vB Easy Archive - Cingular Video no longer accessable with Media Max & Blackjack

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Cingular Video no longer accessable with Media Max & Blackjack
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Posted by: ckurt25

I tried to access Cingular Video today with the Media Max 1000 plan and it told me I didn't have the right plan. Actually got into the site and was picking which video I wanted to watch. The message reads, "To watch video clips, you must sign up for a data package that includes Cingular Video...." Media Max is supposed to include video. I called CS and they had no clue but gave me another 800 number to call, data techs I think. They put me on hold a while and said that Media Max will work temporarily for CV but once provisioning is done I won't be able to access it. I've had my i607 for a month and used CV when I first got it. Not that big of a deal but I think its complete bull sh*t that Cingular is making you get a PDA plan to access CV when it clearly states that Media Max includes CV. Has anyone else with a Media Max plan been able to access CV and watch a clip recently?

Posted by: Michael95GT

Still working fine for me. I just finished wating the NBC Mobile News Update.

Posted by: ckurt25

Michael, How long have you had your Blackjack? CS made it sound like it would work at first but it wouldn't after "some time."

Posted by: Bob34

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckurt25

I tried to access Cingular Video today with the Media Max 1000 plan and it told me I didn't have the right plan. Actually got into the site and was picking which video I wanted to watch. The message reads, "To watch video clips, you must sign up for a data package that includes Cingular Video...." Media Max is supposed to include video. I called CS and they had no clue but gave me another 800 number to call, data techs I think. They put me on hold a while and said that Media Max will work temporarily for CV but once provisioning is done I won't be able to access it. I've had my i607 for a month and used CV when I first got it. Not that big of a deal but I think its complete bull sh*t that Cingular is making you get a PDA plan to access CV when it clearly states that Media Max includes CV. Has anyone else with a Media Max plan been able to access CV and watch a clip recently?

I can use it just fine, I have Media Max 200, make sure your settings (esp proxy settings) are correct.

Here's the tutorial for the Blackjack Click Me

Posted by: Michael95GT

Quote:

Michael, How long have you had your Blackjack? CS made it sound like it would work at first but it wouldn't after "some time."

I got it the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Posted by: Thundalicious

I have the Media Max 200 also. Working fine.

Posted by: ckurt25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob34

I can use it just fine, I have Media Max 200, make sure your settings (esp proxy settings) are correct.

Here's the tutorial for the Blackjack Click Me

I'm set up perfect. The first CS rep and I ran through this. I can access anything else I've tried. Maybe the second rep was full of it but it sounded like they didn't want Blackjacks to be using Media Max to access CV.

Posted by: Bob34

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckurt25

That's BS if that's true, how the hell can they limit what we have access too.. Grr guess I'll know in a month.

Posted by: hidden2u

Cingular Video working fine for me on Media Max 200

Posted by: forest007

I just tried it and it's still working fine for me with Media Max 1000. They are full of it.

Posted by: jaydub

works fine for me, but I've spoiled myself on higher quality video using Orb.

Posted by: ckurt25

I use Orb too but I changed tuner cards and I think I screwed things up. Can't even play video or TV on my work laptop.

Update - Figured out my Orb problem. My firewall at home was blocking Orb. Logged into my home PC and gave it permission and its working again. Still have the stupid problem with Cingular Video though. Its not the big of a deal but I just hate that I can't get it to work or that Cingular is locking things down.

Posted by: spartanrob

No problem here with MediaMax 200

Posted by: ckurt25

Still can't watch CV this morning. I even did a hard reset of the phone and right after reset I'm getting the same message. I think I'm even more p*ssed off because it seems like this is only happening to me.

Posted by: Michael95GT

Go to the store, try your SIM in another 3G phone and see if CV works(or if you got any friends with 3G phones, swap sims and try it). If it works, it's a problem with your particular phone. If not, make them reprovision your account, still no go? Replace your SIM(Yes, it can effect your data connection).

Good luck. Keep us updated.

Posted by: jeslevine

I have an 8525, with the media max 200. Besides insuring that your proxy settings are set to MediaNet, I needed to go to the registry and make the following changes:

Cingular Video 8525
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\

you just have to change:
(Default) from "HTC-8500/1.2 Mozilla/4.0" to just "Mozilla/4.0"

It would not work until I did that. Keep in mind this is on an 8525. I used Total Commander to make my registry change

Posted by: istevano

media max 1000 in chicago and working fine

Posted by: jdec141

did you change your settings in ie from wap network to something else? That will cause all of your cingular websites not to work.

Posted by: jeslevine

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdec141

did you change your settings in ie from wap network to something else? That will cause all of your cingular websites not to work.

I am using the MediaNet settings

Posted by: jomo25

Still works for me on MediaMax 1000. I bought mine on 11/26.

Posted by: ckurt25

Stopped by a Cingular store this morning. A sales person had a Blackjack and I told her what was happening (left out the part that I was told I needed a PDA plan). She had a Blackjack and we swapped sims. I was getting the same message with her phone and she was able to access it on mine phone. They went into my account and removed and re-added the media max 1000 plan hoping that would work. A couple hours later, still no luck. She even said that she was using Media Max 1000. She said call the data techs and see if they could figure it out.

What I don't get now is that folks in the Cingular stores are using Media Max with the phone and having no problems. Maybe its my sim card. After I call the techs on Monday hopefully I'll have a better idea of what is happening.

Posted by: heretic13

If you've swapped sims with a known working sim and your sim in her phone didn't work, it's the sim or the account. But if you do call into tech and tell them what's up, they'll see the wrong plan and tell you that's the reason. It doesn't matter if it used to work on the "incorrect" plan, it's the fact that it is the "incorrect" plan on the phone that they see. You can always try getting the "correct" plan on the phone to see if it will start working. If it still won't, it's definately the sim or some other issue on the network side of your account.

Posted by: ic3nin3

well i just did the edit for the Cingular 8525 PDA phone to work on cingular video. it works but i also get the message saying that i require a data plan that includes Cingular Video. i have Media Max 200 and it includes unlimited Cingular Video. what gives man?

Posted by: fireslayer26

Quote:

Originally Posted by ic3nin3

well i just did the edit for the Cingular 8525 PDA phone to work on cingular video. it works but i also get the message saying that i require a data plan that includes Cingular Video. i have Media Max 200 and it includes unlimited Cingular Video. what gives man?

I'm having the same exact problem!

Posted by: jdec141

Quote:

Originally Posted by ic3nin3

make sure they remove the previous plan if you had one. Tech support switched me from the Smartphone Unlimited to the Media Max 1000 and CV would not work until the Smartphone was confirmed deleted. As soon as that was done CV started working without even a reboot.

Posted by: dizzyj

Same here. New acccount, media max 200. Just did the registry hack on my 8525 and I can get to the cingularvideo site now, but get the error saying I need a data plan. My phone is set to mediaNet with the proxy set to wireless.cingular.com

Posted by: jeslevine

It is working for me without any warning on my 8525. Might be something like jdec141 referred to. I would try to contact tech support

Posted by: smh

I have had extensive conversations about this with our Cingular data rep. Here is what I found out. It looks like Cingular is starting to tie feature sets available to devices via it's IMEI number. I had a 8125 on the PDA connect plan and upgraded it to the Blackjack. Cingular video failed to work and sent me to the page telling me to sign up for the appropriate package. After going back and forth with the tech and my rep they realized that my IMEI number was still for the 8125. As soon as the IMEI number got updated to the Blackjack, Cingular video started working using the pda connect plan.

Cingular, according to our data guy, will start to tie features available to the device via the IMEI number associated with the account(s)/line in the near future. It looks like the near future is sooner rather than later...

EDITED: By feature set I mean Cingular Video, ringtones, etc... data will still function even if put on the wrong plan. But that may change in the future as well.

Posted by: jeslevine

Quote:

Originally Posted by smh

I have had extensive conversations about this with our Cingular data rep. Here is what I found out. It looks like Cingular is starting to tie feature sets available to devices via it's IMEI number. I had a 8125 on the PDA connect plan and upgraded it to the Blackjack. Cingular video failed to work and sent me to the page telling me to sign up for the appropriate package. After going back and forth with the tech and my rep they realized that my IMEI number was still for the 8125. As soon as the IMEI number got updated to the Blackjack, Cingular video started working using the pda connect plan.

Cingular, according to our data guy, will start to tie features available to the device via the IMEI number associated with the account(s)/line in the near future. It looks like the near future is sooner rather than later...

It appears they are trying to push people onto the PDA connect 40 dollar plan if that is the case. I have an 8525, with no problem with media net 200. If they freeze me out of CV, it won't matter much to me because I have a slingbox. There is also Orb.

Posted by: ckurt25

My saga continues... Called the data tech people this morning. Went through the standard trouble shooting again - turn the phone off, remove the battery, remove the data plan, add it back, turn the phone back on.... They verified my IMEI & sim card numbers and then the rep asked what I was using the phone for. I said web browsing, email, blah blah blah. He said what kind of email (had to think fast cause I knew if I told them push via Good that they'd want to put me on the PDA plan) and I came up with POP email. He started to tell me that the Media Max really isn't for email and I said really... not according to Cingular's website. They tell you how to configure POP email for Media Max.

So they trouble shoot some more and look at the maps to see if I'm actually in the 3G area. I am and was about 10 miles inside the 3G border over the weekend and it didn't work then and I always have 4 bars. I'm pretty sure signal strength isn't the issue. After a while they tell me that apparently its a small issue where someone can be hitting the same tower and get CV as someone else that can't get it. They opened up a trouble ticket and said I should get a txt msg in a couple of days saying its been resolved. They gave me the ticket number so I'm gonna call if I don't hear anything by the end of the day Wednesday.

At one point during the conversation I told them for kicks and giggles to remove the Media Max plan and add the PDA plan because I wanted to see if that would actually do the trick. They passed on my offer. If I did do it I probably would stick with Media Max because I use about 500-600 txt msgs a month and the plans available for PDA and txt msgs would run me twice as much as the Media Max 1000 plan.

Posted by: keltraine

So I might have an idea about what's going on. First let me explicate about what I've found out:

There are tons of data plans for Cingular--when you get the brochure with the voice plans, on the back are all the Media Bundles: from Media Basic, Media Works, then Media Max 200, 1000 and 3000. I thought that's what I would be using with my BJ but it turns out that that's not the case.

The tech guy at my local store is really knowledgable about all their PDAs and the like and he told me no--the BJ is a Smartphone and has it's own type of data plan. So then he pulled out the Cingular Business brochure with the list of data plans and the first section is Smartphone, with Smartphone Max for $30/month with unlimited data and 1000 txt msgs (fyi there's Smartphone Connect for $10/month with 5MB and no txt msgs and one for $20/month with unlimited data and no txt msgs).

Then there are sections for PDA plans, and the Blackberry plans, and the Laptop Connect Card plan ($60 or $80 for that; not sure of the difference since both offer unlimited data...).

In any case, is it possible that your issue is that you should be on the Smartphone data plan at $30/month and that's what's going on with Cingular Video b/c it's checking the IMEI or something (like people were saying, they're starting to implement that now) and it sees that it's a BJ and not a "normal" phone and all the people you've been talking to so far are just clueless?

As to why it's not affecting other people on the Media Max plans, maybe you just happen to have an "early" IMEI in the list, and everyone else who is using a MediaMax plan will have to upgrade to Smartphone Max eventually too?

If this helps, post back and let us know! GL.

P.S. Interesting...one other thing caught my eye in your last post--you're doing Push via Good w/o the PDA plan on a BJ?! The same tech at my local store was telling me that I can use the Smartphone data plan for now but that Good wouldn't actually work unless I got the PDA data plan ($40/month) b/c since you need to set up Good through Cingular, they want you to get the PDA plan since you'll be sending lots of emails...

You had to set up Good through Cingular right? Is it actually working right now?! Curious to find out and go talk to my local tech friend...

Posted by: stevenw

Quote:

Originally Posted by smh

Your correct with this info. I went through the same thing. I had PDA Connect with the device before the Blackjack. When I purchased the Blackjack I kept PDA Connect. I called CS when my CV didn't work. I had to give them my new IMEI number to get it working.

Posted by: pavvento

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckurt25

Still can't watch CV this morning. I even did a hard reset of the phone and right after reset I'm getting the same message. I think I'm even more p*ssed off because it seems like this is only happening to me.

It's happening to me as well. I used to watch the video, I have the $29.99 media max bundle and it's telling me to get a plan with CV. I did the hard reset, still nothing...

Posted by: keltraine

Stevenw (and everyone else), you might want to check into that--based on the brochure I have PDA Connect @$45 has unlimited data but txt msgs are NOT included in that plan; you'd need PDA Max which is $55 and has 1000 txt msgs (thought both do give you a $5 discount if you have a voice plan).

As I mentioned above you should look into the Smartphone plans for the BJ. The Smartphone Max is only $30/month (no disc for a voice plan fyi) and has 1000 txt msgs and you can even get a plan for $20/month (again no voice disc) for unlimited data with no txt msgs... HTH.

Posted by: dizzyj

so, what happens when someone like me purchaced a phone from cingulars largest online retailer with the pda max200 plan. All perfectly legit and legal, gets told by cingular, "oh no, we sold you the wrong plan, you need to spend and extra $500 over the length of your contract in order to get the same service you originally paid for" ?!?

Posted by: ckurt25

Quote:

Originally Posted by keltraine

So I might have an idea about what's going on. First let me explicate about what I've found out:

There are tons of data plans for Cingular--when you get the brochure with the voice plans, on the back are all the Media Bundles: from Media Basic, Media Works, then Media Max 200, 1000 and 3000. I thought that's what I would be using with my BJ but it turns out that that's not the case.

The tech guy at my local store is really knowledgable about all their PDAs and the like and he told me no--the BJ is a Smartphone and has it's own type of data plan. So then he pulled out the Cingular Business brochure with the list of data plans and the first section is Smartphone, with Smartphone Max for $30/month with unlimited data and 1000 txt msgs (fyi there's Smartphone Connect for $10/month with 5MB and no txt msgs and one for $20/month with unlimited data and no txt msgs).

Then there are sections for PDA plans, and the Blackberry plans, and the Laptop Connect Card plan ($60 or $80 for that; not sure of the difference since both offer unlimited data...).

In any case, is it possible that your issue is that you should be on the Smartphone data plan at $30/month and that's what's going on with Cingular Video b/c it's checking the IMEI or something (like people were saying, they're starting to implement that now) and it sees that it's a BJ and not a "normal" phone and all the people you've been talking to so far are just clueless?

As to why it's not affecting other people on the Media Max plans, maybe you just happen to have an "early" IMEI in the list, and everyone else who is using a MediaMax plan will have to upgrade to Smartphone Max eventually too?

If this helps, post back and let us know! GL.

P.S. Interesting...one other thing caught my eye in your last post--you're doing Push via Good w/o the PDA plan on a BJ?! The same tech at my local store was telling me that I can use the Smartphone data plan for now but that Good wouldn't actually work unless I got the PDA data plan ($40/month) b/c since you need to set up Good through Cingular, they want you to get the PDA plan since you'll be sending lots of emails...

You had to set up Good through Cingular right? Is it actually working right now?! Curious to find out and go talk to my local tech friend...

Heck yeah its working.... Good thru Cingular, pardon my french but no freaking way.... I work at a bank in the IT department. No FREAKING way is my company going to give a third party, like Cingular, access to our email system. I worked in an area that dealt with compliance of third parties with GLBA (gramm leach bliley (privacy laws)) and SOX (sarbanes oxley (thanks enron - f U)) and no way would any instituation like a bank give any info about our internal systems out to an "un-interested" third party. That is 100% internal - just like Blackberry. Everything w/ Good is configured on our end. Its not that big to me if Cingualr tries to "cripple" my Blackjack. I'll just switch, or tell them I did, back to my Audiovox 5600 and give me access to the net.

Good is now owned by Motorola. You won't see that or Blackberry "set up" by Cingular in this or any other lifetime. Anyway, its just data... How is Cingular going to keep track of every customer and know if they are downloading video or music via Media Net or emails thru a third party....? On top of that, if someone has a SYNC and streams music or video all freaking day and someone else has a Blackjack and gets 40 emails a day, who is using more bandwidth? So why should the Blackjack owner pay $39 plus $19 for txt messages when the SYNC owner pays $29 for basically the same thing? If they cut me off I'll switch to a 3125. I like the qwerty keyboard and 3G but I'm not sure if its worth and additional $30 a month.

Keltraine or anyone else, can you show me where on Cingular's website they have a "smartphone max" plan? I see Smartphone connect, Media Max, PDA connect but nothing like you described? You're actually describe the Media Max 1000 that I have but calling it by a different name. Am I missing something (if I am, its not the first time)?

Posted by: ckurt25

After my alcohol added rant last night I did see under the business area that they do have different data plans - http://business.cingular.com/busine...dataconnect.jsp

The only thing I can think of, regarding the mention of Cingular actually setting up Good, is if its hosted or something. Like if you've got a small business and they don't have an IT department and their email is hosted and they want Cingular to set up Good for them. I think that might explain why under Smartphone that Good costs more than Microsoft Direct Push, because if its a hosted service it might be more difficult to manage so they're charging more.....? This was also there, "....Plans include end user and IT help desk customer support from Cingular for Windows Mobile 5 and device side ActiveSync issues......"

I still think its crazy that they charge more depending on the device when there isn't a clear cut definition of what device goes with what plan. The Blackjack runs the Smartphone OS but many at Cingular say its a PDA because of the qwerty keyboard. If they carried something like a Sidekick, would you need the PDA plan for that? Cingular is heavily marketing the Blackjack as a multimedia device and it makes sense that the Media Max plans go with it. Like I mentioned, someone with 3G media phone could end up using more bandwidth than someone else with a Blackjack when Cinguar told them they need the $40 PDA plan and that doesn't even include text messages. Until Cingular publishes what is what I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for Cingular Video to work on my phone with the Media Max plan.

Posted by: ckurt25

Possibly the final update. I received the txt msg from Cingular saying my issue has been resolved. It wasn't. Called customer service and to make an already long story as short as possible, they said you can get the PDA Max plan for $49 that includes unlimited data and Cingular Video access along with 1,000 text / picture messages. I told them I'd pass and keep the Media Max 1000 plan.

I was also told the Smartphone plans are no longer available and that they should be pushing all Smartphones & PDAs to the PDA plans.

Congrats to those of you with a Blackjack and maybe even 8525 on Media Max plans that still can get to Cingular Video. I'm guessing it won't be too long before they cut your access off too.

Posted by: stellagifford

I called Cingular after being tipped off by a friend that the BlackJacks aren't actually supposed to be on the Media Max bundles - the reps are just selling them to you to get your sale. Your account could be audited to the PDA plan of $39.99/mo, is what I've been told (by a Manager at a Cingular store). It's bull. If it happens to you don't give in. I'm not sure if they'll want backpay but something tells me they might - they are, afterall, complete cr@pheads. I've heard of CV not working for Media max on other threads. Just don't use it, that's my tip. It sucks anyway!

Posted by: Omega2008

Orbing YouTube and Google videos is great bad thing is that you have to have your computer up and running with a active connection but I solved the problem buy building a cheapo computer that runs nothing but Windows XP and Orb and has a 300GB hard drive..its my cheapo server and it works great now I don't have to leave my main computer up and running all the time lol.

Posted by: wpbear

Newest error: CV is only available on supported 3G phone. To learn more about 3G and CV visit.......

Can someone with a BJ and MediaMax (Near DC/MD/VA) test CV. If it works can you export you registry so i can see what the differences are. ALL 8525 are not allowed anymore.

Posted by: Ghettopops

you know i just tried to do Cingular video on my Blackjack(Havent tried since I switched from Mediamax200 to the Mediamax1000.) I can no longer connect to it.

Posted by: wpbear

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ghettopops

you know i just tried to do Cingular video on my Blackjack(Havent tried since I switched from Mediamax200 to the Mediamax1000.) I can no longer connect to it.

This will get interesting if they blocked all non phones by accident when they tried to block out the 8525. The BJ is advertised with CV.

Posted by: Kevad007

CV is working fine here in Orange County, California on my BJ which has the 39.99 PDA plan. My brother has the BJ with the 20 dollar media max, I'll try and see if he's getting it still.

Posted by: map1978

mine works fine with the mediamax 200 plan....has always worked since day 1

Posted by: solo118

In NY Cingular Video is working I have MM1000... Its nothing special but its working

Posted by: CoRupT

Cingular Video works with Media Max 200

Posted by: the_pixelator

I just changed to Media Max 1000 and mine too is working just fine. Just loaded CNN and watched the news.

Posted by: wpbear

I am glad to hear BJ users are not having any problems. If anyone can post the entire registry maybe it will help 8525 users but I think us 8525 users will have to use another workaround.

Posted by: AtAndTaTat

it will work for a little longer...then you will see it go away. its all about putting people on the right data plans.

Posted by: ffkevinking

dude stop it. media max is the right plan i don't care who you claim to work for. I've posted that i won't post about this anymore but here you go again. Just stop. My local cingular store said that they ARE permitted to sell the BJ with the media max plans. If you do actually work for cingular i suggest you ask the people who are telling you this to answer one simple question. "why are we advertising the BJ with the media max plan if you are telling me to audit accounts for it and then change them?" please post back the answer. I really do want to hear the answer that your supervisor will give you. Please don't forget to post the persons name so that the info maybe verified. I know that posting the name sounds like a bad idea but if they are serious about this then i'm sure they won't mind you doing it

Kev

Posted by: pdxrealtor

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffkevinking

dude stop it. media max is the right plan i don't care who you claim to work for. I've posted that i won't post about this anymore but here you go again. Just stop. My local cingular store said that they ARE permitted to sell the BJ with the media max plans. If you do actually work for cingular i suggest you ask the people who are telling you this to answer one simple question. "why are we advertising the BJ with the media max plan if you are telling me to audit accounts for it and then change them?" please post back the answer. I really do want to hear the answer that your supervisor will give you. Please don't forget to post the persons name so that the info maybe verified. I know that posting the name sounds like a bad idea but if they are serious about this then i'm sure they won't mind you doing it

Kev

Ditto, I call BS! I just got a black jack and have mm200. I just got off the phone with customer service and talked in great detail about my phone and my data plan. Until someone gets on here and says they've been audited, more than one person, I say your full of it!

Posted by: solo118

LOL the guy has 5 posts, All saying something about being audited, When you have hard cold evidence then you can put us in our places. As for now there are many ppl enjoying their blackjacks with Medianet plans. If something changes Im sure they would let everyone know through this forum

Posted by: kutyafalka

I had a V3xx for a few weeks and CV worked fine. Returned it and got an unbranded Nokia N73. For a week CV worked fine on the N73 also! Then suddenly the audit caught up with me. I put my vote on IMEI/feature set tracking/auditing. Once my non-listed phone showed up in their usage logs it's IMEI was added to the no-go list I'm sure. I read elsewhere that they're doing some heavy auditing these days because of bandwidth problems. Btw, the N73 is EDGE only in the US and CV worked just fine. Oh well, there is always Orb.

Let's just hope they're not going to classify the N75 as a smartphone...

Posted by: blessd24

Quote:

Originally Posted by solo118

LOL the guy has 5 posts, All saying something about being audited, When you have hard cold evidence then you can put us in our places. As for now there are many ppl enjoying their blackjacks with Medianet plans. If something changes Im sure they would let everyone know through this forum

Ok maybe I'm credible because I have more posts.

Cingular does want people to be on PDA plans for the blackjack. Why? I dunno, I don't agree with it either. This is the word from my manager, area manager, director, VPGM and data trainers.

In my store I put people on PDA plans with blackjacks for 2 reasons: for the rebates (according to our form) and because that's why my employers tell me to do.

Apparently they think that anything with a full keyboard is going to use more data, if that's what they want to do then they just need to start doing it. I long for the day they actually get their crap together and start enforcing their terms of service and maybe try to educate their employees to add the correct plans (agents and especially CS).

Posted by: pdxrealtor

It's not that hard to have a programmer put in a code to their computer system that will simply not allow x with z. Very simple thing to do. This would also spill over automatically to places like comp usa, best buy, radio shack, ect, ect,... when signing up a new customer, there would be certain phones that won't take certain codes. I hope they never figure it out. anything over 20 for data is ridiculous.

My guess, they want you to get hooked and 6 months later tag your ***....

Posted by: ffkevinking

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessd24

don't you mean three reasons. #3 commision.

Posted by: ffkevinking

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessd24

the operative word here is want not the same meaning as require.

Posted by: pdxrealtor

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffkevinking

don't you mean three reasons. #3 commision.

Posted by: awj223

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessd24

Apparently they think that anything with a full keyboard is going to use more data, if that's what they want to do then they just need to start doing it. I long for the day they actually get their crap together and start enforcing their terms of service and maybe try to educate their employees to add the correct plans (agents and especially CS).

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the solution to this is so simple: stop selling unlimited data plans at different price points for different devices. What really matters is that you pay in proportion to the load you put on the network. If PDAs and laptops use more data, those customers will naturally sign up for the "correct" plans. Sell the plans like this:

Unlimited standalone: $80/mo overage n/a (old LaptopConnect)
Unlimited: $60/mo overage n/a (old LaptopConnect)
2 GB: $40/mo overage $0.04 per MB=$40 per GB (new PDA connect)
500 MB + 200 SMS: $20/mo overage $0.06 per MB=$60 per GB (new Media Max 200)
500 MB + 1000 SMS: $30/mo overage $0.06 per MB=$60 per GB (new Media Max 1000)

As a side note, CV uses about 6 MB/10 min or 36 MB/hr. A 500MB plan would represent approximately 14 hours of nonstop CV use (my usage has never exceeded 70 MB per month including tethering usage, and even heavy CV users only report using 300-400MB so 500MB is effectively unlimited).

If you're such a heavy CV user that you can't stay under 500 MB, you should pay more. If you tether daily but keep usage to under 50 MB, you should be able to use Media Max. Network capacity is limited and you should pay for usage. It doesn't matter what you're transferring over the network, 1 MB of data uses the same amount of resources whether it's video, email, or web browsing...so I say just sell the plans by the amount of data used. Stop selling everything from the $20 up to the $80 price point as "unlimited" and trying to control usage through stupid policies.

Posted by: the_pixelator

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessd24

Not good reasons. You're just enabling an increasingly common corporate arrogance bent on inflated fees through false advertising - in this case amusingly incapable of enabling its own greed due to technical ineptitude.

If Media Max "isn't for" PDAs and Smartphones, then it shouldn't be advertised for them (see previously posted Cingular Blackjack ad) and it shouldn't work with them (see countless posts by Blackjack owners). A rebate that does work with Media Max (again, see previous posts) isn't an excuse for reps to con customers into buying a needlessly more expensive plan as I and so many others here were. How quickly is that rebate eaten up by the higher monthly fee of PDA Connect, anyway..?

FYI, your sig is wrong: The Blackjack is a Smartphone, not a PDA. No touchy-screen, and it runs Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition.

Posted by: BIGshorty79

Quote:

Originally Posted by ffkevinking

don't you mean three reasons. #3 commision.

I think this is a little unfair. I and most reps I know would much rather sell a mediamax plan that will stick vs a PDA Connect plan that will get charged back because CSR's allow people to switch to a plan that all our internal documents say is not allowed. Let's try to be fair.

Posted by: interstink

Its very simple and no reason to get all bent out of shape. When you know the truth why get upset when others do not, no matter how credible they think they are. From past experience we all know Cinguar sales people dont have a clue. Its not there falt entirely, just a ton of false information floating around.

PDA Connect is for Touch Screen Phones running PPC 2003, WM5 and WM6. Treos, HP, etc.

MediaMax is for Smartphones that lack the Touch Screen running WM Smartphone edition. Blackjack etc.

Basically Cingular feels smart-phones (BlackJack) do not have all the capabilities of a PDA and connection bandwidth usage will be much lower. I have to agree.

Posted by: blessd24

I don't disagree with any points you have here. This is what all those upper management people that I listed told me. We have been trained to do it this way from Cingular. It's frustrating that we are doing what we are told and then looking like crooks for doing the right thing.

I much prefer that they just do alot of what was mentioned. It sure would make my job easier. Although, most people aren't like hofo'ers. The don't go out on the internet trying to find out tricks and what not on phones. They just take the information they are given.

Posted by: RF9

Quote:

Originally Posted by interstink

PDA Connect is for Touch Screen Phones running PPC 2003, WM5 and WM6. Treos, HP, etc.

MediaMax is for Smartphones that lack the Touch Screen running WM Smartphone edition. Blackjack etc.

Basically Cingular feels smart-phones (BlackJack) do not have all the capabilities of a PDA and connection bandwidth usage will be much lower. I have to agree.

For the record I 100% agree with this statement (I've made similar ones myself.) But in a move to add to the insult, Cingular just updated their pocketpc page at http://www.cingular.com/pocketpc with the following text

Quote:

PDAs

The benefits of a PDA Device:

A PDA, or personal digital assistant, is differentiated from a Smartphone by its QWERTY keyboard and typically larger screen. Many PDAs also include a touchscreen for easier data entry. Whether you should select a PDA or Smartphone depends upon how you plan to use the device.

With a full QWERTY keyboard, creating and replying to email, text and instant messages on a PDA is a breeze. Viewing web pages, applications, and photos
can be much easier with a large screen.

This infuriates me. This is complete BS. Talk about unethical? This is unethical!
So Cingular is telling us that screen size and number of buttons on the phone is the difference of $20 per month for data? Where is the mention of touchscreen in this definition?

This is proof that data plan prices are based purely on something as arbitrary as target customer demographic and not expected quantity of use.

Now if they were using this qwerty argument for different priced unlimited text message plans I wouldn't disagree.

Posted by: the_pixelator

If a QWERTY keyboard is the big deciding factor, then logically it shouldn't matter if the phone is a Smartphone (WM5 Smartphone Edition) or a PDA phone (running regular WM5 or WM6).

The bottom line is, if Cingular/ATT decides to try to fool their customers into buying needlessly price-inflated data plans that offer little to no difference than the cheaper data plans, then people will simply go somewhere else for their PDA/Smartphones. In short, because most people don't read HowardForums (although I suspect a higher percentage do who buy these kinds of phones), people will get the plan the reps tell them and then later say 'hmm, this plan is more expensive than Sprint or T-Mobile - seeya!'.

Not too forward thinking.

Just MAKE ONE DATA PLAN FOR ALL DATA RELATED PHONES, make it COMPETITIVELY PRICED with the other carriers and LEAVE IT. You guys already screwed us with taking away cheap or free unlimited text messaging when you started seeing how many people use texting, after all.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go to work and pay over $3 per gallon for regular gas because I live in a part of California that the record-profit-posting oil companies have decided can afford to pay fifty cents more per gallon than the rest of the country. See the trend?

Posted by: slim724

A Cingular CSR told me that I needed the $39.99 for my BJ based solely on the fact that it had qwerty, so that would mean that my Samsusng D307 with qwerty would also need this plan even though it is a "regular phone" which is utterly ridiculous. I am using MM200 that I changed online, Cingular Video works, and I received my rebate with no problems

Posted by: csrich

thanks for posting the link for the tutorial. I haven't been able to access videos for a couple of weeks now. I had "automatically check setting" check.
Thanks again.

Posted by: DGAFcingular

will the customers still get their Mail in rebate even if they dont have the $39.99 pda package, wich indicates on the rebate that you must have in order to get your $100 back in the mail ?

Posted by: RF9

Quote:

Originally Posted by DGAFcingular

will the customers still get their Mail in rebate even if they dont have the $39.99 pda package, wich indicates on the rebate that you must have in order to get your $100 back in the mail ?

There are no garuntees but so far everyone who has tried go it. I've not heard one report of anyone getting turned down for a $20 data plan.

Posted by: mona13

Around Christmas I tried out a Blackjack and wanted to get the rebate without signing up for PDA connect. The reps kept telling me to get the rebate that I had to sign up for PDA connect.

Well, when you looked VERY closely at their rebate form, the asterik indicated only a data plan was required, not a $39.99 or a PDA data plan. Cingular changed this on their later rebate forms though. I even copied the MediaMax plan info off of the internet & took it up to the store with the rebate form. VERY frustrating process.

I wound up taking back the BlackJack and purchased an 8525 instead and still have a MediaMax plan.

I just tried to get to MediaNet and it says "page not found".

Mona

Posted by: pipmaster1971

Since I'm thinking of getting an 8525 I was reading this thread. So, the sort version is as follows:

People with a non-PDA phone can use CV and other services on a regular MediaMax (unlimited) plan. T

hose with a PDA phone such as the 8525 and Blackjack are required to get a PDA connect plan IF they want to watch CV. They can however still use Orb, and Slingbox if they have one (which is probably better)?

Is that about correct? I remember with my current SE W600i that they started to port block all video streams based on IMEI. I hope they aren't doing the same with the 8525/Blackjack.

In either case, perhaps it makes more sense just to buy a regular PDA (with BlueTooth) from Best Buy and tether via a BT enabled 3G phone.

Posted by: RF9

I don't think that's right. CV is avaiable on both PDA Conenct ($40) as well as Media Max. There may be other preventing access CV, but it doesn't appear to be related to the Data plan.
I have a Treo 750, it's interesting that the fix to make it work is to edit the registry to make the Treo 750 identify itself (to CV) as a Blackjack.

Posted by: ventivent

Hey does anyone have the original Blackjack key for this registry setting:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\

I changed my browser version so that I could get normal google search instead of mobile. The problem is, now when I go to Cingular video, it says "Cingular video is only supported on 3G phones." I think this could be remedied if I change this key back...hopefully.

Posted by: pipmaster1971

Yes, but I don't see the point of paying $20 to get CV on PDA connect when I can get it on MediaMax. If however MediaMax+8525 does not have CV my worry is that they do some other nasty port blocking that would prevent access to other streaming video.

Posted by: RF9

Quote:

Originally Posted by ventivent

Hey does anyone have the original Blackjack key for this registry setting:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\

I changed my browser version so that I could get normal google search instead of mobile. The problem is, now when I go to Cingular video, it says "Cingular video is only supported on 3G phones." I think this could be remedied if I change this key back...hopefully.

Yes, removing the Blackjack ID will prevent you from getting to CV with that exact message. Puting it back to read:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent]
(Default) = "SAMSUNG-SGH-I607/I607FG1 Mozilla/4.0"

Should allow you to access CV again.
Changing it to just "Mozilla/4.0" was the previous the fix to allow the Treo 750 to get on CV. But since Cingular made the change the new fix is to change the Treo's User agent to the BlackJack's.
See here:
http://www.gadgetech.info/treo/hacks/cingularvideo/
(See Step #3)

I don't have a link to the "User Agent None" .Cab file on that page, but you can download it here:
http://www.gadgetech.info/treo/hack...rAgent_None.cab
This will make the user agent just "Mozilla/4.0"
I also have:
User Agent "Treo 750"
http://www.gadgetech.info/treo/hack...ent_Treo750.cab
User Agent "Black Jack"
http://www.gadgetech.info/treo/hack...t_BlackJack.cab

You can download the "None" and "BlackJack" user agents. Then just run the .cab to switch your user agent setting back and forth as needed to access CV and "normal" non mobile web sites. That's basically what I do (with a Treo 750.)

Posted by: RF9

Quote:

Originally Posted by pipmaster1971

Yes, but I don't see the point of paying $20 to get CV on PDA connect when I can get it on MediaMax. If however MediaMax+8525 does not have CV my worry is that they do some other nasty port blocking that would prevent access to other streaming video.

PDA Connect and Media Max both use the same wap.cingular access point to connect to the internet. In other words, they work identically. Cingular doesn't block any ports on any of their access points.
The 8525, Blackjack, and all (non blackberry) phones and PDAs use wap.cingular as the default configuration for internet access.

PDA connect adds (in addition to wap.cingular) the isp.cigular access point which you do not need. It just gives you a real IP address instead of a private NAT address. This is to support VPN clients when tethering or using a laptop card. It's not intended for use with just a PDA unless you use a VPN client on your PDA that has trouble connecting over wap.cingular.
Lack of (some) VPN support is due to some VPNs not working through Cingular's NAT, not blocked ports

So you can pay for PDA connect, but you'll get the same connection as Media Max.

Posted by: wratran

I think the issue is IMEI like the previous respond said. I have the 8525 with the new 2.06 rom and MM200. But with cingular, I have my Razr on file. I have tried all the hack listed in XDA and Hofo, nothing work to get CV on the 8525.

Posted by: mikewchandler

Nawww....I use the blackjack settings hack (like mentioned above) and CV works fine. Now that it works, I really don't need it. I just wanted to figure it out. Go figure! I always do that. I'll mess with it a week to figure it out and then when I do, I never use it again.

Posted by: solo118

No hacks, My CV works fine with the MM1000 plan

Posted by: pc3xp3rt

I read over 300 posts regarding tethering, overages, and "unlimited" data plans. I then read the following document to better understand my rights:
http://www.cingular.com/learn/en_US...gal-notices.jsp

First of all, I am NOT talking about changing settings from WAP to ISP -- since this will charge your account per kilobyte (according to posts I read). What I AM talking about is using WAP on the $19.99/month Media Max 200 plan to tether your phone to your laptop via USB or BlueTooth.

Some people are worried Cingular might one day figure out who is tethering and send them a bill under the clause "Overage is billed by the kilobyte". I believe this statement only applies to people who paid for a limited data plan (e.g. 5MB or 20MB) and then went over that limit (regardless of what device they were using or connected it to).

As far as tethering goes, I do not see how they could charge "overage" on an "unlimited" data plan. This is probably a scare tactic used by the sales reps to get you to buy a $59.99 (or higher) data plan for laptop use. More likely, sales reps do not really know and are confusing the applicability of the two clauses. Also, the sales reps are instructed to sell certain plans for use with certain devices in accordance with the Terms of Use which we all agree to, but seldom (if ever) read.

That being said, instead of getting a huge bill for tethering on an "unlimited" data plan, it appears: "the Service may be discontinued after ... excessive usage". I wonder what they consider "excessive"? Some people have used over 100MB per month on the $19.99 unlimited data plan via tethering and have not had their service "discontinued".

One other thing I read was to make sure PPU (Pay Per Use) is disabled on your account. Apparently someone had a $500+ bill because even though they added an "unlimited" data plan, the customer service rep forgot to remove PPU from their account so they were billed per kilobyte. Of course, this would have happened regardless of tethering.

If my interpretations above are accurate, people who want to tether should:
1. buy the cheapest unlimited data plan, currently Media Max 200 ($19.99)
2. check that their phone is set to WAP (and NOT ISP)
3. have a customer service rep confirm their account has PPU turned OFF
4. tether and transfer a SMALL number of bytes
5. wait for their next bill
6. if no additional charges appear try more data via tethered connection
7. lather, rinse, repeat.

Posted by: fastwanabe

Ive noticed on my BJ that CV does not work with internet set to connect to "The Internet". It works if I set it to "WAP". If I leave it under "WAP" I get alot of white screens and some site wont even come up. Under "Internet" CV wont work but just about all the website do..... weird.

Posted by: RF9

pc3xp3rt, you hit the nail on the head. Pretty much everything you said is right on.
Just to clarify th PPU thing. As you know the media max plans only include access to and cover unlimited use of "wap" (aka wap.cingular access point.) With media max alone you can't even connect to the isp.cingular access point.
When people had PPU, they had data connect PPU on the account in addition which lets you use the isp.cingular access point at PPU rates. So when they went to tether they used isp.cingular instead of wap, thinking they were covered. Had they used wap they shouldn't have been charged.

I think it's a matter of pay for what you use. If you tether a little bit, use media max. If you tether daily but moderately, pay for pda. If you tether a whole lot, pay for laptop connect.

Posted by: Phillydude411

I just got the blackjack and added MM200 thru my account online. I went to google thru IE and downloaded google maps app and it works fine.

Then I went and downloaded the gmail java app, but that doesn't work. It asks me if I want to allow HTTPS communication about 3-4 times, and then says you need data service to use this, please contact your carrier... ??

Is this because mobile gmail has a problem or do I need the 39.99 plan? everything else seems to work fine. I can get to gmail thru IE.

Posted by: superspartan

I switched to a FamilTalk plan yesterday and have been unable to access Cingular Video on my BJ since (using MediaMax 200 plan).

So... are they officially blocking CV access on non-PDA plans or did a CSR screw up my provisions?

Posted by: jdec141

i'm on the family plan, media max 1000, cingular video working fine.