unlimited web bolt on and laptop

[Anonymous]

hi, i have the unlimited web bolt on for my 6220. i can use the internet on my laptop through bluetooth from my phone. can o2 differentiate between the two and charge me for the data used on my laptop? cheers

[Anonymous]

Well you raise a very interesting point on this one.
We have been having this discussion at work for the past couple of days.

The T's&C's State that you cannot take the Sim card out of the phone and put it into a modem but it doesn't say anything about using your phone as a modem as you are not taking the Sim card out of the phone.

After talking with O2 the line at the moment is you can't but as long as you connect through mobile web or wap in theory your bill show nothing different but apparently they can differenciate if you do.

The other thing being about this is reading more into the T's&C's is they dont mind what you do with your phone as long as you dont P2P or use it in a way that affects other O2 customers. If you use the phone for checking emails and a bit of light web surfing i dont see the problem.

As soon as we get some more information (whatever that may be) either Myself or darrengf will put it up

Thanks
Dave

[Anonymous]

I had an "interesting" if unproductive conversation with Customer Services this afternoon regarding tethering my newly purchased E90:
I was informed in no uncertain terms that it is not permitted with the standard £7.50 web bolt on (which I expected). However, she went on to say that it is not permitted under any circumstances and if I wanted to connect to my laptop I'd have to get a USB modem (which I explicitly don't want to do because I also want to connect to Linux machines, etc).
I asked about the Web Max bundle and she told me that gives you 3GB but you're not allowed to tether with that either :mansurprised:
Basically, I was told that there is nothing O2 offer that will allow you to tether a computer to a mobile phone for a bundle price and if you do it you will be charged the full per MB price based on each and every byte you download (no daily limits either)...
I don't know if the Customer Service Rep got it all wrong (I was sure the Web Max bundle let you tether), but I'm not taking any chances and will be cancelling my E90 before the 14 days are up. Shame really because it was a fantastic phone

[darrengf Level 28: Ingenious]

There are a lot of questions regarding this and something needs to be answered.

I know at present it is possible to connect to the laptop using a phone on o2 as a modem, but i cant say how or if you would be charged. (But it does work)

I have tried to get a straight answer on this one for some time now, Its doing my head in, but again i get very varied of answeres not just from o2 call centers but from the shops.

I have not just been into O2 shops Ive been into them all,(all networks that is) and the answeres i got were varied, but 2 of the shops didnt have a clue what i was talking about. Out of the 5 networks, 1 answered it correctly and o2 knew what i was talking about but again i was told no and its not possible (which i know it is)

At present im using my mobile over a network (not o2) on payg and although it isnt fast it works fine, This network has again told me that it isnt possible. Well infact, they didnt know what i was talking about and had to get some one else to help me out and still i got a blank look saying no but would i like to buy a modem.
:robotmad:
I'm anoyed at not just o2 but all the networks on this topic.

My first point is, I dont want a modem. I have a Top end phone with a hsdpa modem built in, Whats the point in having a phone that i cant use.

All the networks could utilise in the feature and i know at present only 1 network on a contract basis will allow you to use the phone as a modem at a extra cost of £5 on top of the normaly £7.50 you pay for wap usage.

The networks could rake money in on this fact, save the planet with less waist on modems lying around all the time and allow not payg and contract to use the sims how they like.

This Topic is very close to my heart and i hope all the networks take note that we all dont want modems

[Anonymous]

I use my phone with my laptop and spoke to O2 CS and the girl I spoke to said it was fine to use it providing I didnt go over the "fair use" allowance

[Anonymous]

the reason why you cannot use your phone as a modem on an o2 data plan is generally because when accessing a webpage on a mobile screen it is massively, massively condensed but when accessing same page on a laptop it will have much higher resolution and as such use a lot more data to display.

the above poster is correct about the web max plan though, that was released for customer who wish to use their handsets as modems but it has started to be phased out a little in place of mobile broadband (which is actually £10 per month cheaper)

hope this clears matters up a bit better

[Anonymous]

I use my phone with my laptop and spoke to O2 CS and the girl I spoke to said it was fine to use it providing I didnt go over the "fair use" allowance

You can use it with a laptop, it will work but generally networks don't encourage it. It can use up large amounts of data and anything over 'light use' can affect other people in that area using the same network. It will slow the network down. That's a big reason for the networks, they see it as unfair if affecting other people. Light use shouldn't be an issue

O2 can tell the difference in the way your using the phone, if you have no bolt on then O2 will talk a hard stance against the charges you run up. Very very high bills can occur by people using the data in this manner but don't have any sort of web browsing bolt ons. If you do have a bolt on then you can use this to cover you against large bills but if you use it often in any excessive way then O2 will contact you and freeze your data use for X amount of months.

[Anonymous]

I use my phone with my laptop and spoke to O2 CS and the girl I spoke to said it was fine to use it providing I didnt go over the "fair use" allowance

You can use it with a laptop, it will work but generally networks don't encourage it. It can use up large amounts of data and anything over 'light use' can affect other people in that area using the same network. It will slow the network down. That's a big reason for the networks, they see it as unfair if affecting other people. Light use shouldn't be an issue

O2 can tell the difference in the way your using the phone, if you have no bolt on then O2 will talk a hard stance against the charges you run up. Very very high bills can occur by people using the data in this manner but don't have any sort of web browsing bolt ons. If you do have a bolt on then you can use this to cover you against large bills but if you use it often in any excessive way then O2 will contact you and freeze your data use for X amount of months.

Luckily I do have the Web Max Bolt on. Sorry I didnt mention it.

[Anonymous]

To follow on a bit from my original posting, I have today spoken with the "Executive Relations Team" who confirmed what the Customer Service Rep told me: There is no way to use a phone as a modem without breaking O2's Ts and Cs. I even asked why I can't pay the £20.00 that mobile broadband costs and have it added to my phone plan, but was told that that isn't possible either.
There was little scope for doubt or misinterpretation: If you get a new phone from O2 you cannot use it as a modem under a bundle

[darrengf Level 28: Ingenious]

There are lots of confusion over this topic not just with o2 but with all of the networks.

I have been told so many different things regarding this topic from all networks that i just think that is shows that many people are asking for it, but the networks dont want to listen.

If I had a penny for every time i was tried to be sold a usb modem i would be a rich rich man.

I dont want a modem. I have one, all i want is the data packaged that surrounds the modem. But no you cant have that :robotmad:

I can tell you however, That I have been using my other network PAYG sim card today and so far used it for over 60mb of data no probs at all all for a cost of £1 oh yes £1

I connect using my spare phone and it works with out any problems.

Infact im on it now.

so far 5 hours with 60mb of browsing. (sweet) So Thats money i cant give to o2 but im willing too.