Um, okay. Perhaps you should do a little bit of research before tossing around the blame so freely. T-Mobile doesn't lock their devices down like this, subscribers just have to pay for the proper level of data access.

I have a Blackberry Peal with T-Mobile. I installed Opera Mini and it works great. I don't understand where you are getting this information.

Ron, I have gotten this confirmed by T-Mobile corporate. I have a tester SIM that has access to everything, and the applications are locked out in the new handsets I have been testing this week. You may have an older handset, before this insidious policy spread. I used to tout T-Mobile for their liberal policies on third party program installation, and I'm very disappointed in the change.

Tony, I maybe didn't make clear enough that this is a feature phone problem. No carrier, not even Verizon, dares forbid application installation on smartphones such as Blackberries, Windows Mobile phones, or Treos.

Sounds to me like Sahsa has issues with anger management.Perhaps she's upset because T-Mobile wouldn't give her all the freebie's she thinks she is entitled to as a magazine hack?
All I can say is "get over yourself and move on to real reporting.Better yet,get a real job that requires some semblence of actual physical exertion".

To Ron: I believe this is real reporting. We keep giving up a little more to these companies every day. My sprint service crippled the bluetooth on my Treo and don't allow you to use wifi (even cradles) My A900 doesn't allow Google maps because they want you to use $2 a month Handmark apps. There should be some sort of choice allowed in a free market. We own the product-we should be able to do anything that's legal

Ron: Sascha's a he.

Also, HE is spot on here. What level of "access" are you referring to that allows T-Mobile to violate their terms of service and corporate policies? Perhaps you're referring to buying a smartphone as a "level of access?" In that case, you might want to "exert the effort" to clarify your point. Sascha has laid his cards on the table here, if you think he just needs to "get over it" or hasn't "researched" enough, then let's see your cards. It's not Sascha's anger management that needs work here, looks like yours-you can hardly make a point without flinging insults.

In real commentary, this doesn't surprise me one bit. By locking down and crippling features, cellular providers can funnel you into their own preferred services, and leave plenty of room for them to offer "enhanced" services and applications down the road that you'll have no choice but to opt-in with them for, and you have no choice but to believe that your device CAN'T do x or y without their specialized app. We've seen this from the way Verizon cripples its bluetooth phones and media functionality, making you believe the only way you can get music and photos onto your phone is either through their services (for music and pictures and video) or through your camera. (for pictures and video) I sadly see this trend moving in the wrong direction, personally, as there's less competition in the marketplace for cellular services, and the message to customers is "if want these services that you seem to know every one of our phones is capable of, you'll have to buy special 'versions' of the phones, or upgrade to significantly more expensive devices," and that's a real shame.

What kind of phone are you trying to put this on? My guess is some sort of motorola or samsung that T-Mobile subsidizes. If that is true, then shame on you for complaining because your free or sub $100 kid device won't load opera or GMM. Being a device reviewer, I would expect you to have a smartphone/pda/bb regardless.

I have the T-Mobile SDA which I got in May 2006. For the most part it's an awesome MS Mobile 5.0 phone. BUT... I can not get it to sync with my Exchange Server. ActiveSync complains that the certificate on my server is not current and I know this to be false as I have setup ActiveSync on the Motorola Q and Samsung BlackJack phones without the same problem.

Working with Microsoft on the issue, they had me import my certificate into the phone (which appears to be there) and even had me do a hard reset on the phone (wiping out all my data).

Nada...

Microsoft only other suggestion was to talk with T-Mobile to see if the phone was "locked" down to where the certificate was not installing properly.

I called T-Mobile support which was 100% useless. They kept telling me to call Microsoft. Finally I sent an email to their support detailing everything tried and I even referenced the MS Tech Note about phones being "locked".

Have never heard back from T-Mobile and it's been nearly a month now.

Prior to that, I tried to install Opera and it basically said that it couldn't; installed the same copy of Opera on another non T-Mobile MS 5.0 phone and it installed without a problem.

Being a Slingbox user, I tried to install the Mobile 5.0 SlingPlayer. It too did not install and to contact the manufacturer. I didn't think much of it at the time because it was still a v1.0 product. Since then the product has matured and it runs on our other MS Mobile 5.0 phone.

I was thinking about moving up to the "Dash" with hopes that it will be compatible with the aforementioned applications. Or I just may go back to Verizon Wireless where apps for their MS 5.0 phones seems to install just fine without problem.

I have found over the last few years, is that all I want to do is talk on my phone. Less is more for me. I enjoyed reading all of your comments. I hope you can find a soultion. I know for a fact, a boycott is hopeless. Cell phones are addictive and they know it.

@Strong: I don't believe this was the case, that the attempt was conducted on a low-end device, but this brings up an excellent point: it shouldn't matter.

I hesitate at the point that cell manufacturers really do "subsidize" phones, because the current subscription model allows them to make their money back on even the most low-end devices in a very very short time period, and not nearly the entire period of the contract you have to sign to get one of those "cheap" phones. Also, I don't think this would be any different if you had purchased a phone from them at full price and used it on their network-they'd still insist on controlling the device in your pocket.

This brings up another point too - when did we as consumers become so willing to let go of the functionality of our technology based on what an entity providing us a service tells us? The functionality is IN THE PHONE, it's there to be used, it's just being BLOCKED. And so we shrug our shoulders and say "ah well?" If it's not for us or something we wouldn't use, that's one thing, but functions like this could be valuable for many people-the end result being that those people will either be shut out completely or be forced to artificially pay more for it.

We would never let Dell or HP "subsidize" a computer by giving it to us for a ridiculously low price (as they do with various sales and rebates) and then allow them to dictate to us what we can and can't do with it. We don't let Comcast and Verizon give us ultra-low introductory prices for high-speed internet access and then allow them to tell us where we can and can't go on the internet, do we? I don't understand why we're so willing to let cellular providers cripple our devices and strip down our features in that very same way.

hello. the above is not correct. T-mobile offer a data service called Web n Walk which allows consumers to access the internet from their phone or laptop depending on the price plan.
T-mobile do not lock your phone down from 3rd party devices. I myself have the use of opera mini and msn messenger on my mobile to which works fine... this phone was bought from a t-mobile uk ltd retail store and is not unlocked to any other network

Phoenix, the provider subsidizes the handset, not the manufacturer. The provider buys devices from the OEM at super inflated prices and then offers them for a lower price to the consumer because they (the provider) is willing to eat device costs and only make money on 6 out of 12 months worth of billing revenue. Last I checked, operators are in the business to make money. Personally, I think the fact that everyone expects phones for free now is total crap. If you want a device you can do anything you want to, then go buy an unlocked device or a some sort of PDA. Otherwise quit your bitching.

Wow, what a discussion.

The phone that drove me nuts was a Nokia 6133, and I think the point that it's subsidized is bizarre; letting people use Opera Mini would increase, not decrease, T-Mobile's revenues by encouraging people to sign up for data plans. T-Mobile is shooting themselves in the foot by crippling the development of the third party software industry, lowering demand for mobile data.

As several posters have said, they make money on the data plans, not on the phones - so why prohibit applications that would get people to demand data plans?

Subsidies also seem to be a smokescreen here. If you go to a T-Mobile store and buy a Nokia 6133 at full retail, mid-contract, Opera Mini is barred. If you go to a Nokia store and buy the same 6133, inserting the same T-Mobile SIM, you have no problem.

And I need to repeat - this isn't about smartphones. I'm not talking about the SDA, the Blackberry, or whatever. I'm talking about feature phones, which could be dandy computing platforms if the carriers weren't so hostile.

"undisclosed," who doesn't live in the US, points out another world where the carriers aren't, in fact, so hostile. T-Mobile UK does not bar applications the way T-Mobile US does. And - shocker! - it doesn't seem to have killed them.

I'm not contesting whether or not operators are in business to make money, but that's a completely irrelevant point. And your point about expecting a phone for free being crap is contradictory of your overall point: if you get a phone for free, stop whining that it was free?

Personally, I would love to see a market in the United States more like the market abroad - anyone can buy any cellphone and do what they choose with it, and we don't need the manufacturers to "subsidize" anything. Last I checked, prices buying handsets directly from manufacturers aren't significantly different than buying the "retail value" from the operator themselves. I don't think the operator is eating much of anything-it's far more likely that because they're in business to make money, like you said, they want us to believe that so when they piss on our heads we'll believe it's rain. So explain this disconnect to me again? Wait-I'm just bitching then, aren't I?

@Sascha: I'm curious what you think the US cellular market can learn from the market abroad. Do you think, since the carriers are obviously hostile to any consumer-friendly changes that might even remotely lessen their iron grip on access, device, and feature control, that there's room in the marketplace for new breeds of cellular companies that reflect a business model that's more consumer friendly, as in buy a phone from anywhere and we'll see what we can do with it and hook you up with a plan?

I suspect that such a carrier could even be able to negotiate with carriers to use their existing infrastructure, CDMA v. GSM device arguments willing. (or even with multiple carriers so the device type doesn't matter?)

The customer is paying full price for that phone one way or another. In whatever form, the cost of that phone is being included in the monthly phone bill in the form of higher costs. No operator is giving away free phones from the goodness of their heart.

When viewed through that lens, it seems less than fair that the features that the customer paid for (whether or not it was in one lump sum or in hidden costs over the next 2 or 3 years is irrelevant) are being removed from that phone.

Sadly, those intrepid users who pay full price for an unlocked phone in order to get all of the features that every customer should be getting in the first place ends up paying twice for their phone. Once for the full-boat cost, and second in the same fees that are used to recoup the costs of all of those free phones.

To Sascha's point - why not open these devices for customers? Along with increasing revenue from data usage, maybe these users then graduate to a real smartphone when they upgrade. Then everyone wins.

THIS IS TRUE REPORTING! I recently bought a Samsung Trace (T519) and installed google maps. It didn't work, and after about 12 nonstop hours of research I found out that their applications are all digitally signed (VeriSign) and will block out the permissions menu for the network access, thus resulting in the application not being able to connect itself to the internet. The ONLY SOULUTION to this problem is to buy the Firmware Flash cable, download the Flashing software from the phone manufactures website, (and the real tricky part) then find the ORIGINAL firmware to flash to the phone. Of course your going to have to manually set up your T-Zones (webaccess address and port) and a few others, but it will unlock ALL the features of the phone so you will be able to use the phone fully. It's a tricky process, and you need to make sure your not using a T-Mobile "Branded" firmware update. There are many independent phone gurus out there that edit firmware and release it themselves with all features unlocked. If you use a T-Mobile Branded firmware, you'll waste money and time to be exactly where you are right now.

IE... Cingular's D807 and T-Mobile's T809. They are the same phone, same display, memory card slot, ect... However, T-Mobile's phone has limited features compared to Cingular's. The D807 has voice activation and a few other bells and whistles. This isn't the phone's hardware, it's the firmware.

In short, get yourself the syncing software & cables and a fresh Firmware update and you will be able to run any app. Right now Cingular doesn't limit 3rd party software, so if you have to, use one of their Firmwares and then tweak your port settings and you'll be free and clear of the holdups of horrible T-Mobile.

I just got off the phone with TMobile's tier 2 tech support. My Opera browsing stopped working last week. They finally told me -- TMobile Tech Support -- that the configuration menu item I needed (web sessions) is purposely disabled on all TM handsets when they come from Motorola. They are doing it on purpose, and you have to hack the phone to fix it. The ridiculous thing is that they support the missing menu item ON THEIR OWN WEB SITE for users who come to TM from other carriers. They give you instructions on how to configure your phone for their network when you come from another carrier, but if you are a loyal TM customer with a TM handset, you are out of luck.

It is utter nonsense to force their customers to either hack their phones or buy hardware from other providers in order to accomplish what we could accomplish just fine on their network two weeks ago with their equipment.

Sad! I love TMo but will jump ship if they blockade data apps on their network.

Sascha is Correct. T-Mobile blocks or modifies the custom manufacture menus. I have a T-mobile Nokia 6010 which I unlocked using a DCT4 code generator. Now I can use it with any other carrier SIM Card, but it only allow me to make or receive phonecalls or send SMS but it wont allow me to configure and modify my GPRS and WAP settings. It will only attemp to load t-zones and wont let me modify the sturtup wap page.
By the way. Anyone knows how to resolve this issue? Anyone has any idea on how can I change the firmware or do something to restore the Manufacturer Complete Menus and so be able to setup my wap browser and GPRS connection to be used with other carriers services?
Thanks. my email es mattiass_cba@hotmail.com

Yes folks this is indeed true. I have a TMobile RAZR with VPN Internet Plan, Hot Spots, and unlimited data. I had been using Google Maps and OperaMini on my phone for the past two years without any trouble.

Starting last month OperaMini 3.0 started reporting an error on every page I tried to visit that said, "Connection closed by remote host". Google Maps no longer runs AT ALL, and after upgrading to OperaMini 3.1, the network-test portion of the install reports "You have no data plan."

I find this infuriating because I am PAYING for that connectivity!

Doesn't T-Mobile realize that stupid stunts like these are going to drive their customers right over to the iPhone?

this is very disappointing. i have always recommended t-mobile to people because they tended to avoid doing stuff like this. i'm not personally affected (apparently) because i bought my phone -- an unlocked Nokia 6230i -- from some Russian dudes on Lexington Avenue, but explaining to non-technical people that it's better to pay more for an unlocked phone is a tough sell. looks like i'll have to be making that (frustrating) argument more often now.

ps. I'm really surprised at the negative response to Sascha's posting of this story. If you follow the cellphone market at all, you should realize this is a big deal, and it's an extremely appropriate topic. Most of the negative comments seemed to come from people who didn't read the article carefully, or who don't really understand what Sascha is talking about.

BS - I am using an unlocked Nokia E61 on T-Mobile USA and have absolutely no problems using Opera 3.1, Google Maps, or any of my other apps (to include BlackBerry Connect).

Where in the terms of service do you see a restriction on data usage? I can't seem to find that in the documentation I've seen.l

Ron K:

Double Check your Certificate, I had issue's like that until I got a different root CA provider.

Uh, sorry Rob, I'm a bit tired. :-)

Ron - I've had an A900 since last may and I've had gmm on it the entire time. Maybe the "untrusted application" screen is scaring you off?

Also - the bluetooth on your treo is easily restored if you're willing to spend half an hour researching it. Wifi is a driver issue. feel free to write one if you like.

Sascha: And I need to repeat - this isn't about smartphones. I'm not talking about the SDA, the Blackberry, or whatever. I'm talking about feature phones, which could be dandy computing platforms if the carriers weren't so hostile.

I could paste it 20 more times but some people still won't read it.

All you need is UST Pro2 and you can send a big FUCK YOU to T-mobile. I'm using a Softbank 707sc that has more features that you can shake a stick at. It plays flash .swf's, opens almost every format, video conferencing, etc. U.S. phones are way behind the status quo.

Experience over the past couple days:

When roaming on Cingular, my Moto V3r with t-MobileWeb started to not be able to connect to anything via operamini or gmail, but the built-in browser worked fine. This started Friday. Roaming on Unicell was fine. When I was on a T-Mobile tower it was fine. This morning on Cingular (that's the tower I get at work) it was fine for a while, then only the built-in browser would connect for a couple hours. Eventually late in the afternoon the 3rd party apps started connecting again... At this moment neither gmail nor operamini are working (roaming on Unicell), but the built-in browser does.

So, does this constitute a "material change" (ie. a free way out) in our service contracts?

Weird that they'd just blanket disable them instead of billing us per-byte for traffic that wasn't via their approved application.

This article is *correct* for "normal" phones -- not pda's etc.

I bought an unlocked RAZR for my T-Mobile plan a couple of months ago and have been happily using Opera, GMail and Google Maps on a daily basis until a couple of days ago.

These apps stopped working recently. I thought T-Mobile had changed their network config or something, but after reading this page, I tried their fugly T-MobileWeb browser, which to my dismay works just fine as it always did!

T-Mobile is deliberately locking out paying customers from using non-T-Mobile-branded applications. They went out of their way to make their product worth *less* to their customers.

What would happen if your home ISP told you you could only use their crippled, branded, sleazy-marketing "browser" to access their "branded internet"??? You'd tell them to take a hike and good luck staying in business, right?

My wife and I spend well over $100/mo on our cell plans. We'll be take our money elsewhere on principle alone.

T-Mobile is doing this not to restrict access (although it does have that affect) but because they can't support third-party apps being installed on the devices. They have neither the manpower or the support to provide help for all of the tons of third-party apps out there.

Nowhere in the terms of service does it say anything about the particular types of data usage or locked/unlocked abilities of the devices, at least not that I've found. Although it does say: "Your Phone may not be compatible with the network and services provided by another wireless service provider and, therefore, may not work with that provider's wireless service."

On top of this, the majority of T-Mobile's 25 million customers (or any other carrier's customers, for that matter) do not and will not care about things like this, as most people just want a phone that works and is easy to use. The type of people who comment on things like this here and elsewhere are not the norm, and companies do not cater to power users. They figure, if you want the functionality, you'll get a PDA from them or an unlocked device elsewhere.

"T-Mobile is doing this not to restrict access (although it does have that affect) but because they can't support third-party apps being installed on the devices. They have neither the manpower or the support to provide help for all of the tons of third-party apps out there."

"We don't support that configuration. Feel free to use the built in web browser."

Easy. Cheap. Doesn't piss people off like silently removing functionality does...

T-Mobile need not provide tech-support for my applications on my cell phone any more than my ISP need provide tech support for the applications on my desktop computer. I don't want their "tech support" monkeys having *anything* to do with my computer, ever, thank you.

Why do folks think it's okay for your cell phone provider to force you to run their trashy, branded, applications but if you ask the same people they think it's not okay for your ISP to do the same on your home computer? In fact the latter is completely outrageous, but the former is okay?

This is just historical -- unlike cell phones and cell networks, the computer predated ISPs.

If they hadn't, because so many people think like mr. peanut above, you'd be using a huge, crappy, bright red desktop computer shaped like a giant V for VERIZON or somesuch, and running a VERIZON Home Shopping Network Viewer, and paying $14.99/each for half-baked 2d games. That's where computing would be today.

C'mon now. Wireless services, mobile devices, and mobile software would be *so* much better if people didn't just lie down and take this horseshit from these monstrously retarded blow-dried cell phone marketing weenies.

First off, I presume you mean T-Mobile US? There is a whole world of T-Mobile out there, you know...

Say what you want about T-Mobile Germany, but I can install and run anything I want on my BB 8700g - thus far.

Could you please quote some sources instead of just providing hearsay evidence?

The claim of T-Mobile US is "stick together", not "get more", by the way.

its even more stupid in europe: in germany/austria T-Mobile offers Blackberry with the usual email-service, but the new blackberries cannot browse the internet !!! its true. Not with the intern Tmobile-browser, not with Opera nor with anything else. According to 2nd-level-support in austria this is due to "technical problems". ARGHH !!!

this is what happens in an operator controlled market. If you look into any retail markets you won't see any of this crap.

As a mobile manufacturer insider, I can tell that there is a WAR going on between operators who control the end users and manufacturers who just make a commodity product. And operators are winning so far. Operators fully control not only what they want on a phone but also what they don't. So users only get applications and features that generate money for operators. You don't get much GPS support unless there is an operator's mapping service to generate money from. You don't get blogging unless it's tuned for an operator's servers - anybody keeping a blog on T-Mobile servers? Fat chance. So you don't get blogging.

Up until recently users had a choice on the free market for J2ME apps, but that's starting to be controlled by forcing manufacturers into supporting custom security settings for each operator.

Solution? Simple - go to a retail store. Yes, the phones are more expensive, but you get what you pay for plus retail models allow more customization for users - no buttons locked into Vodafone Live, etc.

Can you confirm which country you're talking about here? I'm using an Eric K800 (not a smart phone, but a pretty fancy phone) in the UK with T-Mobile and no specific data package at all, and I've just installed google maps - it works fine.

This is true. I have a Nokia 6030, and have tried to use Google's Gmail application with it. Not only does the phone not give the application permission to access the network, but it blocks the settings menu where I could grant the application such permission.

I was slightly skeptical about this article since I have a T-Mobile locked RAZR with T-Mobile Web and Opera Mini, which seemed to work well enough. But come to think of it, I have been getting "Connection closed by remote host" messages on almost every page I try to view recently -- I thought it was a network problem, but now I see the light.

Luckily I'm no longer under contract. I suppose this means that T-Mobile has lost another customer. Too bad; I kind of liked them.

I have 2 unlocked and unbranded V3i (South Africa - generic) phones and had been using Opera Mini, Gmail, and Google Maps on my phones since last September.

T-Zone Settings were sent and selected from "T-Mobile Wireless Data Configurator" web site, to phone. No updates since September. T-Mobile Web on one and Unlimited T-Zones on other.

These 3 apps stopped working 02/27/2007 here in NYC, just after OperaMini 3.1 was installed (and passed the network setup, which now fails). Moto Browser still works fine.

So unlocked phones may now have the same restriction.

As a long time (VoiceStream) customer, I may switch to Cingular if T-Mobile does not change this policy.

To say the new policies are for security reasons is just bogus. Corporations have proprietary apps for various reasons such as Seven or Goodlink for push email. Granted most businesses in the US go Verizon or the new AT&T rather than T-Mo or Sprint. I've noticed that 7am-7pm my IMAP mail application is constantly losing its connection sitting on my desk in the same place. Just like your DSL or cable provider isn't ready for P2P apps like Bittorrent or rich media like YouTube (Google Comcast and their bandwidth limit on unlimited accounts) I doubt the cellular carriers are ready for always on push email, myspace mobile, and streaming audio.

I have the RAZR and Opera Mini ran fine until recently. Now, all of a sudden, it can't get data. Same with GMail's utility. T-Mobile's own WAP browser is a joke. It's archaic. It reminds me of something between a BBS browser and Netscape 1.0 circa 1994. T-Mobile has ALWAYS lagged years behind the industry - even when Jamie Lee Curtis was hawking it as VoiceStream. I guess it's time to look to a new carrier. Sometimes you're willing to deal with a company that is behind the curve because other aspects make up for it. those aspects are disappearing faster and faster. A company like Verizon can exercise more controls because they have a better network/coverage, better phone choice, more spectrum allowing for G3 applications, etc. T-Mobile jsut purchased some spectrum this summer. They do not offer the perks to be control freaks. I hope this "plan" of theirs is worth it because I think a lot of people, like myself, are going to be leaving the company.

Well, my unlocked V3i with a T-Mobile SIM is still running Google Maps and Gmail just fine in the DC area, though I haven't tried opera mini. That said, I just kicked my EVDO service over from Verizon to Sprint over terms of service stupidity--I guess I can move my voice service over if TMo gets too annoying. If nothing else, 3rd party apps run a lot nicer over an EVDO connection than a GPRS connection anyway...

Can this lockdown virus (it really _is_ a virus) affect unlocked retail phones, or just T-Mobile subsidized phones?

Opera stopped working for me yesterday. I liked T-mobile for the most part... up until now :(

Never seen so much ignorance in one place. It's sad people turn to places like this and think they are getting real information. Learn some things about the wireless industry both here and overseas, compare them and stop whining. If you don't want things to be locked down, go buy the unbranded handset yourself and pay full price.

I have a Sony Ericsson K790a that I did not buy through T-Mobile. T-Mobile does not offer this phone at all, but it's been working fine on the network up until recently.

As of yesterday night, Opera Mini and jmirc were not working, although Gmail still is for some reason. Go fig.

sigh.

I am sorry, but I have to agree with many of the other comments here - your information is severely faulty. I work for Tmo in IT and I can tell you without a doubt that 3rd party apps ARE allowed on (almost) all of our devices. (I have seen the settings and config screens that allow it with my own eyes. (The major exception here is the Sidekick because of its development model, but thats different.) You have to have a data plan that allows it, but otherwise, there are no (T-Mobile-based) restrictions on what apps you can put on your device. The security concerns that everyone seems to want to dismiss *are* real, but mostly only if you are using a corporate activated Blackberry device, and then the security issues and risk fall onto the company running the Blackberry Enterprise Server (the BB device that sits in your corporate network that serves mail from your corp mail server to your Blackberry users), not generally with T-Mo.

Beyond that, I think this sort of "news article" does a tremendous disservice to the industry as a whole and to T-Mo specifically because you get people all spun up in a tizzy and besmirch our brand name, all in the name of getting a few webhits to view your Circuit City ads. For shame. I think you should consider yourself lucky that T-Mo legal doesnt take you to court over this sort of mis-information using our brand name.

Just out of curiosity, what service are you paying for? Are you paying for t-Zones, or for unlimited internet service?

The reason I ask is that historically t-Zones' ToS said you could only use the T-zones software on your phone to access the Internet, and it was $5/month. But then there's the actual data plan, which is $20/month for GPRS/EDGE only, or $30/month for GPRS/EDGE + t-mobile hotspot. And with this latter service, you're not supposed to be experiencing restrictions.

So this leads me to wonder if t-mobile finally started enforcing the ToS on t-Zones, and that's why you're seeing a chance, or if in fact you have the unlimited data plan. Can you tell us which it is?

Anonymous T-Mobile employee - do me a favor and fire up a T-Mobile branded Samsung T509 or T519, or a Nokia 5300 or Nokia 6133. Then try to access the Internet through, say, Melodeo Mobilcast or Opera Mini. See what happens. T-Mobile corporate has told me that they are editing the firmware of an increasing number of feature phones to block Internet access from all unsigned applications.

Ted Lemon, I have a loaner SIM with literally every possible option activated. I've used the same SIM in dozens of phones. On a T-Mobile branded, locked Nokia 5300, you can't use Opera Mini. On an unlocked, unbranded Nokia 5300 with the same SIM, you can. It isn't the network. It's a firmware edit to the phones themselves.

That said, there's a separate network issue involving the T-Zones plan that you're alluding to that is real, and that I think some people are running into. But that's not what I'm complaining about - I'm complaining about handset side firmware crippling.

With the growing number of web-based mobile apps out there, like Tappity (www.tappity.com) and Netvibes2Go (m.netvibes.com), it's not going to matter that T-Mobile won't let you install these 3rd party apps. You'll be able to access them via any phone, even when you switch providers.

I'm equally bothered by the crippling - I have a t-809, which I thought I was going to be using as an MP3 player, but which turns out to be crippled so that it only works with a wired headset, not bluetooth.

But the original posting was not about that - it was about services being disabled. So that's why I'm wondering if the original article is from someone who doesn't actually have an unlimited data plan, but rather a t-zones plan. This is a rather important distinction to me, since I'm currently paying for the data plan.

you have to pay for full internet to use opera mini now tmobile just got more dum.im getting an iphone

Congrats to T-Mobile, Now I have good reason for leaving, Thought the customer serivce was bad, but seems like its that way// all the way to the top. Wonder if they taking notes from Sony. cough cough..

Okay, kids, here's the deal: they do this to save money on tech support.

T-Mobile customers (as with those of other carriers) fall into certain categories:

1. Just want a phone that works;
2. Want a flashy phone that does stuff, but don't want to DIY;
3. Want high-end features and are willing to DIY.

Groups 1 and 2 don't care about this issue -- group one is just happy their phone works, and that's the end of the story, and group two is happy they can access the Internet through T-Mobile's services.

It's group 3 -- and only group 3 -- that will be annoyed by this. Only group 3 installs Opera's mini browser, for example, because that's DIY; at the same time, group 3 is also the only one that is willing to go out and purchase a full-boat phone directly from the manufacturer in order to be able to install Opera et al.

So that only leaves group 2.5 -- that's the fringe group that doesn't understand the technology, and generally doesn't DIY, but might be tempted to install a third-party app because a friend told them about it. That group is trouble for tech support, because they don't understand what to do when they have problems, and so tech support staff would need to be trained to handle those problems.

Meanwhile, groups one and two are happy doing the limited subset of things that tech support has been trained for, and group three can be told either "we don't support third-party apps" when they can't be installed, or "we don't support non-T-Mobile phones" when they have trouble with the manufacturer-purchased phone they're using.

Simple, really. Still sucks, though.

Ted, I wrote the original article, and I have an unlimited data SIM. The problem I'm writing about is in the firmware of certain phone models. It does not have to do with network service plans - though there is a different problem that some people have been running into involving service plans.

I wouldn't call the T809's Bluetooth "crippled." A2DP (stereo audio) is an optional profile that's unusually difficult to code. A lot of handset manufacturers for quite a while left it out because they didn't have a good implementation yet. The T809, I think, falls in that category. Things are only crippled if existing functionality has been yanked out of them - the T809 never had stereo Bluetooth to begin with.

to the anon tmob employee...

To quote Sascha: "And I need to repeat - this isn't about smartphones. I'm not talking about the SDA, the Blackberry, or whatever. I'm talking about feature phones, which could be dandy computing platforms if the carriers weren't so hostile."

The article does *not* apply to smartphones or blackberries. People with unbranded, unlocked phones are losing connections to specific apps. Please read carefully. It's not an issue of branded vs unbranded phones, it's an issue of blocked service.

I've got a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go plan and bought the non-locked version of the Siemens that came in the retail box. Everything was great and the unlocked phone had features that T-Mobile hadn't paid for and wouldn't work on their branded phone, namely voice dialing and the ability to use a camera add-on (which I picked up on eBay for a dollar plus shipping.) A couple of months ago, however, T-Mobile pinged my phone. I know this because I simulataneiously lost the ability to connect to their limited T-Zones internet offerings at the same time as I lost all my contact information from the phone's address book. It left my stored ringtones and pictures intact, however. I had tried to "get more" out of my internet access at one point over a year ago but had resigned myself to the limitations T-Mobile imposed. However, I'm really upset that they took away my ability to use the unlocked phone for the limited internet access they provide. I switched back to the branded phone like a good boy should but I'll be considering making a move when my purchased minutes run out...

I can still download. I have have a $20 data plan and my phone motorola v635 unlocked is downloading everything fine. As long as you have a data plan it should work.

Same problem here. Just got a 6030 RM225, got the unlock code from Tmobile, unlocked fine. Using a cingular sim with unlimited data, installed opera mini -- they won't let me change the permissions on the app to allow opera to access data. Says "NOT ALLOWED!"

Very german of them. Assh8les.

The number four carrier? JD powers has said the past four years that T-mobile is ranked first overall. Check your facts man... http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/default.aspx

and reading over your problem I can tell you one thing... you probobly dont have your VPN access set up right...

Based upon conversations with T-mobile folks, third party vendors, etc., the problem T-mobile (US) users are seeing is pretty much exactly what Sascha has described. His analysis is spot on and, despite what T-mobile says, this is not a security issue per se, although it can be spun as such. Here is the missing piece that may explain the situation: T-mobile recently decided to dis-allow all 3rd party software vendors the right to bill their customers directly through their games, apps, etc.

The rollout of this new policy has been gradual but they have recently scaled up the practice. The result affects all customers, casual users as well as power users since many casual games are based upon subscription models. One unfortunate consequence is that applications that do use the network for data transfer but other than for billing purposes suffer unnecessarily. Whether this is a result of a lack of consideration by T-mobile or a scorched-earth policy will likely be determined by how successful the results are to T-mobile's bottom line, which is, of course tricky to determine in the short run.

This is purely a business decision and much technology work was undertaken to realize it. Its goal is to limit applications so that only T-mobile approved ones have the ability to make money through usage. Applications that do not access the networks are still allowed.

It can be perceived as a "cut off your nose to spite your face" move and, like text messaging was in the States several years ago - when carriers did not allow consumers to text to subscibers of competing carriers - it may be that a painful repercussion to T-mobile is needed to convince the business group of the downside of such a draconian move.

Recall the conclusion of the text messaging policy in the U.S. : text messaging soared overseas while staying stagnant in the U.S. It was only after the barriers were removed between carriers that growth potentials were realized. That T-mobile would actively hinder growth again is a short-sighted policy that hurts developers almost immediately and probably everybody, including T-mobile, in long-term revenues. Consumers are the big losers and if leaving T-mobile is possible, it may prove to be the most effective recourse. But doing so is a hassle for consumers and because T-mobile knows that, it can impose such policies.

As for level of data access, which was suggested in some posting as the problem, it is not. It is an entirely separate issue. However, T-mobile has also been tinkering with their network to accommodate all their devices in a way to allow them to maximize their margins.

For example, even though newer smartphones can use the T-zone plans ($5.99/mo), T-mobile is shutting off access to those networks in order to charge as much as $29.99/mo for those devices. It may seem like a nasty and greedy thing to do - and it is - but it is also capitalism in the purest sense. Once you're locked into a subscription, you're stuck: if you leave because the data plans are obscene, you'll have to pay a hefty penalty, which is even more obscene.

Anti-trust legislation has yet to catch up with such a form of practice in part because it is still unclear whether the market demand is a driving force (since there is clearly demand) or if consumers are denied the ability to switch services as a result of such lock-in's so that demand becomes an irrelevant factor (and therefore a form of monopolistic practice).

One thing is for certain: the US carriers, by nature of the unregulated free economy, will push as far as they can for short term gains over longer term strategic plays - which will likely hurt the carriers and the consumers. The legality of their tactics is questionable but the legal system is slow and, to a great extent, too corporate-friendly to do anything.

(Sidenote - may be a good candidate to post to put on the whatsReallyAnnoying.com site.)

I think the problem is that these apps allowed you to gain access without having to buy a data plan... At least that is my experience. Indeed, I have even been able to get gmail, gmaps and opera to work on prepaid phones.

That they block these programs for everyone, even those who purchase a dataplan, is pathetic.

hello I am from Nepal and needs help. I do have motorola T-Mobile send by my freind from USA. I Get unlocked it here and use it but i can't upload any other applications and ringtones. So i want to Chang T-Mobile to other so if any solution please mail me ina my add melawon@vianet.com.np
Thank you in advance

you are completely wrong! T-mobile does not lock out third party applications. i just brought a moto razr v3t from them and i hav opera mini installed and it works just fine. so before you go make wild claims about t-mobile check your facts first.

I am a Java App developer and found this article to be very concerning. We offer a GPS navigation system ("Veripath Navigator", http://veripath.us) that is a network-aware application and requires access to our URL for client/server communcations. From our experience, the carriers limit access to apps like ours for reasons that have little to do with security. They do it because all applications that make it in their catalog have to share 50-60% revenue from the sales with the carrier or the catalog provider that has a distribution contract with the carrier. Most applications for mobile handsets are written in Java, for example, and there is a built-in security model in the Java virtual machine installed on handsets that clearly warns users when an app tries to access an outside URL. The user has all the power to stop the app from accessing temporarily or ban it forever.This model is even stronger than a typical PC user has - the PC user often has no idea that some background application is connecting to an outside web site, while each Java-enabled phone MUST warn the user of such connection if the Java app is UN-signed.

In a free society, a consumer should decide for herself whether she trusts the app maker or not, not the carrier (the big brother). Limiting access for security reasons by carriers is redundant and insulting to the users intelligence and is conducted only for the purpose of taking a cut from the "certified" software.

I found these instructions for flashing your phone to allow 3rd party apps on a nokia 6133 from t-mobile.

http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1942

While it's good to know that it's possible to hack the phone, this procedure sounds tedious to say the least, you have to live without your phone for a week, and then you might worry that your myfaves services won't work, or t-mobile will void your warranty.

So, 2 questions:

1. Is there an easier way to crack the phone's block on 3rd party apps - like a program that allows you to unblock hidden settings?

2. What's the most effective way to communicate your dissatisfaction to t-mobile about their blocking of services on your phone? Obviously, a lot of customers are unhappy about their decision to do this.

I feel like you in essence are buying a computer when you buy a new phone these days, and your phone plan is like your internet provider, and who are they to restrict how you use your computer? Especially when there are legitimate businesses out there like Google or Opera who are creating useful, free software to run on these computers?

Is there a petition out there? A place to send complaints? More effective solutions than ranting on discussion boards and googling for hacks and cracks?

rod: You're an idiot. One phone does not equal all of them, and if you got an old enough RAZR, you won't run into this problem.

I've personally seen this issue with a Samsung T509, T809, and a Nokia 6133 from Nokia. I took all three back to them, and continue to use my old non-Tmo Nokia 6682. I'm not going to give them a few hundred dollars for an artificially crippled technology. I have the $30/mo internet plan, I give them over a hundred a month. I don't understand why they want to screw people.

As for the T-mo employee, you're full of it. I can call any service rep at Tmo, and they will confirm that they are shutting off non-tmo sourced applications to their network.

You're all crazy. I've got an old RAZR V3, unbranded with a T-Mobile SIM and I've got a branded T-Mobile RAZR just for testing situations like this. I've got Opera Mini, GMM, GMail and all sorts of goodies on both of my phones and they all work fine. Maybe everyone just needs to really do their homework and figure out what they need to do to make this stuff work. It's an always new and always changing industry and you must keep up or just be another end user.

OK this realy Bites I have TMO MDA works awesome im paying for the internet 29.99 plan which in my opinion is too FN overpriced. works fine with gmail settings of course its a smart phone. I just go the 5300 from TMO installed Gmail app did not work. reason TMO blocks it out kinda like a firewall. I sim unlocked it so i can use it when i travel abroad. works fine with other networks. but still no gmail I need firmware update. but just got the phone 2 weeks ago i dont want a brick phone. so im still researching for the correct way to upload Nokia's unbranded firmware. I already have an un branded razor. b/c its not TMO branded the phone lets me access gmail. too bd the actual phone is a POS not a motorla fan. SO to those reading this PDA phone allow gmail. opera, google maps access. its the new version phones coming out form tmobile that are firewalled if u want to call it and do not let U access use those applications. My suggestion reflash ur TMO phone with Manfucturer firware not carriers. Helps you clean out the memory of the phone and able to delete that damn annoying TMO ringtone as well.

Sim unlocked
OEM flash
read before doing backup ur firmware. i have practiced and ended up with brick phones. ofcourse doing so will void TMO warranty.

Cables u can get from ebay ormost major cities have places where they can do this for you for about $40US like here in Houston. But if your like me im a DIY guy im in college i font have money LOL

Any questions?

Another point i would like to make to that anon-tmo guy. how come i have to pay to have poau 29.99 for inter net i hav eo pay for a voice plan 49.99, unlimited text messages 14.99, mobile to mobile 6.99 insurandce 5.99. but if i were to get the sidekick i would only pay 19.99 wich includes internet, unlimeted messages sms & mms, WTF i hate the sidekick too fkn bulky doesnt really attract woman when it looks like u have a fannypack on the side of ur belt. I just think its right. reason i know this my freinds have sidkicks but my MDA still kicks sidekicks ass. ecen though its wondows and not Linux based. LOL

so why do i have to pay extra and sidekick plan has all for 19.99?

This information in the article is correct. I purchased a T-Mobile 6133 today and, while I can install new programs, I cannot access the network with those programs unless they are java-signed by T-Mobile. I VERIFIED THIS THROUGH CALLS TO NOKIA. T-Mobile did their best to say it was not their fault. They suggested that I buy one of their Blackberry if I needed more features. I wanted to be able to do IRC and use Jabber chat, but I guess that's not an option any more. Do they even SELL java-signed applications that I can use?

I am myself a T-Mobile employee. After reading everything I decided to see if the accusations where correct, so I downloaded Opera Mini to my myfaves razr. Not only did it download fine, but to my surprise it had no problems connecting to myspace. I only have T-Zones on this particular phone and it works with no problem.

Now, maybe I'm just lucky and my phones aren't blocked or something (I did buy my RAZR out of regular inventory from a corporate store). Reading some of your comments I see that the problems seem to be with the same phones. I haven't seen anyway question whether or not if Opera's browser is compatible with all phones. I know its a java app, but its still a question worthy of asking.

Now, to my other T-Mobile epmployees on here...we do a huge disservice to our customers when you attack them on forums such as this one when they have legitimate concerns. Lets keep a cool head, ok?

There was a question as to why our regualr internet is $29.99 and the sidekick and blackberry is 19.99. Simple, the regular internet includes T-Mobile Hotspot access and is intended for data cards and PDA devices. Since Sidekick and Blackberry devices dont have wi-fi its pointless to charge for services you cant use.

Now, there is one thing I cant figure out. Are some of you really willing to drop your service for another because you can't browse internet on your cell phone with Opera? No one beats T-Mobiles's plans on price and we will be rolling out 3G in the coming months? I'm not only a employee but a customer myself and that just doesn't make much sense. By the time you pay much more for you service and data you would have been better off just getting a smartphone with T-Mobile and having all of your browsing options. Just my opinion.

I'd like to confirm that Nokia 5300 from T-Mobile also doesn't work with third-party Java applications that need Internet access. I'm rather baffled why would T-Mobile cut this access - all I wanted is to use $5.99 T-MobileWeb add-on for some very light-weight browsing and email access itself, and built-in browser just doesn't cut it. I can't justify paying $30 for the full Internet Access, so as a result T-Mobile is not able to sell me any non-voice products. Oh well...

Bigsmouth - thanks for a balanced and level-headed answer. If you can, do check newer T-Mobile phones with regards to Opera Mini or any other Java (J2ME) apps that need Internet access.

I don't understand why this thread is so hostile. Even if you disagree with Sascha, why berate him? I actually do know that what he is saying is fact because of my own history with T-Mobile. I began my service with them when they were Voicestream, and I had a Handspring PDA with a cell phone attachment. Back then, WAP access was free, and my "Blazer" browser worked fine, even through their transition to T-Mobile... until roughly 2003. At that point, I could no longer access the web and learned that it was because T-Mobile was trying to force me into using T-Zones to access what had previously been free. I acquiesced, switched to a regular cell phone and enjoyed my T-Zones service, even using Opera Mini on a Samsung (don't remember which) until I "upgraded" to a Nokia 6101 in February 06. That was when I first learned of their new restrictions on third-party software. I got it verified by T-Mobile after several angry phone calls. Their claim was that nowhere on their site or in their advertisements do they claim that you'll be able to run third-party applications, and they're right. They don't. Out of laziness, I've remained with T-Mobile since then, but I no longer recommend T-Mobile to my friends and family as I once did. As a side note to anonymous T-Mobile employee, in my experience only about half of the 2nd Tier Tech Support employees have been aware of the situation. The rest have to tried to look it up in the knowledge base and still often have been unable to find or understand the issue.

I gave my old HP IPaq TMO Pda phone to buddy of mine. he has the PrePaid plan with Tmo. A couple of months ago he mentioned to me that he couldn't surf anymore. the firmware was updated to lvolvo's hacked firmware to remove all the tmo branding. Of course like I said, it is the prepaid plan. Shouldn't have been getting it in the first place. I myself have an MDA running Orwells Windows Mobile 6. True Windows Mobile 6, not just a skinning app. I did have a T809, didn't like it. I did have an SDA. Gave it to the wife. I wanted the full keyboard, instead of the T9 interface. If searching the web is important to you, you a device that feels more like what your used to. For me, it was an MDA. It has completely replaced my laptop. I still use my desktop for games and web designing of course.
My 2 Cents... Steve

Hey BRAD... The link of yours doesn't work anymore... can you please give me the instruction on how to flash the nokia 6133? thanks a lot ^^

I'm sorry to hear about some of your negative experiences. But it has to be seen from the company's point of view. Unfortunately there are some 3rd party apps out there that can cause an uninformed customer to accrue charges on their bill that were not intended. I know because I deal with them a lot. T-Mobile has been working hard to find a way so that some of these companies can't find ways to prey off of customers.

Also some of you will notice that Opera releases software without working with the carriers to ensure security. I'm not saying that Opera would intentionally develop software to hurt the consumer, but then again, Opera needs the carriers more than the carriers need them, so it would make sense to make sure you have the carrier's blessing. There is a reason why Yahoo Go software works with no problem on several phones and carriers and Opera doesn't. T-Mobile has direct links to Handango for consumers to use third party apps, so why would T-Mobile be against it?

Maybe I am missing something here, but like I said, there is a reason why most of you are disgruntled about not being able to use Opera software, but yet no complaints about any other web broswers (like Yahoo Go).

Anyone know how to hard reset a nokia 6133? its from TMobile. The code was entered several times, so the unlock code wont work anymore. Can anyone help me on this?
Thank you ^^

I've been happily letting this thread go forward, but I just wanted to face down Bigsmooth's assertions with some of my own.

First of all, I've never been happy with T-Mobile's justification for eliminating the $19.99 data plan. Offering Hotspot access for $10 more is great. I'm glad they're doing it. But a lot of people don't use Hotspot access and have no interest in it. So the mandatory Hotspot supplement becomes a $10 price rise on what people were previously getting for $19.99. Why not offer EDGE for $19.99, and an optional $10 Hotspot add on? Why not give consumers more choice?

I'm also tired of T-Mobile's party line on "predatory," unsigned third party applications. I don't see home Internet providers barring you from using various Internet programs on your PC (as long as you don't go berserk on the bandwidth.) Why should wireless providers be any different? If you install an unsigned app on your phone, it's buyer beware - just like installing any third party application on your PC. It's that simple. But carriers' obsession with control leads them to outright ban any applications they can't control.

(And don't think I'm singling T-Mobile out here. Verizon, as we all know, is even more restrictive. Part of the outcry against T-Mobile, though, is that we've come to expect restrictions from Verizon. T-Mobile used to be about freedom and "getting more.")

Software developers should not have to pay a bridge troll (in the guise of "testing and security fees") to get to consumers. Yahoo paid the troll. Opera didn't.

That's what it comes down to in the end: control. I, and many other people, want users to be able to control the devices they own, use them in the way the manufacturers intend, and access the Internet freely with them. Carriers want to micromanage what people can and can't do with the handheld devices they buy.

While it would be nice if every phone came unlocked, the fact is that every major wireless company sells their phones locked, and unable to load third party apps. This is pretty standard and I don't know why you're complaining that T-Mobile is doing it also. There's two easy options: Unlock the phone(or have somone else do it) so you can load apps, or just buy an already unlocked phone, pop in your SIM and load apps. Thats what everyone else does. I bought a Moto Slvr(unsupported) off eBay and installed Opera mini on it. Since it's a regular phone I can sign up for the $5.99 a month UNLIMITED internet. I cant POSSIBLY complain about that.

While I most certainly respect Sascha's opinions I most wholeheartedly disagree. He refers T-Mobile as "predatory" in regards to the company's stance on third party applications. In fact, others have said it is about money, which doesn't make any sense. Whether you use Opera or the phone browser it will still costs at least $5.99 to access the net from your phone. Based on what I have seen T-Mobile may block these items because too many apps out there cause more problems for the company and some of its consumers than they do help. To say that you would just shrug your shoulders due to "buyer beware" if your phone develops problems is unrealistic and somewhat irresponsible for someone who authors what seems to be a respected website. I could probably guess that if any of the forum readers and posters here where to suffer any problems with their phone due to a third party app they would still expect for T-Mobile to find a solution. The problem is that the manufacturer does not honor the warranty on the phone if the problem occurs from using a non-approved app. Notice that I say the manufacturer. T-Mobile will gladly replace the phone, but the company will lose money because T-Mobile would receive money back on a phone that is out of warranty. Increased costs means increased prices for the consumer, and T-Mobile wishes to remain competitive in that aspect.

Finally, one thing is forgotten in this forum. Every major carrier takes a immediate lost to sign a customer up. The "free" phone that some of you enjoy was not free for the carrier. In fact it was fairly expensive ( I know how much indirect dealers and carriers pay for the phone, so don't argue with me here). It takes a carrier almost a year to make a profit on a customer. Before anyone argues again its simple math. The average rate plan per unit is hovering around 39.99 a month. This is refered to as ARPU. If the carrier gives you a phone that cost them $300 for $50, then there is an instant loss on profit.
Divide that loss ($250) by the ARPU ($39.99) and you get 6.25 months it will take just to make the money on the phone back. Then you add that the company does have to pay ME to sell it, pay my manager, customer service, field techs, stock owners, and even the janitor it takes a pretty long time before the company itself turns a profit. So why do I tell you guys this? Well, that is why carriers increase prices on features like internet. Wireless technology is one of those few things that get more expensive over time because of the increased cost in research & development. It's just really funny how some complain that carriers rip-off customers where on paper it could be said that it is the other way around.

hi this is to bigsmooth
is it true that opera mini works fine on the t-mobile dash
i am thinking of switching to the dash because i just want a phone that runs internet, is not bulky and is slim, plays music, games, and more
i now have t509 and want a phone mainly with all i have in one cuz now i have phone in a pocket mp3 in other i just want it all in one device

and is t-mobile dash the smallest slimmest phone on market now (at t-mobile)

yes, opera works great on the Dash. I was impressed. And yes, the Dash is the thinnest PDA phone T-Mobile has to offer. I will admit that with the improvements to Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 6 that I found myself using Opera less. The media player is good, but PocketPlayer sounds better.

ok thanks

but can i use opera mini on it with t-zones plan or do i have to get the 30 dollar internet. and one more question i have noticed t-zones been changing and also my calls will say call failed 30 seconds into conversation and its not just me my friends phones do this too and they have t-mobile
thanks again

james

hi i had one more question
i was going to get samsung t519 or w/e it is the one above my t509 and i was getting it because the mp3 player on it but i checked what come with on the t-mobile site and saw it came with just headset no headphones or any cord attachment for headphones
i was wondering Do headphones come with it or not, if not then im fine with it ill just get dash and i just dont want blue tooth headphones

As far as T-Zones working on Windows device with Opera Mini...*wink* (Thats all I'll say). The Samsung t519 comes with stereo headphones if I remember correctly (didn't sell too many of those). And as far as the "call failed" issue: there can be a variety of reasons for this. One common problem is that a phone will neglect to register on the nearest tower. The phone is still reaching for another tower. Just soft reset the phone (remove and replace the battery) and this should do the trick. If not there could be problem with the phone itself. Just go to the nearest T-Mobile corporate store and request a warranty exchange.

ok thanks

I have a t mobile nokia 6030 and it is asking 4 a restriction code for me to be able to use it .it has rejected the 1234 code .Could you help me with one.

I am not asking for a free lunch. T-Mobile needs to work with Opera and Google and put official versions of Google Maps, Google Mail and Opera Mini. Maybe they could charge $1.50 a month to use each application. Google and Opera could share some revenue with T-Mobile. I would not even mind paying $11.99 so I could use these programs on my RAZR V3T.

I do not own a laptop nor a smart phone so the Total Internet product for $30 is lucid. Id rather cancel my contract than to blow $360.

After speaking with a tech rep using an identical handset (black v3t) and the $4.99 t-zones package I've had on my phone number since the beginning (2002), HE was able to use Opera with no restrictions. I on the other hand have had no luck restoring my v3t's ability to utilize t-zones via Google Maps or Opera like I am accustomed to. Is this breach of contract by changing policy mid-stream without due announcement and/or mutual aggreement?

Can't cancel Todd, the contract is for 12 or 24 months of just having service, not for add on features that you can't access a 3rd party with. The contract says that they can make changes without notification. That's not something that they normally do, they're actually really good about working with you on more impacting issues, like the option to cancel without an early term fee because of the text overage increase. But 3rd party vendors have nothing to do with tmobile or the contract.

i am confused. i just got a new Dash. The browser was horrible - could not sign in to webmail sites. "not supported" was what the TMo tech said. then i downloaded opera mini, and a miracle happened... i read, deleted, and sent emails. I have the 29.99 total internet package. Are you guys saying that TMobile can shut off my Opera Mini browser??? If so, how is that fair, when I can't even log into the webmail sites with their sorry browser?

Bigsmooth,

In response to your profit calculation, you're making the assumption that it really costs cellphone companies the "retail" price of the phones. I feel this is over-exaggerated. First off, the company obviously buys in bulk, which will shave off a significant % of each individual phone costs. On the other hand, the higher prices could be artificial in the sense of keeping one phone type (e.g. Blackberry Pearl when it first came out) carrier-specific, which is a burden on the manufacturer (so I assume the carrier pays). Consider how much a Treo 650 for Sprint was a year ago: $550 in some places. And the price is knocked down to $300. Personally, I doubt they cost more than $200 individually (much less to the manufacturer considering how cheap parts and labor are abroad).

Finally, consider where the real costs of service lie: infrastructure and contracts. Operating the system probably only costs a dollar or two per consumer (with each domestic call probably less than a penny). So it's pretty certain that the carrier will recoup their costs quickly (don't forget the "activation" fee which is probably just a few processor signals and dBase writes costing about $.20). Like any profitable business, the customer is the loser because they're paying overhead. Do customers care? Millions obviously don't. But they're still the ones that are being "rippped off."

I believe that Sascha is right. I have been researching this same issue for hours now and many people are saying the same thing. Their third party applications worked just fine until recently, myself included and now it doesn't work. I ran opera mini for months with T-zones; the $5.99 version and not the full service web. It stopped working recently. and no matter what I did I could not get it to work. Many people know that Tmo has disabled something that will not allow third party applications to work. And Ron why all the anger? Seems like you have issues with anger management. Why get all pissed over what Sascha said when in fact he is right. I think you are the one making assumptions and you are the one that needs to do more research. Sascha and many others know this to be true.

now that i've read every single comment, there is a lot of conflicting info here. first of all sascha, you were saying that the newer feature phones are blocking access to 3rd party applications and that it is in the phone itself. then how do you explain why some people's phones were compatible with opera and now are not? it must be in the network and not the phone itself. my razr worked fine with opera for months on the t zones plan, and now it doesn't. many others on many other forums are having the same problem. it worked just fine and recently stopped, as if Tmo has reprogrammed from the inside to prevent the connection. it doesn't seem to be a phone thing but a network thing, affecting most phones after a cetain date. the reason i say most phones is because several people on this forum say they have no problem accessing opera on a razr or other feature phone. can you explain that? why a few razrs with tzones can access opera but many others used to but now cannot? Ted Lemon might have a point, maybe Tmo is now only allowing opera on full service mobile web which costs more than $5.99 T Zones. That might be the case right there. They are restricting it on the less expensive t mobile web service. Another thing, some folks mentioned that Tmo is foolish because if they allow opera it will allow people to pay for data service. When I had opera on my razr with $5.99 t zones, data was free. there was never a charge for this on my bill and tmo's billing dept. told me that tmo doesn't charge for data. anyway sascha, why do you think some phones used to get opera and now can't? that shows that it is not just the new phones coming from the manufacturer. many of ours used to work and now don't. please explain

mermaid1111, the problem is that there are TWO issues here that are being confused.

ISSUE 1 - Some T-Mobile phones have a firmware lockout on the phone preventing third party apps from accessing the Internet. This is the problem I saw on the Nokia 5300, Nokia 6133, Samsung T519 and Samsung T809. This has NOTHING to do with which service plan you choose; it is a block that T-Mobile builds into the handset. It applies only to T MOBILE BRANDED models of a growing list of NEW phones.

ISSUE 2 - INDEPENDENTLY and SEPARATELY, T-Mobile has been doing port blocking on the $5.99 plan in some metro areas to prevent other phones which CAN run unsigned third party Internet apps from accessing the Internet with those third party apps. This blocking seems to be inconsistent, affecting some metro areas and not others, which is why people are having trouble nailing it down. This is done at the NETWORK level not the handset level.

NON ISSUE - None of this affects smartphones such as the Dash, Blackberry or Sidekick, using the $19.99 or $29.99 Internet plans.

Does that make it any clearer? Hope I'm helping.

sascha,
totally clear. this explains it well. i had read on several other forums that if you change to port number from 8080 to 9201, this will unblock the port and allow opera mini to run. many people have had success with this but i could not find anywhere on my phone to change port numbers. i think you have to download a certain "menu" on a computer and then transfer it to your phone via bluetooth or infra red, and then you can change the port on the menu. this is beyond my technological knowlege so i just gave up. i can live without opera mini, although i was able to get myspace on it, and loved it! anyway for those that know how to change the port settings on your phone, those numbers have worked for many. thank you sascha for all your help. you are very knowledgable in this field and havr cleared up the mystery for me. your last reply covered all the scenarios. thank you! mermaid1111

ok I know everyseems to have ur problems but how am I supposr to use the wireless stereo function on my dash when nothing supports it&I mean nothing ok .... mayb one the new 200$ bluetooth headset but I have a relatively expensive motorala headset sumone help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! e-mail me please b'cuz I jus stumble on this site..... awh if u allwant sumthing really cool goto opera site &download opera mobile yes&I said mobile not mini but make sure u clear everythingto ur sdcard and download it to device b'cuz ...wellu willsee send me ur thank @ ebonysouldier@yahoo.com

Hi, I have a SoftBank 707SC model Mobile. It was sent to me from Japan. I 'm having problem in unlocking it. Can you please help me by mailing where can i unlock this phone in Nepal?

Indeed.... welcome to the land of free!! ....err scratch that.

I just loaded google maps on my T-Mobile Samsung T519, and application needs an access to the network naturally. Normally one goes to properties and allows the network access to each of the applications, except with these T-Mobile crippled phones, one can not change the settings except with some idiotic pre-installed crap.

Actually the latest smartphone/PDA has this problem too.
I have T-Mobile Wing with unlimited data plan ($29.99), but I cannot use gmail mobile. It shows the program cannot be verified by the security certificate. I checked the certificates, the are corrected. However, the headset only use the T-Mobile certificate when a JAVA application try to access the internet!

Whatever is happening is recent, because opera worked for awhile (at least for me)and then this problem started.It seems unfair, only because opera mini doesn't expand your access to the internet, only enhances it in a way that makes surfing on the internet via mobile phone tolerable. My access to the internet has not decreased by this move, but with the clunky, almost unusable web browser on my phone, it has made it almost pointless to use it for that purpose.

i now got a razr v3r and just hacked it to get opera to work so i think everyone should just get a moto and hack it to get it to work llike i did lol i got so much stuff on my phone know with cheap plan i wish tho that t-mobile could approve it cuz its annoying loading every web page asking to approve or not

James,
What is the crack, btw? I have a Nokia 6280, with Tmo $5.99 and I'm facing the same problem as others; I couldn't get opera mini to work. I bought this phone from a retailer and not from t-mobile. The port thingy didn't work either. I kinda played with all my settings with no success. Someone knowledgeable on this, please give some insight.

James, what did you do to get the opera to work? fill us in!!! and Gene, yes it is recent. i had opera working for awhile and then all of a sudden it stopped. sasha explained it all. but just so you know, opera expanded my access to the internet. i have tmo's tzones and with that i had very limited access to the internet...email, mapquest, phone directory and a few other things. when i was using opera i could surf the web, go to myspace and have full access to all the funtions, check my bank balance, all the things you can do with a computer. i had full access to the internet and i wasn't paying any extra fees for this. maybe thats why they blocked it..so they could charge for folks that wanted full access. if you already had full access than opera wouldn't help you there. just maybe a better broswer to surf with on your phone, but i was getting full internet access whereas before i had very little. i had full access without a blackberry and without an full service plan. i guess that is why they blocked it. others had to buy a special phone and pay for full internet service in order to get internet access on their cell while opera enabled getting it without a "smartphone" and without a $19.99 or $29.99 internet plan.

I had a tmobile branded nokia 5300 phone. I got 1000 minutes and 5.99 data plan totaling $45 a month. I got it about two months ago, I unbranded the phone using NSS. and then got Opera, google maps, and gmail all working. So I decided to stick with the plan, about 10 days after the 14 day trial and cancelation period it all stopped working. T-mobile is now blocking at the network level, so not even unbranded phones work. I live in the DC metro area.

I've been with T-mobile for four years and I disagree. I have been able to add third party applications including windows live one, mp3 players, dvd converter software players, opera mini, g-maps and many more. I first did it with T-zones and a nokia s60 phone. Currently I have the total internet package and am on my second SDA. The first SDA handled these app. and was locked, the second one not locked and all apps. work just fine. There are some things to bash T-mobile about but this aint one so you need to do your homework better before you bad mouth.

Just to clarify the comment that was made by Derrick Coleman. I was discussing the T-mobile web for 5.99 I am certianly not paying for the total internet package which is for smartphones and yes everything will work fine on them but for people with non-smartphones and the standard T-zones dataplan it no longer works. I mean I had it working and then it all of a sudden just stoped.

I start to regert signing up with T-MObile. :-I . I have a Nokia 5300 and a PDA with bluetooth on Windows MObile 6. Do you guys think that it will work if I use my PDA (with IE6 Mobile) to access the web through access Nokia 5300 using the info in http://www.gruups.com/tzones/ ?

Derrick - You have us all misunderstood. What we are trying here is to see why TMO $5.99 wouldn't work for all 3rd party apps while it was working before a couple of months back. Since, you seem to have "Total internet package", there should absolutely be no issues for you. Things are very different and they don't seem the way it looks. Does it? :-)

I just got the TMo Dash with the full data plan $29.99. I got this b/c I want Internet and I want to push email and sync up with my Exchange 2003 Server at work.

Are we now saying that with the Blackberry $19.99 add-on package, we can get the same service--Internet and Exchange PushEmail?

How about the $5.99 plan. Will this plan work the Internet and email (even with some hack or Opera mini, etc)?

Thanks!

My colleague just purchased the Nokia 5300 and asked me to load Google Mobile. The download went through, but he is unable to give the 3rd party app authorization to access the Internet.

This is very annoying as he has the unlimited data plan, but is unable to utilize it to capacity.

This is reason enough to demand one's money back to use another service.

you guys seriously need to learn how to hack a phone lol
I have a V3t and use Java App Opera as my browser. It's sweet.
I only use the 5.99 plan to access anything lol

all you had to have is the free t-zones you stupid moron.no data access plan was needed. t-mobile recently blocked all 3rd party software plain and simple.

all you had to have is the free t-zones you stupid moron.no data access plan was needed. t-mobile recently blocked all 3rd party software plain and simple.

all you had to have is the free t-zones you stupid moron.no data access plan was needed. t-mobile recently blocked all 3rd party software plain and simple.

all you had to have is the free t-zones you stupid moron.no data access plan was needed. t-mobile recently blocked all 3rd party software plain and simple.

Who are you calling moron?

Ok, Here is my conclusion. T-mobile is officially LAME to me. It's dead. I have k800 and the only reason i bought it is so I could ENJOY everything that this thing is capable of. I do (did) absolutely everything with this thing; checked email, accessed internet (with opera of course), listened to DI.FM for god's sake (32 kb/s), radio, used Gmaps, AIM, camera, mp3 player (4gb card) and Most importantly a phone. Guess what? About a month ago, I started to have problems as soon as i tried accessing HTTPS connections. As a consumer, i WOULD like to know whats going on, so I contact support via Email. I tell them what's going on (just about gmail app, that it restarts my phone when I allow access to the internet), gave them all my info. I do have 5.99 unlimited tzones (where the difference from 20.00 one, based on what i know, is only absence of push email and 1mb download limit). Apparently they decide to use everything against me and not reply. The next day all of my applications that i ever installed (untrusted) are not accessible.. May I ask someone who works in TmoUSA about WTF do you guys allow yourselves to do? Who gave you a FN permission to install a certificate on my phone, especially the one that i CANNOT delete. Everytime i go to look at the trusted certificates my phone restarts, just like when i allow any access to the inet to any application. Are you (TMOB USA) my supervisors? Do you want to refund a full price for my phone and all of the monthly interntet payments to me? Not so much. They lost a customer that used to consider them the best even for their lack of 3g. So, I want to ask all of you who read this, what are my options? I'm not dealing with this BS.

my gmail app works, opera used to, but quit. why does one work?

metro atlanta area

Hey folks!

I think I found something useful :-)

Try this:

http://blogs.tech-recipes.com/shamanstears/2006/11/01/making-your-t-mobile-phone-run-opera-mini/

Thanks Manoj,

If you have a sonyericsson (or other unlocked cell) you could also reinstall the firmware with PhoneXS or some other prog. Took me 10 mins. Wipes out everything from phone, makes it new again. As if you just bought it. LoL. Thats why im backing everything up to MS in case Tmo decides to pull something like that again. Isn't sonyericsson great? Is there anything you cant do with it? I guess it lacks a bottle opener...

anyone try puting an mp3 from their computer on their phone and cant use it as a ringtone?

I just recently got a new Rizr z3 and have signed up for the 5.99 plan. It will work with third party appI load but always asks me to approve the use data network. The stock brouser does not ask these redundant questions.

So what is the key to hacking the motorola so it does not ask you to approve using the data network for each page that is loaded with Opera or with google maps?

Thanks,
Jeff

It is annoying/

I am able to do it but I also have the Motorola phone tools, but before I got that installed, I loaded up a few songs via usb, I did not try to make one of the songs a ringtone before I used the MPT. I have the Rizr Z3, it should just work.

This is so funny I have access to almost anything but when i download any third party program it says program access denied. Please email with help

Opera mini isn't even that great for the money - seriously I went back to using IE for the most part.

other apps like audio bay's podcast app, now that is done right.

i have a dash from the get go and have no issues.. just get the dash if you want to play with apps.. not sure what the problem is

umm i dont have the tmobile 5.99 plan or any internet on my nokia 5300 but im still able to run opera mini cuz i unbranded it..im getting charged for using opera mini?

I just upgraded to the Nokia 6133 from a Motorola V188. On the V188, I could access these applications without issue. On the 6133 however, I cannot.

Even T-Mobile's reps aren't aware of this policy. They gave me an unlock code to unlock my phone, I did, and still nothing.

I'm really at my wits end. I'm tempted to just send the thing into iunlock and have them restore the phone to Nokia's factory configuration. I'll be without my precious for 4 days or so, but it'll be well worth it; This is REDICULOUS.

tmobile sucks all the balls ever, at least in the US, but it is better than those c*cksuckers at AT&T.....US cell phone carriers suck in general, and we're a fucking third world country compared to europe and japan...someone needs to burn down all the telecoms and kick their asses good in the USA

Wow tmosucks... your post added so much to the discussion. So glad that I stopped by today to get updates on this topic. I can hardly wait for your next compelling post.

p.s. thanks so much for using * to denote the missing o in c*cksuckers, yet not depriving us of the full effect of dropping the f-bomb

T-Mobile is trying to MAKE all of us utilize only the services they offer. I just recently received a Nokia 5300 and found that none of the apps that I enjoyed with my DASH can be downloaded into this phone.
I am have been a customer of T Mobile for almost 10 years, now that they are trying to control my usage of this phone I will drop them. The other alternative to stick them is to get an AirCard and hook up Vonage to your laptop...hmm F*&k Em hows that for mobile office...

I also recently bought a nokia 5300 from T-Mobile and was pretty annoyed about the 3rd party app policy. I'm no phone guru. Does anyone know if getting the phone unlocked will allow it to run 3rd party apps or just allow me to swap sims.

I also recently bought a nokia 5300 from T-Mobile and was pretty annoyed about the 3rd party app policy. I'm no phone guru. Does anyone know if getting the phone unlocked will allow it to run 3rd party apps or just allow me to swap sims.

I also recently bought a nokia 5300 from T-Mobile and was pretty annoyed about the 3rd party app policy. I'm no phone guru. Does anyone know if getting the phone unlocked will allow it to run 3rd party apps or just allow me to swap sims.

To the smart phone snobs opera mini used to run perfectly fine on a motorola razor and now the internet is locked out under T-mobile.

i think t-mobile limits their phone not for tech support reasons and not for anything else except money gain they give you 100 to 600 off a phone but you have to use their software and pay their fees to make up the difference on the phones and for payment for providing these services if you want to get a phone with everything enabled buy it manufacturer direct and realize the costs....

I shelled out $400 on a new T-mobile BB Curve 8320, and opera does not work.

I get a message, "Unable to connect to the network".

I have a $150.00 plan, including 2000 minutes, unlimted texting, and unlimited Blackberyy Internet and email.

So WTF

i dont really like t-mobile, there cheap is the only good thing i like, i have nokia 5300 i debranded it its amazing now, opera mini works so amazingly but youtube wont work not even with reg browser i called tmobile for the settings for streaming they said my phone supports streaming and such but tmobile doesnt have that service yet, i mean come on theres phone with TV and you mean to tell me tmobile cant support simple streaming but i dont bitch cuz ive got REAL internet for 6 dollars a month no need to get a shitty smart phone my nokia 5300 already can do everything a smartphone can

This is annoying the crap out of me. Im trying to run google maps and its tellin me that its blocked.
Now Im thinkin bout switchin phones.

Didnt bother to read all the comments... But just so everyone knows:

Most Windows Mobile Devices and Blackberries(such as the pearl, dash, etc) do not have this issue. (Note the "most", directly from a tmobile rep)

Which means that ALL tmobile-branded non-smartphones have this functionality cripple.

When I asked tmobile why they "cripple phones like this" asking if it is just "an attempt to force people to spend more money", she simply responded "I do not have access to that information.

Pisses me off... Oh well, purchased the web plan to install all the games and apps I want then cancelling after a month.. Saves me money and they lose money in the long run.

Also: T-mobile is cheap in another way. Samsung phones have a certain firmware that allows you to enter certain codes for advanced features. Over the years, tmobile has disabled the ones that allow users to enable serial downloading of java games or installing from memory to encourage people to use t-zones to purchase applications(which actually has about 3 apps for my phone)..

Oh well. google's SMS gets me everything I need other than the maps, which I dont really need because I can get directions through google sms as well.

Thank you Sascha for operating this blog. Thank you for complaining about this, because it is a serious issue.

This specific issue is a small one, but overall, when I travel to 3rd world countries in the Caribbean and Latin America (not to mention Europe), I see them using much more advanced technology than we're allowed to use in the U.S. because it's blocked, or tied to a vendor, or FCC forbidden, or market-segmented.
Examples: Digital Radio, HDTV, Crossvendor/MMS; Cingular/ROKR; ATT/iPhone; Intel/RiMM; Intel vs. nVidia; Apple/*.*; Microsoft vs. EU; Everybody/GPS

Doesn't the burgeoning hobbyist industry in hacking and unlocking teach CSPs nothing, except that people really want to use these features and are willing to pay more dearly for them, than if they were sold legitimately. And when you consider the widerange of device firmware flashes that come out of Korea, you've got to admire the fact that some people push the envelope and really know how to benefit from technology.

I have been severely annoyed by T-Mobile's decision to limit 3rd party Java Apps access to the Internet. It is not a restriction of capability, it is a restriction of convenience. I can still check my gmail, but only by going through a lot more trouble than using the well designed and convenient gmail app that was written for my model phone.

Please don't suggest that I'm not paying enough, or have a good enough data plan, or I don't have everything turned on, or that I have not researched the problem enough, or, that my phone is just not capable.

Its capable OK, and I am capable, and I have access to excellent tMobile support. I can use my phone as a completely wireless bluetooth/GPRS modem bridge. It sits on my belt, I sit in the middle of nowhere; and as long as I have bars, I can pull out my laptop, and without any WiFi or wires, connect to the Internet and check my gmail that way.

My phones browser has both t-Zones and regular Internet, I can check my gmail that way as well (it's a real pain with the built in web browser).

I pay almost $200 a month, I have unlimited almost everything, and any country I touch down in, as soon as I turn on my phone I can start sending and receiving voicemails, text, and calls both from the US and the local country.

But, Java apps cannot access the Internet.

I don't believe security is what they are afraid of, nor do I believe that just opening a socket is going to brick any decently designed phone.

But, as confirmed to me by the excellent level of technical support I get as a longtime (same # since Powertel) customer, this is a t-Mobile policy implemented in some phones through firmware and vendor certificates.

In the case of gmail, it actually runs, but cant retrieve or send mail. It does pop up messages asking me to grant it data access. The menu options are there to allow access on a per app basis so I know the phone can do it. You can set them to Allow, Ask, Deny, it doesn't matter, 3rd party apps just don't get through.

611
ring... ring...
Good Evening Mr. abc, thank you for being a long time customer. How may I help you?
Is it possible for me to ...
(Every other issue) - Sure! I can do that for you.

Maybe that's why I stay. It does cost a lot though to have a decent level of features and service. And that ATT/iPhone is starting to look real gooood!

My family and I are planning on purchasing T-mobile's "unlimited hot spot calling" as a replacement to our land line. With this new plan, we have about a handful of phones to choose from. I narrowed the options down to the Blackberry Curve (pale gold one at $100) and the Samsung t409 (which is free). I'm interested in keeping organized on the go and syncing my schedule up with outlook. The deciding factor for me is if I can use third party applications such as google maps without purchasing a data plan. Assuming t-mobile really did cripple this device this way, I will NOT purchase it and neither will anyone else in my house. In any case, this seems like a very stupid move on their part because not only are they going to lose people sitting on the fence with this phone, but they might lose customers who intend to get data plans later on.

They do block third party apps. It seems to be because they are trying to exclude Voip,and all other 3rd party apps are coing with them as well.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/personal_tech/article3898780.ece

I think Ron works for tmobile.