[SharifTK]

So I'm playing with a friends T-mobile curve, I put my sim card in it to see how it will work. I turned on WiFi, and connected to my network at home... and turned my network signal off...

I still can make phone calls and recieve calls... how is that if the wireless signal is off? It says UMA where it usually has the signal bars..

[jeremyckitching]

If you have the Wi-Fi radio on but the Mobile network signal off then you can still make calls and get SMS, MMS, email and browse the Internet. It uses your wireless router as the mobile network, so to speak. That is the UMA feature of the phone.

[renigade]

Hi,
Im thinking of upgrading to a 8320 or 8120 with wifi? I am on T Mobile in the UK. Do you know if I can use UMA through my WLAN?
Thanks for any help.

[Perfect Storm]

Your carrier has to support UMA. To my knowledge T-Mobile US is the only carrier who does.

[SharifTK]

Wow I didn't know of this UMA thing at all... so will it still deduct minutes from my plan if I am using my home network for calls?

[jeremyckitching]

Yes, it will, unless you are using T-Mobiles Talk Forever plan (formerly HotSpot@Home).

[mental case]

I have a question on this whole UMA thing as well, Glad this topic is here. At my house when i connect my 8320 to my home network, it shows my network name and the wifi get nice and bold so i figure that im connected. I have a regular linksys router.

Now when i go to my friends house, i was connecting to his netgear router, has asked me for my mac address and then he enter that into the router. I put in the password and the wifi went bold again and the UMA came on as well. Is there a reason I dont get the UMA at home like this? Does entering the phones mac address have something to do with it. I dont subscribe to the Tmo talk forever or whatever its called and the only time I get the UMA is when connected to his router. I connect to my home router, routers at work and even at school but never get the UMA unless I'm at his house. Anyone know why? thx for any help

[John Clark]

The mac address he asked for was probably because he had mac filtering enabled. As for why your router doesn't give you UMA, it could be for many reasons. Check Main Page - BlackBerryFAQ.com for more info on settings for your linksys router.

[SharifTK]

So I'm guessing, the only reason to use UMA is to be in a place where you have bad mobile signal...?

[NJBlackBerry]

There is a huge cost advantage to using UMA from outside of the US (assuming you have the special plan formerly known as Hotspot@Home). Calls are much less expensive from outside the US.

Also, with H@H, calls made over UMA do not count against your minutes..

[John Clark]

I don't think you need the H@H plan to make those free (no international tolls/roaming) UMA calls home from outside the US, do you?

[NJBlackBerry]

I thought you did.
I have e-mails somewhere from T-Mobile. Pretty sure that to get the free calling back to the US from overseas you have to have H@H.

[DiabloZoe]

Originally Posted by jeremyckitching

Yes, it will, unless you are using T-Mobiles Talk Forever plan (formerly HotSpot@Home).

I dont know if it has been mentioned yet so please forgive me for this quote but the talk forever plan is just that! No internet connectivity meaning you still need tmobs hotspot plan for 19.99! What im getting at is the 9.99 plan only works at home you cant go to starbucks and connect and not burn up minutes.

[lovescakemix]

Originally Posted by DiabloZoe

I dont know if it has been mentioned yet so please forgive me for this quote but the talk forever plan is just that! No internet connectivity meaning you still need tmobs hotspot plan for 19.99! What im getting at is the 9.99 plan only works at home you cant go to starbucks and connect and not burn up minutes.

no per tmobile it still includes at home at all tmobile hotspots and all other wifi capable of uma. nothing has changed only the price and name

[DiabloZoe]

Originally Posted by lovescakemix

no per tmobile it still includes at home at all tmobile hotspots and all other wifi capable of uma. nothing has changed only the price and name

if you go on there web page you can select the talk for ever plan or you can still
select the 19.99 plan with the 9.99 plan I think you need there special router and with that plan you dont get the tmob login for the hotspots. This is what I was told at the tmob store today

[absoluteevel]

You were told "I think you need there special router" ???

Think of it this way. Since the UMA servers are within and operated by T-Mobile, "Internet Access" is not required to access them at a T-Mobile owned HotSpot. Because of this, no login/password is required to access them.

Take your phone to a hotspot and see that UMA still displays. Do research yourself. Quit trusting commissioned sales people when your own research is so easy to do (such as driving to a Starbucks.)

(and there references a location, while their references ownership by a third person.)

[markbb99]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

I thought you did.
I have e-mails somewhere from T-Mobile. Pretty sure that to get the free calling back to the US from overseas you have to have H@H.

To get the free unlimited calls anywhere you need H@H or Talk Forever - but as John said - you don't need H@H or Talk Forever to get international calls back to the US over UMA/wifi. If you have the add-on it's free - if you don't it comes out of your minutes/other add-ons (eg free evenings/weekends, Mobile to Mobile, My Faves, etc - and the time will be based on the time zone of your area code not of the country you are in to get free evenings).

[DiabloZoe]

Originally Posted by absoluteevel

You were told "I think you need there special router" ???

Think of it this way. Since the UMA servers are within and operated by T-Mobile, "Internet Access" is not required to access them at a T-Mobile owned HotSpot. Because of this, no login/password is required to access them.

Take your phone to a hotspot and see that UMA still displays. Do research yourself. Quit trusting commissioned sales people when your own research is so easy to do (such as driving to a Starbucks.)

(and there references a location, while their references ownership by a third person.)

The phone has tmobile hotspot preprogrammed into the phone when you go to starbucks your phone will switch to uma! and asks you for a log in and pass word! What I am saying is if you order the talk for ever plan you are not gonna get a log in and password! If you order the hotspot plan you will! Meaning some people will think that if they get the talkforever plan for 9.99 that they will be able to use the internet at there leisure as I did! The hot spot at home old name you could do that get internet and hotspot and calls at home for 19.99 they are not just changing the name an lowering the price! Dont assume I have not done and research of my own!

[markbb99]

Originally Posted by DiabloZoe

The phone has tmobile hotspot preprogrammed into the phone when you go to starbucks your phone will switch to uma! and asks you for a log in and pass word! What I am saying is if you order the talk for ever plan you are not gonna get a log in and password! If you order the hotspot plan you will! Meaning some people will think that if they get the talkforever plan for 9.99 that they will be able to use the internet at there leisure as I did! The hot spot at home old name you could do that get internet and hotspot and calls at home for 19.99 they are not just changing the name an lowering the price! Dont assume I have not done and research of my own!

I think you are getting your hotspots mixed up!! They have essentially just renamed it and lowered the price. The $19.99 Hotspot addon you refer to hasn't changed:

* - New H@H Talk Forever Mobile $9.99 add on - unlimited calls over UMA. No Hotspot login id and password
* - Old $19.99 H@H add-on - unlimited calls over UMA. No Hotspot login id and password (same as the new $9.99 plan)
* - Hotspots (still at $19.99 on the website) - unlimited wifi internet at T-Mob Hotspots. Does not give any UMA or data plans over GSM or over wifi in your house.
* - $19.99 T-Mobile Total Internet - unlimited dataplan for non-Blackberry devices - comes with a userid for T-Mob Hotspots. Does not give unlimited UMA calling either at home or anywhere else.

And yes I know you +could+ sign up for the last two plans to use exclusively with your BB - but I'm not sure why you would. If you used a laptop then you might want to do this.

[DiabloZoe]

Originally Posted by markbb99

I think you are getting your hotspots mixed up!! They have essentially just renamed it and lowered the price. The $19.99 Hotspot addon you refer to hasn't changed:

* - New H@H Talk Forever Mobile $9.99 add on - unlimited calls over UMA. No Hotspot login id and password
* - Old $19.99 H@H add-on - unlimited calls over UMA. No Hotspot login id and password (same as the new $9.99 plan)
* - Hotspots (still at $19.99 on the website) - unlimited wifi internet at T-Mob Hotspots. Does not give any UMA or data plans over GSM or over wifi in your house.
* - $19.99 T-Mobile Total Internet - unlimited dataplan for non-Blackberry devices - comes with a userid for T-Mob Hotspots. Does not give unlimited UMA calling either at home or anywhere else.

And yes I know you +could+ sign up for the last two plans to use exclusively with your BB - but I'm not sure why you would. If you used a laptop then you might want to do this.

Thats what my original post was about! People getting the two mixed up! Thats probably why they changed the name. I was just putting it out there that the two differ.