<b>A hacker's guide to Telstra mobile phone service</b><br><br>Marriage s...

Terrence Miao - 2012-12-16 00:02:51+1100 - Updated: 2012-12-16 00:02:51+1100

A hacker's guide to Telstra mobile phone service

Marriage seems unexplainable complicated these days. After two years with my Samsung Galaxy Tab, the first ever generation tablet 7", both of us are tired. The tablet is getting older, slower and grumpy, refusing to be mature like, still staying in Android 2.2 and committing suicide (self-reboot) several times a day.

Now younger and sexier mail-ordered bride - Samsung Galaxy Note 2 arrived after one week long journey from Hong Kong on Friday. However, the new life just starts with a big bang.

All the preparation work for the wedding look good. Bridal clothing, shoes and accessories for the big formal occasion are making the day even more special. Connecting Note 2 to home WiFi, Android 4.1.1 guides you step by step, downloading all the latest applications you installed on Tablet 7 before to Note 2, saving your tons of time install them one by one. After two hours without any argument, about 1GB data, all original applications downloaded and installed. The new bride dresses up like old bride in the gown.

Then disharmony starts.

New bride refuses to wear the engagement ring which taken off from old bride's finger. The mini SIM card from Tablet 7 can't put on Note 2's micro SIM finger. Thank you, you bloody over regulated European Telecommunications Standards, and Apple made it even popular. No SIM, no internet, no wedding, and can't get to anywhere.

Quickly I jump on Google to find out any peace deal solving engagement ring's crisis. No surprise, a few married people on internet teach their experience how to solve the crisis - with a bit help of scissors, paper template, tape. You can D.I.Y., cutting min SIM into micro SIM. Unfortunately, no one of them offer any kind of warranty what if failed. Hmmm, too risky, most probably make the SIM not functional working after the cut if you don't give any practice. But fortunately, at the end of day, find on the Telstra forum, some more experienced married people talk about back to the jewellery store - Telstra shop, you could ask exchange service - replacing mini SIM with micro SIM. And it's totally FREE.

Exuberated with the possible peace deal on the crisis. I head to the nearest Telstra shop on Saturday morning. A Telstra sale representative almost hands me the new ring - a new micro SIM card, then suddenly he asks who is the new bride. I tell him it's Samsung Galaxy Note 2, he starts shaking his head - "Telstra can't move your plan from a tablet to mobile phone. You need buy a new mobile phone plan. Here is a plan for you type people taste - a minimal $60 per month plan, you get SAME 1GB data, but $600 phone call and unlimited messages".

I want to tell this sale person stop bullshitting me and please bugger off. Tablet and smartphone are the SAME. The size doesn't matter. Only Telstra makes people life difficulty matter. I don't want to change my current $29 plan. And I'm a human beings hater. I don't have friends. I don't need to make phone call or SMS to anyone at all.

Pissed off, grunted but refuse to give up, I head to another Telstra shop 20km down to the slum, reminding me if asked who's the new bride, just say iPad.

Half an hour later. I'm in the second Telstra shop. This time the Telstra sale person doesn't bother asking who's the new bride, but neither he does want to waste a micro SIM card on me. He reaches his hands under the table. I think he is going to take out scissors, paper template, tape and do the trick in front me. Instead, he takes out a stapler like thingy. It's a stainless steel micro SIM card cutter - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250944318935. Put my mini SIM card in, and punch it, I get a cut-off micro SIM 10 seconds later. Thanks God, human beings you invented are smart!

Back home, put micro SIM card into Note 2, boot it up. No error to recognise the micro SIM. Good. It finds the Telstra carrier, can make phone call, send and receive SMS message. Better. However, there is NO internet, there is no 3G flash icon on the notification bar. Bugger.

Sweated now, try to figure out what's wrong. I use the type and glue the micro SIM back to the mini SIM, put it into Tablet 7 and boot up. Internet on Tablet 7 still works. Writing down the mobile networks setting, most important parts, Access Point Names (APNs). Take the SIM card out put it into Note 2, setting up as same APN settings as Tablet 7 manually, reboot a few times, still doesn't work.

Holy shit. Telstra must have different settings for the different devices.

Disgustingly and desperately, I shoot the final shot before I surrender myself to Telstra.

The coming across Telstra Mobile Phone Set-up site - http://www.configure.telstra.com.au/telstra/index.jsp, a help yourself service allows you to set up your compatible Telstra mobile phone for BigPond Mobile Services, Picture and Video Messaging (MMS), e-mail on your phone.

Basically, you input your mobile number at first, Telstra will send a security code to your number by SMS. After verify the security code, you are ready to set up mobile phone manufacturer, your phone model from a thousand phone model under Samsung. Though Note 2 is not in the long list, it won't stop me this time bravely select Galaxy Note as the candidate.

Then select "MMS" and "Mobile Internet" in Telstra Settings options, two notifications sent to Note 2, with the APNs settings. Android Notification service recognises them, asking to click on Install button inside the notifications. APNs settings are automatically setup in Note 2.

Reboot Note 2 again. Everything works ...

Telstra Internet APN: Telstra.wap
Proxy: 010.001.001.181
Port: 80
MCC: 505
MNC: 01
Authentication type: PAP
APN type: default,supl
Bearer: Unspecified

Telstra MMS APN: Telstra.mms
MMSC: http://mmsc.telstra.com:8002
MMS Proxy: 010.001.001.181
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 505
MNC: 01
Authentication type: PAP
APN type: mms
Bearer: Unspecified

Samsung Galaxy Note 2: $588.00
Battery Cover Leather Flip Case: $15.50
Anti Glare matte screen protector: $1.95

Carry on with your life and refuse big monopoly's ransom for your freedom from sin, priceless ...

Mobile Phone Set-up - Telstra

Dean Budd - 2012-12-16 08:07:10+1100

Wow! Well done!

Terrence Miao - 2012-12-16 10:11:04+1100

Prefer Samsung Galaxy Note 2 over other smartphones due to hook on the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, connect it the monitor via MHL to HDMI cable, you turn Note 2 into a PC. A faster, high performance PC.

Maybe it's RISC quad core processor, Mali-400MP GPU plus hardware video accelerator, video performance looks better, smoothy, natural than play the same video on my Windows 7 laptop.

The performance of smartphones today can match PC rivals but only on a tiny power consumption. Easily to insert your smartphone into the pants' ass pocket and walk around. How embarrassing if you try to insert a laptop or netbook into the same back-end pocket.

Bryan Murphy - 2012-12-16 14:37:42+1100

You could have just gone Telstra PrePaid and get $220 worth of calls and up to 1.3 GB of data for $30 - then they would happily accept your Note 2 as a phone.

Kieran Simpson - 2012-12-16 17:19:19+1100

What are you doing with the old Galaxy Tab? My Tab 10.1 is still going strong. Excellent battery life, does everything I want and runs Android 3.x; upgrading is still giving the man what he wants ;)

Terrence Miao - 2012-12-16 23:22:45+1100

+Bryan Murphy Couldn't find the pre-paid deal you have. The latest pre-paid plan for Telstra mobile is from $30 you get 400MB data. Your plan and my plan I reckon were registered during Telstra prompted its mobile business on a heavy discount. Old good time no more.

+Kieran Simpson Galaxy Tab maybe already dead to Samsung, but I want to keep this old pal alive. Going to put CyanogenMod on it. Maybe CM9 (ICS). CM10 (Jelly Bean) is still not very stable. After two years the battery can't hold longer any more, and it's not replaceable. Otherwise it's still a good condition smartphone that could let me run a few experiential things. Will write a review after it's Cyanogenmoded.

Bryan Murphy - 2012-12-16 23:42:27+1100 - Updated: 2012-12-16 23:43:07+1100

The 400 MB is the same deal. The trick is that you get the 400 MB for free - ie your $30 becomes part of your balance and you can use it to buy data packs. A $20 dollar data pack will get you 700 MB and a $10 data pack will get you 200 MB for a total of 1.3 GB. I hardly ever use more than 400 MB since I tend to avoid large data use when I am in transit (at work or home I can make use of the fixed broadband) so I tend to accumulate credit (but occasionally I used it to buy a data pack). My plan was to switch from "Cap Encore" to Long Life once I accumulated a reasonable amount of credit but the credit balance only continues if you recharge before the expiry time and about 2 months ago when I had about $350 of credit I forgot to do the recharge at the right time and my balance went back to zero. Easy come, easy go I suppose but I still only paid $30 a month to get as much calls and data as I need on the best network so still think it is the best way to go.

Kieran Simpson - 2012-12-17 10:16:19+1100

When my Optus contract is up +Bryan Murphy I'll be pinging you to find out the best way to get onto Telstra ;)

Kieran Simpson - 2012-12-17 10:17:35+1100

Good to see you're going to keep the tab alive +Terrence Miao I suspect that when Samsung gives up on the Tab 10.1 I'll be resorting to Cyanogen too. Then again it's so stable at the moment that I don't know if I want to upgrade.

Terrence Miao - 2012-12-19 11:35:54+1100 - Updated: 2012-12-19 11:36:32+1100

On the fourth day, God created Sun, Moon and stars. On the fourth day, this phone has been rooted, which make user has unlimited power on the machine.

Check: http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/how-to-root-the-samsung-galaxy-note-2-50009855/