T-mobile @home possibly work on Iphone?

[scuba]

Do you think its possible for Tmobile @home service to work on the Iphone since it uses wifi to make calls? or will we need some special application on the Iphone to make it work?

[yowiphone]

Im not sure has it even been tested?

[Kyle Matthews]

I was wondering that as well. I need more info on how it works. (HotSpot at home, that is)

[ThinkandDrive]

I got an advance unit and spent some time using it.

I believe this is heavily dependent on software on the device itself.

It was actually pretty damn cool and the hand-off from WiFi to cell network was super smooth. I didn't see this as being a very useful feature for consumers, but it could be really useful for a business who wants to mitigate the cost of business cell phones being used in the workplace.

[Kyle Matthews]

Right, thats what I figured. We'd need a developer with the source from the hotspot software, and knowledge of the iPhone's inner workings to port it.

[jayc7176]

I was wondering that as well. I need more info on how it works. (Hot Spot at home, that is)

Hey Poetic give a few days i will get info on it.!!
i dont work in hot spot but i did go thru a class on how it works

basically t-mobile sends you a Linksys router (with t-mobile setting i m thinking on it ) .. i m thinking the router is built specially for hotspot at home it hooks with you existing router or modem .

But here is the thing . You can only use Hot spot @ home With A hot spot Phone which there are only a couple phones that are hotspot phones thru T-mobile. see it is not compatible with any other phones such as phones that do have Wi -Fi inbuilt .! but let me see what i can dig !

Happy modding

[mojojojo]

It has to do w/ the phone software, and maybe hardware. Nothing to do with the router. A phone thats capable of using it, can use any open wifi connection. Which would give you UNLIMITED minutes when a call originates thru it. How that could be thought of as UNUSEFUL is beyond me. Even when you make a call connecting thru the net, then lets say you walk away from the wifi signal and it hands the call off to a cell tower, it still does not deduct from your minutes. So maybe if you live some place where WIFI is not rampant, it wouldn't be of much use, other than having UNLIMITED minutes while you are at home using it, or someone else's house w/ wifi. Ya, what am I thinking, its useless.

[zatpgw]

As a rep but not a tech I would say it probably has hardware as well as software needed to use this feature. The reason is that we have other Wifi devices that to date do not have an OTA update that allows them to use the Hotspot feature. We had two phones "specifically" made for this and the Blackberry Curve was modified from the AT&T version to work as well. Translation, the iPhone probably can't do it...but I'm not sure.

[jayc7176]

You can have -- a compatiable Phone but if you do not have the router you can't go No where!! !! !! NO router no Hot Spot @home..!

[jwcrash]

You can have -- a compatiable Phone but if you do not have the router you can't go No where!! !! !! NO router no Hot Spot @home..!

I wish wish wish this was possible, but it seems like there's a hardware incompatibility the iPhone simply can't overcome without a pretty serious HW mod.

Which, of course, I'd LOVE to see.

[aziatiklover]

so is it possible?

[ernestdefoe]

Hey Poetic give a few days i will get info on it.!!
i dont work in hot spot but i did go thru a class on how it works

basically t-mobile sends you a Linksys router (with t-mobile setting i m thinking on it ) .. i m thinking the router is built specially for hotspot at home it hooks with you existing router or modem .

But here is the thing . You can only use Hot spot @ home With A hot spot Phone which there are only a couple phones that are hotspot phones thru T-mobile. see it is not compatible with any other phones such as phones that do have Wi -Fi inbuilt .! but let me see what i can dig !

Happy modding

You can have -- a compatiable Phone but if you do not have the router you can't go No where!! !! !! NO router no Hot Spot @home..!

Okay to clear this up, and if you did work for T-Mobile and paid attention during the training....there are 2 routers. A lynksys and a D-Link router. You can't hook it up to an existing router, but you can to your cable or DSL modem. Also....as stated in the training any router can be used, but the one's T-Mobile sell are specialized....they make things easier when Tech Support has to get involved. You don't have to have the router as stated in the training....ANY open Wi-Fi connection will work. Next time if you want to represent T-Mobile make sure you have all the facts.

[scuba]

Ernest thanks for clearing up router concerns but what about the phone?? It has to be one of T-mobiles wifi phones doesnt it? Either that or we need some s/w on the iphone compatible to use the @home system.

[ernestdefoe]

Right now unless someone figured out how to make the iPhone work then yes it has to be a T-Mobile UMA or hotspot@Home phone.

[jayc7176]

..........................

[keyper]

Wow, lots of arguing from the T-Mobile guys. Well I am a tech support rep and have been dealing with hotspot @ home service for a while. It is called UMA or Unlicensed Mobile Access, basically its a Wi-Fi service that only phones can use. The reason for this is hardware as well as software based, the Wi-Fi chip is not the same as you might find in another phone that can use basic Wi-Fi. Also the firmware has to obviously be changed in order to accommodate this different hardware spec. The only devices able to connect to the UMA service must have that specific chipset as well as proper configuration of the firmware.

I agree 100% that unless you really know what you are talking about try to do the research first, saying that you are going to do the research later and get back is a meaningless post because you're just throwing out information that may or may not be true to people that may or may not come back to read a later article. Know from whence you speak prior to speaking.

[dharveymi]

Since the hot.spot phones will work with any router, it's not possible that any special hardware would be required. The phone must make standard connections with the router and make regular TCP/IP calls. It would only be required to sniff out the communication between a hot.spot phone and it's router and replicate that traffic on the iphone. I don't have the equipment to do that, but I can't imagine that it wouldn't work. Could a router record the traffic?

But why would you want to. Why not use the wi/fi on the iphone to connect to Skype, and skip the hot.spot service. There are other hacks to get the iphone to use T-mobile cell service for when wi/fi wasn't available. Can some one help me out with this?

[freakoftheindustry]

To answer the original question - The iPhone DOES NOT WORK with TMobile@Home.

[zolter]

Your only hope will be icall.com. They claim a release shortly. Claims to be able to use wifi and switch back and forth.

[bellyface]

@home phones are simply cell phones with VOIP technology, so they work on most routers, mainly linksys though, but i've managed to use my nokia 6086 on most routers, netgear, apple, linksys, as long as the channel is on 1 or 6. You don't have to subscribe to the service at all.

wish iphone had VOIP.