B2G Test Drivers/Prepaid SIM

For the duration of the B2G Test Driver program, participants who are paid contributors to the project can expense US$30 or CAN$35 per month either for a prepaid monthly plan (buying a dedicated SIM card) or as a part of your monthly phone bill if you use your own personal SIM card.

GSM bands

The Unagi phones we are testing with can support three GSM bands 900/1800/1900 - which if compared to list of country bands should let you know if you can expect to be able to use the device in your country.

USA

T-Mobile Prepaid

Order a SIM card

1. Order a $0.99 sim activation kit online at http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-phone/T-Mobile-Prepaid-SIM-Activation-Kit

You might be able to do next-day shipping for free, it was true on Oct 10, 2012
hopefully that is still the case

1. 1. You can also add to your order (and thus pay up front for) from the "Accessories" tab on the SIM page a number of $30 prepaid refill cards although later you have the option of just setting up monthly $30 payments on a credit card if you prefer that option

The accessories tab :

Will take you to a page where you can add the prepaid refill card :

Once SIM arrives

1) As per "Step 2" of the Activation Card instructions, fill out the information needed for the activation

2) Insert SIM into phone

2.1) Replace the battery in your phone, close up the back and power your phone on

3) Follow "Step 4" of the instructions provided by T-Mobile:

• Go to the www.T-Mobile.com/PrepaidActivation in a release version of Firefox (Nightly won't let you complete the payment)

3.1) Setup your phone

• Enter your details (SIM serial, IME, etc)

3.2) Setup your account

• Enter your account information

3.3) Select your plan and services

• Select the (web only) $30 unlimited text & data plan

3.4) Fund your account

• Pay $30 via credit card OR use a $30 refill card (if you bought some with purchasing the SIM card) if you pay with a credit card you can setup recurring withdrawals via credit card

If during this activation process you get the following screen, just start over from the beginning of the activation process and do it again

4) You should get an SMS on the phone saying you are good to go (as well as an activation confirmation email)

5) If data isn't working go into Settings - Cellular & Data, turn on the Data Connection, then go into APN settings and make sure the top option (Internet/WebConnect) is selected and hit OK. You might have to restart. I found after restarting the Data Connection option turned off but I still had data working.

Refill your prepaid phone plan

If you got a SIM card from a B2G Ambassador back in October, you may be on a $60 plan (instead of a $30 plan). You'll need to go to t-mobile.com and switch your plan.

Here's how in a few easy steps:

1. Have your SIM card in your phone, and your phone on.
2. Go to t-mobile.com and select sign-up in the top right (under MY T-mobile).
3. Put in your phone number and follow the instructions to activate with a text message.
4. Once you're logged in, see if you're on a $30 plan. If not, click Change plan or services under "My current plan".
5. Select the $30 plan, click Next and your new plan will be activated.
6. You should get another text confirming the change.
7. So you don't have to manually pay each month, you can set up Auto Pay with the directions below.

Set up Auto Pay

You can enable Auto Pay to automatically fund your prepaid phone plan each month.

1. Go to t-mobile.com and login with your account.
2. In the right sidebar, select "Sign up for Auto-Pay".
3. Use a credit or debit to add $30 to your account each month.

Note: You will need to disable Auto-Pay at the end of the Test Drivers program.

Put your B2G Phone Number in Phonebook

Please do this, it will help us with reaching out for test challenges and sharing news with you.

Canada

Existing Rogers or Fido customers who want to use their existing SIM

• You are very committed to the success of Firefox OS and we appreciate that!
• Insert your SIM and ensure Data is turned on in the Settings app
• Expense $40-$45 of your monthly bill

Existing Bell/Telus/Koodo/Virgin/WIND/Mobilicity/Public Mobile customers who want to use their existing SIM

• Sorry, your SIM will not work with the Unagi phone, as these carriers don't have an EDGE network, and the Unagi isn't compatible with their 3G frequencies. Rogers/Fido and resellers are your only option.

A new SIM

cityfone (a Rogers reseller) seems to have the best option of all the limited EDGE options

• Call Brian at cityfone (1-866-305-3663 extension 50311)
• Ask for the $40 smartphone plan (500 MB / 150 7 AM-6 PM minutes / unlimited evenings & weekends and txts) without a contract. The SIM card will cost $20.
• Note: you'll unfortunately have to give lots of information for them to do a credit check
• Mention a name below which is not yet crossed out to get them a $50 referral credit!
• Cross out the name below that you gave as a referrer
• Add your name below so the next person can get you credit
• Wait 2-5 business days for SIM to arrive
• Call 30 days before you want to cancel to end your service and get no more charges on your credit card

cityfone subscribers

• Rebatey McCheapsalot
• Andrew Overholt
• Joe Drew
• Chris AtLee
• Mike Conley (signed up with Yen, since Brian was out)
• Jon Buckley
• Lawrence Mandel
• Blake Winton
• Victor Ng
• Olivier Yiptong
• David Bolter (I talked with Navi)
• Mark Reid
• Robert Silverberg
• Anthony Hughes
• Ralph Giles (they wouldn't give a credit to Anthony, because it was "just a sim card, not a contract.")

A new Fido/Rogers SIM

Getting a new Fido or Rogers SIM is also an option. There are a variety of plans that may be suitable.

Setting the APN to enable mobile data

To enable mobile data, you will need to check that you have the APN settings properly set. Certain parts of these settings may be prepopulated.

Go to the Settings screen, into Cellular & Data menu. In the Advanced Settings section, there is an APN Settings section

Rogers:

There should be a profile that appears in the list as internet.com. Select that and the following settings should prepopulate

APN: internet.com

identifier : wapuser1

password : wap

additional details can be found at http://thekidd.ca/blog/tech/rogers-apn-settings but those settings weren't needed since it seems the prepopulated ones work as is.

Fido

APN Settings:

   APN: Fido-core-appl1.apn

MMS (Picture & Video Messaging Settings):

   MMSC: http://mms.fido.ca

   MMS Proxy: 205.151.11.13
   
   MMS Port: 80

UK

Vodafone "International Freebee" PAYG SIM

I bought this from a vending machine at Heathrow Airport. I just followed the instructions on the packet - that is, dialed 4351 to "activate the SIM" (although I don't know if it did anything) and pressed the option to opt in to "International Freebee" (some free international calls; there seems to be no downside to this). I didn't do this from my B2G phone because I encountered some first-run bugs and thought they might be due to a lack of data connection. So I did it with my other phone. But I have no reason not to believe it would have worked on the B2G phone too, although perhaps you wouldn't have got cellular data during the first-run experience.

To get data, head over to the APN settings and pick the option for "Vodafone UK Prepay". (I don't think mine was set to that by default.) APN: pp.vodafone.co.uk. Username: wap, Password: wap. (web/web also seems to work.)

When I work out where in Firefox OS to put the MMS settings, I'll update this page. -- Gerv