gdp's Comments

Ken's Tech Tips : Free Pay As You Go SIM Cards – Listed, Reviewed and Networks Compared

Sun, 5 May 2013 18:06:11 +0000

Hi Bill, As far as I know, T-Mobile shouldn't be charging you to be on their network. I suspect you have probably subscribed to something like the £10 Smart Pack? This will automatically charge £10 to your account each month (in return you'll get an allowance of calls, texts and internet). You can disable this on your account by following the instructions here: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/t-mobile-laun... Hope this helps, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Ultrafast Internet: Three's Answer to 4G

Tue, 9 Apr 2013 21:58:53 +0000

Hi Danny, Thanks for the heads up, and great to hear that you've been getting download speeds of 20Mbit/s on HSPA+! I know that Three certainly gets some good reviews for download speeds, and I've seen some really impressive screenshots on Twitter! Though given less-than-ideal factors (e.g. distance to the mast, congestion, etc), I still believe the speeds listed here are more typical of what people can expect. In the long term, 4G is certainly a better technology but I'm not sure the benefits are worth paying any more for. Certainly not the the ~£150 extra given that Ultrafast can already stream HD video. Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : What does 500MB or 1GB internet actually mean? Explaining mobile data limits

Sun, 7 Apr 2013 23:27:54 +0000

Hi there, Thanks for the comment! According to the IEC definition, a megabyte is 1000 kilobytes whereas a mebibyte is 1024 kilobytes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebibyte for more information. Unfortunately, usage of 1000 and 1024 is inconsistent within the industry and many people use a megabyte to mean 1024 kilobytes. For the purposes of mobile data, I use the IEC/ISO definition of 1 megabyte = 1000 kilobytes and 1 gigabyte = 1000 megabytes. The reason being that it's better to err on the side of caution and to choose the smaller definition. This should reduce the probability of exceeding your download limit (however your network operator chooses to define it). In practice though, it's probably an academic argument as the probability of data usage being exactly between 1000MB and 1024MB in a given month is quite small. Many thanks, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Tethering: Sharing Your Phone's Internet Connection With Other Devices

Sat, 6 Apr 2013 22:47:39 +0000

Hi Austin, The quality of signal should be just as good on the HTC One, yep! In fact, you might even notice an improvement as the HTC One is an ultrafast enabled. This means it supports DC-HSPA+ download speeds (around 8Mbit/s typically, up to 42Mbit/s). It'll also support 4G download speeds (typically around 15Mbit/s, up to 100Mbit/s) when it launches later this year. AFAIK the Huawei MiFi supports only supports up to HSPA+ speeds (typically around 4Mbit/s, but up to 21Mbit/s). Hope this helps, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Using Your Mobile Phone Abroad: Everything You Need To Know

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 20:45:33 +0000

Hi Suraiya, Thanks your comment. Assuming you don't have a BlackBerry Z10, you'll need to pick up a specific BlackBerry SIM whilst you're in India. BlackBerry devices won't work with a SIM thats designed for normal smartphones. For more information see this article: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/blackberry-ta... Hope this helps, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Unlocked Phones: Checking If Your Phone Is Locked, How To Unlock & Buying Unlocked

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 20:44:20 +0000

Hi Anne, Great work! The problem is now probably to do with your APN (Access Point Name) settings. For more information see this article: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/how-to-resolv... Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Using Skype on your smartphone: data usage & restrictions on 3G usage

Thu, 4 Apr 2013 20:43:26 +0000

Hi Andrea, As far as I'm aware, O2 still allows Skype on their Pay Monthly plans. Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Using Your Mobile Phone Abroad: Everything You Need To Know

Mon, 1 Apr 2013 19:40:08 +0000

Hi Sara, Nope - there is no charge for them to receive your phone call. All of the roaming charges are picked up by the person who is travelling abroad. Hope this helps! Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Using Skype on your smartphone: data usage & restrictions on 3G usage

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:23:00 +0000

Hi Charlie, The current policy (AFAIK) is that customers on the Vodafone Red plan and any other plans of £40/month or more can use Skype over 3G. There are many other networks that permit the use of Skype over 3G. Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : The One Plan from Three: Review & Comparison

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:59:22 +0000

Hi Janet, Three has had a bit of a negative reputation in the past for coverage, though understandably so as they only launched in 2003. Now that the network has been around for over 10 years, coverage has got much better - there are many people who even prefer Three for their network. Your mileage may vary depending on where you live - I recommend using Three's coverage checker to make sure you can get signal where you live. Hope this helps! Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : How to unlock your iPhone from O2, Orange, Three, T-Mobile or Vodafone

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 01:59:55 +0000

Hi Rachel, Thanks for your message! It should be possible for your friend to call Orange Customer Services and to have the iPhone 4 unlocked. Hope this helps! Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : What does 500MB or 1GB internet actually mean? Explaining mobile data limits

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:56:00 +0000

Hi there, The SI definition is to have 1000KB in 1MB and 1000MB in 1GB. There are binary prefixes for the 1024 definition - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_prefix although you're right in that most people don't follow this. In terms of data allowances, I think it's better to use the lower definition just to be safe. Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : iPhone 5 & nano-SIM cards: Questions Answered

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:53:42 +0000

Hi Valerie, Orange should be able to replace your friend's SIM with a Nano SIM. You can do this in an EE store. http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/smartphone-ty... http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/iphone-5-nano... Hope this helps, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Your Smartphone SIM Type: Standard SIM, Micro SIM or Nano SIM?

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:55:45 +0000

Hi E Hudson, As far as I'm aware (and I have double-checked this issue!), the normal Galaxy S3 uses Micro SIM whereas the Galaxy S3 Mini uses Standard SIM. Could you kindly double check your handset's model and verify that it's a Galaxy S3 Mini? Many thanks, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : How to unlock your iPhone from O2, Orange, Three, T-Mobile or Vodafone

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:51:39 +0000

Hi Kevin, The iPhone 4 works on 3G HSDPA networks at 850MHz, 900MHz, 1900MHz and 2100MHz. It should work fine on AT&T in the US as they use 850MHz and 1900MHz. Also, you might be able to get some basic 2G coverage on T-Mobile USA. SIM cards from Sprint and Verizon won't work as they use CDMA technology. Enjoy your trip to the US! Hope this helps! Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Using Your Mobile Phone Abroad: Everything You Need To Know

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:46:59 +0000

Hi ket, No. The free network-to-network calls are only when you're within the UK. If the SIMs are roaming, both parties will need to pay roaming charges. Hope this helps, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : Transferring your contacts, phone book, SMS messages between phones

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 03:51:36 +0000

Hi Mary, Thanks for the comment! The iPhone 4S automatically saves all of this material to the phone so you don't need to worry about that! SIM cards only have a limited amount of storage space and as such, very little is actually stored on it. Voice memos, Notes, Photos and Apps will still be there after changing your SIM card. With regards to voicemail, are you switching to another network or staying on the same one? Unfortunately it's not possible to transfer your voicemail messages to a different network, though you could try recording them manually. If you're staying on the same network, it's possible that voicemail messages will still be there after changing your account type. However, please double-check with the network about this as it depends on how they process the tariff change. If you're changing network, you may also need to unlock your iPhone. You should do this before cancelling the contract on your old network. You can find out more here: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/how-to-unlock... Hope this helps, Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : PAC Codes: How to transfer your mobile number when switching networks

Fri, 8 Mar 2013 03:45:49 +0000

Hi Phil, You shouldn't need to give them notice of 30 days - Ofcom's most recent legislation means that PAC Codes must be issued immediately on the phone, or within 2 hours via SMS. Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : O2's TU Go: Share Your Phone Number & Plan Across Smartphone, Tablet & PC

Thu, 7 Mar 2013 10:06:43 +0000

Cheers Pete! Thanks for the heads up! I guess the key differences are that you can't use Signal Boost on public hotspots & when you're abroad... also you can't use it across several devices. The fact that you can do this on TU Go makes it quite a significant and exciting product for me! Anyone who wants more info about Signal Boost can find it here: http://www2.orange.co.uk/servlet/Satellite?c=OUKS... I also covered Signal Boost back in 2011: http://cow.neondragon.net/index.php/oranges-uma-o... Ken

Ken's Tech Tips : What does 500MB or 1GB internet actually mean? Explaining mobile data limits

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 03:10:26 +0000

Hi Elv, As far as I know, MMS messages do not get subtracted from your data allowance. However, you will need a data connection in order to send a MMS message. Ken