting News for the Mobile phone industry in SA

I found interesting news:

Consumers will no longer be locked into long-term contracts with mobile operators, should the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) have its regulations approved.

http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2008/0806231100.asp?A=CEL&S=Cellular&O=FPLEAD

This will be of great benefits to south African Mobile phone users, so if you’re like me and like to be able to move around you can do so.