vB Easy Archive - Softbank USIMs for rent !!!

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Softbank USIMs for rent !!!
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Posted by: oneeleven

Has anybody tried this service?

Softbank Global Rental
http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/

Even an option for a 703 !

Wonder if SB would allow our unlocked Sharps to be configured for web access?

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Posted by: yangj08

Probably if you rent the USIM you can then do reprovisioning to get the Softbank web access settings. I don't think there's a place where their 3G access settings are published so if you have a phone without reprovisioning (or self-adjustment/whatever it's called on non-Sharp phones) it may be hard to get network settings.

Posted by: Junglizt1210

hmm would be useful for all visitors to Japan to rent one of these services... either the 703SHf or the USIM only option seem good...

Posted by: yakuzasentinel

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneeleven

Has anybody tried this service?

Wonder if SB would allow our unlocked Sharps to be configured for web access?

wonder if softbank would LIKE our unlocked sharps to be used there. haha

"SIM cards cannot be delivered via courier as compatibility with customer handsets must be confirmed at our counter prior to rental."

"where did you get this phone? it's a vodafone japan phone..."
"uhhh...ebay?"

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by yakuzasentinel

haha yakuza sentinel has a point here.

just bring a 3G phone that isn't one of Softbank or Vodafone ones.... like a crappy Nokia N70 or something basic like that

Posted by: ace587

i think you can also pretend you lost the sim and pay them 20 to replace it

Posted by: n75

Hi guys,
I was visiting Tokyo and just got back to the U.S.
I received the rental SIM at Narita airport and the
girl placed it into my 703shf.
She turned it on and checked the signals and said, "No problem."

It was nice to see my phone works over there. The quality of calls
was very good.
The rate for making calls is high, but receiving calls and talking to
the caller is free so having the phone was convenient.
Opera Mini that I installed was grayed out while I was in Japan, but
once I flew back to the U.S. and put T-mobile SIM back, everything c
ame back automatically.

Posted by: ace587

good to hear

Posted by: yangj08

Does data work or was it voice only?

Posted by: n75

Quote:

Originally Posted by yangj08

Does data work or was it voice only?

I rented the SIM only and it was for calls and SMS.

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/faq/sim.php

Posted by: ace587

shudve lied that u lost it and paid the replacement fee

Posted by: n75

Quote:

Originally Posted by ace587

shudve lied that u lost it and paid the replacement fee

Is there any use of the SIM after paying 3,150 yen for losing the SIM and
coming back to the U.S.?
Are you techy enough to hack the disabled SIM and sell it?

Posted by: NiMaDiFoB

also wanted to chime in, it worked for my unlocked 903 as well

Posted by: ace587

Quote:

Originally Posted by n75

Is there any use of the SIM after paying 3,150 yen for losing the SIM and
coming back to the U.S.?
Are you techy enough to hack the disabled SIM and sell it?

i got a docomo sim for $5 thank you

Posted by: yangj08

I got one for free (looking through the secondhand market where I live for something new -maybe selling my V801SA since it's not that exciting anymore- I found a green SIM on the ground- it was a FOMA card).

Posted by: ace587

Quote:

Originally Posted by yangj08

I got one for free (looking through the secondhand market where I live for something new -maybe selling my V801SA since it's not that exciting anymore- I found a green SIM on the ground- it was a FOMA card).

got more pics yang?, what does it include, my sis might be interested

Posted by: yangj08

The V801SA? Just the phone- that's the way I got it. (I have a charger that came from my old Sharp 902 but I need that since I also have a N901iS that I use as an alarm clock/music player) I'll post pictures if I can figure out how.

Posted by: ace587

Quote:

Originally Posted by yangj08

The V801SA? Just the phone- that's the way I got it. (I have a charger that came from my old Sharp 902 but I need that since I also have a N901iS that I use as an alarm clock/music player) I'll post pictures if I can figure out how.

upload them on imageshack or photobucket, unless China blocks them

Posted by: yangj08

Yeah- both of those are randomly blocked (some days one of them works, some days both don't, today both don't work and I've never caught a single day where both of them work- it's always one or the other being blocked.)

Posted by: NiMaDiFoB

Hey guys, sorry to bring up an old thread, but wanted to do a little bit of following up for those who want this info in the future.

Last time I was in Japan for a short time, so didn't really get to play with my 903sh with rental USIM for much at all. However, this time, I'll be using it for a week or so until I get another phone and phone contract. Anyways, to add to the existing thread, with a rental USIM, I am able to access web in addition to just making calls and SMS in 3G mode. Coming from US, I'd have to say 3g is bloody fast!

Posted by: n75

So you can accss web with the rental USIM? That's great.
Last time when I was in Japan in April, Softbank said web access is not available for the rental USIM so I didn't try to find further information.
Does Softbank charge you by bite or minute?

In the U.S., I only pay $4.99 per month for web (I'm keeping old rate with T-mobile) so
when I go to Japan, I feel their rates for data access are so expensive. Oh well...

Posted by: NiMaDiFoB

yea i used that same plan for Tmobile too. Over here they charge by bits, and I have no idea what the charge is yet, so kinda refrain from using...

Posted by: oneeleven

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiMaDiFoB

..... Anyways, to add to the existing thread, with a rental USIM, I am able to access web in addition to just making calls and SMS in 3G mode.

TQ for initial report. Yes, some info about costs will be helpful.

How was the procedure for getting the USIM, lotsa hassles? Or maybe none cuz you have proper residence papers?

Was your 903 originally locked to VF or SB -- was there any problem when/if they checked the IMEI?

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Posted by: NiMaDiFoB

The phone is a vodafone model white JP 903sh. They did not look at the IMEI at all, just opened the back cover and slapped in the new card. I remember something now, first time I tried renting, after changing the sim cards, the associate turned on the phone, and was greeted with the dreaded "USIM blah blah blah" message. I just bout **** a brick thinking, oh no, they might fine out it's unlocked or invalid IMEI, and so forth. But turns out she put the USIM in backwards.

But no hassles. First time I rented with just passport and tourist visa at Narita airport. For address, I just wrote the address of my hotel, and they didn't even bother checking it I guess.

As for cost, I was reading the papers today. 105y per minute phone call (ouch), free incoming though... SMS is 15y per message, free incoming.... web access is .32y per 128bytes, not sure how much that is actually, but should be pretty expensive. One thing I also wanted to mention, if you use the web service and log into something, make sure you log out. clicking the web button on my 903 got me directly into the previous renter's yahoo email account lol. So make sure you sign out.

Posted by: yangj08

all right- .32yen per128b works out to-
8x128=1kb
.32x8=2.56yen

So that's 2.5yen for 1kb, and 2560yen for 1MB. Not cheap by any means.

Posted by: n75

Hello NiMaDiFoB,
Yup, I too rented the USIM at Softbank counter at Narita airport. The girl didn't say anything about my unlocked phone.

The rate was pretty expensive so I tried not to make too many calls and mostly used the phone to receive incoming calls.
When I rented in March, voice mail service wasn't available for the rental USIM.
Do you have it now? (just curious.)

Could you let me know how you found the setup information etc. to connect to the web?

Thanks a lot.

Posted by: NiMaDiFoB

I didn't set anything up, just accidentally hit the web browser button haha. I think repro automatically adjusts the settings for you.

I already returned the rental USIM, sorry! Got a phone contract yesterday

Posted by: dimension6

Sounds good...I should add that I also recently used the prepaid Softbank SIM for 10 days or so a month ago. The procedure was totally painless. Just make sure you select the correct arrival/departure terminal at Narita for your airline.

I didn't test out the data, but with the correct settings, I'm sure it would have worked.

As for my unlocked 903SH (which is now not too far from 2 years old!), I'm looking forward to finally moving to Japan for good this December, so I hope I can hold out 'till then...

Posted by: n75

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiMaDiFoB

I didn't set anything up, just accidentally hit the web browser button haha. I think repro automatically adjusts the settings for you.

I already returned the rental USIM, sorry! Got a phone contract yesterday

That's great!
When I used my 703sf with the rental USIM, I tried to access the web and
I couldn't get the connection.
I will try again next time I go to Japan then.

I was so happy with clear voice quality with my phone while I was in Japan.
Wish if we could have it here in the U.S.

Posted by: Kevbodian

The renters don't care if your phone is unlocked and the IMEI would not be invalid for any reason. They are not selling you a contract, they are making you pay through the teeth to use your phone (no matter where its from) on their network while in the country.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiMaDiFoB

The phone is a vodafone model white JP 903sh. They did not look at the IMEI at all, just opened the back cover and slapped in the new card. I remember something now, first time I tried renting, after changing the sim cards, the associate turned on the phone, and was greeted with the dreaded "USIM blah blah blah" message. I just bout **** a brick thinking, oh no, they might fine out it's unlocked or invalid IMEI, and so forth. But turns out she put the USIM in backwards.

But no hassles. First time I rented with just passport and tourist visa at Narita airport. For address, I just wrote the address of my hotel, and they didn't even bother checking it I guess.

As for cost, I was reading the papers today. 105y per minute phone call (ouch), free incoming though... SMS is 15y per message, free incoming.... web access is .32y per 128bytes, not sure how much that is actually, but should be pretty expensive. One thing I also wanted to mention, if you use the web service and log into something, make sure you log out. clicking the web button on my 903 got me directly into the previous renter's yahoo email account lol. So make sure you sign out.

Posted by: Junglizt1210

Quote:

Originally Posted by n75

Yeah, 3G W-CDMA voice quality kicks GSM's ***....

Posted by: himeko

Sweet, thanks so much for the update, NiMaDiFoB!! I am actually REALLY glad you bumped this thread up - I'm going to be in Japan for 4ish months, and just sent my phone to get it flashed back to JP firmware - So hope all will be good, and since you can access the web, this is a pretty good chance I can use MMS/email on my phone too (which is my main goal)!!

Posted by: oneeleven

I thought I saw somewhere that now lower rates and newer/better services?
I'll be in Japan again soon and wondering...

I tried this last July for a while and it was pretty expensive. Difficult or no access to emailing other J-phones, SMS costly and could not be sent to some J-phones. Worst of all, I was hoping for email via internet but only sporadic connections and was always charged for time even if no connection made. Customer service line also chargeable. After all the frustration, 10,000 yen poorer, as soon as I found a Softbank authorized rental agent I returned it and topped up my antique prepaid.

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Posted by: yangj08

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneeleven

I thought I saw somewhere that now lower rates and newer/better services?
I'll be in Japan again soon and wondering...

I tried this last July for a while and it was pretty expensive. Difficult or no access to emailing other J-phones, SMS costly and could not be sent to some J-phones. Worst of all, I was hoping for email via internet but only sporadic connections and was always charged for time even if no connection made. Customer service line also chargeable. After all the frustration, 10,000 yen poorer, as soon as I found a Softbank authorized rental agent I returned it and topped up my antique prepaid.

111

Nope, hasn't changed. Not the price rates, at least. Maybe you'll find it more reliable this time around or something...

Posted by: byakuugan

I used this service couple weeks ago. I bring my supposed-to-be-unlocked 904T that I bought from Timsta -_- and they just asked how did I get the phone lol overall the reception, voice quality, email (MMS) and internet browsing were good. No complain at all except lack of phone choice

I also bring a 707SC and put the softbank simcard to try some stuff and apparently when I tried to put it back to 904T, it complained about USIM error lol after some swapping it's fine... good thing it's on my last day in Japan.